My head is so heavy, my body is so heavy. Is this feeling that I'm about to reincarnate again?
But I can't go yet. My Bosporus, my subordinates, my army, and my wife and daughter are all here. I must reassemble my troops, I must…
"Hey, hey, hey, don't actually sleep to death here, your physical body is still on the battlefield!" Just as he was about to fall into eternal sleep, a pleasant yet cool voice entered his ears.
Hmm, the voice is so nice, it sounds like my wife Barbara.
"Wait, wait, wait, I'm not your wife!"
??????????
Ah?!
With this mental exclamation, the young man, who had almost fallen into eternal sleep, immediately regained consciousness and opened his eyes. But looking around, he found that he was not in any place from his previous or current life, but rather as if suspended or floating, "floating" in a pure white, boundless, unknown space.
However, after a brief moment of surprise, the young man was astonished to find that "floating" was merely an illusion; he was actually still standing on solid ground. The previous sensation was more of a misconception caused by visual deception. It was at this moment that he noticed a delicate yet grand throne opposite him, on which a pink-haired beautiful young girl, dressed in a pure white toga, was reclining. Yet, for some reason, the young man felt that she looked somewhat familiar.
After staring at the familiar young girl for a few seconds, the young man finally remembered who she was. "Um, you are the one who sent me to reincarnate in the Middle Ages 22 years ago, the Goddess?"
"It's impressive that you remember," the pink-haired being, called the Goddess, showed a slight smile on her face. "But staring at a woman who is neither your wife nor daughter is not polite."
"So I died again?" As soon as he asked this, the young man raised his hands with some lingering fear, looking at the changes in his body. At this moment, he realized that his face and figure had been constantly shifting between the images of his previous and current lives, without a moment's pause. To his surprise, in less than a minute, he had settled into the appearance of Manuel, his current life's form.
"This is?"
"This is the deepest choice of your heart. It seems your second life has not yet ended." The pink-haired Goddess clapped her hands and smiled, leaving Manuel completely bewildered. Then she closed her eyes and explained to the young man in front of her, "This is the unique limbo for reincarnators. Because you unfortunately fell into a near-death state in battle today, your spirit was temporarily summoned here by me. But since you haven't actually died, you can return once your body recovers."
"But didn't you just say…" Manuel thought of the "deepest choice of your heart" mentioned by the Goddess.
"Yes," as if guessing what he was thinking, she spread her hands and told him, "If your figure had settled into your previous life's appearance, then your medieval life would have ended."
Is that so? Manuel felt a belated sense of fear.
"Any other questions?" The Goddess smiled playfully, interrupting his wild thoughts.
Since the other party had expressed as much, Manuel also boldly asked, "Then I wonder if the great God can answer a question for me."
"Speak." The Goddess rose from the throne, placing her hands on her hips confidently, allowing him to speak freely.
"Are you God, or Satan?" Manuel looked at the mysterious Goddess who had sent him to reincarnate, his eyes no longer bewildered, but extremely serious.
"To ask such a tricky question, you truly are the one I chose to reincarnate." The Goddess showed no displeasure at this, but rather nodded in approval, then told him the answer, "Very well, since you have asked with sincerity, I will mercifully tell you—
"In a sense, both." Speaking of this, she winked playfully, a mysterious smile appearing on her face. "But this beautiful young girl in front of you is only an infinitely small fraction of my true form. You should know that my dead-fish-like true form would never joke around with humans."
What the hell? Manuel felt completely thunderstruck.
"Wait, if that's the case, then the Holy Father… is the Lord a Trinity, or a Three-in-Three, or a Three-in-Two…?"
"Have you lived in the Middle Ages for so long that your thinking has become as enlightened as the Middle Ages?" Faced with this question, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes and retort, "Simply put, this is not something you can understand."
"I even wanted to study theology after abdicating." Manuel lowered his head in frustration.
"Don't use God as a source of argument, you fellow!"
"Are you still concerned about that, being a God?" Manuel grumbled discontentedly.
"Strictly speaking, there's no problem, but when you return to reality, your experiences in the Limbo will only become a vague dream. Except for key information, you won't remember anything."
"Alright, let's get to the point," the Goddess said, changing the subject, and her expression became serious again. "I didn't specifically pull you into the Limbo for fun."
"I appeared in your dream this time mainly to retrieve the three character codes I gave you before your reincarnation."
"Ah?"
"Simply put, you've done very well. So I've decided, I'm going to add a little more difficulty to your life." The Goddess's face once again showed that playful smile.
"Just kill me." Manuel's expression at this moment was incredibly wronged, as if saying, "How could you do this?"
"Is there a problem?"
"I was just slaughtered by the Ottoman, my life hanging by a thread!"
"But didn't you survive by 'removing' it? Though there won't be such good fortune next time."
Facing what was about to happen, Manuel completely deflated. The Goddess in front of the throne could only press her forehead and continued: "Forget it, I'll specifically tell you who will appear before you next, as an apology for taking back those three characters—tonight, after you wake up, you will directly encounter the General of the Ottoman Ankara Legion, Arnavutlu Iskender Pasha."
"Anaftrou Iskander, isn't that Scan…"
"Yes. But you'll have to figure out how to deal with that yourself. As a God, by principle, I cannot interfere with reality. What I just did, specifically sending a dream about your current situation to your loved one, is the limit."
"Alright, that's all, goodbye then. I shouldn't appear before you again until the day you pass away." After giving the final hint, she waved her hand, and Manuel's vision seemed to plunge into darkness again.
And just before he completely returned to reality, feeling abrupt and wistful, he couldn't help but ask the God one last question, a question he had wanted to know ever since his reincarnation:
"Finally, what I want to ask is: why did you choose me to revive Rome?"
To this, the Goddess, to his surprise, offered a gentle smile at the very end, "Gods also yearn for miracles. So, let me see what kind of miracles humans can create."
As a flash of white light passed, Manuel first fell into darkness, then vanished from this illusory dream. When he woke up again, the silver-white full moon was already high in the sky over the southern shore of the Black Sea.