The portal enveloped me in an energy that numbed my body’s sensations; it had the consistency of gelatin dessert with the chilling effect of a mint body wash.

  My body tensed and became harder to move with each passing second, succumbing to rigor mortis. I could feel the icy death again, it crawled from my toes to my head, sending shivers through my nervous system.

  Only this time, my life didn’t flash before my eyes. Instead, a warm light shone from afar through the darkness. The light had a thawing ability as it slowly freed my body from its frozen imprisonment.

  I yearned to be within the warmth that was outside my reach but my body was stiff from the energy surrounding it. Urging myself forward with the summoned willpower of trying to plug my phone charger between the wall and bedside table.

  With each successful movement, I came closer to the light. Looking down, I could see my ghostly apparition offset to my physical body, like two film cells on top of one another.

  We separated at the hip, I could feel my soul escaping the grip of my body as I moved closer towards the light.

  Closer.

  In protest to my progress, my body started to glow brightly as its hands moved through the inky darkness. It tried to grab my leg, missing by a few inches.

  What if my body refused to let go of my soul?

  I pondered the question for a moment, watching as the connecting energies between my body and soul snapped like dry spaghetti noodles.

  The void and the light shifted around me, like oil on water they couldn’t become one with the other.

  Shadow and light rippled through space, my soul rode their waves of instability while my body urgently tried to push through the thickest parts of it.

  “Bad. Bad body, let me be reborn.”

  The words echoed in the void.

  I stood along the surface of shadow, it felt cold to my feet which gave me an uneasy feeling with the warmth felt by the rest of my soul.

  Along the border of shadow, my body stood opposite to light and stared intensely at me.

  “GO...HOME...”

  My body let out a guttural scream of words, it vibrated within me and sent shivers through my nervous system.

  “We can’t go back.”

  In a rapid response to my words, my body began punching the border of light and shadow. Each strike created fractures of shadow across the light, like lightning in a bottle.

  “We must...GO BACK.”

  Desperation rung in my body’s thoughts. It punched again at the border, spreading the fractures into the light.

  “It’s over...we died...be at peace,”

  CRACK!

  The fractures became crevices of void, light bled into it at an alarming rate while I clung to the hope of reaching the light.

  It began to thaw my soul from the cold darkness, helping me push through the thick gelatinous energy of the portal.

  CRACK!

  Another punch and more shadow seeped into the light.

  It was nearly time to leave my body behind, then I could decide what my next self would look like when I activated the System.

  Except, I didn’t have the System.

  CRACK!

  The darkness was spreading faster than I anticipated, I looked down to see that my body held onto the badge that gave me access to the system.

  It punched into the barrier once more before violently tearing through the fabric between light and dark. Colourful electricity arced through the air, it was met with an unknown force pushing it back with little hope of success.

  In any other medium, the sight of it would be hauntingly beautiful, but in reality, seeing the bursting colours mixed with the swirling essence of the void brought me dread.

  “WE MUST RETURN!”

  Its hand found my leg, the tether begin to reform each passing moment it held onto me. I spotted the badge in the other hand and I knew, if I was going to have a chance to be who I wanted to be, I needed to get that badge.

  I launched myself towards my body, we clashed in the void and the light seeped into the shadow again. Crashing against one another, my body tried to force my soul back into itself while I wrestled to get hold of the badge.

  “I need that badge! You have to let it go!”

  “REJOIN ME!”

  It screamed with vibrations that disoriented me for a moment before I felt the badge against the tips of my fingers as I lunged forward to grab onto the badge.

  I had my hand on it, I could cross into the light now, but my body had a vice grip on me.

  Willing myself forward, I reached for the tendrils of light that stretched towards my hand before my body grabbed hold of the badge and my soul.

  We crossed into the light together and were flung through with an incredible speed. My body ripped into my soul while I felt us hurtling through the cosmos, I saw a planet in the distance.

  Was that my new home?

  But wait. I was supposed to choose my new look, this wasn’t right, I should have had that option with the badge.

  We hurtled past planets, moons and clouds of interstellar dust towards a landmass on the planet.

  Buzz!

  A tingling sensation electrocuted across my nervous system, building up heat along the tether to my body.

  “I will get home...with or without you.”

  Then my body shoved me away, breaking off from our tether while holding onto the badge. Its descent to the planet curved to disappear over the horizon.

  What was going to happen to me?

  Was I going to remember everything about After-Life?

  Wasn’t I supposed to forget?

