"Damn! Hahaha, it finally happened!" Pyris exclaimed, his voice strained yet filled with a sense of exhilaration. Despite the excruciating pain surging through his battered body, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, the sound of his mirth echoing through the chaos around him.
"Is he crazy? How can someone laugh in such a situation?" one of the paramedics murmured, glancing at Pyris with a mixture of confusion and concern. The entire team exchanged bewildered looks as they rushed to the scene, their focus wavering for a moment as they tried to make sense of the young man's inexplicable behavior.
"Hurry! He might lose his life!" the leader of the paramedic team barked, snapping his colleagues out of their daze. The command was sharp, a desperate call to action as they moved with practiced precision toward Pyris, who was lying broken and bloodied on the pavement.
"Yes, sir!" the team responded in unison, their voices tense as they swiftly set to work, assessing his injuries and preparing to transport him to the nearest hospital.
'Poor lads, wasting their time on me!' Pyris thought to himself, a small, pitying smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The sight only deepened the paramedics' confusion. Was he actually pitying them? Did the impact with the truck damage his brain? They couldn't fathom what was going through his mind.
Given the fact that the truck had hit him and sent him crashing head-first onto the cold asphalt, brain damage wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Yet, something about the look in his eyes suggested there was more to his actions than they could understand.
But Pyris paid no mind to their puzzled expressions. He closed his eyes, dismissing the paramedics' efforts to save him as unnecessary. They didn't understand his generosity, his gratitude.
'Truck-kun, the Deity of Transmigration, thank you for blessing this poor soul!' he thought, his mind filled with reverence. If he had any strength left in his shattered body, Pyris would have bowed down in thanks to the mighty Deity Truck-kun.
'Such a shame,' he lamented internally, 'I would've wanted to thank you with the respect you deserve, O mighty Truck-kun!' Tears welled up in his eyes, not from the physical pain, but from the overwhelming emotion of finally being noticed by the deity of his dreams.
He was certain—no, he was absolutely positive—that he was about to be transmigrated. How could he not bow to the ultimate figure of transmigration, the one who had chosen him for this destiny?
"Poor boy, reality has finally settled in!" one of the paramedics remarked as they carefully lifted Pyris onto a stretcher and loaded him into the ambulance. The others nodded in somber agreement, believing his delusions were the result of trauma, a mind unable to cope with the reality of impending death.
'No shit!' Pyris shouted internally, annoyed that they misunderstood his tears. 'I'm not despairing—I'm sad I couldn't properly thank the Deity! What if he gets angry at my ungratefulness and… and…' His thoughts trailed off as more tears streamed down his face, a mix of frustration and fear. 'O mighty Truck-kun, I hereby apologize! Please don't be angry and let me transmigrate…' His thoughts grew weaker, fading into nothingness as his vision darkened. His eyes closed, his heart ceased beating, and his consciousness slipped away.
A pink wisp, invisible to all, shot out of Pyris's now lifeless body, darting away from the earthly plane.
"Pyris, time of death, 22:06 PM. Cause of death: hit and run!" one of the paramedics announced, his voice flat as he noted the details.
____
All around Pyris was darkness, stretching as far as he could perceive—if "perceive" was even the right word, given his current state. He couldn't make out any details of the space he was in. There was nothing but an endless void, devoid of light, sound, or any of the familiar sensations that defined life. There was no time, no space, no air—nothing that could be called "real" by any measure of his former existence.
"Is this the legendary void, the place transmigrators first arrive before they're summoned by a god for a blessing and missions?" Pyris wondered aloud, though his voice didn't travel past his mouth. He tried to speak again, but it was as if the void swallowed his words before they could leave his lips.
An unknown amount of time passed in this dark void—minutes, hours, days? Pyris couldn't tell how long he had been suspended in this nothingness. The only thing he could feel was the oppressive darkness that surrounded him, almost as if his eyes were tightly shut, though he knew they were wide open.
He had panicked when he first arrived, but his extensive experience with web novels had prepared him for this eerily familiar situation. He knew that the best thing to do was wait, to remain calm and patient.
"At least Deity Truck-kun was generous enough to grant me this chance," Pyris mused, trying to find the silver lining in his bizarre predicament. With nothing left to do and nowhere to go, his mind began to wander, drifting back to the unpleasant memories of the life he had just left behind.
Pyris had lived a lonely life, with only occasional contact with distant relatives. At 19, he had dropped out of school, scraping by with a job at a local grocery store. The pay was just enough to cover rent and basic necessities, but it didn't offer him much in the way of social interaction, especially with people his own age.
"Despite my handsome looks, I didn't have a girlfriend. They all said my poverty was contagious, hahaha!" He laughed at the memory, though the humor was tinged with bitterness. Life had taken a turn for the worse when he lost his job.
For three months, he searched in vain for new employment, eventually giving up entirely.
"Heh, trading!" he chuckled to himself, recalling how he had briefly tried his hand at trading. But the venture had been disastrous, and before he knew it, he had lost all his savings. It was then that he found solace in his favorite hobbies—web novels, anime, and manga.
They became his escape, his sanctuary from the harsh realities of life.
"The last two months, I hated my life. The only thing I wanted was to be relieved of this miserable existence! Who would have thought the Deity would bless me?" His voice was filled with awe and gratitude. "Now that I'm about to be transmigrated—because that's for sure—bye, miserable life! Bwahahaha!!!" His laughter erupted, echoing through the void, a sound filled with both relief and excitement.
"Ehhh???!!!" His voice trailed off as a blinding light suddenly shimmered from above, enveloping his incorporeal form. Pyris realized that he was no longer in his physical body; he was now a soul, floating in the darkness.
"WELL SAID!!!" A sweet, ethereal voice echoed from within the light. "COME FORTH IF YOU'RE READY!" The aura of divinity emanating from the light was overwhelming, and the weight that had burdened Pyris for so long melted away into nothingness. He felt free—truly free—liberated from the worries, expectations, and disappointments of his former life.
Pyris didn't understand why the voice even bothered to ask if he was ready. Of course, he was ready for anything, as long as it led to his long-awaited transmigration. He was so eager that he didn't waste a single moment pondering unnecessary details. There was only one thing he desired now, and nothing else mattered.
'For how long have I longed for this moment?' With excitement coursing through him, Pyris let his soul be carried by the divine light. A smile remained plastered on his face as he traveled through the warm, comforting stream of light. All the negativity, the dark thoughts and regrets, were cleansed away, leaving him with nothing but pure anticipation.
At the end of the light, a heavenly being awaited him—a female god, radiant and majestic.
"ARE YOU READY TO RECEIVE MY BLESSINGS, MY CHAMPION?"
Pyris's smile widened even further, his heart swelling with joy.
'Champion, huh?' he thought, his mind buzzing with excitement. 'This is going to be amazing!'
He laughed wickedly, ready to embrace the adventure that awaited him.