Two Vate of Vans

I don't know how long I've been in this place, but one thing is certain: I might be dead for now, and I still hope to come back to life or return to my previous life.

Now I find myself in a place I have never seen before, a place that my rational mind cannot comprehend. All I see is an expanse of empty white space as far as the eye can see. I have no idea where this empty space ends. There are no visible boundaries in every direction - above, in front, behind, right, and left. It's truly a pure empty space.

Perhaps only at the bottom of my body or the bottom of this place can I feel and see the limits of this space. Though it appears to be a hard ceramic texture, it feels soft and warm when my feet touch the bottom. I can sense it specifically because I'm not wearing any shoes or footwear, and since the beginning of being in this place, I haven't seen the shoes I used to wear.

There is no one else in this place; I am completely alone. This is what makes me even more bored, as I have no idea how long I will be confined here.

"Arrgh... Damn it... Help, anyone, answer me!"

I have screamed and cursed several times, but the result remains the same-no one responds to my voice. At least I hope someone would answer, be it God, a deity, or an angel. It could alleviate my boredom or perhaps give me some certainty about my current condition.

There is nothing I do that is useful in changing my current condition. Everything is in vain, even when I shout, there is no echo from this place-a place that completely defies scientific laws.

Standing, sitting, and occasionally lying down-those are the only three positions I have been alternating between since earlier. Now I lie down while recalling the last thing I did before ending up here, which might be the reason why I died and ended up in this place.

Like any other day, I went to do my job. I went to a bank to perform my duties. It doesn't mean that I work as a bank employee; my job is as a cyber security professional, or in other terms, an IT security specialist. It's a job where you assess the security of a company's servers or a specific institution against hacking or other computer-based criminal activities.

I received a task from my intermediary company to fix the secure servers of a bank. Everything was normal at first. I was given a special room to do my work. But everything changed when, in the midst of my work, I heard a series of gunshots from outside my room. I couldn't access the CCTV to see what was happening; all the cameras had been shot and destroyed. I mustered up the courage to peek out of my room, and what I saw matched my instincts.

Four people were carrying guns; two of them wielding Micro Uzis and the other two holding Glock-19s. Two security guards lay lifeless, covered in blood. It was a brutally violent robbery.

Everyone, including employees, visitors, and customers, was ordered to crouch down. The bank manager was forced to provide access to the money storage server. Luckily, I had anticipated this and had already contacted the police and locked the bank's servers. What surprised me was the use of conventional robbery methods in the twenty-first century. Usually, phishing or hacking methods were employed.

Unfortunately, the robbery escalated further. One of the robbers wanted to take out their frustration on a little girl who was crying in fear, despite her mother's efforts to calm her down.

From this point on, everything became a blur. I don't know why, but I reflexively emerged from my hiding place and ran toward one of the robbers who was about to pull the trigger. I ran to redirect his aim, and I succeeded, but unfortunately, I forgot about the other robbers. They directed their shots at me instead.

I remember three bullets piercing my body-one through my shoulder and two through my chest. It was incredibly painful and hot at that moment. Then my vision started to blur and fade away slowly. When I regained consciousness, I wasn't in a hospital or at home. I woke up in this place.

From my last glimpse, it seemed that the robbers were incapacitated as they were focused on me. The bank manager grabbed a shotgun and managed to disable two of them, while it seemed that a military sniper from outside the building shot the other two. Lastly, I saw the little girl stop crying.

"Sigh... What a dramatic end to my life," I complained while taking a long breath.

"Well... it's quite tragic indeed."

"Uh... who's that?" I was startled and woke up from my sleep as I suddenly heard a voice.

Clearly, it wasn't my voice.

"Calm down... There's no need to be anxious."

Anyone would be surprised to hear a voice without a visible source. I looked around, but there was no one else besides me.

"You don't have to be so nervous."

"Who are you?" I asked once again to confirm.

"You can consider me as a messenger of the gods, and right now we are communicating through telepathy."

"Can I speak with your true form?"

It felt uncomfortable talking to someone without a physical presence.

"Alright, I will take an intermediary form to make it easier for us to communicate," the voice responded, agreeing to my request.

Suddenly, a bright light shone in front of me. Slowly, the light faded, revealing a beautiful woman dressed in white like a mythological goddess.

"I-is that your true form?" I asked curiously.

"No, this is only an intermediary form to make you comfortable."

Comfortable? On the contrary, I felt disturbed in a different sense.

"Well... well... Isn't meeting a beautiful goddess every man's dream?" she teased me with an erotic pose.

"Please don't tease me with that form, and can you use a different appearance?"

"Do you want me to become a cute and beautiful little girl?"

"W-wait... I'm not a pedophile."

I didn't know if she was a god or a goddess, but one thing was for sure: she was playing with me and reading my thoughts as she pleased.

"Fine... I will take on a standard form."

From an enchanting goddess, her appearance transformed into that of a wise young man.

"Alright... So, where should we start our conversation?"

"First, please explain what this place actually is."

This question is important to me because I've been curious about this place since the beginning.

