Chapter 1: Prologue – Dying, then meeting Verden

I was walking along the street after another grueling shift, when I saw a little boy, who also happened to be my neighbor's kid, crossing the street towards an otter on the river’s shore. Now, normally this wouldn’t have been any cause for worry, except there was an eighteen wheeler coming down the road, and the driver looked tired, barely paying attention to the road in front of him. 

Me, being me, and also kinda depressed and wanting to make something good happen because of my life (but we don't talk about that), dove to get the boy out of the way, and… got slammed into by a giant truck. Now we get to the present, where I’m already dying, but the driver, not reacting to the fact that he hit someone in time, runs my legs over, then slams on the brakes. Fuck. Even more absolutely excruciating pain. ‘Well, at least the little boy lived.’ I thought, as everything dimmed to black.

I awoke to darkness. 

Wait, no. That can’t be right, I’m dead. Why am I awake? How am I awake? Then, as if to prove me right, I look down and see what looks like a glowing blue ghost in place of my usual body. Then I realize that I haven't felt a thing the entire time. A voice permeates this darkness, saying “Well, you woke up early.”

“Early?” I ask.

“Early.” the voice says.

“Why am I here?” I say, “And who are you?” I add in haste. 

“I am Verden. A sentient planetary god. And you, my little friend, are here to decide what to grace my surface as.” the voice - Verden - says, seemingly with laughter in their tone.

“So… I’m being reincarnated?” I ask incredulously. 

“Yes, into a world of magic and adventure.” Verden tells me.

“Huh. What are my options?” I ask, repressing the crazed part of me that tells me that this is all fake.

You are reading story Verden – Rise in a new life at novel35.com

“... You are taking this surprisingly well. Anyway, here.” Verden says, the first mumbled, then the next in their normal voice.

A glowing hand comes into view, coming closer and closer until I realize that this is no human sized hand, this is a hand where the fingertip could be measured in kilometers instead of millimeters. The hand pokes me, but the finger is so big that it’s like getting slammed with a mattress. 

Information flows into my head. Hundreds of races, dozens of affinities, all for a price. There seems to be a kind of karmic value that I have acquired over my life. Some of the better options are the Gruvefolket, similar to dwarves, with stony skin, obsidian like hair, and Metal, Fire, and Earth affinities, the Trefolket, like elves and dryads had a kid, have life, wood, and water and earth, and then the Hornede, their variations having Fire, Ice, or Frostflame affinities, and even the Bevinget, Light or Dark affinity winged humans. And it seems that my identity has given me a discount on one of my favorite ones, the ‘Av Utsiden’. 

They as a species only have four affinities possible, Space, Time, Gravity, and Creation, but in my opinion, those are among the most powerful. They're a shapeshifting mass of cosmos, usually humanoid in form, and have no binary gender concepts. Exactly my style. Plus, they can be ridiculously long lived, only dying when killed. So, needless to say, I chose this one. Now, there isn’t much else to choose with this race,  ‘cause, well, shapeshifting, other than affinity, and I get to pick two, it seems. I’m going to go with Creation, and Space. Mainly because with these two, you can make anything you want, and store it for later. Or, you could make explosives, and teleport them on top of your enemy. Or, you could teleport on top of your enemy with a giant sword ready to swing at them. At least to me, that sounds awesome. 

Having decided, I spoke. “I choose the Av Utsiden race with space and creation affinities.”

“Oh, an excellent choice. Now, what station would you like to have in your new life?” Verden asked me.

“Nothing too special, but preferably an army or Vakt For Herskeren parent, and at least middle class. I’m really rusty on CQC, and gunfighting will probably be useless, so someone who can train me would be preferable.” I said. ‘I think I went on a little bit of a rant there, but hey, we all would when asked who you want your new family to be because you’re being reincarnated. Shit, I did it again.’ All this in the time it took for Verden to respond with a chuckle and say “Yes, I can see that working out quite well, quite well indeed. Well, off you go then, I hope you won’t be back here for a long while to come.”

“Thank you, and yeah, no offense, but me neither.” I say, cringing inwardly at the last part.

A white light began to consume me as the hand drifted back, Verden’s voice saying “Think nothing of it, child.” in the background.