The Reincarnation

12th October 2022, 10:30 pm.

The room was shrouded in darkness. I was sitting on my bed with my laptop on my lap. The bright light flickering through the device illuminated the room and my face.

I was fair and had black and shiny hair, which is common in the eastern parts of the world. I was neither too muscular nor too slim.

My room was not too fancy, and it was light orange colored. I had a bookshelf full of manga and comics. There was a study table under a clock located beside my bed.

I was watching an action anime playing on a streaming service called Netplix.

Just as the climax of a battle scene reached its peak, a noise echoed through the lower floors.

"Shin, I know you're not asleep," my mom called out.

"Is she a psychic?" I sighed in defeat.

Knowing the consequences of defying the sole top inhabitant of the food chain, I reluctantly hit pause on the video and saved it to watch later.

"I've no intentions of washing the dishes tomorrow," I thought as I closed my laptop.

Putting the laptop aside on the study table, I pushed myself onto the bed and tucked myself into the bedsheet.

Resting my head on the pillow, I pondered. "I'll be out of anime to watch soon. Maybe I should purchase some new manga volumes."

After pondering for a moment, my eyes gave into the darkness, and my mind went completely blank. Soon, I fell asleep.

Just as I was beginning to get engrossed in my sleep, I heard a bolting scream echoing throughout my mind. I opened my eyes immediately, stood up, and looked around.

"A burglar?" I shouted, half-asleep. "Where's my stick?"

In a few moments, I calmed down and caught my breath. I carefully inspected my surroundings, but there was nothing I could see.

The entire area surrounding me was engulfed in darkness, which restricted my vision to myself.

Questions flooded my mind as I mused. "Is this a dream? Why am I in a dark place? How can I see my hands and my lower body?"

I began to take deep breaths to notice any change, but there was no air. I couldn't feel anything coming or going outside of my nostrils.

I folded my hands, bent my head down, and mused. "There is definitely no air... Alas! This is a dream!"

Rubbing my palms, I sighed. "I cannot feel the temperature around me either."

Walking a few steps, "This is indeed a strange dream."

I sat down in the void and thought, frustrated. "Aren't teenagers supposed to have more colorful dreams?"

I shouted to calm my nerves and sighed in disappointment. "Maybe I'll visit a therapist tomorrow."

I nodded sideways to feel better and stretched my arms. "I guess I'll have to wait for this dream to end. This is a test of my patience."

My eyes beamed with sincerity, determination, and patience as I made a fist out of my hand.

Several Hours passed, and my once determined eyes turned red with frustration, and the vase of my patience broke its limits. I stood up and clenched my fists as my blood boiled with frustration.

"GAAAHHH! THIS STUPID DREAM! WAKE UP ME!" I shouted as I stamped my feet on the void.

Soon enough, I calmed myself and began thinking about what to do next.

"This is way too boring!" I thought, looking around. "Nothing has changed for the past few hours I've spent here."

I started walking forward. "Maybe I'll eventually see something new if I keep walking?"

Time passed, and before I knew it, several days had passed, and I had seen nothing but darkness. I had even forgotten how light or colors used to look.

My face was pale, and my eyes, once full of life, were now lifeless. My body was resting low, and my arms and legs were tired. I was confused, and the loneliness in the void stung me.

Depression washed over me, and my memories of the world slowly faded away.

"Am I going to die in this dream?" I muttered from my lifeless lips.

Suddenly, a calm and composed voice erupted. "No,"

A bright beam of light fell upon my eyes. While I was pleased to hear someone's voice and experience light amid the darkness, I closed my eyes and them with my hands to stop the light from blinding me.

Slowly the light dissipated, and I removed my hands to see who had replied to me.

I slowly opened my eyes to see what changed around me. To my surprise, I saw a child standing in front of me dressed up in divine clothes, whose body let out a celestial light.

Without any second thought, I understood that it was God I was looking at. Although a child, his very appearance was godly and divine. His long, black, silky hair and his blue eyes looked majestic.

"I'm sorry for coming late! It was hard to find this place," the child exclaimed, smiling.

Since my eyes were dilated from surprise, I couldn't help but say, "God?"

