God looked at him quietly.
"Are you sure?" God asked. "If you choose not to return to your real world, you will never be able to go back. Think carefully."
The president nodded without hesitation.
"I'm one hundred percent sure. I don't want to go back."
God sighed softly.
"…Very well."
God raised his hand, about to do something.
"Wait," the president suddenly said.
God stopped. "What is it?"
"I know what you're about to do," the president said calmly. "And I can do that myself."
God narrowed his eyes slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," the president continued, "you're going to clap your hands like before… and in the real world, my heart will stop. Right?"
God was silent.
"…Do you want to do that?" God asked.
"Yes," the president replied without hesitation. "Of course I do."
He looked straight at God.
"I'm the only one who should decide my own death."
There was a brief pause.
Then the president smiled awkwardly.
"…Sorry. That sounded a bit overdramatic."
God stared at him, unreadable.
The president raised his hands slowly.
"Alright," he said. "I'm doing it now."
He brought his hands together.
Clap.
The sound echoed through the endless white space.
At the same moment
In the real world, inside the hospital operating room, the president's heartbeat suddenly flatlined.
"What?!"
The doctors froze.
"The heartbeat just stopped!"
Machines began to scream.
One of the senior doctors clenched his teeth and shook his head.
"…He's gone."
Silence filled the room.
"We… can't do anything more."
God looked at him calmly.
"You are dead now," God said.
The president let out a strange laugh.
"…This feels funny. I'm listening to my own death."
God continued, "You can no longer return. You also cannot stay here forever. So, I must send you to another world."
The president tilted his head.
"Like an isekai world? With elves, beastmen, demons, and magic?"
God nodded.
"Yes. That will make my work easier. But you must understand one thing."
God raised his hand slightly.
"I will give you power only enough to survive in that world. Now tell me… what do you wish to be?"
"A hero?"
"A king?"
"An elf?"
"A beastman?"
The president went silent.
"…Wait," he said. "Let me think."
He sighed deeply.
"If I'm born as a hero, I'll be surrounded by people, fighting demon kings every day. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. I don't want to be a hero."
He shook his head.
"Elves and beastmen live longer lives… but that also means more loneliness. I don't want that either."
He looked straight at God.
"I know what I want."
God raised an eyebrow.
"…And what is that?"
"I want to be a background character."
God paused.
"…A background character?"
"Yes," the president said firmly. "A background character. I don't even want to be a side character. Just someone unnoticed."
He smiled faintly.
"No fighting. No trouble. A quiet, relaxing life."
God stared at him for a moment.
"…You are wrong," God said at last.
The president frowned. "What do you mean?"
This world is not the kind of isekai you think it is," God replied. "This world is like a story already written ruled by fate.
God's voice turned serious.
If you choose to become a background character… then fate will erase you.
…Erase me?
"Yes," God said. "You will die early. That is the destiny of background characters in this world."
Then the president asked,
"Can I go to another world… a peaceful isekai?
But… what you're saying feels like reincarnation in some kind of video game or novel… like an isekai."
The god replied calmly,
"No. You can't choose another world. I'm sorry. You have to go there. You have no choice. If you don't go, your soul will be erased."
The god looked at him and asked,
"So tell me have you changed your decision or not? Do you want to be a hero? A king? Or be born into a royal family, like a prince?"
The president thought for a moment.
"I don't want to be popular anymore. Now, I just want a quiet life."
Then he said to the god,
"I've decided. I want to be a background character. A normal human. I don't care about fate and I will change that fate myself."
The god smiled faintly.
"Alright. It's time for you to go. Before you leave, I'll give you a power that will help you."
Before the president could say anything,
he was already gone.
God watched the empty space quietly.
"…Let's see what happens," God said softly. "I didn't do this for him. Someone else requested it… and I couldn't refuse."
God's expression turned serious.
"I didn't have another choice either. Now… everything depends on him. How he survives in that world is up to him."
In a small, old house in a quiet village, a sudden cry of a baby echoed through the room. The mother rushed in and gently grabbed her baby in her arms, but he continued to cry.
"Oh, don't cry, your mama is here. Now… it's time to sleep," she whispered softly. She began to sing a lullaby, her gentle voice filling the room. The baby listened to the soothing sound, his eyes slowly opening.
As he stared at his mother, confusion filled his tiny mind. Where am I? What is this place? Who is she?… Am I… reborn? Am I in another world already… as a baby?
Before he could think any further, the lullaby's melody wrapped around him like a warm blanket, and he gradually drifted back into sleep. After a few minutes, he was finally asleep.
His mother carefully placed him in the bed on the ground floor. She didn't make a sound as she quietly left the room to continue her household work, leaving him in peaceful silence.
The house was calm again, but outside, the sun gently rose over the village, as if welcoming the new life that had been reborn into this world.