"I'll be punished?" Runa whispered, wiping her tears with trembling fingers.
"How? Why?" Her voice rose without her meaning it to, desperation showing through every word. "I didn't mean to let the car hit me!"
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as she cried harder, her chest tightening with fear. She couldn't understand any of this. Her life had already fallen apart, her job, her relationship, her heart. Now, even in death, she was being judged, and punished for something she never planned.
"What kind of punishment?" she asked, her voice shaking violently.
"Is it hell?" The word tasted like bitterness on her tongue.
"Please… I can't go to hell."
She had heard stories all her life, stories of fire, torment, eternal suffering. A place where souls screamed forever. Runa's entire body went cold at the thought. If these angels claimed she had sinned, then heaven was no longer an option. That left only one place, which is hell.
It wasn't fair, none of this was fair. She had already lived through her own kind of hell on Earth… The pain, heartbreak, betrayal, fear. And now, after everything she endured, she was supposed to fall into a deeper, darker hell for something she never intended?
"Please… I'm a good person, I promise," Runa pleaded, her voice shaking as she held her hands together.
The angels exchanged a glance, and then both let out a low, mocking laugh. "This one begs quickly," one said, amusement dripping from his tone.
Most souls they judged came in with pride… angry, stubborn, certain they were right. They didn't cry, and they certainly didn't plead. But Runa… she was different. Seeing her break down so fast only seemed to entertain them.
"A sin is still a sin," one angel said firmly. "And you must face the consequences."
"You arrived in the Underline for a reason," the other continued. "You were not sent to heaven or hell… but here. There is purpose in that."
Runa's sobbing slowed into small, shaky breaths. She wiped her cheeks, confused and terrified. The angels watched her closely, and when they noticed her calming even slightly, their expressions hardened.
"We must punish you," one said, his voice turning cold. "That is why you were brought here. You will be punished until you beg us to send you to hell."
Runa flinched. What kind of punishment could be so terrible that hell would feel like mercy? She listened closely as the angels continued, her heart trembling with fear and confusion. Then one of them said something that made her mind calm a bit.
"Your punishment comes with a second chance," he explained. "We will allow you to return to Earth."
For a brief moment, hope rose inside her. Her chest lightened, and her lips parted in relief. She wasn't being thrown into hell, and she would live again. The idea of returning to the world she knew, even with all its pain felt like mercy. But her happiness didn't last.
"But your punishment," the second angel added calmly, "is that you will die seven times." Her relief shattered instantly.
"Each time you return to Earth, you will live a different life," he continued. "A different body, a different identity. When you die, you will come back here to the Underline… and then begin again. Seven deaths, and seven reincarnations."
Runa felt cold all over. Seven deaths? Seven different lives? How could anyone bear that? Would each death hurt? Would she suffer? Would she remember? The questions swarmed inside her head. This second chance felt less like mercy… and more like a cruel, inevitable fate.
Runa stood frozen, her mind spinning. She felt confused, overwhelmed, unable to understand why any of this was happening to her. Why me? Why seven deaths? Why do I have to go through all this? The questions echoed in her thoughts, because none of it made sense.
She had already suffered so much, why would the universe demand even more? Finally, she lifted her head and asked, her voice small and trembling.
"Why? Why are you giving me this task? Why must I go through all of this?"
The angels looked at her without sympathy.
"It is punishment," one said simply.
Her heart sank, punishment. That word alone made her chest tighten. But then the second angel stepped forward, his expression shifting slightly.
"There is more," he said. "We are sending you back for a reason, which is a mission."
Runa blinked, confused. "A… mission?"
"There are others like you," the angel explained. "Souls who feel the world is against them. Who believe their pain is too heavy to carry. Who think death is their only escape."
Runa's breath hitched as the realization began to form.
"You will return to stop them," he continued. "Each life you live, in every reincarnation, you must find those who stand on the edge of despair… and prevent them from committing suicide."