[Initializing... 10%]

I look up at the transparent blue box in front of me. The only light within this black void.

How did I get here?

[...32%]

There were people around me when I died. Family? No.

The people there were strangers, yet we all had a sense of unity.

I remember I was holding a placard, as I marched in the direction of... police, I think? They were telling us to stand down, but we kept marching on.

They were armed, I believe.

[...59%]

They... started firing, some of them had a look of glee on their faces. I remember blood spraying out from people ahead of me.

Soon we were walking over corpses.

Eventually the bullets pierced me, yet I didn't run away.

What cause was so great that I willingly died for it?

[...77%]

Memories flood into my mind.

There was a dictator in the country I lived in. He ruled us all with an iron fist. He controlled our futures and who we would marry, or rather his subordinates would. He decided the way we were raised, our likes and dislikes, our jobs and careers, and even our intelligence. From the moment we came into the world, the dictator ruled our fate.

It seems I did die for a great cause.

[...99%]

Yet, why do I still feel the spirit of rebellion, even when I am dead and no longer in the world?

[Initialised]

[Launching ...]

Suddenly the pale blue box increased in size, until it wrapped the seemingly infinite void.

[Hello user! Welcome to the Afterlife! Currently, you are within The Hub. Here, we will create an identity for you to live in, where you will be sent a universe you are familiar with.]

I... What?

A new identity? A new chance at life?

And there is more than one universe? What on earth...

[After scanning your memories from your previous life, it has been decided that you will be sent to the Rick Riordan universe, five years before the Percy Jackson series starts!]

I- I'm being sent to the Percy Jackson universe? That... That's my childhood dream come to life!

When I was 5, the age when children find out their life path, I was disappointed that I would end up as some Archivist who spent a couple years in a half decent university studying Classic History and Mythology. However, by sheer coincidence I found a book series called the "Percy Jackson series". I started reading in secret in the attic.

The secrecy was needed as I would've been arrested if anyone found out. Most fiction books were illegal and heavily restricted. Books that were made before the 2050 were banned and burnt, for descriptions of earlier times when democracy existed may have given civilians ideas.

But anyway, the book series was what motivated me to do my degrees.

And to be sent to that universe? Now that would be a wonderful experience.

[Character Creation!]

Suddenly a screen pops up right in front of my face... Well, I don't really have a face, so I guess perception. Anyway, the screen was small, the size of an I-Pad. On the screen, text appeared.

[Please choose a race:

God (This option can be unlocked later)

Demigod

Mortal]

Holy shit. I could be a god? Hmm... It'd be a waste to choose that option now, considering I could become one if I'm a good enough hero.

I touch Demigod.

[Please choose your mythology:
-Greek

-Roman

-Norse

-Egyptian]

Huh, I thought I'd automatically be in the Greek side of things, but it looks like I got options. The Norse was probably referring to the Magnus Chase series, whilst the Egyptian one was referring to the Kane Chronicles.

Both would be interesting and rather fun, but I decide to choose Greek mythology, considering my knowledge is best at that.

[You're a Demigod! Who's your Godly Parent?]

Woah, I get to choose a godly parent? Neat.

[

-Zeus

-Hera

-Poseidon

-Hades

-Demeter

-Athena

-Artemis (You will be born female if you choose this option)

-Aphrodite

-Hephaestus

-Dionysus

-Hermes

-Apollo

-Ares]

Woah, I could be a child of Artemis? That's pretty crazy. But, who to choose. Maybe one of the Big Three? Then I would get a big power boost. But if chose Athena, then I would get the intelligence needed to plan for the future of the series. And if I chose Artemis, then it'd be so interesting to see the new storyline created and how the world would react to a child of Artemis! And then Aphrodite would allow me to use Charmspeak, which is an outstanding ability to have. Then there's Apollo and Hermes, who both have so many domains under their control that I would receive a variety of skills.

There are so many options to choose!

However, in the end I chose Athena. The intelligence boosts I would receive from being her child are too good to say no to. Sure, I would miss out on the overpowered skills that Percy and Jason had, but I could find a way to reach that level... hopefully.

[You have chosen: Athena!]

[Character Design]

The small text box disappeared, and suddenly far larger one, around the size of my body appeared. A 3D model of a genderless human was displayed, along with options on the side, asking for race, height and other features.

I go with the flow, and I decide to design a human. The AI, or whatever that I've been talking to, informed me that the body was meant to be that of a 17-year-old, even though I would be seven when I would arrive into this new world.

I gave myself the same skin colour as before, a light brown, since being a completely different one would far too weird. Though, I do change my hair colour. It looks like I have a number of hair colours to choose from, so I decide to pick white, since I think it looks rather dashing, if I do say so myself.

I also wonder if I would retain my mild English accent from my previous life or not. There isn't an option for it here.

I give myself a fair bit of height considering I was short in my life. I've always wanted to see life in the sky. My size was always a small sore spot. Heh. Get it? Small!

...No? FIne, let's keep going.

I also choose a muscular build as well, since... I was a little anorexic, though that was because food was being rationed out. A disadvantage of a dictatorship.

There's also a feature for scars, so I select a standard vertical on my left eye. I wonder how that'll work out. Will I just have a facial scar from the age of 7? Perhaps I tried to stab my eye out with a knife by accident.

There are also several other customisation features possible but talking about all of them would be too time wasting.

After the end of the designing, I took a good look at what my new body would look like. Rather dashing if I do say so myself.

I tap a little green square at the corner of the screen, confirming my character design.

[Character Design Confirmed]

[After entering the world, the system will affect very little in your life. The only features the system you will have access to is the INVENTORY which allows you to store a maximum of 700 Metric Tonnes within a pocket dimension.

You will also have access to the CHOICES feature! This feature freezes time at a critical moment when only a few options are available, and each choice will have a huge impact!

And the last feature you'll be given is the NOTES feature. Should you desire to store information, the desire will activate the feature and allow you to pause time whenever you wish to read your notes]

Woah. All of these... powers sound brilliant and incredibly useful. And perhaps I can exploit some of them for my advantage.

[Are you ready to go to the Rick Riordan Universe?]

What a polite question. I wonder if this system is sentient.

I tap the green yes button.

[Then get ready for your new life!]

The void around me burst into a magnificent white, before streaks of colours appeared along with it. I felt myself changing size and weight, feeling smaller by the second. My sense of balance is thrown out of the window, and my eyes start hurting a bit.

Reacting to the pain, I close my eyes for a second, rubbing them, and opened them once more. I wasn't in the black void nor the in the bursting white. Instead, I was in a bathroom, looking at a mirror. I see a young boy in the reflection, he looked very young, about seven or eight. I raise my hand to my face and he copies my actions. His skin is brown like mahogany, his eyes are grey as silver or iron, and his hair is as white as snow.

He was me.

I am him.

And we... we're in a new world.

I look around my surroundings. It was a bathroom, it came with a toilet, sink, and a bathtub with a showerhead about it. There are two toothbrushes above the sink, along with a toothpaste. One of the toothbrushes was colourful and bubbly, whereas the other was black. I look at myself in the mirror again.

I have a new chance at life, and I'm in a world where I'm the child of goddess. This... this is not what I was expecting when I died.

"Odie! Come downstairs!" A masculine voice shouts. I guess that's my new father? Wait a minute. Did he call me Odie?

Like... the dog from the Garfield comic strips?

Oh, fuck me!