"So this is death?" Arthur wondered as his body floated into an endless abyss. As far as the eye could see, there was only darkness. It was as if, in an infinite universe, all that remained was his body - naked, pure and immaculate - just as he had come to life.
He felt as if he were immersed in a frozen lake. Deep enough that the sunlight no longer reached his eyes, but not so deep that the pressure of the water crushed his body.
It was cold, desolate, melancholy and even familiar. Not as if it were the end of his life, but as if he had returned to the beginning. For the first time in years of suffering, he had found peace.
As he gazed into the beauty of the dark, infinite abyss, the space trembled and a powerful crimson light flooded everything. It seemed as if the very edges of the infinite abyss suddenly lit up, as something tried to break through space-time and reach where his simple existence resided.
Arthur's heart pounded and he tried to turn his face away to observe whatever was disturbing his peace. However, he soon regretted it, being hit by a piercing pain in his retina and an overwhelming pressure in his body. He was forced to close his eyes.
He didn't feel like he was about to die; he felt like he was staring death in the eye. Despite this, Arthur still managed to catch a glimpse, albeit incomplete, of that being: red, beautiful and penetrating eyes, just like his own.
"Hehehe~" A feminine laugh caressed Arthur's eardrums and echoed through his brain like a heavenly symphony, harmonious and enchanting, capable of making even the most bitter man fall in love.
"Ah... My future and eternal consort... You are not yet powerful enough to contemplate my image... at least not yet." An ethereal and melodious voice resounded throughout the void.
'Who are you?' Arthur tried to ask, but he couldn't even open his mouth under the immense pressure this divine being was exerting on him.
"Hm... you can call me Hel." The voice replied, as if reading Arthur's mind, something that made him even more disturbed.
At that moment, Arthur felt the cold of that void being swept from his body. What was followed by the touch of delicate, soft female fingers on his cheeks.
A warm breath, carrying an intoxicating perfume, flowed toward his face and entered his nostrils.
"You look like an identical portrait of your ancestor... did you know that?" Hel whispered, carrying a faint touch of affection in her divine aura.
"I'm sorry for taking you away from your rest, my dear. I'm even sorrier that I can't explain enough what awaits you... But I need you to live for me, I need you to trust me," Hel continued to speak as her hands left the young man's face, sliding down Arthur's paralyzed body, her fingers meticulously studying every inch of his beautifully sculpted muscles.
Her hands stopped abruptly, and her gaze faltered.
"It seems my time is up..." she murmured for the last time, directing her gaze to Arthur's face. Her eyes, as beautiful as the purest ruby, carried a certain sorrow.
She brought her face closer to Arthur's, close enough to feel the young man's deep, panting breaths.
"With that... I seal our fates." Hel pressed her lips against Arthur's. Not as a passionate kiss, full of desire, but as a pure kiss, completely devoid of ulterior motives.
"What the hell is going on?", a single thought dominated Arthur's mind as he listened to Hel speak. His body was completely paralyzed by overwhelming pressure, to the point where he had to struggle to breathe.
His mind, already confused, seemed to explode when he felt soft, wet lips press against his. His closed eyes shuddered, and his body was seized by a sudden explosion of pleasure, as the sweetness of those plump lips flooded his mouth.
When their lips finally parted, Arthur felt his body being sucked in by a tremendous force, as if he were being pulled toward the event horizon of a black hole.
He finally managed to open his eyes again and saw the space around him distort violently, while time itself seemed to lose its meaning. The whole thing lasted less than half a second, but for Arthur, excruciating hours passed.
When Arthur finally regained control of his body and felt the firm ground beneath his feet, his first instinct was to empty his stomach.
"Blargh," Arthur fell to his knees and used his hands to support his body, vomiting a mixture of bile and gastric juice.
The sweet taste from the deity's lips disappeared, replaced by a bitter, disgusting taste.
"Shit." Arthur punched the ground and coughed several times to clear his throat and mouth while trying to use the sudden burst of pain from his hands hitting the hard ground to stabilize his wildly spinning vision.
After a few minutes, he raised his head and observed the scenery around him.
He seemed to be in the depths of a cave, which was weakly illuminated by dozens of crystals on the walls emitting a magical blue light.
"'I've reincarnated...'", Arthur muttered to himself, still a little incredulous as he realized the situation, he was in.
"Holy shit... I've been reincarnated! Hahaha," Arthur lost control of his own laughter and repeated to himself as he let his body fall backwards.
For some, going to another world and leaving all their loved ones behind was frightening. But, what about someone who had already lost everything and was just patiently waiting to die?
The truth was that what Arthur had dreamed and hoped for, had finally happened. A reality that only seemed reachable for the protagonists of the Isekai novels he used to read.
So, as he gazed at the scene before him. Arthur laughed with genuine happiness for the first time in years. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
"Welcome to the world of Aelynn %$#@*$#! &#$#$... ERROR."
Arthur froze.
His laughter died as suddenly as it had appeared, and he stood up.
"What?" his eyes widened as he read that message over and over again.
"This has got to be a joke...", Arthur declared in a shocked voice, as all the enthusiasm leaked out of his body.
In a second, thousands of possibilities exploded in his mind, which was no longer blinded by the ecstasy of what had happened. Was this some kind of prank? Had some game developer recovered his body and decided to play a sick joke?
"No... there's no way any of them would care about a nobody in a godforsaken city..." Arthur muttered. Although he had come from a wealthy family before losing everything, now he was just a disinherited man, that was even erased from the family records.
At that moment, the image, or at least the sensation, that had dominated his body when he met Hel, flashed through his mind.
It was too real to be just a game.
"It doesn't matter," Arthur concluded after long seconds pondering all the possibilities.
Another world or a game, does it really make a difference? The fact was that he was there, and he had to survive.
With a little determination shining in his usually cold eyes, he exclaimed in his mind: 'STATUS!'