Farran was startled out of his rambling by the change of scenery, no longer was around him an infinite expanse of black with nothing or any end in sight. He "looked" around, although that was stretching the meaning of looking, because honestly he don't have eyes, or body to speak of. But still, he didn't let the unusual circumstance of his being bother him much as the sight of his apartment made him feel relieved and confused at the same time.
"You can speak just fine in that form you know"
'Right, there's also this weird floating lady' thought Farran turning back his sight to the beautiful woman in a white dress embroided with many flowy lines that kind of resemble flowers all over it, that was literally floating in the air, and just sitting there quite elegently, as if all of this was normal, as if all she did was normal at all.
"I can hear you, Farran Mura" said the weird lady.
"Stop calling me weird"
'did she just-'
"Yes, I did read your mind, or soul. You know what, there, you can speak now"
Without much fanfare, sensations come back to Farran, as he suddenly have a body again. He fell back on his butt at the suddeness of it while intellegently saying, "wha-, did you- what is- I have a body?"
"Yes, very astute observation" she said while mockingly clapping at him.
Farran's felt a multitude of emotions welling inside of him that was easily seen on his face from embarassed, angry, defeated, and then end in confusion.
"Who are you? Why are you in my apartment? Is this really my apartment? Is this.. real? More importantly, am I.. dead?"
"So, in order. Marika, why not, not really just a replica of it I saw from your memory, yes it is, and yes you are dead"
The now named Marika said without any emotion projected in her voice or face at all. Which kind of surprised him, considering that he thought the voice with a hint of guilt that pulled him out of his rambling just earlier was Marika.
"Oh.. I see" said Farran while looking down.
"You reaction is tame compared to what I imagined it would be"
"Well, I did kind of expected I died already, but getting spelled out to me like that, I don't know, it doesn't even feel real when I still have a body like this" Farran said looking down his body and for some reason feeling his emotion oddly calmed down.
"What will happen to me now? I'm guessing you're a goddess or something similar?"
"No, I'm not a goddess, at least not considering what that word entails. I'm just a really strong person, that excells in magic and a couple of other things that I don't feel like talking about with you"
"Magic you say, I still can't believe this happened to me." a huge headache suddenly overcome him as his situation finally sink in and the lady's word register on his mind.
'fuck, this is so typical, am I going to be reborn like those web novel shits I've read about recently? There's no way right, that is just crazy. No, I'm definitely crazy for even thinking that was going to happen'
"Actually, that was exactly what is going to happen to you" Marika casually said.
Farran just stared at Marika as if she'd have grown another head.
"Is it that hard to believe? I literally control the circumstance of your death, bring you to another dimension, spoke to and read a soul's thought, and floating in front of you which is an impossibilty considering magic doesn't even exist in your universe."
"What?! You did this to me? You.. killed me just because, you can!? What have I ever done to you, you bitch!?" Farran angrily said with wide eyes after hearing what she said. Hell she even had the audicity to told it to his face!
Some annoyance seemed to register in her face that made the air around her felt heavy. Seeing that made Farran realize he just spoke to an entity that literally could end him with just a snap of her hand. Farran unknowingly broke into cold sweet and his hand start trembling because of the effect the atmosphere around Marika was doing to him.
~~~
After seeing Farran's state, Marika annoyance seemed to melt and she sighed again not really expecting a random guy making her mad. 'I seemed to sigh so much today' she inwardly thought.
"Yes, I did control the condition of your death after doing some research to popular culture in recent times on Earth"
She cuckled while saying, "Can't believe so many fools wrote about reincarnation in that way, I mean, getting hit by a truck? Hah, that is so ridiculous, at least I had a good laugh while reading some of those stories"
"And what? You just, decided to try that to me? Killed me with two trucks?! For what? For you own amusement? Have you no feelings at all?"
