You know, I'd always thought my death would have some kind of warning sign. A gut feeling, chills, maybe the hair on my neck standing up, something to tell me, "hey, you're gonna die!" But, sadly, my thoughts were proven wrong. There were no signs, no premonition. One second, I was crossing the street, listening to PurpleRain by Prince, my arms full of groceries to last me the next two weeks, and the next? I was plastered all over the front of a semi-truck, not having heard the horn.
I didn't even feel any pain, surprisingly. One second I was alive, the next I was here. Where, exactly, "here" is, I couldn't say. The best description I could come up with was an all-encompassing void, where no light existed. Everything was black, everything was quiet. There was no smell in my surroundings, and I couldn't feel anything. It was strange, seriously. When I looked down, I could see my body, wearing the faded and ripped jeans that I'd probably had for years, and the faded Nirvana T-shirt I'd gotten from my dad.
As I was beginning to collect myself and think through what happened, I heard a voice speaking to me. It was cold, metallic, almost robotic in a way. It spoke in monotone, never showing a hint of emotion.
[Host Confirmed
[Status: Deceased
[Eligibility: 100%
[Commencing Integration]
Before I could react, I felt a searing pain shoot through my skull, like someone had stuck a blowtorch up my nose and turned it on. As the heat made me feel like my brain was getting a lava bath, another feeling creeped through my body, this time coming from my chest, sorta over my stomach. It was cold, freezing even, the feeling creeping out like frost spreading over water. Then, a moment later, it was all gone, leaving me reeling but currently pain free.
[Integration Completed.
[Congratulations on your successful acquisition of the Aegis Protocol. You have been selected for Reincarnation. Preparation will now commence.]
Another feeling went through my mind, but it wasn't painful. It.. actually felt sort of like a massage, if the masseuse had stuck his fingers in my skull and was rubbing my brain like it was Jell-O. My mind felt like it was expanding, like all the stuff I'd dealt with in my life was rinsed away, leaving me with just the essentials. How to breathe, walk, drink, talk, eat, and so on. It was like everything I'd learned was still here, but without the memories attached to them.
I floated for a moment, my brain processing what was happening. So this was death? Getting your mind dry-cleaned like it was a cosmic laundromat? Before I could continue down that.. probably endless spiral, the voice returned, icy as ever.
[Initiating Reincarnation Process.
[System Calibration: Complete.
[Destination: ЭRЯОR!
[Good Luck.]
The voice faded, and I had barely any time to consider the words before I began to feel like I was falling. My stomach pressed up into my ribcage, and I felt almost like throwing up. I plummeted through the void like a stone in water, trying to scream but making no sound. Far below me, a small pinprick of light appeared, growing larger by the second. Larger and larger it grew, until I was surrounded by pure white light.
I closed my eyes, bracing myself for some kind of impact, and then—!