Chapter Text
Dear reader, I have a question to ask of you.
Do you believe in reincarnation?
You don't have to explain yourself. Just give me a Yes or No answer.
Got an answer?
Well, the truth is, it doesn't really matter what you answered, because in the end, either answer would have led to the same result. That result being me telling you the story I'm about to tell you anyway.
Now, at this point, you may be wondering… Who am I? Who introduces themselves by asking random people questions about the nature of life and death?
That, dear reader, is unimportant. You'll find out who I am in due time. You'll never see my face not because I don't want to show it, but because I don't need to show it. I don't even have a face by your standard definition of the term.
Anyways, back to the point: Reincarnation, or transfiguration, or 'Isekai' if you're a cultured individual, although let's be honest, if you're reading this, you are almost certainly at least a little bit cultured.
You know the old story. Some poor teenager gets hit by a truck and sent to a high-fantasy world where they use their knowledge from their previous life to slay the big bad, get all the ladies, and, overall, just become the biggest fish in the pond.
I'm in that business. Well, I don't really do the same thing as everyone else, because let's be real, the whole 'generic high-fantasy' world thing is starting to become boring. I bore easily. I need entertainment. That's why I do things a little differently.
How differently? Well… allow me to show you.
It was spring break.
Normally, Connor didn't really care about it, mostly using the time off from college to play video games at home. They used to love playing Roblox, but eventually, he started to grow tired of it. Sure, there were still some fun and entertaining games on the site, such as PHIGHTING!, but he found himself more often than not playing games on other platforms, such as Steam.
However, he wouldn't be playing games that break. Instead, he'd been roped by several of their classmates in one of his English classes into joining them on a vacation to the Bahamas. Normally, Connor wasn't the type to really spend time with his classmates, but he had made a resolution that New Year's to start talking to and hanging out with people more, and being a goal-oriented person, Connor wanted to make sure he actually worked on said resolution, so… He agreed.
For the first two days, everything seemed to be going quite well. Connor actually spent less time in his hotel room bed-rotting and more time chatting with everyone and sightseeing. It was very exciting for them, and he was sure he was going to form some very long-lasting friendships from this. Hell, at one point, he was sure he was starting to crush on one of his classmates.
They weren't sure what to do. Should they confess their feelings to him? What if he says no? Connor spent the third day dwelling on this thought. He was so handsome… But Connor was so worried that his crush didn't swing that way. Frustrated, Connor got out of bed, and stepped outside onto the balcony of the hotel room he was sharing with another one of his classmates. Sighing, he leaned onto the rails of the balcony, not knowing that they were about to fall apart.
However, after a few minutes, the rails on the balcony collapsed, and Connor, who was leaning against them, fell off the balcony.
And just like that… it was all over.
.
..
…
..
.
"Hello."
Upon hearing the strange voice, Connor opened his eyes to find himself floating in a grey, featureless void. Immediately, Connor started to panic. "Wh… Who the hell said that?"
And almost instantly, there was a response.
"I did."
A large, simplistic humanoid form, almost shaped like a clay model, but made of what appeared to be star dust, appeared in front of the now-dead student.
"You mind telling me exactly where I am, and what happened to me?" The words shot out of Connor's mouth like a blast from a double-barreled shotgun. They wanted an explanation, and they wanted it now.
"Well, to put it in the simplest and bluntest form possible… You are dead."
"DEAD? Ok, real funny. Is this the part of the dream where I wake up?"
"So you don't believe me, then? That's fine. Most people don't… Especially not in… sudden cases like yours. You snapped your neck from a fall, of course you didn't see death coming."
"Snapped… my neck?"
"Yeah. Remember? So you were in this resort, hanging out with people you met in college, and you're standing on this balcony, and all of a sudden, it starts falling apart, and you too begin to fall. What do you think happened after you touched the ground, Connor?"
"What do I… Oh. OH."
"It's ok. Take your time. Scream and panic as loud as you want to. I'll still be here when you're done."
After a few seconds of letting the implications settle in, Connor did so, screaming and crying louder than he had ever done in life.
"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! What now? Oh god, what about my Mom? My Stepdad?"
Connor immediately began to think of everyone who would be affected by his death.
"Connor, listen. Your mother is fine. Sure, she's on antidepressants now because she's finding it hard to cope with your demise, but she's still alive. As for your Stepdad? He's planning on suing the resort you were staying in for negligence."
"That doesn't help at all! I never got to say goodbye to them! Closest was when I called my mom last night to tell her good night… JUST GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE, or something! I DON'T KNOW!"
The entity stopped for a second, before responding again.
"That's what we're here to talk about, actually. Your 'second chance'. You will get one, but it won't be in your home universe."
"Wait? WHAT? So… I won't be able to see my family again?"
"You won't, sadly." The entity didn't have a face, but if it did, it would have an expression of pity. However, it also felt like Connor had other related questions.
"Also… Are you implying that both reincarnation and the multiverse theory are real?"
"Yes."
Connor stopped crying for a minute before scoffing.
"Knew it."
"Yes. It turns out you were right on that front. But that is besides the point. The point is, you lived a short but rather standard life. You were a somewhat good person, but you weren't a philanthropistic saint, nor were you a dangerous criminal or tyrant. But, considering how short your life was, I do feel bad for you, no, really, I do… So, I'm going to give you a few more advantages in this next life of yours than I normally would."
"So… what even will this 'next life' even be, anyways?"
"I'm glad you asked. But first, I have a few questions for you. For starters, do you know what… 'Isekai' is?"
"Yep. And before you ask, no, I'm not interested in being sent to some high fantasy world where slavery is legal or anything like that."
