I remember dying.
Not the pain — that part was mercifully brief — but the silence afterward. The strange, endless quiet that swallowed thought itself. One moment there had been light, sound, Elijah arguing about game builds, Lily laughing beside me…
And then nothing.
No body. No breath. No gravity.
Just awareness floating in an endless white void.
I tried to move.
I didn't have arms.
That realization should have terrified me, but instead I felt oddly calm, as if panic had been gently removed from my emotions.
"Well," a voice said cheerfully, "that was faster than expected."
The void cracked.
Not visually — reality itself seemed to fold, like paper bent by invisible fingers. Color bled into existence, forming a sky that wasn't a sky and a floor that wasn't a floor. Symbols drifted through the air like glowing fragments of broken laws.
And sitting casually in front of me was a man.
At least, my mind insisted he was a man.
He looked young and old at the same time, dressed in clothes that changed every time I blinked — a suit, robes, armor, something made of stars. His eyes held galaxies rotating lazily behind a bored smile.
"Yes," he said, pointing at me. "You're awake. Good. Saves time."
"…Am I dead?" I asked.
My voice echoed without sound, yet he heard it perfectly.
"Very," he replied. "All three of you, actually."
A ripple passed through the void.
Two shapes formed beside me.
Elijah appeared first, looking around sharply, already tense like he expected a fight. Lily materialized seconds later, blinking in confusion before immediately inspecting everything with fascination.
"…Okay," Lily said slowly. "Either this is a dream or we've been kidnapped by a cosmic entity."
The man clapped once.
"I like her. She adapts quickly."
Elijah stepped forward. "Who are you?"
The man leaned back into a chair that hadn't existed a moment ago.
"I am," he said dramatically, "a god."
He paused.
Then shrugged.
"Not the God. One of many. Titles get boring after a few millennia."
I stared at him.
A god.
Strangely, I believed him instantly. My instincts screamed that this being could erase us with less effort than blinking.
"Why are we here?" I asked.
His smile widened.
"Because I was bored."
Silence followed.
"…You're joking," Elijah said flatly.
"I never joke about existential decisions," the god replied. "Entertainment is important. Civilizations rise and fall, heroes struggle, villains monologue — but lately? Predictable." He sighed dramatically. "So I decided to introduce variables."
His gaze settled on me.
"You three."
The space around us shifted again, images flashing rapidly — towering cities, neon skies, polluted oceans, corporations larger than nations.
"A distant future," he explained. "Humanity survives, barely. Wealth rules everything. Power belongs to bloodlines and corporations."
The images slowed.
"And eventually," he continued, "a game will be created."
A massive golden world tree appeared in the air, branches stretching across reality.
"A game that will blur the boundary between fiction and existence."
I felt something stir inside me — anticipation, instinct, destiny.
"You will live before that era begins," he said. "Reborn into powerful families. Wealth. Influence. Opportunity."
Lily's eyes sparkled. "So… reincarnation is real?"
"Oh yes," the god said. "And I'm giving you advantages. Think of it as… early access."
Elijah crossed his arms. "What's the catch?"
The god laughed softly.
"There is always a catch. Eventually, the world connected to that future game will become real. When that happens, the characters you create… will become your true selves."
My heart skipped.
"So," I said slowly, "our choices matter."
"Everything will," he replied.
The void darkened slightly as his voice lowered.
"You will build power before gods and devils ever notice you."
For a brief moment, something ancient and terrifying slipped through his playful demeanor.
Then he smiled again.
"Oh — and one more thing."
Three lights appeared before us.
"Each of you may choose three Talents. Gifts beyond the rules of reality itself."
Lily grinned immediately.
Elijah looked cautious.
And I felt something deeper — the sense that my life hadn't restarted…
…it had begun.
The god stood, snapping his fingers.
Reality shattered into falling light.
"Live well," he said. "Grow strong."
His voice echoed as everything dissolved.
"After all… I want to see what kind of monsters you become."
I woke up crying.
Soft sheets surrounded me. Warm sunlight filtered through enormous glass windows. The ceiling stretched high above, elegant and impossibly expensive.
My lungs burned as I took my first real breath.
Memories flooded in — two lives colliding.
My old life.
And this new one.
A name surfaced naturally in my mind.
Luna.
That was me now.
Footsteps hurried toward my room as distant city noises hummed far below, mechanical and cold.
Somewhere beyond those walls lay a world ruled by wealth, power, and corporations.
And someday…
A game that would change everything.
I wiped my tears and stared at my trembling hands.
"I remember," I whispered.
And deep inside, I knew—
This was only the beginning.