For a long time, there was nothing but darkness; then an endless corridor appeared, its walls lined with blinding lights and air thick with the smell of burnt incense. The girl felt as if she had transcended into an entirely different plane of existence. There was no pain, no fear, not the usual overwhelming anxiety that made her tremble in her shoes. She looked around, dazed, unsure whether she was still dreaming, when, smilingly, two women dressed in black uniforms appeared out of thin air and dragged her down the hallway.

The girl didn’t protest. The only thought that crossed her head was when she would wake up. She struggled to remember how she even got here, sifting the folders of her mind for an answer. There was none.

And so, before she knew it, she was dumped into a large office with flickering red lights and had the door shut behind her, rather crudely. A sense of disorientation hit her, causing her to lose her balance and fall on her backside. She looked up at the huge wooden desk, where the figure of another woman dressed in black stood, with her hands crossed, smiling.

“Greetings, mortal,” she said in an even tone. “You’re probably wondering how you got here.” Her question was met with an anxious nod. “Of course you are. Well, let me save you the trouble. To put it briefly, you died. The bits of information, known as your life essence, are now in a different reality. You might think of it as the afterlife, but it is merely a pocket dimension where we send souls to get judged before we send them to a new server.”

“I’m dead,” said the girl in a trembling voice, seemingly unable to process what was happening.

“Yes, yes,” the woman waved her hand dismissively, following her gesture with an eye roll. “Listen, kid, you’re one of 541 souls that I need to look through today, so let’s not drag this out for longer than it’s necessary. Shall we? Now sit on that chair and let’s look through your files.”

“I’m sorry,” said the girl, taking a seat hastily, eyes locked with the puzzle-like floor tiles that looked as bizarre as the rest of the place. “Are… are you Death?”

“Death? I guess some call me that, but no. My name is Z. I’m the manager around here. The one responsible for sending lost souls like you to a different server.”

“A different server?”

“Would you stop repeating my words? It’s annoying.”

“Yes, but…”

“No buts,” Z cut her off. “Now sit patiently as I go through your files.” She stood up, walking to the other end of the office, then commanded one of the hundreds of metal drawers to swing open with a flick of her hand. It stretched out for meters upon meters.

“Let’s see what we have here.”

“Miss Z, uhm… what happens if I, let’s say, haven’t been living the most righteous of lives?” The girl asked nervously.

Her question was glared at with the utmost resentment.

“Then you wouldn’t be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation that is granted to people with positive scores,” said Z as she took her spot on the chair behind the desk and pulled out her rectangular-shaped reading glasses.

“Positive scores?”

“What did I say about repeating my words?” Z grunted. “Anyway, if you have a positive score, we’ll send you to a new server and erase your memories so you can begin a new life.”

“What if my score is negative?”

“Then you face nothingness,” Z said in an icy-cold voice that sent chills down her interlocutor’s spine. “But before that, we send you to a special server meant for such people, a sort of purgatory if you will, where souls have the chance to redeem themselves before they get erased from the whole system. A place called the Graveyard Server. Now, keep quiet as I make your assessment. I won’t take longer than a minute.”

One minute passed. Slowly and painfully, the girl sank her fingertips into the leather armrests, drenched in sweat as she awaited her sentence. Was this really the afterlife or some horrible nightmare she was enduring? The woman behind the desk had a chilling aura around her, even though she acted in a casual manner. Her nose was sharp and pointy, like the rest of her features. Her eyes were dark and full of sternness. Every gesture she made appeared calculated as if she had cogs and wires instead of bone and marrow.After a short pause, Z looked at Jamie.

“Reason for dying?” She lifted an eyebrow before continuing, “Self-euthanasia.”

“…”

“I must let you know, the gift of life is sacred, and whoever dares to sully it is severely looked down upon here,” Z said, her eyes gleaming with spite.

“There must be some sort of error. I would never…”

“Silence!” Z’s voice echoed through the entire office hall, and for a moment, even the red lights above them flickered. She continued in an even tone: “It is possible that you don’t remember. Not everyone recalls the way they died. Anyway, that would be minus 49 points.”

“Why 49?” Asked Jamie, seemingly bothered by the odd number.

“What’s the problem? Oh, wait. Here it says you have a problem with odd numbers. Fine, let it be 50.”

From that point on, the girl decided it would be best to avoid talking as much as she could while Z continued with her verdict.

“You lied in court. Minus 30 points. You slept with your teacher to pass a grade. Minus 8 points. Let me tell you now, things don’t look so good for you,” Z remarked. “Oh, here it says you went out of your way to help out your friend despite your social anxiety that one time. That would be plus 8 points. That leaves us with the total score of,” she made a dramatic pause, while restlessly tapping with the tip of her pen on the white paper. “0 points!”

“Aren’t they supposed to be…” Jamie protested nervously.

“Silence,” she was once again cut off. “Do you know what that means?” Z added with vigor, tilting her head in anticipation.

“No.”

“It’s not often that we get someone with a score of 0 around here. You’re neither fit for reincarnation nor for being sent to the Graveyard Server. That only leaves us with one option: you becoming a grim reaper! Isn’t that exciting?” She added jovially.

“I don’t know what it means to be a grim reaper. Do I need to…” the girl gulped. “Kill people?”

“Oh, no, no. Far from it,” Z waved her hand, reassuring her. “Grim reapers are tasked with the duty of moderating any activities related to the Graveyard Server.”

“What if I refuse?”

“We’ll delete you. No trial, no chance of redemption. Just straight to the bin.”

“Seems unfair.”

“Life is about balance, sweetheart, not fairness.” Z smiled.

“I guess that leaves me with no choice then.”

“Oh, you do have a choice. It’s just that we strongly advise you to join our team. Facing the abyss is kinda scary if you think about it. You should have thought twice before you…” Z swiped her thumb across her neck, sticking her tongue out. “You know.”

Jamie let out a deep sigh, putting her despair-stricken face in her palms.

“Is suffering better than nothingness?” She muttered, half to herself. “This Graveyard Server you’re speaking of. It’s not a nice place, is it?”

“Believe me, what lies beneath it is far more harrowing. The Server in itself is nothing more than the boring old reality you’re familiar with, but within its walls resides something much darker and sinister,” Z explained in a more serious tone. “A hell dimension meant for the sickest and most depraved of souls. Deviants that deserve a fate worse than nothingness. We call it The Void, a desolate coast of madness and agony. The two used to be isolated from each other, but there has been a rift lately. They began merging into one unexpectedly, and we’ll need your help to find the issue that’s causing this travesty.”

“Me? What am I supposed to do? I just found out about this place.” Jamie protested.

“You’re the chosen one. No one else can fix this.”

“Are you telling that to all new recruits?”

“Whatever keeps them motivated,” Z shrugged, reaching out inside her drawer. “Here is your badge, kid. Good luck.”

The girl looked at the badge, moving closer cautiously. As soon as she touched it, a strange black liquid spilled out like venom, enveloping her entire body. She closed her eyes, fearing she had triggered some weird spell. Upon opening them, she realised she was dressed in the same suit as the women who dragged her here. Something else piqued her curiosity as well: the name written on the badge.

“Who is Ash?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“This’s your new name,” Z explained calmly. “Congratulations, Ash. From now on, you’re officially a fellow grim reaper. You’ll be notified when it’s time to send you on your first mission.”

“Can’t wait,” said Ash, dishonestly.

“And one more thing before you leave,” Z waved her finger sternly. “Once you enter the Graveyard Server. You must never, ever tell a soul about the truth behind their reality. If you do, that could drive them into madness.”