What do people think comes next after death?
Well, what I believed in is pretty standard.
When you die, it is like meeting the light at the end of a tunnel.
Then, your memories, be it happy or full of regret will play before you like a movie. It would be a true test to see if you have any lingering attachments to the living world before proceeding to be judged before the heavens to see if they would allow you into their paradise or let you forever rot in hell.
But truly, it was a whole fucking lie. Blissful thinking even.
Because I saw no fucking light. Hell, the only light I saw was from the truck that killed me. Instead I'm stuck here with–
—Beep
—Beep
—Beep
The unfortunately constant noise kept filling my ears. Yeah, there it was. It was a noise that I had been hearing for who knows how long. And, thank God it was a more bass kind of noise rather than a high pitched one. It was almost similar to how a drummer would consistently play the bass drum, perhaps like you could even make a song with it— wait. Was there even a God to thank in this world?
Well if there was, I would definitely not be thanking them. Maybe I would be cursing them instead. I've been floating in an empty void listening to the same fucking noise over and over again.
Is this what people call purgatory? Limbo even?
I did not believe in those things, I think it was a blissful way of thinking so that when I die I wouldn't have to worry about more things. I just wanted to worry about whether I would rot in hell.
Hey, it was not like I murdered anyone. I cursed people— sure. And well, I did wish death on people too, but to be fair, who doesn't? Honestly, it was all gamer trash talk. A gamer has got to trash talk people sometimes, especially bad players that ruin your hardwork. And it's not like they heard it. I kept it to myself, something most gamers have a hard time doing anyways. I was an angel compared to the average L*ague player—
Perhaps it was the fact I was a little rash in my younger years, but who could blame a young guy?
Seriously. What did I do to be perpetually stuck here listening to that same noise.
If anything, I was the one who was wronged because I was taken away before my big moment on stage, before I could make history–
—Beep
—Beep
—Beep
That annoying noise kept going, on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on—
Till it suddenly stopped.
Wait, it canstop?
As soon as that noise stopped I felt a strange vacuum like pull tugging on my being. Well, I'd say body but I didn't really feel like I had one, or any limbs at that but I did feel like I existed and floated in a vast nothing. But now it seems like that only semblance of an existing vessel to house me was being tugged somewhere else.
Hey God, I'm sorry for doubting your existence and cursing you. I know you're very real now. So please forgive me for all humans make mistakes—
I just hope I don't end up in hell!
But, once the vacuum-like feeling ended, instead of being dragged in front of blindingly bright gates to the heavens or to the blazing depths of hell I was instead met with that stupid sound again and darkness.
—Beep
—Beep
—Beep
It started again. I really didn't miss it. But, what should have been the same was now different.
Instead of feeling like I was just floating in a sea of darkness with no physical form now, it felt like I just had my eyes closed.
What made the difference more clear was the fact that I could feel like I had limbs. I felt like an actual physical person. Although my body did feel a bit heavy, at least I could feel it.
Added on top of all these new sensations, I could feel something underneath me, something soft and plush. I could feel that my supposed head was elevated from wherever I was laying. It was also soft and plush, so perhaps I was laying down on a bed with a pillow.
The soft beeping continued, now I completely understood what it was. It was a heart monitor. What I had been hearing and cursing in that empty void was a heart monitor. Could it have meant that I did not die? Was I just in some kind of waiting room for coming back to life or something? Maybe a strange dream I had when I was in a supposed coma?
Hey wait a minute— if I had been in a coma, then how long has it been since COA? Did I miss the playoffs entirely? It could have been years already and I wouldn't know!
I could feel my heart begin to race in my chest and the heart monitor seemed to display that perfectly as I could now hear soft murmurs from what I assume to be the nurses and doctors attending to me. They were a bit muffled, my hearing must still be muddled as the effects of the accident I had just been through.
I wanted to open my eyes to at least see the ones taking care of me check the monitor myself. I didn't want to feel so helpless like this, just lying there on this bed. I wanted to be able to get a grasp on the situation in front of me but my eyes were too heavy for me to force them open just yet. All I could do was just lay there.
At least I knew I was safe, at least I knew I was alive. And hopefully since I'm a valuable asset to my company they will cover this probably hella expensive hospital stay. Hey wait, did my team still care for me anyways?
