Prologue

Have you ever heard of a black company?

Well… imagine the most monotonous and annoying desk job. That right there is my job that I go to on a daily basis.

My life isn't exactly fulfilling in any way, but I'm at least grateful that I'm still alive… for now.

I had my boss of 2 years come up to me today with a box in his arms, filled to the brim with contracts and paperwork for me to sign and fill out.

I hate doing this kind of stuff, but every single time I think about quitting. I always get pulled right back in with their sweet words, falsely praising me as one of their best employees.

Working under others with no free will. Just large company heads with their brains stuffed so far up their asses that they always fail to see what is right for the company.

Sure, life is hard, but I need the money. If I could, I would just shrivel up into a ball and die. What's the point of living a life that you can't even enjoy?

But I can't just get up and leave everything behind. I have to think about the family I'm leaving behind. My father, my mother, and my younger sister. They know the circumstances I'm in and have tried to help, but our feet are still deep in debt.

Two years back, my father had made a promise with a friend of his and they both opened a restaurant. But after 3 months, my father lost almost everything in a fire and his friend abandoned him, leaving him to repair it on his own.

Forced to take on loans to keep our family afloat, It got to the point at which my father's restaurant was still in repair and was seized. Both of us had to start working low paying jobs with high hours to pay back the debt each month.

Now here I am. Walking home at 3 in the morning with no sleep. My eyes are so worn out from working all day that I can barely even see what's in front of me as I make my way home.

It was a common occurrence for me to walk home at least 3 times a week.

I opened the door to my apartment and found my younger sister sitting by the door asleep.

'She was waiting for me…'

Can't say I didn't feel guilty. I promised to make her favorite dish tonight for her birthday, but I completely forgot about it as the night went on.

I lifted her up and laid her in bed.

"I'll make it tomorrow, I promise." I Whispered to her before heading out of the room.

I grabbed a cold beer from the fridge and sat out on the porch to take in the night air. It made falling asleep easier for me.

Our apartment is 6 floors from the ground floor. I could easily just end it right here and now. Suicide was a common theme among my co-workers, some suckers just didn't have the will power to do it.

I would call myself out and say I'm one of them… but a simple jump could change all of that.

I stood atop the railing. I could easily fall here and die. Would I come back? Would I never see the light of day ever again?

Questions appeared in my mind, but I couldn't make a decision. Then… I thought of my promise. My sister… mother, father. I couldn't leave them like this.

Could they accept my selfishness just this once?

"Honey..." An old memory came to mind. I hesitated for a moment and looked downwards. There was a clear drop, it could end my life if I just took one step, but I stopped. I got myself off the railing and stood on the porch like and idiot.

'Why am I like this?' I grabbed my face in embarrassment.

*Shine*

I looked up to the starlit sky. Bright lights filled the sky, almost like falling suns. A single light in my field of view kept getting bigger. It shined the brightest out of all the stars in the sky.

'Is it... getting closer?'

The light wouldn't stop getting bigger and brighter. With each passing second, I was starting to realize what was about to happen. A glowing ball of flame, it wasn't some falling star. Not something like our sun that shined brightly in the sky.

It was a meteorite and they weren't shrinking in size. Around my home, several large meteorites crashed into homes and completely demolished surrounding apartment complexes.

"What the hell…"

I then looked back up at the bright light in the sky. It wasn't hard to tell, that thing was coming right for us.

I wouldn't survive something of that size, it would completely destroy the entire apartment. But why should I worry about something like that? I've been wishing for death almost everyday I worked at that company.

I finally realized now why I chose to never kill myself. My entire life, I was always given a responsibility that I couldn't escape. All this time, I've just been looking for some silly excuse to end my miserable existence.

I ran back into my sister's room. Just for one last goodbye, before the torture of living life would end. But all I was able to do was grab her in my arms as the meteorite crashed down and ended my useless life.

-

I was glad. Everything, from my responsibilities to my relationships was gone. I wouldn't have to worry about the thought of waking up every morning and feeling tired as I forced myself to go to work.

'Wait… how am I still able to think? Did I not die?! Or.... is this that reincarnation thing that's popular in light novels nowadays?'

A bright light cut off my train of thought as I opened my eyes in a world of bright blue skies and a field of grass. There was nothing I could see past the horizon.

