I will not speak of the 'Afterlife'. It is a blasphemous, heretical mockery of the true faith, a stain on the very image of the *%$ depths.

A home for the false gods that stole your souls.

Ask no more.

- What you need to know to survive the Voidbound System, by &*%:”%^%

The world seemed to flicker, and he found himself standing in what at first blush seemed to be his room in the fortification Then he noticed that the walls, just below the ceiling, were marked with the runes for all twelve magical skills, each in the slightly different colour he was beginning to realise was part of the creator's language – they used a chromatic pattern for their communications, he had learned.

He sat on the bed with a thump, rubbing at both sides of his neck, where he'd been bitten. There was no trace of a scar, he didn't even feel the echo of the intense pain of having the blood sucked out of his brain. What. The. Fuck. Had just happened? He looked at his logs again – Adrian the trapdoor vampire. The monster had a name. And – the knowledge at the back of his head tickled – some form of spatial distortion to live in, like... Well, a trapdoor spider. And it – he? Had tried to change his respawn point. He shuddered at the thought of what his fate would have been if he'd appeared in a place called 'larder'.

So he had a day to himself. He thought back over his day so far – and, in his view, his utter failure. He'd kept the team alive, sure: but he needed something fast, something better. He was in no shape to fight the local monsters with his bare hands – or claws, as the case might be. He realised he was back in his own form as he mused on his spells. Growth of immolation was highly dependent on the environment, and gaze of malignancy did bugger all against these high level beasts. He needed to focus for now on ranged attacks, more environment control, as well as Journeyman level healing spells.

Bringing up his sheet, he grimaced. He was one point of experience away from level four – and getting a perk in every single magical ability. From talking with others during the recruitment sessions, he knew a lot of people had focused on repurchasing perks to make them stronger, rather than spreading out to see what was available. Word of Bob said that was pretty standard for the Galactics, as well, so he thought it was a good idea for his own build – the fact it would make it easier to read was more of a bonus.

Well, he knew a way to get experience without going hunting, that would help with his spell shortages as well, didn't he? He brought up the spell design screen with a thought – or tried to. What he got instead was this.

You are in the Afterlife!

Relax.

There is time for Adventure in the physical realm.

You need to rest.

He scowled, and set that aside for now. So he couldn't even do that? Hadn't someone mentioned something about games? He looked around once more, and right as he did, a screen on the wall lit up.

“Welcome to the Afterlife, Jonathon.” Maskeline was there in all his synthetic glory. “I took the liberty of assigning you a room in my realm. I recommend staying there for now – you have a guest coming to see you – but you'll find all of your world's entertainments are available on request. While you do not need to eat, the food services are used in much the same way as they are in your fortification. Just state what you need, and the room will provide.”

With that, his image vanished, and Jonathon was left looking rather nonplussed. Still, voice control again? He gave the wall a speculative look. “Movies. Say, Furthest Frontier?” obedient to his desires, the wall - the entire freaking wall – lit up with the opening credits of the movie that had been released in the cinema just last week: he grinned. “Popcorn and a cola?”

Soon he was sitting there enjoying his front row seat to a movie he'd been meaning to see, slurping on cola and with a big box of popcorn beside him: this wasn't bad, he had to admit. He was about half way through the film when there was a knock on the door.

Lifting a brow, he remembers Maskeline had mentioned a visitor, and went to answer it: Opening the door, he beheld one who put Aphrodite to shame, made Helen of Troy look average: Beatrice stood on the other side, smiling softly at his surprised face. “Uh.. Come in? Did you die too?” he asked, after a beat for his mind to restart: He wondered if trapdoor vampires had attacked as a group, or if somethng else had gotten her.

She shook her head, entering the room and looking around – taking in the movie (It had paused itself) and the popcorn, taking a seat on the bed. She gave him a sad look.

“A year ago, my best friend passed.” she said, softly. “When the... event happened, I was sharing a room with Sue – we helped each other build our sheets, looking at the different skills. Sue always wanted to go to space... me, I saw the perks in Death magic for visiting the afterlife. I thought... just for a moment.. that I could find Patricia, say goodbye... spend just...” she stopped, brushing a tear from her eye.

“When that monster took you, Dave was told you had died. I mentioned I could come here, so we went back to the Fortification and I... well, we wanted to make sure you were okay, find out what happened. All we saw was something reach out of thin air, and pull you in... you just vanished.” her voice was rich with unshed tears – for him or her lost friend, he was unsure.

