[Edward POV]
As I went to sleep, I was transported into a familiar white room.
It was the Afterlife session, and honestly, I wasn't in the mood for it right now.
"End session," I said.
However, instead of being brought out of the Afterlife, I was transported into a conference room instead, where two men in suits and ties were waiting for me.
"Mr. Newgate. Please, take a seat," the man who looked like John C. McGinley gestured with his hand to the seat politely.
"Um… Is this the audit?" I asked.
He widened his eyes slightly and said, "You know about the audit? You weren't supposed to know."
The other man—old, a little short and stubby—said urgently, "If he knew, the audit was compromised. We need to launch a full-on IA investigation to find the source of the leak—"
"S-Sorry. I made a mistake there. I meant to ask, 'Is this an audit?', since I saw a similar scene in the movie Office Space before," I said, maintaining a casual expression.
The two men narrowed their eyes on me. Then, the older one asked, "Office Space? Is the movie good?"
"Kinda. An office worker was hypnotized to not give a fuck, so he lost all of his insecurities and became the bane of the idiosyncrasy of working in an office," I replied.
"Write that down. We will watch it later," the one who looked like the doctor from Scrubs whispered to the older one.
"I'm Perry. And this is Bob. We'd like to ask you some questions about your day as an Afterlife agent," the older one said.
"Go ahead, Perry, Bob," I replied with a smile.
Both of them mirrored me, and Bob asked, "How long have you been an agent?"
"Around three years. Almost four," I replied, looking around the conference room with intrigue.
There were boxes of documents around, a bonsai tree on top of a rack, and the two people in front of me looked absolutely human compared to the other Afterlife members I knew of.
"Good, good. So, what are you now? Level 2? Have you reached Level 3 yet?" Bob asked.
"Don't you have my profile?" I asked with curiosity.
"We actually don't," Perry replied. "We are still searching for it—"
Suddenly, the door to the room was knocked. Mrs. Henderson walked into the room, gave me a small wave, and put the file on the desk.
"Eve!" I greeted her excitedly.
"Edward—We can't talk while you're in the audit. I just want to say, I'm so sorry for your loss." Mrs. Henderson hugged me slightly and then left.
"Sorry for your loss?" Perry was puzzled.
I explained, "My grandpa died yesterday. We had his funeral today."
"Oh…" Bob's eyes shook slightly. "I'm sorry for your loss. If you need more time, we can do the audit later."
"Me too. I'm sorry for your loss," Perry said.
"Thank you. But it's fine. I run a company myself, so I know it's better to keep these types of meetings done early."
Perry smiled and opened my file as he said, "Okay then. We'll go on with the meeting—Wait, Level 5?! You're Level 5?!"
Perry and Bob both had shocked expressions.
I was slightly baffled and said, "Wait. Really? Last time I was at Level 3. My handler said I'm almost at Level 4 when the Afterlife was shut down, but I'm Level 5 now?!"
Perry was stupefied. Bob looked at my file with some admiration. "You saved two worlds from certain demise. Your karmic points are really high!"
Perry checked the files again and read off some of my achievements, "Curing multiple diseases, helped millions of people with their mental health problems, helped a doomed planet to thrive again."
Perry chuckled softly and said, "I got to say, Mr. Newgate—"
"Please, just call me Edward," I told him.
He grinned and said, "Yeah. Edward. You're humble too. I'm almost becoming your fan now—"
"Oh, wait. Never had his past life memories cleaned off," Bob interjected, which made Perry's face fall at the words.
"That's a major mistake," Bob added. "Can you tell us more about this?"
"I—"
I almost explained, but Perry interjected and said, "Wait. There's a note here in the file. It's fine, you don't have to explain."
"Um. Why don't you take your time to read the files first before we continue," I said politely.
Perry and Bob looked at each other before they laughed uncomfortably and said, "We should do that."
So they read the files while I waited.
"Okay! We got it!" Bob said excitedly.
