[Ah...]
[It hurts...]
He yelped out, his voice wheezing with every word.
Pain surged throughout his body as he lay on the ground, spasming involuntarily as warm thick blood poured beneath his head.
He looked up at the pale night sky.
The stars flickered, the breeze...cold.
With what little strength he had left, he stretched his arm upwards, the background blurring to his roughed up limb as his eyes focused to his grasp.
[ I don't wanna die... I really don't wanna die... I really don't... ]
Tears fell from his face, his breath stuttering as he tried to inhale.
[ It hurts... It hurts... Ah... ]
His eyes began to dim, his eyelids began to waver, closing for a short period before opening to smaller distance... Giving him lesser and lesser vision.
But eventually, the sleepiness gave in, and he closed his eyes...
His ears began to catch the sound of his own heartbeat as it gradually slowed down.
~ TUH DUK...
TUH DUK .....TUH DUK
TUH DUK....TUH DUK...
TUH DUK.
Then—
Silence.
Until.
[It...
—It doesn't.]
A Voice.
His own consciousness.
His eyes flew open, he turned his head instinctively, scanning the area, His body swinging in the direction he now faced.
[Huh?...]
He muttered, looking down at his palm which now resembled nothing like a human hand.
He rotated his wrist, looking at both sides.
Completely, black.
Looking down at his body... Also black.
He was no longer on the ground bleeding out from his stab wound.
He was no longer in pain...
He no longer... Felt anything.
What was he...was he even human?
[Eh?..]
He stared...
It was just all..
Void.
He swung his arms around, he felt nothing.
[Where...]
[Where the fuck am I at?]
Before he could spiral more into his own thoughts, a voice rang out, echoing throughout the distant nothingness.
"That's a pretty brutal way to die."
The voice was a whisper, way too close to his ear for comfort.
He turned to his side, quickly dashing out of the way.
A female, long blonde hair, wearing what seemed to be a mini crown on her head, her make-up neatly done, her lipstick pink.
She had on a long wedding like dress, but instead of white, it was red, blood red, as if her attire had been found at a crime scene.
She rotated towards him in a robotic fashion, her eyes were unique , not human like in any way, they had mini spirals in the center of it that pulsated ever so often, not noticeable, until you made eye contact with her.
"That's a brutal way to die, no?"
She repeated, smiling, staring into the opposite direction he was previously facing.
Her tone did not fit the current situation he was currently in, it was cheerful, happy.
A bright light suddenly flashed into his vision, as if his eyes were only now focusing on it.
He raised his arm instinctively, blocking out some of the bright, illuminating, white glow, then began looking in the direction she was actively facing, which was now to his side.
It was a screen, almost a section of the void cut out and plastered in with a tv screen that was currently broadcasting something.
He squinted, his eyes twitched as he slowly adjusted to the brightness of the screen.
Then...His pupils sharpened, then shrank in size.
What the TV screen was broadcasting was nothing more than a cruel joke.
He was staring at his own body, jerking around weirdly.... Bleeding out... A knife plunged deep into the side of his neck, with multiple other stab wounds layered around his body.
[ What the fuck? Why? ]
He knew he had died...
He knew what had happened...
But yet, inexplicably, he was forced to experience it all again, this time from a detached third-person view.
He watched on helplessly as his already lifeless body, twitched and oozed out dark, red blood....
A sight he never thought he'd get the chance to bear witness to, especially from the perspective and angle at which he did.
But in all honesty,
He would've been glad if he hadn't.
He looked away from the gruesome sight,
Holding back vomit in his throat whilst grabbing his mouth.
He swallowed, then grumbled in a shaky voice,
[Turn it off..]
The words came out hoarse.
She turned to him, an almost confused look on her face.
[Why?]
She said, tilting her head slowly, blinking twice.
[Just...please...]
He said calmly, looking at her...
Her expression was too calm... too irritating, he clenched his fist and stared down into the void, his reflection that of a scared child.
She looked over his shoulder, staring at the screen once more... then back to him.
"Do you not like it?"
She spoke again. Her voice squeaky.
Child-like, A mocking type of tone.
It struck a nerve.
Her lips curled into a cruel smile, as if knowing what her words had set in motion.
He looked up, staring deep into her eyes and raised his arm up, pointing towards the TV screen, then shouted,
[ CANT YOU SEE HOW IMORRAL THIS IS ?!....WHY ARE YOU EVEN DOING THI—]
Then silence...
Abruptly cutting himself off.
She opened her left eye slowly, blinking as if expecting more.
She had closed both her eyes completely, as if savoring the moment, but now.
He had stopped shouting, and was now sitting on the floor.
Something had clicked...or rather, his need for answers had simply outweighed his urge for expression.
He quieted down, briefly grunting as to clear his throat, then looked up at her.
> I need answers, Not an argument.
Instead of shouting again liked she had expected, he asked inquisitively in a normal, innocent tone,
[Who... are you?]
[Are you god?]
He spoke quietly, frowning his brows as he awaited an answer.
She chuckled, then zoomed to him at an insane speed, Flustering him for a second.
Staring down at him, she bent over and whispered,
"Something you can't quiet grasp."
She outstretched her hand, her index finger poking his nose, and added,
"God eh?"
Tapping her other finger on her chin.
"You can call me that."
