Revelation of a Sinner

“What the…?

I was in a dark void now. I didn’t expect this kinda shit to happen after eating the seed, but here I was. I was floating above two people. One was a tall man in street clothes with a gold chain around his neck, a beanie, green shorts, and shoes that seemed too big for him. He sported a gray tank top and a green jacket around his waist. His eyes were ancient green, like moss while his goofy smile took all the professional air away from him.

The girl beside him seemed familiar, but it hurt too much to remember. She had neck-length brown hair, one visible eye the color of ice, and for some reason, was in a McDanels outfit and hat.

That stuff didn’t belong here for sure.

“Ah, so you are here too?” said a familiar voice to my right. I couldn't help but grin.

I turned my head to see the tan, nice, pure-hearted, and a bit crazy bat girl, Komoria Vato. I felt like it had been ages since I had seen her.

“K-Kamoria…”

I went to touch her face to make sure she was real.

“W-wait are you doing, Raze? O-oh, yeah, I’m real. I have just been away for a while."
She pointed towards the two people below us. "I think we are finally at the climax where everything will come to light.”

I decided to listen to her and pipe down for once. The two of us had our sole focus on the pair who just started speaking with each other.

“Oh...so I’m dead, huh?” the girl said with a gloomy face.

“Yes. I assume you remember how it happened?”

She shook her head. “No, sorry. I was just so...mad.”

“That’s alright. What’s done is done. There is only what comes after.”

“What comes...after?” she gazed off into the distant dark void. “What would that be?”

“Well, for one thing, you died young. And for another, you protected people with your life, even if that was not your intention.”

“———”

“...Because of all this. You have two options. One is to pass on into the afterlife where you will feel nothing and drift around like a wandering spirit, never having to experience the pain of emotions and memories ever again. In my opinion, this one isn't for people who haven't even lived a third of their lives yet. I would know.”

The girl turned back to him and knit her eyebrows. “I forgot to ask this earlier, but who are you, and what's with the street clothes?”

“Oh, my apologies. I’m Morephon, the god of healing and goodwill. And my clothes...well, I just thought they were cool. You humans have stuff we could never even fathom when we were birthed into existence. Modern streetwear is the vibe in Heaven right now!”

“I see…”

“Hey, don’t get so hung up on it,” he reassured her. “I haven't got to the other option yet. This is the one where you get a second chance.”

“A..second...chance…?" She had no light in her eyes. It was like he was speaking to a walking corpse.

Morephon continued to display a chipper attitude for the girl and gave her the thumbs up. “No need to worry. You wouldn’t be going back to that world that you hated more than anything. Instead, I got a place that is similar to the games you always played. Others like you have lived their best life there.”

“How did you know I pl—”

“Perks of being a god. That’s not important. You like fantasy, right? Well, this new world has all that. Magic, monsters, legendary artifacts, a Demon King, oh, and these animal people called beast-kin. You always wished for a friend with the same interest as you, right? I’m sure there is someone like that there.”

“There's no video games, right?”

He shook his head, “With the current technology that is around the Middle Ages of Europe, it would take quite some time before you get there. But, hey, it’s okay! There is tons of stuff to do with magic and I can even make you one of the chosen Heroes! We don’t get many females reborn in this world and my track record for success stories isn't particularly good. No one had wanted to kill the Lord of Calamity or his goons. But you would, right? It's just like one of your games, right? Quests and collecting gear and whatnot.”

This sounds like a scam…

The girl met his gaze with a half-smile. “If I...If I go to this new world. Will I get any perks when I start?”

“Of course. I’ll give you one wish, that as long as it’s in my power and following the Other World Rulebook—I will make anything happen.”

“That’s not exactly ‘anything’ but whatever. Did you, like, ever see what my brother looked and acted like?”

“Of course. For such a fourth-mouthed person in high school, he was a pretty nice brother to you. I’m sorry for what happened to him. He chose to move on to the afterlife if that is what you wanted to know.”

She hung her head, clearly depressed by his answer. “Oh... I see…”

She was silent for nearly a minute before she decided to speak once more. She brought her face up close to him, with pure determination in her eyes. “Can you make me be like he was? I know he wasn’t the best person, especially around other women, but I want to continue his existence. So please, make me like him. I don’t care about Rachel Kramer. Just make me like my brother and take away my memories of him, dad, school, and myself too. If-If that’s not too much to ask...”

“Sheesh, what a heavy request. May I ask why you seek all of this?”

“It’s to take away the pain. The pain that was my entire life. My brother was the only one ever there for me and I never could pay him back. I want to carry on for him in this new world. I’m sure he would love to kill the Calamity Lord or whatever… My life never amounted to anything, but at least he...he had a dream.”

