Thinking back on how he had lived his entire life in the past, spent lazing around and isolating himself from the hustle and bustle of society, only made him feel like a useless individual to others, even to his own parents. These thoughts only caused him deep frustration and disappointment. Undeniably, he had wasted his entire life only to become an individual as useless as a speck of dust in the world. And now, he had finally died without even trying to do something that could benefit others.
'Even when I never try to think about these things, they just pop up as if they've always been there. I'm already depressed enough about the fact that I'm dead, and now these regretful thoughts only add to the stress I feel.'
'Hmm... Indeed, I'm certain that I'm dead. I remember the entire incident that led to my death and the pain caused by my body being crushed in the collision. Even so, just how in the world can I still form these thoughts even when I'm dead?'
Indeed, the man had been experiencing a very strange feeling since the moment he closed his eyes and breathed his last. The feeling he felt was so strange that even in his 20 years of experience, he couldn't find a concrete example that matched his current state. The feeling he was feeling now, if compared to other feelings he had experienced, would bear some resemblance to the state of deep sleep. However, unlike a person who is asleep, he will have some form of vague or vivid dreams and cannot form a focused consciousness at all, as if someone were fully awake. What the man was experiencing was a state of complete unconsciousness, but still able to maintain full awareness and even form many thoughts as if he were awake. All he could "see" around him was an endless black void without a single speck of light as far as he "saw." Although in fact he himself doubted that he was using his eyes to "see" that void. Moreover, his entire "body" felt like it was floating weightlessly and flowing in a direction he himself couldn't understand.
If viewed from a third-person perspective, one could see a small, grayish blob of light floating in the infinite void. As one might expect, that gray blob of light was the man himself, with no other creatures or objects around him. Fortunately, the man himself was still unaware of his current "body" and could only think of random things while floating in that void.
'Sigh... I wonder where I'll go after this? Heaven? Hell? Or... Could God really give me a second chance to live my life more meaningfully? Wherever it is, I just hope that I won't be the pathetic loser I was in my previous life.'
While the man was thinking about random things related to the before and after of his death, a change occurred in the infinite void in the distance. The change occurred in the exact same direction the floating blob of light was heading. Unaware of the change, the man remained focused on his own thoughts.
After an unknown amount of time, the man began to feel a sensation in his "body." The feeling was similar to being pulled in a certain direction by something. Not only did he feel as if his "body" was being pulled forcefully, but he also felt that his "body" was starting to feel slightly heavier, which he assumed was due to the pull.
As time passed, the pull he felt grew stronger and his "body" felt heavier. After floating for an unknown amount of time, the man finally began to "see" something other than the dark void surrounding him. What he "saw" was a bright white light shining in the distance, resisting and suppressing the darkness around him.
'Finally!!! Something other than this dark void. I swear I might go insane if I can't find anything other than this endless, dark void any longer. And judging by the direction the light is coming from, it seems to be the same direction the pull that's forcibly pulling my "body" is coming from. It seems like that light is my destination after this death. I wonder where it will take me after this.'
Once again, finally, after floating for an amount of time the man could neither recognize nor comprehend, he finally arrived directly in front of the source of the light and felt himself begin to take on a heavier weight. It was no longer just a feeling of heaviness from the force of gravity pulling on his "body," but a physical weight. Eventually, the man began to be sucked into the vortex of light, and the previously gray blob of light began to disappear from the world of infinite darkness.
===
In a lush and beautiful forest, filled with a soft, soothing light and filled with air that seemed incredibly fresh, there were many flora and fauna that seemed alien to those found on Earth. Not only did the flora and fauna seem different from those on Earth, something in the forest seemed to ripple with a beautiful, soothing light in the air that consisted of a mixture of many colors that swayed subtly. A crystal clear river could also be seen flowing beautifully without any visible signs of being contaminated by anything, very different from anything found on Earth. And at one end of the river, a grayish-white mist could be seen that stretched infinitely into the sky, forming a barrier to everything within it.
Inside the barrier stood the same expanse of forest as before, appearing no different from the one outside. If anything, it was the appearance of a man leaning against a tree near a stream. The man appeared to be in his twenties and appeared to be in a deep sleep. A few moments later, a slight movement was seen in the man's body, and he finally began to open his eyes, gradually opening them until they were fully open.
'Hm?! This truly is a beautiful and breathtaking sight! Moreover, the air feels so fresh and pleasant, so different from the polluted air on Earth. I wonder where I am right now. Is this Heaven? Although I doubt it, after all, I've never done any noble deeds that would earn me entry into Heaven. If so, where exactly am I right now?'
The man, someone who would later be known to the world as Diablo, after experiencing death on Earth, finally got a second chance at life and was reincarnated into another world.