Offer From The Council

Seraphina took her time to study the people standing in front of her in the long line as she had nothing else to do. There were people of all ages and gender, and they all were dead because of different reasons. Some were dead because of illness, some from old age, some died from accidents, some were murdered, and then there were those who took their own lives.

After struggling for a while to get a look at where all these people were heading to, she finally got to know that they all were waiting to get sorted. As the line moved and she started getting closer to the front of the line, she got to hear the on-going trials.

The so-called Afterlife Council was busy deciding which soul deserved to go to heaven and which one belonged in hell. There were several bad people who had committed all sorts of heinous crimes and were sentenced to an eternity in the depths of hell. On the other hand, there were people who did all sorts of good deeds and were given place in the Heavenly garden to enjoy their afterlife.

Of course, those who did good deeds also had some bad deeds recorded under their name, but the final result was made based on whether their good deeds outnumbered their sins.

Seraphina wasn't sure how long it took before she was finally standing at the very front of the line, meaning - it was her turn to get sorted. Her heart, her soul's heart, was beating crazily as she stared at the five very much human looking people who were sitting on the high seats of the council. Standing on either sides of the long table were those ghost like figures hidden under long black cloaks. They had no faces, just never-ending abyss that seemed to be sucking her in.

Before she could have done as much as opening her mouth to ask the council what was going to happen next, one of the five started counting all the heinous crimes she committed as a mafia during her twenty-eight years of lifetime in the Mortal world.

"Theft, breaking into private properties, extortion, money laundering, racketeering, gambling operations, kidnapping, murders, drugs, weapon smuggling, corruption..."

By the time the creature stopped counting the long list of her crimes, the place was filled with the shrill cries of a seven year old who was wailing while wrapped around his mother's legs. The kid pointed at Seraphina, called her a 'bad aunt' and then continued crying once again.

Not liking how everyone else behind her in the line were judging her, Seraphina turned her gaze toward the council and was ready to give them a piece of her mind when another person, this time a woman, suddenly started counting all the good deeds Seraphina performed during her life as a mortal.

"Building local shelters for animals, building orphanages, hospitals, schools, libraraies, food banks, donations to several causes and NGOs, donations to environmental efforts, supporting arts and culture..."

This time, everyone had their jaws hanging open in shock and that annoying kid also stopped crying. On the other hand, Seraphina had no idea where all this was leading. She watched eagerly as one of the council members took out two round crystals, one filled with a black mist and another with white. A scale also appeared out of thin air and the man placed the two crystals on either side of the scale.

Everyone watched with curiosity, waiting to see which side would win. Seraphina, the Council members, and the other people in the line - everyone was looking forward to see where Seraphina was going to end up - heaven or hell. No one was expecting for both sides to balance out each other.

While Seraphina was puzzled, she heard almost all five of the council members letting out deep sighs. One of the members looked at Seraphina and announced - "You are such a rare case, Ms. Winters. It has been over a century since we last got someone like you here in front of the council to be sorted."

Noticing how clueless Seraphina appeared, the man continued, "All the good deeds you performed as a mortal has canceled out all your bad deeds. The scale showed an equal result."

"What does that mean?" Seraphina enquired as she was still at a loss about where things were heading from here. "Where will I be going then - heaven or hell?"

Her question made the council members share a look among themselves and for some unknown reason, Seraphina didn't like the atmosphere that was becoming heavy with each passing moment.

"To get a place in either hell or heaven, you need to either increase the number of your crimes or your good deeds, respectively." The man explained.

"But I'm already dead." Seraphina returned, still not getting what was going to happen to her.

The council members once again shared a look among themselves before one of two female members spoke, "Ms. Winters, we have a proposal for you. We will give you a task to earn your spot in the heaven. If you end up successfully completing this task, you will receive a place in the elite house of heaven. If you decline the offer, or... fail in fulfilling it, you will be sent to the ninth level of hell to be tortured there for eternity."

Seraphina stared at the woman with her mouth hanging open and her hands on her hips. She wanted to laugh out loudly at the ridiculous situation. The so-called council of afterlife was barely giving her an option. If she needed to avoid being tortured for an eternity, she had to accept the task and complete it.

"What is the task?"

With a satisfied smile on her lips, the council woman took out a black file from somewhere and handed it to Seraphina. "You are being assigned a new identity - Bride of the Shadow Lords. Head to the Shadow City to marry the Shadow Lords and revive the city. And don't worry, you will not be alone on this journey. Our newest creation - System 2024, will help you in fulfilling this task. All the best, Ms. Winters. We wish you success."