New world

Hyosung's grievance was cut short by a bright light that shone behind him. Though little, the orb-like light swirled around him like a planet orbiting the sun.

"What's going on?" Hyosung wondered in pure confusion.

The rotating orb swirled faster around him, and the light it emitted grew brighter, slowly purifying the dark void that engulfed Hyosung.

"Do you wish to live?" a voice echoed from the orb.

"What! Did this thing just talk? And why does it feel like everything is getting hotter?" he murmured loudly to himself.

"I am the light... A star, shining brightly over darkness, and I have come to take you with me to where my rays can never hope to cleanse."

Hyosung felt insecure and confused at the random events that unfolded within seconds from his perspective. From his first moment experiencing joy as an author to his untimely death by murder, now he's having a conversation with a supernatural orb like he's the MC of an Isekai? Was there still any thread of logic to cling to at this point? Might as well make him OP right there!

"And if I refuse, what's going to happen?"

"Then you'll remain in this void for eternity, never able to pass on nor be reborn... As of now, you exist between the boundaries of the afterlife and the living world."

"Huh?" The orb's words were stranger than its appearance to Hyosung. His brain couldn't quantify the orb's request nor grasp the ramifications if he disobeyed.

The orb's rays gleamed in his eyes as he stared at the light in utter confusion, trying to rack his brain on his decision as his existence was "in the balance" of his choice, but what was he to do in such an instance? Trusting the words of an unknown source offering choices one would only find in fictional novels, but alas, his entire situation was as far from factual as it gets.

Hyosung gave his answer with a reluctant tone, "I'll... do it."

"You made the right choice! Now, before you go, I'd like to thank you for agreeing by giving you a gift, but... you won't see it till you reach your destination."

"A gift? What is the gift? And where am I going to see it?" His body shivered as though he were struck by a cold, his face furrowed intensely with his veins rising from every spot. Was it anger he was expressing? Or fear, perhaps? Either way, his emotions were too convoluted to understand.

The orb's rotation then ceased, and it began to emit various colors of light that radiated through the void, changing its glow constantly like the lights of a disco ball until the light absorbed Hyosung as well, finally.

The final flash radiated to the extent that Hyosung's body was enveloped by its bright light before his body broke down and dissipated in a flash, not even giving Hyosung any time to react or understand.

During the time of his resurrection process to this other realm, all Hyosung could see was a large plain made completely of light, so bright it was though he stared at the heavens itself. The glowing light scorched his sight more than looking at the sun, though he felt no pain. Continuously gazing at its bright gleam forced his eyes to shut instinctively.

Unfortunately, even THAT didn't help the process become any smoother. Upon shutting his eyes, he felt enveloped by heat like that of a furnace, though the heat of a furnace was little compared to what he felt. Yet, the sound of ocean waves crashing echoed loudly in his ears, as though he were caught in a sea storm, followed by the tinkling of little bells and the pained, faint screams of people calling out to him.

"H... E... L... P." "P... L... E... A... S... E!"

"NOPE!!" Being the kind-hearted soul he was, he generously declined.

Although time flew by very slowly during the process, and within that time, Hyosung felt a seal on his eyes, but despite that, he still had his sense of time, and through that sense, it felt to him as though years had passed. During this time, his body felt stiff, as though it was frozen, and his eyes remained shut. There was nothing he could do...

At least, that was until he felt his arms and legs getting lighter, and though he hadn't regained complete control, he was able to twitch his fingers a bit. Not to mention, his eyes that felt shut and sealed began to open slowly. As they widened, his vision was still a bit blurry, but he was able to capture a glimpse of where he was... and even with that small glimpse, he couldn't believe his eyes.

Behold! At last, he had reached his final destination! But what a strange final destination indeed... it was nothing at all like he had expected. Neither the soft green pasture of green grass where he played, nor the unified flight of birds across the sky as they migrated, and of course, his view wouldn't be complete without gazing at the great blue sky itself and the white fluffy clouds that hovered above him.

"It's beautiful!" Tears welled up in his eyes, though once again, it was unclear whether it was tears of sadness or tears of joy.

"I know it's pretty wonderful for an artificial sky! Isn't it?"

"Gaaaa... aaah."

"Whoa! CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN! I'm sorry for frightening you. To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to regain consciousness after 2 weeks indisposed. I'm not gonna lie, between you and me, I was pretty sure you were gonna die. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Suddenly, the strange man burst into laughter, only leaving questions in Hyosung's mind with his strange words and meticulous behavior. "How can anyone be so goofy yet precise at the same time? It's like he's trying to start a conversation just to get info on me," Hyosung speculated in his mind.

The man was a rather middle-aged-looking man. His dark, long ponytail displayed no presence of a single gray hair on his head, and his smile was lit and warm on his fairly wrinkled face, yet... his eyes... the eyes he had gave him away. Hyosung didn't know how, but he could read his eyes. The eyes he had were like that of a hunter who awaited patiently for the perfect moment to pounce and strike him down.

It was obvious Hyosung had to be wise with his words, or one wrong word could lead to his untimely death. Even then, Hyosung was yet to receive the gift that was promised by the orb. Howe

ver, that was not of consequence in his current situation.