1 Oh Look, I'm Dead

Hello there. I'm John Doe. Just kidding, my name's Robert Kyng. But right now, I'm in a bit of an odd situation, so my name doesn't mean a lot. I mean, being a bug kinda renders a lot of stuff moot.

Let me backtrack. Just a little while ago, I was your average person. I was 20 years old, mired in more debt than I should have been, and working part-time while pursuing a degree in biology. Nothing special. Anyway, the problems began when I tried to go home for summer vacation. I was on the plane back to my home when we went through a storm cloud. Usually this would have meant nothing but a little turbulence, which would be mildly uncomfortable. However, the plane I was on was apparently very poorly checked over. That turbulence apparently damaged one wing, which led to a series of events that ended in the plane crashing.

That plane crash killed me.

However, death is, apparently, not the end. I woke up in a bed, and all around me I saw the people who were on the plane with me, all laying in bed as well. The beds were arranged in long rows, and there was plenty of space between each. The room was well lit, and I could see a door on one wall. I sat up in bed, and I noticed the people around me wake up and do the same.

"Uh... anyone know where we are?" I asked. Everyone just shook their heads.

"All I remember is lots of screaming and an explosion... I thought I was dead!" a woman said. All of us shuddered, including me. It was clear that we shared that sentiment.

Suddenly, the door opened, and in came a middle aged man holding a thick book and a pen. He was wearing a three piece suit and, for all intents and purposes, looked like a normal businessman.

"Hello everyone," the man said, "I'm going to make it short. You guys died in the plane crash. I'm God, and I'm gonna figure out what to do with you guys." Immediately, the room erupted into hubbub. This "God" person snapped his fingers, and we were instantly silenced.

"Quiet please. Let me speak. Anyway, like I said, all of you are dead, and I'm going to arrange your new life. Now, let's start with you." He pointed at the person sitting in the bed right next to him, and that person flopped over. A few moments later, the man dissolved into light. The God opened his book and nodded.

"Earth. As expected." he muttered. He pointed at the next person, and that person collapsed as well, then dissolved into light a little while later.

Suddenly, one of the people, instead of turning into light, crumbled into dust. The God shook his head. "Permadeath. Oh well." He moved on.

Eventually, the God came up to me. However, the pen in the God's hand suddenly flew into my hand.

"Oh? I'll have to come back to you," he said, a trace of interest and excitement crossing his face. He quickly finished up the rest of the room, then came back to me.

"Hello... Robert Kyng. I suppose I should explain. This book is the Tome of Destiny. It records every the journey of every single soul in every single universe. That pen is the Pen of Fate. It allows me to personally write a person's past, present, and future. During most resurrection processes, it lies dormant, but occasionally there is a soul who it decides to favor." God explained. He then plopped the book down on my lap.

"Here, just hold the pen point-down over this page, then drop it," he said. I did so, and as soon as I let go of it, it started scribbling in arcane and mysterious characters. God leaned over and read it as it went.

"Hmm... World 10-SDM. Retain memories. That's a classic. Evolution based power? That's a new one. Wait, what? Oh, worm? That'll be fun," he muttered. I felt like there was something in there to be worried about, but before I could figure out what, the pen stopped writing, and God snapped the book closed.

"Alright! Ready to go, Robert? Good. Have fun!" he said briskly, a devious smile spreading across his face, "Goodbye, Robert. I'm sure you will enjoy your new life!"

As he spoke, I shimmered with light, kinda blacked out, and now I'm here. Lying in a mud pool.

Now, way back at the start, I mentioned that I was a bug, but I never said what kind.

I'm an earthworm.

Raising my head up toward the sky, I screamed, "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, YOU STUPID GOD?!" Well, I tried to, at least. Worms don't have vocal cords.

I was feeling quite disgruntled. Soon, that irritation turned into full blown anger.

"Screw it, if I'm gonna be worm, I might as well act like one!" I thought. Leaning down, I shoved my head into the dirt and "ate" a mouthful of dirt. Swallowing it, I suddenly heard a "Ding!"

'You have gained 1 point of Earth Experience. 99 more points until Evolution becomes possible.'