Then suddenly a light shines through the endless abyss.

‘Huh? So this is the end then.’ I thought as I felt my body being pulled into the light. I close my eyes. 

“It was a good and fun 18 years, though my only regrets are that I didn’t get to enjoy my relationship with Hina, and the coup de tat that I planned in my head to get the throne will never come into fruition. But, at least I saved her, she has a bright future ahead of her. I only wish I could be part of it…” 

“Well, why don’t you?”

…

‘Wow? Am I going insane already? That I am starting to hear voices? Though, I have no one else to talk to, so let's just go along with it’

The voice giggled.

“I’m dead”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Pretty sure getting hit by a truck moving at full speed will kill you, unless this right here is me in a coma, as I am being operated on, or I somehow activated a hidden trait of the Sanada Clan that makes me immune to becoming roadkill? I am probably indeed dead”

“Good job Sherlock. You are dead” the voice said as if to mock me

…

That ticked me off a bit.

“What even are yo-“ I stop as I open my eyes to see a face. The face of a beautiful woman probably in her mid-twenties, with blue eyes, blonde hair, and milky white skin. A few more centimeters more and our noses would be touching.

“Oh good? I am in heaven” I smirk.

“Not yet, hotshot” I am rewarded with a smile and a sight to behold as she stands up

 I was lying down on a marble floor in the middle of the circular room with stone pillars equidistant from each other. I sit up and in front of me was a well-endowed angel with silver wings and a halo, wearing a white dress.

The thought of Hina once again flashes through my mind

“What are the chances you can tell me about what happened to Hinata?”I look up at her

“Well…” as if finding the right words to say

“I can tell you, that she didn’t get hit by the truck” She mutters

“I see… That’s good.” I slump my head down and sit there in silence 

“Any chance I can see her?”

She hesitates then shakes her head “You are not allowed to interact with the previous world anymore…”

“Is that so… well can you at least tell me why the truck was even there?” 

“The driver fell asleep…”

...

I sit in silence for a while contemplating once more.

‘Well, what a pathetic way to die. Run over by a truck...’ 

‘Why am I so indifferent, do I not care anymore or is it the effect of the afterlife?’

An awkward silence lingers in the air. I look up at her once again, she looks like she wants to say something but won’t or rather can’t.

… 

I sigh and say “So what happens now? Are you gonna judge how I lived my life? How many sins did I commit? If so I demand to get into contact with my lawyer.” Something which I meant to be a joke.

“Sure, wait a second let me just get into contact with one.” As she snaps her finger and an old-timey telephone appears.

“Doubt you can get a hold of him though.” She smiles at me mischievously as she crosses her arms

I sat there dumbfounded. I chuckle and then proceed to rub my temple. “Okay, you win what am I supposed to do now? Am I going to get isekai-ed into another world and fight a demon lord or something?” I say jokingly 

“Close… though not quite” she smirks

“…”

“Seriously? Or is this one more of your jokes?” I ask with one eyebrow raised

“No” 

“Then I want to have times 100 growth rate, weapon master, charisma plus, dexterity times 1000, endurance, ancient magic mastery, immortality, the power to destroy the wo-“ I say quickly while holding back my urge to crack a smile.

“Woah Woah! Wait! This is not that kind of deal!” she says, flustered at the number of requests I had. Then she quickly recovers and puts on that mischievous smile once more.

I laugh “So an angel can also get flustered? Huh?" as I say that, she shoots me a cold gaze

Finally satisfied that I manage to break her façade even just for a little bit I stand up.

“Then what kind of ‘deal’ is it then?” I do a quote and quote gesture with my hand 

“Well, because of your heroic deed of sacrificing yourself for another you have been given another shot. The big guys upstairs have decided that you are going to be reincarnated into a visual novel” she says with a bright smile.

Well, I have always loved visual novels, not that I will ever publicly admit it. They just feel more alive than books, you can actually see and hear the characters in the story

‘It sounds fun but…’

“So? What is the catch?” I utter as I eye her suspiciously 

‘It is too good to be true’

“There is no catch. Though you can only influence the story to a certain degree”

“How much is a certain degree? Can I perhaps… Make a harem of all the heroines?” 

“Do you want to?” she raises an eyebrow

‘Well not really, in contrary to popular belief. I think a harem is highly exhausting to manage’

I swear I saw her nod.

