Kay saw himself atop a tower that stretched miles above the forest he had fallen asleep in. He stood on the flat, stone top of the tower, surrounded by seven other figures; he only recognized the moth girl and the god he'd seen in the void.
Aside from the girl, he saw two other demihumans: a dark skinned elf man and a vampire woman. Some were human with quirks: a muscular man who donned a full set of iron armor, a sword at his hip, as well as a lanky tennager, teched out with cybernetic enhancements.
Lastly there was a tired-looking Japanese businessman, aside from Kay, the only other person who could be considered normal.
Is this a dream?
The seven mismatched people of varying races stood in a semicircle, surrounding the god Kay had seen in the void. Instead of the deep black from before, everything but the god's head matched the blue tint of the skies in the background. Its head continued shifting colors and shapes, rapidly.
"Hi, everyone, long time no see." the god looked more cheerful than the last time he'd seen him.
"I'll introduce everyone. As all of you already know, your body in your original world has perished. Now, before you can be reincarnated there's something we need to decide."
Kay looked at the moth girl. She looked like she should've been in elementary school. He wondered how a girl so young could have died; he began to pity her.
"You didn't tell me everything? I'll have you executed!" said the vampire woman, with a whiny tone. She puffed out her ample chest, seeming to believe that the world would someone fulfill her order.
"I would gladly die, but seeing as you can't grant my wish I'll have to ask that you stop talking." With a clap of his hands the god manifested a white cloth around the woman's pristine face, gagging her.
After a fit of unintelligible curses and several loud stomps to the tower floor, she begrudgingly calmed down. She seemed prideful, and very quick to anger. Kay decided that he'd rather steer clear of the vampire woman.
"Alright, with that interruption over, let's carry on." said the god with a clap.
Behind the god, hovering in the air appeared a massive translucent screen divided into seven sections, each bearing a picture of one of the seven. They each had a number zero under their portrait.
"As I'm sure some of you know, all people are not born equal. I've promised each of you a new life. Though, what kind of life?"
He pointed at the vampire girl.
"Will you be born into a life of nobility and wealth?"
His finger then sought the moth girl.
"Or will you be born into a life of poverty and misfortune?"
"Though your circumstances will differ greatly, you will all find yourselves reincarnated into the world of Atlas. At this very moment, seven children are about to be born into that world, which brings us to the business at hand."
The god clapped again, manifesting a coin in his left palm. He gingerly tossed it into the air, and caught it between his right palm and left fist. It was a coin toss, as far as Kay could tell, but why?
Suddenly the god clutched the coin in his right palm, and without even looking at the result, threw the coin into the horizon. Middair, the coin caught fire from the force it'd been thrown with, and though it soon disappeared from view a fire soon began spreading in the jungle.
"You see, I hate the idea of chance. So, although I could randomly assign each of you a new life, I'd much rather you all compete for it."
"I have a question," said the elderly elf man.
He dressed in the white robes of a mage with a matching wizards hat atop his wrinkled head. The elves that Kay had read of in fiction were always long-lived. Assuming that was true for the old man, he wondered what age he'd died at.
"I have an answer," replied the god sarcastically.
"Though we'll see if I feel like it."
The elven wizard moved towards the edge of the tower. With his feet inches away from certain death, he turned towards the god.
"In my world, there were those who were unable to use magic." said the elf with worry in his voice.
"This new world, Atlas. Is it a world of magic? If I were to be reborn in this new world, would I have access to spells and sorcery?"
The elven man sounded desperate. The god's answer could very well lead him to take a tumble off the stone tower. Kay felt like he could understand the old man. Coming from Earth to a world of magic seemed great, but the reverse sounded dreadful. Rather than live in a mundane world, the elven man would rather forego reincarnation.
"Is that all?" sighed the god. "Yes, Atlus is a magical world. There, everyone has the potential for magic."
A heartfelt scream erupted out of the elven mage.
"Hell, yeah!"
Acting as though he were a fraction of his current age, he danced around the stone platform with glee. Kay struggled to conceal a laugh as the elderly man frolicked to the god and shook his hands.
"Thank you so much!" the elf bellowed.
"If you want to thank me you can get back into place and let me finish my explanation." said the god, as he clapped again. He then tore off his arms and regrew a new pair; he must not have cared for the handshake.
"Right away, sir!"
The eleven man sprinted back to his spot between the moth girl and the armored warrior, where he stood stiff as a board, intent on listening to the god like an overly serious student.
"Gods, you people are all crazy." the god heaved his umpteenth sigh.
"I'm going to make this quick before another one of you interrupts me. There's going to be three trials. Your first trial: explore the jungle you've woken up in and find this tower. The first person to reach the destination will receive seven points, the next six, and so on. Afterwards, there will be two more rounds. Once all three trials are completed, your overall points will be tallied."
"As I said earlier, there are seven babies about to be born in Atlas. Some are the children of nobility, some middle class, and others will be the sons and daughters of poverty. I suggest that you give it your all in these trials, lest you be birthed into less than desirable circumstances."
Kay moved his gaze towards the moth girl. If he had interpreted the god's words correctly, then her previous life had been less than ideal. She'd acted far more mature than Kay, knowing how to keep them safe in the dangerous jungle. He thanked his good fortune that he'd ended up with someone so dependable. The first trial seemed like it would be easy enough for the two of them.
Having finished his message, the god put his hands together which started the dissolution of the dream. He wasn't giving any of the contestants a chance to interrupt him again. As the tower and surrounding jungle grew dim and foggy someone did speak up. It was the armored man who spoke. With a blank look on his face he asked the god a question.
"Are we allowed to kill our competition?"
Kay felt his heart gripped by terror. The sheathed sword at the man's waist suddenly seemed like more than a decoration.
"I wonder," said the god flatly.
As the dream world came to an end, Kay thought he saw a smirk spread across the god's ever-changing face.