"To begin with, you're dead, sweetie," she said with a pleasant smile.
"Dead? Wait… what?" Samuel suddenly shook his head, taking a step back from the wood-brown-haired woman. "What do you mean I'm dead? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Well, to be more accurate, you were accidentally killed by a God King. We're here to figure out what can be done about it," the brown haired woman replied, folding her arms, clearly displeased that he had pulled away from her.
Samuel blinked, his confusion only growing. "Killed by… what exactly?"
"It's better to just send everything directly into your mind," the Jesus-Christ-looking man said.
He walked up to Samuel and gently pressed his index finger against his forehead.
In the very next instant, a surge of foreign memories and information flooded Samuel's mind.
Scenes began to flash before his eyes.
He saw himself standing still for a brief moment, and then a colossal bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck him directly.
It was instantaneous.
His heart stopped on the spot.
There was no pain and no time to react.
He did not even realize what had happened.
One moment he was alive, and the next, everything went dark.
The vision did not stop there.
It continued.
He saw his own body lying where it fell, blackened and charred beyond recognition.
Time seemed to accelerate as the night passed in a blur.
Then came the morning.
Sunlight crept over the horizon and revealed the remains of what used to be him, until finally someone discovered the corpse.
Samuel watched it all unfold from a detached third person perspective, as though he were merely an observer fast forwarding through the final moments of his own life.
Just as the visions began to fade, another wave of information poured into his mind.
Understanding dawned upon him.
The three people he had been speaking to were gods.
Not metaphorically.
Not figuratively.
They were true divine beings.
"You… y-you guys are gods?" Samuel asked, his face frozen in shock.
"Yes. You have likely heard our names. Humans have a habit of invoking us in all the wrong things they do, claiming it was in the name of their gods, from massacres to cheaply made paperbacks with overly dramatic covers.... I have even heard they use our names as characters in their stories. Regardless, I suppose it is simply in their nature."
The golden-haired god let out a quiet sigh, as though speaking more to himself than to Samuel, before lifting his gaze back to him.
"I'm one of the gods, quite well known among humans... I'm the Heavenly Father, the God King of the Biblical pantheon."
"This is the goddess Freya of the Norse pantheon," he added, gesturing toward the woman with wood-brown hair, who had been treating Samuel with a warmth almost like that of a mother.
"And this is Lakshmi, one of the mother goddesses of the Hindu pantheon," he continued, indicating the woman with black hair and deep brown eyes.
Samuel's expression froze.
His eyes darted between them as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
A flood of emotions overwhelmed him all at once for a few moments.
Confusion and curiosity tangled within him, while a profound fear of the unknown took hold.
He had always thought these figures existed only in religion, legends, stories, or even in anime and novels, but now he stood face to face with three undeniably real gods.
As if that wasn't surreal enough, each one came from a completely different mythology.
Samuel had grown up as a Christian, largely because his late parents had raised him that way.
But after their passing, he drifted completely away from the faith.
Deep down, he had never truly believed in religion at all.
To him, religions were nothing more than constructs of the past, stories created to control the masses, no different from modern-day cults.
And now, everything he thought he knew, everything he believed to be true, had been completely overturned.
Gods were real.
Not symbolic, not imagined, but real.
He didn't deny it.
He didn't even question it.
Not after what had been revealed to him.
Not when the evidence stood right before his eyes.
Three literal gods, each from entirely different mythologies, stood in front of him.
And given everything unfolding around him, their existence was impossible to doubt.
Samuel took a few deep, steady breaths as he shook his head, slowly coming to terms with his new reality.
"Oh man… this is a bit much…" Samuel muttered, rubbing his temples before looking up at the three divine beings, trying to maintain a calm expression.
"Alright, let me see if I've got this right. You're gods from three different mythologies, I got killed by a god-king, and now my soul's been brought here by you. That about sums it up?" he asked, nodding quickly as he looked between them, silently seeking confirmation.
When they nodded in agreement, Samuel let out a slow breath before voicing the question that had been nagging him. "So… who exactly dropped a fucking lightning bolt on my head and killed me?"
"It was Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. He asked us to pass along his apologies," the Heavenly Father replied with a weary sigh, shrugging slightly. "According to him, he was interrupted while aiming and accidentally misfired. At least, that's the explanation he gave us."
Samuel blinked, then let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Wow… that's seriously messed up. You're telling me I died because of a careless mistake?"
He shook his head. "I guess gods really don't see things the same way we mortals do."
He let out a long breath and waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever. What's done is done, right? So what happens now? If I died because of some accident, there better be compensation. You're gods, omnipotent beings. You should be able to fix something like this, right?"
"Being gods doesn't mean we can do whatever we want. Even we are bound by rules," Freya replied, folding her arms before stepping closer and casually ruffling Samuel's hair once again.
'Why does she keep doing that?'
Samuel wondered, though he decided not to question it.
It wasn't like he disliked her oddly affectionate gestures, especially when they came from a goddess as stunning as her.
"Since your death was the result of a god's mistake, you are entitled to compensation," the hindu goddess, Lakshmi said softly, her voice gentle and reassuring.
"After some consideration, we have decided to grant you reincarnation, a second chance at life in another world. A fantasy world, much like those you've read about in novels or seen in anime and films, filled with magic and the supernatural. There, you will be free to pursue your desires and live your life to the fullest."
"That's not all. We will also bestow divine blessings upon you. In fact, you will receive numerous blessings from various gods and goddesses, along with a system to guide you through your new world. With all of that at your disposal, becoming the strongest there won't be difficult," the Norse goddess Freya added, shifting from gently ruffling his hair to pulling him into a tight embrace and pressing his face against her bosom.
