I Was Born as a Goblin, But Became an Undead!?

"Fuuuuuuuuuck…" Arthur swore longingly as he clutched his half deformed head and brain matter.

He was walking home from college that day. It was meant to be an ordinary day. Nothing meaningful was meant to happen. Especially since graduation was only a few days away and he was planning to move away from his parent's house.

That was, until a truck swerved onto his footpath and crushed him flat against a wall!

Cough! Cough!

Arthur coughed, and with that, the last remnants of his mind meat jerked out of his hands.

"Arthur, what the fuck!?" His friend called out. His name was Blake.

'And he's definitely not gonna live this trauma down,' Arthur chuckled in his delirious state.

It was a miracle he was even still alive. To be honest, his friend was just in shock that he could see Arthur's brain and still see him kicking.

"D-don't worry! I'm calling the ambulance right now, you're going to be okay! You're going to be okay-" his friend sputtered towards him as he tried reassure him that everything was going to be A-okay!

But he didn't mind him as Arthur smelled something funky coming out of the engine.

'Heh, funny smell…' Arthur thought, slowly processing it.

It was gasoline…

Arthur's eyes shot open as he gained a semblance of life, "Blake, don't come here! Run!" He shouted desperately.

Unfortunately for him, his friend hadn't heard him clearly and only heard the parts, 'come here!' and 'Run!'.

"Don't worry, Arthur! I'm getting there right now!" Blake shouted as he quickened his pace.

'Fuck!' Arthur swore for the second time. Not willing to see his best friend die with him, he pushed against the massive truck and pierced through the roiling engine as he tried to pull himself out.

As he tried to stabilize on his feet, he realized in horror that he didn't have any!

Arthur did the only thing he could've done.

With strength he shouldn't have possessed, he grabbed a piece of bender metal and threw it flat at his friend's chest.

Blake had noticed the piece of metal spinning towards him and tried to dodge, "Arthur!" He shouted. Vainly.

The flat door hit the man on the chest and he was flown away from the imminent explosion.

"Don't worry bro, I'll see you in the next life…" Arthur wheezed out with his destroyed lungs. All of the energy suddenly left his body as his friend was thrown away by the flying metal disk.

He closed his eyes as everything turned dark, only leaving the final feeling of pain and regret linger in his heart.

And soon, the end had arrived.

Boom!

"Arthur!" In a mass of explosion, he heard a fleeting voice whisper his name one last time before his end.

And soon everything turned black.

…

[You have returned to the Godess' Embrace]

[With your valiant effort and your unwillingness to let things end, you will be reborn in the world of Eretria]

[Please await as the Gods' decide on your fate]

Arthur suddenly awoke in a dark void of broiling energy. It was warm, but somehow cold at the same time.

He read the… messages? Notifications? Something? In front of him, and was shocked at what he read.

'You have returned to the Godess' Embrace..?' Arthur thought.

'Wait, am I dead?' He pondered for a moment before thinking back on the entire experience.

Arthur didn't know what to think of his situation. All he could think about was how he was holding his insides for one moment, and now he was alone in a dark void.

He smiled sheepishly in his consciousness, 'Well, at least Blake's still alive. It would've been bad if he was caught up in the explosion.'

Feeling a bit content, he decided to read the rest of the notifications and was bewildered at what he found.

'What!? God's are real? And I'm about to be reborn? Huzzah!' Arthur lifted up his metaphysical arms in delight.

Didn't this mean he could be like those anime character in those novels? Become super overpowered and break the skulls of the bad guys who crossed his path?

'And have pretty girlfriends,' Arthur drooled, before a sudden ping got his attention.

[Wait, we don't have anymore trolls left this year? Are you serious! C'mon, with the way he survived with half a brain, a troll would have been perfect for him!]

The message seemed to have a voice that he couldn't quite put a finger on. It seemed transient in nature, while being more real than real.

It was a confusing thought, until Arthur got to the part where it spoke about trolls.

'Wot…?' Arthur stunned.

[And I'm saying we let him be reborn as a normal human! Why do you always try and make things difficult Ella.]

The second notification had just received Arthur's undying loyalty. He definitely wanted to be reborn as a handsome looking human man. Just like he was in his previous life!

