Chapter 1 - My... Guardian Angel ?

"Oh! You're awake," a voice suddenly shouted, way too loud for my throbbing head.

I squinted, struggling to open my eyes. The light was blinding, and my skull felt like it was splitting in two. Tiny fragments of memory flashed through my mind. Leaving work, Truck-kun, my lost 50/50... and then nothing.

"Did I die?" I mumbled, more a thought than a question.

"Yeah. That's why you should've been more aware of your surroundings," came the voice, casual but with an annoyed edge.

My vision slowly cleared, and I realized I wasn't in some dark abyss but, instead, in a room that was entirely... white.

Blank. Empty.

A person stood across from me, their presence somehow bright in this void. Long, flowing blonde hair and eyes so clear they almost looked... angelic?

I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the situation.

Was this an angel?

The thought felt absurd, but nothing else explained it.

"Who are you, anyway?" I managed, my voice cracking slightly from confusion.

"Hm..." The figure tapped a finger against their chin, their expression thoughtful but playful. "I guess you could call me your guardian angel?"

Guardian angel? Yeah, sure, if that's what they wanted to call themselves.

"Okay, so... you just let me die? Kinda shitty at your job, if you ask me..."

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

The angel laughed, unfazed. "Can't be helped with a client like you. I've saved you so many times already. That phone of yours won in the end."

"So where am I?" I glanced down and noticed I was wearing nothing but a white robe.

Well, great.

I must have really kicked the bucket.

"You're in between lives," the angel said with a detached casualness.

"Lives?" I repeated, still not sure if I was dreaming.

"Well, your case is... special. That's why you're seeing me." They paused, clicking their tongue. "Don't let it get to your head, but you were chosen."

"Chosen?" I couldn't stop myself from sounding far too pleased. "So I'm the chosen one after all."

The angel gave me a sidelong glance, their expression screaming disapproval. "What did I just say?"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm just making the most of it. Can you blame me?" I shrugged. "So, where am I going? Am I getting reincarnated as a villainess? Oh, maybe I'll wake up in the body of some desperate princess who offed herself to avoid marrying the Duke of the North..."

The angel held up a hand.

"Stop talking. What have you been reading?" they mumbled. "Anyway, let me explain now that you seem to be feeling better."

A whiteboard materialized out of thin air.

There were a bunch of stick-figure drawings on it.

It looked like my life...

If I were a stick figure.

"What...?"

"The choices you made throughout your life were supposed to lead you to your destiny," the angel said, gesturing toward the board. "Every little choice you made built your path. But for some unknown reason, you somehow made every single choice that led you in the opposite direction. You defied your destiny, which, by the way, shouldn't happen. If only you'd paid attention to my signs..."

I stared at the board for a moment, then at them. "So, when you think about it... I'm kinda special, right?"

"Is that really the conclusion you've drawn from all this?" they asked. "You weren't supposed to die this soon, let alone live the life you were living."

The angel met my gaze.

Yup.

They were annoyed.

"Well, if you put it like that, doesn't that mean you were actually bad at your job?"

After what felt like a very long pause, they finally spoke.

"YOU made those choices, even when the WHOLE UNIVERSE sent you signs NOT to. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME." They pinched the bridge of their nose and sighed. "Maybe divine punishment would've been better. I can't believe you're taking this so lightly."

"I just come to terms with things easily. You should know that." I shrugged. "Also, I'm dead, right? What's the point of being sad? What's done is done."

I leaned back.

It felt weird to do so when there was literally nothing behind me, but somehow, the position didn't feel awkward.

"You said I was chosen, so there must be more to it."

Judging by the look they gave me, I might as well have been a cockroach.

"Yes, there is more to it. So listen closely, okay?"

I fell silent, hitting them with the Sasuke pose.

I was totally focused.

They adjusted something on their outfit—a tie that had appeared out of nowhere. They looked goofy, but I tried my best not to laugh.

They already seemed pissed enough.

"You're getting a second chance."

