"Now, Asher Cloud, what will you choose?"
As he spoke those words, the aura surrounding him turned dark and his evil expression sent chills down my spine. At first I thought that it was just my imagination but seeing the wide grin on his face and considering the current events into consideration, it was quite plausible.
After taking a few seconds to sort out my thoughts, I asked
"May I first know about the task I will be assigned with?"
"Ah, yes sure, you have nothing big to do, you just have to keep the hero in check and support him. It won't be that hard so don't worry." He said while having a nonchalant expression. I could not believe the words he had spoken and I was sure that there would be another catch, but I did not have the courage to ask him any further.
After another few seconds, his face showed slight annoyance but just that was enough to make me shudder.
"Now, now, reply faster as my patience is getting quite thin."
"I would like to reincarnate into the new world."
"Good now lets' begi-"
Before he could complete his sentence, I cut in between sensing that this was the best moment to get some information.
"But I would like to acquire some more knowledge to help me in the unknown future."
"Sure, that isn't a problem. But the information I can provide you will be limited as there are some laws that even someone like me cannot break."
"So now let's finally begin the preparations."
His words contained excitement and his expression was of enjoyment. He then snapped his fingers and the world around us changed to that of the sky.
The place was beautiful as it could get. The sun was shining not too brightly at a distance and making the clouds around it appear golden. Th blue sky was extremely pretty combined with the milky white clouds.
As I looked at the floor, I found out that we were standing on nothing. I could feel my feet supported on something, but at the same time I couldn't. The scenario made me quite surprised but I quickly regained my calm and face once again went to being indifferent.
But, as expected of the creature in front of me, he had noticed this and spoke:
"Ah, don't worry Asher, this too is my domain and nothing can harm you here, except me of course." He assured me with a calm and trusting voice.
"Now, let me explain you all that I can."
"The reason you are here, as you heard before, is to help the hero defeat he demon king. Only the hero can defeat the demon king as it is fated. No other human can stand a chance against the demon king as the hero receives the buff while fighting this demon king, due to this 'fate'.
"I know what you are thinking, if only the her can defeat the demon king, then what can you do, right? I thought that at first as well. You see, I have seen the end of this world many times, but I have re winded it back every time the hero had failed and the demon king has consumed this planet. But unfortunately, I cannot interfere. So I had no other choice but to call for a reincarnation and you were the most ideal person."
The celestial explained the situation to me with a calm attitude, and it felt quite bizarre at first, but then I remembered that the world was a fantasy-type world, and forced myself to believe everything.
"Then if you have re wined the world many times, you probably know the future as well. So could you tell me about the future events to help me prepare myself?" I asked.
"Hmmm, quite smart huh. As expected of the person I chose." He answered in a proud tone.
"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that. But in return, I will explain everything about the world that I can to you."
His hand which was on his lap lifted in an upward motion and he mage a gesture indicating me getting close to him. Suddenly, I felt myself being surrounded by a strange energy and I began to float. The situation bewildered me as I was pulled towards him while still being in the air. In about a few seconds, I was close to him and his index finger pointed towards me and touched my forehead.
A load of information was transferred into my head in a split second and my head ached like never before. I groaned in pain as I fell to the ground while holding my head.
"Aaargh" I screamed in pain.
After about a minute, which felt like an eternity, the pain subsided and my brain started interpreting the information quickly but steadily.
Apparently, the world was like your any other fantasy world with things such as martial arts and magic. The physical prowess of humans easily surpassed any of the humans at earth. The planet also contained an energy previously unknown to earth, called mana. It served as a fuel for many things and most of the half-assed technology of the world was based around the consumption of mana. Also, there existed people who used mana to use magic. The magic had many spells and used many different elements. The people who use mana and practice there prowess in this field were called as mages.
There exist magical beasts of many ranks as well as well as different races of creatures with intelligence equal or higher than humans. The racer were of course your typical dwarves and elves and also included races such as vampires, ware wolves and demons. There were other minor races as well such as beast men including humanoid foxes, etc.
The people who practice martial arts use mana as well but in a different manner which helps them to improve their physical prowess. These people are commonly called as legionaries.
****
A few minutes later when I had fully understood all the information provided by the celestial, I stood up and looked at him as if I was waiting for him to speak something.
"Wonderful, your mental prowess is truly wonderful. What a great specimen you are-
Oh, ahem ahem, well, that is all I can provide you with. There are many other secrets as well but telling that would be violating the law."
"clap clap, so now let's prepare for your departure."
He then looked at me with eyes depicting him looking at a new toy with a smile on his face and his voice contained expectations that seemed quite heavy.
"Good luck Asher."
Suddenly, the world around me started to turn hazy and the surroundings turned black. It felt as if I had died again but the feeling was a little different.
Yes, the feeling was of the beginning.
I was going to be reborn and that filled me happiness, which I had never felt before. It seemed that my emotions had become more vivid after dying once.
I fell unconscious for an unknown amount of time and when I woke up, I heard the crying of a child. The cries were becoming louder and louder but I soon realized that it was my ears waking up.
My eyes automatically opened up and I saw two beautiful individuals standing in front of me: a male and a female. The male had white hair along with blue diamond like eyes. He had a sharp face which was extremely handsome. That man was my father.
The female which was smiling brightly and was on the right side of me was my mother. I instinctively knew that the dazzling woman was my mother. She had white snow like hair and deep blood red eyes. She had a small nose and combined with her rosy lips, she was surely one of the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
She opened her mouth which still had that smile and spoke
"Welcome to the world, Erik"