Chapter 1
What is a god?
I've never really thought about it deeply before, but I could definitely tell that the something in front of me now was a god.
It had a human shape, but its body was made of the cosmos - a bizarre being.
What else could it be but a god, a being that overwhelms and oppresses me just by looking at it?
"Oh, you're awake. I've been waiting quite a while."
And yet its tone is unnecessarily familiar! It's like talking to a close friend!
"I have a lot to say, but it wouldn't mean much to you right now. I'll just tell you what you need to know."
The god, without a visible face, smiled gently.
Wait, how did I know the god was smiling when I couldn't see its eyes or mouth? What's going on here?
"I've created a world, and I was wondering if you'd like to reincarnate there?"
Reincarnation...? Is this some kind of god reincarnation genre thing?
Isn't that trend over already? Isn't this plot a bit behind the times?!
"Of course, you have the option to refuse my offer, but in that case..."
The god moved its hand to draw a rectangle, and that rectangle emitted a strange light and showed a different scene.
"Your original body is already dead, you see."
What?
"Sudden cardiac arrest. Acute myocardial infarction leading to sudden cardiac arrest. You died in your sleep without being able to do anything about it."
I... died?
Without having achieved anything properly yet, just as I'd barely stepped into society...?
"So, what will you do? Will you accept my offer?"
If I'm already dead... I can't refuse this offer, can I? Damn it...
"Yes. You've chosen well. I've prepared the best body for you. I'm sure you'll like it."
But why is this god making such an offer to me? Why me? Does it have some kind of purpose?
"Purpose? There's nothing like that. I just want you to live happily and enjoyably."
After saying that, the god thought for a moment and added:
"But if I just send you off without anything, you probably won't be motivated... Alright! I'll give you one condition."
A condition?
"If you achieve something in that world that you're truly satisfied with, I'll grant you one wish."
A wish?
"Anything you desire. I'll grant just one. If you wish to return to your original world, I'll make it happen."
You'll send me back to my original world...?
"But I'll judge strictly. Only when you're truly, from the depths of your heart, satisfied to the point where you think it can't get any better than this, will I grant it. I don't think it'll be easy."
After saying that, the god quietly clapped its hands, and suddenly the ground beneath my feet gave way.
"Well then, have a good journey!"
As if tumbling into a deep abyss, my soul began to flow somewhere, and I lost consciousness in the infinitely deep darkness surrounding me.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[The Creation God who made this world. Opinions vary on why this nameless god created this world, but nothing has been definitively revealed.
Even the kingdom's guardian dragon, known as the first creation and the first intelligent being, didn't know its intentions. In fact, there was no one in this world who knew the Creation God's intentions.
Perhaps the Creation God wanted a world where its creations could live as they pleased.
Historian Edward Rohsch]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I once read a passage in a book:
[The bird fights its way out of the egg.
The egg is the world.
Whoever wants to be born must destroy a world.]
I'm sure it was... Demian? The passage continued after that, but that's not important right now.
I was experiencing that passage literally, without any metaphor.
The world surrounding me. I was pushing hard against this infinitely hard world.
I, not yet born, must break this world to be born.
Hmm... Am I oviparous? A bird? A lizard? Judging by the presence of limbs, probably not a snake.
That god said it prepared the best body... Not only is it not human, but it's an animal!
Among egg-laying creatures, the best body would probably be... a dragon, a legendary creature.
Well, you could say fantasy is just nonsense, but at the point of facing a god, reality and unreality all become meaningless anyway.
Best body or whatever, I'll find out after I'm born.
I pushed with all my might against the wall surrounding me.
After struggling this way and that, twisting my body in the cramped space, the egg encasing me finally developed a tiny crack.
A very faint line. Light seeps in through a line so thin it's barely visible unless you look closely.
That was the beginning.
As I push hard, the thin line gradually spreads, splits, and thickens.
And so, the world encasing me breaks and crumbles.
With dazzling light and cold wind, I break out of the world of the egg and face a new world.
Hello. World!
A greeting to the new world.
And with that, the world that had been at a standstill began to move.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I was born as a dragon with silver scales.
Perhaps because I'm still young, my head is quite large, and the wings on my back are quite small. But a dragon is a dragon nonetheless.
I look at my reflection in a nearby pool of water. The appearance of a young dragon covered in silver scales... it looked like a lizard with horns.
What is this. Somehow a cute-looking lizard? That kind of feeling? Should I say it looks like something that would appear in a work by that animation company with the world's most famous mouse?
It's fortunate that even at this young age, I have no difficulty moving my body.
I rise up and look around at my surroundings where I was born.
A small cave with nothing in it. A cave with nothing special except for a pool of water in the corner.
There's no trace of the parents who laid me, and not even the sound of insects or birds can be heard in this strange space.
Yes. The world I faced was a strange space.
How should I put it, unfinished? A result with many lacking parts?
If you ask what parts are lacking, I could say many things, but first of all, the trees are small.
Even the tallest tree doesn't reach my waist. It's as if all the trees are seedlings that were planted not long ago.
And there's no sound of insects at all. Not even bird sounds, let alone insects.
From the start, I couldn't feel any life at all.
Is it okay for such a world... As I was thinking that, something popped up in the lower right corner of my vision.
✉️
The shape of a small envelope. What's this? Like a messenger...
I carefully touch the envelope with my scale-covered finger, and suddenly the envelope unfolds.
┌───────────────────────────
│It seems you've safely reincarnated!
│That world hasn't been created for long, you see.
│There probably aren't any proper living beings yet.
│But don't worry!
│I'll give you a few abilities as reincarnation perks.
│
│The first ability I'll give you is the power of creation.
│You'll be able to create anything you want!
│The world itself is like your toy.
│I'll engrave in your mind how to use this ability.
│Try to fill this world with the life you create!
│
│But to create life, you need to know a lot.
│So the second perk is the ability to
│look at information from other worlds.
│There was something amazing called the internet, wasn't there?
│Of course, you probably know it well, being from that world.
│I think it will surely be helpful to you.
│
│As the last perk, I'll give you the ability to handle time.
│No matter how infinite your lifespan is,
│if you live through each day,
│even you might get tired.
│Stopping, accelerating, or rewinding time is a bit
│dangerous, so I'll put some restrictions on its use.
│You'll be able to become an omnipotent being in that world.
│
│By the way, this is a messenger I made for Gods.
│It's called GodTalk!
│For now, only you and I use it.
│Maybe someday if Gods appear in this world, they might use it?
│
│If you have any questions, ask through this messenger.
│I'll try to answer kindly as much as possible.
└───────────────────────────
What the heck is this.
At that moment, something massive begins to crawl into my mind.
The first perk. The power of a god. The power to create. The power to make life. All the methods of using these powers fill my mind.
Following that, knowledge related to the second perk flows into my mind, and I use that ability without hesitation.
As I use the ability, a rectangular window appears before my eyes. A window with a very familiar web browser appearance.
Seeing the appearance of the most famous search engine from the previous world, I was at a loss for words.
This is... a reincarnation perk...?