"Have you read Isekai novels before?" Lanster asked the deity in front of him, with perfect calmness and composure.
"Of course I have." The old man replied. "All of them! You have no idea how bored we get when you've got all the time in the world."
"So instead of being hit by a truck, I'm hit with a breakup." Lanster shrugged, calmly stating how he saw the situation. "Now I get to meet you, who will send me off to a new world."
"Well. You are not wrong." The old man smiled in approval. "Except you do get a choice."
"I have a book for you." The old man tapped at a book on the window-side desk. [The Everspire Casters]
"You may wish to read this to learn about the world you are going into."
"Take your time here lad. You have all the time in the world here."
"Sign the blue contract." YueLao tapped the blue form under the book. "And you'll return to the café, with your memories of this encounter wiped clean."
"Sign the red contract, and you'll restart in a world parallel to this one."
"Don't sign so hastily. Take your time here. Relax."
"And what is the cost?" Lanster asked. "To get to restart in the parallel world."
"It's all in the contract lad." YueLao smiled and looked out the window. "Take your time reading, or take a nap, or take a stroll on the beach."
"Nobody is rushing you here."
Lanster followed YueLao's gaze out the window.
Cloudless sky. Warm sunlight.
Looking by his side, YueLao had already disappeared. But there was still the soft breeze and the gentle waves with him.
In the moment, life wasn't so suffocating anymore.
By himself now, Lanster closed his eyes, took a deep breathe, and walked out the cabin.
Walking on the beach under the sun.
Sitting on the beach in the middle of nowhere, listening to the waves with his eyes closed.
Floating in the ocean, staring at the stars at night.
Sleeping in the cabin with the windows open.
Reading the book, or, rather, pretending to read the book without flipping a single page.
Lanster just existed. For a while, Lanster felt like he was alright.
But when the world quieted, his thoughts made noise.
Memories began to surface, slowly, like debris from a sunken ship.
"You're the big brother now," Lanster's mom whispered, handing him the bottle while she rushed off to change for her night shift.
His little brother was just a baby then—chubby fingers clinging to Lanster's pinky as if the world would end otherwise.
…
Lanster's dad crouched beside the kitchen table. "Your mom and I didn't get far in school," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"But you boys... you're our future. You work hard, you build your own road to a better life. Don't be like us."
"And us, we'll do two jobs, if that's what it takes. Don't you worry about tuition or tutoring fees. You boys look forward. We have your backs."
…
After school, in heavy rain, Lanster gripped the stroller handle with both hands, bringing his little brother home from daycare. Homework and housework every day, instead of hanging out. That was just what you do for family.
His high school sweetheart walked beside him, holding a half-broken umbrella awkwardly tilted to shield them both. Her sleeve was already damp. She didn't seem to mind.
"You two have a child already?!" Their classmates teased as they passed by.
Lanster and his sweetheart looked at each other in the eyes and just smiled.
…
"Your big brother's going to be an engineer!" Lanster's dad cradled Lanster's little brother while looking at Lanster with pride. "You follow his lead, alright? Be just like him!"
It was just a modest house party, with only his family and some close friends. But it's a day Lanster would never forget.
That feeling of making it, Lanster would never forget.
...
"Duuuude, when are you going to sleep?"
"Sorry. Give me another 15 minutes." Lanster apologized to his college roommate.
"Bruh. For real man? You turned down the party for this? What are you even working on?" The half-drunk roommate asked.
"It's a portfolio project. Co-Op positions are pretty competitive nowadays. It's not like my high grades are going to get me an offer." Lanster chuckled.
"You are a machine man. You should have taken mechanical engineering." The roommate mumbled.
"I'd rather be actually good at what I do." Lanster looked back at his roommate, his gaze filled with burning hope.
...
In his dark apartment, while looking through his mailbox disappointed, Lanster held a phone by his ear.
"Everyone is looking for someone with experience dad." Lanster tiredly spoke over the phone. "Or someone with connections."
"I know. I know. I'm networking and building connections. I'm still taking courses and doing projects after work."
"I know IT is hot. But I think I can make it. I just need to get a break and get my foot in the door."
"I am getting interviews…"
"Dad. I am open to unpaid internships, it's not like I'd turn the opportunity down."
"I graduated already, so I cannot do more coop."
"Go back for a masters degree and don't graduate, and just keep doing coop? I'll... look into it"
...
2AM. Another sleepless night. Lanster scrolled through a job board website.
'Maybe I should have done an accounting diploma instead...' Lanster rested his face against his palm.
'Why is it so hard to get a decent start in programming? It's been only two years…'
...
"Thanks for the meal, Mom. But I should get going. Got some things to finish up," Lanster said, standing up and adjusting the collar of his thrifted coat.
His mom didn't look up from the dishes.
"Okay," she said, without warmth. No protest. Not even a glance.
His father, still seated in front of the TV, gave a noncommittal grunt, eyes fixed on a rerun of a holiday game show.
Lanster paused a beat longer than he should've, waiting—maybe—for something. A reason to sit back down. A question. A memory. But none came.
Outside, the air bit sharp and dry against his face. Lanster turned around. The old family house stood behind him, adorned with soft blinking lights.
Now, it just felt like a stranger's home dressed in nostalgia.
…
Lying on sand, Lanster had an urge to just stay here to time's end, in the middle of nowhere. This felt oddly romantic to him.
'How did I get here?'
'What have I done wrong?'