Ara
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in an office that looks like the lovechild of Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite. The entire space is bathed in a vibrant and cheerful ambiance. It's honestly overwhelming and bordering on nightmare-level material due to the unsettling amount of dolls and memorabilia adorning all the walls. I'm certain my expression is one of horror as my gaze is drawn to the woman who spoke.
She is unnaturally beautiful. Her lush rainbow-colored hair and diamond-glittering skin made her look unreal. I'm pretty sure the cloying sweet scent filling the room is coming from her—it's so intense I can taste it like cough syrup. The longer I gazed upon her, the more my senses were overloaded, and I was on the brink of fainting from the sheer intensity of it all.
Right when I was about to pass out, everything was suddenly toned down to a manageable level. "There now, I should be at a level your frail mortal soul can comprehend. It's a bit tough to calculate what each soul can handle." She gave me a smile just as the door to our left opened. I'm not sure what it was, but a creature that was a mashup of an elephant, a butterfly, and a lion pushed a cart of food and drink into the room.
First, the cartoon nightmare office. Then, the surreal woman. Now…whatever that was that just floated into the room. This is certainly not what I had anticipated death to be like. A hand gently helps me out of the chair I had just realized I had been sitting in.
I just can't catch a break. I think I died, but … I'm beginning to wonder if I'm simply dreaming. Dreaming of a limbo that I would only wish on my worst enemies. Arm in arm, I'm led outside to a spacious balcony table overlooking a black hole. I should feel concerned about that, but I'm not. Am I still floaty from the melatonin? That black hole is oddly beautiful in a staring into the void kind of way.
I attempt to experience any emotions in response to my surroundings, but I find myself devoid of both physical and emotional responses. Logically, however, I am filled with awe and amazement at experiencing a black hole so closely.
After another moment or so, I'm guided to the table. Once seated, the woman sits down across from me, and the whatisit serves us food and drink from its cart.
"Since you are my last soul of the day, I figured we could turn this into a lunch meeting. I've found that the transition process is easier on difficult souls if I process them while we have a meal. You, my dear, weren't supposed to commit suicide. In fact, this is the only timeline where you died after your family died but before you accomplished your destined task. So my job is to prune this timeline and put your soul somewhere else." The woman talked as we ate our first course. There wasn't much on the plate, so that plate was removed, and the next course was placed in front of us.
Apparently, it took a few minutes for my mind to fully wake up. I had a lot of questions, but I asked in quick succession the ones I deemed immediately important first. "Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here and not being reborn? What do you mean by putting my soul somewhere else? Why does my soul need to be put somewhere?"
Seeming momentarily caught off guard, the woman paused before setting her utensil down and giving me a warm smile. "I apologize. I haven't eaten in a while so I'm hungry plus I'm excited to be going on vacation after this meeting so I forgot to introduce myself. My name isn't significant; you wouldn't be able to pronounce it, let alone hear it. You can simply call me what I am." She smiled mysteriously and appeared to be waiting for something. Just as the silence turned awkward, she spoke up with a strained smile. Ah she must have been waiting for me to ask her what she was. I'm barely managing to focus on not getting food everywhere, let alone catching a prompt to ask a question.
"I'm an angel, so you can call me Angel. You are in my office in the void. You are here because you are dead when you aren't supposed to be, which put a wrinkle in the fabric of everything in this sector. And the reason you haven't been sent for reincarnation is the same reason your soul needs to be put to use because you are a special case, and thus we need your soul to fulfill its purpose in every world where you exist." Angel said as the whatisit exchanged our empty plates for ones filled with an assortment of meats and sides.
"Here's my offer to you, option 1: I can place you in a different timeline where you can essentially go back and redo your life. This time, you can avoid getting together with your cheating ex and not be best friends with his sister. You can live out your destined fate. With two souls' worth of energy, you're primed for a golden life this time around." Illusions of what she was describing appeared in the air above the table. I caught glimpses of a life I had only dreamt of in my darkest hours. I was working as a lawyer, making a positive impact on people's lives with friends and a lover by my side. It was so beautiful that I doubted option 2 would be a better choice.
"Option 2: You'll be transported to an alternate universe where your counterpart met the same fate as you did. You'll assume her life and bear the responsibility for her destined fate. While some aspects of this world may resemble what you know, the majority will be entirely unfamiliar to you. Here you will have the chance to have everything you wished for and more. This option could be the pinnacle of your soul's existence or the depths of its despair." Angel's eyes radiated with an otherworldly glow as the images unfolded before me.
I caught glimpses of beings of fantasy such as shifters, vampires, and people casting magic living lives in places that looked familiar. I saw my family alive and well. The dreamer in me says this is a no-brainer, but do I really want to take a chance on a life that looks like everything I ever wanted? Or should I choose the life I'm familiar with? Option one would give me the opportunity to get my revenge upon Koba and Minette.