He opened his eyes to a waiting room, a sterile beige office space with uncomfortable chairs and a popcorn ceiling. He had fallen asleep in one of the chairs, his head aching where it had rested against the wall, and he blinked a few times, trying to orient himself. There was a man standing a few feet away from him, staring at him expectantly, and Jay rose to his feet, limbs still stiff from however long he had been napping. The man was dressed like an office worker; button up white shirt tucked into creased black pants with nice leather shoes to complete the look. He held a clipboard and checked it again as Jay tried to form a coherent thought. When he failed, the man spoke again, his voice soft but authoritative, loud in the silence of the waiting area.
“Jacob Holtz?”
Jay nodded, rubbing his eyes, and yawned so hard that he felt his jaw crack. The man looked mildly amused, but only gestured for Jay to follow him, turning towards a door on the far wall that must have been where he had come from. The hallway beyond the door had the same generic look as the waiting room, stretching off into the distance with doors to the left and the right every ten feet or so. The man set off down the hall with Jay trailing behind, the carpet beneath them muffling the sound of their footsteps.
The two of them walked together in silence while Jay tried to jumpstart his unhelpful brain. He couldn’t remember why he was here, or even where here was; this wasn’t his normal doctor’s office, or his dentist, or even the endocrinologist he had been to a couple of times. He checked his pockets, alarmed to find that they were all empty; had he left his wallet and phone in the car? Damn, what is wrong with me today? Whatever, if I need them I can go get them, I guess. No point making this guy wait.
The man stopped abruptly at one of the unmarked doors, and Jay almost ran into him. While he apologized, the man waved him off and opened the door, shepherding Jay inside before closing it behind them.
The office fit the vibe of the rest of the building; thin gray carpeting, popcorn ceiling, no windows, brightly lit by a buzzing fluorescent light. There was a single empty desk in the middle of the room, where the man took his seat, and he gestured for Jay to sit in the only other chair, directly across from him. He only had to take one step to reach the chair (which was identical to the ones in the waiting room), his fingers drumming nervously on the armrests. When they were both seated, the man nodded in satisfaction, steepling his fingers together and staring over them at Jay intently.
“Jacob, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you are dead. You died of a brain aneurysm while on your way to work this morning.”
Jay stared at him. He stared back. This went on for a good thirty seconds before Jay said, “I’m… talking to you, though. I’m sitting in this chair and breathing. I’m dead? Did you mean someone that I know?” He was a little embarrassed for the man, but he had made worse verbal slip ups in his life, so whatever.
The man did not laugh and did not apologize. He shook his head once and said gently, “No, Jacob. I meant you. You collapsed at a gas station not far from your house at 7:14 this morning. There was nothing anyone could do; even if you had been in a hospital, you would have died just the same. I’m very sorry.”
A million thoughts and feelings rose up inside of Jay, and it was difficult to separate one from the other to express all the emotions he felt at this statement. He wanted to say dude this is insane, where are the cameras, you really got me but now it’s time to fess up. No one who’s dead has to be told that they’re dead, it’s a stupid thing to say, now tell me the punchline to this shitty joke so that I can get out of here. What came out of his mouth was: “I… where am I, then? Who are you? What—is this hell or something?”
This expertly crafted counter argument did not have the effect that he intended. The man shook his head again, never taking his eyes off Jay, and spoke in that same gentle voice. “This is not hell, nor is it meant to be one. I am what is called an Accruer, someone whose job it is to take souls that have very little value and grow them into valuable assets. Your soul, I’m sorry to say, was not able to grow anywhere near its full potential. I have been assigned your case to rectify that. This office is a way for me to talk to you in a place that feels familiar, so that we can be productive in our conversation. Now, if you’ll let me, I’ll talk to you about your options, and we can get you squared away before I send you off again.”
The absurdity of each successive statement hit Jay like buckets of water to the face. By the last one, he was so lost that he couldn’t do anything but nod dumbly. When he did, the man finally broke eye contact and consulted his clipboard, pulling two sheets of paper from it and setting them at the edge of the desk, facing Jay. “Excellent. I believe that there’s a term for what is going to happen when you leave this office; have you ever heard of a genre known as isekai?”
