When Marie opened her eyes, she knew immediately that her future was ruined: she was lying in the middle of a forest, insects were crawling up her arms, her clothes were half burned, and she smelled of sulfur.

  Well, at least there was no one around to see her in this state.

  “Her? No, I can't do much for her. She'll be teleported to a random location. That's the best I can do, consider yourself lucky.”

  “That's already great. Thank you very much, Mr. God, you're fantastic!”

  Marie swallowed her bile at the memory of what had brought her here. Seriously, what a pain.

  Here's the story: she and her brother had been in a car accident. As usual when something went wrong, it was her fault. She had run a red light and karma had caused them to crash into a bus. So far, nothing unusual. The thing was, they were dead. In the clinical sense of the term, their hearts had stopped, their bodies had become corpses, and their brains had shut down. In short, while the living world mourned them (well, mourned her brother), they had been teleported to the Afterlife. Or Purgatory. Or Hell. Or whatever that minister's office had been.

  Marie had no idea whether her brother had suffered when he died (she, at least, hadn't felt anything), and she certainly hadn't asked to be judged at the same time as him by a humanoid jackal whose left side was shaved and tattooed from head to toe. Behind its desk, with its pile of files taller than the Tower of Babel, the animal seemed to have better things to do than talk to them.

  If Marie had been asked her opinion, she would have said that she never believed that people dreamed even after death. But here she was...

  “Gabriel Chevalier, 24 years old, single, CEO of the largest video game company in your country of origin, polyglot, intensive practice of fencing and four martial arts. Passions: investing in cryptocurrency and rowing. Cause of death: car accident. Another bright future ruined by a tragic fate.”

  “...where are we? Who are you?”

  “I am known as Inpou, or Anubis, if you prefer. The one who judges souls worthy of passing to the other side. It has been centuries since I was assigned a potential hero. That surely means that the state of the world is not good.”

  “Heroes? Like in…”

  Ancient myths.

  “Movies?”

  Right. Gabriel had never been interested in literature or history.

  “Rather than answering your questions, Human, I will simply tell you this: you have been chosen by the divine Pantheon to be reincarnated in another world. If you accept this proposal, you will have the mission of saving it from destruction. The Gods will bless you and lend you their power in your quest. Accept, and the world will remember you as its savior. Refuse, and your soul will end up like the others: recycled to feed the great cycle of life. What do you choose?"

  Why was Marie even there? This discussion (dream!) clearly had nothing to do with her.

  “Hmmm, sounds like a choice at the beginning of an RPG adventure...what do you think, Marie?”

  The jackal's ears pricked up. Fortunately, the animal spared her the embarrassment of answering.

  “I'm asking you, Human.”

  “My sister's opinion always matters.”

  Marie grimaced.

  “Really?”

  “Really!”

  Inpou burst out laughing. Marie had never seen a jackal laugh (she had never seen a jackal at all), but decided that this was the most disturbing sight ever.

  “Yes, the report mentions how your soul was so attached to your sister's that we had to transfer you together. You refuse to let go of what is dear to you, don't you? Like a true hero, Hor was right.”

  Marie wanted to leave.

  “If... I accept your proposal, will my sister come with me?”

  And from there, the discussion had taken a disastrous turn. Gabriel's sparrow mind had seemed convinced that this was one of his beloved “RPGs.” He had listened to Inpou's explanations about a world in peril, in need of a savior, with stars in his eyes. Meanwhile, Marie had wondered why there was no place for her, even in her own dream.

  Because it hadn't been a dream. In fact.

  She sat up and felt her arms, stomach, and legs. It was indeed her body, the same one she had had at the time of her death. Small, weak, without muscle, and above all, stiff from 27 years of avoiding any kind of physical activity. Her long brown hair was tangled, and she was certain that her eyes were the same: dull brown (while Gabriel, as always, had inherited the good genes with his vibrant ocean-blue eyes). The injuries from the car accident had disappeared, as if she had never faced death.

  “So I'm...reincarnated?”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Teleported randomly to another world would be a more accurate term, in reality. The tattooed jackal had made it clear that, unlike her brother, the place where her soul would be transferred would not be monitored. The good thing was that it was a forest, a neutral place where maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't hear about Gabriel every minute of the day. The bad thing, however, was...well, everything else. A forest, with clothes half-charred by the car engine, no map, and no idea how to survive in the wild...perhaps it would have been better to die quickly, like the first time.

  A scream of terror rang out nearby. Marie jumped to her feet. It was the voice of a woman or a child. Of course, in a forest as dense as this one, wild animals must have been abundant. If she wanted to survive, she would have to use her intelligence rather than her emotions.

  Another cry reached Marie's ears, coming from the same voice. She realized that despite all her adventures, she was in relatively good shape: she could therefore afford to move. So she decided to do just that. Without further ado, Marie ran in the opposite direction from where the individual was probably being attacked. Gabriel would have played the hero by trying to save a lost cause, as he did for absolutely everything and anything, whether it was climbing a tree to rescue a stuck kitten or finding Marie a job when she hadn't asked him to.

  Too bad for that poor doomed soul, it hadn't come across the right person in the family.

  Marie had never run with such rage. She already hated this world. Not athletic in the slightest, it didn't take long before her body gave out and she stumbled.

  “Ouch, my ankle...”

  She had twisted it.

