Oh, there lived a boy, his life certainly left much to be desired but he also felt it could have been much worse . . . Until it became that much worse.

  He was someone who loo hold his owiny in his own hands, a desire born out of his dition.

  At a young age, he had been diagnosed with a strange illness, never before seen. He, who had been a boy with seemingly endless energy and a love for movement, suddenly began to lose his physical ability.

  His body slowly stopped responding to his brain's ands and he was wracked by pain at every waking moment.

  Euthanasia rohibited by w and he was in no dition to travel to a pce where it wasn't and so, he simply had tn himself to withstand the doctors' best efforts to prolong his suffering.

  In such a life, the fantastic world of anime was a small relief from the harshness of his life. The boy wished he could wield the fantastic powers the characters did, being invincible in the world.

  He wished to fight, to move aroy and to create but khat would never happen. After all, even within the limited fines of the real world, he was incapable of doing practically anything.

  At first the boy became full of hate ament.

  Towards the doctors that prolonged his suffering, the family that abandoned him out of a desire not to see him suffer.

  Other people that willfully wasted their existence despite having everything he did not.

  And finally, the world, fated and the divine, whatever was responsible for his dition.

  After a long period of that however, a period of peace came.

  The pain became a fact of life as the boy became desensitized.

  His ability to barely move and only for limited periods of time followed suit.

  Humans were creatures with an incredible capacity for adjustment, some were at least and it seemed as though he was one of those.

  The boy finally accepted the hand he was dealt in that life, came to terms with his situation and dition and reached what some might call a higher state of mind.

  All he had to do now was live out his life, enjoy the few things he could enjoy in it while not letting himself be dragged down by the bad.

  Easy to say, but he had attaihe mentality required so he merely had to wait.

  Until the moment came.

  The boy felt a darkness deeper than usual as he was lulled to sleep by his medie, and instinctively k was the end.

  He was not fearful however, he weled it in fact.

  Like being an old friend, the boy invited Death in and passed away quietly in his sleep, praying for a more vibra life.

  He was about to get his wish . . .

  *

  In a pne of endless white, a soul of gold awoke after the death of its earthly body.

  Sitting up from its ying position, the soul was moved to tears. It was the boy who, at the price of life, regained his mobility as a disembodied soul.

  Even his strange circumstances were not enough to deter him from standing up and running around the endless white pne, jumping with joy as he went.

  He had yet to notice it but his soul form was the age just before his disease started to show its symptoms, the stage of his life that the boy subsciously selected as his prime.

  [It is good to enjoy your newfound state but I’m afraid your time in this pne of transition is limited]

  A majestic voice, bereft of identifying characteristics but pulsing with divihority, even if not oppressive in its nature.

  Hearing this voice, the boy stopped his revelry though a smile still graced his lips. He had died and obtaihe relief he so desperately wished for, that much he knew but it seemed he had yet to reach his final destination.

  “Where am I?” He asked.

  [This is a pne of transition. Here, your future will be decided.] The voice responded.

  “Who are you?” The boy tio ask.

  [That is of no importaneither my name nor my form be accurately perceived by a soul such as yourself. I am here merely to offer you a choice, ohat you have earhe right to make.]

  “A choice?” The boy wondered aloud.

  A fn cept of a distant past. He had long been dehe right to make choices of any real significe.

  [Indeed. Your life, as painful as it was, served a great purpose.] The voice again resounded.

  [Through your suffering, all your karma was sed and repaid while you yourself mao let go of all attats to earthly existence.]

  [Not all souls are gold like yours. Only one who has undergone a personal Nirvana will gain such a resple soul.] It expined.

  “There was meaning to my life . . .” The boy was not quite sure how to feel about that.

  On one hand, it was good that he stood to gain something but . . . Assigning such worth to what he sidered a waste of a despair indug life left him feeling quite plex.

  “So what is the choice I have to make?” He asked.

  Even though he did not give it much thought, in the back of his mind, having the power of choice more, a luxury he did not appreciate until he lost it, felt really good.

  [Achieving Nirvana has earned you a p paradise but there are those that prefer to remain within the Cycle of Samsara despite their enlighte.]

