Year 2025, the world called Earth shattered and finally ceases to exist. Moreover, its world population of approximately 8 billion are now stranded and creating a great stampede on Spirit World.
"Humans, even in spirit form are utterly chaotic!"
A handsome youth, bearing a majestic and dignified presence exclaimed.
At a glance, he resembled a human but after a careful inspection, you'll notice a golden halo swirling at the crown of his head, a noticeable difference in coloration of the iris, one dark red eye and one light gold eye, skin white beyond normal on par with milk and an almost translucent pair of wings stuck at his back.
"Please, bear with them Great Spirit King for they are truly pitiable."
Said by a young woman on his side that can only be describes in one word a 'goddess'.
She is the chief assistant of the Great Spirit King and been with him since the creation of time. They were, created simultaneously and she was, intended to be his aide. If there is one person who knows all the dirt about the Great Spirit King, it will be no other than her.
"The seed that the outsider who landed on Earth 250 years ago planted can be called as the root cause of its demise. Those mongrels were even exalted in high by humans. Branded as the family of ultimate geniuses and believes to be the one who will change humanity’s history. Reigning above all, for they are blessed with thousands times superior genes than the normal human-"
*Coughs*
The woman's words were, cut short by the sudden exaggerated cough coming from the Great Spirit King.
"Stop dwelling on the past woman!"
She stifles a giggle upon hearing this.
It was no secret on the higher realm worlds that the ruler of Spirit World the Great Spirit King possessed a baffling hobby of world hopping. Sometimes, even leaving seeds in its wake.
However, the Spirit King is akin to a turtle possessing no parental instinct. Digs a nest, lays egg, and heads out. Leaving the mother and the little one to fend for themselves.
And, it just happened, that this one certain seedling's descendant on earth accidentally detonated one of its creation, causing Earth's combustion and a human genocide in the process. Which is truly ironic, such occurrence has not just changed human history. Earth, is really now a history!
"Achoo"
A frail flower boy looking young adult sneezed as he continued to remain still rubbing both his eyes and nose as he double check if he is in dreamland.
Just as he arrived in this mystical place gradually opening his eyes and his sight slowly adjusting he was faced with a surreal scene of a massive crushed of human crowd stumbling down unceasingly like a domino. Well, they cannot really be called human, more like a bunch of genies floating around for they do not have feet.
His mouth remained open as he studied his surroundings carefully, he noticed a signboard floating in the corner where the stampede occur saying ‘Purgatory’ the stampede is still on going by the way. Retracting his gaze he glance at the people around him, he recognized some familiar forms, a certain country’s president and on the other side are bunches of well-known celebrities and some well-established rich individuals, their conversations ringing in his ears.
“What happened? Did those terrorist finally gathered up the guts to raise war against our country, humph, they won’t get out unscathed!”
“Please, appease your anger Mr. President and I seemed to saw the Leader of the terrorist’s group right over there.”
“What, they finally went out in the open, summon the generals we are going to beat up, I meant enforce the law to those law breaker!”
“Hey, where the hell is this place?”
“I don’t know and I’m having a major crisis in here I can’t refresh my Instagram. I cannot tweet either. Did my data run out?”
“What the hell is going on has anyone read about what just happened on their Facebook feeds yet?”
“I was in the middle of eating my cake. Nobody is allowed to waste cake!”
“Director, is this the new location where were going to shoot the next scenes?”
“No, my money I didn’t bring cash with me hopes there’s an atm around here.”
“I can hardly see around here why is this place so full of fog? So not Snapchat friendly place.”
“Look, those people in the stampede are standing up so they were not totally crushed, haha. Boy, aren’t they resilient!”
“Quiet!”
A roaring sound that feels like it comes from the sky was suddenly heard.
“You dead humans dare to cause havoc near the entrance of the Spirit World gate. Are you trying to commit blasphemy against our Great Spirit King?”
When they looked up, they stared at a giant Minotaur. The bull had scarlet bulging eyes with two large horns on the top. They shivered as they saw its body, half-human and half bull which is taller than the Eiffel tower.
The crowd cannot contain their surprise anymore as they starts to shout hysterically. No one can blame them for most if not all of them has not seen such a creature in real life. To be scared out of their wits is a normal response as no amount of sci-fi movies will prepare them for this scene… Extremely frightening.
