Chapter 1 - After Death

...Where am I...? What happened...?

「Welcome back.」

...What? Welcome back?

"Did I hit my head too hard?" I muttered, my shock making itself audible.

「Would you like to activate 『Memory Recollection』?」

Oh wow. I seriously did hit my head too hard. I really do have to start being more careful. But however, strangely enough, when I tried to reach and touch my head, my arms wouldn't move - as if my arms were stuck in jelly. Was this some sort of elaborate prank? No, there's no way. There's no technology advanced enough to project a hovering screen that follows where I look. But if it's not a prank then what is it?

The movement of my head was also quite constricted. From what little I could see, it seemed that I was surrounded by pitch darkness. There was no escape. Giving up, I decided to go along with the screen.

"...Yeah, sure. Activate it."

Suddenly, both familiar and not-so-familiar memories flooded into my head, making me wince slightly in pain. Information I previously never knew of rapidly appeared in my head. It made me slightly light-headed.

「Information downloaded successfully.」

I closed my eyes and sighed. From what I've gathered from『Memory Recollection』it seems that I've died. Apparently, I fell into a deep hole in the middle of the woods and starved to death. Ouch. That's a pretty sad death.

「To prevent mental trauma, the 『SYSTEM』has decreased your emotions towards certain parts of your memories.」

That explains why I'm not losing my head right now, I guess. However, the thought of a 'system' having this much power over me was not at all comforting. What even is this 'system' in the first place? And why am I only seeing it now? Should I try asking the system these ques-

「You have tried to access forbidden information. Any further attempts shall be dealt with appropriately.」

...I'm sorry? Wait. I never said that out loud. Does that mean the system can hear my thoughts?

"...The more I find out about this system the scarier it seems..."

I sighed again. Maybe I should ask the system some other questions. I doubt I can do anything else honestly. Hey system, where am I?

「You are currently in your soulscape - the physical representation of your soul's energy.」

This is my soul? Why is it so dark? I didn't think I was a particularly sad or negative person when I was alive.

「Your soulscape's appearance depends on your Life Energy. You do not currently own a body therefore you do not possess much life energy. Low Life Energy results in a weak soul so your soul's appearance is dim and dark.」

Well that explanation was quite... in-depth. And unfortunately, it's given me a lot more questions now. However, I don't think I care enough to ask those right now. The only question I want to know the answer of is-

"How do I get out of here?"