"I… I can't do that," Runa whispered, shaking her head as she stepped back from the angels. The task felt impossible for someone who couldn't even save herself.
Inside, her thoughts spiraled. How am I supposed to stop others when I couldn't stop myself? If someone chooses to end their life… maybe they have a reason, because this world is brutal. Her chest tightened as flashes of her own pain surfaced… losing her job, the betrayal, the loneliness, the despair. Look at me, she thought bitterly. Look at what I went through.
How could she convince someone to live when she no longer knew why she should have lived?
She glanced around again, the strange white realm offering no answers. She still didn't understand this place. Was it real? Was it a dream? A punishment? A hallucination?
Nothing made sense… and the task ahead felt far beyond anything she believed she could handle.
"I can't do it," she repeated again, voice trembling. "I really can't."
But the angels only stared at her coldly. "You have no option," one said. "This is what will happen. This is what must happen."
Her breath caught as their words sank in. There was no escape, no negotiation, her fate was already sealed.
"When we send you back, it will be in a brutal way, as a lesson. And if you die on earth again… which you will, it will also be brutal." They continued.
Runa froze, fear crawling up her spine. Their punishment was far worse than anything she imagined.
"What did I do to deserve this?" she finally asked, her voice shaking under the weight of fear.
"You killed yourself," one of the angels replied without hesitation.
"No," she protested quickly, shaking her head. "I was just… weak. I was tired of everything. In that moment, I wanted to die because it felt like the only escape." Her voice broke as the words spilled out.
"But I regret it now. I don't want to die, not anymore."
Her tears flowed freely, desperation tightening her chest.
"Please… I just want to go back. I'll do better. I'll work hard, I'll fight, I won't let depression swallow me again. I won't give up on my life."
She looked between the angels, hoping for even the slightest mercy. "Just give me one more chance. I promise I won't waste it."
But the angels had already decided her fate. Their expressions remained cold and unreadable, offering her no comfort. One of them stepped closer.
"Understand this clearly," he said. "One wrong move, and you will die again. You dare not fail."
Her breath caught. The weight of their words pressed heavily on her chest.
"If you succeed," another angel continued, "you will be spared. You will not die seven times. Your soul will be redeemed, and you will finally be free."
A flicker of hope rose in her, only to be crushed by the next sentence.
"But if you fail," he added, his voice turning loud, "you will continue dying. Again and again. And if you fail all seven times… your soul will be lost forever."
Her heart pounded violently. The thought of losing her soul, of ceasing to exist terrified her more than death itself.
"What death do you choose to return with? How do you wish to die before going back to earth?" they asked, and her heart pounded so loudly she thought it might burst.
The question alone sent fear crawling through her veins. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. How could anyone calmly choose the way they wanted to die?
Before she could even think, before she could take a single step, a sharp, searing pain strike through her chest. She gasped, her eyes widening in fear as she felt a sword pierce straight through her heart from behind.
Her breath caught, slipping away too quickly for her to fight for it. Her knees buckled beneath her, the world tilting as she collapsed to the ground.
Her vision blurred, darkening at the edges. As her eyes slowly closed, only one thought echoed in her mind. Who will I reincarnate into?
*
*
*
When she opened her eyes, she was lying on cold, dirty ground. The surrounding around her shook with shouting and the loud echoes of metal clashing. Her head throbbed painfully as she struggled to push herself up, still feeling the painful sting of the blade that had killed her moments before.
Her breath hitched as she took in her surroundings. She was in the middle of a gang fight. Men screamed, weapons swung, bodies rushed past her. Chaos surrounded her on every side.
Her gaze dropped to her hands, she was holding a pistol. She didn't know how it got there, but her fingers were curled tightly around it. Confusion made her chest tighten as she looked from the gun to the violent scene unfolding around her.
Instinctively, she reached for her chest where the angel's sword had pierced her, expecting to feel torn flesh or blood. But there was no wound there, or blood, just the remnant of what she had felt before dying.
Something warm slipped down her forehead. She touched it gently, and her eyes widening when her fingers came away blood. A small metallic sound hit the ground beside her. She glanced down just in time to see a bullet roll from where it had fallen… from her own head.
This body was already dead… a bullet to the head had ended its life minutes before. But when Runa's soul entered it, the body jolted back to life as if dragged from the edge of darkness. It didn't mean she was supernatural, neither does it mean she was invincible. It only meant she had borrowed a vessel… and that vessel had enemies everywhere.
Her heart slammed against her ribs as she forced her legs to move. Gunshots rang behind her. She tightened her grip on the pistol still clutched in her trembling hand and ran as fast as she could.
By the time she stumbled into a narrow alleyway, she was gasping for air, her whole body shaking. She pressed her back to the wall, trying to steady her breathing.
Then a faint glow flickered beside her. She snapped her head toward it. A small floating screen appeared in the air, its light reflecting off the blood on her forehead.
Mission: Save Iris Donavan.
A photo appeared under the words. Runa's fists clenched immediately she saw who it was. Iris Donavan, her next-door neighbor.The woman she had walked in on with her boyfriend. The betrayal that shattered her… the pain that pushed her into the road, and death.
How could she save that woman?