Staring onwards from the sidewalk, I watched the truck swerve around on the street from a distance, amused. "It'd be pretty funny if it crashed or something", I muttered with a chuckle, then with a sigh as I pulled my phone out to read Dragon Ball fanfics.
Skrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
The sound screeched violently from right in front of me. I glanced up lazily—and paused.The truck was much closer now. Sliding sideways. Coming straight at me.
I looked back down at my phone. Then the realisation hit.
The second I glanced back, it was way too late.
My last thought was something along the lines of, What the fu
Pain. An unimaginable, body-shattering pain exploded through me—Then, like a fire being snuffed out, it vanished in an instant.
Leaving me confused.
I was definitely awake. I could feel all my limbs. I could even touch myself... which was the only thing I could touch.
I was floating in what looked like a void.
No up. No down. No gravity. Just me, suspended in a formless space.
"Is this what comes after death? Absolutely nothing? Just a body, floating in a gravity-less void for all eternity?" I groaned. "Why? Is this hell? Or purgatory? Oh, for fuck's sake, don't tell me I'm stuck here forever. Why couldn't it have just been erasure? Why eternal boredom?"
I slammed my fists into the air in anger. The nothingness gave no response.
Minutes passed. Maybe more. Rage slowly drained out of me, replaced by a resigned calm. I sighed and accepted it. "Seriously... I thought dying by truck-kun was supposed to be the ticket to an isekai?"
.
.
.
"Is this karma? Was it because I wished for the truck to crash? Was that stray thought the reason it hit me? All because it was a truck? Of course it was. Truck-kun is universal, haha" I said with a dry laugh.
.
.
.
You know what? Dying isn't that bad. I've come to realize that after what feels like forever in this... void.
It's the afterlife that's the real punishment. Eternal boredom might be worse than torture. There's nothing to do. No one to talk to. Just me, and I M A G I N A T I O N. the only thing keeping me sane.
What fun.
PING
what?
You have died and reached a game over.
Do you wish to start [NEW GAME]+
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
I stared at it, deadpan.
I had laughed at the idea of life being a game before. Now, after all this time in the void, I wasn't even mad. I could have been, sure, but I didn't have the energy.
"Of course I do. I would've said yes the second I got here. Why the fuck did you make me wait this long?" I muttered bitterly.
The prompt updated.
[x] Yes
[Starting New Game+]
[Loading.]
[Loading..]
[Loading...]
"Whatever." I sighed, as I waited for it to load.
[Character Creation]
[ ] Re-use character.
[ ] New Character
My eyes drew to the new character button; it was an easy choice, I was by no means strong, and was basically enemy number one of the sun.
[x] New Character
[...loading new character]
[.]
[..]
[...]
[Sex]
[] Female[] Male
[] Neither
[] Both
...
"wha-? What does either of those even entail?" I muttered. After a moment of consideration, I shook my head. "I do not want to find out."
and instantly chose.
[x] Female
[remaining stats will be randomised based on later selections.]
[World State]
[ ] Apocalypse
You wake up when the world is in an apocalyptic state, fictional or not. The remnants of humanity are struggling to survive in their new reality.
[ ] Alternate Universe
You awaken in a world disarmingly similar to your own, with very few main differences. from an entire world where the standards are swapped, people are naturally born with small animal appendages. Or maybe even a change in history. One thing shall be made clear: this world will be nothing like what you remember.
[ ] Is it real?
You find yourself transported to a fictional world, with all dangers and excitments apparent. The world is chosen at random, but that world will be a place that you are comfortably able to recognise.
[ ] The Gamer
Life is already like a game? Why not treat it as one? You will be given [Gamer's Mind] and [Gamer's Body] Status Effects. The world is chosen at random, but unlike before, it is truly random. Everything is in play. The knowledge that you have may be useful. But that is far less likely to happen than not.
Apocalypse is instantly out; you don't see the word apocalypse and think that it will be a "fun time". Is it real. Looks good, but there is a chance I'd get no powers, and that's all around bad for fictional worlds, and I don't like my odds in anything.
So that leaves Alternate Universe and The Gamer.
Between the two, the choice was obvious. At least with Gamer, I know I'll be given a massive advantage compared to the average person. Being able to put numbers to everything in life, increase those numbers indefinitely through repetition, or maybe quests? That's the fastest road to power.
And power means I won't be fucked over.
[x] The Gamer
[Selecting World. Please Wait...]
[.]
[..]
[...]
[Re:zero - starting life in another world.]
"re...zero?" i stared at the name closely. "Huh, don't remember it. it feels familiar, but after the shit ton of stuff I've seen, I must've forgotten it. or maybe it's the void just memory wiping me. that too." I stretched my limbs "thank god it's an isekai, atleast that means it'll be easy."
A/N. Oh you poor, poor sweet summer child.
ahem, anyway i hope you enjoyed, comment if you like it.
Also, I really really thought that. Re:zero was actually called "restarting life in another world from zero" or something like that. But it's not? Like Mandela effect who? or maybe i just gaslit myself.
Anyway
See ya!