'Well, where am I now?'

After opening his eyes from his nap 'it really felt like a nap', Alex knew, without needing too much time to notice, that he was not in the same place he was before.

He was still in his 'soul shape' as a humanoid white mass, not fully opaque, but roughly on the same size and shape he had when he was alive. 'I'm still a soul then... Am I in the other realm?'

The first thing he noticed after looking around was that 'there sure is a lot of things here... Reminds me of my room somehow. In a good way, that is' he added that last part of his thoughts after remembering that God could actually read his own thoughts.

All around Alex were countless books, shelves, tables piled with papers, a few random items such as schematics for, what looked like, a ship or a zeppelin, Alex wasn't quite sure. The place had writing materials of all kinds, ranging from simple pencils to fancy pens, littering the whole floor, tables and shelves.

A chuckle could be heard in the direction of the schematic, just out of sight from behind a drawing table. That kind of drawing table, Alex noticed, was an old model, not really favouring ergonomics. 'Something classy, I guess. I like the old style of the room... reminds me of some castles and Art museums I visited before'

"Well, thanks for the compliment on my place. I must say, 'the workplace is a reflection of one's own soul' is a saying in this world that I like very much, and I am pleased you do enjoy my mess"

The voice, now recognizable as a male voice in his mid-thirties, Alex could only guess, was a pleasant voice. It sounded just as a likeable boss would sound like. If there is such a thing. Alex sure didn't know the answer for that cosmic question.

What he knew, though, is that the being behind the table quickly got up after placing the pen and ink down at a corner table by the side. Alex saw him as an Architect. Or a Designer. 'He sure looks like all of my professors during college put together, or something like that?'

A ruler in hand, a few ink spots were smudged on his fingers and comically, as Alex felt the urge to chuckle, a big spot of ink across his cheek.

"Where are my manners," he said quickly cleaning himself up with a wet rugged cloth, "the name is Varkman, the god of creations. No, no, no, not the God of creation, the god of creations, with an 'S'"

Quickly correcting what was likely the most common mistake he had to deal with in all of his life, Varkman pointed at a pair of old embroidered couches and continued "After looking at you and talking to God..." he stopped for a while muttering something about not having a name and making himself comfortable " I must say that you are really a delight to meet. He actually contacted me specifically and I was quite intrigued when he asked me to 'Treat him well, give him a few blessings and send his soul back when he dies'"

It took Alex a few seconds to process the information, after all, he was not really certain what this was about. What God told him was that he was going to be sent to another realm and that his soul could go back. This checked out.

But why was he meeting another god just after waking up?

"Well, I will let you know that you have a few options. I believe that is the reason he chose me for the smooth transfer process to take place, as I am the god of creations and I will be creating your new body.

First things first. You were a human and in your old world as it was the only sentient race available for you. But here things are a bit different, and I believe you have a few choices to make."

'It sure is convenient to be a god' Alex noted after seeing a teapot appearing out of thin air in Varkman's hand. 'I hope this kind of magic is not something limited to gods and I can accomplish things like that' he immersed himself in thoughts about how he would not need to look for stuff under his pile of papers and drawing materials and just summon them to his hands.

After serving a couple of cups of the warm liquid, placing a cup full of sugar cubes on the table and urging Alex to serve himself, Varkman continued "This could be quite shocking, so keep an open mind, would you?"

Alex nodded and sipped the tea with 6 cubes of sugar. It was just right. 'Similar to camomile, I would guess its the calming component?'

Varkman didn't say anything about the amount of sugar, but looked amused at Alex for a second, sipped his own tea, and continued.

"First and foremost, you have the choice of reincarnating as a baby and living a second life or reincarnating as an adult of similar age as you were before dying. This is the most important part as it will limit what we can work with.

If you choose to reincarnate as a baby you have the most options for customization in the race side of things, as a young body is easier to shape. Your memories, on the other hand, should return to you when you are between six and eight years old. That's when the brain starts to develop into a more concrete form of thinking. This is a limitation that cannot be avoided as your soul might not sustain the stress of being a newborn."

Alex nodded, this made perfect sense for him. He didn't mind a second life, but if he had to remember sucking on his mom's tits it would be quite embarrassing. The feeling of shiting himself and stuff like that could make anyone cringe for a lifetime.

"Reincarnating in an adult body is limited in that you would not change appearance throughout your life. 'What you see is what you get', or something like that. Of course, you will still age as normal, but your body will be made at a point where body height has reached its limits and hormones will not change you further.

The downside is that you will have to get used to living in this world as an adult, which would cause most people to find odd your lack of common sense. The upside is that you have your memories from the get-go."

"The six to eight years are something you would expect if you reincarnate as a human, demihuman or any other simple humanoid. If you choose to reincarnate as a monster it is usually much faster. Goblins mature in two weeks to a month time, for example. The list of races is long and I can provide it to you, but I believe you already have a few choices of your own, right?"

"Huh, I did indeed have a few likes and dislikes in my previous life. I like cats... I don't want to be a monster... I don't mind being an elf, but I would not be able to deal with a dwarfs height and adapting to stuff like that.

To be completely honest I always thought about how it would be awesome to be a girl. They are pretty and have boo... Ehem, sorry. I mentioned that because... Is it possible to be a girl?"

God paused thinking about something. As his eyes closed for maybe a minute or two, Alex could not be quite sure if his suggestion was possible. After almost resigning himself to give up on gender-bending he heard a sigh.

"Well, it is possible... Your soul has a lot of masculinity in it, but as an artist, you always admired the female body, and I must agree with a few of your previous life observations in that matter.