  Mountains, fields and rivers below, I couldn’t get a full picture of the surroundings before everything snapped into darkness once more.

  I had arrived on the new planet. But how was a soul to travel and live amongst the living?

  These were uncharted waters and I was exhausted from the ordeal with my body. I began to fade from consciousness, when something strange began to happen.

  An old chat window popped into vision, slowly typing out a message like an old computer;

  WELCOME TO THE SYSTEM!

  Relief and shock were the last things I felt before I slipped into unconsciousness, dazzling lights twinkling across my vision lulled me into a quick sleep.

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  Regaining consciousness some time later with no idea where I had landed, I awoke. Wherever it was, it was pitch black with zero light sources except for the text screen floating in my vision.

  Please complete user initialization before embarking further within this reality, CALISTO

  Begin tutorial, Yes/No?

  I had seen screens like this back home, the familiar glow and transparent box underneath the text was reminiscent of roleplaying video games; with dark blue background and white text, it scaled to the size of the text.

  Yes and please, call me Cal.

  I thought to the System and it responded to me.

  Understood, Cal.

  Beginning tutorial.

  Please open the Character Menu and begin customization of your new body.

  Character menu, like a video game. But where was the button for it, I just have the chat menu.

  Will it let me select it using only my thoughts?

  I focused on the task of opening the character menu to the best understanding I had of it, finding that the menu did pop up for me. When it appeared, it pushed the chat window to the right while taking center place in my vision.

  The menu showed the outline of a humanoid with a red slash running through it diagonally, a flashing error sign appeared over the humanoid.

  I think it says I can’t make a character.

  Recalibrating system...

  Missing body data.

  Mental image program initiated.

  Please begin to imagine from the core of your being, how you desire to be reborn in this world.

  The core of my being? Do humans have cores? I suppose there is the muscle region but they could also mean the core, as in my bones. I guess I could change my skeletal structure, then I’ll never hear the future anthropologist cliche again.

  Human Being; feminine skeleton.

  Choice confirmed.

  Forming Feminine Skeleton Body

  What? No, that was not my choice.

  Preparing spiritual energy for transformation.

  Control-alt-delete!

  My new body began to form within the moist dirt inside of a dungeon wall, I could feel the coolness of my spiritual energy stretch into the space my soul occupied.

  Instinctually, I could tell that I was comprised of 206 bones and that all of them were now the only thing my body was comprised of which made my bones shiver.

  All of the insects and crawlies that moved through the earth on their usual daily activities were brushing against my bones with their tiny feet.

  I wanted to scream in shock but I couldn’t even move my jaw, only my eyes and forehead were partially out of the wall to be able to see.

  The room I gazed into was a small dungeon with burial chambers embedded within the wall, there was a small chest between each of the burial chambers lit by hanging torches. The floor was made of crumbling stone that eroded from water droplets coming from the ceiling, making puddles of stagnant water across the grooves in the stone.

  Why did you select Skeleton? I like having skin.

  You currently do not possess your physical body, making full resurrection nearly impossible at this stage, forming your skeleton body with spiritual energy was the only option.

  My body...of course it had to go across the horizon’s edge when we fell to this planet...So I’ll need the body to complete my character customization?

  The System paused for a moment, then the chat refreshed.

  Apologies, Cal. Even with your body, I will be unable to redo the transformation process without an additional resurrection token.

  If I could put my hand to my forehead, very similar to Captain Picard in that meme from Star Trek: The Next Generation, I would without hesitation. Alas, my bone body was encased in the wall.

  Is there any way to change my body?

  Again, the chat window was silent until an awkward 30 seconds passed us by.

  Any further changes to your current form would require access to an After-Life representative.

  You can petition for an extra use of the system character creation if its approved by the representative.

  The System reacted similarly to a digital assistant back home, I couldn’t tell if it had actual sentience or was just programmed very well to respond to queries.

  But either way, I was a skeleton and that was something I couldn’t change very easily.

  Okay, make my way back to After-Life, but aren’t I supposed to forget about After-Life?

  Memories of After-Life are erased after completion of the Character Customization process.

  So until I finish my customization, I’ll remember everything about the After-Life?

  Correct, retrieving your body must be top priority, alongside keeping the secret of the After-Life from mortal minds.

  Well a lot of good that does me, I don’t even know where I am, let alone my body.

  You are currently buried under the Cyan Mountains, famous for its rich supply of rare ores.

  Buried? I’m actually underground?

  How do I get out?

