The last thing Kaito remembered was the screech of tires.
The sickening crunch of metal.
The startlingly brief sensation of flight.
Then, nothing. A silent, weightless, and painless nothing.
The transition back to something was gentle.
Light seeped into his vision, not the harsh, clinical light of a hospital, but a soft, golden glow. He felt solid ground beneath his feet. A pleasant breeze carried the scent of blooming flowers he couldn't name.
He stood in an endless, beautiful garden under a perpetually setting sun. Flowers bloomed around him, nestled between gigantic, lush green trees. A long, flowing river with clean blue water cut a path through the idyllic landscape.
And he was not alone.
Before him, seated on a simple marble bench that seemed to have grown from the ground itself, was a girl.
She looked… young. Nineteen, maybe twenty, in human terms. Her hair was the colour of starlight, and her eyes held galaxies. But right now, those cosmic orbs were wide with panic. She was frantically shuffling through a stack of shimmering, translucent tablets that looked like they were made of light.
"Oh, crap," she muttered, her voice a melodic chime strained with anxiety. "No, no, no. This can't be right. The schedule clearly said… but the truck was supposed to swerve…"
Kaito cleared his throat. "Um. Excuse me?"
The girl—the goddess, he presumed—jumped. One of her tablets slipped, dissolving into motes of light before it hit the grass. She looked up at him, her expression a perfect portrayal of a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
"Kaito Tanaka!" she chirped, a forced, brittle cheer in her voice. "Welcome to the… uh… the Realm of Souls! Yes. How are you finding the accommodations?"
"They're… lovely," Kaito said slowly, his mind still catching up. "So, I'm dead. This is heaven?"
"In a manner of speaking! It's more of a processing centre." She tapped furiously on one of her tablets, her brow furrowed. "And that's the problem."
She took a deep breath, unable to meet his eyes.
"You see, there's been a teensy, tiny, almost microscopic error in the cosmic ledger."
"An error?"
She winced. "You weren't supposed to be on it. Your time wasn't up. The truck was fated to miss you by a solid three feet." She gestured vaguely, helplessly. "But there was a… a glitch. A butterfly flapped its wings at the wrong moment in Brazil, and, well…"
Her gesture now encompassed all of him.
"Here you are. Seventy-four years too early."
Kaito stared. The information settled over him like a cold mist. He hadn't been meant to die. It was a mistake. A divine error.
"So, what happens now?" he asked, a strange calm descending upon him. "Do I… go back?"
"Ah!" the goddess said, holding up a finger. "That's the tricky part. Your original body is, to put it delicately, no longer a viable vessel. The reincarnation queue for your world is backed up for centuries."
She leaned forward, her starlight hair swaying. She looked genuinely, deeply apologetic.
"This is my fault. I'm… new. This is my first solo soul-assignment cycle."
She took a deep, steadying breath.
"So, to make it right, I'm authorized to offer you a… compensation deal."
Another tablet appeared in her hand. This one was blank, but as she handed it to him, words began to bloom across its surface like ink in water.
*Soul Relocation & Customization Agreement - Clause 4B: Divine Rectification.*
"The standard procedure is a straight reincarnation with minimal memory carry-over," she explained. "But for you…"
She paused, letting the words hang in the perfumed air.
"I can send you to any world you can imagine. A world of magic and monsters. A galaxy of starships and aliens. A land of cultivation and ancient arts… any world from your stories, your games, your wildest dreams. You name it."
Kaito's breath caught in his throat. Any world?
"And," the goddess continued, a hint of a real smile finally playing on her lips, "to ensure you aren't just thrown to the wolves, you get to choose. Abilities. Skills. A boon to carry with you."
She waved her hand.
The meadow around them shimmered. Visions flickered at the edges of his perception: a dragon soaring over crystalline spires, a cybernetic soldier drawing a blade in a neon-drenched street, the pages of an ancient grimoire glowing with impossible power.
"Consider it an apology gift from a very embarrassed celestial intern."
She leaned back, her galactic eyes meeting his, full of a hopeful, nervous promise.
"So, Kaito Tanaka. The universe owes you one."
She spread her hands wide, encompassing the infinite possibilities.
"Where do you want to go? And what would you like to be?"
Kaito stood there for a full minute, unable to process what was happening. First, he died due to an error by a literal deity, and now he got to choose not only his next world but his powers, too. It was unbelievable.
"Can I get some time to think about it?" Kaito asked, a pleading look on his face.
"Yeah, sure… take your time. But please don't take too long," she replied politely, though it was clear she had other duties to attend to.
"Another question. Will I reincarnate into a being of my choice from that world, or a random one? And will I have the abilities I choose here regardless?"
"You will be reincarnated as a random being from the world of your choosing," she explained calmly, offering a sympathetic smile. "If that being has any innate abilities or curses, you will inherit them, in addition to the abilities you select now."
Sitting on a bench under one of the large banyan trees, Kaito began to recall all the novels he had read, the movies, anime, TV shows, and games he had experienced. He needed to decide which world would be the best to be reborn into. After about five minutes of intense thought, he had narrowed it down to four contenders.
The first was the world of a webnovel he had read when he first got into reading, titled Stealing The Heroines—a story about an extra who stole the heroines from the original protagonist. It had fantastic worldbuilding, a great power system, and decent laws. However, the main character was a huge dickhead who went around stealing women. Reincarnating there could be good for adventure, but risky for building a stable life, as you never knew when the protagonist might decide he wanted your partner.
The second was the world from the popular TV series The Gamble For The Throne, a story centered on a brutal contest between royal siblings vying for the imperial crown. The world was incredibly well-structured, with rich locations, monsters, and politics. Crucially, there was no predatory protagonist. The major downside was the world's cutthroat brutality, rife with slavery, murder, and extortion.
The third was from an anime called Space Crusader: Fighting An Interplanetary War For My Planet. centered on a galactic war, a conflict over resources, slaves and territory spanning multiple planets and galaxies. The worldbuilding was immense, featuring a lot of different planets, domains, races, weapons, rifts and all the other cool things one expects from a space based anime alongside advanced technology, and even magic. The story was set primarily on the planet Numenera, a technological marvel. It featured an academy with a great cast and a protagonist who was focused on his duties, not on stealing women. The world was full of quests and opportunities.
The fourth and final contender was from the popular movie franchise The Kingdom In The Wild, set on the planet Gaiya, inhabited by normal and humanoid animals. It followed two humans stranded there, struggling to survive the planet's violent, hostile inhabitants while helping the oppressed, peaceful beings. The world was beautiful but drenched in bloodshed, with constant conflict between its animal factions.
"Um, Kaito? Are you done? I need to set up the reincarnation spell circle," the goddess asked, her voice anxious and nervous.
Taking a deep breath, Kaito looked at her, his eyes now calm and steady with confidence. "Yes. I have decided which world I want to be reincarnated in, and what abilities I want."
"EXCELLENT!" She jumped and clapped, then quickly composed herself. "Ahem, I mean, excellent! That's great. Let's go. I will set up the circle… But first, can you tell me what world you have chosen?"
Kaito looked at her expectantly, took a final deep breath, and revealed his choice.
"The world I have chosen is—"