  “Great. Just great. I've been here less than five minutes and it's already chaos.”

  She touched her foot with her fingertips and let out a muffled cry.

  “Hurts like hell...”

  Damn it! Tears welled up in her eyes. Why was nothing going right? She would have preferred to spend her miserable life in bed, simply reading and playing online poker. The only things that gave her pleasure and that she was somewhat good at!

  But no, she had to be born into a family where a billion expectations weighed on her, none of which she had been able to fulfill. One might have thought that her strict parents would have given up on her, given how disappointing she was as an heiress who dropped out of school halfway through because she couldn't stay awake in class. One might have thought that they would have given up when they realized that her little brother was blessed with every quality in the world.

  But noooo, her parents had to continue to harass her, to talk to her as if she were a failure, to compare her to the divine genius of Gabriel, and to force her to come to their family lunch every Sunday. She had to drive that damn car to go to that damn meal she didn't want to attend, and died on the way there. And Gabriel had to resurrect her, only for her to die again after twisting her ankle in a forest where she was about to be devoured by wild animals.

  “Damn it! Damn it...”

  Marie pounded the damp ground with her hands. She wanted to end all this. Why couldn't she end this? Why?!

  “Oh wow, I’ve never seen such a pathetic sight. You thought it was an adventurer, but look at that thing now, crying because it fell down…”

  Marie didn’t look up at the source of the voice. She heard footsteps slowly approaching. Another voice, this time male, unlike the first, spoke up.

  “Yeah, well, everyone makes mistakes, right? We should have known when we realized our decoy wasn’t working. Adventurers throw themselves into the lion’s den when they think an innocent person is in danger.”

  “Still, to not hesitate to run in the opposite direction...do you think it's a demon? It doesn't seem to have much empathy.”

  “Hmmmm, we'll see. Hey little thing, what are you? You look like a human, but I have my doubts.”

  Marie didn't react. Her hair was roughly grabbed by one of the newcomers, forcing her to lift her head. Her eyes met those of a dark beast, with teeth as big as its claws. Marie's absent mind noted that this creature had all the features of a werewolf, like in children's stories.

  “No reaction. Do you think it speaks our language?”

  “Who cares? It’s not like we have time to waste. It looks like a human, so it must taste the same. So: we cut it up, take the best pieces for ourselves, keep the rest for the pack, and get out of here before we get in trouble.”

  Marie's eyes widened. Cut up? Pieces? She suddenly realized that the werewolf's foul breath was overwhelming her sense of smell. And that its teeth were far too sharp and far too close to her face. She flinched slightly, but the creature's firm grip held her head in place. The female voice said ironically:

  “Oh? So we understand each other after all.”

  The monster who was holding her chuckled.

  “Too bad. I prefer it when my prey doesn't resist.”

  It then slammed Marie's head violently against the ground several times. Her mind registered both the dull pain and the stars that appeared before her eyes. Warm liquid flowed from her head, and she realized bitterly that she wasn't even afraid. What was the point?

  The relentless attacks suddenly stopped. Marie heard a loud scream. The werewolf released its grip and Marie collapsed to the ground, half-conscious, despite the excruciating pain. She could barely make out the scene unfolding before her:

  A monster, similar to the one that had just attacked her, although smaller in size, lay on the ground, one arm torn off, bleeding profusely. Marie morbidly realized that the female voice and scream had come from this beast. She had to make a superhuman effort to lift her head and see what was standing next to it, holding the torn-off arm in one hand: a woman. Tall, slender, with long white hair tied back in a loose ponytail. Her ebony black clothes contrasted with her skin, which was lighter than the moon.

  Marie's assailant barked.

  “You...”

  The woman threw the severed arm at the werewolf.

  “Here. That'll be your afternoon snack. You'll just have to share this hunting trophy with your clan.”

  The woman's voice was nothing more than a soft whisper, a venomous string of words that, when combined with her dark, melodious tone, transformed her sentences into delicious poison.

  “The pack doesn't eat its own family, you...”

  “Oh?”

  The woman smiled dangerously, as if the fact that her bare feet were in contact with the blood of the creature next to her didn't bother her.

  “But the pack hunts on my territory. So there are rules that can be broken and others that cannot? Interesting.”

  The werewolf recoiled. Marie noticed that it was trembling.

  “I-”

  “You. Are leaving. Right now. And take this trash with you.”

  She kicked the battered creature.

  “Don't ever set foot on my territory again. Next time, it won't be just an arm that flies off. It will be your entire pack that will be consumed, burned by my fire. Is that clear?”

  The werewolf didn't move, absorbed by the figure of the woman in front of them.

  “Is that clear?”

  At the sly repetition of the question, the beast seemed to come to its senses and rushed toward its accomplice, whom it put on its back. Without asking for more, it disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Marie tried in vain to regain clear control of her mind, but only succeeded in increasing the fog that was enveloping her. Grunting pathetically, she barely heard the woman ask about her.

  "And what do we have here...a human?"

  Marie's elegant savior knelt down. Up close, the woman had scarlet red eyes, like that of an albino animal. The thought made her smile.

  "Oh?"

  Marie barely noticed her savior's surprise. Before sinking into unconsciousness, she whispered.

  "How beautiful..."

  The greatest mistake of the Gods was to grant humans the capacity to love, because it is what drives them to rebel. - The Truths of Djehuty