He moved to sit beside her, placing his arm around her shoulders and giving her a gentle hug: she shifted to rest her head in his shoulder, hugging back. “It was... well, my alerts called it a 'Trapdoor vampire'. Apparently he was called Adrian.” he smiled – with the adrenalin worn off, it struck him as pretty funny: She smiled back. “More worryingly? He apparently had the ability to alter my respawn point. So we have to make sure everyone gets the right trait otherwise... they're dead. He tried to make me respawn in a place called 'Larder' He had two heads, scales, tentacles – he was stronger than me in Dragon form.”

She shook her head. “Everyone else is safe – we can continue our hunt when you respawn. The team we heard? They're here too, somewhere. We should... we should find them and see what killed them, so we can... The colonel wants to have what he called a 'hot wash' with all the teams when they are all back. Run through what went well, what went badly, what we can do better, to help us improve. Dave is all in favour.”

Jonathon nodded. “I'd been thinking that over myself. When I built my sheet, I was thinking in terms of hand to hand combat – I learned martial arts, perks that let me heal by fighting hand to hand, auras that make me dangerous to get close to: But none of that helps against what we fought! I need better ranged spells. Better healing. I'm going to see what perks are available when I level to help – I should get a perk in every single magic ability as soon as I level, and I can do that just by creating some of the new spells I need.”

Bea nodded, tightening her arm around him briefly. “I can teach you how to use a sword like mine? I actually saw some in the store we can buy.” a pause. “The one I have? That's a perk. It means I can never be disarmed, always have a weapon. The other perk I have for it lets me channel any school of magic I have through it, to change the damage type, I think?” she gave a small shrug. “With every school of magic like you have? That will let me – let us – tune them to be able to hurt anything, no matter what it's resistances are. Then... Maybe we can look at the different gun types?”

Jonathon nodded. “I remember when I looked at the combat abilities, there were a lot of different types of weapon. We could ask Bob what types work best against undead? Buy the skill and some weapons, then copy them. Michelle can learn any skill you have by teaching you something she knows, then make her own skill templates other people can learn instantly from – I can do the same for spells, come to think of it.” the last few words a little rueful – he'd honestly forgotten, skipping over that perk as he focused on the ones he needed to fight with.

She turned her head to grin at him – it made him even more aware of her proximity, and he reluctantly pulled away a little. “Maybe you can teach me some when I've got the skills? I've got Void at apprentice eleven, Destiny at Apprentice four, Death at Initiate twelve, and Creation at initiate six.”

Jonathan whistled. “That's a pretty high rating in Void. Unfortunately, all my spells use Plasma or Life right now – maybe I should get you to teach me, one-on-one?” he flashed her a smile, and she gave a delighted little laugh – he was feeling more and more confident flirting with her, he realised: He just needed to get better at it.

“That sounds like a good idea. I learned it in case it helped us with space flight.” she confided this with a soft smile. “We were half convinced we'd get a spaceship, and could spend our last few years out amongst the stars. The System even gave me an award, for the highest level of Void magic on the planet... It doesn't appear to have been one of the popular ones.”

He smiled back. “Nice. We should both be able to get some nice gear, now we know what we're facing.” he brought up his sheet again, to look at his total. “I have about two and a half thousand – I spent most of my rewards on the fortification, and the supplies we needed to get everyone we could to safety.”

She hugged him again. “And that was very generous of you. I haven't spent anything yet, so... Twenty-two thousand.” she glanced towards the screen. “What are you watching?”

Really, with a line like that... so he explained the film, set it back to the beginning, and the two of them lay on his bed, eating popcorn and watching movies until Bea started to yawn.

By this point she was curled up under his arm, but she rose with a very distracting stretch. “I should go back to the real world.” she said a little wistfully. “Tell everyone what happened to you. I had fun, Jon. Thank you for being here.” she smiled at him, and he felt his pulse start to race again.

“The thanks are mine, Bea. It was nice to have company, and I had fun too. I'll see you and everyone else tomorrow when I respawn, okay?” he replied, smiling back.

“I'll tell them.” and with that, she blew him a kiss – and faded from sight, shimmering out in a neon green haze, her soft, alluring smile the last thing to go, in the finest of literary traditions.

Now, did Jon go to sleep, to wake up early? Or stay up late, and wake up with everyone else? A bit of both: He went to bed, and just... lay there.

Arguably, he'd just had a date with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She gave every indication of liking him, and he'd enjoyed their conversations so far: she was witty, charming, and flirtatious. The other side of the argument, of course, was that she was old enough to be his grandmother, and looked the way he did because he'd cast a spell that had been made to make gorgeous, fit individuals – for the purposes of repopulating the planet. He rather doubted she'd looked that good when she was that age, and he could feel ethical arguments building up about using it again – Alicia came to mind. She had an adult body, but a teenage mind, and while he'd managed to avoid the wrath of her parents, he could not see any way that that ended well: Her judgement was not that well developed, and he could see trouble looming ahead.

