Viktor opened his eyes and found himself in a large room with floor-to-ceiling windows and contemporary leather furniture. He looked down at his seat and saw it was a white leather couch. The whole room looked like a car dealership's sales lobby. He squinted, and other people almost seemed to flicker in and out of view on the other pieces of furniture. Suddenly, a young woman with pretty features walked over. She wore a short white dress with a gold necklace of a cross.

"Wonderful, you're awake! Welcome! My name is Jophelia, great to meet you!" She spoke, every word injected with bubbly kindness. Viktor stared at her, unblinking.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"Oh..." She trailed off, looking a little uncertain. She tapped him on the temple with a manicured nail and suddenly, his memories came rushing back: breakfast, the car crash, and gunshots. Viktor slumped and his head fell into his hands.

"I-I don't get it. Is this the hospital?" He said, his brain refusing to comprehend the truth. "Is Claire alright?"

The woman smiled at him sympathetically.

"You'll see Claire soon enough. See, you're actually both dead. You find yourself here at the magnificent waiting room of Judgement!" She said, making little jazz hands following her introduction of the room. Viktor sat there, mind reeling.

"You said I'll see Claire? Where is she?"

Claire appeared next to Viktor, and she looked over to him with a smile. Viktor tried to give her a hug, to tell her he was sorry, to say anything, but he couldn't. The angel cleared her throat to ensure both of their attention.

"Unfortunately, you guys can't talk yet. I've got a little bit of a presentation to go through before you guys can discuss and move forward!" She smiled kindly as a television appeared on the table and began to play a video.

The scene opened with a green hill and a nuclear family on a picnic. The narrator spoke in a cheerful voice:

"So, you've died! That's a bummer, but the good news is that this isn't the end for you! If you're seeing this video, it means that you weren't marked for a fast-pass to the land down under. That's Hell, with a capital H, if you didn't get it. But anyways, from here you've got two options. See, if you're watching this video it means neither of you were marked for a past-pass to Heaven either, which lands us in a bit of a predicament.

The screen showed two images: golden gates on a bank of clouds and a set of wrought-iron gates wreathed in flames.

Option one is that you decide to go in for judgement regardless. Another angel will review your case, your life, and decide whether you're going to Heaven or Hell. Manual reviewees tend to have an easier time getting through the golden gates when an angel reviews them rather than the automatic process that flagged you as failing, so if you're confident that you were a great person in your first life, this is a fine option. Disclaimer though, it's still pretty tricky to get into Heaven. The safer option is option two, which I'll explain now."

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The scene shifted to show a 3d rendering of Earth rotating before flashing through a series of images depicting happy humans.

Your first life was cushy despite the ending. There were no real threats to humanity on planet Earth, and the only wars were caused by humans against other humans, with the exception of that weird thing with the Australians and the emus, but whatever. The point is, this life didn't challenge humans, despite what some of you believed."

The view shifted to third world countries: starving humans, emaciated corpses, bloated stomachs from malnutrition. Plagues ravaging poor communities, war and famine through the ages and the corpses.

"You perceived these to be challenges, but the vast majority of you didn't face these, and those in these hardships often found happiness or comfort in their situations. Obviously, the ease of lifestyle is taken into account when souls are facing judgement.

Nevertheless, the Option Two is entering into Purgatory, which is probably not what you expect."

Suddenly, the scene melted away to showcase a never ending series of images and short videos: monsters, wizards, knights, space cowboys, kings, queens, aliens, and countless other depictions flashing on the television as the narrator spoke.

"Purgatory is a new Universe for humans from every world in your first Universe to challenge themselves and be challenged. Purgatory is a realm of infinite opportunities to distinguish yourself and earn a second judgement. Interestingly, it's a world filled with every kind of magic and technology you could possibly imagine, so you have as many tests and challenges to overcome as possible.

The world is what you make of it. Ascend to the peaks of power or rest in a comfortable position behind someone stronger. Billions live out lives of relative ease in Purgatory, away from the struggles of those with more ambition. Those with ambition find themselves in a constant battle to prove themselves to a higher power, a god or God. Some of Purgatory's 'gods' have amassed enough power in Purgatory to influence the first Universe and start up whole religions!

If you live a virtuous life in Purgatory and perform deeds that get the attention of one of the many watching angels, there's a chance you can go to Heaven when you die there! So, what's your choice?" The television powered down.

Claire and Viktor looked at each other nervously. Claire spoke first.

"What do you mean that the bar is... lower to get into heaven?" She asked. The angel hesitated before rattling off a clearly practiced response.

"Due to the unchallenging nature of the First Universe, judgements on getting into Heaven are much stricter, as it's less impressive to be a fairly good person when there are few temptations for you to do truly bad. We implemented the Purgatory system so that fewer individuals who weren't truly bad would go to Hell unfairly. That being said, the essence of creation is Free Will. So if you believe you led a righteous life, we allow you the chance to get into Heaven and face Judgement as normal. If you choose this courageous option, the bar for getting in is lower!" Jophelia explained. "Now I'll leave you two to discuss. That's normally not allowed, but you've been given the 'family' designation since you were so close and died in close proximity to each other."

Viktor looked at Claire as the information sank in. Despite the jaw-dropping information, neither seemed panicked or particularly shocked. We probably couldn't be surprised if we wanted to...Viktor thought.

Claire bit her lip nervously. "Vik, what do you think? We've been good people, haven't we?"

"Of course, Claire. I can't think of anyone else on Earth closer to an angel than you," Viktor smiled. Inwardly, he considered the risks. There was no way a good person like Claire could be judged for Hell, right? But he couldn't shake a nagging feeling that there were uncontrolled variables at play. What if something went wrong?

Without further debate, Claire turned to the angel.

"We'll face Judgement."