Reincarnated As The Antihero

Reincarnation

"Wake up, Human."

Nicolas' eyes jerked open and he immediately sat up breathing heavily. He tried to regulate his breath as he looked around surrounded by complete darkness.

Confusion took over him and his memories were in a complete mess. He continuously tried to remember what had happened before he appeared in the dark void that seemed to make everywhere smaller by each minute.

He suddenly remembered his overdose and being rushed to the hospital followed by his the sound of his heart gradually coming to a close. He was dead.

He stood up from where he sat and looked around, wondering if this was the way death was; total darkness and solitude. He walked around trying to find a way out but it seemed to lead to nowhere. He ended up walking in circles until he came up to where he had first left several minutes ago.

He realized he had began to get thirsty and he wondered if it was possible for him to want to drink water when he was dead.

Several thoughts of his family rushed into his mind and he wished he had done more with his life. He wished he had chased his childhood dream of becoming a super hero like all the protagonist of cartoons he had been allowed to watch.

He sat down on the ground, laughing at himself for thinking such thoughts when there was no way for him to start over.

As he kept his face in his hands, continuously wishing his life had been much different, a bright screen suddenly appeared, causing a bit of light to illuminate the dark environment.

"What is this?" Nicolas asked himself as he stood up on his feet and stared at the screen.

The screen suddenly started showing a series of 0s and 1s, just like he had seen when he was forced by his mother to learn coding.

While looking intensely at the screen, trying to decipher what was being shown, a hand appeared out of the screen and Nicolas immediately fall to the ground.

He watched as several other body parts appeared out of the screen until a man was standing in front of him holding a book and dressed in a rather unusual way. He was clothed in a long blue robe which had patterns of half moons and some sparkle and a long witch hat was placed his head.

"You must be Nicolas Makenzie?" The man asked.

Stunned by the sight he beheld, Nicolas nodded his head slowly.

The man smiled and looked from Nicolas to the large book he held in his hands.

"It seems you died in the Realm of Neologis and you have several regrets" The man said again.

Nicolas stood up from where he sat and stared at the man with a confused look on his face. He didn't know what was happening or who the man was. He wondered why the man had called earth a "Realm." Several questions flooded his head instantly.

The man smiled then slightly bowed his head as a show of respect towards Nicolas.

"My name is Arlimus and I am the gatekeeper of this dark void. I await souls that are filled with regret and make sure they are able to start over in a place and position my Book Of Destiny seems fit" Arlimus said. He had read Nicolas mind and he knew how uneasy he was.

Nicolas tried to wrap his head around Arlimus' words. He was still confused.

"What do you mean Book Of Destiny and what do you mean by gatekeeper?" Nicolas asked.

By snapping his fingers, Arlimus' magic rod appeared and he waved it around, displaying several other screens that showed Nicolas everything that happened in his life.

Nicolas stared in awe at the screens showing how much of a crappy life he had lived, forced to do things he hate while he endured everything with a smile then gaining momentary freedom only for him to allow himself to be held captive by drugs.

The screens slowly disappeared one after the other and what was left was a screen that showed his smile when he engrossed himself in a superhero cartoon.

Arlimus watched as a tear from Nicolas' face and he smiled. He knew just what he was supposed to do.

Immediately the last screen disappeared, Nicolas turned to look at Arlimus apprehensive of what he wanted from him now that he only made his regret worse.

"What do you want from me? I lived my life which sucked a d now I'm dead. I'm filled with regret and there's nothing I can do about it" Nicolas said.

Arlimus shook his head.

"there's something you can do about it. You can start again, but in a different realm. One of magic and mystic creatures; the ones people of your former realm read in fantasy books" Arlimus moved closer to Nicolas. "Place your hand on the Book Of Destiny, and you can start a new life."

Nicolas still didn't know if he could trust Arlimus, however, he walked slowly towards him. He took deep breaths then places his hand on the Book Of Destiny as he closed his eyes.

Bright lights from the book flooded the entire place and Nicolas disappeared. As soon as the lights had stopped, Arlimus smiled.

"Now, let's see what destiny awaits Sir Nicolas Makenzie" Arlimus looked at the book and he was shocked. A smile later appeared on his face and he said, "Well, this should be interesting."

* * * * *

Cool breeze made the entire atmosphere cool and calm as Nicolas woke up. He opened his eyes to see the beautiful sunset and countryside landscape that made everywhere seem like heaven. He couldn't help but feel at ease. He previous fear if Arlimus and the dark void had vanished in an instant.

He sat up on the green grass and was surprised at the change of his clothing. He had on an attire that was befitting of a rich royal. He felt like a king. He was happy. He could finally start over.

From a distance, Nicolas could hear a large battalion of soldiers moving towards him. He stood up and watched them ride furiously on their horses as they got closer to him. He smiled thinking they were coming to welcome him.

An archer shot an arrow in the sky and it landed few inches to Nicolas' leg, luckily he had taken a step back.

The smile he had on his face soon disappeared when he realized they were marching towards him with an intent to harm him. His life was threatened.