Prologue - A new life, not a very nice one though.

That day was just as dreary, and just as annoyingly sunny as ever. But there was something about that day that was wrong, something that... inexplicably suspicious... It was only later that I realised that that day was my last.

But first of all let's get to know each other, my name is Thomas Jenson, I was 23 at the time of my death, I was single, living alone, working at a medium job 6 days a week, 9 hours a day and my few pastimes were video games and books. Not those novels, although I read those too, but regular books. The very same, paper books.

But cut to the chase, how did I die? Just as sadly as I lived, a heart attack. Yes, I wasn't poorly paid, but I was a cheapskate, and I saved every penny of it, which is what got me killed. My heart couldn't take my lifestyle.

So here I am, drifting around like a miserable, worthless little soul. Pondering what will happen next, what it will be like to spend eternity in peaceful darkness, when suddenly....

I saw the light. Such a bright, life-filled, welcome light in the distance. Calling to me, to touch it. I answered its call, though spending eternity in peace sounds great, I'd rather be reborn in some cool fantasy world with lots of pretty girls and incredible powers...

I no longer remember how long it took me to reach the light, or what happened after I touched it... But I didn't see any girls or superpowers for the rest of my second life, unfortunately.

The next thing I remember was the forest. A wonderful forest, with the beautiful smell of morning dew, the rustling of grass and leaves, the chirping of birds and a bright, clear sky. It was wonderful, at that moment.

And then I saw the much coveted blue holographic-looking sign hovering above my eyes. Of course, it wasn't particularly comfortable, but reading the text made me even more uncomfortable.

Ahem, ahem, I think it said something like this - "Hello Thomas Jenson, you are reborn. Unfortunately, having a memory of a past life interrupts your reincarnation cycle - and if you die here you won't be able to reincarnate again. So spend your life here as richly as possible. As a consolation prize, you are given a special power - the 'Language of Babylon', which allows you to understand all the existing languages in the world, even the languages of monsters and gods. This power might not be enough to live comfortably, but we don't much care. Good luck."

Reading this text was unpleasant. "Understanding all languages? What kind of useless crap is that?" - I thought. I would later regret speaking so negatively about such a seemingly useless power, though. Because, you know, harpies are pretty good, but they do require a special approach...

But anyway, that was the first page of the story of my life in that world, I don't know how long it will take to write the next one - it's pretty hard to find material for a manuscript in the great nothing...