THE MOMENT
Lucy knew she was dead as soon as she woke up; she recognized the beach. Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she noticed was a soft cool breeze caressing her skin. She was on her back and sat up in the white wicker chaise to look around. A woman she didn't recognize sat on another wicker chaise dressed in a navy blue business suit. She had long dark hair hanging straight behind her back. Other than the woman, the rest of the beach looked the same as she remembered from the other times. The gentle waves and warm sand always put her at ease between lives.
"Where's Isla?" Lucy asked. Isla was her normal case worker and should have been on the other wicker lounge or nearby.
"Hi, Lucy, my name is Jane," the woman introduced herself with a smile. "I'm new, so Isla gave me some of her easier cases to get started with," Jane answered.
"Oh, okay," Lucy nodded. It wasn't like she could argue or complain to anyone.
"And, this might be the last time you'll be here, so congratulations," Jane said. "You've earned enough points for your goal; you may cash out now or go back again to go further; currently, you made it to the Conqueror tier," she added.
"Huh?" Lucy sat up straighter. "Already? Isla said I still had about a hundred lives left before I earn that many," then, she tilted her head in confusion. "Why do I remember that so clearly?" she asked. She knew she'd been on that beach more times than she could remember; and, it wasn't always 'her'. Her original case worker explained that every time a version of Lucy died, her soul visited the island office. Each time she died, she would remember the beach a little bit more. Over time, every version of her from different universes was consolidated into a single, unique being.
But, it took at least a million lifetimes to even reach the bottom tier. Lucy had reached the fourth tier sooner than expected and her memory of the Afterlife was crystal clear.
"As it happens, you're somewhat of a special case," Jane said. "Someone really didn't like this last life of yours, they cursed you to Hell."
"What? But, I didn't do anything! I was a good person!" At least, she always tried to be. The memories of her most recent life were already blurring.
"Good enough," Jane nodded. "Ms. Sharp has procedures in place for situations like this. Traditionally, you would get sent to Hell anyway, and you'd be granted bonus points toward your Unique self in consolation. And if that did happen, your particular sentence in Hell would end when the rest of your soul is ready to move on.
"Wait, so, even if I was a good person, I can still get sent to Hell??" Lucy asked.
"Of course," Jane nodded. "Hell is a physical place like any other, it's actually quite easy to be sent there. Getting damned to Hell to be tortured is another matter; but, also quite doable. Hell is, first and foremost, a customer service industry. If someone is willing to pay the price to send someone else to Hell, they should be able to."
"So.. what's going to happen to me?" Lucy asked.
"As I said, you're a special case. The points you were awarded for being sent to Hell put you at your goal. You may choose to become a Unique Soul from the Conqueror tier and live your last life, or you may accept your sentence to Hell and push for even more points. You're actually in quite an amazing position," Jane said.
"If my choices are 'go to Hell' or live my last life, I think I know which one I'm going to pick...," Lucy said.
"I'd like to make a suggestion," Jane said. "You should go to Hell."
"Yeah, I'm sure," Lucy smirked.
"It's sincere advice," Jane said. "Coming from someone who has some insider information."
"And what's that?" Lucy asked. "I'm going to forget our conversation when I leave this room anyway, you can tell me, right?"
"Only until you come back...," Jane hesitated. Then, she nodded. "...but, now that I'm in charge of your case I want what's best for you."
"By sending me to Hell," Lucy interjected.
"Indeed," Jane nodded. "The thing is, the multiverse you're currently part of...," she paused while trying to find the right words. "... won't exist much longer. So, if you were to become a Unique Soul now and return to the multiverse.. it would only be for a few months at most."
"What do you mean it won't exist? How does a multiverse stop existing?"
"The same way it started?" Jane shrugged. "Obviously it's far more complicated than this; but, we're short on time. For the sake of brevity, we could say Ms. Sharp created this multiverse. And since she knows how to do that, it's easy to assume she knows how to end it," she said.
"Why would she end it? What happens after that?"
"Ms. Sharp is a woman with countless plans in motion, I couldn't tell you her reasons other than to say she has them," Jane said.
"So my choices are, get tortured in Hell for who knows how long or live as a Unique Soul for a few months? That's still a pretty easy choice."
"Indeed it is," Jane nodded. "If those were your choices, I wouldn't recommend you go to Hell. However, Hell is an interesting place. It has such a horrible reputation. People assume that being there automatically includes eternal torture."
"Doesn't it?" Lucy asked.
"As I said earlier, Hell is a physical place. Getting damned to Hell to be tortured is quite different than simply being dragged to Hell. It seems whoever cursed you wasn't aware of that distinction. Technically, you'd be able to leave the moment you arrived, the curse having been completed already. However, given what else I explained, I suggest you take some time and enjoy the civilian side of Hell for a little while. I'd be happy to help you find work and a home to live in if you like."
"A job? A home? In Hell??" Jane smirked and shook her head.
"You're still letting those preconceived notions get in the way. You'll find there are sections of Hell that aren't much different from Earth," Jane said. "And, they have an amazing shopping district."