"By the way, before we start, I must say something about your suits," I interjected. Both of them looked a little nervous and glanced at their outfits.
"What about it?" Bob asked.
"It looks so soft. And breathable. I've been admiring it for a while now. What's it made of?" I asked with a slightly disarming laugh.
Both of them became comfortable and laughed loudly. I mirrored them too.
"It's made of Fenris's fur and the craftsmanship of a dwarven god," Perry replied.
"Really?" I raised my eyebrows in shock.
"No. I bought it from Walmart back at my place," Perry said and then burst into laughter.
From outside the office, Mrs. Henderson heard the laughter through the one-sided glass and muttered, "What the hell are they doing in there?"
Perry calmed down slightly, still smiling as he said, "Edward, in the category of your achievements as an Afterlife agent, you have passed with a tremendous grade."
I smiled and said, "Thank you very much! Is the audit over now?"
Bob said, "We're just reading part of it. There are still a few more categories we need to look at."
Perry said, "Especially your family bond, your mental health, and your mindset changes, to see if the power has corrupted you."
"Let's see," Bob said. "Did you ever use your power to take away someone's agency for a selfish reason?"
"Um… I did take some people's agency, but my reasons weren't selfish—or are they?" I was confused.
Bob said, "You can give us an example. We'll judge it for you. Don't worry, we know there are all sorts of powers in the Afterlife sessions, so I'll listen until the end."
"Um… I think the first person I did it on was the President of the United States. I planted a seed in his mind—about future memories that I made up—and the impact of his administration, changing his governance to focus more on the people."
Bob and Perry nodded slightly and turned to each other.
"That's not selfish," Bob said. "He just wants a president that will work for the people."
"We're going to give him a pass on this?" Perry asked.
"Yup," Bob said.
They turned back to me. "You didn't, like, use your eyes that can hypnotize people to force women to sleep with you or anything?"
"What—absolutely not." I grimaced.
"Alright. We just have to confirm. Now, we can move on to the next question." Perry changed the topic.
"Did your powers ever impact your personal life?"
"A lot of times," I replied honestly.
They just jotted it down without asking further questions.
"Did you ever feel burdened by having this… benefit… compared to other people?" Bob asked.
I nodded in reply.
They jotted it down again.
"Well, it's normal," Perry added. "Don't worry, the majority of the agents answered the same thing."
Bob continued, "Did your overwhelming strength compared to others make you feel detached from the mundane world?"
"Sometimes. Not while I'm with my friends and family," I replied.
Bob nodded in understanding. Then he took out a small, transparent crystal ball.
"Please put your hand on the ball," Bob ordered. I did it without hesitation.
The ball suddenly turned dark purple, with storm clouds swirling inside it.
"Wow, you must've been really stressed out," Perry said, raising an eyebrow, concern in his tone.
"I think it's the fact that he knows the future that made his mental state worsen. It put him in a state of perpetual anxiety—not wondering what it could be, but wondering if it would turn out to be the same," Bob said, looking at me with sympathy.
"Edward, do you think that without your past-life memory, you would've been less stressed when dealing with your mundane life?" Perry asked.
"I never thought about it. But I guess that makes some sense."
Perry leaned forward. "Yeah. But at the same time, it weirdly acts as a balancer, which makes you more attached to the mundane world—to your family and friends."
Bob nodded. "We've seen a lot of agents. Millions of them. When they were too strong or too smart, they became detached from everyone else.
" They didn't really care about the fate of humanity. They saw the karmic points tally as a game for them to win and get more prizes."
"Really?" I looked at them, slightly frazzled. "I'm not going to turn into that, am I?"
"No. You're safe. Your mentor figure—the one called Monkey D. Luffy? Anyway, he grounded the way you use your strength and the way you view the world," Bob said.
"I thought my family did that?" I was confused.
"Multiple things can act as an anchor," Perry interjected.
The audit continued. Most of the questions were directed toward my mental health.
"Recently, you have the duplicate ability," Perry suddenly said. "Do you think it's morally wrong or morally right for you to go into a romantic relationship with another identity?"
