Credit to the author: Big death
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Word count: 2.1K
Rain pours down from the grey heavens above. Soaked clothes cling to me in an uncomfortable hug. While I listen to Lucas talk about how he can beat my ass in Mario Kart, I grumble to myself that I haven't brought an umbrella with me.
"…I dare you to race against me on the rainbow road," the rain doesn't do anything about the gleeful smirk on his face. It just stays there plastered onto him as if he scratched the lines into his skin with a permanent marker.
I roll my shoulders and shiver thanks to the wet clothes that restrict my movement. "You think that huh? Tomorrow I'll wipe the floor with you then," I copy his smirk onto my face.
In return, his smile only broadens, "At my house tomorrow? Your remotes suck. Honestly, you should do something about your brother throwing them around the room when he loses."
We arrive at the intersection where we have to part ways but our conversation is far from finished. So we stand there, the sky weeping above us. At this point, it doesn't matter that much. At some point, clothes can't soak up any more water. Beyond that, it is just rain. Who cares about a little rain when you are soaked to the bones already?
I play back what he just said, almost losing track of the conversation. "Sure," I reply. "Though, it isn't my problem that he is a spoiled brat. Don't you think that I have told him dozens of times not to throw with the remotes or his phone?"
Lucas shrugs at me, "Sure, just remember. After school tomorrow at my house. Get ready to have your ass beat." He turns to the left and walks down the street towards his home, evading the minefield of puddles the road has become.
I wave at him and turn to face the road. I wait for the pedestrian light to spring to green while I spend time with my thoughts. Why does he think that he can beat me that easily in Mario Kart? I'm bad at smash bros but it is an entirely different game.
I hear the light spring to green and step onto the street, forced to step into a puddle thanks to blocked storm drains.
A car honks to my left. I look up from the ankle-deep puddles, only to realise that the cars haven't stopped. One of them is cranking on its brakes, the tires having lost contact with the road thanks to the heavy downpour.
The two tonnes of metal slide over the road towards me. The car lights blind me.
Bones, my bones, crunch as the vehicle slams into me with full force. Pain blooms all over my body, from my knees which must now be in the wrong place to my arms that just feel wrong. My lower back aches the most, almost like someone stabbed me in my spine.
The woman behind the wheel screams as she loses all control of the car.
It swerves up the sidewalk, the bump, making the glass crack precariously under me. My limbs feel cold as the sensation and feeling in them dims. It all feels so strange. I would have expected more pain from getting hit by a car that must have been driving 40 kilometres an hour. Maybe I hit my head too?
Other people scream and jump out of the way. With a sudden thud, we come to a painful stop as we crash into a lamppost. The structure groans with pain.
The world swims around me in nauseating patterns. A hand, my hand, touched my head, coming away with blood. So I did hit my head. That at least explains the lack of pain.
I push myself up from the hood of the car. I don't look at my body, not wanting to see the shape it is in. It'll make this all too real. A part of me somehow believes that this is all a dream and that any moment now I will wake up in my bed.
The metal behind me continues to groan and squeak under its weight. I muster up the energy to turn around to the lamppost, the lights in it flickering with warning. My eyes travel downwards toward the base where the car hit it. Down there, the metal is a twisted mess that only grows worse as time stretches on.
With an all too quiet snap, something gives in and it starts to tumble towards the car and towards me.
I try to roll out of the way but my body is unresponding.
Fuck me, this is gonna hurt like a bitch.
Lights go out and I stare in confusion at the darkness around me.
Did I die?
*Congratulations. You have died.
I should be panicking now. I should be freaking out of my mind. I fucking died and I am in the afterlife with some strange robotic voice talking to me.
This has to be a dream. This all has to be a dream. Something like this can't and doesn't happen.
I turn around in the black space. I don't have a body here, so moving is weird. Is that what ghosts feel like? No, shut up Samuel. This is just a dream. You realised that now. In a matter of moments, you will wake up in your bed.
I begin to count to ten, waiting for something to change. But nothing does. In front of me is still an endless expanse of darkness. Nothing like the starry darkness of the sky, but utter darkness made from liquid shadow and children's fears.
Without a body, everything is difficult. My emotions feel more than dulled, only raging on in the background. I should be terrified. I should be sad that I died. I died thanks to my own stupidity. If I just watched out. If I had just looked up before trying to cross the road…
I'm dead now, aren't I? The robot voice said so…
I want to cry. I should cry my heart out. I will never see my parents again nor my brother. What about my friends? Will they be sad? Will there be a funeral with my body that must have dozens of broken bones?
I miss the heartbeat in my chest, I already miss the sensation of tears streaming down my face. I even miss the rain and my soaked clothes. Anything is better than feeling this all-consuming emptiness.
I want to feel again.