"I will explain briefly. This place is where departed souls are gathered, a transit place for a soul before moving on to the next destination."

"A soul realm, you say? Isn't this just an empty white space without boundaries?"

Since the beginning, I haven't seen anything or anyone here besides myself. It's just an empty space that becomes more frustrating the longer I stay here.

"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I will make it visible to you."

With a snap of the fingers, the empty space transforms into a place filled with small baseball-sized orbs of light.

"All that you see here are the souls that have passed away. They will all be revived when the time comes."

"Then why is my appearance different when I died?"

I still have a human physical form, as if I'm still alive in the world, and all my senses function like a normal human.

"I have given you a human physical form so you can interact normally. I want to give you a second chance at life if you're willing."

"Can I return to my previous life?"

"You can't, or more accurately, it would go against human laws for you to return completely to your previous life. Besides, ten years have passed since you died, and I can't reincarnate you back to Earth either."

"Wait... What do you mean by ten years ago?"

I'm a little surprised by what she said, as I remember just dying and experiencing that event.

"It's common for a soul when they wake up again. They remember the last thing they did before they died as if the event just happened. It's the same for you."

This is beyond my logic. I genuinely thought and felt like it just happened.

"So, what happened in that event, the last thing I experienced? How many people were victims? I don't know what happened afterward."

"Three people died in that incident..."

"Huh... But only two security guards died then, so who was the third?" I interrupted to ask.

"The third one was just a foolish and reckless person who tried to save a crying little girl."

"Hehe... I forgot," I smiled at her words.

"Be grateful for the little girl you saved. Since then, and until now, she has been motivated by your bravery. She always remembers your name as her talisman. Now she has become a beautiful young woman, and she even entered the military academy despite being a woman. She developed strong determination because of you."

Isn't that too much? She should be able to choose her own path as a woman. I'm just grateful that I could help her, at least I'm grateful for being given the opportunity to do good.

"Because of that reason, I want to give you a chance, whether you accept it or not."

"Alright, I will accept it, but please grant me powers depending on the world I'm going to and it has to be strong enough to protect me."

I don't want to repeat what happened in my previous life. Having the power to protect myself is crucial. If a world is dominated by magic, then I want to have powerful magical abilities. If it's a world of swords, then I should possess exceptional swordsmanship. If it's a world based on money and the economy, then I need to become wealthy. And if it's a Mecha world, then at least I should have a Gundam robot.

"You're daydreaming too much and being greedy. I will only send you to a world where magic and swords exist. I will grant you enough power to protect yourself, and it will develop according to your circumstances."

"Is there really a world like that? Because on Earth, it's just fictional stories."

"It does exist. There are many other life forms in this universe apart from Earth. Each galaxy usually has its own life, for example, the Milky Way Galaxy has life only on planet Earth. But there are also galaxies that don't have any living entities or are just empty galaxies. The place you will go to is hundreds of millions of light-years away from Earth."

That's quite far, and the sequence of information... Maybe I could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars if I provided that information to NASA, although they would probably do something futile like observing the Milky Way.

"Don't waste time daydreaming again," she scolded me.

"Can I make a request? And will my memories be intact in my next life?"

This aspect is crucial when you reincarnate or are reborn. Memories from the past can be a significant asset and source of strength.

"Alright, I will grant you three wishes, excluding the basic powers I will provide and the preservation of your memories."

"Thank you... Thank you... Well, first, can you give me a powerful sword?"

Even though I have this appearance now, I used to be a former gamer ranker. It would be troublesome to create a new sword, and it might not even be a great one. Every sword depends on the blacksmith, but I'm confident that a sword from a god would be incredibly powerful.

"I believe these two swords will be sufficient for you. The materials are also very strong and suitable for magical swords."

Suddenly, a pair of swords appears from the empty space, looking incredibly powerful and cool. Swords from gods never disappoint, and I really like them.

"That's great if you like them. So, what's your second wish?"

"Ahem... Can I bring the money I earned from my previous life?"

One of my regrets after dying was losing the money I had earned through hard work. If I could ask for my money after death, maybe I could defy the logic that the dead cannot bring money. Just kidding.

"Your request is quite absurd, but I will fulfill it. At least, it can serve as a provision for you. I will convert your money into the same currency type in your next life. Due to the difference in currency between the two worlds, I cannot give you the money as it is."

"Thank you, god, for your understanding."

"Now, the final wish. What is your last request?"

"For the last one, can I keep it for now and use it later?"

At least I should have some insurance. Sometimes, power and money are useless in certain situations. This request might be my savior in such conditions.

"Alright... but remember, this is your only request," she emphasized to me.

"Yes, I understand," I confidently replied.

"Now that all the preparations are complete, I will send you off."

"Wa-wait, god..." I interjected.

"What else? Your requests are finished, and my time is running out."

"It's just a question. What is your name?"

"My name is ******."

A pretty cool god's name, even though she said she's just a messenger.

Suddenly, my vision starts to blur, and my consciousness begins to fade. But it feels warm and comforting, unlike when I died.