Within a large room, fanciful and full of decorations seen nowhere else in the world, various pieces of equipment never seen before were scattered around. At the center of it all was a large bed.
On it lay a young man, covered from head to toe in all sorts of equipment that one could only guess was medical in nature.
The man looked to be in his early thirties or late twenties; one couldn't tell exactly. However, at the moment, the man was unconscious as the various equipment around him beeped, all monitoring his health.
On his face was a massive scar, deep enough to show the bone, along with many other injuries… It was very clear that his life was hanging by a thread.
Despite all this, no one dared to enter the room, nor was there anyone within the room. Time passed, and not much changed.
However, soon a bright golden light filled the room as gasps rang out from outside. Many bowed with huge smiles on their faces as they began to worship.
Amongst them was a large man—an imposing being—who stood staring intently at the room from far above.
The man was dressed in a red cloak with several tendrils sticking out, each one made from some mechanical part or another. It was clear that he was not of ordinary status or origin.
"Lord Magos, the governor has received the Emperor's divine favor. Please withhold your curiosity," a voice called out as the Magos turned to see the speaker.
"Your input has never been worth considering, Preacher," the man said as his transhuman steps echoed while he tried to go up.
However, before he could take any more steps, the bright light vanished, and everything returned to normal as though none of it had happened.
As the servants and staff stood up, they wondered for a bit if what they had just witnessed was actually real or not.
Meanwhile, in the room, the man could be seen sitting up, his scars fully healed. Even the various needles and pipes that were once attached to his body now lay neatly by the side.
The man sat up and looked around his surroundings with a clear expression of confusion.
"Is this heaven?" the man asked himself.
He remembered very clearly that the building had collapsed on him, which meant that he was dead.
"Is this what heaven is like?" the man asked himself as he looked around the lavish room.
"Wait, who said I'd make it to heaven for sure?" the man said as he pulled the heavy duvet to the side and stood up.
As soon as he did so, he completely lost his balance and fell face-flat on the ground.
"Shit," he cussed as he struggled to push himself back onto the bed.
"This might truly be hell… Wow, Satan really has a fancy imagination," the man said as he laughed before sitting up properly.
He felt lightheaded and weak for some reason, even though his body felt healthy. Taking his time, the man tried to stand again, but this time slowly to avoid falling over.
He stood up wobbly and immediately made his way to the mirror he saw standing a bit away from him.
"Who lives in a room this big?" the man complained when he realized the size of the room meant for him.
After a few minutes of walking, he finally stood in front of the mirror. Looking at himself, the man was speechless.
"Who is this?" he asked in surprise as he stared at the mirror.
He saw a man in his late twenties with platinum blonde hair and a lean figure that looked nothing like his. The man he was seeing in the mirror definitely wasn't him.
"What's going on?" he said as his smile vanished, and he began to touch his face repeatedly.
Pinching himself and even biting himself over and over again, no matter what he did, it was awfully clear that this was real.
"Damn it!" the man shouted as he slammed his fist on the desk, and almost immediately, the seemingly strong wooden desk broke apart.
"Shit," he said as he quickly shifted away.
"Do you require any assistance, my lord?" a voice called out from outside the door.
"Eh… no, I'll be out soon," he responded after a brief moment of thought.
Hearing his voice, he immediately covered his mouth. Everything was so weird—the pain he felt meant that he was alive, but the face he was looking at definitely wasn't his.
"Is this the reincarnation they talk about?" he asked as he went back to the mirror.
No matter how he saw what was going on, he understood two facts: he was alive, and he wasn't in his own body.
It couldn't be a prank because there was no reason for someone to waste this much money and time setting up such a place.
He wouldn't say he was kidnapped because he was very sure that he had died—it wasn't an instant death, after all.
"Did I really get reincarnated?" the man asked himself as he pinched himself again.