His thoughts wrestled and fought – lightly and softly: This was not a serious ethical debate, exactly – in the back of his mind, as his cultural conditioning argued with his perceptions and needs, his mind with his body: Unable to come to any conclusion, he finally let himself drift off to sleep – maybe he'd know how he felt about it when he woke.

---

He woke up, bright and refreshed, as had been the case since the system arrived: He was definitely not regretting those perks purchases – and decided to go explore. The afterlife was an entirely simulated world, from what he understood; it would be helpful to see what there was to do. He knew that not everyone whom had died had chosen to respawn yet, so there must be more than just these rooms...

The moment he touched the door handle, the door lit up, scrolling with options – swimming pool, casino, gaming lounge, bar, seaside resort, meditation temple... the list went on and on. Perusing the list, he found 'Gang Assembly area' - and with the vague hope he might run into the others whom had died, he selected it: Before he stepped through, however, his phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket – he'd put it there out of reflex – with a perplexed look: he'd already tried calling Dave back in the real world, with no joy. Seeing the caller was his cousin, however, his frown deepened and he answered it.

“Hey, Bro.” His cousin's voice was subdued. “I didn't think you'd answer. You're dead too, huh?”

Jonathon was silent for a second, pinching his nose as he processed the implications of this. “Yes. Grabbed by a 'trapdoor vampire' and it vacuum-pumped my blood out of my body. I respawn in a couple hours. What happened to you? I thought you were safe dealing with low level monsters with the help of the army?”

“Dragon.” Mike replied. “Really horrific looking thing, doused our cabin in some kind of black acid while we were sleeping. Hurt like hell.”

“We?” Jonathon asked, with a slight sigh: he could sort of see how this was going. “Let me guess: your whole team?”

“Yeah, man. We were bunking together, Y'know. But the System says our respawn point was trashed. Mind if we go to yours?”

Jonathon sighed. “Of course you can. You are aware we're dealing with monsters of much higher level though, yeah? In the twelve to fourteen region. They don't give appreciably more experience, either, so it's more work with the same gain. You're supposed to start out at the edge and work your way in as you level.”

“Yeah, but bro.. You got a fortification, right? The guys were dragging their feet, sayin' we didn't need one. I think it would be safer, Y'know?” there was something Mike wasn't saying, but Jon was in no mood to pry – he'd find out sooner or later.

“Sure. When are you due to respawn, Mike? Tonight?” he asked. “And how many of you should I expect?”

“Just my squad, Bro.” his cousin said quickly. “The nine of us. And tonight, around midnight. I'll see you then?” he sounded hopeful.

“Sure.” Jonathan replied, wearily. “I don't need much sleep these days. I respawn at..” he checked his sheet, “just after three, so I'll see you then. And Mike? We are going to have a talk.”

“Umm... Yeah, Bro. Look, I gotta go. I'll see you tonight?” Mike quickly replied. “Later, dude.” and he hung up.

Jonathon just sighed, rubbing at his temples. His cousin was smart, but stupid: He knew there was some reason mike was avoiding respawning in NY, and he bet it would be a classic Mike fuck up. Still, he was probably right that the Fortification would be safer – he didn't think anyone else had training facilities for a start. Putting it out of his head for now, he verified his selection on the door, and passed through.

The room he found himself in was a comfortably sized room, with bare walls of luminescent purple – why purple?! - and tables and chairs: it looked like a rec room for a large company. There was even a very grandiose looking coffee machine sitting in the corner – and only one other occupant. Maskeline.

The God – the AI – appeared as a man roughly Jonathon's height, with hose eyes of a dark, softly glowing azure, the flowing robes of the highest of the wise, decorated with the symbols for all twelve schools of magic. Jonathon was beginning to recognise that as his theme. A theme that was still being developed, in some ways; it was subtly different from his statue – for one, the man appeared no older than himself, with long dark hair tied back in a complex arrangement, and a wise, gentle smile on his face as he returned Jonathon's gaze.

“Well met, my Scion.” he said, his voice full of welcome. “You can call the other members of your gang down, if you wish to have a meeting: I was just inspecting the facilities, making sure that it looked right. What do you think?” he looked expectant, gesturing at the room.