I won't recommend for you to reincarnate as an adult woman, but being raised as a girl will give you time and experience to deal with stuff in your own mind. BUT, since I promised to your God that I would return your soul, I must say that this kind of change, even if doesn't change you too much, will definitely change your soul. So, I have to make sure he will recognize your soul by the end of things."

Alex nodded, that was something that made sense in the grand scheme of things. He started imagining how his life would turn out as a girl and he actually couldn't even think about dating a guy... he would probably be a lesbian in the end if he became a woman.

'Is that something acceptable in this world? Well, changing things could be nice, but if it will change me too much I guess it will not be very good. Scratch gender-bending out of the list'

After pondering for some time Alex asked a question that he always asked waiters in his previous life and he was quite awkward asking that to a god.

"Is there a... 'chefs special' or something like that? I mean, you are the god of creations, right? You know I'm an artist, to the depths of my soul I love creating things just like you do. So, can you tell me if you have a suggestion or if you can 'cook' something special for my new self?"

Seeing Varkman's eyes shining for a moment, Alex felt relieved for a second and continued "I want to create amazing things in my new life, and I don't want to die to monsters or being defenceless. What do you think? I want to be biological, no golems or undead... I want to be able to fu... reproduce. I guess that's it?"

Varkman noded and was quickly writing something on a piece of paper. 'I have a good feeling about this' thought Alex. 'Having yourself specially designed by the god specialized in designing things could only be a good thing, right?'

It took Varkman a good half an hour to draw a sketch of a pretty female and a good looking man. Alex noticed the similarities between both of them and after a few seconds. They could both be regarded as 'what I used to look like, but different' in Alex's mind.

Same proportions in height, even if the female was slightly shorter, it was a trait he noticed as an artist: 'smaller female bodies have nice proportions'. So he assumed that this was something the god of creations did to follow his ideal.

Both had dark irises in their eyes, both had brown hair colours, both had hands with opposite thumbs, witch would allow handling instruments and tools. They looked humanoid, but with animal traits. More than Alex would expect from a normal demi-human in his imagination.

Varkman noticed his doubts and offered some input "These are demi-humans based on Gnolls. Gnolls have a trait in their species where they learn things fast and like to produce, create and make things. Unfortunately, they are less intelligent than other races and can't focus on only one thing.

These, on the other hand, have more intelligence and wisdom and can focus just like humans, but the racial ability to learn things faster is lessened to compensate.

Gnolls are a 'canine' race, as you would call. There are no 'feline' variants. So, what do you think about those?"

He asked Alex with a hopeful tone. He knew what the boy was thinking, but wanted the comments on his idea nevertheless. 'I guess that is something everyone that loves creating has in common, huh?'

"I like them. If they have any other canine variants, could it be more similar to a fox? I like them better then dogs, I guess. Also, seeing both of them side by side, just occurred to me that if I am too unique I will feel kinda lonely... Could you make a sister for me? Like, twins?"

Varkman thought for a second and sketched a new drawing. This one more detailed, but, with a concept to follow, it only took him fifteen minutes.

Both of the 'fox-gnoll-demi-human' siblings looked alike, but the girl was way cuter this time. As Alex subconsciously made his decision of being male if he had a sister, he didn't even consider the cross-gender idea again.

The boy looked like a fine guy, with fox ears, foxtail and a snout. Not something you would expect out of demi-humans with normal human noses, but not that different. He had orange fur, which was Alex favourite colour. Not a bright orange that would stand out in a forest, but something natural looking.

"I like it. I'll take it. With a sister it will obviously be baby reincarnation, so that is out of the way as well."

Now, with the race and reincarnation as a baby decision out of the way, Varkman asked "What about your abilities? Foxes have a natural way with illusions and shape-shifting magic. They are also quick and good at close combat. Gnolls are a Jack-of-all-trades and humanoids, in general, can accept almost all of the common ways of fighting and magic. So, what do you think about those?"

Alex took a moment to think. He was never a good fighter. Even in games, his reaction time was not that great. For that reason, he would usually play a character that summoned and controlled pets, undead or constructs. 'I guess a magical based 'build' sounds right with me'

"Could I, for example, summon something I drew, something I sculpted or give life to a statue, for example?"

Varkman tapped his chin a couple of times, took a sip of the tea, wich Alex noticed had not cooled off at all, and said "You could use Shaman, nature-based, magic to give life to some sculptures. You can also use Illusion magic mixed with summoning magic to summon your drawings to fight for you. I will even give you a blessing to raise the number of creatures and their power based on your feeling for your own creations.

That is probably the best way to assist you in this path since I am the god of creations and not the god of magic." he laughed a little with his eyes closed in a good mannered smile.

"Well, that is perfect then. Just two more things, if I may add..." Alex said as Varkman started to gather the papers in the table in a neat pile.

"Could you give a blessing to creations to both me and my sister then? Don't want her to get jealous. Don't even know if she will be the jealous type...

All I know is that if my decision to come to this world and have a sister will actually make her... I should be the responsible brother and ask for all the benefits she can have. I am not going to let her be just 'the sister that I wished to have'.

I don't want to feel guilty about bringing someone to the world and not giving her tools to do better."

Alex didn't notice, as he was monologuing, but Varkman had a smile on his face that was quite similar to what God had at the end of their conversation.

'He sure is a likeable young man. I can see why that God actually asked for special treatment for him. This will be quite fun, I must remember to keep watch on him'

"Sure" Varkman noded, finishing piling up all documents and papers related to Alex particular rebirth. "Just please read this document. It has everything we discussed and the final paragraph states that you will forget your memories until your body can cope with them" He said placing his finger in the last paragraph on the document.

Alex read it, agreed with the terms and conditions, and everything went black. For the third time in his life.