"Willis."

"You're not asleep, just dead. Now get up."

Willis slowly regained consciousness as he opened his eyes to what could only be described as the brightest light he's ever seen.

"Over here." A man's voice called out to him. As Willis turned his head he saw a young man sitting cross legged about ten feet away from him. "Hi!" He exclaimed with a cheerful smile and friendly wave. His face, no his whole body, was practically glowing. His hair was a golden blonde and his eyes were a bright sky blue. If Willis didn't know any better, he would say he was staring at an Angel. Right down to the white clothes he was wearing. Is he wearing a Kimono? Willis thought to himself.

"Where am I?" Asked Willis, still a little groggy after waking up. He looked around as he slowly sat up. He was in PJs. A plain blue shirt and blue and white checkered pants. The bed was firm, almost like it had never been slept in. The room he was in, wasn't so much a room as it was an empty space. There were no walls, no ceiling, no obvious sources of light. And as he began to become more alert, he realized there were no shadows to be seen.

The man looked at Willis, still holding that cheerful smile. "Where you are might take a little explaining." He said with a calm, bright and cheerful voice. "So how about we make this space a little more comfortable for you?" As the man said this a coffee table materialized in front of where he was sitting, it had coffee, tea, a kettle of hot water, multiple tea blends to choose from as well as coffee creamer. Willis' favorite Coffee Creamer, to be precise. There were also pancakes, waffles, egg omelets, sausage links, bacon, burgers, sandwiches of all kinds and even over-easy eggs piled on multiple plates. All of which, were Willis' go-to comfort foods.

He couldn't beleive what he had just seen, thinking it was a hallucination he blinked his eyes several times. When the table and everything on it was still there he hopped out of bed and walked over. "What the hell was that?!" He exclaimed. "And just who the- what... are you?" Willis asked, believing he was wrapped in some sort of feverish delusion.

"I'm sorry, guess I should have had this laid out before you woke up." The strange man explained, gesturing at all the food and drink available at the table. "I am Aztar. God of Life and Death. It's my duty to take those that have been given a second chance or that have been deemed unworthy of Heaven or Hell, to live a new life in a new world. Your people would call what's happening right now an Isekai or Portal Fantasy. But this is no fantasy, I assure you." Aztar grabbed the hot tea kettle and started preparing himself a cup. "Come here. Sit down, eat. Please. We have a lot to discuss." He said, looking up at Willis while dipping a tea bag in a cup of water, the steam giving rise to the sweet flavor of the tea blend as it filled the air with the scent of Lemon and Blueberry.

Willis slowly walked over to the table. Upon closer inspection, the food looked like it had been prepared by a Michelon Star Chef. Everything was hot, steaming, and cooked to perfection. Even the coffee smelled divine, which there were multiple options of as well.

He took a seat, cross-legged, on a cushion and started pouring himself some coffee and getting a plate of food. "So, Aztar, right? I'm obviously dead. However, you said that I was not deemed worthy of Heaven or Hell. "Given a second chance." Can you tell me why? I was a good person, I never hurt anyone, never committed any crime. As far as I know I did everything right in my life."

"You did." Answered Aztar as he pulled his tea bag out and started adding honey to his cup. "You were on a Path to achieve greatness. However, that Path was interrupted and cut short. Therefore, you never reached your full potential. So me, the God's of Heaven and Hell and the Goddess of Destiny, decided to send you somewhere else." Aztar took a short sip of his tea as he waited for Willis' response.

Willis slowly nodded, taking in this new information. "Ok... I think I understand, but maybe you can clear something up for me."

"Go ahead." Aztar replied with a small head nod.

"I was raised Christian, and was taught that there was only One, Almighty God. The Creator. How does this whole thing work? What do you mean by "God of Life and Death?" Willis took a bite out of his pancakes, absolutely amazing. The pancake was so moist and rich it practically dissolved in his mouth

"Ok." Aztar said as he reached up and pulled a large whiteboard out of the air. "So here at the top, is your God. The good, virtuous, Almighty Creator. The "One and Only God" of Christianity. Well, he definitely exists, and is the Creator of All Things. But we, lower God's and Goddesses," He said pointing at the other God's and Godess' names. "Also exist. We serve as a sort of aid to God. While he's busy building and creating new worlds and universes, like the one you're going to, we do the other, more mundane, stuff. And then beneath us, you have the various Angels that serve us. This meal, for example, was prepared for us by one such Angel."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Willis wiped his mouth as went to reach for his coffee. "Well then, my sincerest compliments to the chef."

"I'll be sure to pass that on." Replied Aztar as he began making his own plate. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering what, exactly, happened that caused you to be sent here. I've made it a rule not to tell those that have just died, exactly how they died. It's usually too much for then to handle and they end up having a mental breakdown after they're sent."

Willis put his hands behind his back and looked up with a sigh. "Yeah... I imagine that's not something I could handle right now." He said, realizing that he had zero recollection of what, or who, caused his death. He couldn't rememver the drive home, his victory at the championship, or even that his family was with him in the van.

