You know… Life is suffering. At least for me. Getting an incurable disease will make your life hell, you know? The disease is eating my organs from the inside, and I cannot do anything about it. At least, I make sure that I do whatever I want to do in this life.
It is hard because moving is painful, but I've done some of what I want in this life. Camping in nature, fishing in the middle of a lake, and the ocean, and eating all varieties of foods from around the world.
It is a shame that my family are a bunch of dicks. They only want the richest I make from my hard work. They are already waiting for my death.
I know they are talking behind my back, wishing me to die faster so the inheritance falls into their hands. They are wrong. So very wrong. I have already asked my lawyer to make sure the company gets sold and that all the money from it is donated to multiple charities around the world.
It will make hundreds of people unemployed, but I don't care. I don't want my hard work to fall into the hands of people who wish for me to die. I don't want my hard work to fall into the hands of people who are only close to me for my money.
It is a shame that my parents are dead, or they would blast those so-called cousins, aunts, and uncles. I get my temper from them, after all. Heh. And my pettiness.
Oh, well. At least the pain starts to recede as my life goes away. Is it the best life? Not really. I lost my parents too soon, I don't have a wife, and I died in my early 30s. Do I have any regrets? Absolutely. I will not hire those ungrateful bastards if I know they are like this. Am I glad to finally die? Yes. This pain starts to get into my head, and I am glad to end it all finally.
I hum a little as darkness claims me. I ignore the doctor and nurses who are running toward me. They will do just fine. I feel bad for making them busy, but at least now I will no longer be their problem.
I hope those who only want my money suffer. I wonder what the afterlife looks like.
==|Line Break|==
And it turns out the afterlife looks like an office. It looks like a CEO's office. How do I know that? My office has the same aesthetic as this one. It is simple, but it gives an elegant look that makes people think you are a classy person.
However, what caught my attention was the man sitting on a fancy black chair. He is an older man with white hair and a squirrel-like animal sitting on his shoulder. He might be old, but he builds like a walking tank.
"Ah, Andre Harriman. Please take a seat."
I shrug and sit on the chair he summoned out of nowhere.
"You must have a lot of questions."
"That is an understatement. Is this some kind of afterlife?"
"Well, by definition, the afterlife is a life after your previous one. However, a mortal soul cannot enter this place without any help."
"Right. So, what is happening now? Do I enter hell? Or do I go to heaven? This is the place to judge souls, right?"
"Hmmm? What makes you think that?"
"Well, you look like someone from the HR department interviewing potential workers. Either you are here to judge me, or this is my hell: Endless paperwork. It is the latter, isn't it? Dammit! I know all that paperwork is a piece of hell."
Will he make me perform all his paperwork? How many of them will I need to read and sign? For how long do I need to do this? I am not that bad of a person, am I? Well, that is the time that I accidentally crashed into a stray cat. Is that the reason why I am here?!
"Bwahahahaha!"
I snap from my thoughts and glare at the man in front of me.
"Why are you laughing? Is this one of your torture methods? It might hurt my feelings, but it will get old fast, you know?"
Even his squirrel-like pet was laughing at me. I know it. This is hell.
I wait for a minute before he finally stops laughing and wipes the tears off his eyes.
"Your mind is something else, Andre."
"Can you read my mind?"
"What makes you think I can't?"
"Fair enough. Just beware. There is something disturbing in there. Something that not many people want to see."
"I don't think being a furry will disturb me, Andre. Is it weird? Maybe to you mortals, but I saw more disturbing things than your kink. Hell, there are more disturbing things you humans do to each other."
"I know that there are more disturbing kinks in the world, but really?"
"Oh, yes. You humans are truly creative when you want to find a way to pleasure yourself."
Yeah. I know someone who loves sounding his penis (Search at your own risk) and that is one of the mild kinks he has. Yeah… Humanity can get very weird to pleasure themselves.
