Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? No one knew where we went after we died. The former was unknown to someone like me, but I had lived through hell for most of my life. And purgatory? That was where I lived now, just waiting until I finally died. 

But I knew I was still alive. We were all alive... My classmates’ anxious faces proved that. If this was supposed to be my life flashing before my eyes... 

What a disappointment. 

To begin, I blinked twice to confirm that what I saw was what I was, and upon confirming it was real, I took a closer look at the chapel-like room I was in. The walls were blindingly white, and the room was sparse of any real color. But there was a giant mural on the far wall. Above that was a stained-glass window depicting a naked woman with a sash. Was she a Goddess? I’ve never been interested in any deities, so religious sculptures, etchings, and the like were far out of my expertise. 

The aristocrats were all together. Mia and Tokko were hugging, Shiku had his hands in his pockets, remaining in a relaxed position where he could act from. Damon looked to be taking it all in stride because the three girls who spoke of his erotic accomplishments had their arms around his waist. In turn, he had his arms around them, embracing them in a hug that felt like it was the verge of turning lewd. 

Is this really the time for that? And weren’t those three arguing earlier? 

 The Mystery Twins couldn’t have looked more at home, so I guess nothing really fazed them. 

“Hey man, you alright?” Greggie suddenly spoke up. I turned around. He was about to place a friendly hand on my shoulder, but I flinched away at the last second. The apologetic look in his eye told me he had forgotten that I didn’t like to be touched. 

“Yeah... I'm fine,” I said, ignoring the awful stomach pain and blistering headache. I wiped my mouth with my hand and swallowed whatever blood was threatening to leak out of my mouth. A quick check with my tongue confirmed two missing teeth. 

I turned around to face Greggie. Keeth was looking at the ground, his fists clenched in what was probably anger. Will looked beside himself, almost embarrassed that he didn’t do anything. A second later, the three of them apologized. 

“Where do you think we are?” Will asked, scratching his scrawny arm. 

“A church, maybe? Did we die?” Greggie answered, asking his own question in turn. 

“Die? I just remember seeing a bright light. I didn’t hear anything odd, either,” I said. My phone was dead, so I couldn’t check it. My three companions looked at theirs, but they didn’t have any service. 

Ami suddenly blurted out an odd greeting, and I realized we weren’t alone. Perhaps it was the bright walls camouflaging them, but soldiers wearing blindingly silver armor had us surrounded. Their sharp weaponry glinted in the light. And of the light, I had no idea where it was coming from. Looking up, I saw something like a holy abyss instead of a ceiling. Somehow, it was an incomprehensible concept that absorbed and emitted light. 

Damon removed his hands from his harem long enough to assume a rugged, archaic fighting stance. It seemed as if a conflict could break out at any minute. Greggie probably wanted to act tough to make up for his cowardice on the plane, but the big man trembled like a frightened kitten. I just stood there and waited, staring with a searching eye because I couldn’t do anything else. 

If a natural death is coming, I’ll meet it head on. 

“Please find it in your hearts to calm down!” a feminine voice sounded from somewhere as a vivid light filled the room. An unpleasant pressure forced me to gaze up at the never-ending void of white. It glowed even brighter than a dazzling star, and a person phased into existence. Like an angel, this unknown entity descended. I couldn’t make out any details about her until she was close to the ground.  

She was a woman who was more naked than dressed. If she was a Goddess or some other heavenly being, she didn’t dress like the ones from my mythology books.  

Her long golden hair sparkled like the sun, adding more brightness to a room that didn’t need it. The white dress she wore was adorned with golden thread in just the right areas. It had a plunging neckline, with it barely covering her breasts. It split right above her waist, meaning that only a long, thin strip of fabric, which reached her ankles, covered her crotch. A simple breeze would be enough to send it cascading away. Her thick hips and smooth, long legs poked out, adding a startling amount of sexy to an already gorgeous woman. When she finally touched down on the white tile floor, her white high heels clicked twice, and her breasts lightly jiggled since she wore no bra. More likely than not, she probably wasn’t wearing any underwear, either. 

The cloth hiding her waist seemingly bounced around, but it didn’t stray far enough to see what it hid. My eyes had started from her feet, and my gaze slowly shifted upwards.  

I can’t avert my eyes... Why...can’t I look away...? Is something...controlling my head...? Sexy... Gorgeous… No, I didn’t think that... I just see a woman... Where did those details come from...? 

Her face was like that of pure beauty given physical form, and I found it hard to stare away from her yellow eyes, which looked like miniature suns, once my leering had reached her face. It felt like the thoughts coming to my mind about this woman weren’t my own... I didn’t like it at all... 

Her pink lips seemed to smile at everyone. It even reached a quartet of students who preferred to stay out of sight.  

“Holy shit... She’s beautiful...” Will whispered. Once he had spoken, whatever power keeping my sight locked on the woman's face vanished, so I quickly turned my head towards the floor. Being back in control over my body...having my own thoughts and feelings... It just felt right, and having that taken from me... It left a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

“I am Meruria, the Holy Lord who has summoned you, my Soul Warriors, to protect my country of Cridia.” She was soft-spoken, but some unknown force amplified her voice without distorting it.  

Summoned? 

“HOLY SHIT!!!” Someone, probably Damon, exploded into profanity.  

