THUD
The iron bar struck Alex's skull with a wet crunch, sending a shockwave of agony through his body. Pain exploded behind his eyes, blinding him for a split second.
Then, nothing. No sound. No light. Just the slow, suffocating burn in his lungs as they emptied their last breath. His body crumpled to the dirt of the construction site, limbs splayed like a broken marionette.
Shouts erupted around him, co-workers scrambling, someone yelling for help, but the noise slowly faded into a distant hum as his life was slipping away, swallowed by the silence creeping into his ears.
Lying there, blood pooling beneath his head, Alex thought, 'So this is it? This is how my story ends?' His mind was running through a whirlwind of regrets and absurdities.
There was no grand finale. No heroic last stand. Just a dumb accident, a misplaced rebar beam toppling from the scaffolding above. And just like that, his life got snuffed out like a cigarette under a boot.
He should have been angry, screaming at the universe for such a cruel joke. But as the darkness closed in, all he could think about was how lonely he had been for eighteen years. He didn't feel rage; he just felt a numb relief that he didn't have to live this life anymore.
There were other reasons for his relief, too.
Now that he was gone, he wouldn't have to drag himself out of bed at dawn for backbreaking work. No more struggling on minimum wage or wondering if he would ever feel truly alive. In his world, "happiness" was just a word he had read in old books back at the orphanage.
As he thought about his poor excuse for a life, he felt hands grabbing him. Someone was heaving the heavy bar off his chest, pulling his limp body up.
But it was too late. His vision narrowed until the world was just a tiny dot. Then, as his eyes closed for the last time, he didn't see the black void that most people expect after death.
The light he was seeing before him, wasn't the harsh lights of a hospital or the fires of hell he had once feared. Instead, he saw a light that was soft and glowing, warmer than anything he had ever felt.
Golden colors filtered through what looked like stained glass, bathing him in a heavenly glow.
Alex blinked, confused, and without him doing anything slowly the scene became clear on its own.
He was in an endless hall of marble pillars. They were covered in glowing symbols that pulsed like heartbeats. The air was thick with a sweet, rich scent, like honeyed wine, mixed with fresh flowers.
"You're early, little ghost," a voice purred. It was smooth and amused, but it carried a power that was beyond his imagination.
Alex's head snapped up. In front of him stood a figure wrapped in shifting light. Her features were sharp and beautiful, like a dream. She wore a gown that shimmered like woven starlight. Her long fingers played with a silver thread that disappeared into the darkness behind her. Her eyes were deep and too knowing.
Suddenly, looking into her eyes, Alex felt completely exposed, as if she could see every scar on his soul.
Even though her presence was kind of intimidating, seeing her made Alex feel happy for some reason. Right now, to him, she looked like a goddess.
Or rather, he wanted her to be a goddess. He mind was on the isekai stories he used to read in the orphanage library, where he used to escape from his miserable reality through the tales of other worlds.
He wanted to believe that this was one of those moments, where a goddess comes and gives him a choice to go to another world, like those stories.
He couldnt even consider the other possibilities. The only other possibility that was creeping into his mind event though he didn't want to, was that this was just his brain's final, pathetic hallucination, making him believe that something was waiting for him in the afterlife. And he didn't want to believe that.
So, in his mind, he gave her the title of a Goddess without her even knowing.
"W-where… am…?" His voice cracked. His throat felt as dry as sandpaper. But he cleared it and pushed down his confusion to ask her the question. "Am I dead?"
The Goddess tilted her head, and a small smile formed on her lips. "Oh, yes. Quite thoroughly smashed." She glided closer. Her presence made the ground feel strangely solid beneath his knees. "But fate has granted you a choice, Alexander. Think of it as a rare gift for someone like you."
"Someone like me?" he repeated, feeling a bit defensive.
"Yes, someone like you," she replied.
"An orphan. A drifter. A life of living with nothing more than scraps and solitude, ended by a world that never gave a damn about you." Her tone was just matter-of-fact, not cruel, but it stung like salt in Alex's wound.
She knelt before him, her gaze piercing into his soul. "I see it all, Alexander, the hunger in your eyes, the desire for a purpose in life, the nights spent alone wishing for more from your life."
As she was saying the whole list from his subconsciousness, his fists were clenched. Even in death, he was facing judgment.
"So you drag me here to mock me or something? Like the others did? Saying that I should have been satisfied with what I had, even if what I had was just an unwanted debt and the bone-breaking work every day waiting for me?"
She sighed; the sound was like she knew he would say that.
"No, little one. I'm here to offer an escape from all of that." She extended her palm, and a silver orb materialized above it, swirling with misty visions. Inside, glimpses of a peaceful world flickered, rolling fields, laughing children, a life completely unburdened. One could even call that heaven.
As she was showing him that, she said, "I'm giving you a choice, you can be reborn there. A clean slate. No memories of this life's pain, no scars. Like a perfect heaven designed only for you."
Alex stared at the orb, waiting for the punchline. But when she said nothing more, he asked her, turning towards her, "That's it? Just... forget everything?"
"Or..." She suddenly flicked her wrist, and the orb split into two orbs before his eyes.
The second half darkened, roiling with shadows and embers. "You venture elsewhere. A different world, a new body with your previous life's memories intact. But with a purpose attached to it. A mission for you to fulfill if you want to have that life."
He eyed the dark orb warily. He knew that nothing this good came without strings; he'd learned that in his eighteen years of life fending for himself.
So he asked the question, with as polite a tone as he could use, "And the catch? Missions like this aren't just handed out for free, right? So what's the price?"
