Chapter 2: Better Than A Toad?
Glin's black eyes searched the inky darkness looming eerily around him, before deciphering the pair of sylphlike twins.
"Stop dawdling and get over here!" beckoned the pink-haired young girl.
The twins were already seated on two crystalline chairs with one extra seat before them. An orb of powder-blue light hovered over them, illuminating them within the deep darkness.
Glin approached with a casual gait and carefully sat on the extra chair. Then he noticed the small table with desserts and beverages tidily arranged. Was this a tea party?
Well. Great. He was wondering if there was anything at all edible for souls.
"Can I have some?" he asked, his eyes fixed on the chocolate ice cream.
Silver-hair furrowed her brows, and pink-hair looked at him funnily.
"Uh... Go ahead...?"
"Thank you very much." Glin shakily moved his hands and picked up the large ice cream cone with shining eyes. Taking his first taste, he smiled in satisfaction after sensing a familiar chilliness.
In the 'past'—when he was still alive, that is—he hailed from an immensely dry area that was tormented by perpetual droughts. Consequently, food was very scarce.
The people in the village valued food like diamonds, such that they were more than willing to sacrifice all they had for a slice of bread.
Glin looked at the ice cream's pastel pink and dark brown color with reminisce before smiling, with imperceptible bitterness. Let it remain food for thought as to whether his fellow countrymen had gotten over his death yet.
Nonetheless, he worried over them stomaching his death; and what about his siblings? Yes, they had mom and dad and the others too, but... Glin narrowed his eyes; what was he fretting about, when he was long dead, his body lifeless and immobile.
He licked his ice cream as the conversation on his reincarnation ensued.
"So, what happens from here?" Glin asked, still engrossed in the mild aftertaste of his ice cream.
It was 'Pink-hair' who replied, still cheerful and beaming as always. "We'll first inquire from the Wheel of Fortune to know your next life's race. Then we will take you to the Pool of Memories, which will wrap up the job and transport you to your new life. Your memories will also be erased in the process and your body renewed. So try your best not to resist the pool otherwise there will be dire repercussions."
Glin nodded seriously. He continued taking his ice cream while thinking.
'I wonder what I'll get reincarnated as. Hopefully not a toad or a cockroach. Boy, I can't handle insects, leave alone being reborn as one.'
'But there 'was' a couple of anime where the character pulled a short straw, yet still managed to turn the odds, right? But this isn't an anime or a blockbuster though. I'm not a versatile protagonist either. Just your everyday, good ol' Glen.
'But still, this whole 'Reincarnation' thing... the old man at the lobby said something about 'being careful not to attract the wrong attention'? What was that supposed to mean? I have a feeling it's something very important. But who told him to speak in riddles; do I look like I'm good with riddles?'
Glin shrugged his thoughts away and focused on the massive circular wheel that had appeared out of the blue beside the small table. It was thrice the size of an average man, and seemed too bulky to be turned. It seemed to hover a little above the dark flooring, with a resplendent white sheen enshrouding it. It was the Wheel of Fortune.
'Pink-hair' and 'Silver-hair' wordlessly shut their eyes and began chanting some incoherent jargons in a language he could not understand. Then the Wheel of Fortune silently began turning.
Glin's eyes looked at the wheel as it turned.
He examined the three colors divided on the wheel's surface.
Red.
Blue.
Golden.
'What were their meanings?' he wondered.
Was his new species going to be professed by the color he got or was there something deeper?
Glin didn't dwell on matters beyond his control. He decided to go with the flow, come what may. 'Cockroach or whatever, come at me.'
The spinning grew faster until he could no longer see the hand nor the colors anymore. It had just turned into an array of grey shadows amidst the increased chanting of the twins.
"Sala...ramanhbi...operuityi...gildogar...ama..." As the twins' chants grew complicated and intense, the sheen of bluish-white light coating their bodies grew more blinding. They resembled celestials as their already flawless features became more delicate.
Glin waited with thinning composure, and with slight eagerness; what would it be? A cow, a goat? Or just the same as always, a human? His expectations were exceedingly low since he was accustomed to horrible things happening to him. You see, he had extremely bad luck.
Suddenly, the wheel screeched to a halt and a sharp 'ding' sound echoed in the tensely silent dimension.
Glin instantly looked at where the hand had stopped. The color...the color... The color...is... Huh? His brows furrowed with perplexment.