"Um… morally wrong?" I replied hesitantly.
"Now see…" Bob leaned in. "If I had that ability, I would've used it to hook up with countless women, and since my identity never existed, I wouldn't have to take any responsibility at all."
They were smiling, but I got a sense that they were setting a trap for me.
"Don't you think so, Edward? Wouldn't it be an enjoyable experience?" Perry asked.
"Um… it might be. But I'm not going to do that," I replied.
"Why not? You could pretend to be a triplet—let all three of you enjoy the same girl. There are a lot of ways for you to abuse that ability," Bob said, egging me on.
"Um. I think the short answer is that I was raised better than that." I replied decisively.
Both of them grinned at my answer.
"Actually, we were only doing that to test your tendency toward corruption. If you want to use the powers to hook up with people, we don't really care about that," Bob said as he marked my examination sheet.
"Also, your body count is really low compared to the other agents. I still remember the guy who has Incubus bloodline—he slept with over a hundred people a day for about ten years."
"Holy shit," I said, shocked. "Is it not frowned on here?"
"Not really. It's just biology. As long as he didn't abuse his powers for it, we're not going to care," Perry shrugged.
I chuckled. "Can you even see my body count in the files?"
"Yes. Your body count, your number of children, your wives."
I raised my eyebrows. "You can see the future?"
Bob blinked. "Oh. No. We cannot."
"I didn't have any wives or children, though?" I asked, confused.
Perry explained simply, "Remember you left a part of yourself in the world you saved?"
"Yeaaah…"
Bob said, "Well, a day in your world is a month there. You went there sixty days ago, so that's sixty months. Your clone has been there for five years, and now… he has 1,002 wives and 3,012 children."
"We're counting that as your progeny." Perry smirked.
My mind went blank.
"Hello? Eddy?" Bob waved a hand in front of my face, but I was still in a daze.
…
They shared the result of the audit with me at the end of the session.
"You're ranked high as an Afterlife agent. However, there's the worrying factor of your mental state. But we do have to take into consideration your grandfather's passing," Bob said.
Perry continued, "Overall, you have passed the audit."
"Thank you so much," I replied. "Is the session over now?"
Bob smiled and said, "Not quite. See, there's something we want to float by you."
Perry added, "It's about your past life memories."
"What about them?" I asked, slightly guarded.
Perry waved his hands disarmingly. "Don't worry. We're not taking them away. But have you ever wondered—would your anxiety lessen if you didn't continuously worry about the future?"
"Um… I think every human being is worried about their future," I replied.
Bob nodded in understanding. "I guess that's true. But at the same time, your views of the future are narrowed since you already know what's going to happen."
He leaned forward. "Right now, though, your butterfly effect has basically changed the trajectory of the world."
Perry smiled. "It's a whole new future. There might be some similarities here and there, but it's completely new."
"So, why don't we try something?" Bob leaned closer and spoke cautiously. "What if we locked your past life memories—just for a month?"
"What?!" I grimaced, slightly heated.
Bob immediately clarified, "Lock it! We're not taking it away."
Perry added, "Yeah. So, for the next month, you'll truly be seventeen years old. You won't lose your personality, since we're going to be surgical with the lock.
"We'll make sure it won't interfere with your current work. Don't you ever wonder what would happen if you didn't have your memories to anchor you?"
I was slightly intrigued by it. I wanted to agree, but suddenly I remembered something.
"Wait. My clone in Zomworld—he has my knowledge, but not much of my memories. Won't I turn out like that? And have a thousand wives too?"
I was afraid of turning into someone I didn't recognize.
Bob and Perry glanced at each other, faces full of realization.
"You're right. It might be a bad idea," Bob said to me.
Perry objected, "No, it wouldn't be a bad idea. You have family and friends who would help you. Don't worry—you won't be having a thousand wives in a month."
"Hmm…" I thought about it hard.
They said the future had completely changed. And it was only for a month.
