So today is the day I die, as I looked up through blurry eyes at the face of a deranged woman who has just stabbed me one final time. Now, who might be this person that is stabbing me, you might? Well, that would be my stalker. We first met in high school, and I never really stood out all too much. Preferring to stay in the background and just mind my own business, apparently, this is something that she found appealing. She had asked me out once, but that was before I realised I was bi, so I had turned her down that day and thought nothing of it afterwards. But then I started to notice her. When I would be out shopping, I would bump into her. Out with some friends,o I spot her in the distance. Out at a restaurant and guess who sits down at a nearby table but her. This went on for a few years until I had graduated and moved away to university, hoping that I would never have to see her again, guess I was wrong. So now we get to the day I die. It started fairly normally. I woke up in my cramped student accommodation, finished up a paper I was working on the night before, and decided to go for a walk around the lake nearby to clear my head after a few intense days of study. It was when I entered the woods on the far side of the lake that I heard someone approaching from behind. Thinking nothing of it, I continued walking until someone grabbed my shoulders to stop me and then placed a cloth over my mouth and nose. Shocked, I took a breath in preparation to scream, but that was my last clear thought as everything faded into blackness. When I came to,o I was sprawled out in the middle of the woods with my arms and legs bound and unable to move. When I opened my eyes, who did I see straddling my waist but her? I tried to scream to get free, but I was gagged and couldn’t escape from the binding. As panic setin, I watched in horror as she raised a knife above her head and brought it down into my chest. From there, everything became quite the blur as I was repeatedly stabbed whilst I screamed and bucked trying to escape, but I quickly lost all strength after the 6th stab. At that point, I remember her getting off me and walking around in circles while chanting something, but again, I was too far gone to process anything other than the all-encompassing pain and the chill that was slowly taking over my body. Eventually, as blackness began to take over my vision, a night flash encompassed everything around me, only to vanish into nothingness as I closed my eyes for the final time. [You have died] Everything was black, except there was no colour, I couldn’t feel anything, except I had no body to feel with. I was in a perpetual void of nothingness where time itself had no hold. It could have been hours, days, or years, but I had no concept of anything, memories to think on, just perpetual nothing. Until something happened. [Congratulations, lost soul. You have been selected for a new beginning.] Upon seeing this, the haze that had been clouding my everything seemed to be pushed back somewhat, not enough to know who or what I am/ was, but enough to register that I had seen something similar before. [Due to your death being part of a sacrifice, you have been granted a small boon from the deific being to whom you were sacrificed] Now whilst I couldn’t think all too much,uch I could process the words enough to realise that this was both a worrying and also fortunate ordeal. [Please choose from the following options, you have accrued 1000 Karmic Points (KP) to spend on your options] [World] [Character] [Boon] With the haze still omnipresent, I mentally selected the first option. This opened a new list of options. Medieval fantasy - 200kp Steampunk fantasy - 200kp Modern + 50kp Sci-fi - 100kp Ancient - 400kp Primordial - 800kp Modern magical - 300kp Magical fantasy - 500kp As the list of options came into view, more and more of my thoughts slowly came together, feeling like awakening from a long dream. I thought that I should be scared or surprisedd but I somehow knew that this was both very real and very important. Now I could have enjoyed any number of these options. I was particularly interested in the primordial option given its incredibly high cost. But the appeal for magic was just too high, which narrowed it down to 2, but who wants to redo life in the same environment, but with sparkles? So this only left magical fantasy. [Magical fantasy has been selected, deducting 500kp] [Character] [Boon] Deciding to save my character forlast,t I selected Boon. [Please choose from one of the following boons from your patron.] Magically malleable Mashochist Now this I did not expect, who the heck is my patron for these to be the only 2 options, the first I have no idea how it would even work, and the second is just a straight up no from me. Left with little other option, I select Magically malleable. [Character] Down to my last selection ,I open it up to see what options I will have. Race: Goblinoid + 300kp Human 0kp Beastkin (varies depending on type) -100 to -300kp Demon (varies depending on type) -300 to -500kp Elf -200kp Dwarf -150kp Demi-human +50kp Hybrid (varies on choice) Random +100kp Starting age Newborn 0kp 5 years old - 50kp 18 years old -100kp Knowledge Basic world history & customs - 100kp Basic magical pack -100kp Basic survival pack - 100kp Appearance Default 0kp Custom (between 10 t100kPkp depending on choice) Well, that’s some food fofor thoughtImmediately, I discarded altering my appearance as I was quite happy with how I looked before. As for knowledge I am very tempted by both the [basic world history & customs] and the [basic magical pack] as I and also wanting to enter this world as an adult as I don’t want to have to relive childhood again, this would put me down to 200kp left to spend which would give me the exact amount needed to select elf as my race! Have always found elves to be a beautiful race in fiction, and now I will get to be one myself! [Selections have been made] [Please await reintegration with the new beginnings system] A searing pain ripples through my entire body upon reading that last message. I begin to feel the haze of darkness creep back as I lose all thoughts with the pain. Thankfully it doesn’t seem to last too long, and soon enoug,h thagony recedesss. [Congratulations, user, we wish you the best of luck in your new beginning]