This can't be it, right?
My soul, or what I assume my being is, turns around and faces a new direction.
Far, far below me there is an aurora that glows with hundreds of colours. From vibrant reds to acidic yellows. It is a dazzling display of colours.
My body feels weightless, even so, I'm falling towards the aurora that seems to be steadily glowing brighter beneath me.
The aurora beats like a living heart, contracting before exploding outwards with more light. Some shades seem to disappear as green fights for dominance over the other colours. The aurora beats another time and once more green grows and the other colours shrink.
I've never thought the afterlife would look like this. No stairway to heaven nor a highway to hell. Just some strange aurora that has a heartbeat. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. But does that even count since I am dead? Who cares. I don't think anyone is keeping count.
I should look towards it with awe, but it only registers as pretty in my mind, nothing more and nothing less.
*Your soul will now be transported to the world of Lizekia. There you live your second life.
Oh? So I died but now I will live again? Don't tell me this is gonna be an isekai. My brother and the neighbour's kid, Jimmy, never shut up about those things.
But will I truly be born again? Will I get a new family? A caring mother and a loving father?
I…I don't want that. What about my family? I just died. Have they heard the news by now? Are they crying right now, or did they already have my funeral?
I love…loved my parents. They were kind and supportive. And I can't even cry now because I will never see them again. At least that is how these things work from the snippets I overheard between my brother and the neighbour's kid.
*Congratulations. Your new body has been chosen. Remember to survive. No one gets a third chance.
The robot voice takes on a warning voice as it finishes the last sentence.
My being starts to plummet faster and faster towards the aurora that has been fully overtaken by green light.
Before I know it, I'm sinking into it like quicksand. It should feel like something, however, it doesn't. It all is just as empty as this place. However, it still surprises me that the aurora is as thick as molasses. If I had hands right now, I bet I could reach out and scoop up the liquid light.
Green fills my vision and makes place for white light. That too begins to fade away and turn to darkness.
It almost seems like I have returned back to the place I was, so far away from the aurora, if not for the sensations that begin to register. It's as if I'm wearing my wet clothes again. The world around me is dark and moist. I take a deep breath but my lungs find no air.
In a panic, I flail around, not used to this body yet. My limbs are in the wrong place and it all just feels as if I'm someone else entirely. Everything feels off for a second as if I have grown two heads. However, that too fades as my being becomes accustomed to this body.
Something gives way around me and light peers in. Why am I in the ground? A very unpleasant thought enters my mind. I don't pay any attention to it. Not yet.
I crawl out of the earth with painfully much difficulty
With tremendous effort, I heave myself fully out of the hole and lay between the large blades of grass.
Why is the grass so tall? I roll onto my back and look at the trees that partly block the sun. Birds up high in the trees, sing peaceful songs together. I stare at the trees that tower over me like giants. Even the smallest one around me must be at least fifty times my height.
A bird chirps in delight as it finds some kind of bug to munch on. Confused, I cock my head to the side. That bird, it looks so big even from this distance.
Clumps of dirt that stick to my skin fall away. I turn my focus to my body and realise that my skin is different. It shares a certain kinship with tree bark. Luckily enough my skin is far less wrinkled.
That's still bad, Samuel.
Oh no. No, no, no no. Nononononononononononono.
What the hell am I?
Right on time the robot voice chimes in my ears.
Species: Lesser Mandrake lvl 0/5 (I)
HP: 15/15
SP: 10/10
Strength: 3
Agility: 2
Perception: 2
Constitution: 3
Endurance: 3
Mind: 1
Skills: 5/17 skill slots in use
Photosynthesis (C) lvl 1/20: Stand still in the light of the sun to catch its energy and make it yours. Increases Stamina and Health regeneration slightly.
Mandrake Screech (C) lvl 1/20: A mandrake's scream is its only method of defence. Damages enemies slightly and has a chance to stun an opponent.
Identify (C) lvl 1/20: See through opponents and enemies alike. Allows the user to see basic information and gives access to the most commonly known knowledge.
Nature Affinity (Un) lvl 1/20: Born in a place of nature, you have gained the favour of it.
Body of Roots (C) lvl 1/20: Allows the user to make small changes to their body.
This is bad. I'm not familiar with how these stats work and the skills I have. Sure, I played plenty of games and listened to a dnd podcast once in a blue moon but this seems different. Besides, all my stats seem to be low, really low.
I look at myself closer and Identify activities on command.
Lesser Mandrake lvl 0/5 (I)
Mandrakes are sought after by all races, Great or small. In some cultures, they are a delicacy but in truth, they can be used in an endless amount of alchemical recipes. It is rumoured that consuming a mandrake can extend a being's lifespan.
Well, fuck me. I'm a walking panacea. I am so dead.