Novel & Cerita Next Life

"I can't just go back to my old world and be Selena again?" He shook his head with regret. "I'm afraid not. You've already died, child. That's the law, and no one can change it. But you can go to a new world and live on with a new identity." I went quiet as something heavy and sad settled over me that I couldn't quite name. I flipped through the list the System had given me. It was full of all kinds of lives, from heiresses to pop stars to corporate executives. I skimmed through them all and, in the end, picked an ordinary wolf in a werewolf world.

As Nicholas was escorted past me, he spoke bitterly, "I’m sorry. In the next life, I’ll make it up to you." Well, I never wanted to see him again. A few days after he was taken to the hospital for treatment, I received the news that Nicholas had been sentenced to death. I heard that when he learned of his sentence, he completely broke down in prison. He muttered to himself every day, "In the next life, I’ll cherish my chances. I’ll treasure the people around me." But how many chances did one get to be reborn? Since someone had died in my house, I moved out and bought a new place.

I pointed out. "They live and die, being born again. They grow up as normal kids with their old memories coming back to them at eighteen. They make deals over the lifetimes, some asking to wipe their memories, living on as normal people in the human world through that life. When they are born into the next life, they exchange with some others who want to also do same, exploring. As long as there are at least fifty in the compound, the rest can go on living their lives." He said, my head nodding. How lucky they were to live through so many lives, given so many chances to have so many different lives, just choosing for themselves what want to be at that time.

Life for me. ***

"Exactly. Jerome's been running the company all these years. Mark just got back. What if—" Dad cut them off, his voice low and firm. "That's enough. I trust what Mark can do." Watching Jerome and Laura deflate on the spot filled me with pure satisfaction. In my past life, I refused to face Mom's death, and it gave Jerome and Laura the opening they needed to steal her estate and wreck my life. This time, I wasn't letting them win. Every old score was coming due. The moment I got back to Swain Group, I acted on what I remembered from my past life and bought the struggling digital media company I'd once told Rosalie to go after.

That's why I'm going to have a sit-down and see whether I want to deal or not. I wondered what it would be like, to focus on something else for once. To look forward to living when I'd been so hellbent on dying. Knowing that you'd lived past the day you thought you were going to be dead is an odd feeling. It doesn't feel so much like borrowed time but a rebirth.

ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴡᴀsɴ’ᴛ ɪɴ ᴏᴜʀ ғᴀᴠᴏᴜʀ” “ɪ’ʟʟ ᴡᴀɪᴛ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪɴ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʟɪғᴇᴛɪᴍᴇ”

The energy bounced back like it was reflected off a field. "What was that?" Natalia asked. "What did you just try to do?" "I tried to heal you." "I'm already dead. I have to return to my realm to heal." "Wait, can you die?" She nodded curtly. I pressed a clean towel to her wounds. "What happens after you die?" She shrugged. "It's the same as with humans. They don't know about contracts. So there may be something better like the next level heaven or hell, or maybe we just stop existing."

I asked curiously, "What about Lori? What would become of her in her next life?" "Lori Levaine owes you too much. She will become a dog and quietly watch over you in your next lives." With that, the ruler of the nether world waved his hand, and I was sent into the cycle of reincarnation.

"I'm sorry, Evan. I misunderstood you. I couldn't grow old with you in this life, but I hope we'll meet sooner in the next one." He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a new tattoo. It was a photo of us. Upon the sight of it, I began sobbing. "It's okay. We were bonded once in this life. Next life, we'll find each other again." With nothing left to hold me back, my body grew lighter. I could no longer control my shape. A voice in my mind told me my time had come. A calm I had never known washed over me. It felt like I was telling the world that death wasn't the end. It was simply the beginning of something new.