Chapter 1: So It Begins!

I died.

Just like that.

I was 17 years old and would soon have gotten out of school, when my class teacher organized a field trip to Monuya Mountain, if you could even call it a real mountain, it didn’t actually reach the height requirement for being one, everyone just calls it that, but even so it was a cultural heritage site of my city and we just had to go there in history class, because “We should learn to appreciate the rich history of Anara”, our city.

As soon as we got there it started raining, one hour of getting here, wasted.

Of course, we went up anyway.

After a bit of walking we arrived at a cliff. An old general had his grave built here.

That was when the accident happened. It was actually quite embarrassing, as I somehow managed to slip on the wet rocks at the edge of the cliff and fell down. Somewhere during the fall I must have hit my head, because I don’t remember anything that happened while I was falling.

How do I know I’m dead then, if I can think now and don’t remember the fall?

Well I think standing in an unnaturally white room with a banner saying: ”Welcome to the afterlife” hanging over the exit makes that pretty obvious.

Now that I calmed down a bit I realizde that I really had no need to be so dramatic when I came here, it’s not like I had anything back home.

All of my belongings were in my small one room apartment which I could only afford thanks to government support. My mom died when I was born and my dickhead of a father disappeared from my life after I was old enough that his conscience wouldn’t burden him too much to leave me at an orphanage.

I guess I’ll venture outside of this room and see what the afterlife has to offer, maybe I’ll even get to see my Mom for the first time.

As soon as I set a foot outside the door frame I could feel my perception warping, the hallway in front of me morphing into a different one of those white rooms, although this time I wasn’t alone.

In front of me stood a beautiful woman, smiling gracefully.

[“Hello, Nala”], she said.

Her Voice was warm and charming as she greeted me and even though I was a bit weirded out about her knowing my name for a second, that feeling quickly faded away as she spoke again.

[“You are wondering why you're here right?”], She asked me with an understanding look on her face.

“Well, not really, I think as long as I can look at you it doesn’t matter where I am.”, I answered flirtatiously.

God I hope she doesn't think I’m weird now.

The Women laughed at my words, but I wasn’t offended, her laugh not offending or like it was meant to be mean at all. It sounded sincere and clear like a chime in the wind.

[“The reason you are here is because it is my fault that you died”], She sighed ,[I’m so sorry”]

I felt shocked at those words but that soon turned into confusion.

“How could it be your fault? I slipped on a wet rock and fell down a cliff!” ,I exclaimed.

[“As the goddess of the elements, things such as rain, the ocean, storms and earthquakes also fall within my responsibilities. It wasn’t actually supposed to rain that day, I messed up.”], she revealed.

“A god?, well I guess with this stuff happening that actually makes a lot of sense.

[“If a death happens due to a god's mistake, it is common practice to resurrect them”], She told me.

“Really!?”,I interrupted her, shocked by the possibility.

“Does that mean I can go back home?”, My curiosity spiked.

Even though I don’t have any attachments to the world I would still prefer being alive over being dead.

[“Sadly, no. Your death is already confirmed in your homeworld, but what I can do is to send you into a different world.”], she answered.

I understand, it really would be weird for me to suddenly come back to life. But a different world? Like in one of those novels I read?

“What kind of world would that be?”, I asked.

[“One filled with magic, wonders and fantastical creatures”], she said.

Magic? Would my childhood dream of being a mage finally be fulfilled?

[“There is one big problem though, your body can’t go through the strain of being transported to a different world”], she said, shooting down my dream.

“Why did you tell me I could go there then?” I wondered.

[“Because it will work if only your soul is transported there, although I will not have any control about the body it’s going to be placed in.''] she said.

Huh, that’s a pretty big downside, but there’s one thing I need to know. “I will still be a girl, right?” I questioned.

[“It’s likely, because of the resonance in the soul, but not guaranteed. What you should be worried about is you not ending up as human”] She said.

Wait, I could even not be human? And what is that “resonance in the soul” bullshit?

“I will need to think about it for a while.” I said.

[“It's Fine, but you need to make a decision in the next 2 hours, I will not be able to keep you stable afterwards.”) She told me.

Ok, Time to weigh the pros and cons. On one hand, I will have no Idea about the kind of being I’ll be, but on the other there is LITERAL MAGIC! But if I were to become an ant or some other weak animal I will likely not be able to use it at all and die quickly due to for example, a short lifespan or predators. As I ponder over the question a thought comes to me.

“What happens If I die in that world?” Was the thought, which I quickly voiced to the goddess.

[“You will be able to move on to the afterlife. Whether you go to the afterlife of your old world or the one of your new world is up to you.”] She said.

Well isn’t it obvious what I choose then? Why did I even have to think about that if it’s either go into the afterlife or have a new life and go into the afterlife immediately?

“Then I have decided. I will accept!”

As soon as I spoke these words my senses warped again, me embracing the now almost familiar feeling as I got sucked into a sort of whirl and spun around in the seemingly endless void of this space.

I had no Idea how much time passed, It could have been seconds or days.

Eventually I came back to my senses.