The sharp, burning, and excoriating pain his body felt in his last moments suddenly stopped. It felt like Lee Ji-Hoon just woke from being flayed alive—which, honestly, he did.
The first instinct he had was to open his eyes. His surroundings were white. Not the kind of white that covered with snow, but the white that screamed this is the end of the universe, a blank canvas.
Did I die? Lee Ji-Hoon thought, looking around. Only he existed for miles.
I can't believe this… just when everything I worked for was about to come into something... He was just coming to terms with his death.
"Welcome to the afterlife, Leon Mills."
Suddenly, an ethereal voice came from above. Lee Ji-Hoon looked up to see a figure, nearly eight feet tall, looking down upon him. The being was beautiful, with androgynous features that Ji-Hoon couldn't place as man or woman, dressed in a cloth that seemed made of light.
Leon…?
"My name is Lariel, the angel to guide you to the afterlife. Your life on Earth was one of good deeds, helping and rescuing others, and so from today on, Leon Mills, I present to—"
"Excuse me!" Ji-Hoon shouted, unsure if he needed to for the being before him to listen.
"You may speak as you please. I can hear you fine from here."
"Oh, thanks...Mister angle?" he wondered what to call him.
"Please, call me Lariel."
"Okay, Mr. Lariel, you kept saying Leon Mills, but my name is Lee Ji-Hoon," Ji-Hoon corrected.
The angel, Lariel, looked confused. "What?"
"Oh, you just kept saying Leon Mills so I thought..."
"Are you not Leon Mills, the one who died from fire inside a baker?"
"Well, I did die from a fire, and also at a bakery, but my name is not Leon Mills."
The angel looked confused. Suddenly, a translucent window materialized before them, making Ji-Hoon even more confused. The angel kept touching the window, scrolling and swiping. "This can't be right..."
Then, upon realizing what happened, their face changed.
"What?!" Lariel looked at Ji-Hoon, who was just as confused as the being before him.
"No, no, this wasn't how it was supposed to be! Ahh!" they screamed.
"You weren't supposed to die!"
"What do you mean?" Ji-Hoon asked.
"The man named Leon Mills—a firefighter who would have gone to the bakery—he was supposed to die. Your life line is still intact. My boss is gonna kill me!"
The once composed angel was now panicking.
'So, I wasn't supposed to die?'
"What am I gonna tell them? I just got appointed to this role, I can't lose this..." The angel kept mumbling to themself, until an idea came to mind. They looked at Ji-Hoon.
"Hey, human. Do you want another life?"
"Another life?"
"Yes. You weren't supposed to die, so your soul can't pass to the afterlife. What do you think of another life—a second chance?" The angel's face seemed almost begging.
"Emm, but then—"
"What about this. I'm sure it's gonna be hard to be in another world, so I will give you the chance to choose three skills."
"Skills?"
"Yes. They are abilities that can only be given through divine blessing. Normally they're not meant for mortals, but I will make an exception for you."
'Yeah, that's right, just choose some skills and get out of here before you ruin a three-millennia-long-awaited promotion.' Lariel thought getting impatient.
'Well, should I take it? I mean I'm literally getting a second chance in life so of course right?'
"Can I see them?"
"Of course," the angel said, and a translucent window materialized before Ji-Hoon's eyes.
'What is this?' Ji Hoon wondered, reading his confused face, Lariel explained.
"Choose three skills from below, no more than that, and I will give them all to you."
'Ugh, I just hope he won't choose the most rare ones,' Lariel thought.
Ji-Hoon looked at the window before him. It contained lists upon lists of skills. He couldn't figure out which to choose.
Fire breathing? Primordial summoner? Explosion arc? The list went on and on, most of them sounded absurd, useless even. 'What am I even gonna do with all this?' But he scrolled carefully, thoughtful.
After a while, he pointed. "These ones."
As he finished scrolling down, the angel looked at him.
"Did you finish?"
"Yes, sir Lariel." Ji-Hoon pointed. "I want this."
The angel looked at the skills Ji-Hoon chose. I am sure they're all super—
"Why did you choose this? Are you sure? These are all worthless."
"I don't need that much great powers anyway. I have use of this, don't worry."
Lariel didn't seem happy, but they weren't going to object. If that's what he wanted, they would let him be. After all, it was less of a problem if the strongest skills weren't used.
"Okay, now let me see..." Lariel scrolled through the window. "Ah! This would be the best Earth for you. Well, it's time we said goodbye, human."
"Oh, am I already gonna be reincarnated?"
"Well, it's more transmigration than reincarnation. Since your body is originally dead, I can't give you a fresh one. Instead, you will reincarnate into a newly dead body."
"What? Dead?" Ji-Hoon was confused.
"Yes. The original owner of the body died just seconds ago, so you'll be in it as if you're swapping your soul."
"O-oh, okay..." Ji-Hoon said.
Then the angel looked at Ji-Hoon. With a smile, they said, "See you next time you die."
"I'm not planning on coming back here so soon," Ji-Hoon muttered.
Before he could realize it, his consciousness started to fade, and then only darkness followed.
~Blink-Blink~
As his consciousness returned, the first thing he felt was extreme pain. His entire body was like broken glass. His hands were tied, and he was hanging from a rope in an unfamiliar place.
Where am I? he thought. His mouth wasn't able to speak for some reason, as if something was stuck in it, like a gag.
His vision was blurry, worsening by the second.
Bang!
A sound of something being forced open resonated in Ji-Hoon's ears as two silhouettes came toward him, saying something he couldn't hear, before his vision blacked out again and he lost consciousness.