"Looks like it's gonna start pouring."
A young man sighed as he looked up at the sky.
The sky had already grown dark, and thick clouds loomed across the night, swallowing the pale white moon behind them.
Flashes of light flickered within the clouds as streaks of lightning danced across the sky, followed by the distant, rolling thuds of thunder echoing overhead.
It was very obvious that rain was about to come pouring down.
"Good thing I packed my raincoat. It's already super late, and who knows when the bus is gonna show up. I might just end up walking home," the teenager muttered.
The teenager had only just finished school and was now waiting at the bus stand outside the gates for public transportation.
He had stayed behind to help the Student Council prepare everything for tomorrow's environmental and cultural program, which kept him at school for nearly three extra hours.
Though it left him exhausted, he enjoyed the work enough that he couldn't really complain.
Ding!
"Hm?"
He slipped his phone out of his pocket at the sound of the notification.
A quick glance at the screen showed that the council president had sent a message in the Student Council group chat.
[Council President: Everyone, we still have some things to finish up, so make sure to arrive at least a couple of hours before classes start.]
The teenager quickly sent a thumbs-up emoji in response, watching as the rest of the group followed with the same emoji to acknowledge the council president's message.
He lingered for a few more minutes, his eyes following every passing vehicle as though each one mattered, all while waiting for the bus to arrive.
The rain had already started pouring heavily, and it didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon.
Still, no bus.
He glanced at his watch.
It was getting too close to dinner.
"Might as well just get takeout tonight," he muttered, glancing toward a nearby fast-food stand that was still open.
Pulling up the hood of his raincoat, the teenager started walking toward the stand.
Then, suddenly, he stopped.
Standing on the sidewalk beneath the dim yellow glow of the street lamps, he let the heavy rain drench him.
He didn't care about getting soaked.
A frown slowly formed on his face as an unsettling sensation crept in.
Something wasn't right.
It felt as though something was happening that shouldn't be, as if something in the world had shifted out of place.
"Uh… why does this feel like a bad omen?"
His heart began to race for no apparent reason, pinning him to the spot as if his legs refused to obey his mind.
He took a few deep breaths, trying to steady himself.
Forcing his legs to move, he resumed walking.
But a strange urgency began to build within him, pushing him to move faster, as if he were being hunted by something unseen, something worse than any predator.
He had barely taken a few steps when the world around him suddenly slowed, as though time itself had been stretched by an invisible force.
Within seconds, all background noise faded into silence.
He didn't understand what was happening, nor what was about to happen, but he was certain of one thing. It would not be good.
At that very moment, a darker thought loomed over him, something far worse.
A single, blinding bolt of white lightning tore down from the sky.
Rumble!
With a deafening crash, it struck him directly on the head, as if guided by intent, like it had been targeting him all along.
Thunder roared a heartbeat later, and the nearby street lamp exploded, plunging the area into darkness.
For a fleeting instant, the lightning engulfed him in searing heat and blinding light.
His heart stopped before he could even process the pain.
His breathing ceased.
His nerves fell silent.
His hair ignited into flames, and his skin blackened under the brutal intensity.
His body went limp and collapsed onto the ground.
He died there, alone in the rain, and his body was not discovered until the next morning, when the darkness of the night and the chaos of the storm could no longer conceal him.
In an unknown location...
The teenager, who had only moments ago been struck dead by a lightning bolt to the head, suddenly opened his eyes.
A faint look of confusion crossed his face.
He felt warmth all around him, deeply soothing, almost as though he were floating in clear, gentle water without any sense of weight or constraint.
His body was light, nearly weightless.
The air carried a fragrance unlike anything he had ever known, yet it was profoundly comforting. Wherever the hell he was now... it felt like home.
"What the hell just happened?"
He asked in surprise, rubbing his forehead as he tried to recall what had happened.
Just moments ago, he had been walking toward a fast-food stall, planning to spend the little money he had before heading back to his empty, lonely house.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he found himself here in a place that felt strange and unreal, almost as if he had stepped into a dream.
He stood at the heart of what appeared to be the interior of a vast, semi-spherical dome crafted from gold.
Along the curved edges, tall and elegant trees rose, their leaves shimmering in a spectrum of vivid colors.
At the center, a grand fountain commanded attention, from which a magnificent tree emerged.
Its golden leaves radiated a vibrant glow, casting light across the space.
Water streamed from the fountain and circled the tree's base, glistening like molten gold.
"Whoa…" the teenager breathed, staring wide-eyed at the radiant golden fountain before him. "What the hell is this place?"
"You are standing in the Grand Hall of Deities," a powerful, commanding voice replied, pulling his attention toward it.
As he turned around, the teenager froze.
Standing before him were three people, no, not just people, but breathtakingly beautiful figures who seemed as though they had walked straight out of a fantasy novel or an anime.
For a few moments, he could do nothing but stare, completely stunned.
A man stood with two women.
The man who had spoken possessed long, wavy golden hair and a full golden beard, framing soft light-brown eyes.
He wore a flowing white robe, almost like a tunic, intricately decorated with golden patterns, with a cloak draped over his shoulders. Golden ornaments adorned his neck, ears, and forearms.
He resembled the regal interpretation of Jesus Christ a little too closely, except with golden hair, a more robust, commanding presence, and without the appearance of malnourishment.
Everything about him exuded wealth, authority, and quiet power.
To his right stood the woman who captivated the teenager the most.
Looking at her felt like witnessing something no human was ever meant to behold.
If the word "divine" could truly describe beauty, it would belong to her.
Her long, light wood-brown hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, and her emerald-green eyes seemed to hold the very truth of existence.
She wore an elegant green garment, adorned with gold and emerald ornaments that rested around her neck and arms.
Her beauty was so overwhelming that the teenager could scarcely comprehend it.
The second woman had a lighter complexion, with long black hair that flowed down to the floor.
Her bangs framed her face, partially veiling her ears and cheeks.
Her eyes were brown, and she wore a flower-like outfit reminiscent of traditional South Asian attire.
Though she did not emanate the same intense, divine presence as the first woman, she was still far beyond the bounds of ordinary human beauty.
After a few seconds of blank staring, reality crashed over him.
He was somewhere unfamiliar, surrounded by strangers, with no memory of how he'd arrived.
Unease crept in, tightening its grip.
"W-Who are you people?" he asked, eyes narrowing as he instinctively stepped back into a guarded stance.
"There's no need to be afraid of us, Samuel." The woman with wood-brown hair spoke softly, a gentle smile resting on her lips as she slowly approached him.
There was something ethereal in the way she moved, almost unreal, that made Samuel feel his defenses dissolve, as though something deep within him trusted her completely, certain she could never harm him.
She reached out and gently caressed his face, her touch warm and soothing, like a loving mother's, and he felt his cheeks grow warm and flush in response.
"You can relax. None of us will hurt you," she murmured, lightly tousling his dark hair.
"Why am I here? What's going on? W-who are you people?" Samuel asked again, his gaze locked onto her striking eyes, searching desperately for answers.
"To begin with, you're dead, sweetie," she said with a pleasant smile.
...
[Author's Note]If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider adding my novel to your library and supporting it with Power Stones. It really helps! No pressure at all though. Arigato!