Beep... Beep...
The frail figure of a dying man lay on a hospital bed, surrounded by an array of wires and tubes barely keeping him alive. His family and friends huddled nearby, sobbing uncontrollably.
Beeeeeeep...
The machine monitoring my vital signs wailed. Nurses and doctors rushed in as my parents clutched each other, their faces streaked with tears. It was chaos—a fitting send-off, I suppose.
'Well, looks like this is it.'
I couldn't feel much anymore, just the dull ache in my chest and the distant hum of the machines. It was almost funny. I used to joke about being the one to outlive everyone. Turns out, the universe has a sense of humor.
A week ago, I'd been at home, enjoying a rare moment of peace. Then, boom—burning pain in my chest, a floor-bound Kayle, and an ambulance on the way. I'd barely managed to tap the emergency button on my smartwatch before passing out.
They dragged my sorry ass to the hospital, slapped me in this bed, and said, "We'll figure it out." Spoiler: they didn't. A week later, here I am, a rapidly deteriorating bag of flesh. My parents hadn't left my side since, bless them. My friends popped in, too, bringing snacks and awkward small talk.
It was nice, in a way. I got to say goodbye without saying it, you know? No messy confessions, no tearful regrets. Just... closure.
'Still, dying before thirty? That's a hell of a punchline.'
I'd had plans you know? Not the grand, save-the-world kind, but simple ones. A family, maybe—a wife, two kids. One boy, one girl. The boy would've been a little me, full of bad jokes and ambition. The girl? She'd have been spoiled rotten. But I never even got to meet the right person, let alone make those dreams real.
'Guess I'll settle for being the cool uncle in someone else's memories.'
The beeping slowed. My vision dimmed.
At least my career had been something. I'd built a company from scratch with my friends. We struggled, sure, but we made it work. Big-name clients, steady growth. By the end, I'd stashed away a cool $3 million—enough to set my parents up for life. Filial piety, modern edition.
'Not bad, Livertorn. Not bad.'
Then silence.
Beeeeeeep...
The flatline signaled the end, and I let go. My eyes closed, and when they opened again, I was floating in an endless void.
'Well, this is new.'
It was quiet, calm, and eerily blank, like the inside of a screensaver.
[...If you had enough time to play one more game, what would it be?]
A voice rang out, disembodied and echoing. I blinked. Or tried to. Did I even have eyes anymore?
[If you had enough time to play one more game, what would it be?]
It asked again, snapping me out of my daze.
'A game? Really? I'm dead, and the afterlife's a customer satisfaction survey?'
Still, I decided to humor the voice. Besides from running the business with my friends, I did have a side hobby of playing games, albeit, very "niche" ones at that.
I mean, even up until the moment I collapsed, I had just finished downloading a new game. It had released a while ago but I never got a chance to play it, too busy with work and all that.
It wasn't just any game, either. It was the game. Open-world, action combat, visual novel elements, multiple endings—basically, every genre mashed into one glorious package. Triple-A production, top-tier reviews, and yes, it was an adult game. Don't judge me.
I hadn't even started it yet. Life—or death, I guess—had other plans.
It was probably my second biggest regret after not marrying.
'Figures. I finally make time for myself, and bam, went and died.'
"War of Demons and Heroes," I said aloud—or thought aloud. Does it even matter at this point?
Silence followed. I started to wonder if I was hallucinating the whole thing.
Then:
[Calculating Karma value...]
[Kayle Miguel Livertorn - Notable feats include donating to children's hospitals, sponsoring charity fundraisers, voluntary teaching, seven cases of successful matchmaking...]
The voice suddenly started listing off dozens of things about my life, some of which I didn't even know myself.
"What the hell is going on?"
[Calculating the final Karma value - 106.57]
[Calculating the world rating of "War of Demons and Heroes"... final value - 5.00]
[Error. Detected a large remainder of Karma. Searching the codex for similar cases...]
[18984610047... similar cases were detected. Solution: Grant a boon.]
[Searching for a suitable boon...]
[Memory Retention - Retain your past life's memory. Background generation now in progress.]
"Wait—what?"
Listening to the strange voice, I slowly started to realize what was going on.
"An isekai..."
To think the day would come when I would be the protagonist of an isekai. Lady Luck must be smiling my way.
If everyone goes through this when they die, doesn't that mean that everyone is isekai'd at death?
But this Karma value seems to dictate the kind of world and background you get...
'WAIT! Is that why it asked what game I would play?!'
FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!
"Hey! Wait a minute! I'm starting to rethink my choices—"
[Background generation complete. Please enjoy your new life!]
Before I could finish speaking, the loud voice of the strange entity rang out, deciding the horrible fate I had unknowingly signed myself up too.
"Ah, I fucked up."