Arknights: The Miserable Doll of Pain and Suffering Vol 1(Being Revised)

Prologue

"Wakey, wakey."

He heard a voice emanating right in front of him, one he does not recognize who it belongs to. Nonetheless, he slowly opened his eyes before he shot open as the person flicked their fingers to his forehead, making him jerk his head back.

"Ow! What?"

"Well, are you awake now and not about to doze off in the next second?"

He groaned as he rubbed his forehead while looking at the person in front of him inside a pitch-black void-

Wait what?

He looked around and saw nothing but infinite darkness extending everywhere. There was nothing, absolutely nothing save for him and... the dark red skinned person with red glowing eyes grinning at him.

"Where am I? Who are you?!"

"Now that you've finally noticed, sleeping beauty, we can get started." The person said. "Hello, my true name is incomprehensible to your feeble mind but you can call me Pluto."

He glared at the person in front of him while tensing his body. "Alright, Pluto. I'm listening."

"Good, because I wont cut any corners here." Pluto ignored the expression and body language he was exhibiting and continued. "You're in the afterlife."

"I'm... in the afterlife?" He murmured. "But... how?"

"Well you died, obviously." Pluto shrugged. "A heart attack killed you, precisely."

There was silence in the void as he registered those words. The boy's thoughts were filled with questions of Why? How? 

Why did a heart attack kill me? How did it kill me? I could have sworn... that I was healthy enough to avoid it. I ate healthily, I have a diet, I jog in the morning, I exercise in the afternoon and rest at evening. 

"Well, that doesn't matter." Pluto pulled him away from those thoughts and back to the situation. "What matters is that I, the great Pluto, am here to present you with a choice?"

"A choice?" He raised a hand. "What choice?"

"Why, silly, it's the afterlife. There's like only 2 things you humans know what will possibly happen in the afterlife. 3 or so." Pluto waved their hands. "Whatever, point is that, you have a choice on what to do next."

"And those are...?"

"I'm getting to them." Pluto crossed their arms. "Impatient are you? Anyways, your first choice is to reincarnate into another world and your second choice is to rest for all of eternity in the afterlife, until the end of everything."

"I need more details than that." He said. "For all I know, you could fuck with me in both choices. You could damn me in some shitty world as a worm or... I don't know what you could do with the second choice but seeing as how your "true name is incomprehensible to the feeble human mind", I don't know and don't want to know what monstrosity of an act you can commit to me."

"Smart." Pluto chuckled. "But fine, your terms on both choices were already decided. For me to explain sufficiently on your reincarnation choice, I'll have to pull two things from your life that you know." He uncrossed his arms and put them behind his waist. "Do you still remember the games Decaying Winter or Arknights?"

He blinked before dread creeped up his shoulder. "No. No, don't tell me I'm going to reincarnate in either Eden-227 or Terra. Why are my choices in reincarnation both shitty?!"

"Calm down, I'm not even finished." He guessed they rolled their eyes. He couldn't tell with the lack of pupils. "If you'll allow me to continue. It's related because you'll be reincarnated as your Decaying Winter character in Terra."

"Elaborate further."

They huffed. "You'll receive all the memories of your character and you'll be placed in... what was it called? Ah yes, the first chapter of the main storyline, I believe."

"When you say all memories, do you mean...?"

"You really do not stop asking questions, huh?" They tilted their head and crossed their arms once more. "Yes, that includes all the times you took control of your character. You will experience all their pain, their misery and their deaths. And since you didn't put much story in your character, it's just the generic agent background, so all you'll remember is the training and whatever else they taught you."

He trembled. All that sounded really awful. He didn't even question how much of it made sense because he was thinking about all the times he died in the game, all the times his character's body broke and bled and everything his character had felt and had to endure with the deaths of their teammates.

"Any... upside to this?"

"If it makes you feel better, you have access to all perks." They rubbed their chin. "I think that's it. And more training, academics and knowledge."

"I think I'll go to the afterlife." He said not even a second later.

"Really? Huh, I would have thought teenagers like you would entertain the idea of "isekai", as your kind calls it."

He raised his arms. "Yeah but no thanks, the downside seems to be... too great for me."

"So you're giving up right here?" That stopped him. "Yeesh, a bit antithetical to your own values, huh? What happened to the "Get back up even after life kicks you down hard." that your father passed on to you?"

He scowled and with anger in his eyes, shouted. "Don't bring this up!"

"Why shouldn't I? Actually, isn't that one of your own values too?" They jabbed. "That if you notice an inconsistency or something that warrants being criticized and called out, you criticized it and call it out? Why can't I do the same to you?"

"I..." He went silent against the entity before him.

"A fascinating philosophical ideal and value that your father had, a shame that you can't live up to it." Pluto's grin turned to a frown, as if disappointed. "Whatever happened to living even after the challenges and troubles you face? What happened to "moving forward" even after the countless challenges you face, that you will stand up even in the face of relentless struggle? Was all that hot air and empty words just because you can't handle a bit of pain and the downsides that life can, will and has given others and even you."

He remained frozen in his spot. In another situation, a sensible and logical adult wouldn't be tricked by the clearly malevolent entity. They'd move on with their choice and continue, regardless of the words of the entity.

He was not an adult.

He was a teenager, whose mind hasn't even finished completing, who hasn't even fully developed critical thinking, whose emotional control was near non-existent and could change at the drop of a hat.

"...Fine." Pluto subtly smiled at the change. "I'll go reincarnate. I accept whatever happens within this reincarnation."

"Very well," Pluto snapped his fingers. "Good luck on your journey."

His eyes got even heavier and he felt even more fatigued and tired. His eyes shut closed and his vision darkened to nothing.