Raven's vision was flooded with a blinding white light, and for a moment, he thought he had officially kicked the bucket.
But then, the light slowly dimmed, and he realized something—he was still standing.
The first thing that hit him wasn't pain, nor terror—it was the feeling of an incredibly refreshing breeze caressing his skin, filling his lungs with air so crisp it made him feel like his entire respiratory system had just been through a deep clean.
He blinked rapidly as his surroundings came into focus.
Golden grass stretched endlessly around him, swaying gently like waves in an ocean of light.
The sky above wasn't just blue—it was an explosion of color, shifting through hues of pink, violet, and gold, blending into something straight out of a high-budget fantasy RPG.
Raven took a slow, deep breath, his mind momentarily forgetting all the weirdness that had just happened. "Okay, not gonna lie," he murmured, "this place is kinda fire."
For a moment, he just stood there, basking in the surreal beauty. Was this heaven? A lucid dream? Or had he somehow glitched into an anime opening scene?
That last thought made him snort. "Yeah, right. Next thing I know, I'm gonna be overpowered with a harem of waifus."
But then, reality slapped him in the face.
"Wait a damn minute—where the hell am I?!" He shouted, finally acknowledging the elephant in the room.
Panic bubbled in his chest as he frantically checked his body, patting himself down as if he'd misplaced an important organ or something.
Fingers? Check. Arms? Check. Legs? Still attached. He exhaled in relief. "Okay, okay, not a pile of dust. That's a win."
His brain, however, was still screaming. 'What is this place? Why am I here? Was the whole phone thing a hallucination? Or did I just get Isekai'd for talking too much trash online?!'
He let out a breath and forced himself to chill. "Maybe it was just a bad dream. Yeah, that's gotta be it. I'll wake up any second now—"
"You are not dreaming."
A soft, melodic, and very much real voice cut his words short, alarming Raven.
His head snapped in the direction of the voice so fast that his neck instantly regretted it. "Ow—what the—" He winced, rubbing the sore spot, but his words died in his throat as his eyes landed on the source.
Or rather, failed to.
Before him stood a blur—a shifting, incomprehensible distortion in reality itself.
His breath hitched, his chest tightened, and every instinct screamed at him to run. His body, however, refused to cooperate.
A strangled yelp escaped his lips before he could stop it as he tried to crawl away from the figure.
The figure, however, as if understanding his thoughts, seemed to be sadded. "Oh dear, that hurts my feelings," the voice feigned injury, as if not expecting this type of reaction.
Raven, still frozen in place, gulped. "W-What the hell are you?! Are you a ghost?!"
"A ghost?" The voice let out an amused chuckle. "No, I am a goddess."
His breathing quickened. "A goddess? I—Why can't I see you?! What kind of creepy horror movie bullshit is this?!"
"Simple," the goddess replied smoothly. "Your mortal powers are too low to perceive my true form."
Raven's eye twitched and he didn't know where the confidence came from, but he still retorted. "That sounds like something a scam artist would say."
Instead of responding, the blur moved—or rather, reality around it seemed to shift. With a simple wave of what he could only assume was her hand, a grand throne materialized out of thin air.
It was elegant, adorned with intricate golden carvings, and exuded an aura of undeniable power. The goddess—or whatever she was—gracefully sat upon it, an air of amusement surrounding her.
Raven watched the whole thing unfold, his mind scrambling for an explanation, before finally slumping onto the ground.
He dragged a hand down his face. "So, I'm dead, huh?"
'Mortals really are simple,' the goddess shook her head inwardly, seeing how easily Raven believed her to be a goddess when he saw her do something so basic. "You are not dead," she soon corrected him, but before he could think otherwise, she added, "You are not exactly alive either."
Raven's head tilted in confusion. "Huh? That's not how existence works, lady. You're either alive or dead. There's no in-between."
The goddess chuckled. "Your situation is... complicated. But first, allow me to introduce myself."
She tapped the armrest of her throne, her presence alone making the golden grass around her shimmer. "I am the author of 'Raven Tale.'"
Silence.
Raven just stared at her. Processing. Then, very slowly, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Wait, wait, wait—you mean to tell me that I've been reading a novel written by an actual goddess?!"
The goddess gave a soft nod, and something in Raven's brain clicked. His face paled. "Oh... oh, no..." He whispered, horror creeping into his voice.
He suddenly remembered every single curse, every insult, every angry rant he had thrown at the author.
He was doomed.
But before his soul could fully escape his body, the goddess chuckled again. "I don't mind."
Raven blinked. "...You don't?"
She shook her head. "You were frustrated and since you did regret your decision, it's fine. And I am partially to blame for your situation anyway."
