Title: Rebirth in a World Unknown
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For someone who spent their life basking in the glow of flashing cameras and walking the most prestigious runways, dying at 27 wasn't exactly part of the plan. Sure, being diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago had given me a heads-up, but medical experts said I had at least four years left. Guess the universe had a sense of humor.
Or maybe it just hated me.
One minute, I was in my penthouse, staring at my reflection, wondering if baldness would ruin my brand. The next, everything faded into darkness like some melodramatic soap opera finale.
Then came the void.
Not a tunnel with a warm light at the end. Not fire and brimstone, either. Just… nothing. Until I noticed her.
A woman in a flowing silver dress stood before me. Or floated. Hard to tell, considering there was no ground, sky, or any physics that made sense. Her face was blurred, as if reality itself refused to render it properly.
"Ah, a bug in the afterlife's graphics engine?" I muttered, half expecting a pop-up error message to appear.
The woman chuckled. "You're surprisingly calm. Most people panic when they realize they've died."
"Well, considering my options were either battling cancer or... not, I'm not too upset. Still, gotta say, dying this soon feels like getting kicked out of a VIP party before the free champagne arrives."
"You're quite amusing," she said. "That's good. You'll need that humor where you're going."
That sentence set off a few alarms in my head. "Wait. Where am I going? Is this some reincarnation deal? Or am I about to get judged? Because, in my defense, the yacht thing was my manager's idea."
She ignored my last comment and extended her hand. "You'll understand soon enough."
Before I could protest, everything shifted again. A sensation like being pulled through a cosmic washing machine rattled my existence, and then—
I jolted awake, lungs sucking in air as if I'd been drowning. My body felt different—lighter, smaller. The cold, metallic scent around me wasn't helping my growing confusion.
Wait… metallic scent?
I blinked rapidly, taking in my surroundings.
Rows of white, sterile cabinets. Harsh overhead lights. And—oh, fantastic—several bodies covered in sheets. A morgue. I was in a morgue.
"Oh, hell no." I sat up too quickly and nearly toppled off the slab. That's when I caught my reflection in a metal surface nearby.
The face staring back at me wasn't mine.
Well, not my mine. Gone was the chiseled, magazine-cover jawline and carefully sculpted features. In its place was the face of a younger guy, probably no older than nineteen, with sharp but softer features. My once platinum-blond hair was now jet black, and my eyes… golden?
The realization hit like a freight train.
I got isekai'd.
The door creaked open before I could fully digest my existential crisis.
Two men in white coats entered, chatting casually. One of them turned toward my slab, eyes scanning a clipboard. "Alright, time to process this one—"
His voice died as he looked up and saw me sitting there, very much not dead.
There was a moment of pure, blessed silence.
Then, all hell broke loose.
"WHAT THE—?!"
"ZOMBIE!"
"I AM NOT A ZOMBIE!" I screamed back, before immediately bolting.
Bodies weren't supposed to just get up and start running, so I didn't blame them for freaking out. But I had more pressing matters—like getting the hell out of this morgue.
I ducked past the screaming men and sprinted through the halls, my new body surprisingly agile. The building layout felt bizarre—sleek metal corridors mixed with old stone walls. It was like someone slapped medieval architecture onto a high-tech facility.
Reaching an exit, I pushed through the heavy double doors and burst outside.
That's when I saw it.
The city stretched before me like something straight out of a fantasy novel—if fantasy novels had holographic billboards and floating airships. Massive stone towers reached toward the sky, some adorned with neon-lit signs in an unfamiliar language. Cobblestone streets were lined with vendors selling everything from glowing fruit to what looked like mechanical owl drones.
And the people…
Humans, sure. But also demi-humans. Fox-eared merchants haggling with reptilian customers. A woman with butterfly wings gliding between buildings. Even what looked like a sentient turtle dressed in a fancy robe, sipping tea like a dignified noble.
I took all of this in, my brain trying desperately to download the sheer WTF-ness of my situation.
A deep breath. Then another. And then, finally, I exhaled the only thing that made sense:
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."