My name was Zariyah Phoenix. Yes, my last name was Phoenix. Just like the city in Arizona, and just like the big, fiery immortal bird that would be reborn from its ashes after its death. 

I was a thirty-year-old office worker who'd barely had anything in my savings even a decade after college, slowly whittling away at my exorbitantly high student loans as I barely made ends meet. I was shunned by my parents; they were disappointed that their daughter hadn't somehow managed to crawl her way out of the never-ending hole of mediocrity that was the middle class.

Sure, there were those in my company who somehow managed to climb up the corporate ladder in mere months after joining. Those like my current supervisor, Brad, who was already making mid six figures straight out of college. But he was only given his position because his father knew the owner of the company. He didn't even have to work; all he did was push his job to me.

Typical nepotism.

Sighing, I slumped over on my desk and closed my eyes. "I just wish..."

"Hey Zariyah!" Brad called out, interrupting me from my brief slumber. He stood over my cubicle, holding his phone to the side. He'd been in the middle of a call before he approached me.

"Y-yes?" I straightened and adjusted my suit.

"I need this month's quarterly report at my desk for tomorrow's board meeting at 10," he said and continued chatting on the phone.

"But isn't that... Shirley's job?" I blinked, but he just shrugged.

"Shirley's busy. We have a dinner meeting tonight that may last... all throughout the night. Isn't that right, Shirley?" He spoke to the phone, and I could clearly hear Shirley's giggle from the other end of the line. 

I scowled but didn't argue against him. "...I'll have it ready by then." 

"Thanks. And don't forget to lock up when you're done." Brad barely glanced at me as he headed out, leaving me alone in the office as the digital clock on my desk flashed.

It was 9 PM. I was already working overtime, and it seemed like I was going to work over-overtime just to get this finished by then. I didn't complain. I couldn't complain. I got to work, and the hours passed quickly. When I was finished, it was way past midnight, and I couldn't help but sigh in relief that it was all over. My head fell against the desk as I yawned.

"Finally... finished."

I glanced up, looking at the time, then at the cup of instant noodle I had for dinner. I took in this sight. The display of my life and what it had become. 

"I just wish..."

Exhaustion settled over me, and my eyes fluttered shut.

"I just wish I could do things anew... like a phoenix..."

And everything went dark.

----------------------------------------

"Wake up," a voice whispered to me. 

I blearily blinked my eyes open as my vision was filled with light. The voice repeated itself, speaking louder now.

"Wake up."

"Wha...?" I sat up in a bright garden, taking in the scenery. "What was that?"

"I said... WAKE UP!"  the voice shouted, and I jumped to my feet.

"Who said that? Where are you? Where am I?" I spun around, confused, puzzled, and at a complete and total loss as to what was going on. No matter where I looed, I couldn't find the source of the voice. Yet, it had sounded like whoever it was had been standing right next to my ear.

"Down here!" the voice said."

I looked at my feet, finding nothing but flowers and grass there. "Err..."

"Here!" Something flickered. A sunflower waved itself at me, bobbing from side to side.

I bent over, narrowing my eyes. "You're... a flower?" 

"And you're too close," he snorted, slapping one of his leaves at me.

I winced and peeled back. "How are you talking? What's going on? What is this place?"

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"You ask way too many questions, lady." The sunflower crossed his leaves like they were arms. "I'll explain it all if you just listen to me."

I thought that this was a prank— a very good VR experience that my coworkers tossed me into while I was asleep. However, when I breathed in the scent of pollen and felt the wind brush against my skin, I knew it was real. So, I said nothing and let the sunflower speak.

Clearing his throat, he pointed himself.

"You see, I am God."

I stared at him, and he waited. He glanced at me after a moment, the face at the center of his petals contorting into a frown.

"Why aren't you reacting?"

"You asked me to listen. I'm listening."

"No, no, no. You're supposed to go— 'Oh my God, you're God Himself?!' or, like, 'Nah, ain't no way you're God, bro.' Where's the over-the-top reaction?"

"Look," I said, rolling my eyes. "I just want to know what's going on. Can you please explain it to me already?"

