As the entire class hid in the corner of the room out of fear of what was currently happening, one student stood up, walked towards the open door, and peeked out into the hallway. He looked back at us and gave us all a thumbs up. He peeked out once more and,
FWIPPPP!!!
The person's body shifted back and forth before eventually falling forward. None of us could see his entire body, so we couldn't know what had happened to him; we just assumed the worst. Some of us covered our mouths in despair, trying hard not to scream, while the group that appeared to be his friends felt angered.
I shoved myself towards the back of the huddled group instinctively and was met with odd gazes and glances. I was unaware that a person was crawling over to check the body of the person who presumably died.
"A—ah! Th—there's an arrow in his head!"
The boy crawled backward and hit his head on the desk, but it appeared that the sight of the dead person was enough for him to ignore the pain.
Everyone responded by screaming as well. I wrote this exact moment in my novel and covered my ears because it appeared that the plot of the novel was readjusting to fit my world. In my novel, it was a girl I killed off. I don't kill off female characters or characters in general because it makes me feel bad.
'I killed that person. It's because of me that he's dead. The difference between one dying in text and reality is truly terrifying…'
With a hint of guilt and a sense of shame, I looked down at the ground while holding my legs close to me as I sat against the wall. One person, one person saw me like this and, I suppose, was curious why I wasn't screaming like the rest. It was a girl with slightly brown hair and pure black eyes.
'Is that even genetically possible?'
I asked myself the pointless question to make myself forget that I shall be the reason for numerous deaths.
Soon, the class went crazy. The death of their beloved classmate made them desperate for survival. Without warning, every one of them ran out of the classroom, and some stomped on the corpse of their late classmate. Their hunger to live overwhelmed all of their senses.
Only I, the girl who appeared to be curious, and Ms. Ueno remained. Ms. Ueno was standing in the open doorway, fixing the clothes of the stomped-on person. She kneeled and began to pray, I think.
The curious girl was sitting on a desk and scrolling on her phone. I was still sitting by the wall, judging myself for all the despair I'd caused.
"It should start in about five seconds now. Approximately five minutes after the first horn."
I muttered to myself and scratched the back of my head while sighing. This moment shall decide whether I die or my [Incandescent] chooses me to become their vessel. I felt fear creeping up upon my back and stabbing into my heart. I swallowed hard and accepted whether or not I would die.
GERKUNK!!!
The noise that was just made was similar to a cog in a clock, except the cog was moving at a much slower rate. Suddenly, I felt my breathing slow down and felt as if I was being pulled, yet my actual body wasn't being tugged upon. I was soon taken out of my body in what seemed to be a spiritual ghost form.
The realm that you get pulled into differs greatly. It's forged based on your deepest emotions and desires. Anything that resembles your current emotional state shall be crafted to become the state in which your [Incandescent] either refuses or accepts you.
I was then transported to an endless white space faster than the speed of light, I presume. I saw distortions in the world and light bending. It is truly what I wrote and an experience.
'Wait. This is that same place I talked with her…'
『 He's definitely the right one for you, sir! He may seem cowardly, but his will to live despite his terrible past is truly remarkable! 』
"Who said that!?"
I turned around and scanned my surroundings in the infinite white space. The voice was as familiar as it was last time. I wrote this moment, but none of the characters that experienced this moment had someone or something talking when they reached this place. Only the [Incandescent] can talk here. But I assume that the person who just talked is not an [Incandescent].
I was about to say something, but I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around immediately and was met with a person wearing ancient, traditional Japanese clothing.
"W—who are you?"
Only seconds after I asked the question, the man soon got onto his knees and bowed down to me. I realized what this was. In my novel, I wrote that when receiving your [Incandescent], if they bow down to you, they've already accepted you as their [Incarnate] and are desperate to have you or a vessel in general.
