Charles took a big breath in and a big breath out. He watched as ephemeral mist left his mouth and slowly faded into nothingness. He slowly brought his hand up and looked through it, observing as it shimmered and sparkled, making it seem as if everything he saw through it was covered in glitter. He looked down at his body in much the same condition. And he looked at the 2002 Honda Accord that was smashing his body into the pavement. The body that he was very much not inside right now. Today was not his day. Next to him, a woman's voice sighed. He continued to stare at his misfortune.

"It really is a grisly way to go, isn't it?" the woman stated calmly. She seemed to be staring as well. Charlie unnecessarily cleared his voice before responding. It was a bad habit of his.

"I fucking told Dick the lift was gonna fail one of these days. I fuckin told him, and he didn't care. He didn't care one bit. Asshole."

Silence. It seemed to Charlie that the woman was regarding him now. This happened to him a lot. He was frequently told that he was much nicer to talk to when he kept his mouth shut. He didn't care, of course. He'd been through too much shit to care about what people thought of how he talked.

"Quite vulgar, aren't we?" the woman asked with a hint of disdain. Charlie ignored her and continued his rant.

"It sweetens my sour soul that he'll get in trouble for this. He won't get out of it this time, that douche. Dick was an asshole, y'know? Only cared about himself. Dunno why I put up with him for so long. Pretty clearly led to my demise, that's for fuckin sure." He felt her staring at him again.

"Sour too..." she whispered to herself.

"Yup," Charlie responded. "I'm sour, too." He sat silently with the woman for a bit longer before finally sighing and looking up towards the woman. For the first time since whatever this was, he felt shock. The woman was utterly transparent, almost not even visible. She was stark white, with hair that flowed out beyond sight. And she was beautiful. She had high cheekbones, a slim face, and a body wholly buried in robes and blankets. Her eyes, too. They were the only part of her with any color, and they were violet. She was nothing like what Charlie imagined Death to be like. And so he said as much.

"I thought you would be, I dunno, darker. And menacing. And evil." Mirth showed on the woman's face, though it didn't seem to reach her eyes.

"You thought I was Death." She stated.

"Yes, in fact, I did." He stated back. They stared at each other for a bit, an uncomfortable silence between them. "Sooooo..." He drawled. "When do you take me to hell?"

The woman blinked several times in quick succession, mild surprise showing on her features.

"You believe you are going to hell? Why?". The woman seemed perplexed. Charlie considered for a moment before responding.

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"Well, yeah. I do. I haven't really done much good in my life, have I? Kinda just sat around for most of it."

"That's not how I see it." She responded, "You threw away your dreams, dreams within arms' reach even, just to help a single individual—an individual who died soon after, no less. I'd say, in fact, that you were an unsung hero! Someone who threw away their life for someone else's sake! Are you not someone to be celebrated?"

Charlie then considered this for a moment. "Nah. I'm no hero. I'm just a guy. Anybody would've done what I did in my shoes."

The woman smiled, and her joy showed in her eyes this time. She stared at him for a few seconds more before turning away and looking back at that damned Honda. Then, she spoke.

"I am not Death. And I am no god of yours. I am not even of this realm. I have come here looking for a hero. A hero I have searched long and hard for. A hero that I think I have found. Charles D. McKnight, I believe you are the hero I have been searching for. Will you be my hero, Charles?"

Charlie stared at the woman beside him and frowned, nice and big. Confusedly, he asked, "What... do you mean by that?" The woman took her turn to frown now.

"I'd like you to save my world, Charles. I believe you have what it takes to save my world. I believe that with some assistance, you may be able to save my world from the oncoming disaster it now faces." She now looked back up at Charlie with those piercing violet eyes. "Will you be my hero, Charles?"

Charlie paused now, and he thought. Did he want to be a hero? Apparently, it was an option now that he was dead. Did everybody receive this offer, or was it just him? He was going to need more information.

"Alright, here's the deal. First of all, I don't know who you are. Second of all, I don't know where I'm going. Third of all, I don't know what it is I'm gonna be dealing with. Finally, what do I get out of this? You gotta understand; it seems to me like you're asking me to save a whole planet, which is, in fact, crazy. Overall, I'm gonna need more information."

The woman was taken aback. She seemed to find her center as if frazzled by his statement.

"Of course!" she said."Information is key after all, is it not? My name is Aleph Bo Topai, and I am an Archangel. I will be considered your sponsoring Archangel. You may call me Aleph. You will be transported to the planet Teardawn in the 57th realm, along with nine other individuals from nine other realms. I do not know what disaster awaits you, as It is not in my nature to know the future. That is in the purview of the Oracle of the Gods. You will be rewarded with a single wish upon diverting the coming disaster. Within the realm, you will be given an ability of your choosing to assist you with-"

"I want to make robots." Charlie interrupted in no time. "If you give me the ability to create robots, I will immediately agree. I do not care what my goal is, I do not care how hard it will be, and I do not care about the reward. I just. Want. Robots."

Aleph was completely caught off guard. She appeared completely out of sorts because of Charles's interruption. Even so, she regarded him.

"A-are you sure? This is a big decision. A huge one, even. Are you sure you want to decide this flippantly?"

Charlie did not even consider it. "Yes," he stated, and he stared into her eyes, long and deep. Aleph stared back for a hearty length of time before smiling and nodding her head.

"Very well, oh Master Mechanist. You shall have as you desire. You shall become the only Mechanist in all the lands of Teardawn. You need only take my hand, and you shall be taken to your new destiny."

And so, she held out her hand for Charlie to take. And he took it, with all the gusto of a small child, living their dreams. With that, the two disappeared, beginning the story of Charles D. McKnight.