[ Two Doors ]

Geoffrey slowly walked through the void he was in. The sky was an infinite expansion of nothingness, and the very ground he stood on stretched as far as the horizon.

He was walking on what looked like shoddily carved obsidian, toward two stone structures.

Two doors. 

As he got closer, they grew taller. They were made of the same stone as the ground, tightly shut and attached to no walls.

"I've been expecting you."

He slowly turned around, his eyes tiredly looking top to bottom at the person standing there.

Death.

She was tall, her black leather boots bringing her above him as they both stood. Her clothes were supple, as if floating in water. The extremities were smoldering, a flameless heat crawled up her sleeves yet never progressed.

He felt her unwavering, cold gaze going right through him, as if she could see his very essence, his inner, hidden self.

Through her eyes, he felt a void bigger than the space he stood in, an emptiness most profound.

"You haven't changed," she said.

She took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them.

"You still have that same expression. That bored look on your face, that tiredness in your eyes. You're as expressionless as the last time I saw you. Even the way you look at me, unlike anyone who ever met me."

 "Is that wrong?" he asked. 

Geoffrey's tone was flat, monotonous, lifeless. Anyone talking to him usually had a hard time, but she seemed… entertained. 

She pointed toward the doors, behind Geoffrey.

"You're familiar?" asked Death.

"Yes."

Geoffrey turned around, pointing at each door.

"This is hell, and that, paradise," he said.

"It is the second time you see those doors."

"There will be a third."

She laughed. Her voice was sweet, quiet, enchanting even, yet her tone was dark. It felt as if her every word were somber whispers in his ear.

"This isn't your ego talking. You truly believe there will be a third time."

"When I last took my own life, you offered me a second chance. I'm here to claim that right once more."

"My kindness isn't a right."

Her face darkened. He couldn't read her emotions, as nothing normal was standing in front of him.

Her eyes were like daggers stabbing through his soul. The way she looked at him felt intrusive, private.

"You took your own life. You have two choices."

"Judgement. Depending how I lived my life, one of those doors will open."

"You already know the outcome of that choice. Judgement is fair, but for people who take their own lives, going through judgement means hell. The other option is to go through my trials. The same way you did once before."

Geoffrey's expression remained unchanged, but memories flew through his mind. 

Horrific ones.

"You were the sole survivor, weren't you? The only one to make it out of that chaos?"

"You dealt the cards, and we played them."

Death got even closer, the distance between them intimate. 

"All that lives, and all that will, ends here. I've seen darkness you couldn't imagine. Murderers, tyrants, monsters. But you..."

"Am I so horrible?"

"You stepped into the river with them. You stood as the water darkened and turned red. Blood stained your ankles as if you were one of them, but when the tide came, you watched from the shores as it swept all those who stood against the current. You left a victor, as if you ever risked drowning at all."

Geoffrey's expression was unchanged, yet her words echoed through his mind. It felt as if a flame flickered inside.

Death's face showed a smile, a faint one.

"Being a mere spectator won't be enough this time. This 'you' you show the world, the one you pretend to be, it won't be enough. To make it, this time, you'll have to show your true colors."

She walked toward the doors, gesturing them to fall back into the ground. 

"I know you're not going through with judgement."

Geoffrey, whose eyes hadn't detached from Death's, nodded.

"Then so be it."

She clapped her hands a single time. The exact second she did, everything changed.

The void sky turned deep blue, sprinkled with clouds.

The very ground under their feet became transparent, Geoffrey could see through what was below.

About 200 meters down, there was a school.

The main building was big, and many faculties were directly connected to it. 

There was a vast garden that was almost as big as the main building. Tennis, baseball, football, basketball... Every sport seemed to have its own space. 

The school grounds were on top of a small hill. Further away, he could see the city. It wasn't as big as what he knew back home, yet it was still impressive..

"You will be attending school with others who mocked me the same way you did."

So it'll be in school, this time, he thought.

He carefully studied the area from where they were, a grid forming in his mind as he took in every detail he could.

"And so," he said, "how will it be, this time?" 

"The trials will present themselves through the school years. Called 'Assignments', those trials will give you a chance at a final assignment. Win trials, unlock the final one, and live once more, your sin forgotten. Failure, however, means you're going to the deepest parts of hell."

"I won't fail," he said.

She clapped her hands again, the room instantly turning back into the void it was.

"This time, I've bestowed a gift upon everyone who entered my trials."

"A gift?"

"Yes. They all chose one, in hopes that it would help them succeed."

"What are the choices?"

"For you? None."

Geoffrey frowned, "Why?"

Death approached once more, caressing his cheek, then holding his chin. It looked as if she truly enjoyed herself at that moment.

"As you remained a mere spectator last time, I've chosen a gift befitting one such as yourself. Just know, Geoffrey, that I truly meant it: this time, this facade you pretend to be won't be enough. The real you, buried deep, I'm looking forward to meeting that person."

"This 'me' is the one I've chosen to be," he said.

"There's one more step you need to go through," she said, ignoring his comment. "It's your entrance exam."

Geoffrey frowned once more, deep in thought, yet was quickly brought back by Death's unwavering gaze.

"I'm ready."