Sanat Pandey was completely focused on his screen.
The room was dark except for the bright glow of his monitor. Empty snack packets and soda cans were
scattered around his desk like the remains of a small war.
His headset was on, and he was shouting at his teammates with full confidence.
"Bro! WHY would you rush there? I told you to wait!"
His character on the screen died instantly.
Sanat slammed his keyboard.
"Unbelievable. I'm playing with absolute idiots."
Outside his room, a very different scene was unfolding.
His parents stood quietly near the door holding a birthday cake. His little sister and two of his friends
were trying not to laugh.
"Is he still playing?" his sister whispered.
His father nodded.
"Completely absorbed."
His mother smiled.
"Good. That means the surprise will work perfectly."
They all stood together and counted quietly.
Three. Two . One!!!
The door burst open.
"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Sanat jumped so violently that his chair rolled backward.
"What the—?!"
His headset flew off. His foot tangled in a wire. The chair slipped.
And before he could recover—
BANG.
His head hit the corner of the desk.
The room became silent.
Sanat lay on the floor.
Not moving.
---
Darkness.
Then silence.
Then… nothing.
Sanat slowly opened his eyes.
He was floating.
There was no floor.
No ceiling.
No walls.
Just an endless black void stretching in every direction.
"What the hell?"
His voice echoed strangely.
"Did I… die?"
Before he could think further, a calm robotic voice echoed through the emptiness.
"Correct."
Sanat froze.
"…Who said that?"
"Your death was unexpected."
Sanat looked around but saw nothing.
"Great," he muttered. "I die and now I'm hearing voices."
The robotic voice continued.
"As compensation for the irregular termination of your life, you will be transferred to another world."
Sanat blinked.
"…What?"
"A new life will be assigned."
Sanat scratched his head.
"You know what," he said slowly, "I knew it."
The voice remained silent.
Sanat crossed his arms.
"All those religions arguing about heaven and hell… turns out the truth is much simpler."
He looked around the empty void.
"This whole universe is just a giant simulation, right?"
The robotic voice responded immediately.
"This is not a simulation."
Sanat pointed upward dramatically.
"Yeah sure. That's exactly what an AI running a simulation would say."
There was a brief pause.
Then the voice answered again.
"The divine administration currently uses artificial intelligence for management tasks."
Sanat stared into the void.
"…Wait."
He blinked twice.
"Hold on."
"The gods… use AI?"
"Correct."
Sanat ran a hand through his hair.
"This is the weirdest afterlife briefing I could have imagined."
The voice continued calmly.
"You will now be transferred to Astra Prime."
"Astra what?"
The void around him began to distort slightly.
"Your new life parameters have been assigned."
Sanat suddenly felt a strange pulling sensation.
"Wait wait wait," he said quickly. "Before you send me somewhere random, do I at least get powers or
something?"
"You will inherit an existing life."
"That sounds suspicious," Sanat said.
The darkness began to fade.
"Transfer beginning."
Sanat sighed.
"Well… I guess complaining won't change anything."
Then he paused.
"Actually… one more thing."
The voice remained silent.
"If the people in that world don't know I came from Earth… I'm not telling them."
No response came.
The void shattered like glass.
---
Pain.
Sanat's eyes snapped open.
Bright white light flooded his vision.
Machines hummed around him.
His body felt strange.
Stronger.
Healthier.
Different.
But instead of shouting or panicking, Sanat stayed still.
He slowly looked around.
A futuristic medical room.
Advanced machines.
A humanoid robot standing nearby.
And an elf girl with silver hair.
Sanat thought quietly.
Okay…
So the weird AI void thing wasn't lying.
He looked down at his hands.
Definitely not his old body.
He examined them calmly.
New body.
New world.
Unknown situation.
Sanat took a slow breath.
If these people don't know I'm from another world…
Then there's absolutely no reason to tell them.
He looked up at the robot.
And simply said,
"Where am I?"