Rekindle The Light

Chapter 2: The Beginning To An End

A soft breeze blew by as he sat up. The sharp pain from the accident disappeared. The person from earlier—no, the whole town—vanished. Nagano scanned his surroundings.

Soft, lush grass surrounded him as far as he could see. The setting sun cast an ethereal glow over the plain.

He stood up, brushing himself off. His injuries were gone, and the blood on his clothes had vanished as well.

"What the hell is happening...?" Nagano muttered.

Suddenly, he heard someone clear their throat from behind him. He quickly turned around.

"Well, about that..." A man stood behind Nagano. He had long, silver hair. The man was roughly the same height as Nagano and seemed young—maybe in his mid-twenties —but something about him seemed older.

"Nagano Kazuki, correct?" the man asked while leaning in slightly, examining Nagano with a raised eyebrow.

"I thought I died. Who are you? What is this place? Why–"

"I can only answer so many questions at once, my friend, " the man said amiably, "For starters—" he paused, debating how much to reveal. "You can call me Rhox."

Nagano glared at the man. Rhox seemed to be enjoying whatever the hell was happening.

"Quite some vigorous language from such a young lad!" Rhox laughed heartedly. Nagano stared at him. Could this 'Rhox' guy read Nagano's thoughts?

"Sure can," Rhox replied.

"Stop doing that," Nagano grumbled.

"Sorry, sorry. Bad habit." Rhox said with a grin. "Now, let's get to the reason you're here—you're dead." He said bluntly.

"Oh really?" Nagano laced his voice with sarcasm. "So, what is this place? Heaven? Hell?" He asked, irritation evident in his voice.

"Hmmm, I guess that's one way to look at it..." Rhox replied. "Think of it more as 'my domain.'"

"Your domain?" Nagano repeated. "Are you a god?"

Rhox nodded, a smile playing on his lips. Nagano realized he and Rhox were polar opposites.

"Bingo, " the god answered, but his smile turned bashful as he scratched the back of his head. "You see, you're technically not supposed to be dead..."

.

.

.

.

.

Huh?

Nagano wasn't 'supposed' to be dead? This god started to piss him off. He closed the distance between himself and Rhox. He gripped the god's collar, pulling him closer. He could feel the anger etched on his face.

"What the hell do you mean, 'I'm not supposed to be dead?'" Nagano growled. He usually composed his anger, but he wanted to punch this guy in the face.

"To be honest, I don't know either." Rhox shrugged slightly. The god seemed calm despite being held by the collar. "Something went wrong in the system."

"So then fix it! Bring me back." Nagano demanded.

Rhox shook his head, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Nagano." The god replied and snapped his fingers. As soon as he did, Nagano suddenly found himself seated at a table across from Rhox.

Rhox feigned a pout as he sipped his tea. "You really should learn some manners, my friend. Picking a fight with a poor, helpless man such as myself."

Of course. Rhox had no reason to be scared of Nagano. Rhox was a god. Nagano was simply another number in his system. He remained furious but took a deep breath, trying to compose himself.