Her smile widened, but it didn't warm her eyes. Clever boy, it seemed to say. She continued explaining while pointing to the dark orb, "This world is fractured. Cursed by an evil goddess. And half of its men are dead, and the rest are also fading without a new generation to replace them. Only a handful of children were born in this world in the last eighteen years. Society now teeters on collapse, barely holding together with its declining population."
She leaned in, her breath slowed down against his face. "What is your mission? You're thinking that, right? Let me tell you. Your mission is to mend this broken world back to its former glory. Restore the balance of society and, of course Breed a new generation."
When she stopped talking, there was only silence for a moment.
Alex just stared at her face for a while, not saying a word. Then suddenly he barked out a big laugh, the absurdity of her words hitting him finally like a second iron bar from the construction site.
"Huh, ha hahaha. Me? Fix a dying world, by... what, playing stud horse? That's impossible. Even an elementary-grade kid might know this, that one guy can't repopulate an entire planet. It's just not humanly possible."
Correcting him, she said, "Yes, of course it is not humanly possible, at least not without my gift," she replied, her voice holding the weight of her promise.
The dark orb grew bigger right in front of Alex's eyes. It showed quick flashes at first. He saw empty villages with no life in them. Women's eyes looked empty, like they had lost all hope.
Then the pictures went deeper. He saw women washing themselves in the open rivers, as if it were no big deal to be naked outdoors. Their thin dresses stuck to their bodies because of the water. The dresses showed off their shapes clearly. These women were incredibly beautiful and alluring beyond any women Alex saw back on earth. Yet the men around them did not pay attention to them.
Well, mostly.
Instead, the men looked only at certain women. Women with real power, like rich nobles, tough warriors, or priestesses who held high positions in society. Making Alex guess on his own that the men in this world prioritized power and influence over beauty.
The goddess paused for a moment, her voice steady but with a hint of sadness. She leaned closer to the orb, as if making sure Alex understood.
"In this world," she said slowly, "things changed a lot after the curse hit. It made most men unable to have children. And you can only imagine how a declining population might affect a society. Everything changed because of that. Every social norm got twisted. Twisted to the point it might look absurd from your normal world's standard."
Alex nodded; his heart started to beat faster. He wanted to know more, now that reincarnating in such a world seemed not a bad idea to him. He was beginning to understand that world. She also continued her explanation, seeing how curious he was. Her words were simple and direct, like she was teaching a child.
"Men in that world are attracted to women who have power, money, strength, or high status. Those are the ones who get respect and attention from men. Even if a woman is very beautiful, unless she has power or wealth, men feel no attraction towards her. Her beauty does not last in their eyes without something else to support it."
Alex felt his blood rush with excitement. The images became clearer now. As the goddess was explaining away, Alex's mind was on a weird trip of excitement, thinking about what life would be like in a world like that. Specially having to choose beautiful women neglected just because not having status. They all were waiting for someone like him. As if that world itself was made for him.
"You will begin with those women." This sentence jolted Alex back to reality, her tone firm now, like she knew what was on his mind. She pointed at the visions inside the ord with a steady hand.
"The beautiful ones who get overlooked. Enjoy your time with them. Make them pregnant. That is what your mission will be. Your job is to get as many women pregnant as possible. That way, the society in that world can live again and have a real future."
The orb pulsed with more glimpses, showing him what that world looks like.
After seeing enough of it, Alex asked, though excitement stirred beneath his caution. "Why me?"
"Because you deserve a happy life. And I'm obligated to give it to you. But you can only choose this option if you promise to fulfill the mission attached to it. So what do you say? Do you accept this mission?"
He glanced at the silver orb: it was a peaceful world, but he had to live there without knowing anything about himself, his memories of here completely wiped out. Then he looked at the dark one: it was alive with chaos and temptation, there he could do as he liked, with the goddess's permission to boot.
After seeing these, thoughts of his old life flashed in his head: a life without having any family, no love life, not even any purpose to follow.
The dark orb's world was a place where he could have all of that, take what he wanted, and do what he felt like. Breed women with the permission of a goddess, starting with the forgotten beauties, building to conquests of the elite. Risks be damned.
So of course, he will choose that option. Seeing how overly advantageous it was for him, it couldn't even be called an option at this point. For him, there exists only one option now, it is the dark orb, where lies a true free-use world, which every man dreams about at least once in their life.
"What if I fail?" Yet, he had to ask the question; after all, it is better to be safe than sorry. If he jumps in it just for the temptations, then he might as well commit suicide. Thinking through things was in his nature, however distracted he was now.
The floating woman replied to his question with a cold voice, "Then you will be thrown into the eternal void. No second chances." She extended both orbs. "Now choose carefully, little ghost. Sleep forever? Or claim your destiny in your own hand?"
Although he didn't like the nickname the goddess was calling him, he wasn't much upset by it. Words such as these cannot upset him now. Not when right before his eyes was the entryway to the version of the haven he always wanted.
The dark orb thrummed, as if it were calling to him. And without thinking much, Alex also reached out his hands, his fingers closing around it.
Power surged through him, along with it came the memories of the body he was going to possess.
-------
The moment Alex's fingers touched the dark orb, the Goddess's kind face also disappeared. Her soft smile turned into a wide, mean grin. She looked incredibly smug, like she had just won a game she had been playing for a long time.
She was laughing at him, knowing she had finally tricked him into her trap.
But Alex didn't see any of this. He was blinded by the sudden flash of light and the feeling of power rushing through his body as his soul was being pulled away from hell. He felt very excited about his new life.
But he had no idea that he had just fallen for the biggest trap of his life.