When Ryo opened his eyes, he found himself in a world of white.
“Is this the afterlife?”
“You are Dominus Ryo Mihara, yes?”
A man’s figure started coalescing out of the all-white world. Once he fully materialized, Ryo saw that he looked to be in his late twenties. Possessed of a calm air, he could be described as a handsome European with his long golden hair. He held a tablet-like item in his left hand.
“Yes, I am.”
The man smiled at Ryo’s response.
“Oh, thank goodness. You’re actually the first visitor I’ve had in quite a while.”
Then a measure of sadness clouded his expression before he continued.
“Dominus Ryo Mihara, you died in an accident.”
I figured... Memories started filtering into Ryo’s mind—memories of his death.
“Yes, I remember now,” he responded, nodding.
The man’s expression changed again, a slight smile on his lips now as he began speaking.
“This is one part of the system known as samsara in your world. Your particular Earth is located on World Line 7770777. In rare cases, individuals from your Earth are either reincarnated or transferred across world lines even after death. And you were chosen this time, Dominus Ryo Mihara.”
“I... What now?” Ryo asked, unable to make heads or tails of what he’d said.
“Your confusion is perfectly understandable. Let me put it simply. Would you be willing to reincarnate in a world different from Earth with all your memories of your former life? This is what’s being offered to you.”
The man’s hopeful smile seemed to ask if Ryo understood now.
“Oh, you’re talking about an isekai reincarnation... Like in novels...”
“Ah, yes. Yes, that’s correct. Seems it’s a popular theme recently on your Earth as well... This is a much easier way to explain the situation indeed.”
Ryo was grateful to receive another chance at life. Nevertheless, a question remained on his mind. What did this person (being?) actually want Ryo to do after he reincarnated?
“I have a few questions.”
“Of course. Ask away.”
The man continued smiling, waiting for Ryo to ask.
“Are you God?”
“No, I’m not. Based on your frame of reference, I would say I’m closer to what you call an angel.”
Oh, okay. An angel. An angel, huh... Like Michael, the archangel. Then I’ll just think of him as Fake Michael until I find out his real name. If he even has one.
While Ryo’s thoughts churned, he thought he saw one of Fake Michael’s eyebrows raise. He couldn’t be sure though, since the movement was so minuscule he could have imagined it...
Wait. Can he read my mind? I guess it doesn’t really matter.
Fake Michael’s cheerfully polite smile didn’t waver as he waited for Ryo’s next question.
“What’s the purpose of my reincarnation?”
“My apologies, but I can’t answer that.”
In an instant, his expression went from smiling to apologetic.
“We don’t determine who reincarnates. Ryo, do you know when you asked me if I was God? Well, the ones who that term applies to, at least from your perspective, are the ones who make such decisions. And they don’t inform us of the reasons why.”
“Then what exactly am I supposed to do in whichever world I’m reincarnated in?”
Fake Michael smiled again.
“Please live your new life as you see fit, as I haven’t received any special instructions to give you regarding specific tasks or otherwise.”
Live however you want. Ryo loved the sound of those words! Hm, in that case, a slow life would be nice.
“I understand. Then I accept the offer to reincarnate.”
Ryo’s reply made Fake Michael positively beam, like a flower blooming. His smile was so blindingly beautiful Ryo could easily imagine lots of women falling under his spell from it alone.
“Wonderful, I’m so glad to hear that. Then allow me to tell you about your new world.”
So saying, Fake Michael started explaining. According to him, Ryo’s new world was one of sword and magic. The likes of gunpowder and its kind weren’t yet common. The planet’s size and molecular composition were the same as Earth’s. Physical phenomena were also essentially the same.
“But magic exists in this world, right?” Ryo asked, wondering if its existence wouldn’t make physical phenomena wildly different from Earth’s.
“Yes, it does, and it used to exist on Earth as well. Although it’s no longer practiced at present due to various events and circumstances.”
The knowledge shocked Ryo.
Magic used to exist on Earth? No way. Maybe he’s talking about out-of-place artifacts or something? But I heard those have reasonable explanations and have nothing to do with aliens or ancients or whatever... Then again, there are legends and folktales all over Earth featuring magic and magicians...
“Oh, dear, I must apologize. It seems I’ve thrown your mind into chaos with this unexpected information. If I may say though, I’d like to remind you that your reincarnation has already been decided, so I think it best for your mental health that you don’t dwell on Earth’s past.”
“Ah, yes, right. You’re right.”
He needed to remember not to think about things he couldn’t do anything about. Compartmentalize. After all, compartmentalization was an effective method for people to achieve mental equilibrium.
“Excellent. Let me tell you more about your new world of magic, Ryo. For convenience’s sake, we call it ‘Phi.’ One in five people of Phi can use magic. And you have an aptitude for water magic.”
“Water...”
It was standard for characters to use magic in stories where they were reincarnated or teleported to another world.
But if we’re talking stereotypes then...something with a high attack power like fire magic would have been nice... Or easy-to-use earth magic... Yeah, earth magic sounds fun. Make a swamp and stop my enemies in their tracks or build a fort in an instant and turn the tide of battle. I want to try all that... Wait. Why stop there though? If I’m going to be reincarnated anyway, I should have an aptitude for all the elements! Well, it’d be nice anyway.