"Right! Let's change the subject. Let's talk about the reason why you are here."
"Thank you for changing the subject, and yes. Please tell me the reason why you took me to this place."
"Well, the reason why I call you here is for you to help me."
"What can a mortal like me help you?"
"Surprisingly? A lot. Even a being like me has rules that we need to follow. This is the reason why we choose mortals to do our bidding."
"And what kind of bidding do you need me to do? I might have made a ruthless decision to make sure my company flourishes, but I will not destroy mankind or something."
"Well… One of your missions is to destroy mankind. However, I have a good reason for that, and I know you will agree with me."
I look at him for a few seconds and say.
"Let's see if you are right."
"You will see. Anyway, I need a helper, you know? Someone who can be a fixer and destroyer for me. Your first mission, if you accept it, is a war."
"Right. Throwing me into the thick of it, huh? What can I do there? I am just a CEO and owner of a relatively big company. Do I need to offer them a job? Accounting job?"
"That is where I offer you powers, Andre. Do you know CYOA?"
"I know of them. I read a few CYOA books in the past."
"Well, think of this like that, but with power. You choose your power and create your own story after getting them. Here. I created it like this for easier use."
He snaps his finger and creates a tablet for me. I take the table and see an interactive website already open. I can see there are many options for me to take. There are [Character] sections, [Perks], [Skills], [Powers], and [Companion].
"For your first mission, I shall grant all the powers you want. See those numbers underneath the power?"
"This 'SP' thing?"
"That's right. I shall grant you 75 points to spend. You can spend them on a single power or you can spend them on multiple ones. It is your choice. However, before you choose, let me tell you about your mission."
He snaps his finger, and a hologram appears on top of the table. It is a planet just like Earth, but the moon has been destroyed for some reason.
"This is Remnant."
"The Remnant of what?"
"The name is coming from the fact that the Gods who created this planet decided to abandon their duty and leave the solar system. There are two of them, the Dark God and the Light God. They have been dealt with, but the remnant of their creations becomes a problem."
With a wave of his hand, I watch as grotesque creatures appear from the ground. However, what shocked me was that they were spawning fast, and when he waved his hand again, I watched millions or even billions of those creatures fly through space.
"These are Grimm. They are creatures born from the divinity of one of the Gods. At first, they are not a problem. They were only spawned from one planet, but because those two Gods kept fighting, they kept shedding their divinity and created the spawn point of Grimm. If only these Grimms were the same as the ones in Remnant, it would not be a problem. Sadly, these Grimms are special because they also contain the divinity of the Light God. The already durable Grimm gets even more durable."
I watch as one of the Grimm, a wolf-shaped Grimm, tanks a massive explosion head-on, and it takes the sacrifice of a couple of dozen people before it can go down.
"What makes matters worse is that divinity is the one that lets them evolve and be able to survive in space. Every planet in that solar system contains these Grimms, and now there are trillions of them."
I wince at that number.
"And you want me to kill all of them?"
"Yes. The only way for me to get involved is when these Grimms leave the solar system and spread. However, if that happens, I need to destroy the entire system. I don't want to lose this one. Creating a new solar system is a pain in the butt. It takes a long time."
"So, I need to choose carefully for my power."
I look at the list in the table with a frown now. The choice will decide if I am going to die or not.
"That's right. Seventy-five points should be enough for you. When you are done with the first mission, I will add more points for you to spend."
"For how long do I need to work for you?"
"Ten missions. That is how long you need to work for me. You can still work for me after that, but I will not force you to work."
"Right."
I read through the list of powers for a couple of minutes before I found something interesting. I look at the older man and say.
"What about the others? How many points do I get?"
"[Character]? Unlimited. You can recreate your body with whatever you want. [Perks]? 5 choices, unlimited points. [Skills]? None because I need to create a new body from scratch. [Companion]? None. You will unlock them after you are done with your first mission."
Unlimited, huh? I have an idea.