40 Back in heaven

Beth looked around with a heavy heart. The place looked exactly like she had remembered it. The same dusty streets and the busy slaves running about their busy days were welcoming her all over again with cold shoulders. Her eyes searched the busy crowd ahead longingly for a busybody that would never walk those streets again. 

Most of the slaves and servants paused to take a look at her, their eyes widening and their mouths getting busy, whispering in awe to each other. She hated the attention, but more than that, she hated the fact that no one seemed to have even a trace of sadness in their eyes. Had they even noticed that two slaves were missing from among them? She wondered, disgust building up in her heart towards them.

She looked at the sheet of paper in her hand. Once again, she was back in the lower town as if she had just arrived from getting her judgement from the gate. On the top right of the paper was a photo of her, and her details were written beneath it. She was now number One Twenty-Three. Twenty-three had died, or rather, had been murdered by gods. Thanks to the system, she got herself a new life. 

"Where is your mind, girl?" A familiar voice asked from beside her.

Beth turned to her right with wide eyes. Fear and anger boiled inside her as she stared into those cold eyes. She knew that this moment would come when she would have to look the enemy in the eye. She wanted to cry- to scream and claw the woman's eyes out. But for her own good, she knew that she'd have to lay low until she found a stable life here- somewhere where they would not reach her easily. Beth shook her head, clearing her thoughts. 

"Uhh, I-"

Before she could say anything, One snatched the sheet right out of her hand. The woman's uninterested gaze scanned over her information quickly. 

"These newcomers get more annoying by the day." Beth heard her murmur under her breath.

Beth couldn't help but smile at the statement. The minor god was ignorant of who was standing right in front of her. She wanted to see the woman's reaction when she revealed who she was. If she were to make the right moves, she'd be able to bring the cold woman to her knees, crawling to her as she begged for mercy. 

"Is there something funny?" One asked, looking up from the paper. 

Beth quickly shook her head. "Uhh..no." She said nervously.

One narrowed her eyes at her as if she was suspecting something. Beth took a step back in fear. The woman intimidated her more than she would admit to herself. One was heartless and cold, doing anything she could do in her power to make sure that the power balance did not tip to the other side. 

Beth suppressed a shiver as she remembered the pain of the sword tearing through her flesh. She had died once for being a fool. This time she was going to make sure that she had no weaknesses or soft spots, she thought as she followed the minor god through the familiar winding streets. The woman tended to look back once in a while at her, absorbed in her thoughts.

Coming to a stop in front of a small room in the servant's quarters, the minor god turned to her with a curious expression. She opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it on second thought. 

Pointing to the door, she said, "You will settle down immediately in that room. Get familiar with the surroundings but do not go beyond the bridge in the northern part of the town. Try to keep yourself clean until you're selected for a job."

Beth nodded. She had gone through this process once before. She didn't need another briefing on the dos and don'ts of the lower town. She wanted the woman to leave. It was hard, keeping her calm in front of her when all she wanted to do was hide. The trauma from that day had kept her awake at night yesterday. 

She had delayed coming to heaven for a night, begging the system to keep her inside for at least a few hours before she had to face the music. The system had ensured her that all her previous data had been erased from heaven and new data put into the servers. But it still bothered her. What if someone recognized her despite all of that? She'd be killed on the spot and once again, no one would notice her absence. 

Taking a deep breath, she extended her hand towards the minor god and asked, "Can I have that back?"

"Hmm?" One asked, raising one brow in question.

"The paper." Beth pointed out, her voice coming out too weak. 

The minor god cocked her head to one side as she extended the sheet towards her. "Why do you look so familiar?" She asked, almost to herself.

Beth's heart dropped at the question. She licked her lips nervously as she quickly took the paper from the woman's hand. "Heh." She said, trying to cover her shaky voice with an awkward laugh. "Someone at the gate said the same."

She clutched the paper to her chest and kept her gaze low. Beth knew that anyone could see through her lies if she were to look them in the eye. She was a bad liar, though not as bad as Fifty-eight once was. The thought of the girl sent a pang of guilt through her heart. She had once been her only companion, though unwelcome at first. And now she was gone forever.

"Whatever." She heard the minor god say as she turned away from her. "Make sure that you keep this safe. It would be handed over to the god you'd be assigned to. Lose it, and you'll lose the opportunity to get out of this part of the town."