Well, that was it.
I died to some maniac who was probably—and most definitely—on drugs.
What a way to go.
That person, whoever they were, they were absolutely insane. They just ran me over while blasting music at full volume without a care in the world.
No warning, no hesitation, nothing.
Just bam, and now I'm here. Surrounded by... darkness? It's a really empty place, I can't really tell.
It's... unnerving. My limbs don't even feel like they exist anymore.
No weight, no sensation at all. Which meant I couldn't even move them, when I'm supposed to be as free as a bird.
I didn't even begin to question how the hell I passed from being completely physical to this ethereal state, did I?
How does that even work? I thought the afterlife was just something made up by society, to cope with the concept of death.
Not only that, I never believed in religion or anything like it. Maybe I'd say, "Thank God," or "I hope to God," every now and then, but it was more out of habit than belief.
Another effect of the media.
Sigh.
It was funny, in a way. How easily the things we see and hear shape the way we think, even if we don't realize it. Phrases, ideas, beliefs—they all get drilled into us until they become second nature.
...
Time felt dilated. I can't really tell if it's moving at all, or not. Speaking of moving, I can't even move either.
Guess I'm stuck here. Everything was gone, except my consciousness. Which was still intact, for some reason.
The brain is supposed to shut down when the body dies, right? So then, why the hell am I still aware and thinking?
It was all so hysterical.
Then, I started to talk to myself. Most likely to maintain my rapidly crumbling sanity, who knows?
"Hellooooo?"
I'd like to believe my voice echo'ed or anything like that, but unfortunately, there was literally no sound. Only my thoughts, and what I just said was probably just a projection of my mind.
"Where am I? Does anyone know?"
Again, no response. This is pointless, and yet, I kept going.
"If you don't talk to me, you're gay!"
Huh, weird. That usually gets people to talk.
Of course, there was still nothing. No comeback, and not even a chuckle from any kind of force.
I let out a small cackle to my own joke, "Real mature of me, ha." I muttered—at least I think I did.
"Seriously, is no one there?"
Silence.
"Alright, fine! I get it, I'm completely alone."
Might as well start singing, I've got nothing to do anyway. Not that I've ever been good at it.
Time went flying by—or maybe it didn't. AmaLee's songs are utterly fantastic, and no one could tell me otherwise. Anyone who dares can catch these motherfucking hands!
Something was wrong, though. Completely wrong.
My memories. They were slipping away by the minute, and certainly not like that one genocidal skeleton.
I'm... forgetting. What the hell was that one thing called again?
Eh, doesn't matter. It was very likely not important anyway, because I still retained the important stuff, such as my own name, my family, my hobbies, my dream, and my favorite songs. That's what truly mattered, right?
It's not like I would ever use anything from school ever again. History? Ever heard of let the past be the past? Trigonometry? See you never!
Or that's possibly just an excuse to be lazy. Hell if I know.
Yeah, honestly, who even needs history when you're in some weird limbo with no timeline to follow? Screw that notion.
Who the hell is gonna quiz me on World War II or the Pythagoras theorem when I'm in the middle of nowhere? No one, that's for sure.
...It sure is lonely here.
--------------IN ANOTHER PLACE--------------
"Good lord, what was going through your mind?!" the Goddess yelled at what seemed to be a... sentient vehicle?
The truck somehow hunched back in shame, its headlights dimming as if trying to avoid eye contact. "I was just trying to do my job!"
"Your job?!" the Goddess's voice grew louder in irritation, "Thanks to your complete dumbassery, now I have a glitch to fix in the system, when I'm supposed to be guiding souls onto the next life! How could you've been so damn careless? You sent them to the fucking Shadow Realm!"
She pointed at the truck accusingly, a vein throbbing on her forehead. "Seriously, what is wrong with—"
"I'VE GOTTA MAKE A LIVING, OKAY?!" the truck interrupted, sounding way too defensive for a literal vehicle. "The company's gone to shit ever since those generic isekais took over, my stress is at an all-time high, and I get paid worse than a McDonald's worker!"
The Goddess shivered at his sudden outburst.
"You get me, Nyxia?! Life's tough, and I can't do anything about it but just keep working and working without being paid a damn thing, producing shitty isekais all year round! I don't even get a vacation break nowadays!"
Nyxia grimaced at that. The truck really had it hard. "Jeez... sorry. I didn't know you felt that way."
"It's okay. Do you even know what's the most recent thing I've helped produce?"
"...What?"
"A vending machine. The guy I isekai'd reincarnated into a literal vending machine. How do people keep coming up with such atrocious plots? It's like they're just using whatever they can think of, because they're running out of ideas! At this point, I don't think I'll ever produce one as great as the others!"
"What about that jobless guy? Weren't you involved in his reincarnation? I heard he's actually quite popular among humans back on ear—"
"That was one of my brothers, not me."
Nyxia couldn't help but feel awful for the vehicle in front of her. Poor thing.
"...Let's just focus on the task at hand. It's a miracle that this human still hasn't broken with all the time we've spent here, the sanity of most would just crumble in the Shadow Realm. Her mind is already warped and she'll probably have some problems in the future, but I think she can still be saved and sent to another world."
The truck honked at her, its horn echoing into the quiet void. "You think so?"
"I believe. I've already gone through her memories, and... Eugh. What the hell is this? Is this what humans are up to these days?"
Nyxia was utterly disgusted. In all her hundreds of thousands of years of being a goddess, she had never seen such...
What the hell is a Vaporeon? What's this about them being the most compatible 'po-kee-man' for humans?
Humans never ceased to disappoint her.
Oh. Oh.
Well now, isn't this just interesting?
"A world of unholy beasts, warring nations, and humans who twist their very life force into power. To think humanity was capable of crafting such a story...! I've heard of many who've been sent by my seniors to this world, often in separate timelines. One of the most notorious beings to transmigrate into such a place is called... Suzuki Fujin, I believe? He's made quite the name for himself."
"Oh?" the truck honked in surprise.
"Another has had their timeline twisted, and somehow became the most powerful in her own right, despite the odds being against her. She's known as Sukaina, I assume. My seniors have also sent a certain Daiki Yurei. He's a... very lustful man, I can say that."
"No kidding. The madman has gone at it with many, many women, and in spite of that he doesn't lose himself in his lust. What's his saying, again?"
"The grind never stops?"
"Yeah, that!"
Nyxia snorted, "Unbelievable."
"You gotta respect the guy's dedication to this 'grind,' though. Not just any human possesses that kind of mindset or mental resilience."
"You may be right," Nyxia crossed her arms, observing the wandering consciousness of the girl. "I have a proposal."
"Hm?"
"Let's send this human to that world. It'll be far more convenient than just letting her go to heaven or hell, because her karma is just... strange. It isn't positive, and neither is it negative. She simply has a rather peculiar mind."
The truck's lights flickered. "Ooh! That way, we can make it up to her and set up the plot for this whole story!"
Nyxia was taken aback by the truck's statement. What the hell did it mean by "story"?
"Story...? What are you talking about?"
The truck, as if rubbing the back of its head, replied, "Nothing, carry on."
"You spew out such unusual things at times..." Nyxia sighed in frustration, "Anyway, I hope she's ready."
"Here we go."