At this moment, there are only four possibilities that I can think of:
1 - This is a hallucination. I might be dreaming, in a coma, or have accidentally ingested some hallucinogen when I bought that street skewer. As far as I know, the human brain cannot imagine a face it has never seen, so that would explain why it has no face.
“I have a face. Humans simply cannot comprehend it.”
The only problem with this one is that I can feel the pain of that pinch just fine, and I am pretty sure this isn't supposed to happen in a dream.
2 - My entire existence is a work of fiction. This is not a well-thought-out option, it's just that there are lots of stories where the protagonist gets to talk with god after kicking the bucket. This would make the existence in front of me also fictional, meaning I was right all along and keeping my ego intact.
“Denying other existences to maintain one's ego… Isn't that unbelievably rude?”
But it can't be... That would make me the protagonist, and I just can't see a sane writer doing something like that. Also, I am thinking right now, aren’t I? And ‘I think, therefore I am’ or something like that, right? So I should be a real thing…
3 - The whole of humanity exists in some sort of simulation, and right now, the guys upstairs decided it would be more fun to put me in this weird situation.
“It's impressive how you can ignore a higher being without the slightest concern.”
I can't say anything against this one. Like, how do I prove that reality is real? Wait, does that mean numbers two and three are essentially the same thing? All right! For the sake of my mental health, the last two options will be discarded.
So that just leaves, and this makes me feel ashamed to say...
4 - This is reality.
“Realizing one's own life as reality shouldn't have been the first option?!”
“Could you please stop reading my thoughts?! It's creepy.”
“Ungrateful little creatures, huh.”
A god, right in front of me, starting a conversation like some kind of old acquaintance. Well, when facing the absurd, everyone knows that the only thing humanity ever had as a meaning of counterattack is absurdity itself.
“I don't know if it has much to do with gratitude. You're basically denying me my rightful eternal rest, so why should I feel grateful?”
That is right. By accepting the absurdity of the situation and embracing it, my heart can stay as calm as a snowstorm… Wait—
“Oh? Weren't you the one begging while dripping snot and tears ‘I don't want to die!’ over and over in the middle of the street?”
I feel like a really shameful part of my dark past just got thrown at my face…
“That's that, this is this. I didn't want to, but now that we're here, I might as well continue.”
“I see.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Ugh! Fine! It's not like I gain anything by refusing...”
“And your request?”
“What do you mean?”
“Isn't it standard to grant a request when transferring someone?”
“And why would you think that I know the answer to that?! What do I even have to transfer anyway? It's not like I had a job.”
“I am transferring you to another realm, to start anew after your death.”
“So it's like that reincarnation in a parallel universe thing?”
“No, it's a transfer.”
“But I died and now you're gonna make me reborn.”
“Yes, a transfer.”
“I-I see?” They undoubtedly weren't different, but for now, disagreeing with god isn't the right course of action. “Do I have to do anything there? Like forming a party to defeat the demon lord or something?”
“No. You can live your second life leisurely as any person would.”
“…Really? Does everyone get this treatment after dying?” If the afterlife is composed solely of reincarnating in another world, that would put a lot of Earth religions in a hard place.
“Your request?”
But god didn't seem to care about my question. Man, this is an important piece of information!
It's a common occurrence, and one that has always made me frown: people don't care about giving answers for stuff they consider pointless.
“You seem to be under a misconception. I am not ‘people’.”
Shaddap! Get out of my head! But that is fine, right now god himself is offering me a way to learn whatever the hell I want.
“Um… The ability to choose what I know and what I don't know at any moment?”
“Oh?”
“Because then… I can simply know whatever I want without worrying about having to read books or ask questions. And I can get rid of things that I don't want to know, like useless or disturbing facts.”
It's a fair request if I say so myself, nothing too overpowered, but something that will grant me a nice and comfy second life.
“…”
Is just that, for some reason, the self-proclaimed god kept staring at me. Is it waiting for me to say something more? That's it dude, I will just have this vast amount of knowledge and use it to write some ‘forbidden’ books. I always wanted to do something like that, be some sort of sage, a knower of all things.
“Really? Is that it? Don't you prefer rivers of money, omnipotence, or eternal life?”
“That doesn't matter much. I'm kind of expecting to wake up soon anyway. The idea that gods are out there sending people to reincarnate all over the multiverse contradicts a lot of what I believe to be true in this world. And that's not an existential crisis I'm keen on having right now you know?”
“...”
Would you look at that? In this completely white space, standing right in front of me is a being of dreams and nightmares, I cannot tell its face apart, is like trying to remember something just to fail right at the most crucial moment. Its clothes defy conventional description, they seem to be made from light itself—for lack of better words. Its voice echoes in my brain full of meaning, even though it doesn't make any sound. This is what is staring at me as if I'm the weird one here.
“Your request shall be granted. I wish you the best of luck.”
With a flick of its hand, I'm engulfed in a wave of darkness, even if I can't see anything, I can still feel my body being washed away by the shadows swirling chaotically. I touch my arm reflectively to make sure it is where it was meant to be, revealing something unsettling—I don't feel anything. My consciousness is the only part of me that keeps on being.
So this is death. It has been quite a while since I last faced the impending doom of human mortality. That means that I am officially a college dropout now, huh?
