Benjamin couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The last thing he remembered was the abrupt, cold flash of pain as life slipped away from him.
Now, here he was — sitting in a room. An office, to be precise. It was strange, yet oddly familiar.
There was a desk, a stack of papers neatly piled on it, and bookshelves lining the walls, filled with titles Benjamin couldn't quite make out.
The whole place had an air of quiet importance, like a space where big decisions were made.
His fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee, its warmth cutting through the surrealness of the situation.
But the strangest part? The man sitting across from him.
He wasn't what Benjamin expected — no flowing robes, no grand, ethereal presence.
Just a tall, skinny guy in a button-down shirt, sitting casually in a chair with his legs stretched out, feet resting on the desk.
The man had unkempt brown hair that cascaded down his back and piercing blue eyes that locked onto Benjamin's with a certain curiosity.
"Ah, you're awake," the man said, his voice calm but carrying a weight to it. "I figured it would take a few minutes for you to process everything. Not every day someone gets pulled out of the Judgment Line, after all."
Benjamin blinked, still trying to come to terms with his surroundings. "What's going on? Where am I?"
"You're in a place between places, let's call it that for now." The man's lips twitched into a half-smile as if he found this amusing. "I'm sure you're wondering how you ended up here instead of, well... wherever you thought you were going."
Benjamin's mind raced. The last thing he remembered before waking up in this office was the rush of cold panic — the final breath he took as life left his body. He had died, hadn't he? He looked down at his hands, half-expecting them to be translucent, like some kind of ghost.
But no, they were solid. Real.
"I don't get it," Benjamin said, his voice strained. "I was supposed to go to the Judging Grounds, right? To be... judged. For my life. And then you just... pulled me out? Why?"
The man across from him leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with an unspoken understanding. "That's right. You were headed toward Judgment — toward a place where they would decide where you go based on your actions, your deeds. But I did a little favor and pulled you out before that."
"Why?" Benjamin's brow furrowed.
"I didn't think I did anything too terrible. I mean, yeah, I made my mistakes, but..."
"True." The man interrupted, his gaze unwavering. "But that's exactly why I pulled you out. You're right—your deeds were… mixed. You did good things, yes, but you also made choices that were less than stellar. And when it comes to the Judgment Grounds, that's a tricky balance."
Benjamin couldn't help but nod. He wasn't a saint by any means, but he wasn't the worst person either.
He always thought the good in his life would outweigh the bad — maybe not enough to get him into Heaven, but surely not enough to condemn him to Hell, right?
The man sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Here's the thing, Benjamin. You don't have to follow the usual path. The one where you give all your Karmic points away just to cross over into Heaven. In fact, you don't even have to give them away at all… well not necessarily,"
"Wait…" Benjamin's confusion deepened. "What are Karmic points? I've never heard of them."
The man grinned, like a teacher about to explain something that should've been obvious. "Ah, that's the key to all of this. Karmic points are like... your currency in the afterlife. They measure the energy you radiate — good or bad. They're earned through your actions in life. Every kind gesture, every selfish decision, every choice you make — each one affects your Karmic balance."
Benjamin frowned, trying to absorb the information. "So... good actions give me Karmic points, and bad ones give me… negative energy?"
"Exactly. And here's the thing: if you have enough Karmic points, you get to go to Heaven. If you don't, you get sent back to Earth for Reincarnation, but with no memories of your past life. You start fresh."
Benjamin's head spun as he tried to wrap his mind around the idea. Karmic points were the deciding factor? That seemed... too simple. What about all the other aspects of his life? The emotions, the relationships?
"What happens if you don't have enough Karmic points and your negative energy outweighs the good?"
The man's expression shifted, his voice growing more serious. "If your negative energy is too overwhelming, you're sent straight to Hell. No second chances."
"Hell." Benjamin swallowed hard. The word alone sent a shiver down his spine.
"But don't worry about that," the man continued, leaning back in his chair. "I pulled you out of the usual cycle for a reason. I need your help."
Benjamin blinked. "Help? From me?"
"Yes," the man said, his blue eyes gleaming. "You see, this place — the higher world, if you want to call it that — isn't just about judgment. It's about balance. And right now, that balance is teetering dangerously."
"I don't understand." Benjamin's heart raced. "What's this about balance?"
"I'm the God of Games, as you've probably figured out by now," the man said, as if that title meant something self-explanatory. "And I oversee the rules of the game world, including the systems of judgment. And… well there's a game that even the god of games finds it hard to beat,"
Benjamin sat back in his chair, still holding the cup of coffee, his mind reeling. He had no idea what was going on, but one thing was clear: he was being given a choice.
A chance to play — or to do something far greater than what he had imagined for his afterlife.
"So, what's the catch?" Benjamin asked, staring at the God of Games.
The man smiled again, the mystery deepening. "No catch. Just a game. I'm sure you're very familiar with it by now too,"