When I opened my eyes to nothing but darkness, I realized I was dead.

  Bitterly disappointed, I tried to sigh, discovering my body’s absence. It wasn't the fact that I was dead that was disappointing. Death failed to meet my expectations.

  I had hoped for eternal darkness.

  Silence.

  Peace.

  Anything but an eternity of being trapped with myself.

  Is this hell?

  Even worse, I couldn't dare argue my circumstances. If God showed up in the next few minutes, it wasn't like I could say, "Excuse me, I don't deserve this."

  This is better than I deserve.

  "Don't be so hard on yourself, Derrick."

  I recognized the voice of the robed figure from before.

  You pushed me in front of a moving train, asshole.

  "That I did, and now I'll ask you for a favor."

  Forget it.

  If I still had my middle fingers, I would've raised them.

  "You defy a god? Interesting." The voice chuckled.

  God?

  "Not God, but a god. Call me Chaos," he said. "Now you can either stay here for a few millennia to think about your actions, or..."

  The idea of spending thousands of years in total solitude didn't sit well with me, but spite was a powerful motivator.

  Leave me be.

  "In a thousand years, you'll be nothing but a fraction of yourself."

  Perhaps that's exactly what I needed. A thousand years to dissect the part of my soul that was so tainted.

  "I'm offering you a new body, a new life in another world. We both know you weren't suited for Earth," Chaos said.

  What's the catch?

  Chaos laughed. "Your distrust is warranted."

  I heard Chaos crumple up a candy wrapper and toss it into the abyss.

  "My friend, Justice, is about to summon a hero to her realm to rein in an era of corruption. And, you know, she’s a great gal—quite honorable, has a strong moral compass, and always does what she thinks is best for her worlds." Chaos unwrapped another chocolate bar before he continued. "But her choice in heroes is so painfully boring. It's like eating plain white rice for every meal. Sure, it gets the job done, but eventually its blandness becomes unbearable. So, I'm going to have fun and hijack her summon. That is, if you agree."

  It didn't feel like much of a choice.

  Fine.

  "Excellent. I have a good feeling about this one."

  This one?

  Chaos cleared his throat and said, "Just a quick warning. If you fail to fool Justice, she'll tear your soul apart. I've seen it before and it's not pretty."

  Before I could protest, Chaos snapped his fingers, sending my soul soaring through the cosmos. Like the drop on a never-ending roller coaster moving at the speed of light, I felt my very essence dragged through space and time.

  I tried to scream, only to once again realize I had no mouth.

  Whether it was an eternity or mere moments, the ride eventually stopped. Then there was a flash of blinding white light, and my senses returned.

  I stood in a new body on an all-white plain that stretched further than I could see. Overwhelmed by the sudden reinstatement of my senses, my blood pressure spiked, followed by a rush of anxiety that made it hard to breathe.

  This is batshit insane.

  Panic may have been a normal response for most people, but this was the first time I'd experienced such a sensation.

  As I hyperventilated, a blast of light shot over the horizon and a woman appeared in the sky.

  She floated through the air as silver locks of hair cascaded down her back in shimmering waves, reflecting the golden light that pulsed off her plate armor. As she drew closer, my body instinctively took a knee.

  I bowed my head, eyes starry from the light’s sheer intensity.

  "I am Justice," she said. "You may raise your head."

  The goddess hovered a dozen feet above me. I lifted my head and met her eyes. They were filled with an intense shade of dark blue that felt as dangerous as they were captivating. A calm aura radiated from her, quelling my body's anxiety.

  "David, first I must apologize for this hasty summons."

  Wrong name.

  Justice squinted, her gaze pierced through me, and I realized she could read my mind like that chocolate bar eating bastard.

  "My friends call me Dave," I said, surprised by the gruff sound of my new voice.

  "You're David Cyprus, correct?" Her eyes narrowed.

  "Yes, but please call me Dave," I lied.

  I'm David Cyprus, I thought over and over again, going on the mental defensive. Mind reading wouldn't do her any good if I only focused on a single thought.

  Her suspicious gaze transitioned into a look of bewilderment. "Are you alright?"

  "No, I'm puzzled by everything about this situation and my memory is fuzzy," I lied again.

  As dangerous as lying to a goddess was, I deemed it necessary. If she could detect outright lies, I would've already been vaporized. I only needed to mask my thoughts.

  I can't remember anything about my past. What was my social security number again? Or my birthday? All I remember is my name, David Cyprus, and that my friends used to call me Dave. Damn, this sure is unfortunate.

  "Dave, it seems your memories are still unclear because of your new body. You've been reincarnated. In your previous life, you were a war hero—a pure soul."

  "Are you an angel? Is this heaven?" I asked.

  Justice blushed and stroked a strand of hair from her face. "No, this is not Earth's idea of heaven. We're in the Outer Dimension. It's a place where gods watch over their realms. Our job is to keep everything in balance."

