My friend and I were so poor that sometimes we went an entire day without eating.
Not because we wanted to.Not because we were used to it.
We simply couldn't afford food.
We had no money.No jobs.No future we could see.
The city didn't care about people like us. It kept moving, no matter who got left behind.
That day, somehow, we managed to scrape together a small amount of money—just enough to buy a single loaf of bread.
It felt like a miracle.
We walked toward the market in silence.
My name is Zeus.My friend's name is Lucas.
"Come on…" I muttered. "Let's at least get some bread. That's enough."
Lucas nodded.
"Alright. I'll buy it. Wait here."
A few minutes later, he came back holding one simple loaf.
But the way he held it… you'd think it was treasure.
"We did it," he said quietly.
We started walking back home.
"How much was it?" I asked.
"One lari and fifty tetri…" Lucas sighed. "That's basically everything we had."
I let out a dry laugh.
"All that for one piece of bread. What a life."
For a moment, though, things didn't feel completely hopeless.
That moment didn't last.
Two men stepped in front of us, blocking the road.
"Hand over the money," one of them said. "Everything you've got."
"What money?" I glared. "Leave us alone."
"Zeus… stop," Lucas whispered. "Don't start something…"
Too late.
The first punch came before I could react.
After that, everything became pain.
We couldn't fight back.We didn't even have the strength to stand.
When they left, they took everything.
Even the bread.
We forced ourselves to keep walking, barely able to move.
Step by step.
That's when we saw her.
A girl crossing the street.
Then we heard it—
An engine.
Fast.
Too fast.
I looked at Lucas.
He was already running.
I ran too.
We weren't heroes.We weren't strong.
But we still ran.
And then—
Everything went dark.
No sound.No pain.No body.
Just silence.
When I opened my eyes, we were no longer on the street.
We stood in an endless white space.
No sky. No ground. Just light.
And in front of us…
Someone was standing there.
With wings.
An angel.
Lucas froze beside me.
I blinked, trying to understand if I had finally lost my mind.
The angel spoke calmly.
"You tried to save the girl."
My throat felt dry.
"…Tried?" I asked.
"The car never struck her," the angel continued. "You were already too weak. Your bodies collapsed before you reached her."
It took a moment for the words to sink in.
Lucas looked at me.
"…So we—"
"Yes," the angel said gently. "You died."
I stared into the empty white space.
"…Seriously?" I muttered. "All the bad things in life, and we still end up dying like that?"
"Zeus!" Lucas whispered. "Show some respect!"
The angel gave a faint smile.
"I have a question for both of you."
The light around us seemed to grow brighter.
"Would you like to be reincarnated into another world?"
Lucas and I looked at each other.
"A world where magic exists," the angel continued."A world of power, abilities, and opportunity. A chance to begin again."
"…Begin again?" I repeated.
"You may live new lives there," the angel said. "If you accept."
I didn't even need to think long.
"Well," I said, shrugging, "it can't be worse than the life we just had."
Lucas sighed.
"…Yeah. Honestly, staying dead sounds more boring."
The angel nodded.
"Then your new story begins now.