Tears were leaking down my eyes for some reason. But why? Who was this girl and what was she talking about?

“Arg! My head!”

“R-Raze! Are you okay?!” Komoria squealed.

“Y-yeah...I’m fine. It’s just all this…”

“Seems familiar, right? I thought so after my time with Rachel.”

“What do you mean?”

“To which? To what is familiar or Rachel?”

“Both! I don’t care!”

“Settle down. But I’ll explain everything after they finish talking.”

She patted my head and looked back over to the two of them. It seemed that they were finishing up with the rebirth shit.

“I’ll grant all of that, but I don’t think it will pan out how you think. Your brother would have been a complete delinquent without you to protect and be a role model for. Without you in his memories—”

“I don’t care," she snapped. "Just do it...please.” She also had tears in her eyes. This seemed like a hard situation for her and for once, I found it quite easy to sympathise.

“Now, do you want your brother's name to be the same? The family you will be born into will have the last name we decided on, anyway, so what will it be?”

He spoke gently, as if to a child. He was like a storm tamer, keeping everything in check. I guess that's what a god was supposed to be like. He was down to earth, while also acting with authority like a god.

“I don’t want that name. That’s his name. There was something he loved just as much as me though.”

“And what might that be?” he said with the look in his eyes that clearly conveyed he knew what she would say and yet he held back.

“His band, Raze Havok. It was misspelled, but we both thought it sounded cool as hell.”

I dropped to my knees, unable to believe what she just said.

“W-w-w-w-w-what? What is this delusional girl saying?”

I turned to Komoria with a look that was probably as desperate as I felt. I sought her denial, to tell me that it couldn't be true.

“You...were that girl, Raze. In your old life, you were a tragic high school girl named Rachel Kramer.”

What the fuck?! I was a chick? But I hate women! Can't stand them! An amalgamation of feelings swirled like a torrent inside my brain. It was like something unlocked and as it did, memories started to flow into me.

I saw Richard, my brother, always patting me on the head and giving me hugs when I was down. I remembered throwing a shoe at him when he walked in on me while I was changing in middle school and him saying “There's barely anything there, c’mon. I’m joking. Joking! Don’t throw another!”

I remember all the times he wiped away the blood from our father when he took me out to see movies or hang with his bandmates. I remembered his cool and calm smile that I had never made once in a body that looked just like his.

I remembered my terrible school situation where no one was on my side. I wasn’t the best person to be around because of how deep I was in my hobbies, but I still wanted someone, anyone to reach out to me. That never happened. I hated the girls there. I wanted to strangle and scream at them but I was too much of a coward to ever stand up for myself. 

My dad made me work way way way too much for his selfish desires, while my mom died in childbirth. I only had two good things in my life: video games and my brother. And when I lost one, I knew I couldn’t live without the other. That’s why I attacked that robber without a care in the world. I knew I would die. I wanted to. I didn’t want to live in such a lonely world. The light that showed me the way had been extinguished for good.

I didn’t want it to be the end though. I wanted to carry on his legacy, but I made a mistake when I took myself out of the equation. I didn’t realize just how important I was to him.

It was like I was both of us at the same time. It made me sad, but it also made me feel warm inside. Something soothing and familiar lit a fire in my heart. I was a fool to forget about him. He was with me the whole time.

“If...only I could see...him again.”

“Well, then just look in the mirror and smile. Smile like he did," Komoria said with a smirk. "I’m sure that's all he would want, but you went above and beyond for your brother. I can’t believe I thought you were such a woman-hater when we met and a piece of trash. I can’t believe you were once a girl yourself, ha-ha!”

"Sh-shut...up." My cheeks felt warm.

"You're as red as a tomato! Hah-hah!" She put a hand over her mouth and started cracking up at my expense.

“S-so what? I’m not a girl anymore and even with these memories, don’t expect me to act any different. I’m gonna continue to play the part of my delinquent brother.”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course. Of course. Sure.”

I didn’t sound very convincing, but I meant, well sort of. For her, the girl who saw the true side of me, I could treat her differently. I’m not sure why, but my heart sort of ached when I thought of her.” Well, I do know why. I just don't want to admit it. 

“Wait!” Komoria nearly jumped up in the air. “Does that mean I’m into girls if I fell for someone who used to be female?!”

“I told you! It’s not like that! I have a dick, don’t I?! You have seen it! Yeah! I reincarnated and I'm different! Also, our feelings are so not mutual so get off your high horse! ...Bitch!”

She puffed out her cheeks and pouted. “Hmph! For now, that is. There's no way you could ever live without a girl who knows every part of you...and has experienced...every part of you.”

"Now your face is red as fuck!"

"Yeah...," she said meekly, touching her pointer fingers together and refusing to meet my gaze.

