As I enter the light I finally see the room for the first time. I marvel at the scene, the floor and walls are made of marble. They make quite a sight, I would look more but then the stench hits me. The mix of blood and piss on the floor as well a lingering smell of rot. I retch and almost empty my stomach but it feels like I have nothing in me. Good thing too.

I finally turn to my right to see a pure white couch. It looks as soft as clouds. With an old man sitting there poking at a tablet with his finger. His hair is trimmed, not short, not long, just right. A short beard, white suit, a black tie, black fingernails, white shoes, and round spectacles on his face. His eyes are a gold color. I almost want to steal them.

I cough in my gloved fist, it seems I kept my black getup complete with sidearm and bulletproof vest. While hiding behind the stage I checked what I had on me, I still had my sidearm and my small arm in my boot. Black vest, black shirt, black gloves, black cargo pants with lots of pockets, black boots, a hunting knife strapped to my waist, two extra magazines for my sidearm, four magazines for my automatic rifle that I took off when getting into the van. Those are going to see a lot of use I think. The mask I used for the robbery is still oozing out my left vest strap where I shoved it in when getting into the van.

The god takes his golden eyes off the tabled and glances in my direction, more like a reflex to the noise, not really expecting there to be anything or anyone there. He quickly turns back to his tablet. Then he looks in my direction again, this time with purpose. I don’t sense anything from his gaze, no anger, no surprise, and no curiosity.

“Sign, what is a soul doing here? I already dealt with the refills today. Such a pain.”

The god reaches into the top pocket of his suit above his heart and takes out a key. It is a simple looking key, pure black and a rhombus like loop and three jagged teeth on its end. The god throws the key in front of me.

“Could go though that gate at the end of this room, I just sat down to play my new game here.”

I look down at the key. I reach down picking it up, and then I put in my pocket.

“No.”

I said.

The god looks at me like he doesn’t understand. Then he waves his hand across me like he’s swatting a fly. Nothing happens.

He waves his hand again in another direction. Still nothing happens.

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He puts down the tablet he was stilling holding in his right hand and uses that hand to wave, right, left, right, left.

Then there is silence.

“Sign, I’m not getting up so what the hell do you want?”

When I first got here I remember this person saying that “you three”, I though that I was not supposed to be here. I figured if I am also dead might as well try to push this as far as it would go.

“I want to live again.”

“Okay fine, take a door on either the left or right hallway, I don’t care which one. You well be either reborn or transported to another world. Alive.”

“I want a power like you gave one of those other three.”

The god looks at me askance, and then signs again.

“Fine Fine Fine, let me get a contract.”

I interject.

“Sorry but I don’t want a contract, especially one written in blood.”

“Fine, it will be faster that way anyway. What’s your sentence since you know the rules?”

“I want to control time, the one thing everyone wants more of.”

“Okay fine but I get to decide how it works. Now get out of here so I can get back to my new toys.”

Immediately after the god says this I feel different, it is hard to describe, like you grew a sixth or seventh sense as it were. I face the giant gate at end of the room. It is quite a bit taller then I, while I am six feet the gate is at least eight to nine feet in height. I see a big padlock. It is pure black like the key, a rhombus shape hanging down so its longer points are at the top and bottom. A chain comes from the padlock coiling twice around two shiny chrome handles. I go one step closer to that door, once I looked at it I could not help myself. The stench of moist rot gets thicker.

I take two steps back and shudder, looking at the god from the corner of my eye. He is still sitting there now poking at his tablet again not paying any attention to me.

I look to my left, toward the hallway the three before me went to. It seems to stretch on forever. I look to my right, towards the second hallway. It also seems to stretch on forever.

Now that I think about it the god said I could either be reborn or transported. I feel like those two options represent the hallways. I go left I get reborn. I go right I get transported. I think I that I want to at least keep my weapons since he did say “another world”.

I start heading towards the right hallway. Once I pass into the hallway proper I see that the hallway is covered in doors. On my left there are doors, on my right there are doors. Doors as far as I can see ahead. The doors look the same when looked at one at a time, a pure white door on a pure white frame with a pure white doorknob. But if you look at the first door near the entrance to the hallway then at the farthest door at the end of the hallway that you can see, you can tell that the door is ever so slightly darker there. So I start walking.

I don’t know how long I walked but the doors are now a noticeable shade of grey, closer to steel. I keep walking, however now I am not sure. Why am I walking further in?

As I walk the doors get ever so darker, now they are a shade of black, almost completely black like charcoal. I feel that if I swipe my finger on them I would end up with ashes on my hand. I keep walking.

I stop. The doors are not a color anymore. They are just holes that suck in light. The floor walls and ceiling have stayed pure white, but the contrast just makes them seem that much darker.

I turn to my right and grip the doorknob. The door opens by itself. Why did I choose this door again? I can’t remember, it’s been so long that I walked these hallways. I feel a heat coming from my pocket. I wonder if I had a heat pack, I don’t think I needed one did I?

The door shuts behind me as I walk though.

The thing pokes at its tablet. The screen shows three people, two boys and one girl. The boy takes a swing at a cowering man with a sword. The girl loosens an arrow at a fleeing woman. The second boy conjures a fireball that sets an old man on fire. The tears keep flowing down their faces. But they keep killing because that is their purpose, their reason for living, and their contract.

The thing pokes at its tablet, picking another target. This time it’s a demon, next it’s a human, next it’s a bird, next it’s a tree, next next next.

“I do love my games, I am going to need replacement lives soon.”