Shhhh.
The moon hung faintly over the city, veiled behind heavy rainfall. Streets glistened with puddles, neon signs flickered, and the night reeked of silence.
Then—
"Get the fuck outta here!"
A voice ripped through the storm, just before a boy was hurled from the doors of a grimy bar. He crashed into the wet pavement, splashing rainwater across his already-soaked clothes.
"Hey! I said I'm gonna pay!" the boy shouted, reaching out toward the hulking man at the doorway.
"Tch." The man clicked his tongue and slammed the door with a loud bang, sealing the warmth behind it.
Shhhhhh...
The boy stayed there, motionless, staring blankly at the shut door. Rain trickled down his face, soaking his black hair, plastering it to his skin. His clothes clung to him like rags.
After a long silence, he stood up with a slow, aching breath.
"Arrgh..."
His name was Neil Carter, seventeen years old. And every single day of his life had been a curse.
No parents since the age of two. No family. No future. Just fists, insults, alleyways, and empty nights.
Beaten. Mocked. Thrown out of bars like trash.
It wasn't special. It was routine.
Now, he walked alone through the pouring rain, head down, footsteps heavy. No destination. No purpose.
"What kind of life is this...?" he whispered.
"Why does it always have to be me?"
He staggered along the sidewalk, boots splashing through cold water.
"Even the dead are better off than I am..."
Then—
Blaaaaap!!
A horn. Loud. Close.
Neil's head snapped up—just in time to be blinded by a pair of headlights blazing toward him.
"Wh-what the hell—"
He was in the middle of the road.
And the truck was already there.
"Get out of the way!!" someone screamed.
But his body was too slow.
BAM!!
Metal met flesh. Neil's body flew through the air, crashing onto the roadside with a wet thud.
He opened his eyes faintly, vision flickering. The moon looked down at him—indifferent and cold.
Rain fell onto his face.
His lips parted, trembling.
"I-Is this it...? The end?"
His chest rose once. Then stopped.
"The moon... looks beautiful..."
he whispered.
And just like that, the city swallowed him back into silence.
Only the gentle pattering of rain remained.
***
Everything was dark.
A space without sound. Without movement. Without life.
And standing in the middle of that void… was Neil Carter.
The same Neil Carter who died just seconds ago.
He glanced around, eyes wide. But there was nothing. Just darkness—stretching endlessly in all directions.
"Didn't I just die...? How am I still... here? Where even is here?"
He spun around, panic slowly rising.
Then—
A calm, robotic female voice echoed through the void.
"Neil Carter."
"Eeeeh!" Neil jolted, nearly tripping as he turned to the source of the voice.
"W-What the hell?!"
A faint blue glow lit up his face. A massive, translucent screen now floated before him, humming softly with light.
"Was... was that thing talking just now?" Neil whispered, taking a cautious step back.
The voice spoke again.
"Welcome to the Afterlife, Neil Carter."
Neil blinked, then slowly looked around.
"So I... really died."
He sighed.
But then his eyes narrowed.
"Wait—does this mean... this is heaven?"
He stared hard at the endless void, expression blank.
"...Doesn't look like it."
He scratched his chin, frowning.
"Isn't heaven supposed to be white and full of clouds? Maybe with, I dunno, flying babies welcoming me in?"
Then it hit him.
His heart dropped.
"Wait. No. No way..."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Is this... hell?"
He staggered back, eyes wide.
"No, no, no..." he muttered.
"You mean after all my suffering... all the crap I went through... I still end up in hell?!"
Tears burned the edges of his eyes.
The voice responded flatly.
"This isn't hell. As stated earlier, this is the Afterlife."
For a moment, Neil could've sworn it added,
"Dummy."
"Oh."
He sniffed, awkwardly wiping his face.
"Just confirming."
Then, the screen shifted.
"After reviewing your life on Earth, an error was discovered."
Neil raised a brow.
"Error?"
"Yes. Due to reasons still under review, you were assigned to the wrong life."
"...Huh?!"
Neil stared in disbelief.
"You mean all that pain—getting beat up, thrown around, ignored—that was all... a mistake?"
"Correct."
Neil's eye twitched.
"You're unbelievable."
The voice continued, unfazed.
"You will be granted another chance to live again."
"Wait—you can do that?"
"Neil Carter. You will be reincarnated into a parallel world. A realm of magic, sorcery, and divine bloodlines. However, this opportunity comes with one condition."
Neil didn't even hesitate.
"A condition?" he repeated.
Then he clenched his fists.
"I don't care what it is. I'll take it. A second chance? In a magical world? I'd give anything to escape the hell I came from!"
His eyes flared with resolve.
"Tell me—what's the condition?"
The space fell silent.
Then, the voice responded.
"Neil Carter. You will be reincarnated into the world of Roza as Leonis Gravant—heir of the Gravant family, one of the Five Pillars of the Kingdom."
A pause.
"And the only condition..."
"...You must become an Axis."
Neil's grin cracked into confusion.
"Yes! Pe—wait, what?"
His voice trailed off.
"An Axis? What's... that supposed to mean?"
No response.
The screen flickered. The light began to dim.
"H-Hey, wait! Explain that last part!"
But it was too late.
The system shut down.
And the final thing Neil heard was:
"Good luck, Leonis Gravant."
"Uh—?!"
Then everything went black.
Neil fainted.
***
"You must become an Axis."
***
To be continued