It was a humid cold night in the rain of the forgotten forest.
Rain droplets made their way through every corner dripping from the blades of leaves to below the soil bed.
The forest was adorned with the beauty the rain brought anytime it visited but none were present to exalt the scenery before them as magical creatures, forest spirits and humans all took cover from the pissing down.
All but one.
Amid the letdown was a globular mass of mana, a forgotten being – a lost soul.
Indifferent to the rain, it floated about the forest, projecting its motion towards the mountain ahead.
That was the abode of his sorrowful origin. The crux of his agony in this forlorn reality.
If he could recall accurately, it was about 10 years ago – when his misery began.
His very first reincarnation took place after he died in a war between two clashing clans. Though his party persevered, it was a pyrrhic victory and many were lost that very day, himself included.
He couldn't recall what was going on at first, the darkness around him didn't seem to intrigue him scarily.
He was completely indifferent about the matter of his death. But concern weaved open when the silence in the infinite distance forged a voice.
It soared through every direction with no particular path of origin.
Though he couldn't see, an image was fed into his head about who this enigmatic voice belonged to.
The image was that of a goddess. Her voice sounded divine and holy. So calm and smooth, providing him with temporary respite.
From what she spoke, he began to make out the direction of where her conversation was heading.
She simply discussed the fact of his death and assured him of a new life in another world different from the one he was attuned to.
And he took the deal.
In a moment, bands of colorful spectral light weaved across the void and engulfed the bodyless soul.
In a split second, he awoke and began to live afresh.
Years passed...no lifetimes passed since then, living lives as he still retained the memories of his former deaths.
It wasn't until later deaths that he finally spoke back to the goddess and enquired about some unsettling and intriguing questions on his mind, that held obvious answers or were too complex or secretive to give answers to.
In the void, he couldn't communicate normally as he had no figure or body to do so but there was a telepathic panel between gods which he could temporarily access at that time and managed to communicate till he was re-reincarnated.
He soon became accustomed to the fact that anytime he died, the goddess would grant him a new life.
He had died a total of nine times now and his most recent world bore a futuristic scenery.
Metro city.
Neon lights shone in every corner. Humans, cyborgs and robots co-exist as a single race and innovations that could only be seen in sci-fi movies were inherent in the everyday life of the people.
Contrary to the peaceful night in the quantum city, a young boy ran across an alley releasing splashing sounds into the air as he zoomed off in the dark rain.
He was being chased by some gangsters and they were catching up.
At the end of the alley was a pool of ultraviolet laser beams which put him to an abrupt halt.
The gangsters behind slowly surrounded him in a convex curve, gradually making their approach toward him.
They all had death smirks etched on their faces.
One of them suited up his robotic arm and aimed at his head. It quickly engineered into a deadly-looking S-rank XRL-Proton dissipator.
He repositioned his aim after its transformation, throwing threats at the trapped boy.
"Am gonna give you one last chance now, give me my credits and things don't have to get ugly," the boss with the arm threatened.
"Go to hell. This is mine now."
Rage waved past his face. He was losing his patience with this guy. "I am serious give me now or else," he exclaimed in a loud tone.
"Never, this is mine. I won it fair and square."
"Listen, boy. I'm going to give you till the count of three and if you don't give me my money, then you'll regret it."
It didn't appear like he even have a damn ear to what he said maybe because he just didn't consider him that much of a threat. No fidgeting, no negotiating, nothing. Just posing there like a trapped rat scorning at another with a gun.
"One...Two....Thr.."
"Wait!", he screamed. His facade had been broken.
"I'll give you your money."
The boss called off his arm and raised the other to receive it while the rest mocked the boy's timidity.
"I'll give you your money... in hell."
He immediately threw the digital card with the credits virtually stored into the laser field behind him and it sublimed in an instant.
"Nooo!", he quickly engaged his arm once more and shot at him but before it could impact him he already saved him the stress of finishing himself off.
He was going to do it himself.
He pounced into the death arms behind and as he expected, there he was again.
He waited to be addressed by the goddess but she wasn't forthcoming. Instead, there was another image.
"Who are you?"
"I'll be the one taking you this time around, my mistress is a bit busy."
'What? Isn't there just one God for reincarnation? Why is she the one here now?'
This piqued him cause he was more attuned to the former and had established a relationship that only stood to engage in requests for his upcoming lives.
Before he could even try to negotiate, she had already begun his reincarnation.
'She didn't even let me....'
[Reincarnation in process]
[Core formation and miscellaneous build-ups]
[Spirit extraction and implantation]
[**Reincarnation Retarding >> Crashing>> Failed**]
[REINCARNATION UNSUCCESSFUL]
'And that's how I ended up here. In this world where no one cares about me. Whenever I come around civilization, they see me as one forgotten by the gods.
'The other gods aren't much to talk about themselves. They use my core, the only thing that defines my existence, they use me as spells, transforming me into a Tremor-rank spell to perform tasks they were obliged to perform themselves. I have become a tool, use-and-dispose equipment in their palms.
'And the worst part of it all is that, somehow after I am used up I just don't fade into nothing and hope to be reincarnated again. I just stand depleted and await another to abuse me after my regeneration. It is a terror in this world, an absolute nightmare. An infinite pool of despair. Sometimes I return to the mountain where my core first awoke hoping to find favor in the goddess of reincarnation but after 10 years it came out to be just an illusion of hope to distract me from the displeasure I stored up against this world.'
Dawn was approaching and the rain seized its drop. He ascended the mountain top persistingly up till the summit.
Floating there in the morning whisper was usual for him but little did he know that that was when his illusion finally turned into his long-desired reality.