The hand had stopped at the color BLACK. He hadn't noticed that that color was even there since it was so thin, like the wings of a cicada or even much thinner. It occupied less than a hundredth of the wheel's entire space.
Glin recognized this kind of setting. He had read more than enough comics and novels to realize where all this was taking him—a king-class second life.
He was a materialistic person and knew how to take things as they came, but really? Him? The nerd who ripped his trousers in a race?
The drunken corporate worker who coaxed his stern boss to strip-dance with him(and eventually got demoted the next morning. Also, every workgirl started spreading rumors that he was gay)? Glin's ordinary life refuted the notion that he was about to hit gold in his next life.
'Ah...too much brainwork. I'll know when I get there,' Glin thought to himself.
Meanwhile, the twins had just woken up. The two immediately looked at the wheel with no apparent expectations.
Then their eyes laid on the slim thread of black on the wheel. They paused.
The twins' backs grew stiff and asphyxiating shudders marathoned up their backs. Glin arched a brow curiously while looking at them.
"This...Impossible! How could it be you?!" Silver-hair abruptly exclaimed in disbelief, her veneer of aloofness cracking underneath the overwhelming astonishment. She jerked from her chair and gaped at Glin with her wide, silver-gray eyes questioning and suspicious.
The latter scratched his head. "Uh...you guys brought me here, remember? To get my reincarnation path and whatnot. Oh, about that, which species am I?"
Silver-hair's face reddened with acrimony. "You... Are you playing dumb? This is–"
The pink-haired young girl suddenly clasped 'Silver-hair's' mouth shut with her hand. She sent the silver-haired young girl a cold glare. The latter stiffened before nodding wordlessly and growing silent.
Pink-hair had lost her voracious demeanor. Her face was pale as she glanced at the wheel one more time, almost as if she was hoping for a change in the wheel. She breathed in deeply and blurted, "Mister Glin Gorham...sir, co...congratulations. You are now a fully-fledged..."
She sighed and looked at Glin straight in the eye. Unknown thoughts and emotions flitted in her fuchsia-blue eyes before she mouthed the final word.
"Angel."
"Angel?" The young man's initially dim eyes filled with disbelief, then resignment before he hummed casually and muttered, "Better than a toad...I guess?"
His words made the twins' lips twitch as they finally took the chance to scrutinize the dead (and potentially schizophrenic) 17-year-old carefully. Their gazes were laced with foreign emotions.
***
~Ainsworth's POV~
(Or, "Silver-Hair" ~)
...
'Something's wrong.'
I knew it from the moment I locked eyes with him. He was tall and lean. Well-built for his age and exceedingly good-looking. It was unusual to find a human soul there, since whoever managed to step inside this catacomb was definitely special, or at least bound to be special.
It kind of annoyed me. That even mere human mortals were somehow slipping through the cracks into this place.
I was reminded of the old man who spoke in a topsy-turvy manner, neither his thoughts nor his intentions ever clear. He had been lurking idly there for ages. His soul should have disappeared into the next realm, like all other souls do at some point. And yet, he was still here...
I tore my gaze away from the young human male's dark, composed eyes and breathed in deeply, steering my eyes around the wide lobby.
Finally, I spoke audibly, asking the question I was supposed to, even before the young man grabbed my attention, "Glin Gorham. Is there a 'Glin Gorham'?" As I spoke, I thought internally that it was quite odd for a name. Glin. Gorham. I frowned and furrowed my brows then repeated the name, this time more impatiently. For a moment, there was no response. My brows knitted deeper and I pursed my lips, wanting to skin whoever this Glin was for consuming my precious time. Did he think we had all day to complete a transition from one life to another?
After a moment, there was a reply, but it came from the same person I had kept my eyes on most, which startled me. He stood up to his full height underneath my puzzled gaze and approached the desk with wide, commanding strides. He was looking at me; yes, me. I gulped involuntarily, unable to look away. Unable to withhold... Something about his posture—his broad shoulders and confident veneer—demanded attention. When he got an arm's length close, I finally realized what it was that caught my attention so stubbornly. His eyes.
...
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Plum_Blossoms
Plum_Blossoms Hey, like...um, how was this chapter? Good? Bad? Horrible? Are the chapters/ paragraphs too short? Too much punctuation? I want to know so badly!!!
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