I don't even know how much time has passed, but it feels like I'm floating. I looked around and saw nothing. When I looked down at my hands, they had a blue, almost transparent color. I checked my other parts, and everything had the same color. Also, I was naked.
The most likely explanation is that I died, and this is the afterlife. How boring. There's nothing here, and I can't even move.
"What now? Do I just wait, and then what? Will I just lose consciousness after some time? Or is this where I get the chance to reincarnate or be reborn, or something along those lines?"
After an unknown amount of time, I heard a voice.
"This should be the last one. A rather patient one, I would say."
"Hello, I'm Chris," I said dumbly.
"Hahaha. And funny too... or a fool. Do you think I don't have info on the souls I have to guide? You've read so many stories, where the unjustly deceased fellow meets a... What was it again? A god? No, no, they call it a random something."
"Oh, do you mean ROB? Random Omnipotent Being?" I said.
"YES! That's it, ROB! I knew it was on the tip of my tongue," the voice exclaimed.
"It wasn't," I thought.
"I heard that. And just for you to know, I totally knew it. I just let you help me to ease the tension," he said smugly.
"Of course you hear my thoughts. Classic," I sighed.
"I'm starting to lean toward the option that you're a fool..." he said.
"Eh? No, I won't react to that. So, what's gonna happen now?" I asked.
"Just when I thought you were the patient one," he mumbled.
I didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow, staring into the nothingness. I don't even know if he sees me, because I sure don't see him.
"I see you just fine," he said.
"Anyway, onto the important part. It's not like I have the time to fool around forever, like you. Since you're dead," he snickered at his own joke.
To this, I just took a deep breath.
"So, what are the options I have?" I asked.
"Yes, yes, your options," he said, and I started to hear the sound of book pages flipping.
"He just said he doesn't have time to fool around, and now he's making book-flipping noises when he doesn't even have a book, I bet," I thought.
"Oh, what are we betting? I can make myself and my book visible," he said excitedly.
I stopped thinking for a moment and said, "I don't want to bet. I had a really unlucky day, and I don't think that's going to change now. Is it still today?"
"Uh-huh, I saw. Really unlucky—trouble at work, no new chapter on a novel you like, missing the match with your friends, a fall, nearly dying in an accident, and then dying in an explosion right after. You had your day full. Not to mention that assignment you didn't even start," he listed.
"And it rained too. I really don't like rain," I added.
"Hahaha!" he laughed.
"So, the options?" I asked expectantly.
"I was getting there. Jeez, really impatient," he grumbled.
"As you lived a fairly decent life, albeit a short one, you can go to heaven as option one. Your second option is reincarnation into this world without your memories. A fresh start, I would say. As a bonus, I can guarantee you'll have a good family background," he said.
It was at this moment I remembered my family. My father will be devastated, but he'll pull through. My mother will have it rough, but I can only hope my siblings will help her through. My sister and brother will be fine, I think. They'll miss me, but they'll be okay. I just wish that whatever little savings I had would help them, and that my car will be of good use to my brother, who just got married.
"Oh, you're spot on with your analysis. As objective as an engineer should be," he said.
"Haha, you know the saying, 'Know yourself and those around you, and you won't be surprised,' or something like that," I said.
"No, not even close to the saying you're thinking of," he replied, sounding like he'd just heard the dumbest thing ever.
"I just joked, damn it," I muttered, irritated.
"As for your third option, you can be reborn in a world you've read about, with your memories intact and enhanced based on the world you'll be in. It could be anime, a novel, a TV series, anything. Depending on the difficulty of the world, you'll get a little help. The catch is, it will be somewhat random."
"What do you mean, 'somewhat random'?" I asked, not entirely sure what he meant.
"Oh, nothing special. You can choose three worlds with increased chances and one with decreased, so you can probably avoid the one you don't want to go to," he said matter-of-factly.
"Isn't one decrease a bit too low? I can think of at least a dozen worlds I don't want to go to. I'd be dead in no less than a year," I said in disbelief.
"These are the conditions. Take it or leave it," he said.
"It's still the best one. I don't care about heaven—overrated. Reincarnating without memories is lame as hell. It won't even be me."
"Depends on how you define 'me,'" he cut in.
I stopped for a moment, pondering my monologue.
"As for the third option, it can be really good or really bad. With my luck lately, I'm a bit skeptical," I continued.
"I'll take the third option, and I want to increase the chance of getting Haikyuu, Blue Lock, Classroom of the Elite. And I want to decrease the chance of getting Shadow Slave," I said.
As much as I love reading SS, I definitely don't want to go there. It's a hellhole—scheming everywhere, deadly creatures at every turn, and those damn puzzles of nightmare trials. Yeah, definitely not.
"Okay, now make a spin on this wheel," he said.
"What wheel?" I asked.
PUFF
A roulette appeared, with names on every slot. Three fairly big ones, one exceptionally small, so small I almost couldn't see it. The others were all the same size.
I stretched out my hand, but before I touched the wheel, I raised a question.
"You said it's still the day I died, right?"
"Yeah, so?" he asked.
"So, I was thinking... could we wait until the next year or so? So I can get all the luck I need," I said, fidgeting.
"Spin it," he said, clearly annoyed.
"Can't we wait a few days at least?" I asked, expectantly.
"Spin it!" he said, getting more annoyed.
"At least till the next day, please. I have a really bad feeling about it," I said, feeling nervous.
"SPIN IT BEFORE I SPIN IT MYSELF, IDIOT!" he roared.
I spun the wheel dejectedly.
After some time, it started to slow down, finally landing on the one tiny chance, between two really big ones.
Shadow Slave
"FUUUUUCK!" I shouted.