1 Death's new Reality Show

"Okay, let me get this straight." A lone, young man pinched the bridge of his nose as he stood within the vast embrace of the darkness. In front of him stood a giant figure cloaked in a robe, CLEARLY not resembling a screaming amalgamation of tortured souls. "You want to send me to a different dimension with some kind of power, because you are bored?"

The young man's voice echoed through the darkness. He felt his knees buckle as a new torrent of inky, murky, dark, syrupy liquid flowed through his legs.

"Must you ask again?" The robed being sighed as its wispy, sometimes bony, sometimes fleshy hands manipulated the giant runic circle adorned with rings of intricate runes, their meanings eluding the young man. "You have asked the same question three times now. I am starting to doubt whether or not you mortals have memory impairment."

"Can you blame me?" The young man shook his head, feeling a bit perturbed at the sensation of being knee-deep in some kind of disgusting liquid. "I mean, look at it from my perspective. Here I was, minding my own business playing an RPG after a hard day's work of school, and suddenly, I'm whisked to this… Void? Yeah, I'll go with Void, by you, who is apparently Death himself and was given an offer to basically be an Isekai protagonist."

"That is an accurate summary of your current predicament, yes." Death briefly paused his interaction with the runic circle to nod at the young man. "However, I would like to point out that this isn't an offer. You are getting 'Isekai'd', as you mortals described it, no exceptions."

Before the young man was able to protest, Death raised his fleshy right arm once again.

"It is either you get Isekai'd or you die in the next few days, as my counterpart has dictated through the strands of fate."

"… Excuse me, what the fuck do you mean by that?" The young man asked incredulously.

"It is what I say it is, mortal." Death gave an indifferent shrug. "You will die in a few days. It has been written on my counterpart's tablet years before your life even began."

"Wait, are you serious?" The young man felt like he swallowed a lemon. "You're joking, right?"

"Must you repeat your question?" Death raised an eyebrow(?) at the young man.

"That… That can't be true!" The young man cried out. "I was living a good life! Had money in the bank and all that shit! I could've bought a damn good house in a few more months! Maybe even a car!"

The young man furiously scratched the back of his head.

"Fuck, what will my family think of this? Little sis is gonna have a breakdown. Ma and Pa will definitely tan my hide, that is if my older sis doesn't do it first after she gets hold of my corpse."

"And as I mentioned before, your death was predetermined even before your conception." Death stared dispassionately at the frustrated young man as he reiterated. "Such is the way of life and death since time immemorial."

"… Well… Okay, shit… I… Fuck… Can… Can you give me a minute? I… I need to process what you just said." The young man looked like he wanted to break down crying or think everything that was happening was just a dream.

"As you wish." Death nodded and went back to interacting with the runic circle, which was actually the cycle of reincarnation.

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"Are you done with your brooding, mortal?" Death stopped his hands, eyes(?) directed towards the unresponsive young man. "It has been approximately 36 hours, 45 minutes, and 35 seconds since the start of your brooding, if my knowledge of your race's time perception is correct."

"Wait, what?" The young man's head abruptly turned up to stare at the dark shadow of Death's face that their cowl hid. "It's been how long?"

"You mortals really do love asking the same questions repeatedly." Death shrugged. "It has been 36 hours, 45 minutes, and 47 seconds since you started brooding."

"I get that. But how!? I'm pretty sure I sat for only a few minutes!" The young man felt like a vein was about to burst in his head.

"Such is the fickle nature of time." Death waved his hand across the cycle of reincarnation, a few wisps of smoke(?) flowing from his cloak and into the circle before expanding all around the dark void.

The void vanished for a brief while, replaced by a massive chamber filled with intricate decorations, furniture, and other artifacts, before reappearing and blocking their vision once more.

"… Is this… Is this your room?" The young man hesitatingly asked. "And is your cloak… actually made of souls?"

"It is indeed." Death nodded while tinkering further with the cycle of reincarnation. "Although the term you use is soul, is it not?"

The young man nodded, and Death continued.

"Then it is an apt term for the essence of the mortal races." Death revealed with disinterest, as if it wasn't that huge of a deal. "When mortals have their lives snuffed out, their essence, or soul, as you put it, gets sent directly to my domain, and I judge whether or not they are fit to reincarnate or suffer for a predetermined time before being reincarnated."

"So… You are like… What, the embodiment of hell? The eternal inferno and lava spewing shit?"

"You would be correct to assume that, except for the eternal part." Death shrugged once more. "However, we are getting off topic. Us talking has relieved you of your anxiety, has it not?"

"… Yeah… You, you could say that… Yes…" The young man sighed, a metaphorical cloud hanging overhead.

"Wonderful." Death's voice seemed to gain a tinge of joy. "Now then, since you are calm enough, it is time to tell you about the future of your existence."

"… Just, just get on with it." The young man cast his head down before perking up once more. "Wait, before you do that, can you answer me one question?"

"Very well. Ask away, mortal."

"You are giving me a… System, right?" Death nodded. "Okay, and based on what I have read from a bunch of novels and fanfictions, they allow for multidimensional travel, right?"

Another nod.

"Then, if I get strong enough, can I actually return to my birth world?"

"That is correct." Death nodded once more. "However, you must understand that if you decide to return to your own dimension, you will have to receive permission from my counterpart, which is no easy task."

"… I'll take my chances."

"Hmm. As you wish. Now then, any more questions before I give you the basics of what world or dimension you will be sent to?"

The young man shook his head, and Death grinned beneath their cowl.

"Excellent. Well then." Death moved away from the cycle of reincarnation and hovered next to the young man.

The young man apparently underestimated Death's height, as he was most certainly larger than the Eiffel Tower.

"You will be sent to a world that has been shaped by the world's God. And bear in mind that this is not your normal God." Death bent down to pick up the tiny mortal in his fingers, then placed him in his palm. "I will not spoil you much, but know this: you will have my blessing, which will make you unable to die permanently."

The young man's mouth dropped.

"That said, there are consequences every time your body fails, so be sure to avoid dying too much."

Death brought the young man to the cycle of reincarnation, and the mortal finally beheld the vast scope of the entire cycle. It was as large as the moon, and earlier, Death was bigger than the entire thing.

"With that said, have fun."

Without further ado, Death plunged the mortal into the cycle, and the young man's vision faded into darkness.