“So, the long and short of it is — you’ve died. I’m truly sorry.”
“Huh.”
The elderly man in front of me dips his head deeply in apology. Behind him stretches a glittering sea of clouds, a carpet of white reaching to a horizon that never seems to come. And yet what we’re sitting on is a tatami mat. A modest four-and-a-half mat room (and “room” is generous, since there are no walls or ceiling) floats on top of the cloudscape. A low table, a tea cabinet, a retro-style TV, a black rotary phone. Old furniture, but with character.
And across from me, my host: a god. At least, that’s what he says he is. According to him, he killed me by mistake — but the I just died part has yet to feel real.
Let me see. On my way home from school, sudden rain started, and I picked up the pace toward the house. I tried to cut through the local park as a shortcut — and what hit me was a blinding flash and a thunderous crash.
“I’d dropped a bolt of lightning without checking if anyone was beneath it. Truly, I apologize. Lightning fatalities are not uncommon, but yours wasn’t planned.”
“So I got struck by lightning and died… I see. So this is — heaven?”
“No, this is one level above heaven — the realm of the gods. Let’s call it… the divine realm, I suppose. Humans aren’t normally permitted entry. I summoned you here as a special case, since I was the one — er — Mo… Mochi…”
“Touya. Mochizuki Touya.”
“Right, right, Mochizuki Touya-kun.”
The god grabbed a nearby kettle, filled a teapot, and poured me a cup. A stem floats upright in mine — apparently lucky.
“That said — you seem a touch too calm, don’t you? I’d have thought a fellow learning he’d just died would be more, er, frantic.”
“Maybe it’s the lack of realism? Feels a bit like a dream. Anyway — no point making a fuss about something that’s already happened.”
“Philosophical of you.”
To be fair, I didn’t expect to die at fifteen. I sip the tea. It’s good.
“So, what happens to me now? Heaven? Hell? Which way?”
“No no, you died because of my error, so I can bring you back to life immediately. It’s only…”
The god trails off. Some kind of complication, I take it.
“I can’t return you to the world you came from. Those are the rules, I’m afraid. I genuinely apologize for the inconvenience. So, instead—”
“Yes.”
“You’ll be revived in a different world. Begin a second life there, so to speak. I understand if you find that hard to accept, but—”
“That’s fine.”
”…It is?”
I cut him off and answered instantly, and the god blinks at me, dumbfounded.
“I understand the situation, and I’m not going to make you bend the rules for me. Just being alive again is plenty. That’s enough for me.”
”…You really have a remarkable character. Had you continued in your old world you’d have grown into a great person, I expect… Truly, my sincere apologies.”
The god looks crestfallen. The sort of grandfatherly figure I have a soft spot for, in fact — and watching him deflate is hard to bear. He really doesn’t need to dwell on it.
“At the very least, let me make some amends. I can grant a fair amount, within reason.”
“Hmm, that’s a tough one to answer on the spot…”
The ideal would be reviving in the original world — but that’s off the table. So instead, something that’d be useful in the world I’m headed to, presumably.
“Um — what kind of world am I going to, exactly?”
“Compared to your old world, it’s still a developing place. Roughly speaking, half of it sits at about the level of your medieval era. Not all of it — but a decent portion.”
Yeah, the standard of living’s about to take a serious dive. Can I actually make it in a place like that with zero relevant knowledge? Oh, wait —
“Um, one request, if I may.”
“Mm, what? I’ll grant anything within reason.”
“Could this work in the new world?”
I pull out what I’d had tucked in the inner pocket of my school uniform. A flat slab of metal — an all-purpose mobile phone. A smartphone.
“This one? It’s possible, yes… but there’d be restrictions. If you’re fine with that—”
“Such as?”
“You won’t be able to interact outwards from your end, mostly. Calls, emails, posting to sites — none of that. Reading and viewing will be fine. Hmm — let’s at least keep the ability for you to call me.”
“That’s more than enough.”
If I can pull up information from my old world, that’s a serious asset. It’ll be useful for almost anything.
“I’ll arrange for the battery to charge off your magical power. That should take electrical-shutdown off the worry list.”
“Magical power? That world has that kind of thing? Magic, too?”
“It does. Don’t worry, you’ll pick it up quickly.”
Magic, huh. That’ll be fun. My anticipation for the new world goes up several notches.
“Right, then — let’s get you revived.”
“You’ve been very kind.”
“No, no, this was on me to begin with. Ah — one more thing.”
The god raises a hand lightly and a warm light envelops me.
“It’d be meaningless if you came back only to die again immediately. Let me raise your baseline stats, physical aptitude, the whole lot. With these you won’t die unless something truly extraordinary happens. As long as no clumsy old god drops lightning on you, anyway.”
He grins self-deprecatingly. I find myself smiling back.
“Once I send you off, I can’t intervene further. Consider this a parting gift.”
“Thank you.”
“I can’t take action for you, but I can still chat, at least. If something genuinely troubles you, call me with that.”
He pointed at the smartphone in my hand. Calling a god feels like a hard bar to clear casually, but — if I’m truly in trouble, I’ll lean on him.
“Well, then — see you around.”
The god smiled, and the next instant, my consciousness went out.