a bright light enveloped the earth, not like the light that comes after destruction, nor the light that comes after peace. a light that comes before all, like the laws of the earth, it brightened and brightened until even the eyes could not see, the body could not feel, and the ears could not perceive.
Nothing could be seen here, but noise could be heard. whispers, shouts, orders, all sorts of arguments, all kinds of people voicing out their fears, their anxiety.
What is this place? Veldra thought, searching his surroundings, looking for any details that resembled what he had written in the novel. But he saw none.
It was complete darkness, not a void where all things were absent, but rather the concept of the unknown.
After a few rumblings of voices, chatters and arguments. The darkness began to glimmer, and the space began to show itself.
Veldra looked around again, now being able to see, and searched for anything that had the same contents as the first chapter.
The ground was tiled, formlessly but brilliantly. like a dark expanse of ground that would not shatter, break or tremor.
The sky was filled with stars, innumerable stars and universes all clustered together in harmony.
He couldn't see a future, nor a past. The front and back were endless. Unlike the sky, which was limited, he felt he was staring into a beyond, and opening and when he turned back, he realised he was seeing an end, an end that was nowhere near.
Turning back again to face forward, he observed the discussions among his companions, the ones who had fled alongside him.
Then the chatters stopped, like a pause in eternity.
A graceful chime echoed through the space, an untuned yet beautiful melody that seemed to both silence the bickering and draw the audience's attention.
A translucent window blinked itself into existence before them.
[Welcome, mortals of Planet Earth]
[I am #&%$£, I am here to compensate you for your troubles.]
[As agreed, everyone here will be given a second chance at life...into another world-]
The system's rhythm was interrupted as someone lifted a hand and began to speak.
"Sorry for interrupting you, but what do you mean by 'second chance'? Considering that you destroyed our planet, is it all but a second chance you are giving us?" said a man, his tone trying to make sense of the system's words.
The people around him also began to whisper in frustration. worrying that they were being cheated instead of worrying why their own planet was destroyed.
["..."]
["Certainly, mortal. It is not all, but a second chance you will be given! You all will be awarded great compensation and a renewed life."]
["And as for what that means... it simply means you will be reincarnated into the world chosen by the ??}##&$£, or Transmigrated into the same world. But that all depends on your luck."]
["Also, never interrupt me again."]
The hush of silence was reversed, replaced by the clamorous murmurs of the crowd. Absurd arguments flared up again, yet a tangible sense of excitement and expectation lingered among them.
Veldra, however, couldn't shake the strange feeling. What was happening was precisely what he had written in the first chapter-but why on earth would something he wrote unfold in the real world? He wondered.
He had read novels where a game bled into reality, a tower would appear, the protagonist travelled back in time, or even where the Author themselves were transmigrated or reincarnated into their own story, all generic, clichéd, but top-tier slop.
But an author living their own book, a story coming to life, that was unprecedented, completely unexpected.
"Perhaps reality is nothing but the sum of fulfilled dreams, and illusions are only truths that have not yet been recognised," Veldra muttered and ceased the thought.
The System came again, bringing its chim back into reality. silencing all breath and sound.
["You all will be reincarnated into the chosen world"]
The system began to chant prophecies, declarations, words that seemed incomprehensible, though their meaning shifted depending on the discernment of the listener.
["Receive the compensations, and let thy reborn life surge forth. May the Heavens spill their blessings upon those He has deemed chosen, and favour eternal touch those who give with purity. Let luck follow thy steps, yet know, the war of possibilities shall ever linger in your hearts, O mortals granted a second chance."]
["Commencing Second chance....."]
["Done."]
["Farewell, Mortals."]