How much had time passed?
At this point, I couldn't tell. Perhaps I didn't want to know either—my body had been through enough to the point where it didn't know what it wanted, when it wanted it or why exactly it wanted it. The current state I was in spoke for itself.
Bruised and bloodied, soaking wet in more than just water and blood. The price I had to pay for a deal I made with literal devils. The beatings I got from the Yakuza had probably expired by what—5 hours now? Yet the sting still felt fresh. The blame still fully falls on me for finding them on their worst day.
To think a full ten years' worth of hard work could get washed down the drain in a single night...I was still bottom of the barrel without it all being crumbled down to its foundations to boot.
My eyes lazily stared at my cracked screen, my phone app showing the several calls I'd made in futile attempts to piece together what had been scrambled apart...no one responded.
Despicable—
Relatives? Friends? My own goddamn lover? To think I'd be dumped to the side when shit hit the fan—my so-called lover herself was probably out looking for a more compatible companion. The thought alone was enough to have me tightening my jaw, my fingers nearly digging into my thigh as I furrowed my brows.
"To hell with it all..."
The words left me in a defeated tone, my own remaining strength not sufficient enough to force
out a shout in resentment.
Seeing red was something I thought to be an exaggeration, often times asking myself why the phrase itself existed. You'd have to see it to believe it—is what I'd say if I had the strength to.
What I saw though was a shade of red stained by my pent-up emotions...anger, frustration, sorrow, despair, guilt—name it, at this point I was probably collecting them all.
My body moved on its own, my phone being the first casualty. Its screen shattered completely as it crashed into a nearby wall, its body in an equally horrific scene. The second casualty? The blaring horn and blinding lights were about to make it all clear.
The crash was swift and heavy. Like fifty sledgehammers ramming into you, not that I was familiar with that sensation at all. Oddly enough...it was refreshing.
My head felt like it was about to explode, my chest almost resembled a bag of chips with how my ribs had cracked and my back had seen better days...yet not a cell within me felt a need to complain had I had the energy to. For the first time in a while, a smile drew itself on me, my face pointed to the sky as reality itself slowed for that moment—a mid-air death I never asked for but glad I got.
As the slowed rainy night sky turned to a blur, a deep collection of voices echoed in my mind with a ring that nearly had my ears bursting.
"THE COUNCIL HAS GATHERED, YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED"
At first, I thought it was a hallucination...though after noticing I'd been flying in the air for a good amount of time, I realized nothing was made up about what I heard. To confirm, I slowly slid my eyes open.
Unbelievable would be the right word to use; any other word would either be an underestimation or simply not enough.
Before me was a figure, pure white and glowing within the dark void I'd been floating in. Its size was enough to beat any estimation and the pure sight of it was enough to leave me with chills crawling up my spine as I stared at it; speechless.
"WELCOME TO THE SPACE BETWEEN NOTHING AND EVERYTHING...REN TAKAHIRO." The figure let out, or at least I assumed it did.
Its voice was a collection of an uncountable number of voices, each bundled into one to form an eerie deepened noise that somehow formed comprehensible words.
"Where...what the fuck are you." The words escaped me almost involuntarily, my body doing things on its own yet again.
"WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS OF REALITY AND ALL THAT EXISTS." It easily responded, each word blowing a heavy gust of wind my way.
"Builders of reality...you mean like my creators or something?" I commented after mustering enough courage, "Is this what happens to everyone once they die? You here to judge whether or not I go to heaven?"
The figure paused for a moment before moving closer, its movements echoing within the empty void that seemed to vibrate furiously in response, flipping me around in the space itself. My dizzying spins only stopped once the figure's head pointed directly at me; what I assumed were its eyes glaring right into my very soul.
"THE COUNCIL HAS BEEN SUMMONED TO JUDGE YOU, INDEED. BUT NOT EVERY SOUL MEETS A FATE EQUAL TO YOURS." It let out, a strange wave of hostile and curious energies seeping out of it, "YOU SHOULD NOT BE HERE RIGHT NOW, REN TAKAHIRO"
"First that universe, now this boy. Its as if the timeline we created is being tampered with." A separate voice erupted from the entity.
"Time has always proven difficult. It does what it pleases despite knowing the impact it has...but this time it has done something truly beyond our comprehension." Another chimed in.
"But why this boy specifically? Out of all creations in all universes, why does it see this one as a worthy candidate to cause such a scene." Yet another butted in.