“Will it make your life harder?” I grin

“Very funny. Well, you can try but you will most certainly fail, though pursuing one of them will lead to you facing certain ‘restraints’ but you can probably do it. But if you butt heads with the MC you will experience some more of these ‘restraints’ to the point where it will become difficult, though not impossible.”

‘So, I am not the MC then. And so it comes down to luck if the MC picks the same girl as me’

She looked at me as if something interested her.

‘Can she read my mind?’

“What kind of ‘restraints’”

“Huhu, you’ll see” she smiles though her eyes were sharp

That gave me a slight shiver down my spine.

“Which visual novel and who am I going to be anyway?”

“ You’ll find out soon enough”

“ You really aren’t giving me a lot of information to work with here” I sigh

‘So “you will see” is the same as I cant tell you about that, what a useless wo-‘

 Her eye twitches but she then grins and then proceeds to close her eyes and wave her hand in a circular motion and a portal appeared.

‘What is she planning?’

 A dark portal with swirling colors of violet, indigo, green that goes whiter as I approach the center. It looked like a portal to hell.

‘That doesn’t look like a portal to a where you get reincarnated.’

I see her lips quiver a bit

‘That is definitely a portal to hell’

“Wait!”

“Huh? What is it?” somewhat shocked as she suddenly opens her eyes

“First of all what do I call you? And how and can I contact you again? And are you sure I am going to get reincarnated and not sent to hell”

“What? No, no of course not. You were going to get reincarnated into hell” She imitates someone whistling, then looks up at the ceiling, and so I glare at her, then she snaps her finger. Then the dark portal flickered and turned into a white marble door.

Seeing as I found out she sighs and I still glare at her. 

“Cough* Cough* Anyway..” I keep glaring as she speaks

“Okay okay sorry, didn’t think you would fall for it anyway” she smiles wryly

‘Are you trying to kill me? What if I really went in?’

“I would have teleported you back here. So relax, hehe.” she smiles mischievously 

“So you can read my mind. Would you have really teleported me back?”

“Yeah of course I can! I would have… Probably…” she shrugs and looks to the side

“ Hey look on the bright side, you are already dead so you can’t die again right?” she pats me on the back

I raise my hands, conceding defeat and changing the subject

“Are you really an angel?” I ask with a raised eyebrow

“Yep, certified as seen here.” She snaps her fingers and what comes out is a plaque that reads, “Totally Legitimate Certificate of Angel Qualification” and below it a name in a language I can't read. As if achieving victory, she puts her hands on her waist

‘Seems legit, not’

I saw her eyebrow twitch for a second

“Okay go on…” I then proceed to cross my arms

Hmmm…” she closes her eyes as if contemplating something and to change the subject

“Ah! I know call me Angelica. And just pray to me saying ‘The most beautiful and divine Angel-sama, I beg of thee show thyn mercy to this ignorant fool and guide me dow-” she says with eyes closed, hands clasped together in a mocking tone.

“Yeah… Sure, goodbye forever.” I turn and wave my hand as I walk towards the doorway.

“Hold on! It was just a joke” she hurriedly adds

I grin “One point for me.” And turn back and point my index finger up and puff my chest out proudly

“Since when has this been a contest? What even is the contest?” she says rubbing her temple. 

“Since now. Who can break the others mask the most” I say grinning

“Hohoho, sure. If you think you can beat an angel at teasing, think again.” I shrugged at her remark

“We’ll see”

“Sigh* sure, you can contact me just by grasping a silver cross, And it's up to me whether I want to answer you. But I can’t always be available with a lot of souls to judge you know? But if you beg-”  

“Sure thing, will get in touch with you soon!” as I run through the doorway…

‘Then a thought crossed my mind as I was halfway through the doorway

‘I will reincarnate as a man right?’

And with that, my journey begins…

_________________________________________

Angelica laughs at his last thought before reincarnation.

‘You don’t have to worry about that. Though that would have been hilarious’ she chuckled to herself.

“He certainly piqued my interest.” She says with a smile as she touches her lips.

“Well on to the next one” she claps her hands twice and the whole room became dark once more.

…

‘Huh? I remember you?’ She thought…

_________________________________________

As I pass through I am presented with a kaleidoscope of colors and hues. To the point that it is nauseating to even keep my eyes open. This bombardment of colors, lights, shapes, and images goes on for some time until I hear a voice that can only be described as the voice of God. 

“For your selfless act of heroism, I have awarded you another chance to live your life in the world of your favorite visual novel. Enjoy!”

And at last after passing through a portal and all went dark…