“And what do you mean about 'knowing every part of me'?”

“I don’t know what has happened on the outside while I was gone, but I spent a month in your shoes, or previous shoes when I was away. I got to live, breathe, and sleep Raze—or Rachel for that matter. I know some of your secrets too, your fears and whatnot. I don’t know what planes are but—”

“Okay, okay! I get it! I wiped the tears from my eyes and tried to look cool. “You know a part of me that I never thought I would see again. I...missed you. Even more when I had to see you in the mirror when you were gone. Now how do we get out of here?”

Komoria’s ears drooped, while her wings sunk with a frown. “I was going to ask you the same thing…”

"Ah, shit."

————————————————————————————————————————————

After Raze fell to the floor I finally snapped out of my funk. I had been so enamored with what I was looking at that I forgot what our objective was. How unsightly.

The slime beast was staring at the unconscious Raze, now. His body was glowing, but he didn’t show any sign of waking up.

We had to intervene.

“Fione! We need to buy time for Raze’s return. I can’t exactly damage it with my fists, but you should be able to, right?”

“Uh, well…,” she twiddled her thumbs, “My only spells that hurt things involve cutting off my portals early or dropping stuff on them. I don’t think either will suffice against what looks like a Lava Elder Slime... Sorry.”

“It’s alright. We just need to keep it distracted until Raze and Komoria return.”

That was my plan, at least. This monster seemed pretty formidable, simply from watching it from afar. There was also something else I wanted to confirm, even if it did lack intelligence.

I stepped forward and transformed one of my hands into the pincer of the Azurespine. It mirrored the pincer arm that the slime had on.

It seemed my suspicions were correct, for better or worse. I need to see it with my own eyes.

I took another step forward and put my normal hand to my chest. “You! You devoured an Azurespine, did you not? Perhaps...two of them?”

The slime didn’t speak, of course. It couldn’t, but it understood my words. I was sure of it. Its arm retracted and turned into a molten humanoid hand. It thrust it out to the right, oozing like a transformation, and let three droplets fall from its arm.

The droplets grew, gaining mass and form until two of them resembled people I knew all too well. The other was a white avian with crystal-like feathers.

“A Farfrost Avea. My book told me that they haven't been seen in nearly 200 years. They're supposed to be extinct.”

Fione pulled out a different book and pen than last time from between her breasts and jotted something down. I guess she was into things like that as well.

She slipped the items back into the cleavage and stared intently at the creature. I, on the other hand, gazed into the lifeless eyes of my brethren. I had found my brothers, at last, or what remained.

Just one glance at them told me their minds were no more. All they had left was a facsimile of their flesh—simulacrum. They each had blue-plated armor and horned helmets. Jinra, the one on the right, had short, silver hair, hidden beneath his helmet. Ryo had long black hair with blue highlights and a smile that could match the brightness of the sun.

They had left home around five years ago. If they brought back the spoils of their discoveries, then the Azurespine would get more renown than ever.

They never came back, though. Now I knew why.

“So you have abandoned me as well, Jinra...and Ryo. I’m fine with it now. I have myself and my allies to prop me up.”

I couldn't meet their glassy, sunken eyes, but I said what I wanted to say. They didn't have to worry about their weak little sister anymore. I hoped they could be at peace with that.

The slime humanoid simply watched as my two brothers trained their pincer hands on me, while the ancient bird lunged at Fione.

It seems the slime wanted to challenge us. I’m not sure why it would do this, but it seems we have no choice.

For the moment, its focus was on us and not the Raze who continued to get brighter and brighter behind it.

I took the initiative.

“Aaaarh!”

I slammed my fist into Ryo and my foot in Jinra. Their movements were sluggish compared to my refined style of hand-to-hand combat. I weaved in blow after blow between each of them, massively increasing my strength in seconds.

My brothers weren't at the highest level, but they were still strong. I honed my body to be durable because of the constant skirmishes I got into with them.

I had now long surpassed my brothers, tearing into each of them with a flurry of blows. No blood flowed from their mouths, but their bodies felt feeble like rocks as they crumpled under my iron fists.

“Wow, you do a lot more damage than I thought! You look so manly!” Fione swooned as she finished shredding the bird to slime droplets with her flurry of portals.

That comment made me sad, just a bit. “But, I’m not a man.”

I drove my fists into my brethren one more time, finally sending them back to the great beyond.

“It seems I underestimated you, beast-kin. Are people not bound to bonds in this day and age?”

A pleasant, but ridiculing voice came from the faceless slime. Was I hearing things? 

Then a familiar voice filled my ears.

“Boy, it’s good to be back. Now, fuck you slime!”

The ashen-haired boy drove his scythe right into the slime's body, a wicked grin plastered across his face.