  ‘So the cycle of reination and Samsara are real huh?’ The boy thought to himself but a more important question arose in his mind.

  “Why would one refuse to go to actual paradise?” He questioned.

  [Paradise is a pce of peace where meditation for further enlighte is the main activity for its residents. Such a lifestyle does not suit everyone and some prefer to search for enlighte within Samsara, from the lives and realms of the unenlightened.] The voice responded.

  ‘A stagnant life of meditation . . . Yeah no.’ The boy internally reacted.

  “Meditation was one of those things taught to me to try and make living frozen in pain more bearable, spending ay doing what I have already been doing all my life but by choice this time, does not seem to be a future I’d like.” He spoke with a firm resolve.

  [I thought as much. As you ck the experiehers who have reached enlighte normally possess, owing to your previous dition, Samsara ought to be your further enlighte more.] The voice said in response.

  It then expined what exactly the alternative of returning to Samsara entailed.

  [As an Enlightened Being, there are several bes that others who reinate normally have no access to. Your full memory is always kept for example. You will also be from an incredibly powerful soul and spirit as well as immense physical potential.]

  [These bes ma in the form of traits, a boon of enlightehat affect the body, mind and/or soul. They are, however, pletely random though you will instinctively know what your traits are and their characteristics.]

  [One awaken up to three such traits though that is incredibly rare. Additionally, the nature and potency of oraits is tied to the individual and are thus kept across inations unless further enlighte is achieved.]

  [You also have a stant innate awareness of your own state and abilities. This information ma in different ways however, typically in a way familiar to the individual. Those of worlds simir to yours have often had this ability ma as a so-called status s.]

  [It is merely a way to track your current state and growth, nothing more.]

  The voice cluded its expnation.

  ‘A way to track progress is very useful si will let me know if I’m going in the right way with my training and such. It is also motivating to see your progress show in an obvious way. And then 1 to 3 beneficial traits . . .’ The boy pondered.

  “Will my new life be decided at random as well?” He inquired while digesting the words of the voice.

  [It will but yranted basiowledge of the world yoing into before you ehe cycle once more so you make a more informed decision.] The voice responded.

  “And when I die?” The boy tinued with his inquiry.

  [Your soul shall return here with your full memory and given this choice more but the world you lived in will be beyond your realess you achieve yet a higher state of existence. Such are our rules of reination.] The voiswered.

  ‘So I’ll never again see whoever I leave behind with my death . . . Not unless I am enlightened further, however I am supposed to aplish such a feat . . .’ The boy thought to himself but quickly swept those thoughts away. He had a whole new and hopefully exg life ahead of him.

  “What world would I reinate in then?” He asked the real question.

  As soon as he did, images and words appeared in his head. Battles, fought by headband wearing people wielding the elements and perf various other superhumas through the power of chakra, a world he knew quite well from his extensive anime knowledge.

  Even noobs would reise su anime however . . . The world of Naruto.

  It was a rather dangerous world if one wao live their life to the fullest, wielding the skills of a shinobi but could he really deny himself su opportunity because of its potential danger.

  Death did nhten him, pain and suffering were a stant panion of his, there was really nothing to deter him and so the choice was obvious.

  In a world where might made right and his potential was assured by his enlighte, he could live out all of his fantasies.

  ‘I was just told that experieng the various aspects of the Material Realm could help me in my jouro further enlighte so I’ll be sure to thhly enjoy everything this world has to offer me.’

  And so . . . The was immersed in an abyss of never ending darkness.

  As he sank further and further, a gate appeared, its features blurry, and once he crossed, the boy tasted light on his skin once again, reborn in a world for a different life.

  *

  Near a wooden building built on a forest clearing, several children could be seen scurrying about, pying with each other as a gentle looking woman, face showing the lines of time, looked over them with a snow white haired unnaturally perfect baby with gleaming violet eyes in her arms.

  +++++

  Hey, Author here!

  Just a remihat you read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.

  I'm trying to bee a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I make sure this one is properly pleted.

  Just so you know. While I would immensely appreciate your pa-treon subscription, the chapters will all eventually bee avaible on this site.

  Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon./lusoba without the -