"Fine. If you want to be boring, then I'll give you a quick run-down." He coughed and continued. "When I say I'm God, I don't actually mean I'm God, God. I am a God. The one responsible for sorting souls as they pass on. But, no, you won't be going to heaven or hell. Instead, you're going to be reborn."

Wait.. I furrowed my brows. Does that mean I'm dead? I didn't even know it happened. It must've happened in my sleep. Although... I guess dying painlessly without even being aware of it wasn't the worst way to go. I just had so much to live for... so much to—

Actually, now that I thought about it, I didn't.

My life sucked.

I was almost glad I was dead.

"So, I'm going to be reincarnated? Well, I guess that's not too bad. I didn't do anything too amazing in my life, but I didn't do anything terrible. Am I going to become someone's cat or something?" That sounded nice. A relaxing life where everything was provided for me.

The sunflower shook his head. "No, no, no, no. That's not how this works. You're not going be reincarnated in that way. You're going to be reborn into the Spirit World." 

"Reborn to the Spirit World?" I gave him a confused look, and he explained.

"Yep. Everyone who dies goes through this process. They move on from the Mortal World to the Spirit World. Not exactly a karmic reincarnation kind of deal."

"But that's..." My jaw slacked. "Wouldn't I just be dead?"

"Technically, yes. But in actuality, no." The sunflower beamed— quite literally. He brightened, glowing with the intensity of the sun as I averted my gaze. "You see, this isn't the Afterlife. It's the Spirit World. The Afterlife would be where you go after you pass on from the Spirit World. It's where your soul will go to rest forever. There won't be any rest in the Spirit World. Just think of it as your second shot at life, except the rules are different."

"Well, I guess that doesn't sound too bad." I shifted my feet slightly. "But what's so different about the Spirit World and the Mortal World?"

"You see," he said, clasping his leaves together happily. "The Spirit World is where you start your life anew, but your starting point is determined by what you have done in the Mortal World. Furthermore, while the endpoint of every living being in the Mortal World is death, no matter what you do, in the Spirit World, death means you lose the game."

"Lose the game? What does that mean?"

"It means that you can potentially live in the Spirit World forever. That you can be immortal and have all your wants and desires fulfilled."

"I... see." 

"And don't worry," the sunflower continued, "your accomplishments in the Mortal World are weighed based on the life you were given."

I placed a hand on my chin, considering this. Having everything you ever wanted sounded enticing. It also seemed way fairer than the random starting points everyone was given in their life. But wait— didn't I just admit to not having done much at all? I barely even had any friends, and I worked a dead-end job. I had no aspirations, no hobbies, and no family to turn to. 

A foreboding feeling washed over me, and the sunflower noticed my change in demeanor.

"That's right, Zariyah Phoenix. Despite everything I just said, unfortunately, you didn't achieve much in your life, even relative to what you were given. I'd even say you completely wasted most of it."

"That's not true!" I protested. "I was dealt a bad hand! I couldn't do anything about it!"

"The facts and only the facts are presented to me. Even something as simple as volunteering at a shelter, reading a book, or making a friend count to an individual's list of achievements. If you had been good at a video game, it would've counted as something. You rarely did anything that's noteworthy. No— you rarely did anything at all. Were you even living?"

His words stung me. A sunflower was repudiating me for the life I lived. 

"A dull routine, day by day, with no change at all. I am sorry, but it seems that you'll be reborn as a... Ghost. An Inferior Spirit. The lowest possible starting point in the Spirit World."

I opened my mouth, but the sunflower just flicked his leaf my way. A strong gust of wind knocked me off my feet, scooping me into the air before circling around me. I felt my body change as the sunflower spoke, almost regretfully.

"Hopefully you'll be able to survive your bloody— excuse me, bloodless but very violent— grind to the top. Otherwise, good luck."

"Please, you have to at least give me something else! I can't start from the very bottom!" My voice was lost to the wind, yet he heard me.

"No, no, no, no, no. I can't do anything about it. I'm only one of thirteen Gods, and the others will kill me if I break the rules. Good luck Zariyah Phoenix, you'll need it."

And the world vanished.

Author's Note:

Be me.

Have a chapter to write for Trace.

Be bored.

Wrote this instead.

Will I continue it? Maybe when one of my other stories finish. For now, it shall exist here, a very rough and abstract idea.