Fionara opened her eyes to find herself alone and naked. As she surveyed her surroundings, all she could see was pitch black darkness.

“I am dead, huh,” She concluded.

The same judgement scale that appeared before Tom appeared which made her startled.

“What’s happening?!” She yelped.

“Welcome to the judgement,” The God of death declared. The voice felt cold and harsh as if judging her.

“I am being judged?” She wondered aloud.

“Yes.”

She cowered, covering her hand with both of her hands. “Oh, no...” She knew her deeds after all.

A short moment of silence later, the God of life spoke. Her voice was much more soothing, she felt.

“Your parents abandoned you. Thus, you grew up in an orphanage. From there, you stole from others to make a living. You eventually ran away from the orphanage to join a gang of thieves.”

She covered her ears while shouting “Lalalalala!”, but the voice rang in her mind vividly anyway. She soon gave up, pouting.

“You eventually trained up as a rogue and an assassin.”

“I know! I do know!” She barked. “I know what I did! Just give me whatever punishment!”

The God of life spoke, “Your deeds aren’t exactly evil.”

“What?” Fionara, looking surprised, looked up although there was nothing to be seen other than pitch black darkness.

“You did what you had to do in order to survive. You stole to feed yourself. You assassinated in order not to be abandoned and killed. In the end, you tried to walk on a better path.”

The God of death added, “That is hardly a sin although still a sin. Everyone can veer off. What matters is that you attempted to better yourself.”

The judgement scale leaned to left although not much.

After being sympathized, she grew a bit of courage to ask a question that had been lingering in her mind for pretty much her entire life.

“Was I cursed with bad luck or misfortune?”

“Yes.”

“I knew it...,” She whispered. She also felt justified at the same time. She wasn’t being paranoid after all.

“It was a punishment from your previous life.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “I guess I never was a good girl, huh.”

“It looks like you will be reborn without any disadvantage,” The God of life said.

She interjected, “What happened to my husband...? Tom?”

“He was killed not long after you died.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I can say, from the bottom of my heart, that my happiest days was when I was with him. I felt as if my misfortune couldn’t reach me as frequently as it did when I was with him.” She gulped and took a moment to continue, “How... did he die?”

“He sacrificed his life in order to borrow powers from elementals and attempted to avenge you.”

Tears gradually filled her eyes. 

“I didn’t deserve a man like him,” She muttered. The Gods made no comment. Then she got on her knees and pleaded.

“Dear Gods, would you please bless Tom?”

“A minor blessing can indeed be cast on him as long as you are prepared to accept a consequence,” The God of Life spoke. “You have the right.”

“What consequence?”

“If you wish to bless your former partner, you will be blessed with misfortune again.”

She tilted her head at the “blessed with misfortune” part but did not inquire further on it.

“Do you still wish to bless your former partner?”

She gave it a thought for a moment and soon beamed a defiant grin. “I was never a good girl. I suppose the next me can and will be able to handle it.”

“So be it. A minor blessing will be granted. You may choose what kind or I can bless him randomly.”

Folding her arms, she thought for a moment. She felt he was a rather good archer, given he rarely missed and almost always hit a vital spot. However, she didn’t want to bless his archery when he may not even utilize it in his next life. She could have chosen a blessing of fortune simply but she wanted a more specific blessing. 

She wanted him to excel at something in his next life and become more than just an average Joe. 

She wanted him to marry a better woman in his next life and live happily ever after.

She hoped, from the bottom of her heart, that he won’t end up with a cursed bitch like herself and won’t end up getting killed.

“Tom deserves better,” She told herself. “I accept the death of my children because they were a part of me.” She nodded as if she convinced herself. “Yes, I was cursed with misfortune. My children who were born from my womb would have also been cursed with bad luck. Might as well end it early than suffer for their entire lives.”

That wasn’t how it worked, but the Gods did not correct her.

“I wish to bless him,” She declared aloud with determination on her face. “The blessing will be -”