“I’m not dead?”

Looking around with visible confusion, Baron Magellan found that he was no longer behind enemy lines, but standing in the middle of a large, dimly lit hall filled with countless other humans, most of whom looked to be in sorry states. Some had visible gunshot wounds, half-smashed bodies, and some had small, malnourished frames. Perhaps they hadn’t eaten a proper meal in months or years.

Baron suddenly realized — it was a hallway of the dead. He frantically looked down and touched himself all over, only to find that there was a huge cavity in his chest.

He finally realized what had happened. He and his men had been under enemy fire when a grenade had suddenly made its way into his corps’ position. Without hesitation, he’d lept onto the grenade and bear-hugged it to save his troops.

He remembered hearing a blood-curdling cry, a female voice in his final moments.

It’d belonged to the sniper of the team, a girl who had been ridiculed by everyone but Baron for joining what has been deemed a male-only occupation. She’d quickly proved everyone wrong as she’d gradually racked up her achievements through their many missions. Over the months and years, the two had spent many lonely nights together behind enemy lines and had gradually developed feelings for each other. The two had finally decided to give it a try after they returned to China from deployment.

Her name was Roxi Blaze.

...

“Come on Baron, you can't die like this, not like this!!” She screamed as she reached Baron’s body, tears pouring down her cheeks.

“Ha…” Baron weekly replied. “Looks like the heavens have other plans for… us…"

Roxi sniffed as she wiped away her tears. “Stop talking... Medic! I need a medic!” She urgently called out.

She looked back at Baron. “Come on, you can't die like this! You’re amongst the best and brightest of the newest generation! You can’t die like this!”

“Don't be angry, my love. If there is a god then I will fight an army of angels to return to you, so...wait for me...” He coughed and wheezed, then slumped, never to move again.

“No!” Roxi roared towards the heavens as a demented expression plastered itself upon her face. After letting go of her lover, she threw down her sniper, dove atop an AK-47, and bolted out of the safety of their position towards the enemy camp.

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Looking around Baron deduced that his current place was some sort of afterlife processing chamber for the dead souls. There was an endless sea of people in front and behind him and he realized that there wasn't anything else in his vision. The only thing he could think of to do at this moment was to just go with the flow of the crowd.

After waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, he finally managed to get to the front of the line and hastily approached the person working one of an endless row of counters.

“Hello there, I just want to know...” Baron started, but was startled when he saw who it was.

“R-Roxi?”