Break time. I reach into my bag and take out the bento prepared by my female childhood friend. Just kidding, I don't have such caring girls my age making me lunch.
As I was eating on my desk, listening to music while I munched, a friend hopped on the seat in front of me.
"Hey man, how's it going?"
"Oh, hi," I said, as his arrival caught me by surprise, "To be honest, life's quite mundane. Same old routine, like a broken chain. I wake up, eat, study, and sleep. Repeat it all, it's making me weep."
There was no notable event that caused me to change. I simply lived my life without any significant occurrences. I have no particular image or thought that I hold onto. I exist in the moment without any sense of direction or purpose.
"Come on, with how many times I invite you to party, you have nobody to blame other than yourself. I actually came to tell you about that. Me and a couple of the other guys were planning to go to Roppongi, on motorcycle. You should really leave the house once in a while, instead of writing poems all day."
"You're right, I could use a thrill. Something to make my heart still. But until then, I'll stick to this rhyme, it's all I've got to pass the time."
I don't feel a need to save those around me, nor do I feel any particular attachment to the people I encounter. I am simply existing without any sense of urgency or meaning.
"I'll take that as a yes. Come to my class after school is over."
──────────
It was 3 PM and the bell rang, signaling the end of school. I went to his class, class 2-C. When I arrived, I saw that the class was almost empty. But in the back, I see my friend with a group of other guys, 3 of them.
They were all dressed in black leather jackets, their helmets on the desks in front of them. My friend waved me over, and I walked towards them.
"Yo, you made it!" my friend exclaimed when he saw me.
"Yeah, I'm here. So, where are we going?" I asked, trying to hide my excitement.
"We're heading to Roppongi. It's gonna be an adrenaline rush, man. We're gonna take our bikes and hit the streets. Are you ready?" he replied.
"Let's do this," I said, nodding my head.
We all grabbed our helmets and headed out of the school. As we walked towards the parking lot, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous. I had never been on a motorcycle before, let alone ridden one on the busy streets of Tokyo.
But as soon as I hopped on the back of my friend's bike, all my fears faded away. The wind in my face, the sound of the engine roaring beneath me, it was all so exhilarating.
For the first time in a long while, I felt alive. I didn't have to worry about school, or poems, or anything else. I was just living in the moment.
We weaved in and out of traffic, speeding down the streets of Roppongi. It was such a different experience from my mundane daily routine. I felt alive.
We eventually made it to our destination and parked our bikes. We spent the night exploring the city, trying new foods, and having a few drinks. It was a night I would never forget.
As the group was getting ready to leave the club and head back home, my friend turned to me, "You wanna ride my bike back home? I can ride with one of the other guys."
I hesitated at first, not sure if I was ready to ride a motorcycle. But then I thought about how much fun I had earlier in the night, and decided to take the opportunity.
"Sure! I guess it's not everyday I get to ride one of these things."
"That's the spirit! Looks like someone's finally left their shell."
I put on my helmet and mounted the bike, feeling the adrenaline rush through my veins. Cruising down the highway, going in and out, passing cars along the way.
But then, out of nowhere, a car swerved into our lane. I tried to brake and swerve to avoid it, but it was too late.
The impact was like nothing I had ever felt before. My body was thrown off the bike and I felt a searing pain in my leg.
As I lay on the ground, I looked down and saw that my leg was crushed. My bone was sticking out of my skin and I could feel the blood pouring out of me.
I just laid there on the asphalt, semi-conscious. I could feel the pain, but the shock of what happened didn't let me fully process it.
"Oh my gosh, Hiroomi! Are you alright, are you alive?!" My friend asked.
"There once was a boy…with great zeal, who…sought thrills…to make his heart feel," I whispered weakly
"Alright, that's good, just keep making those poems. Hey! Call an ambulance," he called to one of the other guys.
"But…he went far too fast…and now his fun…has passed. As his injuries…make his fate…surreal." My eyelids felt incredibly heavy. Itried to stay awake, but I was too weak.
"Hey, stay with me here," My friend, Joben Manmitsu, started slapping my face to keep me awake.
"Limericks──"
"What?"
"They're not poems──they're limericks."
Pretty lame as far as last words go. I couldn't even express my gratitude to him for giving me such a fun last day.
Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted up, as if on a gentle breeze, and I opened my eyes to find myself in a bright, white space.
"Wha, where am I?"
