His name was Derek Carter.

When he first opened his eyes, he was filled with curiosity.

When he learned how to walk, that curiosity developed into a childish thrive for adventure.

When he went to school, he dreamt of a life as an archeologist, seeking danger and excitement, scouring the vicious rainforests and blazing deserts for signs of lost civilizations.

Yet when he turned 22, his dreams of an exciting future were answered in a very different way, as he got drafted into the Second World War. Derek ended up in the front lines, where he lost a leg to a mortar shell, which completely destroyed his future plans.

After being discharged, he started a career as a tailor and even managed to open four different branch shops before retiring.

Despite his loss of limb, he didn't die and even managed to see his great-grandchildren. He was almost content with his life... almost...

As he saw himself aging, his depression grew. Every day he was drifting further from his dreams. Yes, he could have done it when he was younger. He had money to blow on traveling, but instead, he used the excuse of being too busy or tired to go, focusing on his work and family. Now... now he could hardly walk...

The regret of wasting his life, tirelessly working for a goal, but in the process neglecting to walk the last steps until it was out of his grasp. That regret was eating him from inside. Yet, he didn't want his family to worry about him. He had to remain strong. He smiled and laughed every time they visited, not showing his internal turmoil.

Then the day came, and he knew it. Everyone knew it. That was the last day he had. He felt rage, despair, and regret. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry... but even then, he smiled.

Now he just stood there, on the side of a hill, looking at the vast expanse of forest laid out before him. His heart beat faster than ever before, for he knew it: This was it! This was his second chance!

And he smiled. For the first time in a decade, he genuinely smiled.

❖❖❖

This is so exciting! I was never really a religious type so when I closed my eyes, I fully expected to never open them again.

Yes, I did hope and imagine what could happen, but this... this exceeds even my wildest dreams! I not only get to live again, but I even get my leg and youth back!

I can feel my whole body literally shake with excitement, and my brain is a mess of overwhelming emotions that I can't even hope to unravel.

'Okay, deep breaths, get a hold of yourself, Derek! Even though this is all very exciting, you just died, got transported to... God? Who then left you stranded in a desolate forest.'

First things first, I need to find out where I am, wha-

"You are currently on the planet of Drakmir, inside the Sereda galaxy," a genderless sound rings out inside my head.

"What?" I ask startled

"You are currently on the planet of Drakmir, inside the Sereda galaxy," the sound rings out again.

"... What?!"

"It appears you have suffered some neurological damage during the transfer. Do not fret, though, as I am patient and will explain this as many times as needed, so let us try this again: You are currently on the planet of Dr-"

"Stop! I get it, okay?"

"Yes," the voice responds almost instantly.

...

"Uh, hello?" I ask the voice after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Yes?" the voice asks as if the previous conversation didn't exist.

A few more seconds of silence follow.

"What and where are you? I don't see you," I manage to get out.

"I am the Guide. I was created to help you acclimate to your new world. You are not permitted to know my location. I am speaking to you by artificially sending your brain signals to perceive my voice as if I was talking right next to your ear, or both ears, to be exact," the Guide spoke, as monotone as ever.

So okay. I died, saw God, got transported to another galaxy, and have some sentient thing messing with my brain... But oh well, it beats dying, I guess?

"So you're here to help me out with information, right?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Great! So could you tell me who, or what was that eerie woman from before? Was she God?"

"Requested information is restricted," the Guide answered.

"Restricted, huh? So what am I even supposed to do now?" I ask, confused.

"There are no instructions present in your memory."

'Okay, help my ass. You're utterly useless...'

I take a better look around and saw that I'm inside a small crater that was no doubt left from me hitting the ground. The crater was located on the side of a hill, about halfway up. The surrounding trees seemed very odd. They looked like oak trees, but their trunks were a lot taller and leaves a lot wider, with sharp jagged tips like those of a maple tree. There was an opening in the canopy, which granted me a great view of the horizon.

Several kilometers away, the forest began to curve upward, eventually revealing a snow-tipped mountain range.

There was a cacophony of different odd birdsongs in the air, none of which were familiar to me.

After marveling at the picturesque view, I started climbing the hill to see what lay in different directions.

❖❖❖

The climb went relatively smoothly, or it might have been that any activity with this new body feels easy because the comparison to my previous crippled and weak one is so huge.

The forest floor was clear for the most part, but often there were large patches of moss-covered rocks that were a bit more treacherous to traverse. As I climbed, I asked the Guide multiple questions however, if it wasn't rudimentary knowledge, the Guide either wouldn't or couldn't answer.

❖❖❖

A half-hour later the climb was nearly done, and I was a few steps from the top.

Walking was so fun with the new body! After I lost my leg, I had gotten a prosthetic, but it could never beat the real thing. Even though I was a 103 old man, I couldn't resist giggling like a little girl every once in a while.

Finally, the land started to plateau, and I could see some light shine in between the tree trunks. Then the view opened, and I was greeted with a sight even more spectacular than the last. On this side, there was a sheer drop into a green sea of leaves. I didn't notice this when I was hysterically falling through the sky, but the hill I was on wasn't a hill but another ridge of which one side was a slope and another a drop. On my right side, the perpendicular cliff curved from where I was standing, forward, until around 7 kilometers away, where it rose higher into a proper mountain.

On the left side, the cliff just continued without curving, eventually lowering back into the forest.

From the mountain, a river flowed, which turned into a waterfall when it dove off the cliff. The waterfall fell into a medium-sized lake. All of this was absolutely stunning, yet the thing that caught my eye the hardest was the city that stood behind the lake.

I couldn't see it so well, but the city seemed oddly medieval with a large stone wall surrounding its houses, forming a half-circle against the tall mountain cliff.

I couldn't help but let a deranged laugh escape my lips. This was the adventure I'd been searching for!

Apparently, the birds that rested above me in the leaves didn't find it so funny, as they frantically escaped, flying off the cliff.

Even the birds were magnificent. They were red with a yellow belly and a long, meter-long tail trailing behind them and kind of reminded me of phoenixes.

I looked back at the city far away: "Well, now I have a goal at least!"