It was dark.
Too dark to see anything.
The darkness wasn't like when you close your eyes — it felt more as if I had lost my sight entirely.
What even happened, for that matter?
And where was I?
I remember the guys teasing Leo, and me volunteering to jump into the water to draw attention away from him. Right.
I was going to do a flip — something flashy, to impress them. And then what? My head feels completely foggy, like everything is blurred.
I should go back to the previous thought and piece the events together.
I wanted to do a flip.
The guys moved to the sides of the cliff to give me enough space for a proper jump.
I took a running start… and jumped into the water.
Alright. Something's starting to take shape.
Yeah. I pulled off a spectacular trick — a flip — and finished it with a clean dive straight into the water! That must've looked amazing from the outside!
And then… my hands, through the haze, got caught on something.
Oh no…
No way.
Did I… die?
*Not quite*
Not quite? What does that even mean?
So I'm unconscious, or something like that?
*Not quite*
What do you mean, "not quite"?
Wait. Hold on! Who's talking to me?
*…*
Or is my imagination playing a cruel trick on me?
*…*
Just as I thought. I probably lost consciousness underwater due to lack of oxygen, and now I'm hearing this "not quite" on a subconscious level.
Unless, of course, I'm lying to myself and trying to convince myself that I just passed out. Although… the voice that spoke to me sounded very real.
Am I losing my mind?
*No*
Who's talking to me? Looks like I really have gone insane. I don't remember hitting my head on a rock, yet I'm hearing voices.
Wait… I think I heard this voice just before I lost consciousness. But what did it say?
I mentally said goodbye to my family…
and then my eyes closed.
*Death cannot be deceived*
Right! Uh…!?
— Wait. Stop! That definitely doesn't sound like just a voice in my head anymore! Who are you? And why can I hear you?! Where am I?!
I was surprised by how sharp my voice sounded.
Or rather — the sensation of a voice.
There was no air here, yet the words were somehow being "spoken," as if the very act of thought itself had become speech.
*You are currently in a place where the concepts of life and death diverge*
— What do you mean by that?
*There is neither life… nor death here, in the familiar sense*
— So… I'm dead?
*No. Your body is*
— Isn't that the same thing?
*No. Your soul is still alive*
I was completely confused. If I died, that means I died, doesn't it? Yet this voice was telling me the opposite.
*The body is merely an external, material vessel. It allows the soul to exist in the material world*
— And the soul?
*The soul does not die with the body. It comes here*
None of this made any sense.
Ever since childhood, through books, movies, and just things people say, I'd always known that after death a person goes to heaven or hell, depending on how they lived their life. And yet this voice says I ended up… here.
— And what happens to it?
*The soul can exist for as long as it can sustain itself. Until it fades*
— So… it can still die?
*Yes*
So, if I believe this voice, that means I'm still alive — or rather, my soul is. And logically speaking, my consciousness, my "self," is contained within my soul, which means I'm still here. Does that mean… Can I return?
*No. The body that once housed your soul can no longer contain it*
I don't even know if there's any point in speaking out loud. This voice reads my thoughts anyway, answering questions I haven't even asked yet.
Even the idea itself unsettles me — that someone can dig around in my head and read my thoughts.
*I can only perceive thoughts that lie on the surface — those that could be spoken*
That doesn't comfort me in the slightest!
Who are you? And what happens to me next, if I can't return to my world?
*I am a soul, just like you*
— …?
What does that mean — "a soul just like me"?
Then why does this soul know so much more about this place, and about existence itself?
And it still hasn't answered my previous question.
*You can materialize in another world and continue your life there*
Continue living… in another world?
Is it even possible to live a normal life after dying once?
And how would I know that I'd end up somewhere good? What if it's a post-apocalyptic world, and I'm the only living being left on the planet?
Or a world stuck in the Stone Age, with nothing but caves and primitive people?
*All of that is excluded*
Such confidence.
Still, considering how much this voice seems to know, I suppose I can believe it.
*Or you have another option: to end the existence of your "self" and let your soul disperse*
No, no, no! That's the one thing I definitely don't want. I still have so much life left to live!
*In that case, are you ready to incarnate into a new body?*
That's far better than losing my "self."
But how do you know that the world I'll go to won't be destroyed?
*Because I can choose the world you will go to*
Choose? Just who is this "soul," anyway?
Why does it get to choose for me? Don't I have the right to choose a more suitable place for myself?
*No*
Why not?
*You do not possess that power*
Power? What power is it talki…