I am always curious about what happens next. What happens after death? Well, looks like I’m about to find out. As my body relaxes and my thoughts begin to drift, a sudden burst of golden light floods my vision.


    Where am I? The light at the end of the tunnel?


    Being the staunchly non-religious type, I always figured the end was just that—the end. Period. I try to close my eyes again, only to discover a slight problem…


    No eyelids… no body?!


    Before I can fully process this rather significant development, I’m yanked upwards, drawn into the golden light.


    It’s like a slightly bumpy elevator ride to… who knows where.


    And as if that wasn''t enough, my memories start to fade, like they’re being siphoned away. Experiences, emotions, all of it disappearing! The sensation of losing myself washes over me.


    My consciousness is being evicted!


    But then, as if by magic, the shape of a body starts to form around me, and my vision sharpens.


    I’m getting my body back! A noticeably younger one, at that!


    Landing on something solid, a familiar warmth spreading through me. The scent of my parents’ cooking wafts into my nose. It smells like… home. Familiar surroundings, familiar faces, slowly come into focus. The comforting sound of laughter fills the air.


    My home, my family, my friends—they’re all here. It’s like a family reunion.


    Minus the forced small talk with that weird uncle no one actually likes.


    Before I can soak in the warmth of a family hug, though, a dark void rips everything apart. The scene dissolves, the temperature plummeting.


    Strands of shimmering, iridescent light pierce my newly reformed body, yanking my consciousness away! They drag me downwards into the inky blackness.


    Oh, come on! I was just getting comfortable!


    Slowly, my senses return. I’m lying flat on a smooth, temperature-less surface. Gradually, I manage to pry my eyes open.


    Am I in hell?


    My vision is entirely monochrome, a world of blacks and whites, yet strangely clear.


    I’m on a raised table. The place looks like a bomb went off. Debris is scattered everywhere, wrecked machinery lies in heaps, some still smoldering.


    Is this a lab? Well… at least it’s not hell.


    My tightly clenched fist slowly unfurls. Lying in this unfamiliar room, every sensation feels… off. My heart isn’t hammering, my stomach isn’t doing somersaults. Well, no heartbeat or stomach to speak of, actually.


    I’m feeling surprisingly… empty. Like a hollowed-out gourd.


    My mouth feels like the desert, but I don’t feel thirsty. I consciously take a deep breath; the pungent, acrid smell of burnt machinery and metal stings my nostrils. I quickly exhale. To my surprise, I don’t even need to breathe. Huh.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    I wiggle my fingers and toes, then try moving my arms and legs. My limbs move… differently. Smoother, somehow. No pain, though. Slowly, I push myself into a sitting position on what appears to be a metal table and look around.


    “Hello? Anyone?” I call out softly, my voice sounding strangely pleasant. Almost… melodic. A rapid, quiet scraping sound reaches my ears, and something shifts in the corner of my eye.


    Someone’s here.


    An awfully injured old man lies crumpled in the corner of the room.


    He looks like he’ll lose a fight with a rusty spork.


    Cautiously, I slide off the table and move toward him, one careful step at a time.


    The old man reaches a trembling hand toward me. When I get close, his wrinkled hand grabs my arm with surprising strength. Instinctively, I try to pull back. “Val… Sa… v… e me,” he rasps, his voice like dry leaves skittering across pavement.


    His hand drops, and his entire body… turns to dust. Just like that. Poof. I stumble back, blinking.


    Definitely not standard-issue death.


    Suddenly, the hair on my head erupts in a white, iridescent glow, as if it’s suddenly come to life. It surges toward the pile of dust, like a miniature, glowing tidal wave. With a bright flash, my vision is once again filled with golden light.


    I’m back?!


    But instead of being back home, with my family and friends, all I see are thin iridescent strings tugging a speck of orange light toward me. It seems to be entangled with golden strings as well.


    It’s a full-on cosmic tug-of-war.


    After a moment, the speck of light shatters into pieces, like a dropped lightbulb. A tiny shard is pulled toward me. As it does, memories and visions flood my mind.


    ******


    My old, wrinkled hands scribble furiously in my notebook, symbols and words blurring together.


    “I’m on the precipice!” I declare. “The very secrets of the universe, a new dimension of existence, are within my grasp. Everything I’ve ever desired—immortality itself—is almost tangible. So close. So tantalizingly close.”


    I stride over to a massive machine filled with swirling blue liquid, a figure suspended within. With a hiss, the liquid drains away, and the doors swing open. I carefully lift the body and lay it on the central table.


    The hairless form is perfectly proportioned, slim and fit. Every curve adheres to the golden ratio, devoid of any visible reproductive organs or distinguishing sex characteristics. The eyes are closed, the facial features equally flawless.


    It’s… remarkably attractive.


    “This form… this vessel…” I murmur, running a hand along the fair, soft, silky-smooth skin. “It’s the culmination of my life’s work. Perfection, finally achieved.” I lean in, whispering into its ear, “Val, my finest creation, you are a testament to my genius.”


    Sweat trickling down my face, I gingerly press the button before me. The surrounding machines hum to life, emitting rings of light that ripple toward the body. My hands clench into fists as I watch, my whole body starting to shake uncontrollably.


    The empty space above the body… tears open.


    “Ahaha!” I roar. “The dimensional barrier has shattered! That hidden plane, hovering just beyond our perception, is now open to me! I, Dr. Keyser, have rewritten the rules of reality! My name will echo through the ages!!!” I jump and cheer, laughter and ecstatic screams filling the lab.


    Suddenly, iridescent strings shoot out from the tear. They attach to and envelop the body on the table, a speck of light traveling down them from the void and into the form.


    Wait a second… Was that…? Is that how I got here? He was the culprit?!


    “But… this wasn’t calculated! This wasn’t part of the design!” I yell, ripping a sparking contraption from a nearby machine. I sprint towards the table.


    The strings vanish into the body as abruptly as they appeared, and the tear snaps shut. The rings of light pulse outwards, followed by a blinding flash.


    “NO! Ahhhh…” A jolt of intense pain shoots through me, like every single nerve ending is getting severed.


    I find myself lying lifeless on the floor. Then, a voice. “Hello? Anyone?”


    Gasping, I force my head up, following the sound. In the dim light, the body… is moving… off the table… towards me. It stumbles a little, but there’s no mistaking it.


    It’s me. Or, at least, I think it''s me, it’s wearing a face I can’t recognize.


    Where did my calculations fail? This… this wasn’t supposed to happen. I can’t die… I can’t die… not yet… not yet… The thought echoes in my head like a broken record as I grab its arm. “Val… Sa… v… e me.” I manage to croak out, my voice barely a whisper.


    ******