'Where the hell am I?'

My sister wasn't in my arms anymore. My parents and her were most likely getting sent off to heaven right about now.

<Welcome.>

'Huh?!'

A figure, showered with golden light towered over me. It was a blonde woman with two sets of wings sprouting from her back. The first word that came to mind was-

"An Angel?"

<No, I am what you humans would consider a goddess.>

"O-oh… sorry about that."

Her kind smile didn't falter.

<It is a small matter.>

"If you don't mind telling me, where am I?"

<This is the land that is present between Asgard, the land of the gods and Midgard. It is otherwise known as axis mundi.>

"Okay so.... why am I here? Aren't people supposed to go to heaven after they die? Or am I someone that's going to hell?"

<You, along with thousands of others were summoned here to kill a malicious being and save our world from ruin.>

"Do I have to kill a demon lord or something like that?"

<Something similar.>

"Sorry… I'm not really interested, can you ask someone else?"

<I knew you would say ye-....Excuse me?>

"Well, can't you just send me to heaven or something like that? I'm glad that I would get another chance at living, but why should I have to spend it helping a bunch of gods?"

The goddess's face morphed into a horrifying frown.

<I see. There were quite a few of you this time around.>

I shuddered at the sudden change of her attitude.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

<If you desire to be sent to heaven, then you may go, but I'm not sure if you will want to after seeing this.>

The goddess raised her palm and used some sort of spell to create a screen in the air. You could see hundreds of people gathering around a training ground and performing sword strikes on dummies.

It kept zooming in until it reached a young girl swinging her sword. She stopped to take a break and drink from her bottle of water. I would know that girl anywhere.

"Mavis!"

It was my younger sister. But why did she comply with the goddess instead of going to heaven?!

<A member of your family chose to abandon a peaceful life in order to save our world. It was a noble choice indeed.>

"Cut the bullshit! I-I don't care about some dumbass noble choice! What have you done to my sister?!"

<I do not understand your anger. You humans are quite strange in that regard.>

The goddess shook her head.

<Your sister complied with our request and went to our world. If you wish to help her, then you must receive a god's blessing and travel to the world of Etiola.>

"What about my parents? Where are they?!"

<Their physical state was deemed too weak to enter our world. So they were sent into the abyss.>

"What's the... abyss?"

<An empty void where human souls cannot survive.>

"You killed my parents?!"

<No, they were just too weak to survive in our world.>

"That's some flawed logic you fuckers have!"

<A simple human cannot understand the decisions of gods.>

"Shut up already! I don't care about the decisions of gods! Just send me to heaven already!"

I was tired of listening to someone that ridiculed my own family just because we're human. I want to help Mavis, I really do, but can I give up my freedom just to throw myself into danger?

The goddess looked at me with condescending eyes.

<Wow… I really thought your sister would change your mind, but it seems you've already given up on helping her out.>

Her gaze looked as if she was looking at a bug.

"I don't want to hear that from someone that killed my parents!"

<So be it... I shall send you off to what you humans know as heaven.>

The goddess opened her palm and then in one swift motion, flicked her wrist, and snapped her fingers.

*Fwoosh*

The grass around me started to get pulled by the wind. I felt something grab onto me, pulling me towards it.

<There, now leave to your so-called heaven.>

I turned and saw a giant black hole behind me. It formed in the open space of the grass field.

My body was pulled towards it as my feet lost all form of friction. Whatever this portal was, it felt like I was approaching the embodiment of death.

"W-wait a second! How is that supposed to be heaven?!"

<There is no such thing.>

'Then that means… this whole time… there really wasn't even a choice.' I felt stupid for believing in what she had told me.

I grabbed onto the grass and tried to tear my fingers into the dirt. Just so that something could save me from whatever that black portal was.

"S-save me! Please! I'll go to that world or whatever just please save me!" I was desperate, whatever was on the other end of that portal was not the ending I wanted.

<Now you really sound like a human. I would help you, but I have humans to send over. Good luck in the abyss.>

My body was carried off the ground as the black hall took me away.

"H-hey wait! Plea-" I tried calling for her, but my body was already gone.

The portal closed with only the goddess left remaining. A brilliant light came down from the sky and from it, a young man appeared. He looked up in awe at the goddess's form.

She gave the same kind smile as before.

<Welcome.>