"You are dead."
Sigrid blinked once and affirmed with a nod of her head, "I know."
The memories of her death were still fresh and hot in her mind. She thought for sure that she would be somewhere in the deepest pits of hell burning for all the wrong she had done but that was not the case.
This place where she had been brought to after death was not the hell she pictured, but it was not heaven either, it was a bank: The Eternal Bank Of Fate as it had been introduced by a chipper receptionist that took charge after she was dropped off by a truck driver that had been in an awful rush to return to earth.
It was a vast and magnificent place, accessible through enchanted portals only. The bank was an existence that stood between space and time, it had existed since the dawn of time, thriving in every era and catering to every world in existence.
The grand lobby Sigrid had found herself in on delivery was awe inspiring. Every structure was elegant and sleek, with walls and pillars of transparent glass and alloys.
It was designed like a large international airport in a way, with all the different customers that were coming and going through various gates marked entrance and departure. The terminals were many, extending far beyond what her eyes could see.
Some clients were dragging luggage in suitcases, some had small bags while others carried nothing. They were all dressed differently like they came from different worlds.
Even in physical appearance, you could see the differences, some were human looking, others animal like. There were those whose faces were hidden or veiled.
It was a busy place and everyone seemed to be in a rush to get to their final destinations. Sigrid wanted to pause and look around but the receptionist was also in a hurry.
She was led down a hallway, to a place with a big sign that read fate exchange.
Her mind had immediately resonated with stock exchange from earth.
She had many questions about this bank and what it did but the receptionist abandoned her in a large private booth and left so Sigrid could not ask her about this mysterious place.
She had taken a sit and naturally looked at her surroundings. Before her was a crystal gold desk and behind it, a banking official. He was a middle aged man in a white robe adorned with galaxy patterns that were changing.
In her mind, Sigrid pictured him with a white beard and a long stuff, with those two items he would be the perfect fit for an ancient prophet.
"Welcome to the Eternal Bank of Fate." he said. "I am Cosmos 12, an eternal custodian of the bank. I think i should inform you that you are dead."
He smiled, his entire face radiating with warmth and assurance. Sigrid had replied that she was aware of her death while looking around the booth.
She did not think that he would begin their conversation with the most obvious thing.
"What is this place?" She asked the burning question in her mind.
He spread his arms out. "This is the place where fortunate souls like yours come for a second chance once it has been determined that they are still of use. Here, we do everything that a bank does, we provide various services, for a fee of course."
He waved his hand and the desk turned into a blue screen, the services offered by the bank scrolled by.
Deposits, loans and credit, investment services, payment services, currency exchange, safety and security, financial advice, digital services.
Sigrid's mind drew a blank, these were mortal services, the bank seemed to be immortal. she was expecting to see services like immortality____.
The writing changed and new services appeared.
Eternal loans, temporal savings accounts, inter dimensional investments, eternal currency exchange, stasis vaults, cosmic consultancy, ancestral trusts, relic loans, dimensional safe deposit boxes, timeless transactions, mythical insurance, eternal asset management.
Bonus services.
Rebirth, reincarnation, transmigration, immortality[On selective worlds].
"With our services, your wealth will be secure, timeless and ever-growing no matter which era or dimension you find yourself in forever. Even your descendants will have the opportunity to enjoy it depending on how long your contract with us runs." Cosmos 12 said.
A smile drew on her lips, these new services were much more impressive than the last ones, just in line with her needs.
"There is a price to pay of course." Cosmos informed her.
Sigrid's fingers were itching to dig in, and she was quite thirsty for vengeance. The Latham's were quite powerful, with their connections it was possible to escape the trap she laid for them. In order destroy them, she was ready to pay any price for this once in a lifetime opportunity. With this bank helping her, she would be invincible on earth.
"What do i have to do?"
Cosmos stood up and floated up, she noticed that he had no visible feet.
"You should abandon all thoughts of returning to your old life, it's over." he told her.
Sigrid's breath hitched, it appeared there was a flaw in her revenge plan. She had assumed that she was in the bank for an opportunity to be reborn and deal with her killers then dominate the world in secret and become vastly wealthy. If she could not go home, back to New York, then why was she there?
"We at the bank are prepared to offer you an opportunity to start afresh on a new world however, you should know that the price for the services of the bank are high so you must pay if you want it." Cosmos warned me.
Out of nowhere a reflection of library that spun for miles appeared in the booth. Sigrid saw many books that were arranged neatly and she frowned.
How was this related to the matter at hand?
"For some services, the price is a fragment of your lifespan, others it's a heart, a finger or a toe. In some cases, it's your hair or voice or beauty.
There are those that pay with recollections of wisdom, soul bonds, mystical relics, promises, ethereal currency and favors. The price depends on the world you come from."
Cosmos 12 turned to her, his pale eyes roamed over Sigrid from head to toe. His chilling gaze caused a shiver to pass through her.
"You come from the lowest and most common mortal world so your price is life span or maybe your beauty."
Her right hand moved to her face and her mouth dropped slightly open. She did not want to offer her lifespan, beauty however could be considered. With the advancements in plastic surgery, she could buy a beautiful face.
Cosmos 12 burst into laughter. "You are truly a cunning one, in your death you were that way and even in this bank, you are calculating. Put away your little thoughts and let me tell you why you were picked as a candidate. It is to fulfill a task for the bank and change your fate perhaps upon success."
He pointed to the many books and slowly moved his hand around.
"All these books on different worlds, written by millions of authors have been turned into real worlds by the immortal entities that run the bank. On one world, we have encountered a problem recently; a false heroine with a halo that transmigrated into the world accidentally. Her presence there has changed the course of events on that world, ruining some of our business."
He returned to his chair and the desk returned to plain crystal gold.
"The bank cannot directly involve itself in the affairs of such worlds, we must be neutral at all times so we can only act through a third party, which is why you are here.
We want you to act on behalf of the bank, go into that world and destroy the halo of the false heroine. As long as it's gone, she can be erased and the bank's affairs restored.
If you choose to accept this mission, there will be no price to pay for your transmigration and some of the services of this bank will be free for use for you. Not forever, ten years, that is all we can offer."
Sigrid leaned back against the cool chair and held her hands together, forming a triangular shape. Slowly, she tapped her fingers together and pondered on all that she had heard.
An ordinary person would be jumping at the opportunity but she was no ordinary person. She had drafted many contracts with tricky clauses and traps over they years. In his words, she could detect more than a few.
Wasn't it said that bankers would lend you an umbrella when the sun was shining and take it away when it was raining? She did not want to be left in the rain without protection.
"There is something you are not telling me, i am good at smelling poop beneath the surface, my former master taught me well."
Cosmos 12 shook his head. "I have no idea what you mean."
Sigrid leaned forward, with her hands placed beneath her chin to support her head.
"The best candidate to fight a false heroine is a real heroine and i am so far from being heroine quality. I am a villain, i know it and i am okay with who i am. Why are you poaching a villain for this mission? More importantly, where is the real heroine of that world?"