The Judgment

"Wait a minute… why does this truck have no driver-"

A 23 year old man was in the middle of an empty street, a fog surrounding his view, making him unable to see anything past the five meters mark.

It was already weird enough he hadn't met a singular person in around ten minutes, even though he was on a friday night, but what the hell was happening?

He had just come back from his overtime at his job as a professionnal accountant, but the moment he tried to traverse a seemingly empty road…

A truck came rushing his way, almost as if it was waiting for him in the shadows.

"…" the man wasn't dumb, after all he had read many novels and mangas, but he couldn't let that slide.

He had just been hired to his job three months ago, and he refused to die and let all those hours go to waste.

So… he jumped to his left at the last moment, essentially avoiding the truck right as it was about to kill him.

"Phew~" He wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Nice try, you fucking asshole-"

But right as he turned back his head to see if everything was fine…

Another truck came rushing from the opposite direction, yet again with no driver behind the wheel.

"Yeah okay," this time he didn't even bother to avoid it as it was way too close.

~SLAM~

He was hit in full force by the mysterious driverless truck, and immediately died upon impact with the vehicle.

And just as predicted, almost as if some weird magic was taking place, the two trucks evaporated right after.

They had done their job after all…

***

(In an unknown space)

A mysterious and powerful being was looking at the sky, lost in thoughts.

'When will they arrive…' he was getting impatient, 'I sent those two to catch him, but they're taking longer than expected…'

Just as the being was about to give up hope and go check for himself, a bright light appeared in the distance. The light grew stronger and stronger until a figure emerged from within it.

"Oh," the figure smiled as it saw the body of the accountant emerge from the rift and fall on the ground as he was unconscious.

"What took you so long?" it spoke, not to the sleeping man, but to the two figures that were behind him.

They were covered in white, and their eyes completely dark, their appearance was grotesque and a pair of white wings emerged from their backs, as well as pure black horns from the top of their heads.

"He somehow managed to avoid us once…" they both kneeled.

The two creatures were the drivers of the trucks, also called the 'ascenders' as they were tasked with sending potential individuals to this space, where they would be judged either worthy or unworthy of transmigrating.

"Very well," Rher sat back on his giant throne, his physical appearance was extremely large, and a single one of his fingers would be enough to crush a hundred humans, "Bring him here, as the judgment shall begin."

The two white creatures got up before bowing to their god, then one of them touched the accountant's forehead, a golden light emerging from its palm.

"It is done," they informed Rher before disappearing yet again, off to continue their work.

After a few seconds, the man slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a strange and ethereal realm.

He sat up, looking around in confusion at the surreal landscape surrounding him.

"You are in my dimension," Rher's voice echoed in his ears as he regained consciousness.

As he slowly stood up, he took in the surreal surroundings of this new dimension.

The sky was a vibrant shade of purple, unlike anything he had ever seen before. The horizon seemed endless, stretching on and on into the unknown.

And beneath their feet, the ground was solid yet ethereal, like a floating asteroid suspended in space.

But what truly captured his attention were the countless other rock islands that dotted the landscape.

They varied in size and shape, some resembling jagged peaks while others were smooth and round. Yet all of them shared one common trait - they too were floating in this bizarre dimension.

Beneath his feet lay one of the many 'islands' that dotted the vast expanse of this dimension.

But this particular island was the largest, capable of holding not only Rher, but also his massive throne and still leaving plenty of room to spare.

"Human, the judgment shall begin," The being known as Rher smiled, his entire figure concealed by a dark cloak.

The only visible features were his piercing yellow eyes, staring intently at the human before them, and his impossibly wide grin.

As he leaned back on his throne, Rher's arms rested casually on the edges, showcasing his long, slender fingers adorned with sharp purple nails.

It was clear to the man that whatever was about to happen was anything but good.

"Judgment?" he repeated, staring back at the God.

"Ohoh~ You don't seem too afraid, I like it!" Rher laughed, "Let's just roll in the tutorial!"

