I can't feel anything.
Where am I…?
I know that I died, but…
What place is this?
It feels as if I'm floating in space right now (if I have ever been into space).
I can't see anything, but it's so bright.
And before I knew it, I got sucked up into something.
My non-existent body crashed down.
It didn't really feel anything at all.
Yet I could see "someone" right in front of me.
"Can you hear me, Mortal?"
The mysterious being uttered those words before me.
Was it he or she? I don't know.
"That" looked like a hole in time and space.
Like a being of the void.
"It seems that you are confused."
Of course, who wouldn't? I got sent here without prior notice, and to be completely honest…
I'm really, really scared.
"Your worries are not unfounded then. Everybody would cower within my presence."
Hmmm, seems legit.
I would have liked to speak, but… I can't, for some reason.
"Do not falter. I can read your thoughts very loudly, you know."
Ah, is that so?
"You're surprisingly calm right now."
Nah, I just don't know what to do.
"Then let me introduce myself. I am an entity known as 'God' in this world."
I feel like I heard this introduction before.
Not just once…
"I see. Then this conversation would be quick."
Is this really happening right now?
"I would like to reincarnate you in another world."
I fucking knew it.
"Honestly, people like you enjoy this kind of thing, right?"
That's fair.
I have always dreamed of reincarnating into another world like those overpowered protagonists I read about when I was an otaku.
"I'm sorry, but there will be no such thing as cheats. I would never give you anything like that."
Of course.
Realistically, this whole thing wouldn't happen.
But… I have a question.
'What's the catch? There's no way such a convenient thing exists.'
"You're really weird, you know? Whenever I send people like you into another world, they're really happy. Of course I know why. But if I am not mistaken, then you would be happy too."
Of course I am, but…
"Doubts, I see. Then I should explain this much: the concept of reincarnation does exist in this world too."
God explained that whenever a person dies, their soul is collected in the underworld.
There, they are cleansed of their earthly sins.
In short: their memories are wiped out along with their personalities.
The cleansed soul is then sent into Heaven, where they assess that person and place them into a new body.
They pick a vessel and send them there as a new person or a baby.
Then the person dies again eventually, and the cycle repeats.
"Normally, you would also be sent to the underworld. However, for some reason, another crack appeared."
A dimensional rift that connects to other worlds.
They call them "Cracks" in this world.
They are basically tears in spacetime.
In fact, the existence of another world should not even be possible.
But the being explained that "Cracks" appear because of people's desire.
A desire to change their life that was already over.
Their collective unconscious wills have changed the reality of this world.
They say that imagination is the driving force of this world.
In other words, they rebelled against the gods.
"Of course the gods wouldn't just let them do that. That's why they improvised a way to control them."
They created a facility that contained all of their desires so that the world would receive them again.
But of course, it wasn't that foolproof either.
Sometimes the desires would overflow.
If the desires that controlled reality were to leak out, they would have nowhere to go.
So, they would just accumulate in one space.
But that would be bad news.
That desire would eventually "crack" reality in that space.
And that would lead to a portal to another world.
And according to that "being," that rift would eventually become bigger over time and would eventually destroy the world.
"The gods themselves don't let the desires spill that much, but around this time, they were forced to."
And of course, the gods also have a solution for the "Cracks."
The only way to combat desire is another desire.
And a conscious mind is stronger than that of a dormant one.
Their solution would be sending that "soul" into the rift, and the "crack" would close on its own.
But the only problem was that it violated the laws of the world.
But the gods found a loophole in that law.
If the soul consented to be sent into another world, then causality would lose its effect, and therefore the soul could pass through the rift.
"And particularly, guys like you who wished for a second chance are the ones who are most likely to give in to our offer."
It wasn't that bad in my case.
I could live again and fix my life again. I wasn't like those people who reincarnated for glory and power.
"And that's why you're the perfect soul in this case."
I see. So that's how they played this.
The more likely a soul would be persuaded, the higher the chance they have of accepting their offer.
"I'm sorry, but cheats are out of the question. Even we can't give those freely. And when you cross that rift, you are subjected to the new laws of that world, meaning that we can't do anything for you."
In that case, I guess some people refuse this.
"But I know that you won't."
That's right, because… I want to change.
"We don't know the details of the world you are going to, so… you'll have to survive with that thought in mind. Your soul would then join the cycle of reincarnation in that world, so of course you would start as an infant. We have no biases here. Maybe you'll end up as a noble or a peasant, but… we wouldn't care that much."
Without insurance, huh?
Then I would have liked to refuse this offer more.
"But of course, we can only offer you to keep your own memories in this world. We won't wipe them out."
I guess? I mean, my knowledge can be useful too.
If the world is primitive, then a 21st-century man like me can adapt more quickly.
"New world means new rules. That's the thing you should keep in mind. Are we clear? The moment you agree, we would immediately send your soul in order for the crack to close fast. Your life on Earth would truly end."
'That's alright. I have made up my mind anyways.'
"Then we will make you unconscious. Goodbye, and thank you for your help."
It's kind of weird, being thanked for this kind of thing.
But who am I to complain?
"We will now begin. Sleep, Mortal, and when you wake up…"
My mind began to feel dizzy.
And before I could comprehend what was happening, I was sucked in again.
I felt as if I was falling into the void.