"Yes, but no, I'm merely his apostle," the child stated firmly. Then he pointed his finger towards me. "But first, look at you! You look like third-rate garbage!"

My lonely heart was stabbed by this merciless roast coming from a God's apostle. "Third-rate Garbage? When did garbage start having ranks?"

"Wait, let me heal you first," He swung his right-hand finger upwards, and I felt a refreshing and chill aura flowing inside me, calming my nerves and repairing my wounded heart.

"Now that you've been refreshed, let's talk about your death!" the child snapped his fingers.

After hearing these words, I lost my senses, and a voice came out of my mouth. "Eh?"

Having dealt with loneliness and suffering in this lone void for several days, this comment shocked all of my left-out brain cells, killing them all.

Soon enough, my brain started functioning again, and I thought, out of surprise. "When did I die?"

The child smirked and mentioned. "I know what you're thinking, Shin," He turned his back towards me and looked upwards. "Even I was informed about it a week ago, the unprecedented death of a youngster in the most humiliating way."

He turned towards me and gave me a thumbs up. "You're quite famous in hell right now!"

"That's a wrong place to be famous in!" I exclaimed. I lowered my head and pleaded. "Please don't share the humiliating way I died. I can't take the shock anymore. I'll die again despite already being dead!"

He started laughing and mentioned, mischievously. "Yeah, sure! After remembering how you died, I can't help but laugh."

I sighed in disappointment and looked towards the apostle. "So, what should I do now, Mr. Apostle?"

He paused, walked a few steps to the left, and gazed severely. "I don't know since it wasn't time for you to die yet. Maybe you'll have to spend the remaining time in the place you became famous: Hell!"

I nodded my head sideways and began to plead with my puppy eyes. "Please shift me somewhere else! I can't even watch or read manga there! And what if they come to know about my web history!"

"I was just kidding," the child chuckled.

I let out a sigh of relief and thought. "Thank God! I didn't receive a mean soul reaper."

He then shrugged and stated heinously. "You'll be reincarnated into another world to make up for this life. The goddess of hell has given you this opportunity as the vacancies of hell are already full."

"Reincarnation!" I exclaimed as something occurring only in fiction was actually happening to me. Although, I wanted to take back my previous thought.

Just as my head exploded with excitement, the thought of leaving my previous life behind popped up. My best friends, my crush, my parents, my anime and manga.

The worst thing about this was that my precious web history was also being left behind. Despite being excited, only this thought pestered me.

"Did you forget that I can read your mind?" He smirked.

He then walked towards me, let his right hand rest on my shoulder, made a thumbs up with his other hand, and glared at me with a shine. "I've already taken care of it!"

My heart opened, and I felt obliged towards the apostle. I stepped back, bent, and said. "Thank you! I'll always remember this generosity and goodwill."

He laughed and then turned his back towards me. "I guess, It's time for you to descend into a new world in someone's body as a reincarnation!"

The excitement in the atmosphere boomed, and I looked at the apostle, waiting for my reincarnation.

Several moments passed, and nothing happened. The excitement in the atmosphere broke, and silence took over.

"Uh, it seems like it's not working," the child slowly turned his head towards me in disappointment.

"What?" I thought as my lower jaw dropped.

He paused and continued with his right-hand index finger tapping his chin. "The problem might be with this place. I don't know where we are. It was impossible to find this place in the first place, it took me almost a week, and I had to use your soul as a transmitter."

He sighed and glanced around. "I'll have to investigate this place, so you can wait or walk around the place. Regardless, reincarnation will happen shortly."

He lifted his hands to leave the place but immediately stopped and gazed at me intensely.

"Since I don't know much about the place, I'll recommend you not to touch anything suspicious. Although, I don't think there would be anything in a void."

I nodded and waved my right hand for a farewell. A bright light emerged again, and within a moment, the apostle disappeared.

"I guess I'll roam around since I don't want to sit and get bored," I sighed as I put my first step forward.

As I walked for a few minutes, I came across a black orb with shining borders not too far away from me.

"An orb? What is it doing in the void?" I questioned as I fell deep into my thoughts.