ReLife: Tale Of A Cuck

A small wisp flew around in a white world.

The white world resembled an imperial castle, with knights clad in armor stationed everywhere along the hallways, near the doors, guarding every entrance. Despite a wisp flying in front of them, they remained unfazed, paying it no heed, which showed they were used to such happenings.

The wisp kept flying forward in an open long hallway as if being pulled by a force of unknown origin, often encountering similar wisps along the way, yet unable to communicate with any of them.

The wisp continued to fly forward when a majestic door appeared at the end of the hallway. A divine ancient aura could be sensed from the door if one was aware of such. Still, the wisp, unbeknownst to such thing, passed through the gate and entered a majestic hall.

A flame, colorless, burned in the middle of the hall on a raised dais, in what seemed like a cauldron, surrounded by 108 pillars, each inscribed with ancient runes, whilst the hall had four majestic doors in all four directions.

As if it was his calling, the wisp flew towards the flame.

Empyrean Flame. The eternal flame burning since the beginning of time, since the very creation. The flame where souls created by the cosmic energy meet the Origin. The flame, which ends the cycle of Reincarnation, grants Moksha or Nirvana to a soul.

As the wisp was about to melt in the flames, a hand appeared out of thin air and threw it into one of the gates.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in a big white room, surrounded by a few people.

Huh, whats this? Did I survive? Is this hospital? Or some sort of lab facility?

That was the first thought that came to my mind, after all, white was the signature color of hospitals and labs. I am pretty sure I must have died last night after overdosing on certain tablets. An idiotic thing to do, I know, but that was all I could think of in the heat of the moment.

Belated realization of ones idiocy is the worst thing.

”Human! ”

A majestic voice disturbed my thoughts, drawing my attention. Now that I think about it, these people looked a bit weird. That woman over there has something similar to wings, does she think shes some sort of model or something? And that person over there, he looks like an animal. Weird.

But another realization sent a lightning shock through my body. Don tell me I am in a research laboratory where they experiment on people?

”You! Human! ”

Another voice, this time a louder one, broke my train of thoughts. I looked at the person sitting on a podium in front of me.

”Do you know why are you on a trial? ” The man spoke, his face without any expression as if it was a normal routine for him.

”Trial? What Trial? ” Confused, I asked back. No, in the first place, why should I be put on trial?

”You are put on trial for taking your own life. It is against the doctrines of the Creator. ” The man, sitting in the position of a judge, I assume, replied.

”What load of bullshit? Who are you to tell me what to do and what not to do? ” I said reflexively as anger welled up inside me, thinking about the reason I took my life in the first place.

However, as soon as these words left my mouth, an intense chill permeated through my body, piercing my consciousness as pressure engulfed the room.

”Ugghhhhh…. ”

”SILENCE! KNOW WHERE YOU STAND, HUMAN!, ” loudly roared an old man, the pressure from his body making me almost faint.

”Calm down, Rhaegyr. ”The human remains perplexed and unaware. ” The man on the podium motioned for the elderly man to calm down.

”Hmphh! ”

The pressure gradually subsided again, allowing me to breathe. No, how can one even breathe after death?

”Human, you are standing in the presence of Emissaries of God, The Creator. ”

”Emissaries of God? ” I tried to understand what was going around. Religion was always a foreign concept to me, there was no resolute proof of God while these people were calling them emissaries of God. It was hard to believe.

”Yes. We are emissaries of God who cast judgment on sinners on his behalf. ”

”And you human, have sinned by taking the precious life given by God. Do you know how many people pray every day just to live a day longer, and you threw that life away, all in vain? ”

So Im no longer alive. But who are you to pass judgment on me? I looked at them all, and anger welled up inside me once more.

Damn, Gods emissaries.

What gives you the right to pass judgement on me? Simply because you are strong. Do my lifes miseries have no meaning? Its my life, and I can do whatever I want with it.

I wanted to scream in frustration, but I restrained myself. Angering them would be a foolish mistake if they were truly Gods emissaries.

”Human. We are aware of your presence and thoughts. ”

Damn it.

As I held my anger back and calmed myself down, the Judge opened his mouth again.

”As per the Law of Trial, we give you an opportunity of being heard. Tell us why you committed the sin. ”

”Do I really need to tell you? Aren you all already aware? ”

”We are aware of what happened, but we still need to listen to it from you. ”

Just thinking about it brought pain. Recounting it to others for the judgment was even more painful. Yet I endured somehow and told everything – from our childhood friendship to our relationship, to my engagement thought, and finally her betrayal.

It hurt at first, but as I slowly recounted everything, unknowingly, tears fell from my eyes but I strangely felt lighthearted, as if something heavy was lifted from my heart.

”So you are telling, you committed the sin of ending your life because you were betrayed by your lover. Am I right? ”

”Yes. ” I nodded to that question.

”But according to your life history, we saw that you took immense pleasure in other people met the same fate as you, reveling in their misery and misfortune. You chided people who didn agree with you. In a sense, it can be judged as Karmic Justice. Don you agree? ”

When the judge said this, I felt cold water splash over me. All those curses flashed through my eyes. People wishing for me get cucked, cursing me to die. Looks like all their wishes came true – lucky bastards.

”Contol your thoughts, Human. ”

Again, the cold voice broke off my thoughts. I know what he said was somewhat true, but there was still a difference. Theres a difference between a doujin and real life.

