Jayh floated in the white void, his body weightless, his voice gone, his breath silent. He couldn't tell how long he'd been drifting. Minutes? Hours? Maybe none of it mattered in this place.
He remembered the truck's blinding lights, the screeching tires, the alcohol still on his lips. He remembered the warmth of blood spilling out of his chest, and the memories flashing like lightning—Mom's laughter, Dad's hand ruffling his hair, his sister chasing him with a pillow, the quiet grave visits, the lonely convenience store. It all crashed like a wave of emotions.
"Is this it? Is this... the end?"
Jayh reached toward the white nothingness, wondering if he'd see them—his family. Maybe they were just on the other side, waiting for him with open arms.
But then, a voice echoed through the void like a whisper in eternity.
"Would you like to live again?"
His eyes widened, or maybe they didn't. His body wasn't really there anymore. Just a soul, drifting and questioning.
"Live... again?"
A figure appeared. Towering. Vast. Cosmic. His entire being shimmered with stars and galaxies, like a moving universe inside human shape. The "Void Man" stood before Jayh, quiet, still, powerful beyond understanding.
Jayh wanted to speak, to ask so many things, but he couldn't move his mouth—he didn't even have one. His thoughts barely formed before the being responded.
"You are dead. Your physical body was destroyed in the collision. Your soul survived—barely."
The truth didn't sting. It was already accepted. Jayh had nothing back there. No family. No friends. Just a job and a lonely bed soaked with tears and ramen smell.
"Why me? Why are you offering me this kind of opportunities?"
That question the void man didn't answer. He simply said it again.
"Do you want to live again?"
The words of his grandma echoed like a warm breeze brushing across the freezing void.
"Don't give up yet."
Jayh's soul trembled. Her voice—so distant, yet so real. Maybe... "maybe it wasn't time to give up yet."
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes, I want to live again."
The void pulsed once, as if acknowledging the decision. But Jayh wasn't done.
"What are you? Why me? What is this place?"
Those thoughts surged from him, desperate for meaning.
The Void Man responded slowly, as if carrying the weight of universes on his voice.
"I cannot answer that kind of question. Find them yourself in the world you are about to enter."
"Another world?"
The Void Man raised his cosmic hand, and the space around Jayh began to ripple like disturbed water. "You will be reincarnated. Another world, unlike Earth. Magic exists there. So do monsters... and demons."
Jayh felt like he was dreaming. He remembered games he used to play on his PC, the fantasy novels he'd read during long nights of depression. Those stories of swords and spells... of elves and orcs... of chosen heroes.
"Is it really like those stories?" He wondered.
The Void Man nodded slowly. "Elves. Dwarves. Beastmen. Dragons. Spirits. Races you know only from fiction. You will find them there."
Jayh's thoughts sharpened. "Will I have a system? Like stats or magic levels?"
The Void Man chuckled lightly—like galaxies colliding in distant harmony. You will receive a "package." What is inside, you will discover upon your awakening.
Jayh's soul began to tremble. The white light around him grew brighter, the emptiness turning into a gentle pull, like a current dragging him forward. A portal opened before him, swirling like a whirlpool of stardust.
Before Jayh could be taken in, the Void Man whispered the last words Jayh would hear in that realm.
"Live a long, happy life."
Then, without warning, Jayh's soul was pushed into the spiral.
—
Pain shot through his skull like lightning. His eyes snapped open, only to find blood staining the corners of his vision. His chest ached—something had pierced it.
He coughed hard, feeling mud under his hands, the scent of damp forest, the metallic smell of blood thick in the air.
"What the hell—where... where am I?"
A boy lay beside him, unmoving, eyes open and glassy. Jayh's breath caught. He was young. Just a kid. No older than ten. Dead.
Another corpse. His heart clenched at the sight. He tried to rise, but his entire body screamed in pain.
Then, the memories hit.
Not his. Someone else's.
They came crashing in like a storm—memories of being dragged through dirt, whipped like a dog, forced to carry wood, dig trenches, clean blood. A slave.
"No... no no no..."
Jayh fell back, panting. His chest still bled, the pain was unbearable—but his mind now understood.
This body had a name—Jayh. Same as his.
But this Jayh had no family. No rights. Just chains.
They threw him away like garbage. Into a monster-infested forest, alongside other "useless" slaves. Left to die.
The child beside him was one of them.
And yet, somehow... he had survived.
Because Jayh had entered this body.
He touched his chest and felt the gaping wound slowly close. Warm energy began to swirl inside him. Was this the "package" the Void Man mentioned?
A faint screen flickered in his vision.
[Soul Integration: 98% Complete]
[Skill Awakening: Pending...]
[Transfer Complete. Welcome to the world of "Eldara."]
"So it's real... magic... another world..."
Jayh forced himself to stand. Every bone ached, but he was alive. His hands trembled. His breath came in gasps. But this wasn't Earth anymore.
As he looked around the dense, towering trees of the wild forest, a strange calm settled over him.
It wasn't home. It wasn't peaceful.
But it was a second chance.
He clenched his fist.
No more regrets. No more self-pity. If this world has monsters... if it has demons and pain and chaos... then I'll survive it.
He looked once more at the dead boy beside him and whispered in his thoughts.
I'll live for you too.
And as he took his first step into the world of Eldara, the wind brushed his hair and carried a single word—his own voice.
I'm not giving up yet.