I couldn't help but also worry for the state of my team. Of course, I was the IGL. I was the one who brought up this team from the ground under, I was their hard carry basically. Who knows how long it could have been and how many competitive seasons have passed. Did they disband? What if the company dropped us?
Many worries started to flood my brain, now that I had a stomach I could feel it start to churn now in tune with my current thoughts. How comforting it was to finally feel something, even if it was as sickly as this.
"Ah what's his condition?" I suddenly heard a very high pitched woman's voice query.
I could feel my ears perk up upon hearing a voice so clearly. It was good to know my ears were working too at least. It seemed my body's condition was starting to adjust to my now conscious self.
And, it seemed like the nurse in charge noticed the subtle movement of my ears.
"It seems he's gained consciousness." I heard another woman's voice reply to her cheerfully.
I could hear a sigh of relief come from the other woman. I couldn't tell who this was, a doctor or another nurse on duty maybe? She definitely did not sound like my mother, sister, or manager. The only three women I knew in my life really.
"Ah! That's good." The other woman beamed, then I could hear the sound of rustling. "I'll need to report to the company about Nagai-kun's condition."
Wait a minute. Nagai-kun?
That lady was seemingly referring to me. I could also tell that the nurse she was talking to was also attending to me. So what was this difference in name? There was no way I would end up in a shared room anyways, the company isn't poor and it's not like I'm some nobody either. My parents would definitely not want me to end up in a shared room either.
Then, who was this Nagai-kun? What the hell is happening now?
But also, it seemed like that lady wasn't a nurse or a doctor. Perhaps she was a manager if she needed to report my condition to a company, and she definitely wasn't the manager I knew.
Wait a minute. A thought had occurred to me.
Dying by a truck, floating in a strange void, waking up somewhere and hearing a different name and different voices talk about me?
No way! Was this one of these situations where someone gets isekai'd into another
world? That couldn't possibly happen, no way! I mean I was glad to be alive, kind of. I'd rather be dead honestly if I can't continue my career to becoming an Esports player that makes history starting with COA.
The fear of such a possibility crept into every fiber of my being. It made my slow heartbeat start to race as if I was running a marathon. I could feel sweat start to form at the sides of my face and my eyes twitched.
Suddenly in pure fear for what could have possibly happened to me, my body shot up quickly. My eyes had fluttered open and I was greeted by the blinding lights of the hospital room like it was the true gateway to heaven.
"Fuck this can't be!" I suddenly yelled.
Then I hissed once those blinding lights had settled their presence in my eyes. I brought up my left arm to cover my eyes quickly as it seemed my right was attached to an IV. Being stuck in an empty void of darkness for so long has made my eyes sensitive to such bright lights. I'd prefer not to see them actually as they also reminded me of my unsightly death.
Once I calmed down from my emotions due to the flashbang that was the hospital lights, I started to feel the stares of the two women before me. Despite not being able to see them, I could feel their confused gazes as it felt like they were trying to pierce holes into my body.
It was kind of awkward, could they stop staring? I mean to be fair, I did just show signs of waking and suddenly woke up in a cold sweat screaming right before them, I probably looked like a mad man right now.
"Nagai-kun!?" The assuming manager lady's voice gasped.
Yeah, that was definitely this body's name then. Now that I can feel this body better, it definitely did not feel like my own. My hair was a bit longer than it actually was as these brown bangs covered my eyes annoyingly. I felt a bit shorter and weaker as well. This arm I was using to cover my eyes also felt rather slim, was this body just skin and bones? My beautiful body is now gone?
I bit my lip bitterly. It's subtle but hot pain brought my head back down from my emotional high. I let my left arm drop to the silken white sheets of the hospital and quickly bowed my head. My eyes were still sensitive as the faint hospital light still made me wince, but I had to get used to it eventually, baby steps.
"Are you alright? How are you feeling?" I heard the nurse ask me softly, her hands gently holding my shoulder.
"Um…yeah…" I awkwardly replied.
I shivered a bit as I struggled to speak and heard those words leave my mouth. I didn't notice it but my voice seemed to be lighter, softer, and definitely a bit more feminine. But I had to swallow down the shock. I already knew I was in a different body anyways, I should have expected my voice to be different. On top of that, there was something more pressing right now. I needed to figure out more of this situation and this world I am now living in. I need to learn more about who Nagai even is, right now I only know of his last name.