"That sounds great… maybe a bit too great. I can't shake the feeling there's a catch," Samuel said with a snort.
Dead, and then just like that, offered a chance at reincarnation along with countless blessings from the gods?
Could things really be that simple?
He had read plenty of novels where protagonists were granted reincarnation by powerful beings, only to uncover some hidden scheme lurking beneath the surface.
And besides, why would a god feel guilty over accidentally killing a mortal?
They were divine entities; what reason would they have to care enough to compensate for such a trivial mistake?
Even if they claimed it was compensation, reincarnation alone should have been more than enough.
But countless blessings from numerous gods and goddesses?
That seemed far too excessive for something meant to make up for an accident.
It felt off.
Suspicious.
Like he was unknowingly stepping into something much bigger… a hidden conspiracy waiting to unfold.
"You know I can feel what you're thinking, right? Don't you think you're being a bit too paranoid, sweetie?" the goddess Freya said, tugging gently at his cheeks like a mother scolding her child.
She let out a soft sigh before continuing. "There's no hidden agenda or conspiracy here. We simply thought it would be nice to do something different for you. At first, it was only going to be the three of us, along with Zeus, but then others heard about it and wanted to join in, offering their blessings as well. In the end, gods and goddesses from many different pantheons all agreed to bless you before your reincarnation."
"Exactly. It's really that simple," the goddess Lakshmi added calmly, nodding in agreement.
Samuel exhaled slowly. "Well… whether there's an agenda or not doesn't really matter to me. I just want to live again. I want to be reincarnated. If I'm getting all these blessings from gods, then great. And if there truly isn't anything else behind it, then that's even better."
He looked at Freya, Lakshmi, and the Heavenly Father standing before him. "I'm ready to be reincarnated now."
"So soon?" Freya pouted slightly, pulling him closer into a warm embrace as she gently stroked his head. "You could stay with me in Fólkvangr for a while before you go, sweetie."
Samuel was already overwhelmed by the fact that a goddess was treating him with such affection.
Now she was even inviting him to her realm to "spend time" together.
He did not know how to process that.
What did she mean by that?
And why was she acting so... motherly?
"Just ignore her, Samuel… she's taken quite a liking to you," the Heavenly Father said with a quiet sigh.
"I just want to be reincarnated as soon as possible," Samuel said, his gaze fixed on the dissatisfied goddess before him.
"Fine," the Norse goddess Freya replied, her voice soft but firm. "But I will be watching you in your new world. And you will come visit me."
She gripped his head with a firm, almost forceful hold, her touch carrying a quiet insistence, as though she wouldn't release him until he gave in.
"Yes, I will visit you," Samuel answered quickly, nodding almost frantically.
He could barely handle her presence.
Just standing there and speaking with her was draining his willpower.
Her beauty was overwhelming, far beyond anything he could comprehend.
"Good. Then let us proceed with the reincarnation," the Heavenly Father said calmly.
As he spoke, two objects materialized in his hands.
In one hand was a crystal-like cube, about the size of a fist, radiating a soft silvery golden divine light.
In the other was a deep sapphire blue sphere, equally sized, its surface gleaming faintly.
The Heavenly Father stepped forward and gently pressed the glowing cube against Samuel's chest, holding it there with light pressure.
"This cube contains the combined divine blessings of the gods who have chosen to favor you."
He pressed a little harder.
The cube sank into Samuel's chest and merged seamlessly with his soul.
A strange sensation followed.
Waves of warmth mixed with a cool, soothing chill flowed through his entire being for a few brief moments.
Then, without pause, the Heavenly Father brought the sapphire sphere forward and pressed it against Samuel's chest as well.
"This sphere contains the system that will help you regulate your blessings."
Like the cube, the sphere dissolved into him and vanished completely. This time, however, there was no sensation, only silence within.
"That is all. I can now send you into the cycle of reincarnation," the Heavenly Father said with a faint smile.
At his words, a vast white magical circle appeared beneath Samuel's feet, etched with intricate symbols and unknown markings.
It rotated slowly and gave off a quiet, otherworldly presence.
"Wait."
The voice interrupted just before the activation.
The Hindu goddess, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward.
She approached a nearby golden fountain.
With a graceful wave of her hand, a red goblet appeared.
She held it beneath the flowing golden liquid and allowed it to fill.
The action drew a surprised glance from both the goddess Freya and the Heavenly Father.
Turning back, the goddess Lakshmi extended the goblet toward Samuel.
"This is Amrita, the divine nectar of immortality," she said, her smile warm and reassuring.
"You want me to drink this?" Samuel asked, eyeing the golden liquid with hesitation.
"Yes. Drink it. It will be extremely beneficial to you," she replied with a gentle nod.
Samuel let out a small sigh.
Carefully, he took a tentative sip.
"It tastes like honey, but also fruity. It is strange," he murmured.
After a brief pause, he raised the goblet again and drank it all in one go.
"Thank you for everything," Samuel said, glancing at the three divine beings before him.
They were gods; they could have easily ignored him.
Instead, they had shown a genuine willingness to help, treating him with a level of respect he hadn't expected from divine beings like them.
For that, he felt truly grateful.
The goddess Lakshmi gave him a small, silent hug.
After her, the goddess Freya stepped forward and embraced him warmly.
For a moment, he felt an almost irresistible urge to respond, and he slowly wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace.
"You must take care of yourself, do you hear me?" Freya said softly.
When Samuel nodded, she gently placed a kiss on his forehead before pulling away.
The Heavenly Father gave a slight nod and activated the circle.
In the very next instant, Samuel vanished without a trace.
...
[Author's Note]
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider adding my novel to your library and supporting it with Power Stones. It really helps! No pressure at all though. Arigato!