"Hmm?"
Where am I...?
The last thing I remembered was going to bed, but before I knew it, I was in a white space that went on without end.
"Is this a dream?"
I couldn't even remember the last time I had a dream so though it was weird, I didn't mind this one. After all, my brain was probably too tired to come up with dream ideas.
"But are dreams supposed to be this realistic?"
My mind was oddly clear for this to be a dream, even if it was a lucid one. I looked at my hands and they were just as scarred as I remembered them. I then looked around the white space once more.
"There's nothing to do."
I welcomed this dream, but if my brain wasn't going to come up with the setting, I thought I might as well as take advantage of the opportunity. Right as I decided to take a nap in my own dream, as if waiting to interrupt me, a throne decorated in divine light popped into my field of vision. I wasn't a very religious man, but 'holy' was the first thing I thought when I saw it.
It appeared without warning, like it was always there but I only now discovered it.
"Is my dream finally loading?" I wondered.
"This is no dream."
A voice echoed in my mind. My first thought was to check the throne, but I could see nothing but bright light where someone would be seated.
"Um, hello?"
"Greetings."
!
I was the one who said hello but I still flinched when I heard a response. The voice sounded rough and stern, like a strict principal speaking at morning assembly. It didn't inspire fear but it made me unconsciously straighten my back.
"Uh, um, would you happen to be a God?"
"I have been referred to as such."
....
I had no words. One moment I'm asleep and the next I'm in front of a god. Really, it's as if I...
"Wait, did I die...?"
"That is correct. After enduring for six years your body couldn't keep going any longer."
So... I died. For some reason, I didn't feel very reluctant to believe it. I worked so hard to survive, yet on the same night that I was finally free, I was already past my limit. Really, it almost made me want to laugh. Even after all that, I guess it's just my fate to get the short end of the stick.
"So I died, huh."
"You don't seem very shocked."
"Well, I guess it's because I'm used to this. I've just gotten used to nothing going my way."
From the day I was born, I never got what I wanted. So I just accepted that was how it would always be.
"So, uh, Mr. God. What's next?"
"Normally, your soul would be cleansed in heaven, but in consideration of everything you've been through I've decided to give you a different option."
I raised an eyebrow. Since I was dead I didn't think it was odd to meet a god, but now it seemed like things were taking an unexpected turn.
"What's that?"
"Instead of entering heaven, would you like to be born again. You won't be able to go back to Earth, but I can prepare a spot for you in a different world."
'Another world?!'
Even with my busy, dull life, I knew of stories where people get sent to other worlds, normally ones of sorcery and magic. Back when I was a teen I thought something like that would be much better than what I had to go through.
"But I'll have to refuse."
"Hmm? Why is that?"
'?'
It seemed this god didn't know everything. Or maybe he's just restraining himself from reading my mind?
"It's simple. Rather than hope for a better life in some unknown world, I'd rather laze around for all eternity. At least I can be sure that nothing worse will happen."
There was a pause before a response finally came. Oddly, this god might have been stunned by my words.
"...Are you sure? If you pass on, you will be completely dead."
"Yes, I'm-, wait," I was about to respond confidently but I stopped for a moment due to hearing something that sounded a bit off, "I'll be completely dead?"
"Yes. Once you ascend to heaven your soul will be purified into a blank state so it will still existed but the one known as ********* will die."
"Huh?! Bu-bu-bu-but didn't your son make some promise about eternal life in heaven?"
"Yes, such words were passed on to the humans but it was only that your souls would live on forever, not your personalities and memories."
....
It made sense but I still couldn't believe it. I never had the chance to go to church and didn't dream of getting into heaven one day, but I did feel crushed to know that my place of eternity was just to put that final nail in. Ugh, I should have known that nothing would go the way I wanted it to.
"Hah..., fine, send me to that world you were talking about."
"Very well. Do you have any requests regarding what species you would like to be born as?"
"Species? Can I be a tree?"
"....Why would you want to be a tree?"
"Cus then I can just stay in place and suck up what I need to grow. It would suck if a human comes to cut me down but I'll at least be given time to grow."
Rather than be a human again, I wanted a life where I could live peacefully without a doubt.
"No. Please try something humanoid. Like an elf or a dwarf."
I immediately shook my head with a frown like I smelled something stinky. I didn't believe that any humanoid race would have a truly peaceful life so I was reluctant to pick any of them.
"Ugh. How about a tree monster?"
"...I'll just make it something random that suits your requests as closely as possible. In order to help you survive I will also grant you a unique skill. Is there anything you would like?"
"A skill that can help me live in peace."
I don't need an adventure, I won't even ask for a fun life with a family. I just want to chill and not have to worry about anything.
"...Random it is. I will now send you to the new world which you will be living in. When you reach there say, 'Status Check' to find out what skill you got. Goodbye."
Before I got a chance to respond, the white space was replaced by darkness as my consciousness faded. There was no excitement over the fact that I would wake up in a new body. My hope was only that it was at least better than my last life.
...
Hmm?
I woke up in a cramped space. It didn't feel like I was in a womb so I wondered if I was still-born and woke up too late.
'Don't tell me I'm gonna die before I even get to live.'
Luckily, I wasn't in a casket and had enough strength to struggle and push my hand out. Based on the cool breeze that touched it, I knew that I was buried outside. It was unfortunate that I had to take the body of a dead person, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about if I took the place of someone's else soul.
With a little more struggling I got my other hand out and then broke through with all of my upper body. As I stood, I looked in a daze at my surroundings. Being in a creepy graveyard wasn't too surprising since I was supposed to be dead, but the place was much bigger than I expected. it was as if they made a graveyard the size of a city. And even stranger was the colour of the sky.
"How does that happen?"
The moon was blue and the sky was light purple. I knew this wasn't Earth but it still freaked me out. However, there was something even more bewildering than the purple sky. It was the state of my body. As I looked down at my hands, I saw rotting flesh and bones peeking through, but no pain to accompany this gruesome state. Even without a mirror to check, I was sure.
"I'm a...zombie?"