"God?"
The protagonist guesses who—or what—was before him.
"Surprised, are you?" said the glowing sphere, its voice sounded deep and omnipotent as it echoed through the pure while space, and yet strangely warm.
"Ahh… a bulb? Hello!"
"Hmm… I'm surprised you're not screaming. Most people struggle to come to terms with death. And no, I am not a bulb."
"Ahh, yes. I'm dead. So…"
"Yes, go on," the voice urged, as if it already knew what the protagonist was about to say.
"Are you God?"
"Well… something like that. My status in Elhime is equivalent to what you'd consider a god, but I am not as omnipotent as your definition implies, I too was created at some point... by some higher power" the voice replied.
"So, sir… am I going to Heaven or Hell?"
"Well, in a typical case, you'd go to one of those. But…"
"But what?" the old man asked, surprised.
"You know the novel you wrote?"
"You mean the first one?"
"Yes, that one," the voice said with an amused tone. It turned out that this so-called "God" was a fan of his work! The entity had loved his novel so much that it decided to reincarnate him into a world similar to the one he had created. But there was a twist—he was tasked with saving the world, all for the entity's entertainment, of course.
"No way! Reincarnated, huh?" he thought, barely able to contain his excitement. Back when he was alive, he had often dreamed of something like this happening.
"You know what? Let's do it! I'll show you something perfect!"
"Haha, now that's more like it," the voice said, brimming with joy. "I will assist you on your journey."
"Looking forward to it!"
Suddenly, the entire area was bathed in a blinding light. When the brightness subsided, the protagonist heard a voice.
"Congratulations, Duchess. It's a boy," a maid said.
"Wow, he's so cute," a woman—his new mother—said lovingly.
"Let's name him Ashborn," she said softly, her voice warm and gentle.
The baby opened his eyes.
"Huh… wait! I really got reincarnated!" he thought, taking a moment to orient himself.
He looked down at his small, chubby hands. "Wow! I'm a baby again!"
He glanced up at the woman holding him. "So this is my mother…" he thought.
Then, something struck him. "Wait, did that woman say 'Duchess'? I'm a noble!"
He grinned internally, his thoughts shouting, My name is Ashborn!
"This is awesome!" he thought excitedly, though all that came out of his mouth were babyish babbles.