  Escape in your current state is not possible, you must wait for an outside force to find and extract you from the wall.

  But no one knows I’m here, what am I supposed to do until then?

  The system was silent for a moment, the screens disappeared from my perspective, leaving me in the cold darkness of the subterranean abyss.

  It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Gned told me I could choose my new form, but what went wrong?

  The ordeal of fighting my body for the Star Badge to reincarnate started a strange reaction when we passed into the light.

  Did it separate us because we were not one?

  What a predicament. Not even five minutes into my next life and I’m a pile of bones. At least my bones match who I am inside my soul, but I would have preferred to have a body.

  I’ve already exhausted the thoughts in my head unless I decide to ruminate for the next foreseeable future. Thinking, pondering, inquiring on possibilities with no way to confirm my hypothesis. I needed something to do.

  Quest: Tutorial Training

  Info: You have travelled far to a new world with the assistance of The System. This new world requires training and education for your survival to be ensured. Train within each subject to complete the tutorial.

  Reward: One Magical Tome, 100G.

  Progress: Tutorials 0/6.

  Would you like to begin your training within the System?

  Whoa! And I get to choose a magical tome once I’m done? How does it work?

  The System Tutorial is capable of manufacturing mental spaces for training purposes. An imprint of your being is then placed within the mental space and given Tasks, Skills, Techniques and Quests to further your understanding of the world.

  I’ve got nothing better to do, so let’s begin learning.

  Light flooded my vision, the darkness around me went away to reveal the plateau of a massive rock monolith.

  I stood at the peak, looking inward to the center of the towering rock formation to see a holographic skeleton.

  It looked to me, bowing graciously before multiple windows opened for me to choose from;

  Combat. Arcana. Alchemy. History. Language. Physio.

  I willed myself forward, finding that my legs worked again! But further inspection showed that I am still a humble skeleton, which made me stumble before I regained my balance.

  How long will it take to complete the tutorial?

  I called out to the tutorial via mental command.

  Completion of the mental space tutorial varies for all users, the available subject matter ranges from introductory to master level quests. But be warned only the knowledge will carry with you into the real world upon completion.

  That was a problem, I’d only get the technique and knowledge, but not the levels and experience points put into learning through the tutorial.

  Give me a second. I’ll need a moment to decide where to start.

  Understood, your trainer will stand-by until you are ready to begin.

  Where to begin? What would I benefit from the most in comparison to the other subjects available?

  History would give me a better understanding of the world that exists outside of the Cyan Mountains.

  This was a new world, I had barely gotten a glimpse of it on my way down, but it looked larger than Earth. If I start by knowing the lay of the land as well as the history of its civilizations, that would help me to avoid offending any nations I may come across.

  Last thing I needed was to live out a classic Star Trek cliche where the ensign accidentally triggers a riot through some arbitrary rule they’ve overlooked in the briefing.

  If that were to occur, I may want to learn Language so I can communicate with the locals. Linguistic barriers are always the first to solve when meeting new civilizations, I didn’t want to have to act out everything I wanted to say.

  The language barrier is of the utmost importance, even if I master every other training program. I will need to be able to speak as everyone else does.

  Who knows? Knowing the language could save my bones from certain demise if they decide to incite a mob against me.

  If this is a world full of magic, my training in Arcana and Alchemy could help me develop an invisibility potion, then I could study the language from the shadows.

  Then again. I’m sure such potions would have a time limit and I’m still a skeleton. If I popped up in the middle of the town square, they’d surely call the authorities to apprehend me. Partial language or not, I look ghoulish.

  Combat and Physio may be better to focus on in case of hostile reactions, I wanted to be able to escape the torches and pitchforks. Bones tend to not do well with fire, but the same can be said for most beings as fire is a widely universal weakness.

  I think I have a good idea of where to begin; language first so I can understand people and signs, then alchemy and magic so I have some skills to practice with my knowledge of this worlds alphabetical symbols.

  After I’ve gotten a good grip on those, I can confidently acquire combat and physio training as a last resort if diplomacy fails as a talking skeleton.

  I wasn’t sure how long I would be stuck in the wall of this dungeon, at least I won’t die being made of soul energy.

  Now to get started before someone uncovers my bones in the dirt, it could be any day now.

  I’m ready, let’s begin with language then magic and alchemy.

  Understood, we shall begin with the basics, there will be tests throughout the tutorial so be sure to take notes.

  Of course there will be notes, well the system has a good thought-to-type program so I might have an easier time here than back home.