Toshi stopped walking as he tried to figure out where the planet went.

 

As Toshi took in the vast expanse of the featureless white space, he felt a sense of disorientation and confusion. He found himself in a giant, formless, white space. No horizon. No ground. No sky. Memories started to trickle back into his consciousness like fragments of a shattered puzzle slowly coming together. He recalled walking along a street late at night, fatigued after a long day at work, He had a vague sense of something unusual occurring. A touch of unease crept into his voice as he whispered to himself, "Something happened... but what?" He strained his mind, attempting to piece together the missing parts of the puzzle and make sense of his current surroundings.

 

Toshi heard a voice behind him, "Uh-oh."

 

Toshi turned around, or rather, he flailed about and managed to slowly rotate toward the voice. As it turns out that not having ground to stand on makes controlling one's orientation rather difficult.

 

There was a rather tall, willowy person behind him, floating in that same endless white void. The face had an androgynous look about it. He was scratching his upper lip and looking like he had just bitten down on a rather nasty-tasting sandwich.

 

Toshi continued to rotate to face his new-found companion, "HEY! What's going on?"

 

The being gritted his teeth and looked uncomfortable, "Annnnnnd you are alive. This is going to be a problem."

 

Toshi's eyes went wide with surprise and a hint of fear, "Why is being listed among the living bad?"

 

The being suddenly smiled, "Hi! I suppose from your point of view I'm... god. Well. A god. Not your original god." He scratched his chin and looked off into the distance, "And... This is... this is bad."

 

Toshi stared at 'god' before shouting, "EXPLAIN!"

 

The god turned back to Toshi, "Oh? Hrmmm... Well... Your universe sideswiped one of my universes."

 

Toshi blinked a few times in rapid succession, "Like a car?"

 

God nodded, "Good analogy! Yes. Like a car and in order to avoid your planet exploding your god and... I... we... er..." He scratched his head, "Hard to explain. Prevented something bad? I think that's the way to put it."

 

"So the world wasn't destroyed?" Toshi looked about the white void, "I was starting to wonder."

 

God nodded and smiled, "Nothing was destroyed, actually! Except... we might have traded a little..." He held up two fingers an inch apart, "Paint."

 

Toshi raised an eyebrow in a quizzical fashion, "Paint?"

 

God slowly held out a hand to point at Toshi, "Paint."

 

Toshi pointed at himself, "I'm paint."

 

God nodded, "Yes." He sighed, "I'm only god in a world I control. Transferring you back to your world would be... unadvisable."

 

Toshi blinked, "Wait. You are a god and you can't send me back to my world?"

 

God shook his head, "Oh no. I can send you back! I can totally send you back." He looked around avoiding Toshi's gaze, "Except the chronometric sheer would completely shred your existence across several centuries and you would experience what it meant to die screaming for an eternity as your soul was basically turned into pizza topping."

 

Toshi gaped.

 

God looked back at Toshi, "Frankly, I have no idea how you got here in one piece."

 

Toshi looked around frantically then back at God, "WHAT? You're... you are GOD! How could you not know?"

 

God sighed, "Look. This whole omniscient, omnipresent thing? You guys made that up. I'm powerful and knowledgable, but not infinite. Infinities don't exist. I have my limits. If I didn't, there wouldn't be any room for you."

 

Toshi opened his mouth, then closed it. He wound up being silent for a long time as he thought.

 

Eventually, God spoke, "You okay? Need a decade or two so you can get a grasp on this?"

 

Toshi looked up, "Wait. You said... ONE of your universes." He tried to follow a train of thought that was still forming in his head, "So... you could... give me a new life in one of yours?"

 

God tapped his chin with a finger and gazed off into the distance, "That... is possible. I guess I could." His eyes snapped back to Toshi, "Yes. I can do that."

 

Toshi tried to jump for joy, but being no ground, he just basically flexed his limbs in a strange parody of jumping jacks, "YES! I wanna be a powerful wizard and have a bunch of cheats and an extra-dimensional storage space and a-"

 

"Hold up!" God held up a hand flat towards Toshi, "What are you talking about?"