"I won't forget my plans, right? I have several concerts starting next year."
"Don't worry. You won't even feel anything. It's like becoming an old man whose childhood memories are distant—something that's going to happen anyway," Perry continued convincing me.
"It would help you be more in the present," Bob added. "So, what do you say? Do you want to do it?"
"Hmmm…" I thought about it, hard. "I am… curious about it. But… one month is too long."
The next day, when I woke up, I quickly tried to remember my past life.
Other than Nonni—which I told them to make an exemption—I didn't remember anything at all.
For the next week, this was what I would be like.
…
During breakfast. I narrowed my eyes at Alex and Haley as I ate the pancakes my aunt made.
"Why are you staring at me?" Alex asked.
"I don't know. There's a strange sense of dejavu, but I couldn't figure out what." I replied.
"Also, you girls are hot." I added, which made Alex drop her fork, producing clatter. Everyone at the dining table looked at me weirdly.
"Hmm? Did I do something wrong?" I asked.
Frankie was sitting right next to me and she replied, "Nothing's wrong. You were just making an observation."
Alex rolled her eyes and said, "Is this a new way of pranking us?"
Haley giggled and said, "Just to be clear, I'm not against this."
I shot some charming looks at Haley, which made her burst out laughing.
After breakfast, I went to the barn to feed the livestocks. Several hours later, Max came to the barn after I finished milking the cows.
She wore a slightly oversized shirt and short pants. "Aren't you cold?" I asked, as it was snowing heavily outside.
Max replied, "It's hella cold. Colder than New York! I'm just here to pick up the milk before it turns into ice cream."
I chuckled and said, "It already came out as slushy."
Max guffawed and said, "if we shake the cow, will it come out as milkshake?"
"Moo!" The cow protested.
I laughed with Max. Then, she left to go back to the ranch. While she was leaving, my eyes were glued to her buttocks, admiring the jiggle physics there.
I realized I was staring when she turned into a corner and went out of my line of sight.
"Wait. Seriously?" I muttered with disbelief. "Did I just do that?"
Ace came inside the barn, her black fur filled with white snow. She nuzzled her head on my legs again.
Then, Vader and the kitties also joined in, strutting to the barn and meowed as they nuzzled their heads at me. The kittens were trying to climb my legs.
"Why– Why are you all here at the same time?" I laughed as I played with them.
Suddenly, Alex walked into the barn. "I brought them. I feel like you need them now more than ever."
When she walked in with her playful smile, my heart skipped a beat. It was like there's a light coming from behind her that made her look ethereal.
"This… is really bad." I muttered to myself. Without my past life memories, I had truly become a 17 years old boy, with impaired judgement and more prone to self indulgence.
…
[General POV]
The President of the United States addressed the public once the lockdown was over.
He addressed the virus, and the mistake from the US government.
"Therefore, as of today, I am authorizing the formation of a new global initiative—The Humanity Preservation Branch. Its mission will be simple. To ensure that this species, our species, never again stands on the edge of extinction."
His words caused an explosive reaction from the crowd.
He added, "And the first thing on the cause is to eliminate humanity's dependency on oil and gas. From now on, every state in America would start building their own nuclear energy facilities."
The announcement wasn't received well by everyone, especially the big oil companies.
"I would also be recommending Edward Newgate to the Nobel Committee, for his dedication in stopping humanity's extinction and finding the cure to the Alienpox." The president said with a smile of relief.
(Sorry I was gone for so long. During the storm, my house got flooded. Have to move to another state and stay with my family. I got back recently, and the house is really damaged.
The storm didn't hit my country as much as it did in Indonesia, but my state got flooded too, bringing all the muds into my home. I've shared it in Discord, but I was too busy I forgot to tell WN readers.
If you want to donate to me, please subscribe to my patreon. I need like an additional 500 bucks this month to fix the flood damage.
Patreon.com/relifewithkarmicgacha
You don't have to donate, but I will really appreciate it if you do. Just for this month.)