Anything But A Sea Urchin

"Wait... Wait. Did I hear that right?" Lei asked.

"You did." The attractive Goddess answered as she nodded.

"I'm being... Reincarnated?"

"Uhu." She nodded.

"As...?"

"Mmm... Haven't decided yet. I need to choose where you'll be reincarnated first."

"So not on Earth?"

"Of course not. How boring would that be?"

Lei scratched his head.

"Doesn't sound too boring to me. With different starting cards, I-"

"Aha! This World is perfect. Know anything about Eastern Myths and Fantasy?"

"Not really. I barely-"

"Then it's decided."

"That quickly??"

"That quickly."

The Goddess turned around, walked three steps, turned back, and took a seat on what seemed to be her throne.

She crossed her legs and brought a finger to her cheek.

Tap-

Tap-

Lei, on the other hand, was on his knees.

Below the two, a calm sea on which they could stand and walk. Or perhaps, it was a clear sky.

Lei couldn't really tell.

It had been already quite some time since he had appeared in the strange place. Most of that time had been spent in silence though.

He had just died after all.

He had just died and yet, here he was.

"How did you die?"

"I... Would rather not talk about it."

"Then you'll Reincarnate as a Sea Urchin. How does that sound?"

Lei wanted to click his tongue, but didn't.

The being in front of him was a Goddess after all. A Deity.

Or so she presented herself anyways.

He studied her appreance for a bit.

Her strange and peculier clothes, her long fiery hair, her curves, and the Light that emanated from her.

The last part made it easier to believe her claim to be of the Divine. The rest was simply nice to look at.

"I... Was hit by a truck."

The Goddess immediately raised her gaze up.

She sighed rather desperately.

"Another victim of Truck-kun, huh? How utterly boring..." She whispered to herself.

"Sorry?"

"And? What else?"

"What else...?"

"You wouldn't be here if that was it. Tell me everything, or I'll downgrade the offer from Sea Urchin to Sea Cucumber."

"Mmm..." Lei thought silently as his eyes fled from the Goddess' demanding gaze. "Can I reject your offer?"

"You don't want to be Reincarnated?"

"Not as a Sea... As a Sea anything really."

A short silence reigned over the eerie space.

"Bfahaha! You think you're in a position to negotiate?"

"Am I?"

"No."

"Oh..."

"Now, tell. It wouldn't take much for me to extract the information from your Soul anyways."

Lei let out a sigh.

After the first ten minutes in the Goddess' presence had been spent freaking out, he had grown a bit more comfortable and used to his situation.

"A couple of kids were standing in the way. They were about to... Well, get hit. So-"

"So you jumped?"

"I did."

"Sounds stupid."

Lei scratched his head.

"It does?"

"Did the kids survive?"

"Well, I'm here, aren't I? How am I supposed to know?"

"So you're not even sure that you actually saved them."

"I'm not. But I'd like to know... Though I guess that doesn't change where I stand."

"Your Karma isn't great. But if the kids were indeed saved by your action, that could tilt the scales."

Lei thought silently for a bit.

"Isn't it the intention that counts?" He asked.

And the Goddess smiled.

"What was your intention, Lei?"

"My intention? It was instinctive really. Or... Impulsive, I should say. I wanted to save those kids. Enough to jump in front of a moving truck. My body moved before I even realized it. Isn't that enough?"

The Goddess laughed cheekily for a moment.

She suddenly pushed herself off the throne.

"It is." The Goddess said as she snapped her fingers.

"So no Sea Cucumber?"

"No Sea Cucumber."

"No Sea Urchin either?"

"No Sea Urchin either."

He sighed.

"What then?"

"What do you want?"

Lei's eyes sparkled.

"I get to choose??"

"Mmm..." The Goddess thought as her index finger drew circles in the air. "It'll be a first draft, of sorts."

Lei sighed and let his back hit the 'ground' below.

"In that case, I want to be Human, for one."

The Goddess nodded.

She extended a hand forward, and a multitude of digital screens appeared in front of her.

"I didn't get to have many experiences with girls, so that would be nice."

"Don't expect them to look like me."

Lei was surprised by the comment and chuckled.

"Even an average life would suit me. A simple one, I guess. Living in a small village in the middle of nowhere. Yeah. Nothing too complicated. No technology, that's for sure. Wait... Magic would be pretty cool-"

"A village? Really? That's your wish?"

"Something like that, I wouldn't mind."

"And be what, a farmer?"

"Hahaha. Doesn't sound bad at all. Meet a nice girl in the village, have a family, and spend my time working, cultivating-"

"Cultivating, huh? What is it you want to cultivate?"

"That's not the important part. Anything would suit me-"

The Goddess suddenly rose to her feet, startling Lei.

"Then it's decided. Cultivating will definitely be part of it."

"Fine by me."

The Goddess pointed at him.

"Scratch the simple life part."

"Huh?"

"Villain. That's the role I'm giving you."

"Villain? How did you get Villain from-"

The Goddess clapped her hands, and Lei's body froze.

Time had been stopped.

Or rather, Lei's time, it seemed.

"Saving the kids, yeah, right. A simple life. Hahaha! Did he really think I wouldn't know his true intentions?" The Goddess whispered to herself as she walked closer to the frozen Lei. "Villain will suit you just fine. Saving kids or, at least, attempting to do so at the cost of your own life definitely gives enough Karma to get Reincarnated. It allows you an incredible second life. After all, you did sacrifice your first one."

Her hands lay on the frozen Lei's cheeks.

"You sacrificed your life, so you'll be given another. Too bad..." He disappeared. "Your life didn't hold much value, even to you."

The Goddess turned back towards her throne and walked towards it once more.

"A Sacrifice's value is only as high as the Sacrificed's value. You didn't value your life. That's why you jumped. That's why you didn't hesitate. Lucky you, finding the perfect excuse. Even if you don't realize it. I'm sorry but..."

She selected one of the numerous digital screens in front of her with a finger.

"I won't stand for it."

The Goddess smiled cheekily.

"And so..."