"Tutorial? What is that-"

In an instant, three panels appeared before him, each displaying a crudely drawn image and accompanying text.

The drawings looked as though they were sketched by a child, yet somehow held a strange air of otherworldliness.

"…" he didn't even feel the need to question whatever was happening, so he started reading.

[Welcome to the 'Judgment']

[In this space, many people get judged by the God of Fate, Rher, and only those who are deemed fit can pass on to the next world]

Below that was a drawing of Rher sitting on his throne, and of a normal person with the text 'You' above.

'Who even drew this, these are basically stickman figures…'

[Those who are deemed unfit are sent to the void]

The drawing this time showed the same 'you' falling into the void, which was a dark sphere resembling a black hole, all the while getting zapped by Rher.

[Amount of people that have passed the judgment yet: 0]

The third and final image showed a big 0 with Rher around it, a sad expression on his face.

'Don't act like you're sad, it's your fucking fault,' he groaned.

The man finished reading the 'tutorial', then looked back at the god, who seemed proud of himself for drawing that.

"So let me get this straight," the accountant sighed.

"Yes, do ask."

"You ripped me from my original world, and unfairly killed me just to bring me here? And now I have a 99.99% chance of dying or being sent to some unknown void?" he held his forehead, unable to comprehend how ridiculous that situation was.

Rher looked at him for a second before speaking, "Um… yeah, pretty much."

"…"

"…"

The two looked at one another, and so without hesitation, the man pointed his arms at Rher and gave him the middle finger.

"Fuck you," he spoke, an annoyed expression on his face.

"How violent!"

Rher blinked, surprised by the man's boldness. No one had ever dared to speak to him in such a manner before. But instead of getting angry, a wide grin spread across Rher's face, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

"So what now?" the black-haired man continued, "Am I doomed to be judged by some random criteria I'll never know?"

"Human, this test is to make sure that you have your place in this world, it is much harder than you think…" Rher tried to justify himself.

"Who cares, this world probably sucks anyway!"

"Hey, my world doesn't suck-"

"Nuh uh," he made a 'no' gesture with his hand.

"…"

And yet again, the two stared at one another.

"You are extremely stubborn," Rher went back to smiling, "But I like you!"

"So when does the judgment end?"

"Oh..." Suddenly, Rher's pupils began to glow with a golden aura, and the surrounding air seemed to shimmer, "But it has already ended..."

A blinding light enveloped the man, causing him to shield his eyes with his arm.

And when it faded, there was a massive hole in the ground in the middle of the previously flat island in front of him, seemingly dug through the solid rock.

The man cautiously took a few steps closer to the edge, peering down into the darkness below.

"Am I supposed to jump?" he asked with the most blank of expressions, pointing at the hole, sure that he failed.

"Uh? No! You passed!" Rher laughed again, he really enjoyed that man's personality.

His laughter echoed off the surrounding cliffs as he gestured towards the hole, revealing a hidden staircase leading down into the depths below.

"You are the first and only person who will be allowed to pass, good luck, and don't disappoint me!"

The man stared down into the depths of the staircases, and once he looked back up, there was no trace of Rher anymore, even the throne had disappeared.

'Quit trying to act mysterious,' he groaned as he began descending.

[Amount of people that have passed the judgment yet: 0->1]

He was descending the stairs, and the more he went on, the more dark and obscure the aura in his surroundings became.

And when he reached the last step before entering a black portal in front of him, a panel appeared.

[Congratulations, someone actually managed to convince Rher, making you the one and only transmigrator of this world!]

'Does this mean i'm getting a system and becoming op in the other world?' the man questioned, having read his fair share of isekai media himself, he always knew it was something the protagonists of these worlds acquired to help them on their journey.

[Lol, no]

And just like that, an unknown force pushed him inside the portal, plunging him into darkness and silence. The sensation was dizzying, disorienting, as if he was hurtling through space and time.

And after what felt like hours, days, weeks, months, years…

He opened his eyes.