Another Chance To Bloom

Prologue

Ebony's head hurt. It hurt a lot. It felt like someone had bashed her head with a club. She didn't know if dead people could feel pain. This was her first time being dead after all.

Yes. She was dead. She didn't expect to die so soon either, but mortals couldn't predict the paths of fate.

She was only a few days away from her 23rd birthday when she was stabbed by a robber on her way home from work. She had ignored life for 22 years just for the paper in her purse, and so life left her behind because of it as well. Thinking about it now, she found it all very funny. It was a kind of self deprecating humor.

In any case, all of that didn't matter now.

What was in need of immediate attention was the pounding in her head. Or can it be called a head anymore? She didn't have a body now, she was just a floating consciousness. She didn't know where the pain was coming from, all that was in front of her was darkness. Pitch black nothingness.

And then from the distance came a tiny beam of light. Like a single star in an endless night sky. The light got closer and closer until it no longer resembled a dot of light but took on a humanoid form. The humanoid stopped in front of her.

"Hello, Ebony." A flat voice projected from the form. It had no tone or intonation or gender.

It startled Ebony but no one would be able to tell as she was just a mass of consciousness at the moment.

"Uh... H-Hello?" She tried projecting her own voice back. The voice that came out was the same as the other being's. It was not the voice she had been used to for the past almost 23 years.

It felt weird to communicate with that humanoid mass of light. Neither of them could make out the other's expressions or anything.

"If I were to offer you a chance to live again, would you accept it?"

The next sentence the being said snapped Ebony out of her thoughts.

Another chance at life...? More than anything. Of course, she would! She had only just started living when she was murdered after all. But... she didn't think things would be so simple.

And the being's next sentence proved that.

"There is, of course, certain conditions that you have to consider before giving an answer. First, you will not reincarnate as yourself. Your identity will have changed. Second, you will not reincarnate into your old world or even universe. The world you will reincarnate to will have different customs, traditions, countries, governing systems and languages. You may ask questions now before answering."

Oh. That is indeed something to consider. But...

"Will I still be human?"

"Yes."

"Will I have autonomy over my actions?"

"Yes. You will have full autonomy over your actions after reincarnating."

"But if the languages and customs and everything is different from my old world, how can I survive?"

"Before answering that question, there is something you should know..."

"What is it...?"

"You will be reincarnating into my old body."

"What?!"

"Before you reincarnate I will be giving you all my memories. It will be like seeing a movie, the only difference being that you will remember every single thing that happened in that movie."

"Woah... But to remember all of that, will I be having super memory?!!"

"..."

"I guess not...?"

"It is just so that you will have a base when you go there, with the passage of time you will naturally start to forget the negligible moments."

"Oh... ok. Also, is this like a body exchange? Do I have to give you my memories as well?"

"No. Your body in your previous world is already dead."

"So what about you?"

"I don't want to live."

"Oh."

"..."

"So did you try to...?"

"Yes."

"How old were you when you... you know?"

"It was three days before my 23rd birthday."

"So why did you choose me?"

"Actually, as long as the body dies, I can go through the birth cycle and be born again. So can you. But my body is not dead yet. It's in a coma. As such my soul is still tied to it. To sever the tie another soul has to occupy my body. But not all souls can occupy all bodies. There has to be a certain degree of compatibility, and by that aspect you are the most perfect match."

"What happens if I reject this offer?"

"You go through the birth cycle and be born again. I will wait till another soul comes along or until my body ages and truly dies after which I will be free to be born again"

"Oh... One more thing. Your memories, if you give them to me what happens to you?"

"I will naturally forget. You don't have to think too much about that. After entering the birth cycle you will forget your old life, as such there's no hindrance in giving it to you before I go."

"I see."

"So did you decide?"

"Yes. I want to live as myself once more."

"... Thank you. I will give you my memories now, but before that can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"My family didn't deserve what I put them through. Once you go, can you treat them well?"

"Of course."

"Very well. I feel relieved."

After saying that the humanoid figure started to split and formed two balls of translucent light, of which the smaller one went towards Ebony. In the final moments before it merged with her and her vision went white, she saw the larger one let out a soft sigh, as if letting go of a large burden, and slowly start to fade away.

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A/N: 12/12/'21 Sun

First chapter published.

I hope you guys enjoy this story!
Although there's no one yet...
Sigh...(─.─||）

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