He looked expectantly at Jay, who could only nod. “Good, good. I have two worlds that I think would be a good fit for you, but I wanted you to have the final say. Now, one of them is—”
Something finally clicked in Jay’s brain, and the wheels in there started turning. He stood up, blurting, “Hey, wait a minute. Whatever weird joke this is has gone on a little long, right? You’re a really good actor, but I think you can drop it now. People getting isekai’ed, that’s—that’s just fiction, not something that actually happens. I think… I think I want to leave now.” He glanced towards the door but was shocked to see that it had no handle or hinges; it was a solid rectangle of wood set into the wall, more of a concept of a door than an actual object. He took a step towards it, determined to knock it down or pry it open or something. That same gentle voice stopped him, and when he looked towards the man again, his face was filled with something like pity.
“Jacob, I can promise you that this is not a joke. If this was real, if I’m just acting, then how did you get here? Where are you right now? Try and think back: what was your last memory before this place?”
Jay paused, the man’s words hitting home. What was the last thing that he remembered?
The sky was bluish white, the color it got when the cold became almost unbearable. Jay’s breath clouded in front of him as he carefully picked his way across the parking lot to avoid the ice, intent on grabbing a candy bar and a bag of chips before work. He had forgotten to eat breakfast, and his stomach rumbled; he muttered, “Yeah yeah, I know, give me a second,” reaching for the door handle to the Quik Trip, and then… and then…
He sucked in a shaky breath, sitting down hard in the chair. There was nothing after that. He had been on his way to work, had stopped by the gas station, just like the man had said, and then… he had an aneurysm?
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Was he really dead? Was this the afterlife?
The look on his face only served to make the man across from him more sympathetic. “If it’s any consolation, Jacob, it was painless and instant. The fact that you weren’t driving at the time means that no one else was hurt. All in all, it’s not the worst death a man could have.”
Jay put his head into his hands, laughing in a way that could turn into a sob at any moment. “God dammit. I didn’t even make it to my thirtieth birthday.”
The man cleared his throat. “While unfortunate, your sudden death does not mean the end of your life. On the contrary, it’s just beginning. Either of the two options I’ve prepared for you will provide you with ample opportunity. Take a moment and look them over, and I’ll answer any questions you have about them.” He gestured to the pieces of paper in front of Jay, both containing only a few bullet points and a picture at the top.
Jay took a deep, deep breath. The sudden shock of realizing that he had died was fading, and all that was left was numb acceptance. He thought about his mom and dad, who lived only a few hours away from him; they would be distraught at the news of his death. His friends would worry when they didn’t hear from him, but a couple of them knew his real name, so they would probably learn what happened eventually. He didn’t have any animals at home, which was the only good thing about this entire situation. He let the breath out, closing his eyes for a moment, and forced himself to push all thoughts of home to the back of his mind. The Accruer was giving him a chance at a new life, one that he said would help him ‘grow his potential’, whatever that meant. More simply, he had given Jay a choice; he had to make sure that he chose correctly.
The paper on the left had an image of a blue planet with rings like Saturn, in front of which was… an airplane? No, Jay realized, it was an old-timey spaceship with its nose pointed straight up, belly facing him, wings to either side. The ship was golden and stood in stark contrast to the planet behind it. The bullet points were typed in a font that reminded him of 50’s and 60’s science fiction.
- A world full of science, engineering, and hard logic; no magic to be found here!
- Spaceships, unexplored planets, alien races, and endless opportunities for advancement in any way you choose!
- Applicants must be prepared to: fight in zero gravity, learn another language (or two or three), figure out a lot of science jargon, and be ready for anything that the great wide universe has to offer!
- DO NOT APPLY if you are scared of: the endless black void of space, heights, rollercoasters, being shot by bullets/plasma/whatever else gets thrown into a gun here, or radiation sickness.
Jay read the bullet points with rising alarm, looking up at the Accruer the moment he was done in protest. “I’m scared of heights and rollercoasters, and I really don’t like the idea of being shot at. Is the other one like this too?”
