"Elijah," a monotonous voice called out.
My brain was too sleepy to fully process what was going on.
One of the many things I didn't like was being forced to wake. My insides would be in turmoil, and I won't be in a condition to be nice to whoever it was daring to disturb my sleep.
"Go away…" I begged, pulling the blanket over my freezing body.
My eyes snapped open in an instant.
I gasped upon finding no blanket, no bed, and definitely no room.
Rubbing my eyes, I tried to make myself believe I was still perhaps dreaming.
But the cool and silent whispering of the wind as a lone white cloud kept me afloat in the bright morning sky told me I wasn't inside my dreams.
"Elijah."
Goosebumps crawled all over my skin, leaving me shivering and almost missing the form taking shape in front of me.
The first thing I noticed was his clothes. It was the same white apparel with gold linings on the edges. But I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I spotted his hair arranged in a mohawk, and his face was painted with golden patterns.
"Nichen?"
I wasn't sure. I had to check.
It was always good never to assume. Who knows?
The man let out a sigh. I could briefly remember how he had a stoic facial expression before.
It wasn't the case right now.
His eyes looked tired, and it was evident he was in a terrible mood.
That made me gulp nervously. What did this mean for me?
Am I in trouble? Was this because of what happened earlier?
Wait a minute.
None of that was my fault.
So why am I panicking like it was?
'Get ahold of yourself, Elijah.'
"Elijah," Nichen repeated. His authoritative voice scared me.
The stoic expression was back.
The man staring at me right now was the same one I had met before. He cleared his throat, eyeing from head to toe.
"You look fine to me."
I stared at him, confused at his comment.
"I've heard from Esther that you desperately needed my help. I don't see why she made it sound like you were dying."
"Eh?" I scoffed. "Who the hell is Esther?"
Nichen held my gaze. The stoic expression on his face somewhat bothered me.
He sighed, muttering words I couldn't seem to understand.
"Every minute of my time is precious, Elijah. So, let's cut to the chase. What do you want?"
Now I was pissed.
"Right. Because I'm just a nobody. A perfect nobody whom you decided to sacrifice without even letting me know about it. You choose people and tell them some stupid crap about being Nirvana's favorite, letting them do your job. And you dare to tell me that your time is precious?"
I could imagine smoke coming out of my ears. But all the while, Nichen remained calm. It was even more frustrating to see his expressionless face.
I could rant to him about everything I find wrong, but he would never give away what he was really thinking or feeling regarding my outbursts.
"If I may boldly correct what you have said, let me tell you that what we do is never a job. Saving lives, keeping several Universes from invasion, or maintaining the peace thereon, it's your responsibility, to be frank. What we do is extend all the help Nirvana could offer."
Nichen paused, waiting for a response in case I interrupted him. But I held my tongue, holding his gaze.
"So, if I understand correctly, you disapprove of our method because it violated your right to choose. Now, Elijah, I must remind you that you were given a choice before being sent back. And, you chose to be where you are."
"But you decided to remove that from my memory."
Nichen nodded.
"It's mandatory."
"Why?"
Nichen pursed his lips.
"It's part of what we need to do to keep Nirvana as it is. We are accused of removing your agency. Yet, you still chose to do what you believe would be right. Now, tell me, did I misunderstand anything?"
I opened my mouth and then closed it, curling my hands into fists.
Lowering my head, I started to laugh.
"No," I replied. "You got everything right and down to the very last detail. But that doesn't make me feel better. Instead, I am even more enraged. You turned me into some kind of hero, needing to defeat the hideous beasts that invaded our Universe before I could enter Nirvana. I don't think I would ever agree to anything like that."
"Had you known about this, would you have accepted the chance to go back and lead a different life?"
"Hell, no!" I muttered. "Facing gruesome monsters wasn't part of my bucket list."
"You have Esther and the capability to access Nirvana's help. You're not unarmed."
I was about to shout bloody hell but chose peace over releasing my frustration. Nichen would still be unbothered by it. What was the use? I would only embarrass myself.
"Fifi is nice. She's been very helpful. But seriously. Why a dragon? Why do I need to be a dragon when fighting these monstrous beings and why the hell am I stuck in a seventeen-year-old body?"
"That's out of my jurisdiction."
Nichen replied, his stoic expression slowly vanishing. He tilted his head to the side like he was listening to someone else speak to him.
"Oh," Nichen spoke after a few minutes of silence. He eyed me up and down again before nodding. "I understand. Yes. Alright. Perfect."
Blowing out a sigh, the Divine's right hand looked me square in the eye.
"Taking into consideration your," Nichen paused, trying to find the right word. "Complaint, it has been decided to give you two options right now."
I folded my arms over my chest, my curiosity eating at me.
"I'm all ears."
Nichen snapped his fingers, calling forth a scroll that appeared out of thin air. He briefly skimmed it with his eyes.
My curiosity was piqued, but at the same time, my heart was hammering hard.
Snapping his fingers for the second time, Nichen made the scroll disappear. He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose while mumbling to himself.
When he reopened his eyes, the same tiredness I noticed a while ago was displayed on his face.
"You know Elijah; I was beginning to like you."
"You mean in a good way, right?" I had to ask.
Nichen ignored my remark, his eyes focusing on something else.
"Elijah Iveya, you are hereby given this opportunity to make a choice."
I clamped my mouth shut, waiting for whatever verdict was waiting for me.
Was this good, or was this bad?
"The first choice states that you will continue living the teenage boy's life with Esther as your companion. That involves the same privileges you already knew about. As mentioned by Esther, when you evolve, it is when you can access the power of Nirvana, and the higher your evolution points? All the better."
How come Nichen made this sound so good? But experience otherwise said it differently.
"Okay, what's the second option?"
"The second one allows you to be reborn as yourself. In short, you could live your life as if nothing happened."
I blinked.
"So, you mean to say, option number two is an offer to resurrect me from the dead?"
Nichen took a deep breath. He held my gaze, his patience probably thinning.
"Reborn," he replied. "It means that you, Elijah, will begin your life again."