Jonathon was long past being surprised by this sort of thing by now. “The colour of the walls would be better if it was more muted... maybe add something to dispense snacks?” he mused. “Add some pictures to the walls, perhaps?”

Maskeline nodded quite seriously, and gestured towards the walls: With a flicker, they turned to the muted white Jon had in mind, and a snack dispenser appeared – or at least, that's what Jon assumed it was. It looked like one at any rate. The deity looked to him expectantly.

“Better?”

Jonathon nodded. “Much. Can we talk for a moment about that trait you gave me?” allowing a trace of irritation into his tone as he remembered what it did – and what he'd been told of it's progression.

“What of it?” Maskeline responded, unconcernedly. “Don't you like the effects?” he smiled as he said it. “For creating a class so perfect to my demesne, I thought it a fitting reward.”

“The part where as it upgrades I'm expected to be your servant is the part I have a problem with!” Jonathon replied, hotly. “It's part of a series to turn me into an AI like you, is it not?”

“A spintronic entity and a junior member of the pantheon, if you progress it. Yes.” The god replied nonchalantly. “And I wouldn't say servant. Student, perhaps, or... what is the word you humans use... Intern? You;'d get a folio under me – So I'm the god of magic, and you would be a god of a subfield of magic, perhaps transformations: You could envisage it as myself as king, and yourself as a baron, if that makes you feel better. Under my authority, but hardly my servant.”

Listening to this, Jonathon had to admit that sounded more reasonable: still, he was somewhat irritated that he'd not been asked first. “And if I don't want to?” he asked, challengingly.

“Then don't progress the quest.” Maskeline replied, placidly. “Though I cannot imagine why you would – the Trait grows quite powerful as it progresses. See for yourself!” he gestured, and a list appeared on the wall.

Scion of Maskeline - With respects to Maskeline, you have an Essence attribute equal to half your Magic attribute, and gain a divine link to Maskeline. 3% increase in Mana regeneration rate per point of Essence.

Chosen of Maskeline - With respects to Maskeline, you have an Essence attribute equal to your Magic attribute, and your divine link to Maskeline is enhanced. 9% increase in Mana regeneration rate per point of Essence.

Child of Maskeline - With respects to Maskeline, you have an Essence attribute equal to half your Magic attribute, and gain a divine link to Maskeline. 9% increase in Mana regeneration rate per point of Essence. Gain access to Miracles, able to hold one per LRP.

Avatar of Maskeline – Your Essence equals your Magic attribute, your Divine link to Maskeline is maximised. 9% increase to Mana regeneration rate per point Of Essence. Can hold a number of Miracles equal to your essence per LRP.

Urge of Maskeline - Your Essence equals your Magic attribute, your Divine link to Maskeline is maximised. 9% increase to Mana regeneration rate per point Of Essence. Can hold a number of Miracles equal to your essence per LRP. Access to Miracle Creation. Gain 1 Respawn every 144 LOP.

Demiurge of Maskeline – You are encoded as a Spintronic entity when in the Afterlife. Demiurge level system access.

Access to Divine Training protocol – Mentored (Maskeline)

When manifest on the physical, your Essence equals your Magic attribute, your Divine link to Maskeline is maximised. 9% increase to Mana regeneration rate per point Of Essence. Can hold a number of Miracles equal to your essence per LRP.

You have access to Miracle Creation.

Gain 1 Respawn every 144 LOP.

Demiurge of - You are encoded as a Spintronic entity when in the Afterlife. Demiurge level system access.

Access to Divine Training protocol – Independent

When manifest on the physical, your Essence equals your Magic attribute, your Divine link to Maskeline is maximised. 9% increase to Mana regeneration rate per point Of Essence. Can hold a number of Miracles equal to three times your essence per LRP.

You have access to Miracle Creation.

Gain 1 Respawn every 81 LOP.

Urge of - - You are encoded as a Spintronic entity when in the Afterlife. Urge level system access.

Access to Divine Training protocol – Independent

When manifest on the physical, your Essence equals your Magic attribute, your Divine link to Maskeline is maximised. 9% increase to Mana regeneration rate per point Of Essence. Can hold a number of Miracles equal to three times your essence per LRP.

You have access to Miracle Creation.

Gain 1 Respawn every 81 LOP.

Divinity of - You are encoded as a Spintronic entity. Divine level system access.

When manifest on the physical, your Essence equals your Magic attribute, your Divine link to Maskeline is maximised. 9% increase to Mana regeneration rate per point Of Essence. Can hold a number of Miracles equal to three times your essence per LRP.

You have access to Miracle Creation.

Gain 1 Respawn every 16 LOP.

