Darkness.
Not the kind that fades when you close your eyes—
but the kind that swallows thought itself.
I had been falling for a long time.
No body.
No breath.
No pain.
Only awareness, stretched thin inside a black hole where time had no meaning. If hell existed, this was it—eternal, silent, and empty.
I was sure this was my punishment.
Then… color appeared.
Red.
When I looked up, someone stood before me.
He wasn't dressed in white like I had always imagined.
He wore red.
Blood-red.
There were no wings. No halo. No divine light.
His presence was overwhelming, and the expression on his face was calm—too calm. It was the kind of calm that belonged to something that had already decided your fate.
He looked more like the devil than any god I had ever imagined.
Still… I knew.
I knew he was God.
Because only something like him could pull me out of that endless black.
I gathered what little consciousness I had left and spoke.
Sakata: "Are you the devil… here to claim what remains of me?"
For a few seconds, he said nothing.
Then he smiled.
God: "You know, Sakata… I can hear your thoughts."
His voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
God: "And yes. I am God."
God: "With the appearance of a devil."
He stepped closer.
God: "My form is merely a mirror of the soul standing before me."
God: "To some, I appear as a mother. To some, a beast. To others, an angel with wings."
God: "To you… I appear as this."
I didn't argue.
I couldn't.
Because he was right.
Sakata: "So… why are you here?"
Sakata: "You could've left me there. Suffering forever."
God looked past me, as if watching countless worlds rise and fall.
God: "Evil always perishes."
God: "That is the law of existence."
God: "You were meant to perish as well—according to my plan."
I frowned.
God: "But you chose something… unexpected."
God: "Instead of dying quietly, you erased the very roots of the evil you were part of."
God: "You destroyed your own organization."
God: "You took yourself out along with them."
His gaze sharpened.
God: "For the first time in a very long while… my vision was interrupted."
He chuckled softly.
God: "Humans are predictable, Sakata."
God: "Selfish. Rational. Always choosing what benefits them most."
God: "That's why I can predict their paths."
God: "But you didn't."
I laughed weakly.
Sakata: "So what now?"
God finally looked directly at me.
God: "Now, I offer you a choice."
The space around us trembled.
God: "You took many lives."
God: "But by destroying that organization, you saved far more."
God: "So I will give you a chance at redemption."
My heart—if I still had one—tightened.
God: "I can give you another life."
God: "But this time… you will kill again."
I felt disgust rise within me.
Sakata: "So you are a devil."
Sakata: "You want me to become a murderer again."
God smiled.
God: "Don't be foolish."
God: "Do you know how serial killers get caught after committing the perfect crime?"
God: "It's me."
God: "I bend the world just enough for them to leave traces."
God: "So they can be judged."
I laughed bitterly.
Sakata: "So you let crimes happen first."
Sakata: "You let people suffer."
God: "I have no direct authority over the world."
God: "I can only influence it slightly."
God: "And for that… humans must drown themselves in desire."
God: "Lust. Pride. Greed. Gluttony."
God: "Their overconfidence creates openings."
God: "That is why enlightenment requires abandoning desire."
God: "Moksha lies in renunciation."
Silence followed.
Then he asked—
God: "Sakata… will you become my agent?"
God: "This world you will be born into is far more corrupted than your last."
God: "It is approaching destruction."
God: "I want you to be my knight."
God: "By taking the lives of evil… you will save countless others."
God: "Choose."
God: "Live again… or return to the black hole."
I closed my eyes.
I had lived as a killer once.
I never wanted to do it again.
But…
Sakata: "If killing people like me can save innocent lives…"
Sakata: "Then maybe I can be useful once."
Sakata: "But tell me this—"
Sakata: "If I'm reborn, I'll lose everything."
Sakata: "My skills. My instincts. My awareness."
God shook his head.
God: "No."
God: "You will be reborn with your memories intact."
God: "This world has magic. Alchemy. Necromancy."
God: "Adapt as you always did."
God: "I'm gambling on you."
God: "Not because I trust you…"
God: "But because you once broke my plan."
God: "I want to see if you can do it again."
I laughed weakly.
Sakata: "Sounds like I'm inside a novel."
Sakata: "So where are my powers?"
God's smile faded.
God: "Rebirth is your power."
God: "You are still evil."
God: "I cannot gift power to someone who could destroy the world."
God: "Redemption must be earned."
I exhaled.
Sakata: "Fine."
Sakata: "Let me be reborn."
Sakata: "There's one thing I always regretted."
God waited.
Sakata: "I never had parents."
Sakata: "If I can have them in this life… I'll protect them."
God's expression softened—just slightly.
God: "Very well."
God: "Be reborn."
God: "Live."
God: "Struggle."
God: "And seek redemption."
As my consciousness began to fade, excitement bubbled within me.
Parents… emotions… a second life.
Maybe—
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
God's voice echoed one last time, softer now.
God: "I forgot to mention something, child."
God: "Your life will not be happy."
God: "You will have parents… but love is not guaranteed."
God: "Your karma will not allow an easy beginning."
God: "But I grant you one blessing."
God: "Your actions will shape your fate more than anyone else's."
God: "Rise… or fall."
God: "The choice is yours."
Darkness consumed me again.
But this time—
I was smiling.