  Interesting.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "Balance?" I asked.

  "Good and evil."

  I smiled for the first time since being reborn.

  "That's something I understand all too well," I said.

  Justice clapped her hands, giddy with excitement.

  It wasn't the demeanor I expected from a god, but I didn't dare allow that thought to cross my mind.

  "My second favorite realm, Gadika, is overrun by corruption. It's tipping the scale too far into evil's favor and I refuse to do nothing.”

  Even my bitter heart found a slight endearment in her compassion for her people.

  "I'm known for my perfect track record. If the other gods catch wind of this blunder, I'll be subjected to their needling for thousands of years."

  My initial fondness for Justice flew out the window. It was displeasing to learn gods were just as flawed as humans.

  Justice descended from the sky, landed before me, and grabbed my shoulder. "Dave, I've chosen you to fix this imbalance. If you succeed, you'll be granted a hero's reward."

  Her touch sent a warm shock through my body, twisting my will. Suddenly, I wanted to throw myself to the ground in gratitude and blindly accept her offer.

  I grit my teeth and dug my heels into the floor, but her powers further unraveled my resistance. As I crumbled apart, I brought my hand to my mouth and bit down, drawing blood. The pain cut through her poisonous influence.

  "Impressive," she said.

  I spat blood to the side, staining the immaculate floor. "I'd appreciate the opportunity to make my own decision regarding this matter.”

  "Oh?" She raised her brow. "I suppose that's fair."

  "It sounds like you want me to change the world. And if Gadika is anything like Earth, that's an impossible task.”

  Justice wagged her finger. "Gadika is nothing like Earth. It's a world of magic and wonder."

  "I'll pass."

  Her face twisted, a vein bulging from her otherworldly temple. "You'll be granted incredible power."

  The darkness inside of me surfaced like a rabid dog. "I accept."

  Justice waved her hand, and the pearly white vista vanished.

  I felt my body tumble through space and time at an unfathomable pace until we both appeared inside of what looked to be a log cabin. I shuffled over to a table to steady myself as my stomach continued doing loops.

  "Where are we?" I asked, trying not to vomit.

  "At your humble home on the outskirts of Ingcaster."

  Humble was a polite way to describe this dilapidated shack. Aside from a table and a single wooden chair, there wasn't any furniture in the room. A lone blanket and tattered pillow lay in the room's corner without a mattress in sight.

  "Worry not. A hero such as yourself will surely gain more suitable living quarters soon enough," Justice said in a tone too cheery for my liking.

  Stopping my mind from revealing my true self was an exhausting act. I wanted the goddess gone before I slipped up and got myself killed twice in one day. Despite the endless number of questions I had about this world, I decided to skip straight to the point.

  "You promised power."

  "Ah, yes," Justice said and snapped her fingers.

  My right eyeball burst out of its socket and rolled across the ground. The initial shock only lasted a moment as pain overwhelmed me. I covered the open socket, feeling blood gush against my palm.

  "Do not panic.”

  An odd sensation filled the empty cavity. The squirming of collagen fibers and gels formed as they regenerated the missing tissue.

  Ability Unlocked: Karma’s Gaze

  Bold text appeared out of thin air with a ding.

  Active: Reveal target status and karma level.

  My jaw dropped as I watched another line of text appear.

  Passive: Increases damage against targets with negative karma.

  The text floated downward, effortlessly clipping through the dust covered floorboards beneath my feet.

  I turned to Justice, and a bubble popped up next to her head.

  Target: ???

  Level: ???

  Karma Level: ???

  The goddess watched as I fell into a state of uncontrollable laughter. I wiped a tear from my eye, stifling the elation and regaining my composure.

  After having my ultimate wish granted, it would've been a shame for Justice to change her mind. I had to present myself as a hero.

  "Please excuse my outburst. Did you create this world?”

  "Yes, this is a world of my creation."

  I scratched my head. "Did you happen to base this world on the game Chaos Quest?"

  Her eyes darted to the floor. "Uh, no.”

  The goddess was a terrible liar.

  Chaos Quest was a sleeper hit single player RPG released in the early 2000s on consoles and PCs worldwide. It'd been almost ten years since I played a video game. But throughout my teenage years, I spent countless hours losing myself in fictional worlds. It was my most accessible escape from an otherwise terrible existence.

  "Then it's a mere coincidence. That game had a similar karma mechanic. Raising your karma positively increased your reputation and opened up new quests."

  "This isn't a game, and these are real lives," she sneered. "I expect progress by the next time I see you."

  Before I could ask Justice for her definition of progress and a slew of other questions, she vanished, and I was alone. Honestly, I had expected a more substantial briefing. Instead, she left me with a vague objective and an unexplained ability.

  I took a lap around my cramped living quarters, mind turning a million cogs per second as I scoured the place for anything worthwhile. No food, no water, just a colony of cobwebs and dust bunnies living rent free in the shack's corners.

