[Sravan's POV]:
"What the fu—was that?" I groaned, my hands massaging my throbbing legs. The shock that had torn through my body felt like being hit by lightning while getting tasered – definitely not an experience I'd recommend. Every muscle screamed in protest as if I'd just run a marathon through an electrical storm.
My eyes darted around, trying to make sense of the bizarre landscape stretching endlessly before me. It looked like someone had taken a highway, painted it with starlight, and suspended it in cosmic mist. Faint trails pulsed beneath my feet, humming with an energy I could feel in my bones. The whole scene felt like stepping into a sci-fi movie, but the sensations were too real, too immediate to be special effects.
That's when I spotted him – a figure that looked like he'd walked straight out of a fever dream about law enforcement. His uniform seemed to shimmer with its own inner light, and the glowing stick in his hand pulsed with what I could only describe as living energy. Each pulse sent ripples through the surrounding mist, creating patterns that hurt my eyes if I looked too long.
When he noticed my presence, I hesitated before raising my hand in what I hoped was a friendly wave. "Hey, over here!" I called out, trying to ignore how my voice echoed strangely in this impossible space.
His footsteps made soft tap-tap sounds as he approached, each step leaving brief afterimages of light. His uniform, I noticed, seemed to repel the swirling mist around us, maintaining its pristine condition as if protected by an invisible shield.
"Thank you for coming, sir," I managed, forcing myself to sound calmer than I felt. "Can you tell me where we are?"
He fixed me with a look that mixed sympathy with subtle amusement, like a teacher addressing a particularly slow student. "Looks like your world had some interruptions during the transfer," he explained, gesturing vaguely at the cosmic highway surrounding us. "That shock must've delayed the alignment of your soul and consciousness."
Interruptions? Transfer? My mind raced to make sense of these cryptic terms, each one adding another layer of confusion to my already bewildered state. The cosmic highway seemed to pulse more intensely, as if responding to my growing unease. Before I could voice the dozen questions swirling in my head, he continued speaking.
"When you reach the start of this line, you'll be assigned to either heaven or hell, depending on how you've lived your life." His voice carried the practiced ease of someone who had delivered this speech countless times before. The glowing stick in his hand cast dancing shadows across his face, making his expression even harder to read.
My stomach clenched tight, a very human reaction in this otherworldly setting. "Isn't that... biased? I mean, isn't it impossible to decide what's right and wrong in an absolute sense?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them, echoing strangely in the misty void. As soon as they left my mouth, I wished I could snatch them back from the shimmering air. The cosmic highway beneath my feet seemed to vibrate with my discomfort.
"I'm sor—" I stumbled over my words, trying to backtrack.
He lifted the glowing stick, cutting through my apology with a casual wave. "Oh, don't worry. The judgment isn't based on human moral principles or any abstract mortal ideas. The deities of your world set their criteria for judgment. We just follow their parameters." The stick pulsed brighter as he spoke, sending ripples through the surrounding mist.
I blinked rapidly, my mind struggling to process this information while the starlit path continued its gentle hum beneath my feet. "Well... I guess that makes sense," I offered, though doubt gnawed at the edges of my thoughts. Trusting gods to define fairness feels like trusting a cat to guard milk. The absurdity of the comparison almost made me laugh despite the gravity of the situation.
"Thank you for explaining," I said, forcing myself to focus on the figure before me rather than the swirling cosmic mist. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your role in all this?"
His posture shifted instantly, pride radiating from every shimmer of his uniform. "I'm the warden of this line," he announced, his chest swelling with importance. "I ensure no rogue soul disrupts the process and oversee logistics for the transition." The glowing stick seemed to pulse in sync with his words, emphasizing each point.
Even here, there are departments, I thought, fighting back an exasperated groan. Guess bureaucracy really is universal. The cosmic highway flickered beneath me, almost as if agreeing with my observation.
"I see," I nodded, watching how the movement created ripples in the surrounding mist. "Thank you for your help, and good luck with your work."
He responded with a slight bow, his stern features softening momentarily. "Good luck on your journey to the afterlife," he said, turning away. As he walked, the glowing stick left trails of light that danced and swirled in the misty air, creating patterns that seemed to tell their own mysterious stories.
I watched his retreating form dissolve into the cosmic fog, each step leaving a fading footprint of light. The enormity of what lay ahead pressed down on me like a physical weight. Whatever waited at the end of this starlit path, I had a gut feeling it wouldn't follow any rules of fairness I understood.
The departure of the warden left a rather unnatural silence in the air, such as that which lingers after a loud sneeze: heavy, expectant, and slightly unpleasant. I looked down upon the cosmic highway below me, an ethereal pulsing glow casting gently under my feet. And then, to whether or not I should take a step ahead or stay standing there, hopefully waiting for a guide to explain everything. But in that seemingly infinite otherworldly space, I was filled with the impression of both unimportance and an unusual form of power. Apparently, fate had other plans because a soft, almost imperceptible beep came from my side, cutting through the cosmic silence like a gentle whisper.
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A sleek tablet materialized out of thin air, its emergence accompanied by a subtle shimmer of light that reminded me of sunlight dancing on water. It looked as if it were plucked from some sci-fi diner menu, complete with glowing edges and smooth surfaces, a floating display just beneath the crystalline surface. It floated there, hovering just out of reach for me to feel slightly annoyed, gently dancing in the space between us. You know, the sort of irritation when someone holds up their phone in front of your face when you are already staring at the screen, except this was somehow both more fascinating and more annoying.
