In a beautiful and peaceful stretch of forest, a man was seen leaning against a tree near a stream. He appeared to be in a deep sleep. Slowly, a slight movement was seen in his body, indicating that he was about to awaken. Slowly opening his eyes, the man stared confusedly at his surroundings, looking like someone who had just gotten lost and didn't know what to do. Immediately, he stood up in his place to get a better view of everything with his height. The man stood at about 175 cm, making it easier for him to notice details he had previously missed while sitting on the ground.
"Woaahhh!!! This is truly a beautiful and breathtaking sight! How could such a beautiful sight exist on Earth?!"
"Ah! Since I'm dead, I'm sure this place shouldn't be Earth. That at least explains this beautiful sight. But if that's the case, then where exactly am I right now? Am I in Heaven? No, I feel like this place shouldn't be Heaven. After all, I never did any good or noble deeds in my previous life, so it's impossible for me to enter Heaven. So, where am I?"
Thinking back on everything that had happened to him from his death to waking up in this strange place, the man began to wonder what had really happened to him.
"Did I just get reincarnated? And if so, is this another world like the ones so often featured in novels these days? Did I just get a second chance at life?!"
*Sob!* *Sob!*
Tears began to fall from his eyes. The man cried with a grateful smile plastered on his face. The thought of having a second chance at life filled the man with mixed emotions. Regret, frustration, and disappointment with himself from his previous life. Gratitude, relief, joy, and happiness for having a second chance at life. Resolution and determination began to burn in his heart to live diligently and work hard to achieve the things he wanted to do.
*Sob!* *Sob!*
'Haha... I was so happy about this opportunity that I cried like that. I just hope no one else here notices my tears. Wouldn't it be strange if someone just saw a grown man crying in the middle of the forest as if he were a child lost in the woods?'
"Okay, let's check the situation first. Since I'm in the forest right now, I just hope I don't encounter any wild animals. I'm not sure I'll survive if I do."
The man began to look around his surroundings 360° in all directions. Everywhere he looked, there were only trees and bushes as far as the eye could see. Another thing he noticed were small, seemingly harmless insects, though he still doubted they were truly harmless. After all, this was another world, and these insects were of a kind he had never seen on Earth. Another thing that caught his attention was the crystal clear flowing river just less than 10 meters from where he stood. But above all else, the thing that caught his attention the most was the air itself. Although subtle and almost completely invisible, the air seemed to ripple and ripple with different colors adorning it.
'The air here is tangible and has many colors? Is it really safe to breathe it? Well, so far I haven't had any problems breathing this air. In fact, I actually find it very refreshing and calming when I breathe it in. Is it related to the colors? Well, thinking about it now is pointless, I'm sure I won't be able to find the answer at this point.'
Deciding to put those thoughts aside for now, the man began to approach the stream. There, he saw his current reflection. He had handsome facial features, pale white skin, shoulder-length hair the color of the night sky blue with white spots like stars, golden eyes, a black robe with gold embroidery forming a clock-like pattern, and large black fairy wings sprinkled with stardust with thin lines resembling golden veins. His wings swayed gently and soothingly like the current of the stream. Seeing his appearance, various thoughts crossed the man's mind.
'Huh?! Doesn't my entire body scream handsome?! Damn, I'm just that handsome. If I had this appearance on Earth, I'd be a top-selling model there. Oh no! I'm starting to sound like a narcissist. I'll have to restrain myself from praising myself any further in the future. And putting that aside, why do I have wings?! I wasn't reincarnated as a human?! If so, what am I, anyway?!'
After finishing that thought, the man began to feel a splitting headache hitting him. The pain was so severe that he couldn't control himself from screaming at the top of his lungs, hoping it would help ease the pain.
*ARGHHHH!!!*
After some time, the pain began to lessen until it stopped completely. Only after the pain had subsided was the man able to calm himself and process what had just happened.
'Damn, that excruciating headache just from receiving information. I swore I never wanted to experience it again. But at least now I have some important information about this world and about myself.'
Indeed, what the man had gained was a vast amount of information about this world. Having to take in such a large amount of information all at once, his brain had to work hard to process it all. This was what caused the terrible headache he had just experienced. After calming himself, he began to sort through all the general information he had just received.
'Okay, so this world is called Nihilia. It's a world 2-3 times the size of Earth and has two realms separated by a dimensional barrier. It's more accurate to think of them as two sides of a coin. On one side is where various races live, called the Physical Realm. While the other side is home to beings called Spirits, and that place is called the Spirit Realm.'
"So, I was reincarnated not as a human, but as a Spirit. And the forest I'm currently in is somewhere within the Spirit Realm. Also, as a Spirit, I can only manifest in the Physical Realm after forming a contract with someone from the Physical Realm itself."
"So, for now, I can only wait for someone to attempt a contract summoning and form a contract with me so I can enter the Physical Realm. It looks like I'll be staying in the Spirit Realm for quite some time. But fortunately, with the information I just obtained, I'll have plenty of activities to occupy my free time while I wait for someone to form a contract with me."
After contemplating his future plans, the man looked back at his reflection in the water. With a look of determination and resolution in his eyes, he vowed to live his second life well and decided to make a fresh start for himself, one that was different from his previous life.
"Since I've decided to start over as someone new, someone different from the miserable me of my previous life, it's best for me to use a name different from my previous life. That's right, from now on, my name is Diablo. And I, Diablo, swear with all my being not to waste my entire life again like my previous self did."
After making that statement, the man, Diablo started walking back to the tree where he first woke up in this world.