0 - Betrayal, and a second chance

It is said that when a person is dying, their whole life flashes before their eyes.

However, all he could think about was about what he had done to deserve this fate as he lay on the ground, coughing blood. The bleeding showed no signs of stopping, and the gaping wound in his chest made him realize he would soon lose consciousness and die. 

"Why...?"
was all he could muster, as he questioned the figure in front of him. The woman smiled viciously as she looked down on him. In her right hand, a knife completely covered in blood showed the obvious situation. Oh, I remember now. I was stabbed. Why has she done this to me, though?  

As he felt his consciousness fading, he experienced overwhelming regret and frustration. She was his everything, the reason for all his hard work, his motivation, his achievements. He did it all for her sake, only to meet this pathetic fate. Damn it. 

He was on his last breath. His body would not obey his commands; his vision started to fade. He could accept that his life would end, but he could not accept that in his last moments, he would be denied the reason for it. Nevertheless, he would die without knowing what he did wrong tp deserve this fate. 

*** 

"Wow, this is rare for a human to summon us both, honey."
"Indeed, his willpower is something else... Though his life showed nothing of the sort. Human will can indeed be terrifying."

Jesus, can't a man simply die in peace? He thought, while opening his eyes, displeased for having to hear a weird conversation. Huh? My wound... It doesn't hurt anymore? He realized, amazed. His wound was gone. No blood, either. He realized he was not lying down anymore. He was standing in a completely white room. Behind the couple, he could see a door, with two signs. One said [Heaven], while the other said [Hell]. 

"Is this... The Afterlife...?" he asked. The couple finally realized he was staring at them, dumbfounded. The man cleared his throat, perhaps to provide some explanation. However, before he could speak, the woman stood in front of him and spoke, in an exaggerated manner. 

"Welcome young man. This is... well, i guess you don't feel exactly thrilled to be here, so a welcoming speech is probably not the best approach. Uhm, let's just forget it and consider this a normal greeting".

Is she an airhead? She has to be one of those, right? he thought, while looking at her. He noticed the man next to her facepalming and showing signs of frustration.

"How rude! I just forgot the reason for you to meet us in this room, that's all!" she complained.

"Wait, you can read minds?" he asked, completely flustered. 

"Of course! In this room, you're a completely open book to us. It is a necessary step to properly process your soul, after all." 

Process my soul? Why do i feel she just casually said something completely crazy right now? he wondered.  Just what is going to happen to me? 

"Well, as you might have realized, your life has ended. And such a tragic life, by the looks of it. You worked to the bone, only to be betrayed by your beloved companion in the end... Uhm, yes it is indeed a pitiful end, young man." The man finally spoke, answering most of the questions in a single sentence. 

"So, she actually betrayed me?" he realized, while laughing self deprecatingly. "So, what will happen to me now? Am I going to [Heaven] or [Hell]?" he asked, pointing at the doors.

"Your life was so tragic... Even Fortuna would pity you. We want to at least grant you some control over your fate. Given your past life you won't go to Hell, for sure. However, sending you to Heaven would be such a waste for a young soul who has not passed through enough in the cycle of Death and Rebirth." he analyzed. 

"Wait, just who..."

"Why don't we give him a second chance in life then?" the woman interrupted with her suggestion. "If he just needs to live more lives in order to strengthen his soul, we can simply have him reincarnate again. But then again, i feel that this world would subject him to the same situations. I don't see a way for him to ever achieve happiness in there." she concluded, after her analysis . 

"Well, I can't go to Heaven, and if I go back, I can't be expected to have a happy life... Wait, just who the heck are you?" he protested. 

"Well, we are Gods, of course. This grumpy old man over there is Chronos and i am his wife, Ananke." She announced, puffing her chest proudly. "And we're your guides here in Room Styx."

"Don't you mean... River Styx?" He asked, massaging his temples. 

"You humans thought of it as a river, and I still have no idea why. A room is way more comfortable to have this conversation... Or do you prefer for us to turn this space into a river?" She asked, teasingly. 

"I'll pass, thank you." he replied, exasperated. "...Wait, does this mean the old Greek gods are the real ones and the other ones are fake?"

"No, the gods you create on Earth, they all manifest in this plane of existence. So, basically... all of them are real. It's beacause you humans made us manifest. Nevertheless, gods aren't allowed to appear on the people or tribe that manifested them. It prevents us from giving preferential treatment to our believers."

"So this means God is real?" he realized, as he realized he was getting very important information. 

"Well, someone had to manifest us Gods too. But the one you are considering [God] may be a little different from what you expect. Also... your people have several gods too. Or are you forgetting about Endy, Treby, Naby and the rest of your gods...? Honestly, young boys at this era, they have no respect for their origins..." She sighed, half astonished, half exasperated.

"Endy? What kind of god is she referring to... Oh." the young man had just realized who she was referring to. Still, to call those gods by a pet name... She really is something... he thought, in admiration.

"Indeed, they hate it when my wife calls them like that.... Ahem." The old man cleared his throat and continued. "So... I have a proposal. We can send your soul to a different cycle. We cannot guarantee a happy life, since your overall personality will still shape your new being, but it is at least a way to improve your chances for a better second life. We would normally erase all your memories, but we can leave your knowledge as it is. Although for this time, you'll keep them both, for the most part... Considering their technology is what you would consider medieval... I'm pretty sure you'd be able to make it better than the average person there." 

"Wait... Is that alright? It seems a little game-changing, to be honest," he asked. 

"Oh please, we do it quite a few times. Who do you think humans in your world that were ahead of their time were? Well... As of now, think of yourself as one of those humans." 

"Wait, does this mean that you have worlds more advanced than the one I came from?" 

The couple looked at each other and started whistling frantically, clearly trying to avoid the subject. Ah, i bet i wasn't supposed to know that much... 

That left him completely flabbergasted. The amount of information was enough to make him  completely reevaluate his understanding of reality.

"Well, i guess we will send you know to your new world. You will be reborn, so i would advise you to act according to your age in order not to be seen as a demon or something." Chronos advised. 

Both closed their eyes, and a few dozen light patterns began to surround the room. Magic circles? he wondered. The light became stronger and enveloped him, making his body gradually disappear, until no trace could be found in that room. 

"Well, this will be fun for us to watch. I wonder how much he will be able to shape the world." 

"Though he did not seem to be that ambitious or even greedy, dear. A little bit of those emotions would be a lot more interesting to watch."

"Fret not. A man can become unstoppable, so long as he has the right motivation. As a fellow man, i can tell that much. That boy will be extremely interesting. He may even be able to cure that abandoned project of a world..."