The man on the throne didn't spare a glance at his current rabid state.
Listening to him slowly dictate what punishment he would execute, the strong surge of fear and anxiousness washed over Bug's entire soul.
"However, We have witness how dedicated and sincere you were in repenting for your sins and easily accepting karma that is acted upon you. We have decided to give you chance."
'Chance! I will be saved!'
'That's right! I repented! I'm now clean! I became very religious before I died!'
Tears formed and fell from bug's face like a water from a faucet. Deep within his red eyes he can see a small thread of hope.
'I am not doomed. My soul can't be disintegrated so quickly!'
"Heed my words, Bug. Your next lifetime shall be your trial, and on the way would dangers, challenges and enemies posed on your path will be endlessly appearing to prevent your success."
'Challenges? Dangers? Foes? Why the hell are you still adding those in my next lifetime?'
'No, even as a trial, that's unfair...'
Bug looked up and listen to the man on the throne from the outside, but inside his mind he was dissatisfied. His emotions were quite fickle and easy to change.
"But if you manage to pass through all of them, we shall grant you a new life, and grant you a wish you genuinely want from the hidden depths your heart."
"Taking this moment as an opportunity to thank you..."
Bug rose up and stood in front of the man, his head bowed down as if expressing his deep gratefulness and peace of mind.
In truth, he didn't feel as satisfied as he showed.
His words made way toward the man sitting on the throne, but he flicked his sleeves. His actions could be conveyed as being annoyed to bug's previous words.
'...' The corner of bug's mouth twitched when he saw that action, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He saw that this person wasn't going to stop talking anytime soon, so he refrained from saying anything.
"Make it sense; whenever a person dies, only fragments of one's soul would be able to remain. By chance, other soul fragments will be compatible to form into another. That's when souls would be pieced together and become a living being in their next Reincarnation. In most cases, this would be the reason as why relatives and strangers appear similar."
"That is the case for only weak souls who couldn't withstand the pressure of the heavens, forcing them to shatter themselves into thousands of pieces; a complete final act to declare an end to life."
"In rare cases, souls can withstand the heaven's pressure and avoid fragmentation. It helps them, strengthening their soul, then they would be able to be reincarnate in whole. However, the trials in their next reincarnation would prove to be twice as heavy compared to the weight of their sins."
'Karma.'
A word that wasn't mentioned by the man on the throne appeared suddenly in Bug's mind, and it made him mentally exhausted. His fear hasn't passed yet, but now he became even more scared.
"And you just so happen to be a refined soul, something rare... Not even a fragment of your soul was scattered. We found your soul unique and we recognize your existence. That's why..."
He paused, before he raised his hands. He spoke once again but with a huge pressure came from his voice.
Bug froze in realization. Hostility was showing from his eyes as it turned redder.
'This was why you were blabbering so much!'
"Your soul is yet to be pardoned! You are to pick your own body for the trial."
'It doesn't sound bad...' Bug doubted his ears for a moment.
"The weight of your sins will pull your fortune down like gravity. You," The man on the throne gave a strange smile before saying the rest of his words. "Pick wisely."
'I spoke too soon! I take it back!' Bug almost turned rabid again, despite finally calming down earlier.
But the next thing that happened stopped him from exploding.
Silence first ensued, the man seated on the throne and the big bird were communicating with their eyes, so he didn't grasp anything useful from their stares.
"Behave wisely, so that you can still maintain your head connected to your neck."
"Please pick your fate from the box of Orthodox Trials."
"And, using this box, will your next life form will be considered as the heavyweight to carry as you traverse through your trial. May this new form be a constant reminder of your sins."
'But doesn't that mean there won't be anything good because it's a form of a punishment?'
A plain brown box filled with slender white sticks was on the left palm of the person on the throne. The big bird turned its head and looked closely at the sticks, before it cawed softly and moved its head to another direction.
Suddenly, it vanished from his hands, and managed to appear on the floor in front of Bug.
He lowered down to examine the sticks.
In a vague estimation, the average good luck a normal person could have would range from 5% to 25%. The weight of karma depending on the person will either disable a person's luck or boost the chances higher than normal.
That being said, there was no point to try and be picky. Bug was doomed to lose the chance of gaining a better life form than a pathetic insect.
'I've done gambling in my memories. But I couldn't tell if I'm luckier than the average person.'
'Am I really going to lose in a game where I can pick my own headstart?'
'This is wrong, everything's wrong. I thought karma won't catch up to me. I've already repented!'
He reached out his transparent hand to the box slowly, then grabbed a slender white stick from the topmost left corner.
Whether it was out of habit or not, Bug's left hand moved first before he even had the chance to acknowledge the action. He read the words engraved on the stick that made him completely stoic.
"Bug from the bottom of the food pyramid..."
Bug from the Bottom of the Food Pyramid |
Was what it read.
Bug couldn't muster anything to think of after reading the words on the slender white stick. His whole soul froze, feeling as if despair bashed his head with so much force it became mush.
The man seated on the throne spoke once again, and without any emotion from his tone, he bid farewell.
"We'll meet again upon your next death."
And that was the only sentence he heard, before everything was warped up by strange lights, swirling, darting back and forth with Bug being helpless in between.
This phenomenon made him very confused and nauseous, and before he realized it, he was already enveloped by darkness.
~-~
Waking up after a long time is no happy event for Bug. The last time he did, was when Bug ended up dead and lining in front of the Gates of the GODS.
Now, only darkness surround him, even if he forced his eyelids open and used his irises to try and see, there can only be darkness that exists.
Bug can feel that he was in a narrow space, enough for a fetus position to be encapsulated in.
Thin, slime-like liquid was everywhere, it seemed the new body was ready to leave its own egg.
The first thought that emerged when Bug drew the very 'fortunate' stick was...
'Damn it. I'm really fucked this time.'