The darkness was not what I expected.
It was not the end, nor heaven, nor hell. It was… nothing. An absolute void that stretched infinitely in all directions. I had no body, no form, only consciousness floating in the vastness of nonexistence.
How much time has passed?
There was no way to know. It could have been seconds or millennia. Time had no meaning here.
Then, like a switch being flipped, the void changed.
A light appeared in the distance, bright and pulsating. It grew rapidly, or perhaps I was moving toward it. The distinction did not matter. In moments, I was enveloped by a blinding white radiance.
When my vision cleared, I found myself standing in an infinite white space. I had form again, my twenty-three-year-old body restored, without wounds, without blood. I looked at my hands, bent my fingers. It felt real.
"Welcome, wandering soul."
The voice boomed from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I turned and there, materializing from the very light of the white space, a figure appeared.
It was impossible to describe it completely. Its form changed constantly, as if my mind could not fully comprehend it. Sometimes it looked like an old man with a beard that shone like stars. Other times, a young woman of incomparable beauty. And in some moments, just a silhouette of pure light.
"What… what are you?" I managed to ask, my voice sounding strangely clear in this space.
"Some call me God. Others, the Architect. Others still, simply Destiny." The figure settled into something resembling an androgynous humanoid form, wrapped in a robe of liquid light. "Names do not matter. What matters is that your life ended before its time."
"I'm dead," I said, more as a statement than a question.
"You were. But your death was… premature. An uncalculated variable in the fabric of destiny." The entity extended a hand and the space around us filled with images. I saw my death in the alley, but from above. I saw how the assailant had stumbled, how the knife that should have grazed me instead went completely through me. "An accident. An anomaly."
"So then, what? Are you going to send me back?" Hope bloomed in my chest.
"Not to your world." The entity shook its ethereal head. "Your thread was already cut there. It cannot be restored. But I can offer you something different. A second chance. A new beginning in a different world."
The images changed. I saw a fantasy world, with magic, different races, floating continents, impossible creatures. My heart raced.
"Reincarnation?"
"Exactly. But not without compensation for the mistake committed." The entity snapped its fingers, and in front of me something extraordinary appeared.
It was a gigantic ruler, stretching toward the infinite white sky. But it was not a normal ruler. Each section glowed with palpable power, and I could read the inscriptions on each one.
Fire Affinity – Common
Sword Mastery – Basic
Superhuman Strength – Level 1
Night Vision
Slow Regeneration
There were hundreds, miles of sections. My eyes moved quickly over them, seeing options of all kinds.
Photographic Memory
Water Control – Intermediate
Summoning of Minor Spirits
Poison Resistance
Some seemed useful. Others… less so.
Talking to Snails
Eternal Beard That Never Grows More
Permanent Smell of Flowers
"Seriously?" I couldn't help laughing at some of the more absurd options.
"A little humor in destiny never hurts," the entity replied with what might have been a smile. "You can spin the roulette three times. What you obtain will be your gift in your new life."
I examined the ruler more closely. The sections varied enormously in size. The more common and less useful options occupied large portions. The most powerful ones were barely tiny slivers.
And then I saw it.
At the top of the roulette, so small that it was almost overlooked, there was a section that glowed with a multicolored radiance unlike all the others.
The Legacy
My breath caught. I knew that name. I had read it in a web novel before dying. "The Beginning After the End." Cecilia, known as "The Legacy," possessed the most broken power in the universe of that story: complete control over all elements and their variants, the ability to drain and manipulate mana itself.
"Wait," I said quickly, pointing to that section. "The Legacy? Like in… Cecilia?"
The entity tilted its head, as if impressed. "Oh, interesting. You know that world. Yes, the same power. Although I must warn you, the probability of obtaining it is…"
"Astronomically low, I know." I looked at the tiny sliver on the ruler. "But if I get it… will Cecilia exist in that world? Am I going to be like a copy of her or something?"
"No," the entity replied firmly. "If you obtain the Legacy, it will be completely yours. Independent. Cecilia will be her own entity in that world, with her own Legacy. You would have yours. Two Legacies, existing simultaneously. Something that has never happened."