The whiteboard flickered, and the words 2nd Chance at Life! appeared in big, bold, glowing letters.

"So what, I get to go back and change everything?" I thought about it for a moment. "Not gonna lie, I kinda liked my life..."

"No. You're not going back to that life," they answered instantly. "Believe me when I say I'll make sure it won't be that easy this time. And you'd better start taking all of this seriously. Don't come crying to me later when things get difficult."

"Wow, okay. For my guardian angel, you sure hold a grudge against me."

They gave me another annoyed look.

It seemed I had a knack for making them mad.

"Well, guess what? Thanks to you, my pay got cut in half."

"...Your pay?"

Since when did angels get paid? It didn't even make sense.

Did that mean even in the afterlife I'd have to get a job?

I shuddered at the thought.

"Yes. My pay." They smiled creepily. "So you can be sure I'll find a way to make you regret making my life harder than it should've been."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Threaten you? Surely not. I would make a rather poor guardian angel if I resorted to such methods. I am merely encouraging you."

As they said it, they casually slipped both hands behind their back and turned their head away from me.

I wasn't sure if I was seeing things, but their nose was getting longer.

"That was definitely a threat!" I pointed at their face. "Your nose is growing like Pinocchio's!"

They covered their nose with one hand and cleared their throat.

"Not sure what you're talking about, but let's get back to the topic."

"Right. My second chance at life, but not my past life," I recalled, urging them to continue.

"See, we have countless beings in existence, and frankly, most of them are bored. That's where you come in. Your second chance will also be a reality TV show!"

The whiteboard flickered, and Aria's Show appeared across it. There were a few more things written underneath, but I couldn't care less about those.

I was going to be a cosmic superstar!

"That's so cool! I'm getting my own show?!"

"See? This is a huge honor!" They beamed, but there was something about their smile that made me suspicious. "And you won't be alone. Viewers can interact with your life! It's an interactive reality show!"

Okay.

Here was the catch.

"Wait. 'Interact' how?"

They waved a hand dismissively.

"You'll find out."

"I feel like I'm gonna need a cigarette. Can you make one appear?"

Their smile vanished.

"I really don't understand why they chose you out of all the actually interesting clients we have."

"What can I say? I'm special." I smirked. "Maybe I'm not interesting to you, but it seems like your boss... or bosses... think otherwise."

"Don't get cocky. This attitude of yours won't win the viewers' favor."

"My personality will win them all over. You'll see." I put a hand under my chin. "So... no cig?"

"No!"

They suddenly appeared right in front of me and tapped my forehead with their index finger. "I told you to focus. Also, stop smoking."

They reappeared in front of the board and put a hand on their hip.

"Anyway, viewers can offer support, suggest choices, and even grant you rewards... if they like you. But if they don't..."

They paused for way too long.

Were they trying to build suspense or something?

"What if they don't? Not that it'll happen, but, you know..."

They gave me a long, tired look, the kind a parent gives a child who is deliberately testing their patience.

"You really have to get rid of that attitude. Genuinely."

I shrugged. "I'm just tryna be nonchalant."

"Okay, then... since you're so smart."

They snapped their fingers.

The whiteness around us slowly started to fade.

"Hold still. This is going to tickle."

"Wait, what if they don't—"

Before I could finish, a blinding light swallowed me whole.

And just as my consciousness started slipping away, I heard their voice one last time, way too cheerful for my liking.

"Oh, right! I forgot to mention... the title of the show is actually How to Live as the Main Character's Sidekick! Farewell!"

...Excuse me, what?!

Sidekick?!

I thought I was the cosmic superstar here?!

I tried to scream, but my voice wouldn't come out. The light swirled around me, pulling me in like a black hole. My body felt weightless, like I was floating and falling at the same time.

I couldn't protest before everything turned black.

And then...

A pounding headache.

Cold air against my skin.

The sharp scent of damp earth and something... metallic.

A growl echoed somewhere nearby.

Oh, hell no.

I suddenly understood why the pilot wasn't named Explore.

[Pilot: Survive.]