“None of them appeared to have taken notice of our arrival.”
A slightly smaller Minotaur standing behind the previous one chortled. Then he waved his bulky hands to indicate silence.
“Greetings Earthlings, we are the checkers that are assigned to you. My name’s San and that is my twin younger brother Pedro,” he said pointing to the large bull.
“Apologies to my brother’s crusty manners we are new recruits and this is actually our first time handling a large amount of deaths and spirit forms so were a little giddy. However, worlds shattering and the catastrophe that befell on its dwellers are not uncommon. But what happened to you earthlings is truly fascinating.” He laughs wiping tears off the corners of his eyes.
“Genocide by neither invaders nor natural cause but by a single individual in which he has not even intended. Hehehe, shattering Earth, slaughtering all mortals without their knowledge and dying as well. Ending a whole realm by accident. Pitiful, sad and fascinating, haha.”
“That’s enough San, get to the point and be done with it!” The younger twin brother bull called Pedro scolded.
“Okay, okay, you little fellows form a single line and we’ll be checking and reviewing the karma merits rendered by each one of you before deciding and sending you out to your new places. You came from Earth that is one of the lowest world realms. Therefore, the choices that are available to you are also worlds of the same caliber. If you choose not to be reborn, you can also head to the three special world realms that is, if you have earned enough karma merits to enter in there you will be granted immortality. The Heaven World, the Hell World and the closest here, which is the Spirit World if you’re going to ask me which is the better choice of course it’s the Spirit World. It is also the easiest realm to enter out of the three that is because upon entering, we are task to be the delegates of the dead and it is where the road of life is located. Also as a person of Spirit World, we are, given the liberty to go in and out of the different low world realms haunting and scaring those living mortals out of their wits is one of our top favorite things to do.” He ended with a thunderous laugh.
Upon hearing, the words that the bull brothers just said cause the frail looking flower boy to shiver all over. It was as if an electrical bolt passed through Jan Faust’s brain. “Earth shattered?” This question keeps echoing on his head repeatedly as the shock gradually subsided and he sobered up.
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His vision grew blur as he thought back over to all that had happened during his previous experimentation.
As Jan Faust, he was constantly on heavy pressure being born on the world-renowned family of geniuses and scientists with a motto of ‘we will change human history’.
Devoting all his time studying doing research and creating inventions made him a young recluse. With a family where you barely meet with each other and if you did, all you’ll ever talked about was inventions and endeavors on ways to better human life isn’t really helping. Everyone is competition.
Added to the fact that the new generation’s intelligence quotient is on the decline, each IQ scores are lower than the previous. From generation to generation it keeps falling down at a steady rate indicating that genes that are pass along the off-springs are getting thinner and him belonging to the younger generation has to put more effort than the other in order to keep up. To make matters worse their family has longer life span than normal making life much harder.
Growing up Jan Faust showed the lowest aptitude out of the younger generation with the smallest contribution barely meeting the standard of the family. Having the last name Faust is like a synonym to researcher and inventor to the whole world so he had no other way around it unless he wants to be mock.
Being reprimanded every time for his lack of talent and he could not agree more. He just seemed to not have the knack for technological inventions. While his great, great grandfathers invented flying cars, virtual reality, cure for cancer and along with others.
Just weeks before his birth date as he was contemplating on his quarter-life crisis of not being fated to be a technological inventor and was on the verge of giving up as an inventor and researcher he suddenly had an epiphany.
He found out that there is a different type of energy contained hidden in the environment everywhere either in land, heaven or sea. He tried to collect that type of energies on each elements as much as he could find, mustering all his strength and knowledge to unceasingly analyze each of its atoms and molecules to reveal their corresponding usage.
All of it weren't in vain for all of his labor finally bear fruit as he found out that they weren't harmful to humans instead gave a different type of power boosting the human anatomy.
Finally, to commemorate his 25th birthday he decided to carry out his biggest discovery yet. By attempting to combine all of the energies into one entity everything was proceeding smoothly at first but then he wanted to make big and went on to proceed to a large scale experiment to see if there could be a bigger reaction.