”But there is a difference between fiction and reality. Theres a difference between a betrayal in a story and betrayal in real life. ” I protested to put my point forward. I hated it when people couldn understand this basic distinction. Keep fiction and reality separate.

”Oh, I see, ” the Judge said with a solemn expression, ”But what is fiction for you may be a reality for someone. ”

”Huh? ” What does it mean? I was confused.

”The character in fiction are alive in their own world. For you, it may be fiction, but for them, it is their reality. You may gloss over the misfortune of a character as part of storytelling, but for the characters of the fiction, it is a real-life tragedy. ”

The Judge explained.

”Just like how you mortal humans are insignificant existences, it doesn mean that your existence is meaningless. You have every right to exist. ”

”So, tell me, Human, how shall we judge you? ”

Damn, what was happening? This is not how it was supposed to go.

”I-I d-don know. ”

I had no idea what was I supposed to say. This whole situation seemed surreal to me as if it was a dream.

”Hmm, I see. ”

The Judge said, his face still expressionless. Soon after, all the other people in the room engaged in a discussion too, deciding my fate.

No matter how I thought about it, it all felt ridiculous to me. Some high-level beings who called themselves emissaries of God, deciding my fate, my punishment.

”Umm, may I ask one thing? ”

As I plucked up the courage to ask this, the room suddenly fell into silence. The Judge looked at me for a moment, and said, ”Yes. ”

”Will my girlfriend be punished too for betraying me? ”

I need to know what happens to her for some reason. I don think I will be able to find peace otherwise.

”This matter does not concern you. If her time comes, we shall judge her accordingly. ”

The judge replied in a particularly cold tone this time.

”I see. ”

I nodded. It seems like nothing was going my way. It has been bad things after bad things happening to me.

The discussion resumed as I waited for the Judgement. It was really a ridiculous thing to give someone the power to decide someone elses fate, no matter how you think about it.

”The time for judgment has come. ”

A loud voice resonated through the room as the Judge spoke.

”The Council has decided that apart from the sin of taking away your own life, you disregarded the existence of character in a story under the guise of fiction. ”

”Your punishment is that you have to live as one of the fictional characters that you disregarded in the past. This will make you realize their feelings, their sufferings, their emotions, and their existence. ”

”The Akashic Records will guide you through the process. ”

”Whaaaaa — ”

Before I could say anything, the hammer of justice dawned and a white light engulfed me.

* * *

Kelan Empire. County of Luvia.

The county seemed to be covered in a sheet of white. The farmlands, the grasslands, the streets – all covered in white. The first light of dawn, with this snowy landscape, gave an ethereal feel.

The townfolks, waking up early, made their way toward the farmlands. The tethering cold tingled their senses, while a snow carper seemed to have covered their fields, making it difficult to farm. The eerie silence of stillness and cottages with wood burning in would be the best way to describe the dawn.

Today was even more special for the people of Luvia, for they got a new lord.

A decrepit, venerable, and ancient castle-like structure stood between the snowy hills in the middle of the county. Silent. The thick opaque dust had coated and obscured the azure roof. The roof was as filthy as an old warehouse floor. It was an elderly person who became paler as it grew older and more ancient.

Very few knights were stationed in the vicinity of the castle, clearly showing the lack of manpower. Maids were making preparation for the new day to come, despite the freezing cold trying to numb their bones.

In the innermost room of the castle, also the Bed Chamber, wood burned in the heart, providing respite from the gnawing cold outside.

On a huge wooden bed in the middle, a man and a woman slept, covered in sheets of fur. At a glance, they seemed to be a regular couple, yet they were distant.

The young man, who appeared to be in his early 20s, opened his eyes. There was a frown and anger on his otherwise beautiful face, which coupled with his blue eyes and black hair made his visage more charming.

”Preposterous! Hah, they want me to dance to their tunes. ”

He slowly uttered these words in the silence of the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the white castle, two men were walking together in a long hallway, covered in walls of white.

”Vasquer, why do you think these walls and this castle are white? ”

The middle-aged man among the two asked. Grey beard, clear eyes, wrinkle-free face.

”My Lord, this servant is unsure. This servant had always wondered about it, but didn dare to ask anyone for fear of offending. ” The servant, Vasquer, bowed humbly to the middle-aged man.

”Hmm, when I entered the castle thousands of years ago, this castle was still white. My hypothesis is that white represents purity, free from blemishes such as sin. But then again, its just my guess. ”

The middle-aged man spoke quietly as the continued walking in the long hallway.

”My Lord, Lord Akashic Record asked about the punishment regarding that human from earlier, ” Vasquer said, slowly opening his mouth.

”Hmm, is that so? That human from earlier was quite peculiar. From his inner thoughts, he didn seem to believe in God too. Though we can force the faith of non-believers too. ”

The middle-aged man pondered for some time and said, ”Tell Akashic Record to give him an arduous task to achieve, the non-accomplishment of which shall lead to his death. ”

”Yes, My Lord. However, My Lord, he had already died once. I don think the threat of death would have any effect on him. ” Vasquer replied, confused and full of questions.

”Hmm, thats interesting. Then, tell Akashic Record to make him live the life of someone whos afraid of death. And if he still doesn make any efforts, he can be redeemed. ”

The middle-aged man replied to the doubts of his servant.

”Come on, lets go. We can waste too much energy on a single mortal. ”

He beckoned Vasquer to hurry, and they soon disappeared in the white hallways.