He brought his hands down to the table. "So, this new world, where am I being sent? And what's expected of me when I get there?"

Aztar looked at him and smiled. "You'll simply live your life as you see fit. I can't put you back in the same body you had before, this is something that requires some pretty precise conditions to be met. I mean, it would be fairly strange if a person you knew you're whole life, one day started acting and talking differently. The people I normally find as good candidates are those that are either experiencing a mental breakdown, the mentally insane, or those so damaged by a traumatic event that their psyche needs to be transferred. I bring their souls here and find as suitable of a replacement as I can for them. Sometimes it's not ideal."

"Not ideal?" Willis had a mischievous grin on his face. "Like what? Sometimes you put a man in a woman's body?"

"That only happened a few times!" Cried Aztar.. "Then it turned in to a whole thing on Earth... that's why I only have my own world that I govern and ferry souls from one universe to my own. Fewer set of rules, I don't have to use verbal spells or change written languages or anything. It's so much easier. But in answer to your question, No. I just don't want you to think you're going to be getting a body builder type of body. I can't guarantee anything as it's often times spur of the moment decisions. I have to do the transfer at just the right time during a mental break, but also do it before they pass the point of no return, and even then, if the person has family or friends I have to make sure that atleast some aspects of your personalities match."

"That sounds pretty complicated. So tell me about this world." Willis said as he leaned forward, slowly sipping on his coffee. "What kind of place is it? Is everyone there a human like me? You also said something about spells and magic... is that something that exists or is that only something God's and Goddesses can do?" Willis' curiosity was starting to give way to excitement and anticipation.

"I'm putting you in the realm of Angharra. It's a fairly balanced country made up of smaller islands linked together by massive bridges and sand-bars. Humans, Elves and Dwarves all co-exist for the most part, there are a few islands that are solely inhabited by one race or the other, however they're not prejudiced of the other races, it's just how things worked out. Humans control infrastructure and diplomacy, Elves are in charge of Military and Police forces. The Dwarves, as you might have guessed, are miners and expert craftsmen. Of course, there are mixtures of the different races in all walks of life. But in each field of expertise, is where you will find the majority of one race over the other. Now as for spells and magic... it's usable with extensive training. An art very few can master. However, if you did become a master of Magic, it is possible that on the day of your death, you can become a God. Such things are rare. Last one to have achieved such a thing was about a hundred ten years ago. Before that, almost a thousand years."

"That's... a lot to take in." Willis said as blew out a sigh through parsed lips. "So I guess the rest of your world I'll learn as I go. So, how do we do this, Soul-Transfer thing?"

Aztar put his right hand on Willis' head while touching his index and middle finger to his own forehead. Closing his eyes he said, "You don't have to do anything. Just relax." As a small ball of golden light appeared between his two fingers. Willis closed his eyes and let out a long breath of air. He was calm, and at peace. He felt Aztar's fingers touch his forehead and then... nothing. Everything felt still.

Aztar breathed out a sigh of relief. Another job well done. He'll be in his new body soon. With a brand new life to live. He felt a presence behind him. Cold, dark and full of Malice. It sent a chill down his back. "Risara." He said in a cold, unattached tone. 'How and why are you here? You were suppose to be confined to Earth."

Risara, Goddess of Hatred. Her demeanor definitely matched her Title. Pale complected, with dark green eyes, black hair and a body anyone would envy, barely hidden by the black skinsuit she wore as her usual attire. "I just wanted to see how your peaceful kingdom is doing, Aztar." Said Risara. "No war in three hundred years? Must be boring." She pouted.

"Three thousand years, get it right." Aztar corrected, now facing her. "You need to leave, before I make you leave."

This caused Risara to chuckle as she said "I don't wish to fight you, no, I simply wanted to come in and see an old friend. You know? Catch up on things. It's been what? Fifty years?" She said as she reached down to gently stroke his cheek. "I know you miss all of this." She made a motion accentuating her figure. "AND all the things it can do."

Aztar shook his head as he stood. "What happened between us was a mistake, Risara. I told you this, we had come to an agreement. It's in the past and you have been banished to Earth. Last warning."

Risara smiled, "Mmm... I love it when you take charge." She said holding her hands out as handcuffs materialized around them. "Take me." She pleaded. "Take me in any way you desire." She was grinning now. She knew he would never accept such a proposal, but enjoyed teasing him regardless. She held her position for a moment before dropping the act, materializing a dagger between her hands and lunged for Aztar's neck. Aztar side stepped her easily, kicking her in the stomach, then pinning her face down to the ground. "You are banished to Earth Risara! Goddess of Hatred. Dark Harbinger of Calamity! You have no business here!" He yelled at her as he picked her up, restraints forming around her wrists, waist and ankles, and threw Risara in to a Portal he had opened, head first, back to Earth.