Trinnnng~
"Ugh... just a few more minutes… it's already 4...? Ahhhh..."
Regret was the first sensation to register as my alarm screeched into the still darkness of early morning. My body protested every movement. The groggy blur behind my eyes, the stiffness in my limbs, the dull weight in my chest—it all pointed to one thing.
Shouldn't have stayed up binging that anime. Again.
Still half-asleep, I swung my legs off the bed, groaning as cold air bit at my skin. My room looked no different than it did yesterday, or the day before that. Cluttered. Dim. Lifeless.
But the job's calling. Ugh.
I still had to pick up my bicycle from Sukiji-san's garage. Forgot it there after yesterday's delivery shift. Just one more mistake in a life already full of them.
4:30 AM
Outside, the world was painted in gloomy shades of gray. Clouds churned overhead, bloated with impending rain. The air hung heavy with that damp scent—pavement about to be soaked, papers about to be ruined.
"Looks like the construction site's gonna be shut today," I muttered, stuffing newspapers into my delivery bag. "Silver lining, I guess."
I sighed, slung the bag over my shoulder, and pushed off down the quiet lane.
Just finish the route quickly... Maybe I can squeeze in a nap before the 10 AM shift at the convenience store. If I don't fall asleep mid-delivery first.
5:30 AM
Only a few more blocks to go.
Drizzle turned to rain, soft at first, then steadily heavier. The rhythmic patter on my cap grew louder, more insistent. Of course it had to start pouring now.
"Great… just perfect."
I pulled the plastic sheet tighter over the papers, pedaled faster, the tires hissing against the slick road.
6:00 AM
Two blocks left. Almost there.
The slope started—downhill. Easier pedaling. For a second, I allowed myself to relax. The wheels spun freely, wind lashing at my soaked jacket. My eyes blinked lazily behind fogged-up glasses.
Whoosh—
A sudden gust swept through, yanking at my bangs and blurring the already rain-smeared world around me.
That's when I heard it.
HOOOOOOONK—
My heart seized.
I looked up.
A truck.
Too close.
Too fast.
And I was right in its path.
My mind blanked, heart thundering louder than the horn. Time seemed to stretch like a rubber band pulled taut.
In that split second, one thought broke through the fog:
Guess this monotonous life's finally coming to an end… I wonder if Mom, Dad, and Hibiki will be sad.
CRASH
My body went airborne. Weightless. Cold air clawed at me. Then—impact. Hard. Bone-jarring.
I hit the pavement with a sickening thud, skidding across wet asphalt, rolling, twisting—until everything stopped.
Darkness.
Stillness.
No pain.
No sound.
No sense of anything at all.
---
That's how it ended.
My pitiful, wasted, storyless life.
Lying on a rainy street, blood mixing with water, metallic taste on my tongue, breath stolen.
My skin felt nothing. No warmth. No cold. No ground beneath me.
Just the soft sound of rain.
No friends.
No companions.
Not even family to mourn me.
Ah... life truly can be cruel.
And with that final thought, I let go.
---
When awareness returned, it was… strange.
Not pain. Not cold.
In fact, I wasn't feeling anything.
It took me a while to realize I was no longer breathing. No heartbeat. No body.
I looked down.
My limbs were translucent. Ghostlike.
But I wasn't afraid. Oddly, my mind was eerily calm—too calm.
Detached, yet present.
It was like my emotions were there, but... wrapped in cotton. Muted. Distant.
I looked around.
Blank white nothingness. No sky. No ground. Just—white.
Endless. Directionless.
No up, no down. Like floating in a blank sheet of paper.
Except—there it was.
A desk.
A lone wooden desk with a glowing computer screen sitting silently atop it.
That was the only object in this void.
No walls. No door. Just that desk and that faint hum of electronics.
Driven more by curiosity than fear, I approached.
The screen was lit, displaying strange symbols I couldn't read.
I tilted my head. "Huh?"
Then, without warning, the text changed.
English.
Words I could understand.
---
[WELCOME]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO TURN IN A FORM FOR NEXT CHANCE?]
[YES / NO]
---
My jaw slackened.
"This is... surreal."
Something straight out of an anime. Was this the isekai department of the afterlife?
But after the day I'd had—hell, the life I'd had—this didn't feel too strange.
In fact, I felt... weirdly ready.
I hovered my hand over the mouse and clicked [YES].
The interface changed with a satisfying click.
A form appeared, filled with my personal data.
---
[THIS LIFE REPORT]
Name: Caren Yusuke
Age: 32
Height/Weight: 5'7 / 63.45 kg
Job: Office Worker (Former), Part-Time Convenience Store Clerk
Life Goal: Start a Band and Perform on the World Stage (Unattained)
Achievements: None Worth Mentioning
Relationships:
- Parents (Poor)
- Sister: Hibiki (Below Average)
- Life Companion: None
- Past Partners: 3 Ex-Girlfriends (No Contact)
- Friends: None in Touch
Overall Remark: Life with only downs. Youth wasted. Dreams untouched. Strained family ties. Mediocre living standards. No lasting bonds.
---
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A SECOND CHANCE?]
[YES / NO]
I exhaled shakily.
Reading it laid out like that...
It stung.
No tragic events. No great loss. Just... stagnation.
No one to blame but myself.
"Pathetic," I muttered.
Then, without hesitation, I clicked [YES].
---
[WORLD TO BE BORN INTO: TAP TO SPIN]
A gacha?
Wait... A GACHA?!
My eyes widened.
A colorful roulette wheel popped up on the screen, spinning sections labeled with bold names.
[MARVEL UNIVERSE]
[NARUTO]
[BLEACH]
[WARHAMMER 40K]
[ORV]
[LOOKISM]
[SOLO LEVELING]
[THE SWORDMASTER'S YOUNGEST SON]
…And many more.
So many settings. So many fates.
Please... not Berserk. Not Attack on Titan. Please, for the love of God, not Elden Ring.
I clicked the button, and the wheel spun.
Colors blurred.
The tension was unbearable. This was the most stress I'd felt in years. Who knew my actual afterlife would be decided by RNG?
The wheel began to slow.
Click... click... click...
And then—it stopped.
---
[CROSSOVER SoL ANIME]
---
I blinked. Then laughed out loud.
"Hah! I'll take that."
No monsters. No war. No apocalypses.
Just peaceful school life, maybe some comedy, maybe a bit of romance.
Honestly? That sounded better than anything else on the wheel.
Maybe... just maybe... this time, I could live.
Not just survive. Live.
And maybe—just maybe—I could try again on that stage.
Dreams... unforgotten.