“How were you supposed to—?! The same way you knew that boy would cure cancer!”
“That child is fated for greatness. You on the other hand…” he said as he raised his hand and waved at me dismissively. "You don’t expect me to pay attention to every random person, do you?”
WOW. I couldn’t believe this. Sure I may not have planned to cure cancer, solve world hunger, or bring world peace. But I had plans!
I had just got accepted to the top University in my State, and was planning to go to law school after I was finished. I wanted to be a pro bono lawyer; one who protected the innocent and helped those in need. Obviously, I wanted to make money as well. But still!
I had my whole future ahead of me, and now I was…
I am dead.
It fully dawned on me. The suddenness of knowing that I lost my future, my family, and my friends, all coalesced into a feeling of anguish that hit me like… like an out of control truck!
Heh. I smirked at my own joke. At least I still had my sense of humor even when dead. But even that brief reprieve ended when the man spoke.
“As I mentioned previously, you can choose to live a second life in another world. Of course, starting anew would be difficult, so I will grant you one request to aid you in this new life.”
Oh yeah, he did mention that earlier. I was too focused on the absurdity of everything else to actually care about it. But reincarnation huh? Sounds like something out of an anime my friends would watch. Something something reincarnated as a—
My train of thought was interrupted once again by the man, who took my silence as a cue to resume his spiel.
“If you are worried about any possible drastic differences between your world and your new one, you should put yourself at ease. Though there are many different intelligent species in this world, not only are they mostly humanoid, but Humans do exist in this world. And even if it might be similar to historical Europe, technology is replaced by the workings of mana.”
Mana? So there’s magic, like in those MMORPG’s? That line of reasoning made perfect sense to me.
So it would have magic, and there were many different sapient species’. There would obviously be a lot of possible conflicts between species, since Earth had a lot of racial tensions even within the same species. I did not want to die again; especially not to something dumb like being born to the wrong species.
Since I could make a single request, I obviously would want to ask to remain safe. Hm, it feels like I am missing something obvious. As I was thinking, the man continued.
“The extent of the request you can make is obviously limited. It will be limited to the circumstances of your birth, you can not ask me to make you into a god, nor can you ask for more requests. You can however, ask for things like money and power.”
I couldn’t ask for more requests, or to make me like him. What are you, a genie?
Money was obviously a no go. If it was limited to my birth, I would probably be born to some stuck up noble family. I did not want to deal with politics, especially not that of a world similar to medieval Europe.
Power on the other hand, was quite appealing. I wanted to stay safe, and since magic was a thing...
“How about power in magical talent?” I spoke for the first time in a while, “Like let’s say, I want to be the most powerful mage in the entire world. Can you... uh, grant this request?”
The man seemed to once again ponder on my question, this time however, he placed his hand on his chin as he slowly spoke.
“I can do… something like that, yes. You can be reborn with the potential to be the most powerful... spellcaster… or magic wielder, if you wish.”
Ugh he’s doing that ‘deep thought’ thing again. I really disliked this man; the way he spoke— his careful deliberation over each of his responses— was irritating. And more than that, he killed me. So I had no reason to like him.
It was annoying. I was annoyed. I had lost everything and I was dead. I just wanted to get away from this man. So I agreed.
“Fine.”
“Fine?”
“Make me the most powerful spellcaster, or whatever. You know what I mean, just do it.”
“If that is what you wish to be reincarnated as…”
“Yes. That is what I wish to be reincarnated as. Hurry it up.”
“As you wish,” the man said.
As soon as the words left his mouth and his lips curled into a smile, the white world around me began dissolving into absolute nothingness.
The blank canvas was replaced by a void of emptiness, where all sensations, all thoughts, and all emotions left my body. Time seemed to stretch for an eternity, yet the moment passed in an instant.
And when I woke up, I was crying.
—————————————————
The cabin stood alone amidst the darkness. It was not far from the village, but it was still separated by the forest and the wildlife living in it. The moon hung directly overhead— its silvery light illuminated the cabin’s features.
It looked newly built. A year old at most. Its size was nothing remarkable; the dull brown of the wood its most prominent feature.
A high pitched wail cut through the night. An incessant cry from a baby stirred the animals and little critters awake. They bounded for cover, fleeing their homes as the screaming continued.
A woman sat up on a bed. Her long black hair ran down her back, covered only partially by the
