He was not sure how long he was in this darkness. Two weeks? Two hours? His mind was too slow to tell. He didn’t have any authority in this hell pit, he could even blink. 

Well… He wasn’t exactly alone. Since he got here, he has been seeing a strange light floating around. He wasn’t sure a what point it started to show up but every time it came over to visit, his mind was able to keep up with time once more, but the moment it left, his mind got lost in the dark abyss once more.

But one day, this light got close enough to have visible features. It was a face. The light appeared to be produced from a strange glowing face, or was it a mask?

“No, call it a face.” A shock for Derek, but a welcomed one. The voice of the white face was strange, almost robotic. 

“So, who placed you in the shit-hole?” The illuminating face asked.

“You must know if you can call this a shit-hole.”

“Do you desire to escape?”

“I do. Why do you-” A large bang echos threw out of the abyss. A beautiful and bright light appears in front of him. Almost like someone tore the darkness like paper, revealing the most beautiful light he had ever seen in a long time.

“Where does this go to? Won’t they find me again?”

“This leads to the outside world—your birthplace. You can choose to leave your punishment now, and live however you wish. If you are scared of being caught, then don’t worry. If you are careful and wise, then punishment won’t ever be able to touch you again.” Derek stared at the light… the light. It was so… beautiful. 

“Why are you doing this?” The being gave no response. The silence was as dark as the abyss itself.

“Wait! Who are you? Tell me, why are you doing this?” 

Again, there was no response. The light has now overpowered the darkness, and he left his prison. 

He saw the earth once again. And it was beautiful. Derek never truly took the time to admire the world that he was in, but he was now happy about it. How long was it since he saw the world?

“There is a time limit.”

“What?”

“I’ll do it for you this first round.” Before Derek could react, the surrounding place started moving very quickly. No. It was him who was moving. He passed buildings, people, and even a lake. 

Soon, he began to approach a hospital. He fazed through the wall like a ghost. As soon as he entered, everything went blurry. He woke up, not as a lost soul, but as a person. A different person.

“Docter! Doctor! He’s waking up!”

“Hmm. Wait what.” Derek finally cleared his vision and saw that he was in a hospital bed with a doctor and a nurse desperately looking around. 

“Huh. Where am I?”

The nurse looked back at Derek. “Mr. Hampton, please, stay still.” 

“Mr. Hampton?” He soon passed out and awoke someplace different. He found himself in the void. It was different, though. Instead of eternal darkness, he was instead in a void of white. He stood on the ground. Ground.

“I know, right? Sorry, the dark mode isn't available here. A bit hard on the eyes but hey, ground! Am I, right?” Derek turned around to see his… savior? 

“Well, don’t just look at me like some ghost, well you aren't one anymore.” The voice was different. It was more human yet, different.

“Anymore?” asked Derek.

“Sure, well, just to make things clear, you have kinda been reborn.”

“So, I’m someone else now. Was he going to make it?”

“For sure he was. The thing is, he is already a shitty person, so I did a little switch-a-row.”

“Who are you?” 

This time, Derek got no response. He departed the light and went back to the body of this stranger. A while passed and soon he heard a separate voice.

“I no longer have strings over you. I have cut the strings of demise so you can roam the world without consequences. Please delight your audience.” 

He awoke once more. 

“He’s awake again.” 

“Get the doctor in here now!”

“He on his way” A lot of voices flooded his ears, giving him a headache. He felt tired and dizzy. “Mr. Hampton,” he thought, “huh.” 

A new life, or a new body to simply rot away? The now Jered Hampton will find this out. 

He stood up from his hospital bed and smiled.