『 I accept you as my [Incarnate], and before I submit to you, I must ask for you to keep a promise. 』
I flinched back by accident because I wasn't expecting him to talk. Only a handful of [Incandescents] talked when they met their vessel, so I wasn't expecting mine to converse with me.
"Uh, yeah sure. What's the promise?"
The [Incandescent] looked up at me with tears in his eyes.
『 I must ask you to keep my wife safe. Her name is Kaya and she is the god of vegetation. She shall be reincarnated into the girl who was curious about you. If you can promise me this, I shall lend you my blessing when you come to need it. 』
The late god soon bowed once more. It made me pity him greatly, and his love for his wife is truly pure. I kneeled to him and rubbed his back while saying with confidence,
"I'll protect your wife and I won't fail."
Then, I realized I didn't even know my own [Incandescent's] name.
"What's your name? And what are you the god of?"
The late god looked up at me once more and told me. It was like the entire atmosphere of the white space shifted once I asked him that. His design was unique, and I never wrote someone that looked similar to him into my story. He's most likely a god that I didn't write about, since the majority of the [Incarnates] have gods I didn't even know existed.
『 My name is Raiden. I am the god of thunder. 』
My eyes widened. The god of thunder? None of the characters I wrote had the god of thunder. Is this my luck, or is it the fact that I'm the author of this series? How could the god of thunder have me as their vessel?
I held out my hand to Raiden. If he accepts me as his vessel, our memories will mix and become one. He'll know that I am the reason for the numerous deaths of his kind and half of all Japan.
"It is your choice whether you accept me or not. But once our memories mix and we both experience each other's pain, we cannot go back."
Raiden cautiously reached for my hand, most likely hesitating because he knew he'd pass his memories of pain onto me. I wasn't sure that he was aware that my grief and pain would also transfer to him until the memories became one.
But, Raiden paused only an inch before our hands met.
『 How do you know about this knowledge? You knew that our memories would mix. Only Chishiki told me. 』
'Crap! I wasn't thinking!'
I sighed and kept my hand still, thinking of a valid explanation. But I couldn't think of one. Raiden was going to know anyway, so I should tell him the truth.
'LIKE HELL I WILL!!! MAKE HIM FIGURE THAT OUT AFTER OUR MEMORIES MIX!!!'
Without thinking, I reached for Raiden's hand, regardless of him being a god or the fact that he was stronger than me.
Raiden's eyes widened, but he was too surprised to realize that I grabbed his hand. Then, our memories soon began to mix. It was a strange feeling. It was like placing your hand in fresh slime, but instead of your hand, it was your brain.
"Grk!"
I could feel our memories mixing with one another, and I felt small images within Raiden's memories being played out right in front of me. He was most likely seeing the same thing as I was, but with my past.
The endless white space soon faded into the form of a dust cloud. I could barely see anything. I waved my hands through the dust and continued walking forward into the cloud of mystery, wondering what memory within Raiden I was seeing played out for me.
I soon came to the clearing of a vast land of dead life forms and vegetation. It was covered with the bodies of dead people. They were all wearing armor, and there was only one person alive in the middle of the land, holding the body of someone close to them.
As I walked closer, I realized that it was Raiden. I immediately analyzed my surroundings once more and realized this was the battlefield for the "High Divine Configuration" game!
'How did I not notice!'
I examined the ground and saw the corpses of all the late gods that inhabited Earth now at my feet, deceased.
Raiden turned towards me and asked with a tone that carried both curiosity and grief,
『 Based on the memories I received from you after they mixed, you caused all of this destruction and death, correct? 』
I nodded.
『 I see… 』
Raiden looked down at the body he was holding and then back at me. His eyes reflected a mixture of sorrow and understanding.
『 Despite the pain and devastation you've caused, I can sense the remorse and the weight you carry. It is not easy to bear such a burden. 』
I felt a lump in my throat, struggling to find words.
"Raiden, I…"
He raised a hand to stop me.
『 Fulfill our promise. 』
"I—I will!"