"Hello? Helloooo...?" Leon called out into the void.
He had been hit by a truck.
It was an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. Leon was waiting at the bus stop after school, ready to head home. Suddenly, a little girl chased her ball onto the road. Without thinking, he leapt forward and pushed her out of the way of an oncoming truck.
Everything went black for a moment as the truck hit him. When he finally regained consciousness, he found himself alone in an empty endless expanse.
With nothing better to do he had decided to explore the void. He didn't get tired, hungry, bored, or anything anymore. It felt as if a week had passed yet he had no way of keeping track of time.
Is this a coma maybe? I never heard of any coma being like this. Though I haven't heard of any afterlife like this either.
"I've been here so long! Please tell me I'm not just trapped in an endless void forever!"
Another cry out into the void, but this time it was different. At long last, he heard a sound that wasn't his own. A calm and monotone voice spoke up behind him.
"You have my apologies for taking this long to find you."
Leon turned toward the voice, only to find himself face to face with death itself: a massive, ten-foot-tall skeleton looming over him. Hellish fire burned inside its empty sockets. Wisps of black smoke carried screaming faces, swirling like a river that wove the fabric of its robes. In its right hand, it held a twisted scythe resting on its shoulder. The handle was a single, slender bone with a skull at the top. The scythe's blade was a long, curved obsidian edge that emerged from the mouth of the skull.
"I feel like I should be scared, but I'm not, for some reason."
"That is because you are dead. Mortal emotions no longer apply to you while you are here."
"Yeah, that makes sense..."
He had already noticed how he didn't feel anything anymore. Even after the skeleton confirmed that he had died, he didn't feel any sort of anger or sadness.
"Is that kid alright?"
"Yes. Had you not pushed her out of the way, she most certainly would have died."
"That's good then. I'm Leon, by the way."
"I know. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Likewise. So, what now?"
"Come. Take a walk with me."
The skeleton turned around, expecting him to follow as it walked into the void. He did.
"First, I will take you to my world. You see, I am not the Overseer of Death where you come from. However, since you were hit by a truck, law dictates that you are to be sent to a new world and reincarnated rather than continuing forward."
He froze, shocked for a second.
"Hold up! You get reincarnated into another world if you get hit by a truck? That's not just an overplayed trope, but an actual cosmic law?"
"I do not make the rules. But that is correct. Art imitates life, as you mortals say."
Leon smirked to himself. "So... Do I get some really overpowered abilities?"
"No. You are quite average. However, your soul did spend a large amount in Limbo. You see, souls rest in between lives. You becoming lost here seems to have slightly improved your vitality. You will be healthy and resilient. It is nothing special in my opinion, but it might help you nonetheless."
"Huh... that kinda sucks to hear. I've been here for what felt like a week. What would happen if I stayed longer? Could I get stronger?"
"You have been here longer than that. Time flows differently in Limbo, and without your physical body, you currently have no way to grasp the movement of it."
"You lost me a bit there, but I'm not going to argue with a God of D—"
The skeleton's voice shifted from its calm to a tone more fitting its appearance.
"I am not God. I am merely an Overseer."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It is alright." The Overseer calmed itself before returning its voice to what it once was.
"It may benefit you to know this, but there is an order around here. Laws beyond what living mortals know. So long as you live, what lies ahead once continuing forward is a secret known only to the dead."
"No worries. The more you know... or less I know... actually. Thanks regardless."
"We have gone too distant from the conversation at hand. As I was saying, your previous world was one of industry. This one, is a world of magic."
"Let's go! You know, I always personally preferred sci-fi, but this is still great. Magic, dragons, princesses. Oh I'm so excited!"
The Overseer stared back at him.
"Sorry, sorry. You were saying?"
"You will be sent to a new world. A reality of magic and monsters, though not entirely different from your own. When you arrive, you will find yourself in the forest east of the city of Jeif'he. There, you may begin your new life."
Leon looked at the Overseer expectantly, the two of them both fully knowing what he wanted to ask.
"As I said, you do not possess anything noteworthy. But if you are so keen on living a life different from the one you just lived, there is a Monster Hunting Guild. Should you wish to try your luck, head there and find the deadliest person."
The Overseer finally stopped walking. Everything was still an endless void, but Leon had the feeling they had arrived.
"So this is where we part ways huh?. Well. I wish you well. I owe you a great deal, Thank you Overseer of Death!
Leon held out his hand confidently, even though he was unsure whether or not it was okay to shake the Overseer's hand.
The Overseer looked back and forth between his face and his hand, as if unsure whether it liked the mortal standing before it.
With a sigh, the Overseer reached forward and shook Leon's hand.
"Farewell, mortal. Do your best to avoid me, for I hope we do not speak again for some time."
In an instant, Leon felt the sun blinding him. Wind against his skin. He smelled flowers and heard bees buzzing. Joy and sadness, anger, excitement, all of his emotions began rushing back to him. He sat in the meadow in complete awe, taking a moment to let everything set in.
"Wow..."
He didn't know what to say. He had just been reborn. The profound experience of becoming alive.