A tragic, tragic fate has fallen on this poor soul. In the foolish attempt to save a life, he, a fool, has given his own to protect others. A righteous deed...yet a foolish one.
The entity spoke as it stood firmly in front of him.
"Rushed to the hospital, and did not survive after being shot 4 times in the back. He, Yoshuke Shibata, saved the life of a 12 year old girl for a price. His life, ended at the age of 35....a tragic death."
Yoshuke wasn't sure how to approach the situation. He had been in this space for who knows how long. Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks perhaps? Without any sense of time, it was impossible to tell how long he had been stuck here for.
Shortly after his death, he woke up in this desolate place. A white, empty space which he wandered for what felt like aeons.
From what he could tell, it was neither heaven not hell. No clouds, no fire, no angels or demons, it was nothing like the myths. He began to wonder if he had been stuck in some sort of limbo, or even purgatory.
After wandering for some time, Yoshuke sat down and rested. That's when it appeared.
A large statue like entity one day materialized in front of Yoshuke and never stopped repeating the same phrases over and over again.
It didn't look like anything from his world, well as far as he knew. The statue looked old, even older than some of the structures in the real world. The golden orb which it held in its hands looked almost mystical as well.
After awhile, Yoshuke finally decided to stand up and approach the entity.
"You know, we've been here for long time and uhh.... Well, what's your name?"
Despite his efforts, the entity gave no response. As Yoshuke was about to sit back in silence, it spoke.
"We are The Architect, the creator and eminence of all."
What it had just said made Yoshuke even more confused. Eminence? Creator? It all didn't blend in very well.
But his words this time must have triggered something as the entity spoke. He felt like he was finally making some sort of progress!
"Architect....I have a question. What...is this place?"
The Architect took time to respond once again. He thought it likely operated similar to a machine, taking the time to process information before handing out information.
"The space between reality, and desires. The 'shifting' zone for all who pass."
Its answer was straightforward and direct, but it still didn't answer some of Yoshuke's questions.
Yoshuke placed his hands on his head and began to recall everything he had experienced in his past life once again.
He was born into a family which had far more to be desired. Due to that, Yoshuke lived a life of misery, only living by the skin of his teeth through studying endlessly. Eventually he even got an office job at one of the worst companies possible.
Suffice to say, his life was met by various misfortunes. His only saving grace was a certain game he always played in his free time.
Thanks to grinding countless hours and his high intellect, he shortly became the first to ever reach the 'Adventure Rank' of 60 in the game's history. An achievement, despite all the time he wasted, was proud of since it was the only remaining joy in his life.
He was about to go to work one day when it all happened. A robbery was happening at a convenience store, and one thing led to another...he ended up saving a young girl from being shot and ended up dying shortly after.
The only thing he regretted after dying was the abandonment of his account.
"My my, it seems another lost soul has made it to this place. Congratulations, you happen to be the 98,000 something person!"
Out of nowhere, the voice of a young girl made its way into his ear. He turned towards the source there it was, a young girl sitting on top of the statue.
"98,000- wait what?! You mean there's been that many people transported here and I haven't seen them?! And who the fuck are you?!"
"Such rude behavior from a mere human! But I suppose you are all the same....fufufu. In that case, listen well human!"
The girl suddenly jumped off the statue, into a portal which opened out of nowhere before instantly appear behind him. This act startled Yoshuke and even caused him to fall over.
"I am the Arbiter of The Destruction, the god known throughout all the universes as Li Mei! Brown down to your superior, benefactor! Hahaha!"
One thing circled around Yoshuke's mind as she stared up at the girl laughing to herself.
'This woman really is crazy', well he wasn't wrong to think that. Some random teenage looking girl popped out of nowhere and claimed to be a god? Then again, he would believe her after being stuck in this space for so long and talking to a large hunk of ancient rocks.
After everything so far, it was just safe for Yoshuke to nod and agree to whatever this girl was saying.
"Oh? I assumed you would be more delighted. Geez humans these days are becoming more and more boring! Well whatever, Yoshuke Shibata am I right? You're a former office employee and an addict in a game called 'Genshin Impact'?"
Yoshuke reluctantly nodded and replied "Well...yeah? But highlighting the fact I was obsessed is a bit...nevermind that."
He felt a bit disappointed in himself since that was the one thing she pointed out than his other achievements. Although, that was likely his only greatest achievement.
"Splendid! Now tell me, what exactly do you like about the game?"
The question this god asked him had him pondering for awhile.