She nodded, Giving a thumbs up and spinning around, summoning what seemed to be confetti from the naked sky.
He looked up at her sternly, she blinked twice, almost awkwardly, he looked to his side, dark void, he looked up... It repeated.
[ I don't know where I'm at, Why I'm here, and I'm currently, possibly, having a conversation with god herself... Even though I'm an atheist. ]
He sighed.
Clasping his hands together.
[So what happens to me now?]
He spoke faintly, as though expecting something casual like,
"you go to heaven" or "you go to hell".
But instead—
She shouted, popcorn falling out of her mouth.
"Re..hingarnaaa...shun"
He blinked... Leaning forward.
[Eh?]
> Also.. how did she even get popcorn?...
She briefly held up her index finger before summoning some type of beverage in liquid form, directing it towards her mouth and scoffing it down with the popcorn.
She burped, then sighed out,
"Taaaaaa..."
"Good show....I applaud your death dear sir.."
She spoke in a gentlemanly tone, clapping as though she were watching a play.
Her eyes were fixed on the screen.
He looked back at the TV, it said,
"The End."
He looked back to her...
A disgusted look on his face.
[Are you the grim reaper?]
She clicked her fingers twice.
"Ta dinggg, you got it."
She smiled, then added,
"I'm just here to lead you on your next path to..."
Sparks came down from the sky, then a book lowered.
Glasses appeared on her face, as she began to dig through the pages, as if scanning for something specific.
He stared at her... Blankly.
> She summons anything she wants, she's goofy, way too outgoing... And acts like a spoiled brat... Not my type.
He sighed, looking down at the dusky void floor through the crease between his legs.
> She's a grim reaper, meaning god does exist... So this must all be some play to send me to the pits of hell, my last part off to the never ending burning flames... Ah well, a fate fit for a non believer I guess.
Just as he finished up his delusional thought process, she gasped.
"Found ya."
She proclaimed excitedly, then muttered.
"Let's see your sins dear one."
He gulped as cold sweat trickled down the side of his face.
> Sins?
"Mhm mhm....ah...okay...mhm..."
She muttered meaningless words as her eyes traced the sentences down the page.
Her tone was normal, professional.
Her expression on the other hand, was very different.
She nodded, showed disgust , confusion, scanning the book very carefully, yet haphazardly.
Then, after about 10 minutes—
~ THUMP.
She closed the book shut, taking off her spectacle like she just got off work, and looked up at him, seriousness in her eyes, yet her smile gave a different impression.
"You've been judged."
She said cryptically, before continuing.
"My job is to simply reincarnate you depending on how you lived your life."
"And this."
She shouted, pointing at the book in her hand.
"Was a bad life my guy."
He gulped, stood up, then asked in a shaky voice,
[ So...How does this system really wor—]
Before he could even finish his sentence she snapped her fingers, muting him.
He could no longer speak, he tried to open his mouth, but it was impossible.
Not only that but she had also blocked his nose shut, he could no longer breathe.
He had thought that he had no human traits left in this void world, but sadly, he was wrong.
She began her rant again, her tone child like,
"How do you even go 22 years without a girlfriend?"
Then she snapped her fingers again, unmuting him as if she'd done it solely to display her power over him.
He gasped out loudly, falling to his knees, breathing through his mouth as if he'd never done it before.
She looked down at him.
Then said.
"You're getting reincarnated in a few seconds, you won't remember me, but you will remember these words, "
He looked up at her, his vision blurry from the lack of oxygen.
The area around and beneath him began to glow and spin.
As she began her final sentence,
"Your curse is—"
He had already been transported.
He opened his eyes.
All he saw was whiteness, his vision struggling to take in the brightness.
Loud noises echoed in the background as a sharp ring pierced his ears.
Nothing had adjusted just yet, neither his eyes nor ears.
But what he knew for sure, was the texture he was currently feeling.
It was sand.
He was face palming sand.
He slid onto his back, slightly catching a glimpse of a couple of moving figures before facing the sky.
His eyes finally adjusted,
The clouds were orange, the sky was...dark.
It reminded him of the very position he had lain in during his final moments in his previous life.
He outstretched his arm, hoping to recreate the same moment as his previous life.
Then—
~SHNK.
It took a moment to process, as time seemed to dilate before his eyes.
But his arm was gone.
Some flying debris had clipped a huge portion of his arm off.
Weird, jiggly flesh dangled from the stump as his hand began to convulse and twitch.
Everything above his elbow,
Gone.
Blood spouted up like a fountain, hitting his face and pouring into his eyes.
He quickly sat up in shock, recoiling in pain as he grabbed right below the stump of a hand he once had just a few moments ago.
[ AH...AHH...AHHH... ]
The pain struck in ticks, not as a single, sharp blow.
Blood poured into the sand, soaking deep beneath the surface and giving it a dark crimson look.
He looked around.... And the pain suddenly went away for a second.
There was a war... A big one.
Swords clashed as people fought.
He watched as people were killed, blood splashing and staining the sand the same dark red beneath his bleeding arm.
Huge, orc-like creatures swung maces the size of his entire body as if they weighed nothing.
He was in danger in countless ways, there was no cover, no shelter, nothing.
Just a vast desert, and a bloody battle raging between two opposing forces.
The place he was currently at.. was a warzone.
And worse of all... he was currently bleeding out profusely from his right hand.