I struggled to open my eyes, my eyes squinting as I adjusted to the light - or lack thereof. After adjusting, I quickly spun around, examining the room. What I saw made my eyes narrow.

‘Where the fuck am I?’, I thought nervously.

The last thing I remember was ordering another drink at the bar and now… I was here.

‘Kidnapping?’, the thought flashed through my mind, but, as quickly as it came, I rejected it. Nobody would be dumb enough to attempt to kidnap me of all people. Not as long as they valued their lives.

A dark smile came to my face at the thought.

‘If not kidnapping, then what?’ I wondered, standing up so I could take a better look at my surroundings.

I stood in the middle of a room darker than I ever thought possible. It was the kind of darkness that seemed like it could swallow up all light.

“Great,” I murmured, “Just what I need.”

Stuck in a possibly limitless room in complete darkness. Absolutely-fucking-fantastic.

Despite the unnerving darkness, the floor was adorned with dancing shadows.

I wasn’t sure what unnerved me the most: the darkness itself, or the fact that there was no light supporting the shadows

I turned around, my eyes meeting a long obelisk-like pillar that seemed to reach the skies. The pillar was a deep black, and, if the abyss really did exist, I imagined it would look something like this. Oddly enough even without a visible source of light, I could still see the surroundings clearly.

I cursed, my mind beginning to calculate the best possible course of action.

‘Better to just wait,’ I thought as I sat down, ‘I’m obviously here for a purpose. May as well just wait for whoever took me here to show themselves.’

This turned out to be the correct choice, as moments later, the room shook.

I groaned.

‘Really? An earthquake. My luck just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?’

Light suddenly shone out from the tip of the pillar. I stumbled back, quickly averting my eyes.

‘Haven’t had that one before,’ I thought before trying to regain my balance.

I ran a hand through my hair and scoffed.

An inhuman-like voice suddenly sounded out, “Alec Vanderburg.”

Hmm? A robotic voice? So they don’t want me to know their identity?

A predatory grin crept across my face. How exciting.

“Hello,” I greeted, stretching my legs out, “Nice to meet you.”

Without warning, a blue light suddenly shone out from the top of the pillar, covering me in its light.

“Shit!” I cursed, jumping backward, however, the light continued to follow.

“Eh?” I questioned, seeing that the light seemed to be harmless.

Was it a scanner?

“Alec Vanderburg,” the voice continued, “23 years of age. No family; limited friends. CEO of Arise Inc.”

I scoffed. This wasn’t anything a simple Google search wouldn’t turn up.

“Cause of Death: Poisoning.”

Wait, wait, wait. Death!?

My brain started working faster. The last thing I remembered was waiting for Jeremy at the bar, but-

‘Jeremy?’ I pondered.

I shook my head, ‘No way, Jeremy wouldn’t do that to me,’ I reaffirmed.

A recent study I had read flashed through my mind. Successful kidnappers usually make the target disorientated before they begin. Begin what, however, I didn’t know.

I quickly ran through my options. In this situation, I could either run and gamble on finding the exit or play along.

An image arose in my mind of a wrinkled old man, with a beard that touched the floor - my father.

“Vanderburgs never gamble,” I mumbled.

And true to my word, I didn’t.

“So, I’m dead?” I asked, a hint of disbelief in my voice - fake, of course.

“Yes,” the voice affirmed.

“And what?” I replied, gesturing to the vast void surrounding me, “Am I supposed to assume that this is the afterlife?”

“No, not exactly,” the voice explained, “Think of it more like a midway point between two different possibilities. Here, you shall be judged.”

“Judged?” I questioned, the word immediately grabbing my attention.

After all, who knew if I had been kidnapped by some cult, desperate to judge me for my supposed “sins”.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Yes, judged. Are you ready?” the voice answered, although I could tell that “no” wasn’t an answer.

I nodded, “Fire away.”

I chuckled at the irony, before wincing, hoping they didn’t take it literally.

“Understood. Then I shall continue with the analysis.”

“Calculating karmic value…”, a different voice rang out this time, seemingly from the pillar itself.

A loud beep rang out.

“Karmic value calculated. Target possesses karmic value totalling at a negative value of one thousand.”

Negative one thousand… A weighty number, I’m sure. These people must really hate me.

But… karmic value, huh? Karma?

Isn’t that the notion of luck being determined by actions?

A value of one thousand negative karma is a weighty number then.

Better to feign incomprehension for now, though The more time I can buy, the higher possibility there is that my men will arrive.

“What exactly is this ‘karmic value’?” I questioned.

There was a brief pause before the voice answered.

“Karmic value is the representation of all the deeds you have committed during your life, whether good or bad. Positive karma is gained for deeds that have a positive effect, whereas negative karma is gained for deeds that have a negative effect. These are usually calculated and stored separately, but, as your negative karma far outweighs your positive karma, only your negative karma has been recorded.”