"Oh, this is Heaven."
As I looked around, I noticed the room's opulence - ornate moldings on the walls, intricate chandeliers casting a warm glow, and the cool, sparkling marble floor on my bare foot. In the center of the space, standing before me, was a man of impressive stature, tall and slender, wearing round sunglasses and a plush bathrobe. Just behind him, I noticed a strikingly beautiful woman, her posture confident as she held a sleek tablet in her hand, seemingly occupied with typing.
"Heaven? Which makes you..."
"The Big G himself," he said with great confidence and stretching his arms wide. His face grinning confidently.
"This is awkward," I commented.
"Why?"
"I was an Atheist my whole life," I explained
"... So?" There was a small gap before he replied, as if he was waiting for me to continue.
"So shouldn't I be in Hell?"
There was a small pause, and even the woman looked up from her tablet. The man blinked twice.
"HEHEHEHEHE," followed by a burst of loud and hearty laughter.
"You see this guy?" He turned to the women, "No, you're fine. A lot of people didn't believe this place existed either."
"And you're not mad about that?"
"Humans are constantly getting misinformation shoved in their faces, so I actually like it when people are a little bit more skeptical when they've been presented "facts" without much backing, you know? I mean, throughout human history you've had wars about bullshit that didn't matter, endless apocalypse scares, holocaust deniers, flat earthers still. I mean, they say epileptic seizures were the devil's doing, but Baal-Zebul, the devil himself, advocates for accessible healthcare and shit. Actually, he says that I should do my work instead of partying all day."
"If you only you would listen to Sir Baal-Zebul."
"Tell that to Ashurnasirpal," The man retorted. While the woman just rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, It's all bullshit fear mongering to oppress and indoctrinate people."
"So you really don't care that I never believed in you?"
"Bitch, I only punish assholes. Do you know how many mass murderers are, like, super pissed that they're burning in Hell right now after carrying acts of violence in my name? Like, don't act on my behalf, bozo. I rule Heaven, I'm chilling, I've never been not chilling."
"Yeah, maybe a little too much chilling," The women commented on the man's tardiness.
"What was that now?"
"I said your 3 o'clock has been cancelled," yet the women merely dodged the question.
"That was not what you said, but nevertheless, Seshat here is going to show you to your room."
"Room?"
"Well, I like to say room, but it's really more like your own mansion. And you also get an entourage of 6 servants; 3 man and 3 woman for whichever way you swing. They'll be beautiful, don't worry."
"Sir..."
"Seshat, I swear to my name if you comment one more time..."
"We've run out of space."
"Alright, that's it! You... Wait, what? We ran out of infinity?"
"Indeed. Well, more precisely, the consortium refused to let you keep the Imaginary Element."
"Well screw them! Call Baal-Zebul, we're burning down the consortium," The man ordered, sounding pressed.
"Perhaps you should do what they want, Sir."
"What, just because I haven't been doing what I'm supposed to and ignoring their help when they needed it the most and not paying them back for the favors they've done──alright, maybe I deserve it. Sorry kid, I guess you can't come to Heaven now, you want me to resurrect you?"
I didn't really understand what just happened, but it seems my place in Heaven isn't available yet, and while going back to Earth sounded appealing, I didn't want to return to my mundane life again.
"Can I be reincarnated into a new body?"
"An interesting request, though not an uncommon one. Sure, I can. Where do you wanna go?"
"The world of Tensura, preferably in the body of Rimuru Tempest," I requested meekly.
"Oh, you want story worlds. Seshat, did they take my Omniverse?"
"Omniverse is infinite. They took your infinity, so they took your Omniverse. It's been degraded to a finite Multiverse."
"The finite Multiverse should be 12 Googelplex," The man clicked his tongue, "Can't have shit in the consortium... Well, reincarnating you in such a story world should be easy, but why the protagonist?"
"His path has already been determined. I don't really want to work for the things he has."
"Hm, I can definitely understand that feeling. Well off you go," But before he could send me off, I wanted to ask him a question.
"Wait, what's, uh, your name?"
For a second the man looked surprised, then his darted upwards as if he was thinking, then looked back at me, giving off a smirk. "You could just remember me as the Unbegotten Source."
I felt a rush of joy as I imagined myself as the powerful and charismatic Rimuru Tempest, battling fearsome monsters and making new friends. "I will do my best," I promised.