A dark and silent room, barely illuminated by a faint glow that seemed to come from nowhere, housed a gigantic bed where four women lay asleep.
They were of different ages and appearances, but all shared one unmistakable trait: snow-white hair.
Suddenly, the youngest, who looked to be under 15, began to stir, seeming about to wake up
"Yaaawn...Mmmmh...? what... happened...? Who... woke me up...? Huh...? This... strange but familiar feeling... Lust...? Shouldn't... huh? ....Where is...?
She slowly opened her eyes, revealing mystical lilac irises. Still half-drowsy, her heavy and confused words didn't seem directed at anyone in particular.
At that moment, the mature woman, whose beauty still held its charm and whose eyes were also lilac, slowly sat up and replied in a hoarse voice, still half asleep and about to fall back into slumber.
"I'm here... I arrived... Huaa~ How long has it been? Two years? Maybe three?... or were more?"
Her heavy, tired tone suggested she hadn't fully woken up yet.
"Why... didn't you warn us?"
The third voice, that of a teenage girl, no older than twenty, also stirred awake and asked the mature woman curiously.
There was a long silence. The mature woman stared at her, as if trying to focus her mind, and finally replied:
"I fell asleep."
"Ah… that makes sense," said the young woman with a slight nod that might have been a sleepy bob of the head.
"Eh, what's all that noise? Ah! Is that you...? Hehe... you've finally returned, old friend... huaaa~"
The fourth woman, a young adult in her late twenties or early thirties, murmured softly. with the same snowy white hair and mystical lilac eyes as the others.
The four women were now half-awake. They truly resembled each other, yet each was unique. Starting with the adolescent, they began speaking—not to each other, but as if addressing someone absent.
"Huaa~ Seems it's time for me to… fulfill my part."
"Although… judging by your current state…"
"Hmm… well, I suppose it doesn't matter…"
"You probably planned this, didn't you...?"
"Haaah… Fine… I'll lend you a hand… just a little."
"Alright… I'm sleepy."
"Hehe… Snff… This could get interesting… but until then…"
"Ngh… I'll sleep a little longer."
"Is there still a long way to go, huh?"
"A few years should do."
"Hmm, alright, a few decades."
"I think even a century? Just remember to set the…"
The four seemed reluctant to stay awake, and slowly each fell asleep. The last one—the mature woman—wanted to say something else, but halfway through her words, she too drifted off and gently fell onto the soft bed.
Silence returned to the dark room, as if time itself had stopped… once again.
******
"An unfamiliar ceiling!"
Confused, I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was an elegant, unfamiliar ceiling... I got up and sat on the soft bed I was lying on, not understanding what was happening.
[Congratulations, you have been chosen for a higher purpose. Please fill out the following form.]
____________________________
Name:
..
"Huh? What was that? Where am I...? I remember a crazy bastard driving the wrong way down a one-way street and..."
Memories of what happened came to mind, but that only confused me more about my current situation. Something wasn't adding up. I tried to remember more clearly what had happened; I needed to make a connection between that and now...
"After seeing that crazy guy coming towards us, I... Us? Ah! Iris, where are you, Iris?"
Yes, I wasn't alone; my wife was with me. We were talking about her strange idea… and then everything spun around, and I saw red. After that…
"...I died! Is this heaven, hell? Wait... no, no, no! If I died, that means Iris also... Damn it, why?! That crazy bastard..."
Now I remembered. She and I possibly died. I really don't know how to feel right now; a mixture of multiple thoughts and emotions floods me.
I really wanted to deny everything and just think it was a dream... but I'm already biting my tongue with all my strength, and I don't feel anything at all.
It doesn't help that I don't understand what kind of place this is. It was nothing like what one would think of as 'the afterlife'.
It was just a large, elegant room with lots of fancy furniture and a huge white bed that I'm sitting on. The only strange thing, besides the giant bed, was the screen in front of me.
____________________________
Name:
Age: [Select ▼]
height: [Select ▼]
Physical build: [Select ▼]
Hair color: [Select ▼]
Eye color: [Select ▼]
Race: [Select ▼]
Vestige of appearance: [0% — 100% ▼]
...
..
.
____________________________
"Don't tell me it's that reincarnation nonsense... some kind of customization? Damn it, who wants to fill that out?"
I'm not really a fan of all that stuff. But Iris is, and thanks to that — voluntarily or semi-compulsorily — I've read and seen many stories like that.
But I'm really not interested. The only thing on my mind right now is Iris. That was what was important, not filling out a silly form.
"No, wait... I still don't know what really happened. Maybe, in this place... she... ugh, I can't get up."
I tried to understand this place better and get up from the giant bed, but I just couldn't. It was as if some strange force was keeping me stuck to it.
[Please fill out the form.]
"What!? Who are you? Did you bring me here?"
As I struggled with all my might to get out of this bed, I heard a voice. I didn't know where it was coming from, and at first I even felt like it was echoing in my head.
I assumed it was the reason I was here, and I questioned it; it was the only thing I could hold on to.
[Please fill out the form.]
"Where's Iris? Is she here?"
[Please fill out the form.]
"Damn it, stop repeating that! I'm not going to fill anything out until you answer me!"
[Please fill out the form.]
