Chapter 1: Karmic Status

"Mongrels! How dare you all kill me!" Helcurt tried to roar, but no words came. No matter how much he tried to speak, he could not hear his voice.

???

Looking down, he saw his reflection from the marbled floor. Neither did he have head, nor limbs. What stared back was a wretched, hovering dark orb. No arms to reach out, no legs to stand on, no face to recognize. Just a hollow body of darkness, swirling and shapeless.

...It was him.

His fury surged. His orb-like body quivered with rage.

Right behind him were legions of spheres lined up, floating in turn. They varied in shape and size, some small and trembling, others large and imposing. Every orb shimmered with an exotic glow, some dim and flickering, others faintly translucent like faded glass. And then there were the others...

Darker, denser, like him.

They were on a white bridge. But not just any bridge, the largest one he had ever perceived. Massive chains, thick as towers, stretched from above to hold it in place, vanishing into the endless clouds above like anchors tied to the heavens themselves. The bridge seemed to float in an infinite void, suspended between worlds.

At the far end loomed a towering gate, gigantic and majestic, where countless souls waited in silence. Lined up in solemn rows, each one patiently awaiting their turn to pass through.

Where? What? Wh...?

Unlike him, who remained motionless, the others drifted forward in silent procession. He sat still, his mind spinning in fragmented confusion. Eventually, clarity pierced his mind. He steadied himself and silently joined the line of floating orbs, gliding forward like the rest.

He had died.

And this... this must be the afterlife.

...

"Ok, you're good to go to heaven." A woman with pink hair and sapphire-like eyes shouted. "Next in line please!"

Helcurt wobbled forward. As he advanced, the other orbs instinctively recoiled, creating space between themselves and him. Every time he moved in line, they scattered like moths from flames. Bothered by his presence. He still held his intimidating aura as an orb.

Or perhaps...

"You must have committed horrendous actions," the woman muttered, eyeing his pitch-black form. "The more misdeeds one accumulates, the darker they get. Most souls have blemishes. Yours is an unfathomable and dark like..."

Void

Helcurt scoffed in his mind. He had taken countless lives, too many to count, each one adding another dark stain to the depths of his soul. Yet, despite the weight of those deaths, not a flicker of remorse stirred within him.

Dying in his hands was an honor.

"That kind of mindset..." The woman said. "No wonder you're soul is pitch black. You'll be sent to the Purgatory if you act like this. I mean... you're already guaranteed!"

Helcurt's orb body nodded. He expect no less.

The woman sighed softly, a flicker of pity crossing her features despite herself. Every soul carried its own story — pain, regret, or hope — that shaped what it had become. Who was she to pass judgment on this "super-duper" dark orb floating before her, a fragment of a life she could barely begin to understand?

"Do not move." she instructed while lifting a translucent tablet. The crystal screen buzzed as she scanned him. "I'll now identify your Karma History."

[ Soul: Helcurt Freyhex ]

Helcurt watched in awe. The robotic sound intrigued him. He has never seen such a sleek vessel with high level of development. A vessel that could read souls? Such a spectacle! A tool worthy of study.

Marvelous creation!

Scanning, the woman paused, she blinked. She scratch her head irritably. Then double-checked, and finally triple-checked. Beads of sweats slide through her skin, she did not see this coming.

"T-the data here is insane!!! H-how... how come you have a balanced karma?!"

Balanced?

BOOM.

A thunderous impact rocked the bridge. It diverted their attention.

A big, burly old man descended from above, unscathed by the blast. His landing shook the bridge, tiles cracked beneath him, and orbs scattered into the air. He was broad-shouldered, with long white hair and a thick beard. A heavy fur-trimmed robe hung from his frame, and his eyes glowed faintly with power.

"HAHAHAHAHA" the old man laugh. His powerful voice thundered through the open air, causing the ground to subtly tremble and the atmosphere to vibrate.

"King Yama?!" the woman agape.

Helcurt gazed at the barbaric giant. So this was King Yama?

"Selassie, you have one hella interesting soul here." King Yama exclaimed. He knelt down and turned his body faced to Helcurt's. "I have an offer for you, young one!"

An offer?

Helcurt was used to forcing people into deals, not receiving them. Throughout his life, he wielded power so absolute that negotiation was merely a formality, he dictated and others obeyed. With his unparalleled magic, he could simply bend others to his will, crushing resistance with a mere thought. No coaxing, no back-and-forth, just swift, brutal submission.

He did things that are straightforward.

"HAHAHAHAHA" King Yama laugh again.