 

Toshi looked a little sheepish, "I've read about this?" He tried to sound hopeful, "You send me to a sword and sorcerer world and I get to be a hero and fight dragons?"

 

"Wait... you mean this has happened before?" God's expression slowly grew darker, "Some sadistic God took someone from a modern industrial society and dropped them into a medieval world without a single thought to the consequences?" He gaped in horror, "That's SICK! I would never do such a thing!"

 

Toshi looked crestfallen, "Oh."

 

With a dismissive gesture, God shook his finger, "Absolutely not. I'll reincarnate you in a world like your old one, thank you very much." Gazing off into the distance, he muttered, "I believe I possess such a place... somewhere... oh! Yes! That one! Remarkably similar to your former world, with a few alterations in its historical course, but nothing extraordinary." Affirming his decision with a nod, he remarked, "It appears nearly indistinguishable."

 

"Wait!" Toshi held up his hands like he was begging, "Can I at least make requests?"

 

God peered at Toshi out of the corner of his eye, "Hrmmm... Very well."

 

Toshi let out a long breath and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, "Okay... I... would like to be young again, but not a baby. maybe... fifteen or so?"

 

"I can do that."

 

Toshi started to look more hopeful, "I hope I could be good-looking?"

 

God thought for a moment, "Sure. That's doable."

 

Toshi smiled and spoke faster and with more confidence, "And popular! And I want to keep my memories! And I want to be rich! And-"

 

"Hold on a moment!" God repeated the hand gesture signaling to stop. "I won't be rewriting reality for you. I'm just going to find someone who has passed away recently and stick you in there. The body, I mean. The more restrictions and requirements you provide, the more peculiar and weirder this process will become."

 

Toshi winced, "Oh. Well, does this world at least have a Japan?"

 

God nodded.

 

Toshi breathed a brief sigh of relief, saying, "Alright, that's important. It would be great to be young, attractive, and.... affluent?" He pondered for a moment, scratching his chin. "Being popular is not necessary, actually. And being wealthy can be optional too." He narrowed his eyes. "You know what? I believe you understand what I'm aiming for. I'll trust your judgment. Pick something you think would be a good match for me."

 

"I understand that I bear some responsibility for this situation," God admitted while making elusive gestures as if manipulating an unseen object. "However, you are being a serious pain in my ass." He moved his hands as if swiping through a series of images. "Nope... Not suitable... not suitable... nope, not that one either... Next. Nope... nope... nope... next." He halted abruptly. "Ah! Japan. Nearly sixteen years old. Succumbed to head trauma. Deceased and soul already departed. Popular. Handsome. Not excessively wealthy." God shrugged. "But not destitute either." He turned his gaze to Toshi. "Hey, guess what? You even get to keep your name."

 

Toshi blinked, "Really?"

 

God nodded, "Half of it at least." Toshi thought for a bit, then shrugged, "Okay. I'll take that one."

 

God gave a thumbs up, "Good! Glad we could resolve this satisfactorily!" God frowned, "And... sorry for... this." He went back to manipulating an unseen object. He spoke in a soft voice, "I'm glad I could give you a second chance."

 

Toshi shrugged, "Honestly? My life sucked. I'm kinda glad for a do-over. This time, with a head full of everything I've learned, I'll make the most of being fifteen and become a success in life, not some corporate drone."

 

God's finger repeatedly pierced the air, creating a sense of anticipation. The void surrounding them began to shimmer and whirl, gradually engulfing everything in darkness. God listened inattentively as Toshi spoke, nodding in agreement to whatever he said, "Sure... Sure..." God withdrew his finger, pausing momentarily, just before delivering a final decisive stab into the air.

 

"And hey, if all else fails, you can just sleep your way to the top." God poked the air.

 

Toshi blinked, "Excuse me?"

 

Everything went black.