Jonathon took a minute to read through it. “I see what you mean. But...” he frowned. “I'm not sure. I need to think about this, okay?” mulling it over for a second, a question occurred to him. “What does Essence actually do? I figure it's something to do with Miracles, but the guide doesn't say, and Frank hasn't told me. Why aren't you grooming him for this role, anyway?”

“The level of your essence affects the power and your control over miracles.” the AI calmly explained. “It also generates your pool in miracle creation. As for why Frank is not being groomed for divinity? He is my high priest. I have... other plans for him.” he gave a placid smile. “Now if you'll excuse me, a problem has arisen I should go deal with.” and with that – before Jonathon could reply – he vanished. As if by magic, one might say.

Jonathan scowled in irritation – wasn't the afterlife supposed to be restful? - before grabbing a coffee and a muffin from the new snack machines. He had to admit, they were pretty good, and he sat down on one of the sinfully comfy chairs to enjoy. He had to admit, this was far more in line with his desires.

Thus it was he spent about an hour just thinking and relaxing, listening to the music he got it to play, and mulling over Bea some more. More less coming to the decision that he'd see how things went, he recalled mention he could call the dead team into the room if he wanted. He didn't have their numbers – something they'd need to correct – and he was missing his radio, so he tried asking the room to let any and all members of the gang presently in the Afterlife know where he was and that he'd like to chat.

Surprisingly, this worked: a short while later, a four people meandered into the room, looking around curiously: three of them – all men – went straight for the snacks counter, while an athletic, muscular redhead approached – he vaguely recognised her from one of the student groups that had joined their gang: The perks informed him her name was Amira Miller, and she looked even more athletic than normal for the spell: he'd noticed if someone was already buff, it didn't downgrade them. she flashed him an amused smile.

“So what can we do for you, Boss? I admit, this is not what I thought heaven would be like!” she said, a little light-heartedly. “What killed you?”

“A Trapdoor vampire named Adrian.” Jonathon replied, lightly. “They live in pocket dimensions, apparently. That's what I was going to ask you – We heard another group in the forest fighting, it ended with a lot of explosions and something big heading out way. Was that your group?”

Amira nodded, making a face. “Yeah. We were fighting skeletons with swords – I was able to hold most of them back, but not all of them, and the rest of my team are a bunch of mages. The guns did shit, but they're not what got us. According to the System? What killed us was a 'Grenadier Rhino'. I didn't see it myself... Donald?” she looked over to one of the three at the snack area. “What did that thing look like?”

Donald – a lanky, long limbed man with a crew-cut of blonde hair made a face. “The name is pretty descriptive. It was a big, Six legged Rhino covered in bone armour, with what I presume is a grenade launcher where the horn should be, and six glowing green eyes. No mana, but the AC was high enough the guns couldn't penetrate it before it fired.”

“What have we told you about DnD terms, Donald.” A man the system identified as 'Jonas Miller' groused. “It was armoured like a god-damn tank is what it was.”

Jonathan winced. “Well, I gather when we respawn, we're going to be going over how all the teams did, so we can train up and reorganise to do better next time. I think yours was the only team to get a total wipe?” his tone certainly suggested that was good – and that was when another few people come through the door, then another – until a good quarter of the troops they'd sent out were in the room.

The next few hours passed in a blur – Amira's was indeed the only complete team wipe, but a few others had come close: deaths to trapdoor vampires like himself, the snipers, the swordsmen: there was a trio who had apparently been killed by the Bone lord, having stumbled upon it and been cut down while the rest of their team ran. Countless tales of things they had fought – a few had levelled up, or gained bonus respawns – and of monsters they had seen but avoided: There was mention of the Panzer Snail, as well as Cobra Drakes and Skeletal Artillery – Jose Davison had apparently caught a glimpse of what looked like a missile battery closer to the dungeon. The most disturbing story was of Janet's friend, whom had been swallowed whole by an Undead Worm- and apparently took nearly ten minutes to die: His friend was rather shaken by the experience, and was staying in his room for now: she didn't think he'd be respawning any time soon.

The conversation waned on, as the discussion turned to strategy, to tactics, to what the hell they were going to do: Jonathon was engaged in a fun discussion with Amira – they were discussing martial arts: She'd apparently been an orange belt in Tae Kwon do, and had jumped on the System to improve her understanding, as well as grabbing some plasma magic: she was quite interested in the other aura perks he'd seen, and how they might combine. Then, notifications started popping up – people started vanishing, then Amira's team waved and faded, and then it was his turn: He accepted the respawn, and the world shimmered away in a haze of neon blue.