"Oh don't give me that bullshit, did you think I don't know about your thought? A part of you really want it to happen to you, you sometime even think about it so much that it ended up in your dreams happening, and don't even toss around reasons to me about how you have a life and loved ones waiting for you in this life. A life? Hah you don't even have a job, how many times have you failed to get one? Loved ones? Your father would be glad to be rid of you, the only one that would care is your mother. Don't dillusion yourself anymore, Farran. I intent to give you one thing that you want, a new chance. Packaged nicely in your hands."
~~~
Farran just stared at her with wide open mouth as if he didn't expect what she said to him. But he himself knew that deep down, he wanted this, he have a life not worth living here, a new chance, a new.. life.
As he think about this, a new worry enter his mind,
'but what about my parents, my siblings, would they worry about me? Their worthless son.'
That thought shook him to his core and just made him realize something that he didn't want to for a long time, "maybe they wouldn't care at all, huh" he said with dry amusement with a voice so low that if Marika didn't have an exellent hearing, she wouldn't have known what he said to himself.
A silent atmosphere descent into the dimension for quite a long time while Farran gather his thought and resolution, some time passed and finally Farran said with an uncertain edge in his voice, "But why me thought? Why not anyone else?"
"I don't just pick some random people to reincarnate. There's a strict category that I choose from, and you just happen to be in that category" Marika said with a smirk showing on her lips and her right index finger pointing in the air as if lecturing a student.
"And what are those strict category?"
"Not telling,"
"Please?"
"Nope" she said while blowing the P out.
"You're kind of annoying,"
"I know and I don't care, come on hurry up, do you want it or not?"
At that his face began to took an uncertainty note to it again, "what's the catch? And what's in it for you anyway? Why are you doing this, like you said 'for free'?"
"Hah, let's just say this is some kind of investment for me as well"
"Investment of what?"
"Wow you are asking a lot of questions, the only thing you need to know is I don't have a bad intention for you. Now hurry up, choose, I have to go, I'm a busy woman you know, can't have one mortal taking all my time."
Farran think on it once again if he really wanted a part in all this reincarnation business, he didn't even know what her agendas are, for all he know he was signing a contract with a devil. But beside, do he really have a choice here? What happened if he reject her? It's not like he can just come back from the dead to continue living his life once again. 'Ugh, this is so tiring'
Marika suddenly smirked without any prompting, 'right, she can read minds, well this is a losing game, what the hell I'll just go with it' Farran finally thought in his mind.
With a deep breath, he said, "Okay, let's do this, how do we do this?"
She again smiled and finally stood up from her sitting position in the air.
"You don't need to do anything, just know that you're going to be reincarnated in a different universe, one with magic, unlike this one. And with that out of the way, let's begin the proccess"
She made a couple of sign with her hands and suddenly Farran is in his soul form once again,
This surprised him as he said, "wait what? Just like that? You're not going to tell me anything else? No gift or something to help me?"
She laugh while still making hand sign and say, "you don't need it, you'll know it when the times come."
~~~
With a last wave of her hand, a part of the dimension opened up to reveal some kind of portal with strange writing all over it, Farran's soul was tossed out through the portal with a final scream of "AAGGHH!" echoing through the place.
Marika chuckled and mumble to herself, "till we meet again someday."
Marika finally relax her posture after that spectacle and let her thought wanders.
She still can't believe there's a whole universe out here bereft of any kind of energy, she was forced to draw from her well of resource just to stay out here, or risk losing her way back to another universe altogether.
And not only that, she was also surprised ther was an entire planet with sapient creature living out here, and to top it all of, she can sense that some human here even have the potential to manipulate energy after being brushed with her own. And that one Farran guy, his energy signature kind of reminded her with her own, or maybe her lineage, and THAT was the creepiest and also the weirdest feeling she ever felt. Never could she have imagined to find such a peculiar human in this back water place. But could she really call it back water when there was never a manipulable energy out here?
Food for thought, back with the Farran guy, now that she think about it, wasn't it counter productive to kill him in such a way when she said what she's done was some kind of investment? Not that she really meant it in any meaningful way. Maybe a little bit. Just a little.
She guessed time will tell, cause she intended to meet him again when he can finaly use Aether.
~~~