"Tch, of course, a human like you doesn't know what it means," she said, wrinkling her face slightly as if disappointed. "It is a home for reverent beings after all."
Excuse me?
Can someone explain what the hell is going on?
"Well, let me explain then," she said dramatically, placing her hand over her chest as if she heard my thoughts again.
"You are about to die, Mister Theodore. A truck will run over the bus. You will die, including the other twenty-one members on the bus," she said calmly, closing her eyes as if she was simply stating today's weather.
I struggled to process that information. My mind repeated her words again and again.
About to die.
That means… Am I not dead yet?
"Yes, exactly what you think. You are still alive, thanks to me dragging you here," she said in a slightly proud tone, lifting her chin a little as if she expected praise.
"T-then Faye-"
"Everyone else… is still alive, Mister Theodore," she said, cutting me off mid-sentence. "But if you do not do something, all will die the moment you leave this place." Her golden eyes glinted sharply. "For that, I have a purpose for you."
My mouth went dry.
Seriously, I don't get what was happening or why. None of this made sense. A few minutes ago, I was on a bus, tired from work, listening to my brother talk about some random smartphone game. And now I was standing in a galaxy waiting room, being told I was about to die.
But my mind kept whispering that what she said was true. This… wasn't some kind of dream. It didn't feel blurry or unstable like dreams do. The thought of Faye dying felt too real.
And if there was even a small chance I could save him-
I swallowed.
But a purpose from a divine being can't be something less than divine trouble. Can it?
She seemed like she was waiting for my answer, her expression growing slightly impatient. So, with hesitation, I just nodded.
"Good. It's nothing hard," she said, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked up at the constellations above, as if they personally wronged her. Her lips twitched slightly, annoyed for reasons I could not understand. "The MWGA needs something from you. They need you to inspect daily life."
The absurd turn of her words hit me hard.
"What?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. "You want me to inspect daily life? When what's happening right now is completely the opposite of daily life?"
"Daily lives in different worlds," she clarified, her voice echoing slightly in the vast space. "The Association wants you to report your findings each time."
Different worlds.
My brain froze again.
She continued, walking slowly in a circle around me, her white frock flowing behind her like mist. "Countless worlds exist within the Milky Way Galaxy Association's jurisdiction. Some are advanced. Some are primitive. Some are… unstable." She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. "We require an observer, Someone painfully average."
I flinched at that.
"Painfully average?" I muttered. Excuse me? That was so rude of you!
"Yes," she replied bluntly. "You are ordinary. You understand struggle, repetition, exhaustion. Perfect for observing daily life without interfering too much."
So I was chosen because I was… boring? Damn you, you are actually so rude!
She stopped in front of me again.
"Am I hearing that right?" I asked, staring at her in disbelief. My head felt light, like I might faint any second. Is this some kind of fantasy drama or what?
"Yes," she replied without hesitation. Her voice echoed calmly in the endless galaxy around us. "So, Mister Theodore Vale, will you accept this purpose? If you do, we will give you a chance to save the people on the bus. If you don't… well, you can just die with them."
The way she said it was so simple. So casual. Like she was offering me tea instead of deciding life and death.
I wasn't getting a choice there.
I don't want to die. I don't want Faye to die. The kid has his whole life ahead of him. He still complains about homework. He still gets excited over new games. He still dreams about the future. As his only family, I can't hesitate just because I think I might go mad if I agree.
"I… will do it."
As I said it, the words felt like sand in my mouth. Something deep inside my mind told that once I agreed, everything I knew would change. That I would not be the same person I used to be.
The ordinary office worker. The man with a simple dream of becoming a building owner.
The woman smirked, clearly satisfied.
"I knew you would. Very well, human," she said, standing straight. She threw her hands slightly to her sides as if she was welcoming an invisible audience.
A golden swirl of haze began to twirl around her body, glowing brighter with each second. The glass-like floor rippled wildly beneath my feet.
"So then, I shall appoint you as the landlord of the Nexus Building," she declared.
Nexus Building?
"Remember, human," she continued, as the golden haze expanded and surrounded me too. "Each floor has two apartments with two tenants. You will form a residence contract with them, no matter how absurd they look. You will travel to their worlds, inspect their daily lives, and report back to me."
Her golden eyes locked onto mine.
"This is your duty."
Wait. Wait. Wait.
Explain more!!!
I wanted to yell. I wanted to ask what the Nexus Building is. Where it is. How I travel. What happens if I fail. What happens to Faye. What happens to me.
But my words died in my throat.
"I shall gift you a certain device for help, too. But remember, even as you are assigned as a landlord, you will be a supervisor. A person who looks upon and controls. You will be the supervisor sent from MWGA. You can do whatever you want until you do your given task right…" she said, then raised her chin as if to look down on me, even though she was already taller in presence alone.
"But there is one rule you should absolutely follow."
The golden haze thickened around us. It wrapped around my arms and legs like heavy smoke. I felt like I could barely breathe.
The constellations above flickered violently, as if disturbed. The glassy floor beneath my feet rippled harder, waves spreading in every direction.
Her voice dropped lower.
"Do not… approach the thirteenth floor without our permission."
A shiver ran down my spine.
The way she said that was enough to tell me whatever I was stepping into was not some simple landlord job. It was something dangerous. Something that even beings like her treated seriously.
The thirteenth floor.
Why specifically that floor?
Before I could ask, she continued.
"Then I shall send you back," she said calmly. "You will get thirty seconds to save the bus, human."
"Thirty seconds?" I repeated, my eyes widening.
Wait.
If we are all going to die, then what the hell am I supposed to do with thirty seconds? You can't just drop a multiversal bomb on me, make me accept some cosmic landlord job, and then expect me to save a crashing bus in thirty seconds. I am not a fucking Superman!
"Should you fail, you can forget about the purpose and just die!" she declared, raising both her hands toward me. A blinding golden light began to emit from her palms, swallowing the space between us.
"I wish let's meet again," she said with a faint, almost playful smile. "Either you dead or alive!"
"Wait-!" I tried to shout.
But the light bled into my sight, too bright to endure. My body felt like it was being thrown backward into an endless void. My stomach dropped as if I was falling from a great height.
Then again-
Complete darkness.
And the sound of shattering glass returned to my ears.