Yoshuke always played Genshin Impact as an escape mechanism, to escape from his office job was the main thing on his mind whenever he played the game.
Genshin was a unique game filled with various characters, all with different personalities which made the fan base like them quite a lot. Over his years of playing, he even formed deep bknds with some of them despite being fictional.
The world building, fun mini-games, exploration and more all hooked Yoshuke from the very beginning. But the one thing that stood out among all others....
"I....I like the story the most. Not only is it often times compelling, but it often ties up loose ends....while not always, it's always a fun experience too! The story builds the characters, even some major side quests get to be relevant to the main story! I always dreamed of joining their company to write their stories along the production crew! But unfortunately....I don't think I'll have a chance at doing so."
He put all of his soul into that one speech...if he even had one. Yoshuke was after all, always one to read and was fascinated by stories even when others weren't. He likely the only person to ever play all of what Genshin Impact had to offer too.
"Ah...I see. So you're saying you like that shitty gacha game because it has a good story? Sounds like a pretty mediocre excuse...."
"H-Hey! I'll have you know it is no 'shitty gacha game'! I mean, it is- but that's besides the point! And I don't like it because the story is good! Even I admit the storyline falls off often, but that isn't why I stick around to see the tales unfold!"
The god snickered and laughed loudly at his remark. "It has been quite some time since I've met a human with enthusiasm similar to yours, even if you're a bit rude sometimes. I suppose that's why I chose you after all."
"Chose? What the hell did you choose me for..."
"The story of two twins who want to leave a world behind, being separated by a powerful unknown god..... One goes on to rule the abyss, the other leads a journey with a cast of supporting characters behind them. I wonder....what would it be like to be one of the supporting characters in a world like that?"
What the god had mentioned stunned Yoshuke for a few seconds.
The thought never crossed his mind before as he was always more immersed in the story of the main characters, but the side characters? One could say they were surely equally as important.
"You may not know, but as an arbiter, I have a few...special powers. Considering you're dead right now, how would you like to be transported to another world, as a side character?"
"Transported.... huh?! Hey hey, are you talking about Isekai here?!"
"Precisely! Anyone who has the capabilities of entertaining me are given the privilege to start life over again, rather than starving in the fiery pits of hell."
This was a surprise for Yoshuke. The thought of being reincarnated into another world never crossed his mind, but here it was, an option to start over.
He immediately agreed to the proposal.
There was no reason to refuse, after this was a chance to live a new life. Only a moron would refuse that offer, who knows what would happen if someone didn't take the chance to live a new life. Moreover, the life he had lived was filled with nothing but misfortunes, Yoshuke thought this was a chance to finally turn everything around even if it was reincarnation.
"Great! Then it is settled....come touch the orb really quick and I will form a connection between you and the new world."
Yoshuke agreed and went to touch the golden orb which was held by the statue. It then began to chant something, a language which he didn't understand but he basically got the gist of it.
"Listen well, Yoshuke Shibata. In the next few minutes, you will be transported into the world of Teyvat. I must remind you, although in the game world Teyvat is a relatively safe experience because of the overpowered characters you have gathered, in your new life, all will be much more difficult."
The god spoke aloud as a bright light began to emit from Yoshuke's chest.
"I will not guide you throughout the story, I will not assist you in any way. This story, is yours.... However death in the new world, will be punished harshly."
The thought of once again meeting death after reincarnation made Yoshuke's skin crawl. It didn't help if he ever died, there would be consequences.
His mind rushed to the dangers of Teyvat. Treasure hoarders, hilichurls, dangerous boss monsters, the Fatui....it all seemed incredibly dangerous. However there was no other choice, with only one chance to live once again, even in a dangerous world, Yoshuke agreed without hesitation.
"One more thing, you will be reborn not as your current state, but as in a brand new body. In other words, you will be born into a new family, with a new name, a new destiny...all that will be left of you will be your memories from your prior life." She spoke while placing her hand on Yoshuke's shoulder.
"Let me ask one final time, are you ready for your new life?"
Without a hint of hesitation, Yoshuke replied with a firm "Yes."
"Then, I welcome you...to the world of Teyvat. Strive how you wish, this is your new story."
In a quick motion, the god sent a strange sensation through Yoshuke's body.
He could feel his soul slowly beginning to disappear as the plain white space slowly shifted into that of a universe. Slowly, he felt he was getting sucked into the golden orb he had been holding.
Before he fully lost consciousness, he heard one final line from the god.
"I will see you again, once you are ready...."