You know, I used to wonder what happened to people when they died. What did they see in the moment before impending doom overtook them? Was it a flashback of their entire lives? Did they think about their regrets? Or was it something completely different?
There were way too many theories and beliefs about what happened in that final moment, and I can now say with absolute certainty that they were all wrong.
Nothing happens. No revelation, no realization, nothing. One minute you're whole and happy, and the next? Darkness. Well, at least that was my experience.
I know this for a fact because I just died. It wasn't anything gruesome or noble, but a simple result of overworking myself and suffering a heart attack. Maybe I should have cut back on the late-night overtime, the junk food, and the overall sedentary lifestyle?
Eh, nothing I can do about it now.
How I came to this understanding was due to the current predicament I found myself in. There were no pearly gates, no angel sitting there tallying the things I'd accomplished in my life. Instead, I was floating in a dark, infinite void of nothingness.
There was no solid ground to hold me up; instead, I was simply… floating. It felt like being in a pool, letting the water carry your body weight. I couldn't see anything, and at first, I panicked, but that subsided over time. Now, I was just enjoying the comforting silence that brought a sense of peace.
I'm not sure how long I've been here. It could have been minutes, hours, days, or weeks. Really, the lack of light made it hard to tell. I was initially surprised that there was no need to go to the bathroom or eat, but I soon realized that a dead person wouldn't need those functions anymore.
So, I floated.
I thought about my past: the long hours of work, the sacrifices I made to ensure my family was well-fed, especially after my father had his accident. It was just the three of us—my parents and me. They did their best to provide for me, making sure I could have anything I wanted in life, and I was lucky.
So, when my father got injured, I took up the mantle of breadwinner. With that weight upon my shoulders, I stopped going out and began to lose contact with friends. It wasn't their fault—not in the slightest—I simply had to prioritize survival.
Unfortunately, I lost sight of the bigger picture eventually, becoming a recluse who lived only to work and enjoy brief moments of personal time.
Eventually, I found comfort in entertainment. From movies to comics, manga, and books; I even dabbled in those fan fiction sites where I read everything that pulled my attention. But I got complacent, and with that complacency, I eventually died.
Oh, I'm not sad. Far from it.
My life insurance would ensure my parents lived a comfortable remainder of their lives. I'm sure they'll be sad about my passing, but they'll eventually get over it and survive.
So now, I sit here in this silence, waiting for whatever comes next. I'm sure there's something coming, as being stuck in this infinite void would eventually make me go insane.
"Well... I'm surprised," a voice spoke out.
My eyes widened at the sudden intrusion into my personal space. The voice wasn't deep, nor was it feminine, so I couldn't pinpoint the gender of the speaker. The sound had echoed from all around me, so I didn't know where they were.
"Hello?" I asked curiously. "I can't see you, so I apologize if I'm being a bad guest. Though... I'll be honest. I don't think I'm the host right now, am I?"
The voice laughed. Again, it was nondescript, so I just waited out the moment until it finally spoke once more.
"You're surprisingly level-headed for someone who just died and has sat in the void for hundreds of years. That's good. Very good."
Hundreds of years? That's... concerning. Really, how could I occupy my mind for such a long time without going insane?
"So, uh, what's the situation for me now?" I questioned. "This is great and all, but it would be nice to know if I'm going to the afterlife or not."
"Oh, no," the voice said. "There is no afterlife for you. Not with the opportunity I have decided to grant you."
"Foreboding much?" I muttered. "You're sounding awfully like some evil mastermind at the moment, Mr. or Miss Ambiguous Voice."
There was a beat of silence, and I slightly regretted my sarcastic approach. I couldn't help it; that was my default reaction most of the time. Was it a defense mechanism or just a lack of social skills? I didn't know.
"You can call me Anos."
Anos? Now that's a name I knew. I assumed this was a God or some Higher Being, but having the name of a character from a light novel I've read is odd.
"Next, you're gonna tell me your last name is Voldigoad?" I said, snickering to myself.
Another beat of silence. This one felt more awkward than anything else, and I slowly understood that I might have hit the nail on the head with my stupid joke.
"You're kidding, right?" I shouted in surprise. "You're actually that Anos Voldigoad? This is insane. Maybe I'm not dead; this is a fever dream, isn't it?"