The next few seconds left the void feeling like a conference hall, new voices echoing within it; some adding points, others debating about the situation they were dealing with as others simply murmured around.
In an instant, the atmosphere changed and another crushing gust of wind blew my direction as the void around me nearly tore itself in what seemed to be fear.
"SILENCE!" The figure let out; its voice unified again yet even deeper this time before turning its gaze back to me.
"REN TAKAHIRO, YOU DIED SIX YEARS BEFORE YOUR PLANNED DEATH DATE; AS THERE IS NO ALLOCATED SPACE FOR YOU IN THE AFTERLIFE—WE ARCHITECTS HAVE SUMMONED YOU TO RULE OUT WHAT IS TO HAPPEN NEXT." The aggression in its voice heightened, a clear frustration audible in its tone as it spoke.
Whether it was the confusion of suddenly being within this void, the sight of the figure or its suffocating pressure; I couldn't pin down exactly why I'd found myself speechless again for a moment.
"Six...years?" I muttered out in a shaky voice.
"A CLEAR PLAY BY TIME, BUT THE BLAME STILL FALLS ON YOU TOO," The figure paused before moving its massive hand, pointing directly at me with a finger-tip that made me look like an ant, "HAD YOU ACTED RATIONALLY, YOUR LIFE WOULD HAVE TAKEN A TURN FOR THE BETTER."
"Now we face a predicament never before witnessed" A separate voice erupted; anger clear in its tone.
"Hold it, the blame isn't on him alone. Time was our responsibility; we do owe him a decent apology." Another added.
"I agree, our lenience towards it has caused this predicament itself. The least we can do is believe there is a reason behind it."
"Perhaps this is Time's response to our previous issue." One voice chimed in, quickly causing the space to fall into a deep silence.
"That is a possibility...what say you?"
The void turned into a conference hall again, my body bracing itself for the intense pressure the figure was about to release; my hands acting as a shield for my face that had been taking the full brunt of the winds it had been blowing. Surprisingly enough, what happened was the opposite of my expectations.
The voices died down slowly, the echoes fading into the void as the figure's gaze fell back to me. The initial hostility I'd felt from it had seemingly disappeared; a calmer feeling seeped out of it.
"THE COUNCIL HAS DECIDED." It let out, "REN TAKAHIRO, YOUR DEATH IS BY FAR ONE WE HADN'T ACCOUNTED FOR. BUT SINCE THE BLAME FALLS ON US, YOUR COMPENSATION IS DUE."
"Compensation?"
"INDEED, YOU WILL BE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE, TAKING OVER ONE THAT HAS REACHED ITS END IN A WORLD FAR FROM YOUR OWN." A clear tone of satisfaction escaped it, a stark opposite of what I felt after this revelation.
This was compensation? After taking my own life in an attempt to escape reality, they casually decide that the best compensation would be to drop me right on back into another reality. Creators or not, I wasn't up for it.
"I refuse."
My words came out rougher than I'd thought but the message had been passes nonetheless, and it was clear it wasn't one the entity had been expecting. A long silence was shared between us before the entity finally moved closer.
"BOY, WHAT WAS IT YOU JUST SAID?"
"I refuse." My brows furrowed after uttering this, a clear anger boiling within me.
For some reason, reality had just dawned on me. The earlier shock had seemingly blocked any logic but now that it was gone, I quickly realized what was going on. Before me was my so called "creators", the Architects as they called themselves who built my life. Meaning everything that had occurred within my life itself was all planned by them.
The thought of this alone left me fuming, yet here they were chewing me out for taking my own life.
"With all due respect, I ate enough shit in my life to know the weight of living. Of course, you'd know since you fucking designed that life itself." I let out, crossing my arms as I stared back at the entity before me, "So what the hell makes you all think I'm up for another shot of your messed up realities?"
Another short silence fell between us, the atmosphere constantly shifting between humorous, hostile and calm. The void itself shifting around as if to ask me whether I'd lost my mind. I was asking myself the same thing, but nonetheless my words had come out, following them up was the least I could do.
"I may now understand why that rascal chose this boy now." A voice wheezed out in a laugh.
"Such insolence, even before the Architects! Silence boy!" Another commented, its voice almost a hiss.
"SILENCE!" The figure shouted out, quickly cutting the chatter before it erupted into another meeting discussion.
"IT SEEMS OUR FORM OF COMPENSATION WAS NOT RECEIVED IN A MANNER THAT WE HAD EXPECTED...BUT YOU HAVE COME TO PROVE EXACTLY WHY YOU MUST LIVE THIS NEW LIFE NOW."