I shook my head. "I'm just a bit confused…where exactly am I?" I continued, my throat a bit hoarse.
The nurse seemed to let out a sigh of relief, I couldn't see her face but something told me she even lightly smiled.
"Thats good." She beamed. "You're in Kyorin University Hospital, you ended up here after your teammates found you in your room." She quietly explained, something in her voice dipped with a bit of sorrow compared to her cheerful voice from early.
That drop in her cheery attitude made a chill run down my spine. Why did her voice suddenly drop? There was a lot to unpack in just this sentence.
First of all, Kyorin University Hospital was luckily a hospital still here in Japan. It didn't seem like I was transported to an entirely different world but this place still could have its differences. It was good to know I was still in my home country though.
Second, she had mentioned teammates. This gave me a bit of a glimpse into what kind of job this Nagai-kun had. He seemed to also have stayed in a shared dorm with these people. He didn't seem to have enough muscle to be an athlete honestly, but that was still on the table. Or maybe, not a physical athlete but…an Esports one? I can't let my wishful thinking get to me, crap.
Continuing on, lastly, the sudden dip in her voice. She seemed to be sad when she mentioned that my teammates had found me. It was not worry, something a person's voice would usually carry if it was any normal medical emergency, yet it was sadness. It was as if the situation on how I ended up that way was terrible. Thus from this I could conclude one thing, Nagai had met an unfortunate fate of trying to kill himself.
How did I pick that up so quickly? Even I was baffled with myself for coming to such a conclusion.
Honestly, no matter how observant I am, this wasn't something I could get from just the nurse's voice. It really shouldn't have been enough but it seemed that some of Nagai's emotions lingered in this body and lead my mind to that conclusion.
"Nagai-kun?" The nurse asked, shaking me lightly with the hand that still rested on my shoulder.
I didn't realize I had drifted off into thought so much. I forgot the nurse was right next to me.
My neck was starting to hurt, it was starting to ground me a bit to the situation around me. And thankfully, my eyes felt like they had adjusted to the light again, so slowly I brought my head up. I could finally look at the nurse next to me.
The nurse had a young, round face that made her look rather cute. She had straight, light brown hair that only reached to her shoulders. But the most striking thing about her was her crystal-like blue eyes that shimmered in the hospital's light.
From seeing those blue eyes, I could conclude that I was in a world different from my own. Despite her natural hair, she looked straight out of a manga rather than any real life person.
Did I end up in a novel? A manga? I did read a lot of those after all—
"He seems a bit out of it-" The supposed manager suddenly spoke, shuffling over to the side of the nurse.
I could finally see the face of the other woman who was in the room and who I assume will be someone I will be seeing often as well.
And her appearance left me just as dumbfounded as the nurse.
I was suddenly met with a tall woman with long pastel pink hair cascaded down her shoulders. She had emerald green eyes and also a rather round face with soft facial features. She was a beauty to say the least, a beauty that looked straight out of a novel.
"He must be a bit dazed considering he did just wake up." The nurse explained softly. "You're alright, ok?" She reassured me.
My eyes darted between the two people in front of me. I couldn't bring myself to focus on their words or even speak to them right now. I much prefer being able to think about my next steps from here.Their voices started to filter out of my brain, I could clearly tell though they were debating about my condition and what to do next with me but I couldn't bother to get into the details, just knowing this much should be enough for now.
I let my thoughts wander from their conversation. Now their voices were completely gone from my mind.
What should I do next? Well that was very fucking obvious.
I found myself in every standard start to a transmigration and reincarnation novel after all, and now I'm very thankful that I did skip practice sometimes to continue reading these kinds of things. Captain, I hope you know my reading was not in vain.
I should try to find out exactly what plot I was going to go through. After all if this was some kind of story there is an ending I need to meet or get through. Although, I don't recall reading anything with a character named Nagai or ever seeing a suicide plot in what I read. In the best case scenario I was just some kind of side character, or maybe I'm not in a novel at all.
Well anyways. There's only one way to get through the start of a story. :ets kick off my first time here with what every protagonist does–
"Umm…I'm sorry, but I don't really remember who I am…"
Pretend to have amnesia!