"Ah. You seem a lot smarter than the average soul I sponsor. I've never been into that either, but people still seem to ask for it for some reason. Good answer."
"Phew, for a second I thought you were going to do that."
"I won't. Anyways, next question. Ever heard of a game called 'PHIGHTING!'?"
"On Roblox? Yeah, I know that- Hey wait a minute… I've seen fanfics online that start like this."
"So none of what I'm about to tell you or ask of you will surprise you, then."
"Nope! Wait… WHAT?"
"You know… I'd be willing to bet that if I had just given you the choice upfront on which world you'd want to be sent to, you'd shout 'THE INPHERNO, OBVIOUSLY!' or something like that. I'll have to tell my dear colleague who sponsored Ollie, [REDACTED], that they're a famous trendsetter now, or something."
Connor, for the first time since literally dying, actually chuckled at that.
"Ok. The time for jokes is over. Now let's get down to business. You will be sent to the Inpherno as an Inphernal. I will give you an ID, a place to stay in the region of your choice, and enough bux to last you a few weeks, but after that point, you're probably going to need a job. But before I can do that, I want to know… What gear would you like? You can select any gear from the Roblox Catalog. Hell, I'll probably allow you to make up your own gear, but you'd have to explain to me what it is."
"Ok. Power Gloves, and I would like to be in Playground."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Final answer. God, you sounded so ominous when you said that."
"I apologize, it's just a formality. Anyways, since you also seem very, very much aware of this type of situation, I'm going to give you a certain boon that it seems a lot of souls in this situation ask for. You will have access to a laptop computer with infinite storage and an archive of the Internet the exact moment you died. However, you will only be able to download 200 gigabytes of data per week. This includes music, movies, TV shows, video games, and so on. The laptop will be able to switch between accessing the archive and the Inpherno's internet. You will also recieve a phone with access to the Inpherno's internet. You have to blend in somehow, you know."
"Oh, so the Ollie treatment, the-"
"Yes. Anyways, as much as it pains me, you won't be able to directly contact the outside world. However, do not worry, I will be sure to let your parents know that you're actually fine. They most likely will not believe me, but at least I'll try."
"Oh. I… I see how it is."
"Look. You're smart. I'm sure you've got this. I have a feeling you'll thrive in the Inpherno. Oh, and one more thing… Try to keep this interesting for me, Connor. Ciao."
"Ciao" echoed in Connor's ears as everything went black again.
Connor Gloves woke up to a loud banging noise coming from outside the building he was sleeping in. As they opened their eyes, they realized that it wasn't anywhere they recognized. Sure, he was lying in a bed, he could tell that for certain, and it looked like he was in some sort of apartment, but it wasn't one he'd seen before. For one thing, it looked a bit more… blocky than anywhere he had slept before.
Groggily, Gloves got himself up and started to look around. Inspecting themselves, they saw they were wearing a dark orange hoodie with what felt like a tank top underneath. "Huh… weird… I don't remember much, but I don't think I've ever actually worn a tank top before…" He thought to himself out loud, before looking around to make sure nobody was listening in on him. It was all quite unusual. Their memory felt incredibly blurry, almost like that of someone who had just woken up after getting blackout drunk. Was his skin always this pale? Did they live here? He had questions that his mind just didn't seem to want to give him the answers to.
On top of the dresser on the other side of the room from the bed, he had presumably slept only the swords know how long on, was a laptop computer with a charging cable all wrapped up right next to it. The small nightstand next to the bed had just a lamp, what looked like a wallet, and a phone on it. Gloves smiled faintly at that. If there was one thing he remembered always doing, it was placing his phone on the nightstand next to him every time he slept. At least some things never changed.
Gloves walked out of the bedroom and into the rest of the apartment, which they probably owned now. It wasn't a luxury penthouse, but it did seem decently decorated enough, and it had all the essentials. The couch looked fine, there was a decent-sized flatscreen television, and there was an en-suite kitchen… This would work for them. Gloves walked towards two doors on the other end of the apartment. One had a locking mechanism, so he assumed that was the way out of the apartment. The other door was most likely the bathroom. Feeling the need to freshen themselves up a bit, they opened the latter door.
Yep, that was certainly a bathroom, alright. Turning on the lights, he rushed to the sink to wash his face and get a small sip of water. At this point, he needed it. However, as he rushed his hands through his face, his hands made contact with what appeared to be two growths on his forehead.
Ok. This wasn't normal. This was definitely not normal. Gloves felt his body jolt awake upon the realization. Had they grown horns? What was the meaning of this? Immediately, Gloves shot his head up and looked at himself in the mirror, and that's when everything came back in a car crash of memories and realization.
Staring back at Gloves (He could have sworn his name was Connor, but something inside him told him that he had an attachment to this name for some reason), was a light gray-skinned humanoid with two medium-sized horns on their head. Gloves' horns were mostly black, but they had an orange pattern on the base that resembled a flame decal that he's seen people put on cars. They were shaped kind of like a bull's horns, but instead of pointing straight up, they seemed to tilt slightly forward.
Gloves stopped. They remembered everything now. The fall, their little talk with the mysterious entity, and how they were supposed to be whisked away to the Inpherno as an Inphernal. That Inphernal was now staring back at him through the mirror's reflection. It was exactly as that strange being had promised. The phone, the computer, the bux, the place to stay… It was all there. And there they were, no longer human, but still looking at themselves in the mirror.
They peeked outside the bathroom for a second. Wait, if everything that entity said is true… Then they must be in Playground right now! Playground. Playground. A place from a literal Roblox game. He was in a Roblox game now.
Gloves looked back at their reflection, and only two words could come out of their mouth at that exact moment.
"Oh phuck."