But the voice didn't seem to want to talk. Now I'm really angry. Not only because the more I struggle, the more I feel myself sinking into the bed, but because I really want to know what happened to Iris, and the damn voice keeps repeating the same thing.
"What for? You want me to fill this out to be reincarnated? If so, I refuse! Who wants to be reincarnated? Not me! I don't want to go to another damn world! If I died, leave it at that, you crazy bastard! If you're not going to tell me anything about Iris, this ends here."
[...]
What was the point of all this? What higher purpose, what personalization? I didn't want any of that. I just wanted to know where and what happened to Iris. It would be fine just to know that.
If she really died, at least... knowing that she is resting in peace would be enough. Just that.
I wasn't interested in a new life at all, and if that damn voice isn't going to tell me anything, I won't cooperate at all.
I'm not afraid of that or of calling it a bastard, I'm not afraid of anything... except my wife.
If Iris isn't here... I'd rather stay dead. Even if this thing were a god and forced me to reincarnate, as soon as it did, and I had the chance, I'd just end it quickly.
[...The will of the 'chosen one' is confirmed: complete refusal to fill out the form.]
"What!? Are you reading my mind? Or are you reading my thoughts? So if you're some kind of divine entity... no, that doesn't matter. If you understand me, you know it's useless to reincarnate me or make me do anything, I won't get involved in this shit. Just get it over with!"
[...The form will be filled out automatically according to the wishes and latent will of the chosen one...
Form completed.
Starting next step.
Lack of willingness to cooperate, automatically searching...
Overlapping desires found...
No conflict... no need for intervention... continuing search.
Nothing found... Lack of balance, seeking compensation...
Searching... searching...]
"Hey! I told you to stop this crap. I don't want to be reincarnated! I won't do anything, I won't do anything for you. Just find another crazy person who's happy with this."
This thing doesn't even sound alive anymore. Until now, it sounded organic, like a person, but the way it talks makes me feel like I'm talking to an AI or something.
[Nothing found....solution (postpone)... putting it into dormant state, necessary corrections... completed.... preparing user for next life.]
This thing wasn't listening to me at all, it was an impassive existence that was getting on my nerves.
I wanted that thing to leave me alone.
"I already told you I refuse everything!! Damn it, hey, stop!"
At that moment, again without warning, I felt a tingling sensation in my legs, and when I looked at them, I saw them begin to disperse into specks of light.
[Preparing synchronization... transfer in progress.]
"Fine! I warned you, you bastard. You'll regret it. When I get there, I hope it's without memories; because if not, I hope you're ready for me to come back here."
[1%... 5%... 50%... 100%]
And in the end, without receiving any response from anything, my vision simply went blank.
...
..
.
"Huh!? Another unfamiliar ceiling...? Another!? Ah!"
I woke up looking at an unfamiliar ceiling. For a moment, I didn't understand what was happening again, but I quickly remembered what had just happened.
I moved my body and this time I was able to get out of bed. I looked at what was in front of me and, without thinking too much, I grabbed a lamp that was on the nightstand...
Shatter!
I lifted it up and slammed it against the table, breaking it. It was made of glass, so it wasn't difficult. Immediately, the broken lamp took on a sharp, pointed shape.
"You think I was joking, you bastard? Here I go again, let's see if you want to reincarnate me again."
Okay... the harder I hit, the less pain I'll suffer. Let's go for it!
"Hey, wait! What are you doing?"
"Huh?"
Slap!
Just as I was about to stab my neck with all my might, I heard an unfamiliar voice very close behind me.
That distracted me for a moment. Long enough for the owner of that voice to reach out from behind me and slap my wrist hard, forcing me to drop the broken lamp.
And as if that wasn't enough, the next moment, that hand—along with another that appeared from the other side—wrapped around my waist.
For a moment, I felt warmth, softness, and a strange familiar feeling as I was hugged from behind, but then my perspective changed drastically and...
"Control yourself!"
Thwack.
"Ugh!"
I felt a sharp blow to my head that instantly made me dizzy.
I don't know who the bastard is, but she suplexed me and, more importantly, prevented me from dying.
I won't give up that easily.
Despite the pain and dizziness, I gritted my teeth and put strength into my hands to free myself from her, which I managed to do.
I immediately rolled on the ground and used the momentum to stand up and face the person I was fighting.
Considering that I am an adult, there is a possibility that this is that trope where I replace someone who already existed... That someone could be important to others, have family and people who would suffer their loss, and that's why she stopped me.
But that had nothing to do with me.
I was going to finish this and no one was going to stop me. So I looked at the extremely beautiful red-haired woman.
Leaving aside the latter, her hair color wasn't even a common red, but an intense crimson red, something that wouldn't exist in my world except with dye... and even then it wouldn't look as natural as it did on her.
I also noticed that she wasn't human; at least, not with those long ears. I assumed she was an elf or something similar.
As Iris said, a species that, without exception, appears in all those stories of reincarnation and other nonsense.
I looked at her; she looked at me. There was tension for a moment, but more importantly, I looked at the rest of the broken lamp, which was my main objective.
I was going to finish this even if she tried to stop me. Yes, that was my plan... until...
"Honey!, what the hell are you doing? Why do you want to go and reincarnate again? Do you know how hard it was for me to decide everything? I'm not going to do it again!"