Such loud-mouthed orc!!!

"That's a little bit..." Selassie walked over to Helcurt and whispered closely to him, "We can hear all your thoughts."

...h-how rude!!!

Such information was not informed to him. It makes more sense how they replied perfectly right after his thoughts. Had he been alive, the intrusion to his mind would've been intolerable. But as a disembodied soul, it was... convenient.

King Yama stood up. "Selassie, explain his karma."

She nodded and showed a screen.

Before Helcurt appeared a holographic poster unlike anything he had ever seen. The glowing images and shifting symbols captivated him instantly, such advanced technology was both fascinating and useful. He admired its sleek design and the effortless way it displayed information, imagining how convenient it would be for his own use.

[ Karmic Status: Balanced ]

A scale stood perfectly level.

"There are two kinds of karma: good and bad." Selassie explained. "Most lean heavily one way. Rarely does anyone reach perfect balance. Those souls aren't allowed in heaven and hell. They must redo their lives to shift their karma."

So my embodiment is a unique case?

King Yama thumbs up, "A special case within a special case! Most balanced souls did less evil and good doings. So they had little impurities."

Helcurt killed many people, especially evil ones. But he was not a hero nor a vigilante, he was an infamous dark mage. Killing is a must in the dark-side where dangerous people and alike run amok. Given his powerful image, many coveted his power and especially his miraculous "works."

...then why can't I be reborn?

"You're too dark." Selassie said in a flat-tone.

???

Pardon me?

"HAHAHAHAHA," King Yama laugh again. "Selassie is right. Your soul is too dark that if reborn, you'd become a living curse — natural disaster, walking plague, that sort of thing. You will bear an unimaginable bad luck, not only affecting yourself but others as well. Impurities are like unwatchable stains that cannot be cleaned off.

Helcurt's orb-like-body flinch, He caught on.

"Two choices," Yama grinned. "Reincarnate... or work for Heaven."

"If you reincarnate, you'll die immediately and it will never end," Yama warned, his voice like grinding stone. "Reborn, die, reborn, die. Forever trapped in an endless loop. No progress, no salvation, an zero karma gained."

"Or become an Orphanage Director in your world. Raising children the Heaven chooses!"

...Babysitting? How wretched!

Selassie walked near to King Yama and muttered something into his ears.

King Yama coughed twice then said, "Right, right. I seem to haven't explained properly. You'll be able to use our System powered by Heaven, like the one Selassie used!"

!!!

King Yama clapped. "Congratulations! You're now Heaven's newest employee! Off you go! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Wait a minute, King Yama. He hasn't even agreed yet and you're just gonna send him to his world too soon?" Selassie asked.

"Oh, don't worry," King Yama reassured. "You're both going."

"WHAT—"

POOF.

They vanished.

...

"Baron Collins, sir noble wake up. We are near your destination!" a rough voice echoed.

Baron Collins? Who is that man?

Helcurt opened his eyes only to find himself in a worn out wooden carriage.

From his perspective, the carriage was small, too small that his body fit both edges perfectly. It was as if he was big enough to consume the entire carriage alone. As he tried to move the whole carriage trembled. His head would bump against the ceiling, and that was him barely moving.

"—Ackk?!"

Wait a minute... This... He was fat!?

The rough voice calls out again. "Baron Collins, please refrain from moving too much. My carriage could hardly handle — I mean if sire is having a hard time, why not relax?"

You're telling me that I'm heavy? The audacity!!!

Helcurt was enormously fat that he cluttered the entire space. He could hardly believe it. Shuffling toward the glass window, he stared at his reflection in disbelief. Raising a thick, pudgy hand, he touched his acne-filled-face. His eyes were strikingly beautiful, sharp and clear, but that was it. The rest of his face was round, bloated, and glistening with oil.

One word: Disgusting! 

Even he himself was mortified. He had never been ugly before, but neither had he been particularly handsome. 

Still, this face gave him an unshakable ick, something he couldn't quite describe. Just looking at his reflection made a shiver crawl down his spine. They say the face is part of a person's pride... clearly, he had none of it left now.

Ding!

A sudden screen diverted his attention.

[ System: Welcome Host~! ]

[ Activating [ Heaven's Orphanage Management System Interface — HOMS ] ]

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User: Heaven-Appointed Director

Name: Noel Collins Solheart (Helcurt Freyhex)

Orphanage Level: 0

Capacity: 0/2 Children

Heaven Points: None

Upgrade Points: None

Employees: 1/1

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