All at once, a collection of different feelings made themselves known. Some believed we had been transported to a different world like that of a certain type of book. Others thought we were dead, and they had started praying to whatever deities they believed in. A few even thought we were in the setting of a certain story, one that I didn’t know much about. That was the guys’ reactions, and it wasn’t that different for the girls. Being able to nearly instantly adjust to an extreme change of surroundings was a skill they all learned at an early age. But not all of them acted that way. There were a few outliers on both sides that were on the verge of tears. 

We all took it differently. Will, Greggie, and Keeth were freaking out hard since they had the love and support of their family behind them. It would kill them if they couldn’t see them again. 

If I were like them, would I act like that? Shivering in place while keeping my fears from coming out? Would I be begging for mother? Yearning to see father? Ugh… 

Ms. Mary froze and almost shut down. She wasn’t the best teacher, but her students were her responsibility. I wouldn’t claim to know her inner thoughts, but I wonder if she was feeling worse than the rest of us? Quella walked over and spoke to her, but nothing came of it. Our class president frowned and placed a pair of hands on our teacher’s shoulders and asked again, but the results were the same. 

Suddenly, Tokko raised his voice and asked for everyone’s attention. Once all eyes were on him, he flashed a bright smile and expertly orchestrated a rallying speech meant to reduce any worries about being transported to a different world. As much as I disliked him, he had charisma in spades, and it wasn’t long until the entire class looked at this summoning as a chance to make their mark on this world. His words were true for everyone but me. We were on that trip to Greece because 2-F had crushed the other classes for most trophies won. Even Greggie, Will, and Keeth managed to score a few. 

But me? 

I was a lump of coal surrounded by the brightest stars. 

When asked if returning to our world was possible, Meruria placed a meticulous finger on her chin and smiled. “Yes, that is within my power. Upon successful accomplishment of your task, I can send you to a particular point in time.” 

Upon hearing that, greed overcame much of the class. 

Some spoke about playing the stock market and buying bitcoin. My ‘family’ wasn’t rich, but we weren’t poor. Everything just went towards Mia. I didn’t generate any money. I was just an expensive drain. The very last gift they gave me was a pile of clothes from a nearby thrift store, and that was because they were forced to by Child Services. 

It also came with a letter asking me to die. 

Even now, as I’m standing here in this new unknown place, I’m the most poorly dressed amongst us. My shirt and pants were full of holes, and my shoes were scraggly pieces of leather held together with fabric and glue. 

Really, it was no small wonder I wasn’t bullied for my clothing, but I guess I can attribute that to my remarkably excellent ability to stay out of sight. 

But even through all that, I couldn’t find it in my heart to truly hate my parents, but that didn’t mean I forgave them. We had come to a unanimous unspoken agreement among ourselves to cut off all contact. 

That was fine.  

Am I broken? 

Meruria spoke and explained that post-summoning confusion usually took days to fizzle out, so she was impressed by Tokko’s charisma and natural leadership. To expand on that, her last group of Soul Warriors were summoned half a century ago, and they were to be our instructors. Then she narrowed her eyes towards the only woman dressed like a teacher.  

“You, the one frozen in place, paralyzed by cowardice. Are you the leader of this group?” 

Ms. Mary was caught off guard, and she stammered her words, taking half a minute to say something that only needed a few seconds. “I... I... am their instructor...”  

“Then why did you not speak up for your students? They should look to you for guidance and assistance, but I do not see any of that within you.” 

“Holy Lord Meruria, could you continue with your explanation? You call us Soul Warriors, but what does that entail?” Tokko asked. 

“That will have to wait until I have prepared the Soul Crystals. I did not expect a large group. In the meantime, shall I teach you about this world?” Her words were as sweet as nectar. It took all I had to break away from whatever force wanted me to stare at her lips.  

Meruria was a Holy Lord, a person who had broken through the limits to reach the pinnacle of evolution. She channeled Holy Mana, and Dark Lords, the opposites of Holy Lords, channeled Dark Mana. A country led by a Lord was called a Divine Country. When asked if Dark Lords were our enemy, Meruria shook her head. As the hair passed by her eyes, she explained that Holy and Dark Lords were different sides of the same coin. People summoned by either were called Soul Warriors. 

Soul Warriors were not used for war. Rather, they were like nuclear deterrents to prevent conflict. Every Divine Country was to carry out their summoning simultaneously to keep the equilibrium of power in check.  

This world had humans, but any humanoid beings with animal-like characteristics were called beastfolk. There were monsters, who didn’t fit into either category. Most races inhabiting this world could evolve into a higher being, and the example given was an ogre transforming into an oni. Such evolution would grant a substantial increase in power and bestow new skills, spells, abilities, and techniques. 

Slavery did come up, and Meruria said monsters were used as a source of labor, but enslavement spells could be used for other purposes. It was all very vague, though, which was probably on purpose. The currency of this world used copper, silver, and gold coins. There was a fourth tier, but it was used for extravagant purchases like buying land. 

Meruria then asked us to line up because it was time. “Soul Warriors are measured on their soul’s potential, and it ranges from 1-Star to 5-Star. Is this familiar? Does it make sense?” 

Shiku spoke up and compared it to a gacha game. “Yes! That’s it! Explaining it is the hardest part, but you’re talking to it extraordinarily well,” she said with a smile after he was done.