Upon the breast of you universe, Hero becomes aware of a voice; not the audible kind, but certainly something he can hear clearly.

“Well well, look who got offed a bit too quickly~,” a transcendent, beautiful, feminine voice speaks out through the

cosmos.

Hero is still aware of his H.U.D., and his status-targeting tool abruptly selects someone. The character portrait of “The High Goddess Rondi” appears alongside the interface tool’s stat screen. Her portrait is of a N/A placeholder image, but she’s level infinity, denoted by the symbol next to her uninspectable status screen. The entire H.U.D.’s center space fills the immortal blackness with extravagant white text displaying her name, emphasizing the immensity of her greatness.

“I’m…dead?” Hero’s consciousness speaks out.

“You certainly are, young man. A bit too early for my tastes. I’ve seen your effort to defeat those fiends despite the enormous risk to your own life, and I think you have what it takes.”

“I… I do?”

A sultry coo from Rondi vibrates Hero to his very core. “That’s right. You didn’t back down to ensure your father’s safety. I like that.”

A surge of pride rushes through Hero. “Well, it was nothing, really. I’m just happy to help is all, and my father is precious to me!”

“Ahh! You’re a delightful human. A real go-getter, and a good person, too. Perhaps I could grant you a wish.”

“I want my father to be safe! Please, goddess!” Hero requests without missing a beat. He feels her breath all along his spirit, as if she’s some massive, overwhelming entity looming over him.

“Is that all you want?” Rondi asks with a coy tone. “I think I might have a suggestion, if you’d be willing to listen the one and only True Goddess, that is~.”

Only a fool would have her silenced, of course.

“Please, what is your wisdom, my goddess?” Hero asks with the utmost of humility.

“Mmm, enter a contract with me. Step into my service and kill my enemies, and not only will I give you the means to save your father, I will bring you back to life this one time as a young man without measure, amazing in all regards.”

For a moment, Hero wonders just why the “only True Goddess” would need a mortal to bring out her will. If there is not competition to her, then why would she need him? It is a very dangerous, but ultimately very helpful thought for him, but right now he sees no reason to turn her down; life is life, after all.

“Alright! I agree!”

Rondi hums pleasantly as right away Hero feels his entirety being reincorporated into a mortal coil. Breath fills him and his nerves hail his physical brain once more.

“Very well, Hero,” the goddess says as his vision steadily returns in a blinding, holy light. “Live your life in glory and show all my power through you. I’ll disregard that broken save mechanic and just start you off back in the persistent world; wouldn’t want to mess up the timeline or anything…. Lastly, beware the ones that speak of ether, those that look human but are not, and most of all the four-eyed analyst, for he will not rest until you have been slain… Oh! And you need to get combat exp first before the level up triggers, it’s just the way the game’s made thanks to those lazy devs~.”

Hero nods in his last moments before fully returning to the waking world. He has no idea what she means by “ether”, “exp”, or “devs”, but he’s certain all will be clear in time.

His next sight is from his H.U.D., again displaying a set of console messages:

You have been resurrected by admin frame “Rondi” 01. Your faction as been set to [Ascended Rondian]. You have gained 593201894284821832732173284787927482791873 passive exp.