1 Is Heaven's Temperature Below Zero?

People always thought they had a lot of time on their hands, only to realize their time was up sooner than they expected.

The moment you were on the brink of death, only then would it occur to you that there were so many things you wished you had done, so many chances you missed thinking that there was next time, and so many words left unsaid because you believed they were only meant for special occasions.

It was only then it dawned on Reed that he should have told his mom how much he loved her. He should have watched that romantic comedy movie with her in the theater when she bought them tickets even if it would have bored him to death. He should have apologized to the kind Mr. Arman when he offended him many times by correcting his wrong solutions to some Calculus problems.

And above all, he should have had a perfect score for the last exam he took before he died. It only took one mistake for him to lose his perfect streak, and it was his biggest regret in this life.

You might say he was just overreacting, but you have to understand that his life revolved all around his academic life. He was born a genius, a one-of-a-kind individual who was meant to be an achiever.

His mom was even told by a carnival fortune-teller that he would one day become a scientist just like his idol, Albert Einstein. Of course, he didn't believe some cheap clairvoyant's vision, but he had long known it was the path destined for him.

But who would have thought that this great genius would die before achieving greater heights? He was on his way to finishing college with a triple major in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics! He was sure he would claim his diploma with the highest Latin honors!

Unfortunately, he died in a horrible way. No, it was not a road accident. He was not killed by murderers either.

He died a slow, torturous death under the waters, and the moment he realized there was no saving him, for the first time, he felt like the dumbest guy on earth despite having the highest GPA in his school.

His biggest mistake? He studied so many things but he did not include swimming.

* * *

'Why is it so cold? Is heaven's temperature below zero?'

'I can't move! Are souls frozen like ice while being transported to the afterlife?'

Reed couldn't fathom if his soul had left the world or if it was trapped in his dead body, which he assumed by now, was drifting aimlessly in the depths of the lake. If it was the latter, it must be the reason why he felt so cold.

It felt odd, though. It didn't feel like he was surrounded by water. It was like his entire body was against something hard, cold and slick.

If his soul hadn't left his body yet, did that mean he was still alive? But that would be a joke, right?

A person can typically hold their breath underwater for around thirty seconds to two minutes, depending on their physical fitness, lung capacity, and other factors. He had been under the lake for so much longer, and he knew there was no way he was still alive right now—unless he became the first man to defy the law of Science.

Besides, he couldn't feel any air passing through his airways. So basically, he wasn't breathing.

It made Reed confused as hell. A dead person was not conscious and couldn't perceive their surroundings. When a person died, their brain activity ceased, and they were no longer capable of consciousness or perception. So why was his tactile sense still active?

Could it be that his brain was still functioning despite his body being clinically dead?

However, from what he knew, the brain can only survive for a few minutes after the body dies. Once the heart stopped beating and blood flow to the brain ceased, the brain cells began to die off rapidly.

Reed waited and waited.

He thought that maybe his soul would eventually move out of his body and he would soon be freed from this insufferable coldness, but after one thousand eight hundred eighty-three seconds of waiting, he was beginning to suspect the whole ordeal.

'If I am not in my dead body, then am I in the afterlife?'

He didn't study much about the afterlife since it wasn't part of Science. Religious groups had different concepts of it, but his mom, Esme, was a devoted Christian and believed there was heaven and hell, so he was somehow influenced by that belief. Well, at least he believed there was some place for souls after death.

Who would wish there wasn't, anyway? Would you rather be erased from the universe without any trace as if you never existed?

Reed wasn't very religious, but he wished he would go to heaven if there was an afterlife. People kept saying hell was the worst place to go after death as if they knew from experience.

He also heard that some people believe souls go through reincarnation. He didn't know much about it but he knew some religions relied on that concept, and to be honest, he liked that concept better.

If it were true, he would still have a chance to achieve greater heights as a Science genius, which he failed to do in his first life.

While he was drowning in his deep thoughts, Reed suddenly heard a strange noise.

There were dull thudding and reverberating sounds from something like steel hitting a hard surface. He could also feel vibrations as if the impact was affecting the place where he was, and then there were a series of loud cracks and snaps.

In the middle of confusion and the urge to see what was happening around him, Reed's eyes flew open.

The first thing that came into his view was a hazy figure of a lady with a long… sword?!

Fear gripped Reed as he witnessed the hazy figure assume an offensive stance, brandishing a long sword with lethal intent. The realization dawned upon him that he was in imminent danger—the girl was going to strike him down.

He shut his eyes tightly, bracing for the pain that was about to come. But after a second, he only heard the sound of clashing and a shudder from the impact.

Confusion mingled with relief as Reed opened his eyes when he didn't feel any kind of pain.

To his surprise, he discovered that the girl's sword had not directly hit him. It was as if a barrier stood between them, deflecting the lethal blow.

That's when he realized why the girl's figure was somewhat hazy and distorted and why the sword didn't directly hit him when he was sure a second ago that the girl was aiming the sword in his direction.

He couldn't move his head or any parts of his body, yet he was well aware of the frigid coldness seeping through his skin, its hard and slick texture reminding him of ice. His view was hazy and a little warped like he was looking through thick, translucent glass.

Although he couldn't see himself, all of those things brought him to one conclusion: he was trapped inside an iceberg.

'What kind of sick joke is this? Did I become the Avatar?'