The Accruer shook his head, gesturing for the paper in Jay’s hands, which he gave up with no small amount of relief. “No, they’re completely different genres. I apologize, Jacob; you read a lot of science fiction during your life, I thought it might be something that you were interested in. In that case, I feel like this second one is a bit more your speed.” He gestured towards the remaining paper, which Jay picked up with caution. This one’s picture was a green shield, upon which a wand and a sword were crossed, both embossed in silver. The bullet points were written in something that reminded Jay of Medieval Times and the one singular Renfaire he had been to.
- Magic, alchemy, and grand adventures await! Science is secondary here; why fuss over mechanisms when you have dragons?
- Explore forgotten ruins, dangerous new lands, and be ready to encounter creatures both big and small who can be your friends… or enemies!
- Applicants must be prepared to: enjoy nature, ride a variety of mounts, and be ready for whatever the wild and unpredictable world of magic has to offer!
- DO NOT APPLY if you are scared of: horses (no, really, there are a LOT of horses), dirt, open flames, swords and knives, or skeletons (not necessarily human!).
This one was… marginally better. Jay wasn’t afraid of horses, and he had never had an aversion to dirt or fire. The swords and skeletons were a little concerning, but not deal breakers. He nodded, looking up from the paper. “Yeah, this seems a lot more my speed. Is, uh… is there anything that’s more slice of life, or are these my two options?”
The Accruer reached for the paper in Jay’s hand, which he gave up without a fight. It sat between them on the desk, silver highlights gleaming in the light. “Unfortunately, you are part of the subset of souls who need to grow, and growing requires challenge and sometimes hardship. Picture a seedling who is to be transplanted into a pot and grown indoors versus one who is planted outside to endure the trials of nature. The plant in the pot will grow… but only as big as the pot allows. The plant outside, however, is free to grow as large as it can. You, Jacob Holtz, are not a potted plant. You have the ability to grow into something bigger than you could ever dream, if you’re willing to do what it takes to get there. I think that you have it in you. Do you agree?”
He looked at Jay with something like pride, and Jay awkwardly nodded to get him to continue. “Excellent. Now, before we part, I have a little more information to give to you. Do you have any questions beforehand?”
Jay hesitated, looking down at the paper between them. “Why does my soul need to grow? Is it some kind of ‘prove yourself worthy’ thing?”
The Accruer smiled, and this time his eyes went funny for a second in a way that Jay didn’t like at all. Cold, like they had just iced over. But a moment later he was back to normal, sliding the paper towards him to put back on his clipboard. “Just asking that question leaves me in no doubt that the investment in you was a smart one. The answer is that that topic is outside of the scope of our conversation, and not something you need to concern yourself with. No more questions, hm? I’ll give you a rundown of what to expect.” He stood, counting off on his fingers as he spoke, and Jacob stood with him, listening intently.
“One. Upon your arrival in this new life of yours, you will receive a mark on the inside of your left arm that will serve as your identification—that is, it will prove that you’re an Outsider, a title which will earn you respect and fear alike. Make sure to use that leverage to your advantage, as in the beginning it will be all that you have. Two. Upon your arrival, you will gain access to our version of the System, which will enable you to progress much more quickly than if you were without it. You’ve played video games before; you’ll learn the ins and outs of it faster than if I tried to explain.
“Lastly, and most imperatively, remember that you are the most important thing in your new life. If you must choose between yourself and someone else, make sure that you choose yourself; it won’t do you any good to die prematurely a second time. And now, my dear Jacob, this is where we part.” The Accruer gestured towards the door, which had miraculously grown hinges and a handle, and Jay looked between it and the other man, confusion growing.
“That… that’s it? What about the world I’m going to be joining, what is it like? I don’t know anything about it other than the fact it has magic. Shouldn’t you tell me at least a little about it?”
The man sighed. “Remember my metaphor about the plants? This is one of the things that comes with being a freely rooted seedling. I have put you into the dirt and watered you one last time; now, everything else is up to you.” He gestured towards the door again, nodding when Jay took a hesitant step towards it. “Excellent. I wish you the best of luck, Jacob. I have a feeling we will be seeing each other again in much better conditions.”
Swallowing his million questions, Jacob Holtz turned the door handle and hesitated for only a moment before stepping into his second life.