So close, yet so far.
That's what Lucky would call his situation. After a millennium of collecting redemption points to return home, he was finally at the last step to achieving his goal. A millennium of hard work; a very long period of fixing the countless mistakes the heavens made.
A million redemption points... all gone straight to the gutter.
Lucky took a deep breath as he felt his rage slowly stirring within him. He slowly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of red orbs filled with murderous intent.
"You've got to be kidding me," he breathed out, looking around at the blank white space surrounding him. He balled his hands into tight fists, barely containing the anger brewing within him.
"You must have enjoyed watching me work like a dog for hundreds of millennia, knowing it was all for naught," he hissed, making the children jolt. His voice was low and cold—it was almost harsh. Shifting his glinting eyes at the two adorable twin mirror toddlers that appeared out of thin air, he warned under his breath.
"Explain yourselves, Cherubs. Before I paint this space red."
"Lucky, don't be angry at us! We're only here to deliver the message from the higher-ups!" the boy on the right panicked. "They said there were last-minute changes to your last missions!"
"Changes?" Lucky scoffed condescendingly.
"Mhm! Because the last target died!" the left twin hummed encouragingly. "He had a heart attack."
"A heart attack at sixteen?" Lucky almost laughed, looking at the twins with murderous intent. "Don't play games with me. There's no way you don't know what will happen to him today."
"It's something we haven't figured out yet!" the twins answered in unison, holding each other's hands while the other rose in the air. "For some reason, some anomalies are happening and it affected your mission. We're investigating!"
Lucky darted his eyes at the twins, who were speaking one after another. The red hue in his irises slowly faded as his fist loosened. These twins might be annoying, but he believed them. They never lied unless they wanted to join him in his humble abode.
"If you're deceiving me, I'll see to it that I welcome you both to my humble abode with open arms." Regardless of what he believed, he still had to warn them in case they had forgotten the line they shouldn't cross.
"So? What now?" he asked. "Since the destined one is back to where he was supposed to be, shouldn't that automatically grant me the heavenly rewards I was promised?"
"Not so fast, Lucky!" the twins cheered, causing the veins in his forehead to protrude. "As we mentioned, something is happening behind the pearly gates! We cannot let you in!"
"Why not? I did what I was told and proceeded to it with perfection."
"That's right!" the twins nodded. "But you still failed the last task. You didn't send him, and in return, the destined one immediately went through the pavilion of reincarnation. We can only hope the god of reincarnation put him in the right world this time."
"And if he failed?"
"It'll take a lot of years to send him back."
"Fu—" Lucky bit his tongue, wincing in distress.
"But don't worry!" the twins reassured. "We'll be staying with the god of reincarnation so he won't make another mistake!"
Lucky's eyes lit up. "Then when can I claim my rewards?"
"After your last mission!"
"What?"
"Lucky, we mentioned something strange is happening behind the pearly gates. Apparently, a hurdle arose and thus changed the course of your missions," the cherubs explained adorably. "If you want to know the details, check your pocket watch!"
Lucky arched a brow as he darted his eyes between the two. He took out his pocket watch and gazed down at it. Deep lines appeared on his forehead, looking at the twin, only to realize they were gone.
"They just come and go," he clicked his tongue in irritation, setting his attention back to his pocket watch. "There's nothing in it."
Lucky held its thin metal chains until the watch was at his eye level. "What do I have to check—" he shut his eyes as another blinding light exploded from the watch. He kept his eyes closed until he felt safe enough to peek through them.
Huh?
[Greetings!]
Lucky furrowed his brows, seeing a screen projecting in front of him. After living in the human world, he knew what technology was. However, since when did the homes of deities add such human inventions into their pathetic and boring lives?
"They can at least add a more powerful opening statement," he commented, swiping the screen to see what was there for him.
The screen showed seven virtual boxes, making him squint his eyes. Just then, a written message appeared above the seven packages. It says;
[You have 1096 days to deliver the packages. Complete the task on time to avoid eternal damnation. Failure results in your cessation. However, successful completion grants heavenly rewards.
Are you willing to take the chance?]
[YES] or [NO]
Lucky read that again.
"1096 days?" he muttered. "Are they sure?"
1096 days weren't too long for him. He had waited for a long time to get to this point. Another three years seemed to be a short time. Also, it didn't say here that he couldn't finish it early. He was only given a time limit and, with his experience, he could deliver these packages in a single day.
"This is much better than hoping those cherubs and that drunkard god won't make another mistake."
With that thought in mind, Lucky pressed [YES] without a second hesitation. The screen lit up for a moment before he showed its next message.
[Warning: Misdelivery of packages entails heavy consequences. Initiating connection to another world… 3… 2… 1…
Welcome to the Land of Horror: Legion.]
"The land of what—" Before Lucky could finish his query, the plain white surrounding glowed into a blinding light. He felt his body being swept by a strong force and then... nothing.
********
"Ugh…" A grunt escaped Lucky as his eyes cracked open.
He was lying flat on his back, vision blurry, and a painful throb in his head. He held the side of his head, blinking until his vision cleared up a little. When his eyes adjusted, all he saw was a skyscraper that was hung upside down in the sky.