As is the norm with reincarnation, it allreallystarted when I died. Kind of a weird concept, I know, but hey. There's weirder. Trust me.
My death wasn't a pleasant one, really, but it was also just so… weird, in a way. I had always imagined my death would either be a very peaceful one at the end of a long, successful life, or it would be one where I went out kicking and screaming surrounded by people trying to kill me.
Instead, at the ripe old age of nineteen, I was pretty much turned into an origami pancake by a car wreck. Wonderful. I had been cruising through a green light at a leisurely forty-five miles an hour (which was the speed limit on this particular road, don't worry) when a semi came blasting through the red light and sheared the back of my car clean off.
The impact sent my little car spinning like a top into oncoming traffic. Whereupon, a second semi literally ran my car over. The last thing I remembered was glaring hatefully at the piece of blue metal (though now stained red) jammed through my chest cavity. It had hurt. It had hurt so, so bad. It was indescribable. The sheer agony shocked me into hardly being able to think, only being able to vaguely remember my own thoughts later on in the future.
But the one other thing I could remember was the pain. The excruciating pain radiated from the wound in my chest and rebounded through all my limbs before coming back and starting over again. I couldn't move; my legs were most likely crushed beyond repair beneath the car's crumpled chassis and my arms were twisted under my back in something probably resembling a reef knot.
Most people wouldn't be able to remain conscious under those circumstances, but I had always been… different. Defiant, I liked to call myself. My parents and teachers called it stubborn. At any rate, I hadalsobeen known to produce abnormally high amounts of adrenaline under stress, so this was probably that kind of moment. Well, adrenaline numbs pain and I was undoubtedly in shock. That's probably why I stayed awake. Even though my eyelids… kept… sinking…
But when I blinked and all that pain vanished, replaced by a vibrant slideshow of rapid-fire visions, I knew something was wrong. The logical part of me was denying everything that had just happened while the emotional part of me (which I had been ignoring for most of my life, if I'm honest) was going absolutely fucking ballistic.
These interesting visions included some paramedics tugging me from my car's wreckage and finding out Isomehowstill had a pulse despite my brain having completely died. As if my heart just didn't want to go yet. The next vision was that pulse flatlining half a second before they hooked me up to some donor blood bags. This was followed by a funeral with familiar-faced people standing around the coffin with my name emblazoned on it: Shingi Hoshino. Finally, that coffin was lowered into the ground. However, right as the casket-lowering thingie began lowering me, the ground (nice and crumbly on the bright summer day) caved slightly. The whole contraption flipped over as one corner got yanked into the ground and my coffin went flying.
Nowthatwas funny! If I had a proper body, I would have laughed. But it seemed as if the form I had in this weird limbo was mostly just a figure that looked like my own, but not really physical, if you get what I mean…
Suddenly, the visions faded and left me floating in pure darkness. Darn. Now I was bored. I had read that the afterlife was whatever you believed it to be. If I never believed in an afterlife… Oh dear… So it was going to be this for eternity?
A pang of fear shot through me. No, nonono… No no no! This would be closer to hell than something neutral if that were the case! I began to thrash, turning every which way to try and see if there was some way out of this hell.
A light, but no more than a single, tiny point, appeared in front of me. Despite its size, however, it was glowing like the sun with an otherworldly, yet caring, orange light. Almost as if running on instinct, I grabbed desperately for it and my limbo-form's hand snapped shut around it.
Fireradiated through my body, a burning pain more intense than when I had been impaled coursing through my limbs. Though… when I had been impaled, the pain had been unpleasant, agonizing, and generally unwanted.Thispain was different… It was like… it promised something in return…
'How… how interesting…'was all I thought before my consciousness winked out like a candle snuffed by a breeze.
With a groan, I blinked my eyes open and sat up. It was like waking up, but I felt more rested than I had in, well, my entire life. However, there was something off about this… I remembereddying. Getting obliterated by two different semis. So how was I snoozing in the middle of a forest!?
I stood and shook myself, getting the leaves off my clothes—wait. These weren'tmyclothes… There was another thing I noticed while shaking myself down, there was an interesting weight on my left pocket and when i open it i coulden't belive that. I was holding a red duel disk of Yu-Gi-Oh Arc V, it was a little heavy and it look real like the show. And from seeing it everything i was suddenly beginning to understand why it look much more familiar. Looking from the little screen of the device i didn't saw myself but i was looking the main character of the show.
'I'm Yuya Sakaki!?... Wait it coulden't be!' i walked to a nearest river and that confirm my theory because the one who it reflected was Yuya and not me, i was starting to panic myself from this situation and before make any other move i hear a roar very close to me and that was enough to freez me on the place, I swallowed nervously and slowly turned to face it.
Staring me down with hate-filled red eyes was some kind of wolf creature. It stood maybe seven feet tall on its hind legs and its whole body was studded with boney spines and some bone plates. Its head was covered in a white faceplate of bone. It growled lowly and then charged. I immediatly turn again and i started to run like there wasn't a tomorrow and after running in the nearest forest of the river i started to climb one of the three, taking a break and to understand what is that thing, and looking it closer two neurons fired in my memory and I felt the blood drain from my face. Not only had I died andsomehowended up in the body of Yu-Gi-Oh Arc V protagonist, I hadalso somehowlanded on the planet of Remnant, from RWBY.
A planet known for its racism and monstrous creatures of Grimm. I swallowed nervously, suddenly realizing that my moments of shock and fear since arriving here would be drawing Grimm to my location at that very moment.
I needed to figure out if I could summon the monster's like the show and hope to survive so i could find a way to meet someone who could help me. Without losing time put the duel disk on my left arm and i turned it on, after that i draw 1 card from my deck. And what i draw was the pendulum monster Xiangsheng Magician, after that i place the card on the yellow blade of the duel disk and then a portal opened on my right and from that the spellcaster come out with her bow,and a sharp gasp left my lips. A real duel monster was here on my right side of the field, but before say a word, a howl from down below me drew our attention. More Beowolves (which is what I had recognized the monster from before as) were circling the tree, occasionally jumping up and trying to climb. Thankfully, even with their freakishly human-like hands, they didn't seem to get the whole concept of "climbing" and so repeatedly toppled back down amongst their comrades. "Uhm… er, right!" I snapped upright.
"Can you please take care of them" i said with an uncertain tone. At that point she, nodding her head, put an arrow on the bow and then shot it making the same attack she did on the show kiling all the Beowolves under us. Thanking her, I got off the tree and went back to the ground, making sure there were no more, I was about to take the card off the blade when she came up to me looking me straight in the eye.
" Is… everything alright?" I said a little scared, she didn't say anything but then she stroked my head smiling at me and I could feel her touch, and from that i remember than this duel disk has real solid vision system. So after i take her card she turns into small yellow particles which then disappear. All the fear in my body had just about been replaced with confusion (which had been present since the beginning, obviously), wonder (which undoubtedly stemmed from my new body and from the deck), and excitement (because come on. I have army of duel monsters now!).
Then the adrenaline caught up, fueling my excitement even further. A whoop of joy tore from my lips before I promptly cursed myself for making a sound and increased my speed to try and outrun the other Beowolves who joined the show as long as possible.