Cold, dark, murky.
That was what Ryan felt after his death. In that endless void, Ryan floated like a fish in the middle of the sea. The difference was that the "sea" was gloomy and freezing, to the point that Ryan almost lost his sense and consciousness.
"Where am I? I...what is happening to me right now? No! … my life..."
In the midst of this dark sea, Ryan faintly remembers his whole life. Born as an orphan, he grew up in an orphanage with other children. Ryan was a quiet boy who often caused concern among the orphanage residents due to his introverted nature. However, like most normal children, Ryan gradually began to open up to others and formed friendships with the other children at the orphanage. Ryan grew up to be a friendly and kind child, thanks to the teachings and upbringing he received at the orphanage.
Upon graduated from high school and then reaching adulthood, Ryan left the orphanage and went to seek work in the big city. It was here that Ryan discovered that the outside world was not as wonderful as he had imagined. He took on various jobs, from restaurant waiter to delivery courier to garbage collector. He also met many people with different personalities, from young people with big dreams, old women who looked down on him, arrogant middle-aged men, and strangers with questionable morals.
"E-Everyone...how are they doing? For some reason, I miss… them..."
The turning point in his life came when he entered the world of video games. While working as a garbage collector, he often found damaged used video game discs. The covers of these discs caught his attention, and he ended up asking some of his coworkers about video games, how to play them, and where he could buy them.
"That's right... I... I like playing video games...and…"
By setting aside some of his money every time he got paid, Ryan managed to buy a used console and play several old games from various genres. He was amazed by what video games had to offer, from storylines and background music to Easter eggs. Ryan became captivated with that entertainment industry, and he thought there might be other things out there that were as good as video games. At this point Ryan found many groups of individuals that shared mutual interests, called fan community, which prompted him to actively participate in these communities, from volunteering at local conventions, buying a used desktop computer to participate in online forums, to attending meet and greet events.
When he attended an anime convention, he saw a publisher's booth selling products exclusively from Japan. Seeing a wide variety of novels, drama CDs, and manga with unique covers made Ryan interested in buying them. Since then, Ryan has also entered the world of anime and manga, and just like video games, he has joined both online and offline fan communities. Ryan's networking with many people led to him being offered freelance work, specifically as a freelance tester and freelance translator.
"William... Emy... ugh... Yuki... Andy... Mrs. Sophia..."
Muttering the names of his friends and coworkers, Ryan felt his body growing heavier, as if he were sinking. He felt that even though his life was ordinary, he thought it was an achievement in itself. Although it was unfortunate that he died in unexpected circumstances, Ryan convinced himself that all his efforts had not been in vain and slowly lost consciousness. However, it seemed that fate had other plans, for as he was about to close his eyes completely, a presence emerged, shaking the void where Ryan was currently located.
Ryan opened his eyes and was shocked by what he saw before him. A giant tesseract floated a few dozen meters in front of him, so large that Ryan had to look up to see the whole thing. The tesseract was dark purple, dotted with glittering diamond dust around it. Ryan tried to move his body closer to the strange object. Like swimming, he moved until he was close enough to see what was in the middle of the object.
"What is this…? A Tesseract? Like the one in the movies and comics? No, isn't that hourglass more important?"
Right in front of Ryan, inside the tesseract, was a golden hourglass as tall as an adult. Cosmic dust particles inside the glass flowed slowly downward. Ryan stared at it as if mesmerized by it. The hourglass seemed to have its own aura in this dark sea.
"Where...where am I, actually? Am I truly dead? I should have lost consciousness and not remember anything... Huh, wa-wait a minute! What's that!?"
Ryan was shocked when he saw the tesseract and hourglass in front of him become distorted, swirling chaotically like a black hole. As both objects distorted, a white light emerged from them, blinding Ryan so much that he closed his eyes. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw that the tesseract and hourglass had disappeared and been replaced by a white portal. In this cold, dark void, Ryan felt a familiar warmth and a gentle atmosphere emanating from the portal. Driven by his primal instincts, Ryan quickly moved toward the white portal before him.
"It's…warm...and soothing. Is this a sign that I should go through this portal?"
Ryan reached out with his right hand, and his index finger touched the white portal. His finger felt a softness like wool and a warmth like a bonfire. He wondered what all this meant. Was it a dream or just an illusion? What was clear was that Ryan didn't want to linger in this endless void, and his whole being screamed that he had to go through the portal. Slowly, Ryan moved forward, his entire right hand plunging through the portal, then his right foot, until finally he steadied himself and surrendered his body to the white portal.