Silence.
There is nothing.
But strangely… I feel a sense of tranquility within myself.
Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought.
Suddenly—everything disappears. The pain, my thoughts, my very being.
Then, just as suddenly, I reappear.
This time, I can see.
A white space—so intensely white, it hurts my eyes.
"So… is this heaven?" I ask myself.
I don't think I did anything that would earn me a place here.
Then… I hear it.
A voice. Calm, clear, yet deeper than anything I've ever heard.
Maybe it's my salvation.
Maybe… my redemption.
It speaks:
"So you can see hypocrisy? You hate lies? You act like an observer, yet never act?"
"And still, you push your inability to change the world onto your surroundings… onto the world itself… even onto Me?"
"You wondered if this was heaven, didn't you?"
A chuckle echoes in the void.
"Ha ha ha… This is not heaven. This is the Judgement Ground."
The voice continues, its tone shifting from amused to something… darker.
"Your verdict is this: You will keep seeing. You will keep listening. But here's the catch—this time, you will have the ability to act."
"If you can't act alone, make yourself two. If both of you fail, become three. Heh heh…"
A pause. Then, almost mockingly:
"I am not unfair. If I give you this much responsibility, then naturally… there should be a reward, right?"
"For every change you bring into the world, you will gain an equal amount of years to live. And the beauty of it? You can share those years… if you want. Live forever, even—if you dare."
"I want to see you—The man who labeled everyone else as hypocrites—How will you act now?"
"Will you stay reclusive as always? Be selfish? Share with someone? Or will you… become the very hypocrite you've despised all your life?"
Every single word exploded in my brain.
I couldn't think.
Couldn't move.
I didn't understand what the hell this was.
What is this place?
Who—or what—is that voice?
What the fuck… is going on?
---
In the next moment, everything changed!
Don't know how, but I am alive.
I jerk awake, gasping for air—
"Ah, ah, ah—what the hell is happening with me?"
It took more than 15 minutes to calm down and recall what bullshit that voice sprouted.
A shiver runs through my body when I start thinking about the things that voice said.
I'm not an idiot.
I know what that voice was talking about.
Maybe it was my subconscious effort.
I really didn't take any steps for the betterment of my society.
Always thought it was rotten and beyond saving.
Maybe it's my guilt that made me see all that...
Maybe… it was all a dream?
And my bad luck didn't let me die or something?
---
All of a sudden, I start to notice that the place I'm in doesn't look like my parents' house.
"Did they disown me?"
Heh! That's funny.
It doesn't look like a hospital either, hmm...
I was deep in thought... thinking...
Without any prior notice, my brain starts hurting like hell.
It feels like someone is crushing my brain nerves with a hammer—crushing every single nerve at the same time.
"Ahhhh! Let me die in peace, you piece of shit..."
Did I just rhyme that?
Ha ha ha!
Am I losing my mind now?
Who the fuck said, "Taking a huge dose of blood pressure pills kills"?
It just makes you suffer.
Almost after a complete brain fucking… I start to remember...
Elish Vale?
---
Who the fuck are you?
And why do I feel like… I'm cursing myself?
Think.
I need to think, damn it...
What is all this?
Calm down, calm down...
So, as for memory...
I am Elish Vale. Okay, got it...
I'm 28 years old...
A couple of years more than I originally am, but fair enough.
I have a wife?
Who said I have a wife...?
Fuck!
Calm down—okay, okay... I have a wife...
Then a daughter?
Yes, yes. If I have a wife, I can also have a daughter. Pretty normal...
HOW THE HELL IS MY DAUGHTER 17?!
Was I married when I was five or something?
Ahh!
This is great.
I didn't die—
Alive and mentally sick.
---
Hmmmm...
I can't just ignore what I knew and what I know now...
It's as if I'm on the same planet, but not.
It is almost Earth… but has some subtle differences to it.
The voice.
My headache.
These new memories.
It's getting hard to ignore that maybe…
I'm in some parallel world or shit.
Or... another possibility...
I'm mentally unstable.
After thinking that, I feel like I swallowed a fly.
The person who used to think about everything...
Now can't even think straight—
And thinks he is Elish, or some acting-cool person!
Heh!
If this isn't ironic, then what is?
---
Just when I'm almost done collecting my thoughts…
My mind keeps circling back to what that voice said—
Keep watching. Keep listening. Dare to act.
Yeah, right.
How the hell is that supposed to happen?
I'm a recluse, for fuck's sake.
Suddenly, a panel pops up in front of my eyes.
"What the—?!"
Damn thing nearly gave me a heart attack. Not gonna lie.
And yet… it makes me want to slap it.
So now I have a system too?
Wow. How innovative.
Does that voice have no budget or what?
Why the hell does it look like some crappy '90s share market website?
Nahhh.
I want a refund. This isn't fancy at all.
I rate it: 2/10.
Wait—does it not even have voice support?
1/10.
Fucking disgrace.
After some solid self-bickering, I finally focus on the data:
---
Name: Elish Vale
Age: 28
Abilities: Seer, Listener, Cloning
Remaining Life: 12 years
Upcoming Cause of Death: Natural
Additional Lifespan: 0
---
Eh?
What is this—a movie?
"Upcoming cause of death"—what does that even mean?
Should I wave at the camera or something?
And what's with these abilities?
No instructions?
Not even a basic disclaimer like "Kids shouldn't play with this"?
---
-[End of Chapter:2]-
Birth of Elish Vale