Yep, they definitely hate me.

A part of me is curious as to what these people will judge my positive karma, though.

“Do you mind telling me what my positive karma is?” I asked, full of a slight sense of morbid curiosity.

The voice paused once again as if getting ready to answer. However, before it could answer a loud beeping noise erupted from the pillar.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that,” the voice replied.

I sighed. As expected…

“Why not?” I questioned.

“It seems that you have qualified for the reincarnation program,” the voice said, and I swear, I could hear a bit of surprise in its voice.

Ah… so this is their game. Brainwashing, how utterly original.

Yet nobody ever got hurt by playing along, no?

I chuckled to myself. What ominous words.

Nevertheless, I carried on.

“And what is this… reincarnation program.” I replied, trying to keep the scorn out of my voice.

Better not anger my captors while I'm in this situation.

“It’s quite simple really. You will be sentenced to live out one thousand different reincarnations.”

And there’s the hook.

Life after death. How typical.

“Why me?” I inquired, not expecting an answer. I couldn’t help but be surprised when the voice rang out.

“You are a new soul, meaning that this is your first incarnation. Considering the extent of your negative karmic value, you qualify for the programme.”

“The programme?”

It’s never good when a potentially-insane group mentions a ‘programme’.

I scowled, Jeremy better get his ass here soon.

“Indeed, the programme. It is both a punishment and an opportunity. The goal of each of the thousand reincarnations is to accumulate karma, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. However, it is imperative to note that the value of positive karma is greater than that of negative karma. It differs by a ratio of 1:5.”

Positive karma is worth more than negative karma, huh? So, doing good is more rewarding than doing bad?

I couldn’t help but smirk at the thought.

“The karmic value gained at the end of each reincarnation affects your next reincarnation drastically. Everything from the starting position of your host, to your lifespan, is dictated by the karmic value accumulated. A lower karmic value will result in both a lower starting position and a shorter lifespan, whereas a higher value will result in the opposite.”

I could pick out so many problems with this system already. Wouldn’t that mean that, with my negative karmic value of a thousand, I’d be effectively screwed for the first “reincarnation”?

This was definitely built to screw me over.

I would expect nothing less from a group that managed to actually kidnap me, even with all the protection I was under.

Curious, I decided to inquire about this.

I opened my mouth, but just as I was about to speak, the voice interrupted.

“I know what you are about to say and, yes, it will be challenging in the beginning stages. A test to weed out the weak, if you will. I trust that you are not weak, Alec?” the voice questioned, with a hint of a chuckle.

My pride bristled at that comment, even though it was an obvious provocation.

“I’ve crawled out of worse places before,” I smirked.

“I’m sure you have,” the voice affirmed.

I swear to god Jeremy better hurry up and get here.

That voice is obviously controlled by an intelligent human and not an automated machine like I had thought.

A fact which doesn’t serve to give me any comfort.

If I had a gun- if I had some sort of weapon, and if there weren’t so many uncertainties, I could save myself. But I didn’t and there are, so I can hope to stay alive until my men to come save me.

And to stay alive I must continue to play this game and buy time.

Man, I really hate relying on others.

One thing is bugging me though. According to this “system”, wouldn’t you be forced to absorb one thousand different memories; live one thousand different identities? Wouldn’t that screw with your psyche?

I decided to put my thoughts into words and ask.

So far, the voice hasn’t seemed to dislike me asking questions.

“I have a question,” I ventured, tentatively.

“Go ahead,” the voice replied.

I cleared my throat before asking, “Wouldn’t living multiple lives, multiple identities, screw with your psyche a little?”

“Indeed. For some, the instability caused by living multiple different lives causes them to simply go insane. However, for others, the experience of living multiple different lives causes them to soar to greater heights. But, after all, your fate is what you make of it.”

A slight sense of shock hit me with that comment, hoping that this wasn't foreshadowing what was to come.

I rather appreciated my sanity, thank you very much.

“Continuing on, though, aside from being used to calculate the advantages and disadvantages of your next reincarnation, karmic value also has another usage. Karma is banked at the end of each reincarnation and can be used to permanently enhance different abilities of the host,” the voice continued, oblivious to my discomfort.

“Enhance...? In what way?” I inquired, my interest piqued.

“Why? In many ways of course.”

Just as I was about to ask it to reveal more, what the voice said next stopped me in my tracks.

“However, I cannot answer any more questions, I’m afraid. Your time is nearly up.”

That did not sound good.

I began panicking.

I haven’t even won the ‘game’ yet, how can I die!?

“Fuck!” I exclaimed, frantically searching for a weapon; a way to protect myself...anything.

Yet, the voice was determined to not give me a chance.

“Good luck, Alec Vanderburg,” the voice said, as it gradually grew closer.

I was finally able to get a look at it.

And, as my vision faded to white, one thought haunted me.

I was wrong. That voice… that voice was never a human.