  My brain felt like it was in a vice-grip; every question rotating the swivel, tightening its jaws until my sanity cracked. I grabbed my face with both hands, trying to ground myself only to be disturbed by unfamiliar features. A pounding headache emerged, replacing the initial excitement of being dragged across dimensions and reincarnated.

  I sat down in a squeaky chair at a wobbly table and massaged my temples. Despite being bestowed with a useful power; I was clueless as to how it actually functioned. Nor did I know anything about this world besides the fact I was somewhere on the outskirts of Ingcaster, wherever that was.

  "This is really happening," I muttered under my breath.

  The tiny cabin’s front door burst open and my right eye twitched as Karma’s Gaze activated, spawning more bold text.

  Target: ???

  Level: ???

  Karma Level: ???

  "Relax, don't look so angry," Chaos said, lingering in the doorway.

  "That's a normal reaction to seeing the man that pushed me in front of a train."

  "You plan to hold that against me?"

  "Yes."

  The little robe wearing bastard was on crack if he thought I'd forgive him for taking my life, forcing me into an unfamiliar body, and dropping me into an unknown world when I still had unfinished business on Earth. There was penance to pay, prison time to serve, and maybe a book deal waiting after it was all said and done.

  They were supposed to stop me.

  Chaos strutted into the shack with an annoying smile barely visible underneath his hood. I hadn't realized how short the man was until he was standing before me, his head only inches above the table. He slapped my knee with an icy cold palm.

  "You did well," he said.

  "Isn't she watching us?"

  Chaos hid his grubby little hands in the pockets of his robe. "No. This realm isn't her only priority. Besides, I think it's her nap time."

  God’s nap?

  I shot Chaos a sideways glance, not trusting a word out of his mouth.

  "Why are you here?"

  "You're so cold. That's no way to treat a friend."

  Only a few moments had passed since he arrived, and I was already sick of his presence. "I don't have any friends. If you've come to upgrade my headache to a migraine, you can see yourself out."

  "Don’t be so rash," he said as he hopped up onto the table and sat down with his legs hanging over the side.

  He pulled back his hood, revealing a pale face tarnished with scars and intricate runic tattoos that scrawled up his forehead until they disappeared underneath his wavy white hairline. His dark red eyes locked with mine just long enough for me to feel like I was spiraling back through the abyss from which I came.

  I averted my gaze as Chaos drummed his fingers on the table.

  "I brought you a housewarming gift," he said as he pulled out a pouch of coins and slid it across the table. "That should buy me some goodwill."

  After a moment of hesitation, I accepted his offering. No matter how different this world was from Earth, money would surely be a necessity. I jostled the cloth sack in my palm before I pocketed it.

  "Well, what do you say when someone gives you something?"

  "Thanks," I said.

  If Chaos required a dose of insincere gratitude to loosen his lips, I was happy to oblige. There were too many questions to ask, and I wasn't about to let my pride impede some answers.

  "Justice didn't give me much information. It'd be helpful if you filled me in on some details about Gadika. Politics, factions, and world history would be a start. She also mentioned this is a world of magic. Care to elaborate?"

  His silence was deafening.

  "How about you shed some light on this power or explain the karma system?"

  Chaos traced a finger along the table. "The universe is essentially a giant swimming pool. Nobody notices when somebody lets out a little piss. But now you're asking me to take off my swim trunks and take a shit in front of everyone.”

  Useless.

  Chaos sighed. "I can read your mind, remember?"

  "If you can't tell me about Gadika, then tell me why you chose me?"

  His pale lips parted, revealing a crooked set of stained teeth. "Why? For entertainment purposes, of course. Besides, your future was looking quite bleak before we met."

  It sounded like a bullshit reason from a creep that was the walking manifestation of the word untrustworthy. I didn't doubt for a moment Chaos was spilling a half-truth to obscure his true motive. Instinct urged me to strike him off the table and stomp his pale face into the dirty floorboards.

  "At least give me a map."

  "Forget it." Chaos waved his hand and hopped down from the table. "All I can say is head toward the moon."

  The little punk disappeared without another word. Here one second, gone the next. Feeling my sanity slip once more, I shot out of my chair and flung the table across the room, screaming loud enough to rattle the birds from what could be the trees outside. As I smashed the table into the wall, my rage slowly subsided.

  Disturbed by my outburst, I filled my lungs with air and let out a deep breath. It was a tip from my therapist. He told me to focus on my breathing whenever I felt myself losing control. It worked, sometimes.

  He said I wasn't well equipped to cope with things outside of my control. Maybe he was right. But taking advice from a rapist that took advantage of his vulnerable female clients didn't sit well with me. It was a bittersweet relationship that ended when I threw him out of a third floor window.

  In the following months, I found some of his recommended techniques helpful. Even if I hated to admit it, I missed our short-lived sessions. After he got out of his coma, I sent him a follow-up email requesting a virtual session.

  He never responded.