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'Mmmm.. am I...'
Lana regains consciousness for just a moment before immediately noticing this familiar feeling overtaking her. No matter how many times she goes through it, she can't get used to it... the feeling of death.
The streets are in chaos. People are either running for their lives or already dead. Buildings are completely demolished, with fires starting in every direction, and cracks in the streets that seem to be as deep as Earth's core. Lana makes out bits and pieces of her surrounding through her cloudy vision and damaged ears. Her body is in excruciating pain and feels that every bone in her body is broken...
Lana gives a deep breath allowing herself to slip into her final moments.
'Well... I hope I get a longer life next time...'
Lana is calm. She's just accepted her fate when a small hand touches her body making her focus her eyes in his direction.
"Lana.. ple... easeee... don't d..."
A soft weeping voice reaches Lana's ear. A little boy with brown hair is kneeling beside her broken and blood covered body. His emerald eyes glaze over, like stained glass, as tears fall onto Lana's face bringing her to some of her senses.
'Kai!! Good, he's safe... I... pushed him out of the way of something... What was...'
A sharp pain in Lana's rib stops her mid thought. She starts to cough uncontrollably and blood spills from her lips. Her whole body starts shaking. Kai weeps as he screams for help knowing that there's no hope. Lana's body is quickly shutting down, she gathers all of her strength to speak to the crying 8 year old.
"Kai... Live... Don't worry... I'll find you in my ne..."
Lana dies.
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'In my next life'
Lana's spirit wakes in a pool of water, her senses completely muted by the surrounding darkness. It is comforting, deep and final, like the moment you turn off the lights to go to sleep in your bed at night. It's peaceful.
'Death is always peaceful, it's living that's a pain.'
Lana opens her eyes and stands up immediately with no proof of injury from moments before. She screams and stomps her feet, befitting her appearance.
"Seriously... what's the point of giving me life.. if you were just going to kill me off so early!!"
Her voice echoes in the void of darkness. Lana raises a fist to the air and then pulls out a middle finger. She knows that no one will respond and lets out one more groan of frustration before accepting her fate of dying at the tender age of 10.
"I actually was starting to like this life..."
She gets lost in her thoughts for a moment and recalls her final moments as Lana. She just starts to get uncomfortable when a small white floating light begins to fade into view bringing light into the surrounding darkness. She glances in the direction of the light and looks at it with a questioning gaze. Suddenly, more small orb lights begin to appear and move together allowing the surrounding area to come into view.
'Well, that's new.'
Lana looks down and notice she is still standing in the pool of water she was lying in. She puts her hands in the water and then takes a look at her still dry hand. It feels no different than air. She looks between her fingertips and catches the view of the once dark place and almost loses her breath. She is standing in a forest from some sort of fantasy world. A forest that made no sound and that she could feel nothing, but she could see it's deep beautiful vibrant unknown colors and unknown plants and trees. The still pool of water she was standing in was sitting below a waterfall with water that seemed to come from nowhere. Lana has never seen anything like this in death.
See, she has actually died, 32 times. She's been in this waiting place (1) in each instance she has died in a life, she sits in darkness, before getting pulled by an unseen force into a new person. This is the first time she is seeing white floating lights and the darkness transforming into some dream-like forest. Two soft but low voices fill the soundless forest simultaneously; one voice male and the other female.
"The Forest of Gods."
"What?"
Lana turns in the direction of the white lights, that have moved within arm reach, begins to form into a person. Lana self consciously moves backward with her eyes glued to the unknown being in front her, unsure on what she should do. The lights suddenly flash in a blinding light and a thin but muscular person stands before Lana. They (2) appear to be in their 20s and their complexion can't be described as anything other than light. They have floor length blue hair that resembles the waterfall behind Lana and a breathtakingly beautiful face that is not either masculine nor feminine. They smile at Lana.
"Hi, Lana! My name is Angel and I'm here to give you your system."
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(1) MC has name the dark place she's in before reincarnating into another life as the waiting place.
(2) I will refer to Angel as They/Them/Their. They aren't a person at all, but appears to be a person for MC.