As I lay there on the sidewalk with my guts literally spilling out of my stomach, two thoughts race across my mind; My imminently approaching death and all the shit that I will never get the chance to finish watching.
On the surface, I was your average guy, except for a healthy amount of cynicism and nihilism, and some shady things, like petty theft, drugs, and other assorted felonies on the side, but that's beside the point.
My approaching death wasn't the result of special or remarkable circumstances, either. A mere hit-and-run accident with the driver responsible for the accident fleeing the scene after slamming me into the window of a nearby restaurant, hence the new set of holes in my stomach.
Still, I lived my life the way I wanted expecting hell when I died, so I had no particular regrets despite leading an unremarkable life for the past twenty-six years.
"Well, this is the end. There is no denying that," I murmured as I sat straight with some difficulty by leaning on a wall behind me, much to the horror of the bystanders nearby who were all holding their phones, either filming or calling for the emergency services.
"You have little time, my boy," said a kindly looking old man as he made his way towards me, holding my hand with a sad look in his eyes. "Quickly denounce Satan, and pray for forgiveness so that the gates of heaven may open for you," he added, his hand firmly holding mine.
"Denounce, Satan, huh?" I remarked in between labored breaths, feeling my cynical side taking over me. "Now is not the time to be making new enemies, old man," I spoke my last words with a bitter, bloody smile on my face, and the last thing I heard was the kind elder sadly sighing and closing my eyes as all signs of life left my body.
-0-
"What the hell is going on?" I murmur to myself in a sluggish tone as I slowly open my eyes, grunting in pain and holding my sore sides, feeling like I was sleeping on a pile of rocks or something.
Looking around, the first thing I notice is the ungodly amount of garbage and scraps in my surroundings as I inspect the surrounding area with my eyes, a confused expression on my face.
"If this is what hell looks like, then I'll seriously be disappointed," I murmured again, holding my forehead with my hand as I felt a slight headache coming over me.
"You're not in hell, kid," a husky, deep voice came from my side, causing me to turn around in search of the speaker. "Not in any hell that you know of, at least," the man added, and I felt my eyes twitch at his appearance as he squatted beside me, removing his sunglasses.
"Shouldn't you lead with a sentence about waking the fuck up and burning down a city or something?" I asked in a bemused tone, still holding my forehead while looking at the man's silver prosthetic hand.
"Hold on to that sense of humor," the man replied with a toothy grin. "But no, I'm not the person you're thinking about," he added, shaking his head and standing up.
"Then who the hell are you?" I asked as I pushed myself up into a sitting posture, feeling my headache becoming more intense. " And what the hell is going on?" I asked again, feeling more and more confused about the situation I found myself in.
"You died for one," the man said in an amused tone, seemingly enjoying himself at the expense of my suffering. "Well, gee, thanks for stating the obvious, so how about you stop enjoying yourself so much and give me some answers now?" I snapped at the man, trying to stand up and failing due to my quickly worsening headache.
"Fine," the man said with a shrug. "You died and reincarnated into the body of this dead loser," he explained while pointing his index finger straight at my face, causing my eyes to twitch even more.
"I see," I said with an exasperated sigh. "Do I get the man's memories or something, at least?" I asked with a frown after I rummaged through my memories and found nothing new, that I knew of, at least.
"You should be feeling a headache right now," the man stated, and I nodded at him. "That's the dead guy's memories fusing into your own," he added while pointing at my head.
"The pain will only get worse, so don't worry," the man said with a blank expression, but I could tell that he was holding back his laughter. "I refuse to take that bait," I said with a sigh, feeling an urge to stand up and smack the smug asshole.
"So who are you, and what are you doing here, then?" I asked after a second of silence that I used to enjoy the man's disappointed expression at the fact that I didn't let him get a reaction out of me.