[Surely you jest? How can a man survive with half a brain for over 5 minutes!? I know I didn't create him like that! And I am quiet sure no human is built in that manner.]

[Well… there was that one Viking that time-]

[He was a VIDEO GAME character!]

'Okay, this is getting out of hand,' Arthur thought in desperation.

It was time to break the silence before they decided on reincarnating him as a mosquito!

'Um, so…'

And that was when Arthur realised he couldn't speak.

'W-wait! At least let me speak!' He stated with imaginary tears streaming down his face.

He was just starting to realise he was a floating orb, and not an actual entity with a body.

'Oh c'mon!' Arthur thought belatedly.

[Okay, in consideration of his undying aspect, what about we just make that a skill and choose another race?]

The voice of reason was really on Arthur's side. To be honest, he wasn't sure who he was rooting for, but he was rooting for the one that was right!

[Mmh… well, he did have a good relationship with his friends, even willing to throw a truck door to stop him from getting in the blast radius.]

[Nah, he broke that guy's ribs. He's definitely not worth that consideration.]

[Eh, I guess so.]

'What do you mean 'I guess so!' I saved his life you bastards!' Arthur shouted indignantly. Unfortunately, his voice couldn't reach them.

Now, it was either that, or they were just straight up ignoring him!

After a long pause, one of the 'voices' spoke up. A little bit of mischief apparent in the highlight of the text.

[Wanna make him a goblin?]

[Pfft- what do you mean a goblin!?]

[I mean, it would be hilarious. He desperately wants to be a human, but he's something surely beyond that. Why not just make him a goblin?]

'Wait-' before Arthur could voice his displeasure, he was suddenly blinded with golden light. He felt the tinge of green envelope his spirit as he saw new flesh be made before his eyes.

[Eh, it would be pretty funny.]

Suddenly, Arthur felt like cursing the gods. Fuck those guys. Who do they think they are to turn his handsome form into an ugly green gremlin! Maybe they weren't even gods to begin with, and were just some high level civilization trying to fuck with him! 

He thought this, but he already knew.

'Guess it's gods being gods,' Arthur thought with a shrug. He expected a laugh track to be playing soon, because there was no way this was real!

'Yeah, fuck those guys,' Arthur thought as his mind slowed down, soon coming to a complete stop as a message appeared before him once again.

[The gods have blessed you with a new life! Live this one to the fullest! And may you be blessed in your travels…]

'You ain't no gods...' Arthur thought before his consciousness closed off and he tasted a fraction of eternal slumber.

…

In the dark light of a dimly lit cave. A goblin had been born from an egg. A small, hairless, little creature with skin as green as emerald, and eyes as red as ruby.

Grugg, the eldest goblin, squinted as he peered at the strange creature that had just been born. It was unlike anything he had seen before.

"Ugh, what that thing?" Grugg grunted, scratching his head with a clawed finger.

"Dunno, Grugg. Maybe it's a new snack?" another goblin suggested, licking its lips hungrily.

"Nah, too big for snack. Maybe it's new pet?" a third goblin chimed in, poking the creature with a stick.

The newborn goblin, still dazed from its rebirth, blinked its large eyes and tried to make sense of its surroundings. It was surrounded by a horde of curious goblins, all jabbering and gesturing excitedly.

The newborn goblin gestured to itself as if trying to say something.

"You goblin? You weird acting..." Grugg croaked.

"Dunno, Grugg. Maybe it tasty plant?" the second goblin stated. Not hiding his desire to eat the newborn.

Feeling like he was being ridiculed, the newborn tried to throw a fist. He stumbled in his attempt, and fell to the ground, eliciting laughter from the others

"Haha, it fell like boom! Clumsy!" one goblin jeered, slapping its knee in amusement.

The others laughed along before pitting a boar they had recently hunted down. They paid the newborn no mind as they went about their business.

But some other's played with the little one as they thought of a name.

"Boomboom!" Grugg cheered as he picked the goblin over his head and threw him to another.

"Boomboom!" Another goblin cheered as he threw him to the next.

And the next.

And the next...

In the little speck of consciousness, a grown man was despairing.

'Fuuuuuuuck!' Arthur screamed.