My mind raced. Two Legacies. That would change everything. The entire story I knew would become unpredictable. But also…
It also meant that I could change the fate of that world. I could protect the people I know will suffer.
"I understand," I said, turning toward the roulette. "So… I just spin?"
"Three times. Choose wisely. Or let destiny choose for you." The entity floated away, giving me space.
I placed my hand on the roulette. It was solid under my palm, vibrating with power. I took a deep breath.
Here we go.
I spun with all my strength.
The ruler exploded into motion, spinning so fast that all the sections became a blur of colors. The sound was like thunder, booming through the infinite space. I closed my eyes, unable to follow the movement.
Slowly, the ruler began to decelerate. Tick. Tick. Tick. Each section passing with an audible click.
The Legacy, The Legacy, The Legacy…
Tick… tick… tick…
It stopped.
I opened my eyes and my heart sank.
Earth Affinity – Common
A brown light came out of the section and sank into my chest. I felt… something. A subtle change in my being, as if a door had opened inside me.
"First spin," the entity announced. "Two more."
I clenched my teeth. It's fine. I still have two chances.
I spun again.
This time I watched more closely as the roulette spun. I saw The Legacy pass once, twice, three times. Each time, my heart jumped, but the ruler kept spinning.
Tick… tick… tick…
Sword Mastery – Basic
Another light, this time silvery blue, entered my body. I felt knowledge flowing into my mind, basic concepts of fencing and sword technique.
"A normal sword? Seriously?" I muttered in frustration.
"Destiny has its own sense of humor," the entity commented.
I looked at the roulette one last time. This was my final chance. The Legacy section was so small, the probability so low. But I had to try.
"Last spin," I said, placing my hand on the roulette once more.
I closed my eyes. I don't know why, but this time I decided not to see. Just feel it.
I spun.
The sound of the roulette spinning filled my consciousness. Tick. Tick. Tick. Each sound like the beating of a heart. I saw images behind my closed eyelids. An elven family. A sister with platinum hair. A magical forest. A devastating war.
Please. If there is any power in this universe, if destiny truly exists…
Let me protect them.
Tick…
Tick…
Tick…
The roulette stopped.
The silence was absolute.
Slowly, almost fearfully, I opened my eyes.
There, shining with a multicolored radiance that made everything else pale in comparison, was the smallest section of all.
The Legacy
"Impossible," the entity whispered, and for the first time, I heard genuine surprise in its voice.
From the roulette burst a light that was not a single color. It was all colors and none at the same time. Red, blue, green, yellow, white, black, colors that did not even have names. It swirled around me like a tornado of pure power.
And then it struck.
The pain was instant and absolute. I fell to my knees, screaming as the power flooded every fiber of my being. It wasn't just magical power. It was more fundamental than that. It was rewriting my very essence, changing what I was on a level I could not comprehend.
I saw visions. I saw elements colliding and fusing. I saw mana cores being drained and restored. I saw the very fabric of reality bending to an unstoppable will.
"Extraordinary," said the entity, its voice full of awe. "In all my eons of existence, I have never seen someone obtain the grand prize on the last spin. Perhaps… perhaps your death was not an accident after all."
The power finally settled inside me, no longer painful but pulsing with limitless potential. I stood up shakily, looking at my hands. I could see mana flowing through me, I could feel the connection to elements that did not even exist in my previous world.
"This… this is real," I whispered.
"Very real," the entity confirmed. "You now carry the Legacy. The same power that Cecilia will possess, but completely yours. Independent. Unique." The figure stepped closer. "But with great power comes great danger. That world you are going to… is not prepared for two Legacies. There will be those who seek you, who fear you, who try to use you."
"I know," I replied, my voice firmer now. "I know that world. I know what's coming. And I'm going to change it."
"Confidence. Good." The entity placed a hand on my shoulder, and the touch felt like stars against my skin. "Then go, Kael Eralith. Live your second life. Change destiny if you can. And remember…"
The white space began to fade, darkness returning.
"The Legacy is not just power. It is responsibility. Use it wisely."