I reached for it, and with a gentle float back into my palm, the device's interface suddenly lit up a warm, bright glow as though it already felt my hand snatching it, and the glassy surface was both solid, yet ethereal, under the touch of my fingers. On the screen glowed the greeting: "Welcome to your afterlife selection. Please select your paradise preferences, ", in elegant fluid text that appears to ripple around the screen like water.
Wait, what? I just got a tablet in the afterlife. I couldn't help but smirk at the absurdity of it all. "Wow, really upping the game, huh? This is like the next level of 'choose your own adventure'… except without the chance to die over and over in weird ways." The irony of thinking about dying while already being dead wasn't lost on me.
The screen popped up with a menu so extensive it looked like a combination of Netflix, Uber Eats, and a dating app all mixed together, but with infinitely more options and categories that seemed to stretch beyond the boundaries of imagination. Paradise? Check. Luxuries? Double check. Eternal relaxation? Yeah, that was definitely on the list. But there were so many options, each more extravagant than the last, branching out into subcategories that seemed to anticipate every possible desire.
"Want mountains of gold and feasts of endless delight? Or perhaps your own galaxy with a thousand suns to play with? Oh, and would you like the ability to throw in any extra features, say 'year-round beach weather' or 'rain that smells of fresh pine'? The possibilities scrolled endlessly: each one a little more compelling than the last, like some cosmic wish list with no bottom.
I snorted, my finger hovering over the screen. "I mean, why not? Why limit myself?" The idea of customizing my eternal existence was so patently absurd it left me simultaneously laughing and slightly overwhelmed.
Suddenly, Teja's voice echoed in my mind, teasing: "Sure, add 'infinite pizza that never gets cold,' too. And maybe a theme park with zero rollercoaster accidents. Heaven, right?" Her familiar sarcasm brought a smile to my face, even in this surreal situation.
I rolled my eyes, half in amusement and half in nostalgia. "Teja, you are so obsessed with food. But you know what? You're not wrong. A pizza that never gets cold would be nice." The thought of eternal perfect pizza made me chuckle—leave it to Teja to think about food even in discussions about paradise.
Sriman's voice joined in, flatly: "Yeah, but don't forget the 24/7 all-you-can-eat snacks bar, the one with no lines. You know, for when you wanna grab a quick bite between 'eternal bliss' sessions." His dry was a perfect riposte to this pomposity.
"Perfect. I'll just add a personal snack dispenser," I muttered sarcastically, tapping in my preferences with increasing amusement. "I mean, who's gonna stop me? I'm dead. I should be able to choose whatever I want." The absurdity of customizing the afterlife like a mobile phone plan wasn't lost on me, but somehow, it felt perfectly fitting for this bizarre situation.
As I completed my selections, I couldn't help but grin, amazed at how surreal all this was getting. This whole afterlife business? It was turning out to be pretty user-friendly, almost like setting up a new smartphone, except with infinitely higher stakes and considerably more cosmic implications. At least I wouldn't have to deal with any bureaucracy back in the living world—no more endless forms, no more waiting in lines, no more dealing with grumpy government officials. "Now that's what I call 'living the dream,'" I muttered to myself, with just a little bit of sarcasm in my voice as I wondered how this cosmic restaurant could possibly top the sheer absurdity of this—a customizable paradise ordered through what was essentially a celestial tablet.
The tablet buzzed in my hands, its surface pulsing with a gentle light. "Selection complete. Proceed to next stage." And with that, I had officially entered the afterlife with my very own customized, slightly ridiculous paradise, complete with endless snacks and perfect pizza. But hey, who said the afterlife couldn't be a little fun, or even a lot fun?
Teja, in my head: "You know, I thought the whole judgment thing would be more. dramatic. This is practically a vacation planning session."
Sriman: "Wait for it. There's gotta be a catch. Paradise with no strings attached? That's like expecting free WiFi without watching ads first."
I snorted again. "Well, let's find out what cosmic surprises await us."
I froze mid-thought, my heart skipping several beats. Those voices pierced through my consciousness with an unsettling familiarity that made my skin tingle. With deliberate slowness, I turned around, and my jaw dropped so low I thought it might unhinge completely. "No way..." The words escaped in a breathless whisper.
Teja and Sriman stood there, wearing those signature smirks that had annoyed and amused me countless times during our friendship. They looked exactly as I remembered them, as if they hadn't just casually strolled through the barriers between life and death, shattering every rule of afterlife logic I'd begun to understand.
"This is the best day ever!" Pure joy erupted from my chest as I launched myself forward, wrapping my arms around them both in a bone-crushing hug, making this surreal moment feel achingly real.
"Should've known hell would look like this," Sriman quipped, but his face split into that characteristic grin that stretched from ear to ear, his eyes crinkling at the corners just like they always did when he was genuinely happy.
Teja, quick-witted as ever and never one to let a moment pass without his signature sass, jabbed back with perfect timing. "If you two are here, I'm definitely in hell." His eyes sparkled with that familiar mischief that had gotten us into countless adventures—and trouble—back in the living world.
"How dare you?!" I clutched my chest in mock outrage, channeling all my theatrical skills. "We're the ones suffering here! We were on our way to heaven, living our best afterlife, and this is what we get—your face again." I gestured dramatically at his features, fighting to keep a straight face.
Our laughter burst forth, rich and genuine, filling the strange space around us with echoes of pure joy. The sound bounced off invisible walls, creating a symphony of friendship that defied death itself. But a low, commanding voice that carried the weight of authority suddenly sliced our moment of reunion through. "You three really are good friends."