Donum Vitae
Some people don't give life meaning. Some go from point to point in a stream of mind numbing repetitive days while never stopping to admire whats around them. I won't lie I fell into this routine. Get up, take a shower, go to work, get off, play some games, and go to sleep rinse and repeat. I didn't stop to admire the sunsets, I didn't take a walk by the lake to smell the blooming spring flowers. It all just passed me by. I never stopped to just live, until it was to late.
It was late fall, I had taken my mandatory vacation days from work and had a week of nothing to do. Most of the time I would sit at home playing games or possibly reading some fanfiction online. This time I decided to head out and enjoy some fresh air at the beach. So what does a late 20s man supposed to do. Grab my fishing gear of coarse. I spent most of my day on that beach pulled in a few small fish but nothing to big from that beach. As the day ran long an the sun started to set I decided to call it a day.
I had just finished loading my gear into the back of my truck when it happened. A young girl got away from her parents and started running across the parking lot. Its a parking lot you might have thought whats the worst that can happen. People should be driving slowly, there won't be any speeding motorists. That was my thoughts at the time. Oh how mistaken I was. Just as the girl made it to about the half way point across the lot this asshole in a jacked up Ford swung into the parking lot and started racing down the lane closest to the beach.
I saw it all in slow motion. This young girl no more than five comes out between a Prius and a Camry right into the middle of the drive this truck driver doing at least forty in a parking lot. Closer.... closer... closer. I acted I don't know why at the time I did but I like to think that it was that this young girl hadn't yet lived long enough to experience life yet. She hadn't had her first crush, she hadn't had her first date, nor had she had the chance to look at the young one resting in her arms that she had given life to.
I made it to the young girl with only a few nanoseconds to spare. Grabbing her I turned her away from the vehicle and took the impact directly to the back. I would love to tell you now that it hurt or that the girl was fine but honestly I can't say anything. After this giant brush guard on the front of this jacked up Pickup slammed into me all I remember is black. This leads me to where I am now.
Here I lay in darkness or at least I think its darkness nothing around me but it feels like I am floating in a pool of water. I don't hear the waves nor do I hear the sounds of the city around me. There are no stars, no moon, no anything in the sky. I try to smell and get you guessed it nothing. I am in a void of empty space floating on a ocean of nothing. I would say it was terrifying but I was oddly calm. I didn't panic nor did I cry, I wasn't happy or sad, I just was. All I could think of at the time was one of those small sensory deprivation chambers. Why I even thought of this I would never know.
Then from no where I am in a white space. I am no longer floating in an ocean of nothing, I am standing on an oddly soft and spongy white surface, I look up and even though it was a white space I could see the most beautiful starry sky. Nebula danced as galaxies I could never see before swirled in the distance. I can hear the song of the universe being sung and there is no words that can ever describe what it sounds like. No language can ever describe it. Scents sprang up from no where as around me slowly what looks like a fair fades into view. People running around laughing and enjoying themselves. Though for some reason I couldn't describe any characteristics they possess. I don't see any colors I can't tell you if there are Caucasians or African Americans, Mexicans or Chinese. They all look the same. I can't help but let a large smile show on my face as this occurs.
Suddenly from behind me I hear voice. I turn to find out who is talking to find what I can only describe as a glowing figure made of energy standing before me. Even though I should be startled I feel nothing but calmness radiating from this being.
Welcome
My senses seem to come back to me and I start to look around trying to take in where I am whats going on. Slowly I turn back to the being.
"W-Where am I? What happened?"
You in a single moment of selfless bravery gave up the rest of your natural life, to save one small child. Where do you think you are.
"Aa-ah, I would have to guess with the lack of fire and brimstone that at least this isn't hell. So I died to save that young girl?"
Yes, It was her time. Each life has a set number of years that they live. I do not set it but it is set. YOU were not set to die yet but you offered a trade. You gave your remaining life to that little girl so that she may live on. Have a family that loves her. A child that will on day call her mommy. A husband that will cherish her to her dying breath. You gave the ultimate gift at the ultimate price.
"I'm glad" I pause at this for a moment as I look around. "She didn't deserve to leave yet and while this might be an amazing place I don't think she should come yet."
I feel the being smile. I am glad you think so because I do as well. I could not step in and stop it I have great powers but even I have rules I must follow. For her to live on a life had to be given and you did that freely. Which is why we are here. This is not as you might be thinking heaven, nor is it hell. This place is separated from the universe I helped grow. Few beings have ever made it here. It takes and exceptional individual to reach it. This you might call is the meeting place of the gods. Each universe in the vast omniverse is connected to this place via the highest realm.
"How did I get here then?" I question trying to understand just how an insignificant human could arrive here.
THAT is not the question you should ask, the question should be WHY did you come here. You see, rarely a being with a righteous soul that gives their life so another may live comes to this area to be judged by the "Pantheon" you could call it. We do not like you may think decide if you go to Heaven or Hell as you put it but we decide if you should be given a chance. The being pauses at this to let the information sink into me.
"A Chance at what?" I am of coarse very confused by this information. What could they decide to do with me. What chance could they give me?
You will be given a chance at a new life. One unbound by the rules of your previous life. When we decide to give you a chance one of the members of the Pantheon claims the soul. This will bind that being to the new Universe. You have some very basic say over how your new life will start. We even made a interactive interface to help you. Each of these do what you would think they do.
As this being says this a large box appears in the air before me. It reminds me alot of a game screen. On it I see 4 Words with a 1 beside each of them with a 10 at the top and a minus and plus sign beside each 1. The words that appear are Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Luck.
As you can see we made it familiar to you. I will not explain anything of what these do in detail but I will say this. Strength affects your Physical Power, Agility affects your Physical Dexterity, Intelligence affects what what you can do with your mind, and Luck is what I will say is how well stuff swings in your favor. Each being that is born, is born with 14 "points" 1 in each of these stats by default and 10 more randomly spread out. They have no say in how they are distributed which is why what we are giving you is a gift. You may chose how to spend these "points".
Of coarse you understand how this works, you think sarcastically, but you won't dare say anything to it like that. You grew up on video games and D&D. Stat point distribution is something you had dome plenty before though in those cases it was just for some random character you were controlling not your actual life. Though, if you thought about it, was it much different. Instead of you looking at a screen or a character sheet you would be truly IN character.
"How long do I have to pick?"
Here there is no meaning to time you can spend 10 seconds randomly pushing buttons or spend thousands of years making sure your points are properly spent its up to you.
"Hmmm." You slowly start working, you had no frame of reference for what each stat did in detail but you could take wild guesses though you could be wrong and never know. After a long while you finally finish. You are not really sure how long it took, but the Being had been there watching the whole time. It could have been a few minutes or a few years as it said. "I think I have it finished. I put my points in places how I hope it works."
So you have.
"So where am I going to be going? Will I be put back on earth or some new planet with some alien race." I can physically feel the Being grin when I ask this question.
We have to have our fun some way so I think we will let that be a surprise.
Hehehe
I hear in a female voice behind me. I turn to look at this new arrival all I see is a quick flash of Red and Cream before everything goes dark. It seems like my new life is just beginning.