An extra’s tale

Reshi found himself standing in a plane of endless blinding light. Squinting, it took a while before he was able to distinguish between the various shades of blinding white. Soon the walls formed into intricate walls as Reshi realised he was inside a palace.

It was a truly breathtaking place, well that would be if he had lungs to breathe. But at the same time it was extremely disconcerting. The palace didn't seem to obey any of the rules of the world, and it skewed with his perception of distance. Some things got closer and then further, even though they never moved, only distance itself changed.

Shaking his head to dispel the growing migraine, Reshi decided it was safe to probably just look at the floor. This place was painful to look at.

"So, you died now."

Looking up he saw a figure emerging from the light, as if formed from it. It had the appearance of a man, but Reshi was under no illusions that the person in front of him was actually human.

For one, he was way too handsome.

He was tall, with delicate, regal features. He had a pair of bright golden larger eyes that rested warmly on Reshi, and long bright golden hair that complemented his pale smooth skin.

"A-are you god?" Reshi stammered.

The man laughed, a pure beautiful sound that engulfed the palace in its warmth. "No, well not in the sense you think anyway Reshi. But perhaps, I am your god Reshi. You can call me Sun."

"Can I ask a question, uhh, Mr Sun", Reshi asked hesitantly as he approached the deity.

"Of course."

"First things first, I'm dead right?"

The deity smiled, revealing a row of perfect teeth. "Oh yes, you are most definitely dead. Irrevocably so, you can never walk those streets again anyway."

"So it was you who decided my death right?"

Sun laughed again, "Perhaps, in a way. I am your god after all"

"What do you mean, my god? I'm an atheist."

Instead of laughing, Sun fixed his burning bright gold eyes to him.

Sun stepped forward, his mesmerizing golden eyes, transfixed on him. "I am your god Reshi. I made you. It was me that put you into this world, it was I who gave you to your mother. It was me who witnessed your birth at her hand, and it was me who held the shovel with you as you buried her. It was I who blessed you, punished and guided you. It was me who gave you life, and at the end, it was me that allowed you to die. Your whole life it was me you served. Whether you knew it or not. Your every action worshipped me, every good you did was attributed to me, and every bad you did was forgiven by me."

Reshi nodded. "Thank you, that answers everything." Calmly he walked up to Sun, a soft smile on his face. "Yes, that's all I needed to know." Smiling, he did the next obvious thing a person would do when seeing their deity for the first time.

He punched him. Hard.

Screaming, Reshi pulled his fist back. His fingers had broken off the deity's chin as if he had struck a diamond. Glaring at the deity, he tried striking him again with his unbroken hand. However this time Sun caught the blow easily, his golden eyes drilling into Reshi.

Reshi felt himself faltering under the gaze, until finally, he spoke up.

 "It was you who killed my family, you made them die that way."

Sun tilted his head slightly. "Shame, I really did hope we could be civil about this." With a nonchalant manner, he struck Reshi, causing him to fly back as he crashed into the far wall.

"You blame me for their deaths. You, who begged for this", Sun started forward threateningly, as if he was a predator stalking forward. However when Reshi looked into his eyes, all he could see was a deep sadness that contradicted the deity's apparent rage. Somehow, Reshi felt that Sun felt his pain. He understood it. Truly understood.

'Fucks sake, he didn't have to slap me to next week', Reshi groaned inwardly. But he found that nothing was broken, and that apart from the shock of flying into a wall, he was in no pain.

"Tell me, do you blame the sky when it rains? Even if the result is a flood that kills thousands?" Sun called. "No, you don't. Do you scream at starvation if a famine obliterates a family. Or perhaps you battle mountains when people die on them. No. This would be madness. Everyone's death was the result of something blameworthy, true. Maybe those who starved did so because someone else withheld essential supplies. Would that person be blamed? Yes. That person's actions may be the result of their death, but he wasn't their cause, that was famine. So tell me why Reshi, why do you try to get angry at the cause. Make no mistake, Reshi son of compassion, everyone's death has blame, in a pointless, mortal sense, even if their cause is me. 

But you do not blame me. "

Reshi looked down. He hated to admit that Sun was right. Hated to admit that the deity had no blame for the death of his family, that rested solely on him.

"But why", he stammered, trying to hold back his tears. "Why did they have to die like that?"

Sun smiled sadly, approaching Reshi who was still on the floor. However, instead of striking him, the deity knelt, wrapping Reshi in his arms.

 "Because it had to be done. So that perhaps next time, you could be better. The question you should ask is, " why did you trust her?"

Reshi bent his head, burying himself in Sun's embrace. 'He's right of course. It was my fault they died. It's pathetic to try and blame it on him. It was my decision to do it. And mine alone.'

Without realising, he was crying again, crying like he had never done before. Always his tears had been soft, and silent. Only done in the comfort of the moments before sleep, when he felt the most alone. They had provided no relief.

