Darkness. Nothing but simple and pure darkness so thick it hid the very thoughts of one's mind. That would be Avrin's simple description of what dying that way had felt like.

Then came a foggy sense, like being pulled by a gentle force and placed softly into a soft bed. Avrin could barely feel himself conscious, trying hard to stay awake, yet he felt that whatever he currently was, he was drifting. Beside him, he saw others drifting too: insects, birds, fish, even inanimate objects like rocks and trees. The odd feeling was they gave off a soft white glow, just like he did. This entire situation was confusing; he wanted to remember but kept forgetting.

This continued for who knew how long as he kept drifting with the other species and objects. That was until he heard a voice in the pure void above, a soft voice of a man. "Found you." Avrin then saw a hand like a human's reach out from the darkness, dwarfing him in size. This hand grabbed Avrin, his very being distorting and rippling like a string being picked up.

The hand took Avrin up and brought him into the darkness. Avrin's mind went blank, the voice speaking again. "Let's give you your memories back." Following that statement, Avrin felt a warm current, then his consciousness remembered. More and more.

His current form was like a humanoid form of energy, yet whatever the voice had done to him, it gave him his human shape back, more and more until he was like he was before death, except wearing white clothing. The first sound Avrin heard after this change was his heartbeat, then his pulse and that white noise in his head until he raised his hands and looked at himself. He still had that ethereal glow. Confusion was the only thing on his mind at the time.

He looked up, seeing a figure sitting cross-legged in a long ragged cloak, their appearance covered, their face dark and distorted like space that was alive. Avrin knew that whatever this thing was, it was not human.

"Hello," the figure spoke up. After nearly a minute of silence, Avrin, thinking for a moment, responded seriously. "Are you God?"

Hearing Avrin's answer, the figure let out a quiet chuckle. "No, I'm not that pitiful."

The answer simply made Avrin more unsure and confused, so he spoke again. "Then you're the devil, right?" almost as if the devil was the only thing that would dare call God pitiful.

"Wrong again, but it's fine. You don't need to know who I am right now, only why I'm here," the being replied, looking thoughtful.

Avrin didn't speak again; they simply eyed each other.

"Avrin, I'm here to guide you to your next life," the figure continued.

Hearing this response, Avrin pursed his lips. How could such answers only give more questions again and again? He wanted to respond but didn't have the words for it. The figure in front of him raised his right hand, which looked human, and pointed past Avrin.

When Avrin turned, he saw a stream of blue light, like a flowing ocean in space, but what made this ocean different was that it was made of other blue lights like Avrin had been. Such a sight made Avrin's heartbeat quicken. Following the source of the ocean, he found it came from the endless darkness. He then looked at where it was going, and it was also the endless darkness.

"Is that—" Before Avrin could finish, he was interrupted.

"Samsara. At least, that is the most suitable concept which you can use to understand it. You can only understand a little of it by looking, but in your current state, you won't be able to see the beginning and end of it. I plucked you out from there. I've been waiting for you... for so very long."

Avrin turned back around, his brows furrowed slightly. "Guide me? Waiting for me? Why would you be waiting for me? Is it because I killed so many? Some fate worse than death, I suppose?" Avrin answered, but he wasn't really sure.

The being laughed at Avrin's response. "What you did was indeed cruel, but there are those out there who have done much worse. In existence, this is nothing new," his tone soon became nonchalant.

Unable to deny anything, Avrin had never met someone so worrisome before. He spoke things Avrin couldn't understand; he might as well speak in riddles. "What do you want from me?" he asked.

The being, as if waiting for this, spoke again. "As I said, I'm guiding you to your next life. I have my own reasons. You should feel honored; no one gets this treatment. For me, Avrin Sygin, you are an investment." The being looked up into the void, speaking up with expectation. "Keep your end of the deal."

When he finished speaking, the void rippled before a heart that seemed to change contrast appeared. It would beat and pulse, sometimes transparent, sometimes negative black or positive white. Gazing at it hurt Avrin's eyes and head, as if looking directly at the sun.

"This will hurt, but only for a moment." The being reached for the heart, then uncrossed his legs as he approached the stunned Avrin. With the heart in hand, he suddenly jabbed his hand into Avrin's chest, no blood gushing forth, seemingly phasing through, yet Avrin felt a piercing pain that spread through his body, like having your bones plucked out or something eating you from the inside. That moment felt like eternity to him.

When the being retracted their hand, the heart was gone. Avrin fell to his knees, sweating heavily, gasping for air.

"That's done. I can't tell you much; doing so will cause some annoying issues, but as you grow stronger, you will learn more."

Avrin clutched his chest with his right hand, glaring at the being. "What did you do to me..." his voice raspy, still remembering that pain.

"I've given you a very good head start, and some notes from someone I used to know. Like I said, you are an investment. You will keep your memories too. It's going to be fun watching you when I have time."

Unsure what else to say, Avrin's brows furrowed cautiously. He didn't doubt whoever this being was, they were akin to a god. "Reincarnation, huh. Some investment. Is this some twisted game for you?"

The being remained silent for a moment, extending his hand again that began to expand until he plucked Avrin up and began to move him towards that stream of samsara to enter the cycle.

"Existence is complex, it can be a curse or a blessing, whatever you want it to be. Avrin, right now for me existence is a gamble." He placed him back with the rest of the souls. Avrin wanted to speak more but found his consciousness fading until he was unable to keep his eyes open. Soon, like the others, he drifted towards that endless void of darkness.

The being watched for a few moments before a voice echoed in the void. "You called me pitiful..." The voice was a little annoyed, almost pouty in a joking manner.

In response to this voice, the being let out a soft sigh. "In the end, we're all pitiful, aren't we?"

Looking at where Avrin's soul was drifting, the being looked interested. "It's always nice to see where a certain soul will head towards. Looks like existence has decided that place for you, Avrin. I'll make your beginning extra exciting to temper you. After that, you are on your own unless someone dares to mess up my plan."

Endless darkness for Avrin. After who knew how long, he found his consciousness returning, yet everything was still dark. He felt his mind and emotions twist, flashes and twists and turns, memories or figments of his rampant imagination. Figures fighting in the void of nothingness, their actions causing space to shatter into fractals, then another of a giant maw devouring a galaxy. He saw a raging inferno burn space and spread, a cry of hatred coming from it.