Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about.

Karma chuckled. “There's no need to freak out over that. You could retire from being my Chosen after this mess. Get a spouse, settle down, have kids, go adventuring, whatever. Your life would be your own after this quest is completed. It's never happened before, but I'm not a spirit that cares about social etiquette or what others consider normal.” She shrugged. “You could also continue, if you'd like. I told you that there was more than one reason I need a Chosen, remember? On top of investigating the apocalypse, I'd need you to handle useless sacks of skin like him.”

She jerked her chin toward the still-frozen thug. “Nexus is overrun with awful, power-hungry people whose karma is putrid, and my usual way of handling them isn’t working anymore.”

I hesitated, but curiosity won out. “What's your usual method?”

A wide, almost feral grin stretched across her lips at that. “I turn them into cockroaches, of course. There's no better punishment than that. They'll spend the rest of their miserable lives scuttling along with everyone trying to kill them.” Her smile fell. “Unfortunately, the amount of cockroaches is causing its own problem, which is where you come in, my potential new Chosen.”

I blinked, trying to process the landslide of information she'd just hurled my way. “You…want me to kill cockroaches while I'm trying to prevent an apocalypse?”

I mean, it wasn't the worst thing I could think to do, but it seemed weird to pull someone in from another universe to play bug exterminator when things like the world ending were very real threats.

She shook her head. “No, that would negate their punishment if I sent you to kill them… though that would solve the problem of cockroach overpopulation.” I could practically hear her considering that option before she visibly swiped it aside. “No, bad Karma. That's a short-term solution, not a long one.”

Turning back to me, she explained. “As my Chosen, you'll give the scum of Nexus a choice. They'll either be turned into cockroaches or you will decide their fate.”

I…what?

This entire situation felt surreal, and the longer it stretched, the worse the feeling got. “You want me to find people and play judge, jury and executioner on them? I'm a doctor; I took an oath not to harm anyone!”

I'd been willing to make an exception for the thug, for Anna's sake, but to revolve my life around hunting down people like him?

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Karma laughed. “That oath is the first thing to go when you leave here. New life, new oath.” She shrugged. “And you don't have to kill anyone. Punishment is generally better if they’re alive, after all. What would you do to people like him,” she gestured toward the thug, “who hurt innocents for money or even just because? Think about it, with magic nearly anything is possible.”

Anything at all? Her method of turning them into cockroaches honestly seemed ideal, but if they were overrunning the world, then we'd need something different. Something that didn't directly result in me killing them.

Karma waved her hand, pulling me back to the present. “You can think about that later, kid. Focus on the now. If you accept, you'll be the Chosen of Karma. My instrument to find the root of this would-be apocalypse, and the hand that dolls out my punishment to the scum of Nexus. Do you want to make an oath or not?”

I didn't even have to think about it. Apocalypse or no, Anna was my top priority. And if I could save an entire planet afterward? Even better. I'd vowed to save lives, after all. This seemed right up my alley.

My determination solidified, and I nodded. “Yes. I accept the duties you described. As long as the people I'm hunting are scum like abusers and murderers, I'll happily bring down your punishment. As for retirement…we can discuss that after the apocalypse is diverted.”

She grinned again and reached out to cup my cheek. “Good, now let's get this show on the road, my Chosen. We'll talk more once you're on the plane between here and Nexus.”

The second the last syllable left her lips, the power pulsing around her changed direction, moving to twine around me like a blanket. It sank into my bones, wiping away the cold and dark as it went. Then, in a blink, she was gone.

The foreign power lingered, though, pulsing under my skin, nearly ripping it open from the raw force behind it. It was like a storm had been shoved under my skin and now it was clawing to get out.

It had to be the power she'd left for me. Which left just one thing to do. She said I would only be able to use it once, so I had to make it count.

I focused on the thug again, trying to channel this new ability into him as time started moving again. Whatever she'd done to keep us paused was wearing off; the clock was ticking again, and that thug couldn't leave this room.

He shifted, foot lifting to walk into the parking lot. I gathered the power and threw it toward him with all my might. Pain ripped through my nerve endings, as if the power had physically tore its way from my flesh, and I choked on a new wave of blood. Darkness crept inward again, looming like an ever present reminder of my death. I forced it away, needing to see for myself that the thug was truly not a threat.

Only then would I die.

A blast of light lashed out of me to hit him in the back, and he staggered, clutching at his chest. He went still, then fell face-first into the rough asphalt like a puppet with its strings cut.

Distantly, sirens cut through the air, and I sighed in relief. The police were on their way. Anna would be safe now, and once she told them about Gerald, there would be no more threats to her life. With her safe, there was nothing left for me here.

Now, I could rest. Whatever happened in my new life, I could leave this one happy knowing I'd saved her.

And by the sound of it, I'd be saving quite a few more in the next life as well. That thought gave me the final push I needed to let go. The world around me faded away until finally, I knew nothing.