With a wave of its hands, the black void shifted an image of a sphere forming between the entity and I. The image quickly forming what seemed to be a planet; similar to earth but different. That would be the best way to describe it at least.
"THIS IS CALYNDRIA, A UNIQUE WORLD AMONGST ALL THAT WE'VE CRAFTED. YET ONE THAT SEEMS TO BE IN MORE PERIL WITH EACH PASSING DAY." The entity paused, waving the image away, dissolving it back into the void.
"IT IS IN A WAY, AN ANOMALY; JUST AS YOU ARE AT THE MOMENT."
"That's great and all, but I still fail to see any reason for me to live a new life crafted by you guys again."
"WHAT YOU SEEK IS A PEACEFUL LIFE. ONE WHERE YOU ARE UNBOTHERED BY THE WORLD AROUND YOU. WE KNOW THIS, AND WE PROMISE YOU THIS MUCH ONCE YOU AGREE."
The words left me silent for a moment. It was no surprise that the creators of the universe itself knew what I had in mind. A quite life with no interruptions, no need for money, no stress for it either and not bothered by the situation of the world around me. The Ideal peaceful life. Mentioning it alone was almost enough to make me shaking hands with it agreeingly, but my deals with the Yakuza had taught me enough.
Any good offer has something equal in measure in terms of payment. I'd taken a loan and in return I lost my entire life; not up for being chewed on again, not by the very creators to boot.
"What's the catch?"
"The world is run by magic; the messenger will guide you through it. There'll be dangers beyond your understanding, beasts bourn from the very magic we gifted man-kind." One voice responded.
"In reality, we ourselves do not understand why this world has gone out off of our drawn-out plan...that is your duty." Another added.
"TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT EXACTLY IS HAPPENING AND DEAL WITH THE ISSUE. AFTERWHICH, YOU LIVE YOUR IDEAL PEACEFUL LIFE UNTIL THE DAY YOU DEPART FROM REALITY AGAIN."
"I had a feeling it was going down that path..." I let out, a sigh escaping me in disappointment, "I refuse even more now. I'm not up for this whole Isekai bullshit, I've read enough novels and Mangas to know how they go"
Die, get reborn as a hero or weakling with supreme abilities, gain fame and glory...and so on and so forth. Its sickening at some point, especially since my own death was caused by a truck too. I was definitely poking a sleeping bear by rejecting this twice now but it wasn't something I regretted doing either. Living life a second time with responsibilities dumped on me would be nothing more than a drag.
As expected, the void was once again a conference hall. Every voice imaginable chiming in to voice out their thoughts, the majority clearly angered by my words while the remaining ones seemed rather calmed. The figure itself didn't butt in to break it all up, instead it let out what seemed to be a sigh before raising both of its hands; palms wide open with different items within them.
On its left, a pillar of light. Within it, a woman stood; suspended in space like I was. Her golden hair flowed as though she was underwater as her seemingly sleeping body elegantly floated in the light; streaks of different colors swimming around her.
On its right, a mere hole. One that felt empty, eerie and cold. Simply looking at it was enough to give me goosebumps.
"SINCE IT HAS COME TO THIS, FORGIVE US BUT WE SHALL ONLY PRESENT THESE TWO OPTIONS FROM WHICH YOU ARE TO CHOOSE." It finally let out, all voices in unison as it brought its hands closer, "ON OUR LEFT IS THE COMPENSATION WE PROPOSED. ACCEPTING IT GIVES YOU UNMATCHED POWER AND OUR VERY OWN MESSENGER, ALONG WITH THE PEACEFUL LIFE...BUT WITH THEM COMES YOUR NEW RESPONSIBILITY."
"And on the right?" I let out, my body speaking for itself again. An unknown fear had quickly shut away all logic again.
The figure paused for a second, its head turning to face the content in its hand; as if to confirm that it had dug out the right stuff. Then with a clear finality, it turned back to me, a thick pressure escaping it.
"NOTHING. YOUR SOUL CEASES TO EXIST IN ANY PLANE OF EXISTANCE, NO AFTERLIFE, NO DEATH, NO REALITY. SIMPLY NOTHING." It responded, its voice eerily deeper.
"WHAT WILL IT BE, REN TAKAHIRO? A DUTY WITH A PEACEFUL LIFE AS A REWARD OR SIMPLY CEASING TO EXIST" It added, its voices echoing within the void as I speechlessly stared at the options laid out in front of me.