"I didn't expect you to realize who I was so quickly, but that is an error on my side." The being—no, Anos—said, his voice shifting to a deeper, masculine tone.
What the hell does the literal Demon King want with me? The man—that I now realize isn't fiction—was literally a being so powerful he sat just under the tier of The One Above All, Featherine Augustus, and Authors. He was the pure, physical embodiment of the concepts of Tyranny, Destruction, and Chaos.
"Calm down," Anos said. "As I said before, I have plans for you. You're free to reject my proposition, but I have a feeling you will jump at the opportunity."
"Oookay," I said, stretching out the word as more confusion settled in. "What is this 'offer' you're mentioning?"
I could hear him exhale lightly, and it made me focus a little more. He sounded almost... tired? Like how I'd sound after working seventy hours in a week, but on a much grander scale, obviously.
"I want an heir," he said suddenly. "Someone to be my protégé, or better yet, take my place. I've lived for quite a long time—more than those novels you read about me—though I must say I did enjoy watching others become fans of my work in their adolescence."
I opened my mouth, then shut it. I was confused, honestly. The Anos Voldigoad was offering me the chance to become... him? Or more accurately, his replacement. Why the absolute fuck would he want someone like me to take his place?
"Why?" I asked after a moment. "I'm not saying no, but I'd like to know the reason."
"Because I want to stop working, obviously. Sure, I could do that at any given moment, but someone must be around to take my place. Think of this as me retiring, and you just got a job offer," Anos said, laughing lightly.
I was shocked, bewildered, and apprehensive. Oh, I wouldn't turn down this opportunity, not in a million lifetimes. I knew the feats Anos accomplished—well, the ones written—and now I was given the chance to become something more. No more bending over backwards to appease a boss, no more mundane social structures—a whole new reality.
"What would I need to do?" I asked.
"Nothing much, really," Anos said. "I'd bestow upon you my powers, though you'd spend years unlocking the full extent of them. You could become a king, a demon, a God—really anything. But once you reach my level... you'll need to regulate the multiverse, fixing issues. Sure, they only happen once in... well... trillions of years, but that's it."
"If it happens so infrequently, why are you retiring?" I asked. Surely he had enough downtime from his self-imposed job to enjoy life. There had to be more, and even though I was going to say yes, I wanted an honest answer.
"I already know you're going to take the job," Anos said, laughing. I then realized he could read my mind. Duh. Of course he could; he was just being nice and letting me work everything out on my own.
"My wives are forcing me to retire, actually. It's funny how I can erase universes with the blink of an eye, but when they decide something, I have no power."
I snorted before breaking out into a peal of laughter. It was absurd that a being of his level was whipped so hard he was forced into retirement.
Oh, fuck, he can hear my thoughts.
Whoops, sorry dude.
"Sure, I'll do it," I said. I'd much rather enjoy a lifetime of freedom. And the whole fixing issues in the multiverse thing? Sounds like a break compared to my old life. I saw no downside. "So, how long will it take for me to become... your level of being?"
"Years!" Anos said, and I could hear the smile behind his words. "You'll integrate everything I have over the course of years, though it might be shorter depending on how much you use everything. I'll be handling everything on my end until you're ready, so you can take as long as you want or need."
That was all I needed to know, really. Fuck going to the afterlife; I'd rather go visit those worlds I read about, now that I know fiction isn't just... pages in a book. Who knows, maybe I'll find a bevy of ladies who will like me?
A snort echoed within the void; Anos obviously found my thought amusing.
"Well then, I'll be seeing you in the future, my protégé," Anos said. "Be sure to have fun, and don't let anyone underestimate you. I'd be highly disappointed if you didn't show your enemies who they were messing with."
I could feel the void vibrate as he said the words, almost as if I was being prepared to be sent to my new life. I thought I'd have more time to ask questions, but I was wrong. Feeling the void shake and fracture around me, I shouted one last question.
"Where the hell are you sending me?!"
Anos's laughter spread throughout the void one last time as he spoke.
"A world of sparkling vampires! Make sure you use protection; I don't want to see little demon kings running around so soon!"
This bastard was sending me to Twilight first? Oh man, he knew I had the hots for those ladies! At those thoughts, my mind went blank, and I lost consciousness.
{Hello! ObsidianOwl here, thanks for reading the first chapter. Let me know your thoughts so far in the comments, think about donating some powerstones if you want some faster chapters.}