I lived my whole life with five hundred other children on a spaceship, surrounded by nothing but the endless gap between universes for the longest time. We tried to find a new home but ultimately failed spectacularly. I could only remember the noises of the warp spools spinning up, the sound of dishes flying through the whole canteen and then, the monologue of the god of hope in that strange place that looked like a lush grassland but was in fact incredibly weird. 

 

And then, my friends and family were taken away from me in a split second. I could only blink twice, and found myself in a completely different location. I was in a beautiful garden, blooming flowers where everywhere, trees gifted shade even though it wasn’t exactly necessary. The temperature was neither cold, nor warm. It was the perfect place so to speak.

 

Birds flew over my head while I stared with an open mouth at them. I couldn’t remember seeing these flying animals except on a screen.

 

“Beautiful.” I muttered and turned around to look everywhere. And wherever my gaze landed, I could see a new flower, a new kind of tree, or a completely different animal. Hares, dragon-flies, all kinds of cute bugs, this whole garden bustled with life. And ultimately, my gaze was drawn to the open pavilion made entirely out of trees which bended inwards. 

 

Slowly, I walked up to the beautiful structure and gazed inside. An equally beautiful brunette sat inside and drank from a cup of tea, her legs crossed, and her gentle gaze directed at me.

 

“Uhm … hi?” I asked unsure.

 

“Hi.” She gracefully placed the tea in front of her and gave me her hand which I readily took. Her skin was incredibly smooth and felt a lot warmer than that of others. “My name is Irminsul. I am the goddess of life.” She said and shook my hand.

 

“Sofie.” I said and looked at her in utter amazement.

 

“Please, do take a seat. Is it just Sofie, or do you have a family name as well?”

 

“Just Sofie please. We chose to live as a big family on the spaceship and family names were thus unfitting.” I explained enthusiastically. 

 

“Sofie then. Tea?” I nodded shortly afterwards and noticed in amazement how a vine grew downwards and placed a cup of tea onto the table in front of me. “So … what are your goals for the new life you will have?”

 

“I … hmm. That’s quite sudden.” I admitted and picked up the warm cup of tea.

 

“Take your time. There is no need to rush anything.” I took a sip of it and immediately took another one. This tea was perfect. I didn´t know the plant they used, and I probably would never. Because this tea tasted godly.

 

“O-Okay. Can I ask a few questions first?” I said after forcing myself to place the cup of tea down again.

 

“Sure. Go ahead.” She said and smiled brightly. She did have this really friendly atmosphere around her that instantly made me feel welcome. I knew for sure she wasn’t a bad person just by seeing that smile alone. 

 

“Do I understand it correctly that I will be reborn? Like, be born again?” I asked, still confused about the whole situation.

 

“With your memories intact, correct.” She said and refilled my cup as I kept staring at it. Incredibly thankful, I picked up the cup again and took another sip while thinking rapidly.

 

“Where? The whole galaxy was infested with monsters.” I asked and sat the half empty cup down again.

 

“In a parallel universe. Those beings that destroyed your home will not get there for thousands and thousands of years. So, don’t worry about them for the time being. It is our task to get rid of them, not yours.” She said and looked incredibly guilty as she mentioned these creatures.

 

“C-Can you describe me that world a little bit?” I asked as I didn´t want the goddess to feel sad. I didn´t know what her relation to humanity´s enemies were, but I was sure she did everything to stop them already.

 

“A medieval fantasy world … broadly speaking. Have you played any computer games? Especially RPG´s?” She asked, somewhat smiling again.

 

“Rarely …” I admitted. First of all, they were forbidden on the spaceship and I didn´t want to break the rules like others did.

 

“Hmm … does levels, skills and so on tell you something?” She asked worried.

 

“A bit. We had a group that hacked themselves into the main database and found games on it. They played a lot afterwards and boasted with their achievements and progress.” I admitted and had to laugh about how banal it was back then.

 

“That makes things fairly easy then. You will be reincarnated into a world where these game elements truly exist. You will have something like … a screen, showing you your health, your mana, skills and so on. And as a bonus, you level up faster than the original inhabitants.” She said and smiled like before - brilliantly and honestly beautiful. 

 

“Okay … I´m a bit overwhelmed to be honest.” Truly, this was all a bit too much. Losing all of my friends in one go, being reborn on another planet all alone was a bit too much for me to tackle right away.

 

“Everyone would be.” Irminsul said soothingly and placed her own cup of tea onto the table. Her green dress seemed to be almost alive as she did so, showing once and for all that there was truly something magical to her.

 

“So … my friends, can I see them again?” I asked slowly. They were my family, and my utmost priority.

 

“If you travel a lot and make a name for yourself, surely. But I think they will do fine on their own, so don’t worry too much.” She said and interlocked her fingers on the table.

 

“I see.” I said slowly.

 

“Oh, and you have three wishes for yourself.” She said, and made me remember what the god of hope said.

 

“Three? I really don’t know what to wish for.” I admitted and scratched my head in utter embarrassment.

 

“Well, that is to be expected if you don’t know what the world will look like … okay, I am really not supposed to do that, but I can help you out a little if you want. Pick a near limitless amount of mana, affinity to all elements, and … hmm, maybe learning magic faster than humanely possible?” Irminsul said happily.

 

“You want me to be a mage? Like Merlin or more like an illusionist?” I asked, still struggling to understand everything.

 

“Like Merlin. You will be able to throw fireballs and so on.” She said and conjured a little flame on top of her index finger. In utter amazement, I stared at it until it vanished again.

 

“… I guess that sounds nice. And you are sure these are the best picks for me?” I asked slowly. She didn’t look untrustworthy in any way, but I still just met her. 

 

“It is easiest as a mage to get recognition, so if you want to meet your friends again, this is the best route for you. You will be able to gather a lot of attention, protect yourself from monsters and so on.” She twirled the tip of her index finger through the air in a circular fashion while explaining which made it look like her explanation was only natural. 

 

“Monsters? Like human ones who don’t care about other lives or big-foot-like monsters?” I asked, quite scared about the possibility of ever meeting such a monster.

 

“… both.” She said deep in thought and then shrugged wryly. “But don’t worry, I will watch over you and give you a helping hand if you need one.”

 

“Oh, that’s relieving to hear. And how is reincarnation going to work? Do I just close my eyes?” I asked, really confused by everything, but also worried of keeping her busy for too long. I was sure that all the gods had stuff to do after all. 

 

“Yes. We will do the rest.” She said and smiled gently.

 

“Okay.” I said and closed my eyes slowly. A warmth engulfed me that I could only describe as pleasant and then … nothing. Just darkness. I couldn’t even move like I used to as I felt incredibly weak. 

 

And breathing? Entirely out of question. 

 

From one second to another, I was transferred from a friendly chat with a goddess, to my own birth. And that seriously felt strange.