“Experiment. Detonated. Earth. Shattered. Genocide. Death.”
As he organized his thought putting all the pieces together, it suddenly made sense. The little experiment he did on his birthday gave out a reaction more than he could ever expect. Surprising the life out of him, literally.
“I…I… am…dead?”
He mumbles softly to himself. Humanity’s egotistic behavior at its best or he just took after a certain someone with a golden halo, only caring about oneself. He just subconsciously neglected the fact that he also caused the death of more than 8 billion other humans in his head.
As he was engrossed in his recollections, he felt a force tugged behind him making him take giants steps forward. “Move you’re next.” Looking around he noticed that he was the only one left. “Yes you are last that means you’re the person who died last in Earth. Name?” Gazing in front, he saw a giant toenail.
“Talking toenail how entertaining.”
“Impertinent, would you like to be reborn as a worm? I can certainly grant you that wish. Huh, a multicolored pupil… Are you also an Earthling Faust?”
“Pardon me mister checker sir and yes I am Jan Faust.”
He answered nervously. Though he was bewildered at the bull’s questions ‘what multicolored pupil is he talking about’ The Faust’s scarlet red eyes are their distinct features and Jan is sure that his are not multicolored when he was still living that is.
He easily discarded that thought though because this seems to be the part where he is going to be evaluated and the biggest deciding factor of where and what he is going to be reincarnated.
“Gulp”
It suddenly dawned in him that he was the cause of the scorching of the Earth. He started sweating profusely and his breathing getting heavier by each moment passing.
“Strange, there seemed to be part at the bottom that was erased. Oh, well. It cannot be help if it is gone. Hmm, you contributed a lot on earth, these merits are enough to allow you to reincarnate randomly between the nine remaining lowest realms, those realms possessed no magical ability not like you’re not used to it right, haha.”
Jan Faust sighed audibly in relief after hearing the part ‘merits are enough’ and didn’t gave a thought to what was said after that.
“Will I be reborn as human?” He nervously asked.
“Yeah, these merit points entitled you to retain your race if you wish. Truth be told, as for the world that you will be reborn into will really be up to your soul force. With a higher soul force you will be pulled into a more formidable world but Earthlings belonging to the lowest realm world has low to almost non-existence soul force at all that is why we don’t usually bother to explain this part so don’t get your hopes up, okay?”
Moments later a bowl of soup appeared right in front of him.
“Drink, that soup is a soul cleanser it will erase all of your previous memories so you can be reborn with a clean slate.” The checker bull ordered. He cannot really tell who is in front of him. Being up close no matter how much he tilts his head up he just cannot see its head.
Bringing the bowl up his mouth tasting the sweet and refreshing soup in his tongue and as it passed through his throat a comfortable feeling spread along his body.
“Go, enter the gate.”
“Thank you, mister checker.” Jan Faust nods his head bidding goodbye to the bull. He took the time to check around the purgatory while heading to the gate with large words written ‘Spirit World Gate’.
At the entrance another bull, a much smaller bull, welcomed him. This one’s height is just a tenth of the previous two checkers he met upon arriving in the purgatory.
“Why is it another bull, they're practically like a lingering spirit that won't leave. Wait, am the one who’s a spirit here, hahaha” Jan Faust heartily laugh at his own inside joke as he neared the gate.
“You’re the last one of the batch. Follow me; I’ll lead you the way to the road of life.” This bull is also gentler than the other two and for some reason he looks at Jan Faust with pity like staring at a man on his last straw. He occasionally point and nicely introduce places to him like giving hope to a dying person not like Jan Faust can be deader than dead, as they head there way.
“We're finally here, go on that’s the road of life.” The smaller bull waved at him. Jan Faust smiled and bid him goodbye before entering the road of life.
“Another Faust quite a handful of them came this time it is a bit weird that they came from a lowly realm mostly they’re from mid-high tier realms and this one is quite special a multicolored pupil going by his age his genes should be mostly diluted and if I am not mistaken earthling can’t cultivate I wonder how he managed to do it. Sigh, poor souls I wonder if the Great Spirit King ever thought of them.”
Jan Faust faintly heard the bull sighed before he is suck into the vortex.