"So we're really dead?"
"...That seems to be the case."
"There's nothing here though?"
"...That seems to be the case."
"I always assumed the afterlife would be more... Y'know, dark and fiery or holy and amazing. This however is not something I could have imagined. There's NOTHING here."
"...That seems to be the case."
"I can't see me or hear you, heck I'm not even fully sure how we're communicating, because there's no sound."
"...That seems to be the case."
".... I've been trying to ignore this for the longest while now, but are you broken or something? Why in God's name do you keep repeating that damn line, Aria?"
"...That seems to be the case."
"...."
"...That seems to be the case."
"I DIDN'T EVEN RESPOND THIS TIME."
"Hmm, you are actually right, but you know what, Arc?"
"Sigh, what is it?"
"...That seems to be the case."
"If this is the afterlife, I yearn for oblivion."
"Pfft."
"..."
"Fine. I will stop."
"Finally got it all out of your system?"
"...That seems to be the— I am kidding; I am done."
"GOOD."
"Oh, stop being so mad. I was trying to quell my boredom."
"I'm mad because you kept wasting time instead of trying to help me figure out where the heck we are."
"Yes, hate to break it to you, but time is honestly the least of our concerns at the moment. Aside from our conversations, there is no real point of reference to use for—well, anything. I am certain we died. The car hit me first, so I ended up here a moment before you, and even that cannot be used as reference as there is no actual way for me to judge how long said moment was. I just know you were not here when I got here."
"You... actually make a valid point."
"So then what now?"
"Nothing? It will probably sort itself out. I doubt owing money to loan sharks is reason enough to end up in hell, and if we are in fact in hell, it makes no sense why we are the only ones down here, much less in the same room—if you can even call this a room. Therefore, I suggest we wait until whatever put us here is ready to get us out, explain why we are here, or proceed with the next step. They must have left us with the method to communicate with each other for a reason."
"Fine, might as well kill time since we're stuck here."
"Time as a concept does not appear to exist here."
"..."
"I will humor you, though. What would you like to talk about, Arc?"
"Hmmm, how about how we ended up here?"
"Well, for starters, we got hit by a speeding car and died."
"Stop being coy. You know that's not what I meant. I'd roll my eyes at you if I had any."
"Since you are oh so curious, I suppose I could tell you."
"Gasp, her most royal highness is bestowing us her favor? We are unworthy."
"Yes, yes, keep praising—I accept your prostrations."
"I didn't prostr—"
"MOVING ON, I, the great Aria, the most beautiful, talented once-in-a-century—nay, a one-of-a-kind genius, the likes of which will never grace creation again—"
"Could you please move on? How is it that in a world of thoughts, I can feel your smugness oozing out?"
"I know you cannot see it, but I just rolled my eyes. Anyway, the commonfolk, unappreciative of my genius, have ceased funding my research, so I had no choice but to acquire monetary aid from... less reliable sources."
"So basically, as usual, your research wasn't going anywhere, and your workplace or whatever decided you're a lost cause and stopped supporting you, so you carelessly borrowed from the loan sharks, believing you'd succeed. That's everything, right? I must say, your genius is truly unmatched. I applaud your magnificence, truly a Scion of our era."
"You know, you are talking an awful lot of nonsense for someone who was chased by the same people as me."
"..."
"Silent now, are we? As a matter of fact, how did you die?"
"Wellllll, if we're being specific, I was hit by a speeding car and died, nothing too out there."
"No, no. Surely the great Arc must have made a most impressive series of choices. Surely recklessness is not what got him here."
"I apologize for my earlier outburst."
"Let. Us. Hear. It. How. Did. You. Die?"
"Sighhhhh, iwashiredtostealsomethingfromsomereallyrichclientssoitookoutaloanexpectingthemtopaymebutafterthejobwasdonetheydidntwannapaymesoiranoffwiththepaintingandtriedtogiveittotheloansharksaspaymentbutitturnsouttheyworkedformyclient."
"Speak up, I cannot hear a word you are saying."
"FINE. Some shady guys hired me to rob them—yes, I know I should have done a background check before I accepted a request, but in my defense, they looked like stupid rich people, and I figured it was unnecessary."
"Got it, so your judgment failed you. Continue."
"My judgment didn't fail me, I just neglected it a little bit. So I used my tools to break into their place as requested, but after I finished the job and showed them the flaws in their security, THEY DIDN'T WANNA PAY UP."
"Ahhh, so YOU of all people were scammed? Pfft."
"I was not scammed. They LIED and broke an agreed-upon contract."
"Hate to break it to you, Arc, but that is what we humans refer to as, 'being scammed'."
"Wait, how did the loan sharks get involved?"
"Oh... yeah, I borrow from them a lotttt. I was low on cash, so I borrowed the money to pay for the tools I used. Well, half was also lost in gambling, but that's beside the point really."
"I see."
"Ignoring your judging gaze."
"We do not have gazes here."
"You know what I mean. So yeah, I ran off with a weird painting they had and tried pawning it off to the loan sharks to clear my debt—it looked weird and old enough, and weird old things tend to be expensive in this line of work."
"The thing is, I didn't actually expect them to be the actual creditors for the loan sharks..."
"You really are quite unlucky."
"Yep, yep. I've been running around from them all night, and eventually, I ran into you in the alley."
"Yes, they were already coming for me after hearing my experiment failed, not exactly the best news to share with your creditors."
"That explains why they started gunning for you too."
"Yes. I still think this is all your fault, though."
"How is any of this my fault?"
"Well, you are the one that brought them to the alley, are you not?"
"They had no idea where I was until you brought them there. I would probably still be alive if not for that."
"That's a reallyyyyy scummy way of dodging accountability."
"Is it really, though?"
"YES."
"Worry not, I will not hold it against you. I am quite merciful."
"Sure you are."
"I am glad we agree."
"... I think that is all for our pre-death recap, though. I guess now we just wait?"
"...That seems to be the case."
"...Aria, I really hate you."
"...That seems to be the case."
"..."
"Pfft."
"God I hope this isn't our eternity."