Raven blinked again. He had insulted her entire existence, cursed her to the depths of reader hell, and she just... shrugged it off?
His paranoia wasn't convincing. "Wait, is this a setup? Are you just waiting for me to let my guard down so you can smite me? Be honest."
A giggle left the goddess's lips. "If I wanted to smite you, you would have been gone the moment you sent your first insult."
Raven gulped. "Fair point."
Shoving his panic aside, he took a deep breath and forced himself to focus. "Alright... you said something about being partially responsible for my situation? What do you mean by that?"
The air around the goddess turned serious, her blurred eyes holding an emotion Raven couldn't quite place.
"Let me explain," she said. "It all started when..."
...................
"Damn, that was long..." Raven sighed as he let his body fall on his back, lying on the golden grass.
As it turned out to be, the goddess had visited earth once, and during that visit, she had her phone with her. That phone, however, was lost by her, and because she was in a hurry, she let it go, not minding it.
Then, fortunately or unfortunately, Raven was the one who picked it up.
The reason why he was never able to use the phone or unlock any chapter was because he was a mortal. One needed divinity to unlock the real functions of the phone.
In the end, Raven died because of that phone as the other readers who had cursed him were all gods, and he, as a mortal, wasn't able to withstand their curses, almost causing his death if not for the goddess's intervention.
The silence stretched between them, the weight of everything settling into Raven's bones. He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his already messy hair. "So... what am I supposed to feel about all this?"
The goddess tilted her head slightly, her ethereal gaze steady. "That is what I wish to ask you," she said softly.
Raven let out a tired chuckle, shaking his head. "Honestly? I don't know. I should be panicking. Screaming. Demanding to wake up from this fever dream. But after everything that's happened..."
He trailed off, his fingers curling into the grass beneath him. "I just feel... drained."
The goddess remained silent, allowing him the space to process. The quiet stretched once more, but this time, Raven was the one to break it.
"So," he muttered, finally turning his head toward her, "what happens to me now?"
The goddess didn't even hesitate. "You will be reincarnated into 'Raven Tale.'"
Raven's entire body went still.
His head creaked toward her like an old rusted machine. It was as if his mind refused to accept what he had just heard. He didn't say a word, but his expression alone screamed, 'You can't be serious.'
The goddess, in return, smiled. "I did forgive you, but that does not mean my pride as an author wasn't wounded. So, you will now enter the story yourself and make it better."
Raven blinked once. Twice. Then, he violently shook his head, sitting upright so fast that he nearly gave himself whiplash.
"No. Nope. Not happening. Are you insane?! I never agreed to this!" He jabbed a finger at her. "And didn't you literally just admit that all of this was your fault?! Why am I the one getting punished for it?!"
The cheery air around the goddess remained unchanged. "It was my fault for misplacing my item, yes. But you were the one who picked it up, read the story, and then proceeded to curse me with every fiber of your being." Her voice was calm, unbothered. "Actions have consequences, Raven."
"But—"
She raised a hand before he could protest further. "And besides, it is not as if you can return to Earth. You are already dead there."
Raven's mouth snapped shut. A deep, sinking feeling settled in his gut as reality crashed down on him like a tidal wave. He had no way back. His old life—for all that was worth—was gone.
With a groan, he flopped backward onto the grass, covering his face with both hands. "Okay, fine. Whatever."
Letting out a long sigh, he asked, "I would at least get some kind of cheat ability, right? Some OP skill? Maybe a cool transformation or something?"
The goddess merely chuckled. "You will be reincarnated as Raven, the protagonist. That alone is more than enough of a cheat."
Raven's hands slid down his face, revealing an expression of pure despair. "You have got to be kidding me. I don't wanna be Raven! That guy had the absolute worst childhood! His life is a dumpster fire from the moment he's born!"
The goddess simply shrugged. "And that is why you must do better than he did. Your life depends on it after all."
Raven frowned as he heard her last words, propping himself up on his elbows. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
But before the goddess could answer, the world around him began to twist. The colors of the sky bled together, the golden grass rippling unnaturally as reality itself seemed to distort.
Panic flared in Raven's chest. "H-Hey! What's going on?!"
The goddess merely kept smiling though Raven could only see blur. "Your time here is up."
Raven's eyes widened in horror. "Wait, wait, wait! You mean to tell me I had a time limit?! And you didn't think to mention this earlier when I was wasting time rela—?!"
His voice was cut off as the twisting world swallowed him whole, his body vanishing in a flash of golden light.
And then, silence.
The goddess sat alone, the cheery atmosphere around her slowly fading. Her gaze, once filled with amusement, dimmed with a quiet melancholy.
She gazed at the empty space where Raven had just been and whispered, "I hope it works out this time."