But now Reshi truly cried. Truly letting the building crescendo of misery, loneliness and grief free as they flowed out through tears and sobs. He didn't know how long he cried, but Sun never said anything. Just hugging Reshi close, allowing the latter to finally grieve.

After he had managed to compose himself, the deity let him go. Slightly embarrassed to have been crying, Reshi got up from the floor, wiping the tears off his face.

"Did my family pass through here?"

"They passed on Reshi. Your brother asked me to relay a message to you."

Reshi looked at him, locking eyes with the deity. "Yes?"

"He said, he doesn't want to see you on the other side anytime soon."

That made him smile. It was something Joseph would say. He could imagine seeing his twin's twinkling eyes, wisdom dancing within their pupils as he politely asked Sun to relay this message.

'He probably bowed first, the polite little git' he thought with a twinge of a smile.

"So that leads me to my next point", continued Sun.

"It's time for my part of the bargain, Reshi"

Reshi looked up, eyes wide. "So I am being isekaid."

"In a way, yes. I guess that's how you would see it. Maybe I should've prepared a Truck for you or something."

'Huh, I guess even deities respect the tropes.'

"Huh, do I get any bonuses if I was to reincarnate. Like something OP."

Sun laughed, "Yes. You get to live twice. That's pretty OP." Reshi gave him a blank stare. "Something better, Sun. You're really not going to help your sacred believer."

"Hmmm, I guess I should show a little favouritism. Alright then. I'll give you my concept. I believe now that you deserve it."

"Uhhh, what's that."

Sun smiled, "If you're anyone worth anything. You'll find out, Son of compassion."

Reshi felt hands dragging him down. Invisible hands that were pulling away from the palace of light.

"Wait! Judas, does he live?" Sun gave him a knowing look. "Yes. In the end you honoured his mother's dying wish."

"Will you give him a message from me?"

Sun shook his head sadly. "He does not worship me, Son of Compassion. His fate belongs to another. I would not have him among my followers. But, if you become strong, maybe you could change that. Who knows."

He smiled at the glint of ambition in Reshi's eyes as the mortal slowly disappeared from the infinity castle, his soul cast back down into the world.

"Take care, my only son."

....

When Reshi opened his eyes, he was lying on his bed. No that wasn't right, he thought. My bed was never this comfy, or big. Slowly getting up, he realised that he wasn't in his room at all. But damn, he wished this place was his room.

The room was easily thrice as large as his flat's main room, including the kitchenette. It was furnished with the most lavish things Reshi had ever laid his eyes on.

'Where the hell am i?'

Clambering out of this ridiculously comfortable bed, Reshi decided to take a look around this unfamiliar place. Sun had said he was being sent to another world, but he never said how. Honestly, Reshi had expected to be reborn as a baby with an adult mind, as he slowly grew up in the world. It was a pleasant surprise to see that hadn't happened. In his head, reincarnating was the second worst way of being isekaid in a novel. So many damn chapters were wasted on the Main Character as a kid that the MC ended up becoming some 10 year prodigy that killed thousands before his balls dropped. 

'Maybe I've just been teleported to another world then?'

As he walked, he passed the mirror, and caught something in the reflection. Freezing, Reshi slowly walked past, eyeing the figure in front of him.

Reshi had been proud of his dark black, curly hair, but now it had become pale white. His deep dark eyes were now replaced with scarlet ones. A deep scarlet. The figure was also younger than he had been, around fifteen he estimated. The boy had regal features, and was undeniably handsome, with pale white smooth skin, and a skinny build.

"Who the fuck is this guy?" Reshi asked aloud. He saw the figure in the mirror form those same words, and then the horror settled on him.

'Fuck me! Sun you bastard, you transmigrated me, that's the worst one?'

Stumbling back, Reshi sat down on one crazily lavish chair, as he contemplated the situation.

Honestly, apart from the fact he was possessing someone else's body, and was going to mimic and take advantage of everyone that person had ever loved and cared for. This wasn't bad.

'At least I'm possessing someone rich, and handsome.'

Just as he was about to get up, a blinding pain erupted in his head, as memories that weren't his own flashed past.

"AAHHHHRG", he screamed, clutching his head.

Memories surged through his head, the memories of this person. When the pain had passed, Reshi laid back down on the seat he was about to vacate.

'Ahh shit.'

Reshi knew who this person was. He knew everything. His was in a fucking novel, and right now he was screwed. It was a novel called the 'Requiem of Retribution.' It was a novel written as a joint work between two of his favourite authors. Raguel0321 and the Bl33d1ng Cr0ss. It was your classical modern fantasy novel, but Reshi loved it, and supported the Author as much as he could in order to read the end. He never got so far though, dying before the release of the next volume. 

However, that wasn't the reason he was so worried. It was because Reshi knew who he had transmigrated into now. It wasn't any of the main cast, nor was it a random extra. It was a side antagonist, someone unimportant except to enhance the background of one of the main cast.

His name was Arthur Gravewalker, the second youngest son of a Duke household, and today was the day he was about to get fucked over.