She began looking all over, but other than the awkwardly placed ornate furniture and discarded wires around her, not even a half-transparent ghost was in sight. Death, as if a bodily manifestation couldn't quite encapsulate it, was casually reminding her that it was truly omnipresent.
But gone was Dabria's former terror. After all, she was dead, so what did she have to lose?
"So, if you couldn't tell, I've been trying to make a few modifications to the Underworld." The voice paused. "Renovations, if you willlllll."
The last tone dragged on, abruptly cutting into a squeaky shout that was vaguely reminiscent of Talking Tom's voice from Dabria's childhood. Dabria stifled a giggle, not being quite able to accept the gravity of the situation.
Death cleared its throat, and the voice returned back to its dark and mysterious setting as if it accidentally misclicked a button previously. "So, as I was say-" A shrill voice crack accompanied by the telltale screeching of a microphone didn't quite help Death's case.
"Ok, so here's my offer. If you give all rights of your headset to the Underworld, I can guarantee you a pleasant next life. If you want endless riches, a beautiful face, or anything within a reasonable degree, you have my word." Death waited, the soft beat of what Dabria presumed to be fingers rhythmically tapping on a microphone paralleling the background music in a dramatic movie scene.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
"Can you grant me the position of an Underworld Technician?"
"Uhh… no. Our Human Resources department is quite strict, and glancing through your life records, I'm not sure you have the credentials." It was a sharp slap in the face. The reminder about how she had dropped out of school was also uncalled for, bringing back horrible memories.
"But what if it breaks?" Dabria was relentless, tightly gripping onto her headset as if an invisible hand would emerge from the darkness and wrestle it away from her.
"Then it isn't a worthy investment in the first place."
Hearing someone dare speak out against her only treasure, Dabria went all out, forgetting that she was talking to Death itself.
"My system is fully automated and could generate entire worlds from just memory alone! Just put it on, and it can realistically simulate a virtual realm based on interpreting the user's likings and decision making processes, in turn creating an uber-realistic sense!" Dabria waved her hands in the air near frantically. "Like here, I promise, if you try it on, it'll change your life!"
A low chuckle sounded, followed by a light sigh. "I don't have a life." There was an edge of desolation and tragedy laced in those words.
"That makes two of us!" Dabria chirped, not at all realizing the gravity of the situation. For someone who was extremely talented with engineering and coding, those extra skillset points were definitely docked from her EQ department. And yet she wondered why she was always fired.
A projector suddenly turned on from nowhere, and Dabria was face to face with a huge pie chart. Well, it was rather a graph of different times, ranging from ancient to modern.
"People like you are refusing to leave the Underworld. Some of them have uncompleted wishes from a past lifetime. And others saw their future in the Stone of Three Lifetimes and do not want to pursue it." The voice paused, as if waiting for Dabria's ah-ha! moment. Only that it never came, instead replaced by an awkward silence.
The chart featured the percentages of ghosts currently in the Underworld versus those who were reincarnated, and the staggering amount of red overtime warnings was a constant reminder of nearing carrying capacity.
"I intend to use your system to convince them to leave. I don't really know. Simulate a perfect past to calm their grievances. Weave a wonderful future to give them hope. Well, it really just needs to get them out of here," Death hesitated as if trying to make up the remainder of the script. "The Underworld's budget seriously can't support them just mulling about."
Dabria was obviously on a separate wavelength. "But can I stay?"
Death audibly sighed.
"My entire life, I was scared of Death. I finally invented this virtual reality machine and was able to face this idea of Death. If I get reincarnated again, I'm going to forget about how friendly you are. It's an endless trap."
Without waiting for Death's response, Dabria word vomited all of her deepest fears and anxiety as if it would be her last chance.
For the first time, she showed a hint of expression and humanity beyond her blind fear of Death. It came stronger than ever now that she realized she would lose all of her memories and begin anew.
Endless riches? Her taste was accustomed to cup noodles and the occasional delicacy of Shin Ramen.
A beautiful face? Knowing her, she would ruin it by not taking care of it anyway.
This dismay stronger than ever before overtook her, stabbing into her like a dagger.
There was a pause, quite an eternity for Dabria.
"If you get 5-star reviews from three users in a month, I'll consider keeping you under the title of Soulguider Technician. Meanwhile, read over the tourist brochure for the Underworld. It should give you an idea of where to start."
A pamphlet flew from nowhere, hitting Dabria squarely on her head.