From the twilight haze, a figure emerged, gliding toward them with an ethereal grace that silenced the mounting panic. The being was radiant, his skin aglow with a lunar sheen, his wings shimmering like crystal refracting light. His light blue eyes held a quiet compassion.

  Adorned with a ring-like halo above his head, everyone’s eyes widened slightly in shock and amazement.

  "An angel—it was an angel!" There was no other word for him.

  "This… this is real, right?" someone in the background pressed, his face filled with astonishment.

  Halting before them, the figure looked at the people, his head nodding as if confirming their number.

  “Good, it seems you’re all here,” he spoke, as if he had anticipated their arrival. “I am Morrow,” he said, his voice a harmonic resonance that seemed to settle into their bones. “Your guide in this liminal space. I regret that we meet under such unfortunate circumstances.”

  “Circumstances?” an old man from the back said, his tone sharp, his earlier shock giving way to indignation. “Where are we, and what is this?”

  Morrow’s wings shifted, sending faint ripples of light through the air. “You stand in the Veil, the boundary between life and the beyond. And unfortunately, you all are dead. Your deaths were not meant to be. They were a result of an error.”

  Marcus’s brow furrowed. “An error? You’re saying we died because someone screwed up?”

  “Yes,” Morrow replied, his voice steady but ced with faint sorrow. “The driver was not destined for that route. The storm, the bus’s condition—it was a cascade of oversights. Your time was not yet due, along with some chaos caused by the higher-ups.”

  The woman with red hair’s hands shook as she hugged herself. “So we’re really dead?”

  “For the moment,” Morrow said softly. “But the bance must be corrected. As a way to make amends for this mistake, you all will be offered a second life, where you will be reincarnated into a new world.”

  Marcus’s eyes lit up slightly, a flicker of anticipation sparking. “A new world? Expin that.”

  Morrow extended his hands, and a gentle light flowed from his palms, threading around them like liquid starlight. “You will all be reborn into a realm unlike the one you knew, with your memories preserved. This is a gift—a chance to begin anew.”

  His words hung in the air, a lifeline dangling before them. However, nobody spoke, their mouths shut.

  “Send me back,” a dull voice came from the red-haired woman.

  Morrow heard this and shook his head. “Like I said before, you’re all already dead, and I am unable to revive you in your current world.” He was about to continue when the woman suddenly rushed at him, shocking everyone.

  “I SAID SEND ME BACK!” she shouted, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I have a family and kids who are still waiting for me. How can I just abandon them like this?” She repeatedly banged on the angel’s chest.

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. The only thing I can do is help you all reincarnate in a new world,” Morrow said, pausing for a moment before continuing. “It may be hard to come to terms with, but this is your only option if you still want to live. If not, then, if you so wish, I can cancel this and let you return to eternal rest.”

  “No, I don’t want any of that. Just send me back to my family and kids, please,” she whispered, falling to the ground.

  Morrow listened in silence before responding, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I can’t—” He was about to finish when he was suddenly cut off.

  It was the old man who had stepped forward, fnked by two others—a stern-faced woman named Karen, her name tag still pinned to her soaked blouse, and a young man named Jake, his posture bristling with defiance.

  “Hold on,” the old man said, his voice rising with each word. “You’re telling us we died because of your mistake, and now you’re just going to shove us into some random world? Like that woman said, what about our lives? Our families? Everything we worked for?”

  Karen pnted her hands on her hips, her gre unwavering. “This is ridiculous! I demand to speak to whoever’s responsible. You can’t just uproot us like this and expect us to nod and smile.”

  Jake sneered, his tone dripping with contempt. “Yeah, this is a load of crap. You don’t get to py god with us and call it a favor.”

  The air around Morrow tightened, the light dimming as his benevolence frayed. His wings stiffened, and his gaze hardened, the compassion in his eyes giving way to cold annoyance. When he spoke again, his voice had completely changed.

  “You think I give a shit that you all died? Here I am, trying to rectify the problem someone caused, and this is the thanks I get?”

  His new tone stunned the others, confusing the old man and Jake.

  “To hell with this,” he thought as he looked at the sobbing woman and the three protesters. “Just die.”

  He snapped his fingers, and the four instantly disappeared.

  The action stunned the others, causing one to fall on their back.

  Morrow had never been a patient person, and now he had to bow his head to appease a few measly humans? How could someone so prideful do such a thing?

  “You dare question me?” he said, his voice low and cutting. “I am not obligated to save you, nor am I obligated to help you. In truth, I would conserve my divine power to let your ungrateful souls fade into oblivion. The other angels are occupied with their own duties—I alone have taken it upon myself to rectify this mix-up. Out of the kindness of my heart, I offer you a second chance, when by all rights you should have simply died as you did, unscheduled and unmeant though it was. Yet you stand here, berating me as if I owe you more.”

  The weight of his words settled over them, a reprimand wrapped in celestial authority.

  “Forget everything I said at the start. I’m going to now tell you what’s happening. If you agree with it, you will reincarnate; if you don’t, then I will just kill you right now,” he said, his expression cold.

  “I’m going to reincarnate you, and that’s that. Anyone who has a problem, raise your hand.”

  He surveyed the group.

  “Nobody has a problem? Good."

  “Now, for everyone who misses their family or their loved ones, fuck all that. You’re already dead, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Instead, what you can do is pn what you’re going to do in your next life. Is that understood?”

  Not hearing a single pushback, he smiled. “Good.

  “Now, some information for you all. You will all be reborn in new bodies of your choosing, your consciousness intact within your new forms. And you will live as the people of that world, but with the wisdom of your past.”

  “Will we be together there?” a shy girl hesitantly asked.

  Morrow’s gaze lingered on her before he shrugged. “I don’t know. This isn’t some generic isekai. If you manage to recognize each other in your new worlds, good on you. I don’t really care."

  “Now,” he cpped his hands and smiled, “prepare yourselves and enjoy the trip.”

  The light surged, a blinding wave that enveloped them. Mindy felt herself lifted, her body dissolving into warmth and weightlessness.

  When Mindy opened her eyes, she found herself floating in a dark void.

  Huh? Where am I… Wasn’t I supposed to be sent to a different world? she questioned inwardly.

  She continued to float through the void, reminiscing over what had happened with the angel she had just seen, when suddenly a bright gold panel appeared in front of her.

  [Host found Beginning fusion]