He was crumbling in the agony of the loss. The void sat like grudging cramps behind his tired eyes as he gazed straight at the grave of his own mother. His vision was a little blurry, and the hope inside felt hollow. "What's the point of living anymore? What should I even do with this leftover life?" He thought to himself.
Leon Vale, a twenty-first century writer, stood there all pale and numb after several rejections for his book. He believed that even though his genre was a little outdated, his realistic stories would still get recognition. When he was a little kid, he wanted to write something never written before. But slowly he simply wanted to earn something out of it- defeat is quite a fatal enemy, after all. But his books never got the big success and that marked the downfall. This agony, this pain and the grief was all due to the fact that his mother died of starvation. It was eating him inside that he wasn't able to feed the woman who fed him throughout his life.
Leon eventually had no choice but to work part time in a shopping market as the cashier, earning enough just to survive. His mother, due to insufficient earnings, worked as an assistant in the construction site. This caused the accumulation of stress and fatigue. He could still remember the day, swapping the price tags that lit the screen with cash. But none of it were his, instead a mere proportion was awarded as the salary. All he could hope on those harsh days was to get a contract somehow. No matter what the price tag is, he just wanted enough money to begin his life.
"Why did I even choose to write?" He thought
"Why?.... But maybe it's not my fault. My story had potential, I know they had. Yet they were rejected, again and again, no matter how hard I tried?" He whispered as he turned to the grave one last time.
"I noticed how tired her eyes were. I noticed how exhausted she had become hearing only negatives about her own child" he thought as he took the bus towards the Okasawa publications.
"No matter how twisted the reasons I give, I know somewhere that her death was partly my fault" the city with large scrapers was quite taunting him today
"You keep going son….someday very soon your story will be recognised as well" his mother's voice Clamored like a tale.
Okasawa publications- it was his third time here. This was the last draft that not only decided his future but also his intent to live or die. His steps were heavy, as the decisions he made were not easy to chisel at. Right before the entrance, he glimpsed a tender pair of mother and child running safely, hand in hand along the footpath. It flashed back to the day when his own mother died. Leon used to sleep on a bedsheet spread on the matted floor while his mother lay on an old rusted bed with metal clanks. They didn't talk about anything that day apart from the daily quarrel
"When is everything going to change" Leon whispered as usual
"It will change,son. Be patient"
"Nothing is changing, mother. It's the same consultation again and again"
"God will heal everything, you disobedient child"
"What God? Which god are you referring to, old lady? Why hasn't your god helped us yet?"
The ruckus ended with mindless conclusions and Leon jumped up to the roof to smoke. That night was hazy for him as he kept smoking, and when the dawn finally came, he barged into his room and found the cold asylum. The cold motionless stare of death that was growling over his mother.
"If only…. if only I had written something that would get published. I always knew what people loved today- fiction, Isekai, reincarnation and all the fantasy stuff. If only I had just gone with the flow…." He cried out loud, and when the molten speech was condensed, Leon found himself standing on the rooftop of Okasawa publications.
His body was urging for one single desire, and that was to let the wind slip him off the edge. It was to let go for once, it was to let go forever. Right before the warmth of wind reached his bare skin he uttered his final wish
"I wish or I regret. I guess regret is something better. I regret not having another ounce of strength left in me. If…. Just if everything starts again- I would make a story that would wrench the soul of the readers. A tale that would send shivers down the spine, something that would appease the world". And he left…. He simply left the edge and let his body carry him to the upper realm. For his wonder it was more reliving and calming than the jottled mess of the real world. And in that instance when everything went blank he got the final flashback of all the memories he lived to hope.
The attempt of suicide was successful….
His eyes opened to a strange ray of hope. He was submerged in thick liquid, yet somehow he could still breathe.
"Well, nobody guessed the heaven would be flooded with water. Am I gonna float like this for eternity? Well I guess that's better…"
Looking around trying to figure out the exact situation, he rolled himself against the static flow. Everything around was dark and gloomy. The place had an empty void down to its core.
"What the hell is happening. I guess this isn't heaven…. Don't tell me- am I in hell?" He was dazzled by the thought, shocked to his soul.
As he was sinking deeper and deeper; a ray of light emerged. At first it was stinging his eyes but soon he fainted. A tall man with some ancient clothing and a strange crystal sigil hanging from his throat just drifted into the scene. He was muscular and surely a fine craft. In fact he was a portrait of divine perfection.
"Leon Vale, a young broken author who lost and fell without any empire" the entity uttered.
"Was….. was that a jab with words?" Leon stuttered.
"I was just reading your resume"
"Well, that isn't convincing is it?"
"Not at all. But, after all you being my subject, it's my responsibility to attain your wishes and desires"
"What?" A simple word just slipped off Leon's gob.
"I am God, the man who created you, the man who wrote your destiny and your story. I'm the man who carved you out of your thin life to accomplish something divine"
"I guessed that actually" Leon wasn't suspicious "but what's the divine desire I'm going to follow?" In an instance the scene changed to a small diner amidst the cosmos. The man was now sitting close to Leon, but still wasn't completely visible and was in fact profoundly blurry.
"You have to kill the god in the Ascension. The pure and eternal power of the angels is being infected by those bastards"
"Who…. Who are you referring to?"
"God in the ascension- the lowly gods filled with human-like desires. That is also why we made them look after your affairs. Affairs of our little souls on the Blue planet. Wait…. I guess it was the other way around. We made those bastards in a way that they share your emotions. As they share your efforts and your desires, they can handle your matters more efficiently. But now they are trying to revolt against us upper beings, they are trying to become like us. And that is why you Leon Vale are selected for this mission to destroy the Ascension. Kill them and show no mercy…."
It was a lot to process in few minutes of silence that set in- but Leon still gobbled the facts
"And what will I get out of it"
"A story…. You make this your story Leon Vale. After the seventh Ascension is destroyed you will be reincarnated back to your world. Conjure something enchanting enough to influence your life to the fame you desired" the cosmos was fading away as the water flooded into the meeting.
"Let this story begins my young author, let the world remember your name"
"But…." The water was forcing Leon to shut his mouth "But what about my powers"
"Isn't it obvious? I grant you the power of an author" the god spread his arms wide as he shouted the final echo "let the Ascension script begin".
[ Ascension 1 begins in 10 seconds]....