"I'm someone like you. I died, and your friendly neighborhood ROB sent me to a different world," the man replied with a smirk. "I did everything there was to do in that world, so I got a new deal to help create systems for people such as yourself to experience upon their deaths," he added, clapping once to create a holographic image of people dying all manner of deaths.
The people would then wake up, and the smug bastard standing in front of me would introduce them to the new world they found themselves in after they died.
"That's a neat trick," I said with a raised eyebrow. "So, what kind of world did you go to first?" I asked in a curious tone while watching the transmigrators wake up in all sorts of worlds, fantasy, sci-fi, and even some worlds that seemed suspiciously similar to fictional works I've seen in my life (Past life, in this case).
"I'm afraid I can't answer that question because of copyright laws," the man replied with a helpless look on his face. "What do you mean copyright laws? We're in a different world, for fuck's sake," I asked with an irritated expression on my face.
"You know what? I don't really want to know," I said after taking a deep breath. "So what happens now?" I asked with a frown, returning to the topic at hand.
"Now, you get the usual world introduction, but we have little time, so I'll be quick," the man said with a grin. "Welcome to your new world, where everything is basically a piece of shit!" he stated while dramatically spreading his arms.
"It is now the year 2222, and humans have figured out an efficient form of space travel in the late years of the twenty-first century, starting a prosperous era that witnessed many advancements in science and other fields," the man said.
The holograph changed from showing transmigrators into a video of space ships with numerous designs and flags, leaving the earth's atmosphere and heading into space to explore and gather resources.
"That era did not last long, as creatures that were once nothing but figments of imagination came to life on planet earth in the year 2150, decimating life as humans knew it," he added.
The holograph changed, showing videos of monsters like giant insects, giant wolves, and even grotesque tentacle monsters slaughtered helpless humans while shrugging off most of what humanity threw at them.
"Humanity came very close to extinction during these times, but luckily, humans with unique abilities and powers appeared, saving humanity from the brink of destruction by fighting these dangerous creatures," the man remarked.
The holograph changed to videos of humans showcasing different abilities. There were people flying in the sky, people ripping monsters apart with their bare hands, and even people shooting fire from their hands as they fought for humanity's survival.
"Still, the damage had already taken place, and earth's technological level reverted at least a century back, with many power-hungry individuals and organizations forming their own factions and proceeding to dick-wave each other in a massive war for supremacy and conquest," he concluded.
The holograph changed to humans fighting each other with superpowers and traditional weapons alike all around the earth, destroying much of what remained of human civilization that survived the monsters, and leaving earth a mere husk of what it used to be.
"In a decimated earth where despair, ambition, and conflict had replaced common humanity 72 years after the incident, which humans now refer to as the unveiling, begins your story," the man stated dramatically, clapping his hand as the holograph disappeared.
"Well, shit," I said with a sigh. "Out of all the fucking worlds, I had to end up in this shitty one," I added as I began wondering how the hell I was going to survive here.
"It's not as bad as you think," the man said as he snapped his finger, and I felt something change inside me. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly changed, but I'm more than sure something did.
"No need to worry. That's just your system making itself home inside your soul," the man said, addressing my worries before I even had the chance to voice them.
"Something foreign is making itself home inside my soul, yay," I deadpanned as I looked at him, causing him to chuckle. "It's out of precaution because there are people who would be able to sense your system if I don't hide it so thoroughly," the man said as he turned around and walked away.
"Where are you going?" I asked as I massaged my head, feeling my headache becoming worse and worse by the second. "Our time is up. The memories you're about to receive and the system should be able to answer most of your questions," the man replied as a silver portal appeared in front of him.
"Take care, kid," the man said as he began walking towards the portal. "I'll see you again if you survive the game," he concluded, stepping through the portal.
"What game?" I asked as the portal closed behind the man, and I fell to the side, cradling my head as the pain became too much for me to endure.
"We have a living one here," I hear a voice coming from the distance. "Load the poor bastard up. We'll take him to that place too," and that was the last thing I heard before my vision went completely dark and I lost consciousness.