Heavy rain poured down as dark clouds swallowed the sky. It felt as though night had fallen in the middle of the day.
People were gathering near a man lying in a pool of blood. His hand was twisted at an unnatural angle, his legs cramped, and his body looked like a broken doll discarded on the road.
"Whe... where am I?" *I was... what was I doing? My mind feels fuzzy. My memories are blurry!*
A woman in a red coat, wearing black work clothes underneath, spoke with a trembling voice. "Cal... call 911! His wounds are bleeding too much. He will die at this rate!"
A man knelt beside the victim, trying to cover the wounds with his hands, but his attempt failed. He was trying his best, but it seemed fate was not on the injured man's side.
"How much more time will it take? I can't cover all his wounds. He has lost too much blood," the bystander spoke, his hands trembling, his eyes bloodshot. He knew deep down that the man could not be saved.
"Too... too late. Looks like I won't make it!"
That was the last thing the man spoke until his body grew colder. In his fading vision, he saw his five-year-old child playing in his arms. He remembered the promise he made to her: that he would take her to the park on the holidays. An image of a woman appeared—her beauty unfaded, his wife. His wife, his child... his last moments in this life. A single tear fell from his eyes.
The man covering the wounds shouted, "Sam... Sam, hold on! You can't give up, my friend! You need to keep your eyes open. Sam!"
But it was too late.
A soul resembling Sam drifted away from the body. He looked down and saw his physical form on the road, like a broken doll, hit by a car that hadn't even stopped to check if he was alive.
Before he could think any further, his soul appeared in a blank white space. There was no sky, no land. Half of his body was missing; only his upper side remained.
His head turned, searching for someone in this empty space, but he only saw a tall statue that had suddenly appeared before him. It was a statue of a man sitting on a throne made of some unknown material.
Its hands were clasped together. Its eyes were black, like holes that would suck your soul into them. The statue was so big that Sam felt like an ant staring at a towering building.
"What is that huge thing in this blank, empty space?"
The statue's lips moved. A voice with a hint of teasing spoke.
"I am what you humans call... God. Right, a God? Haha... hahah!"
"You were killed by a mistake, human. Your destiny betrayed you there."
"What betrayed?" Sam spoke with a hint of curiosity.
"But you can have another chance in your life. Reborn in another world, live your life, and control your destiny. If you can."
"Why should I believe a self-proclaimed God? Give me a chance to be reborn and control my destiny," Sam spoke firmly.
"It won't be for free. You need to do something in return. You must stop someone from wrecking the destiny of the beautiful world of Adlaf, ruled by different races."
"In return, you get the chance to be reborn again in a truly beautiful world."
"Ok, I will agree. But don't try to fool me, and don't think that you can control me just because you gave me a chance to be reborn."
"With that being said, how will I survive in th—"
Before he could speak more, a beam of light descended upon his soul. His soul turned into light particles.
"Looks like that is the time we got to speak, Sam. And you need to survive on your own. It is not my duty to protect you."
With that voice, Sam's vision blurred, and everything faded to black.