Everything in my body went cold.
I couldn't hear anything for a moment.
It felt like the room was sinking.
"For the damage caused to the victim and her family, and for the emotional trauma that led to her death, the defendant will receive capital punishment."
I couldn't breathe.
My legs gave out, and I fell to the ground.
The guards quickly pulled me back up.
Tears were running down my face.
"I'm innocent, please, I didn't do anything. Please."
But no one listened.
People were talking. Some shook their heads, others looked away like I disgusted them.
As they dragged me out of the hall, I heard a voice behind me.
A soft voice.
"Little one, little one."
I turned my head, but there was no one.
Just faces staring at me with hate.
I was brought to a temporary cell, scheduled to be executed that night.
"Damn it, nothing changed. Why can't I prove that I didn't do anything? Why am I scheduled to die for something I haven't done?"
In the evening, they gave me a letter to write to my parents and loved ones:
Hello everyone,
I still don't know what I've done. I just want to say I'm innocent. I didn't do anything, and I feel like I'm going insane.
I really hope that, over time, after I'm gone, you will believe me when I say that I never did anything. I would never lie to you.
But yeah, this is where I need to end it.
Sorry for all the trouble, and I hope you believe me when I say I'm innocent.
A guard came to my cell and said it was time.
He led me down a long hallway. As I looked at it more closely, I realized I recognized it.
Then it hit me.
This was the hallway from my dream.
My thoughts were interrupted when I suddenly heard:
"When the clock stops ticking,
I'll take your heart."
The voice was distorted.
I looked around, but found nothing.
"It's time," they said.
I entered the room, and they strapped me into a chair connected to tubes filled with chemicals.
Time slowed, as if everything was moving in slow motion.
I didn't care anymore. I just wanted it to be over.
I felt the fluids slowly enter my body as a white light flashed before my eyes.
Before I knew it, I had died.
But it was not the end.
I found myself in a completely white space that stretched endlessly in every direction.
"Is this heaven?" I thought.
I tried walking, but it didn't matter. The space went on infinitely.
I sat down, accepting it.
"So this is it, no heaven. Just an endless white space."
"I died, and I still don't know what happened. Why did everyone accuse me? Why don't I remember that night?"
"Well, maybe I should try to find someone. If this is the afterlife, there should be someone here."
"This place feels strange. It's nothing like I imagined."
A bright light suddenly blinded me.
Then I heard a voice.
"Hello, Yuki."
"You're probably wondering what this place is, and what your purpose here is. Let me ask you something, if you could live again, in another world, serving under me.
Would you do it?"
"If I do that, I'd get another chance at life. But why would I? Something bad would just happen again. Maybe it's better to stay here."
"What would happen if I refused?" I asked.
"Then you would truly die. This place is my domain. I am the goddess of change. In our world, there is a barrier that prevents us from entering the human world. So I want you to become my apostle and follow my orders to make that world a better place," she said.
"So it's life or death. Even though my life was miserable, I should take the chance."
"I accept," I said firmly.
"Perfect," she replied softly.
A white light flashed before my eyes.
And suddenly, I was standing in a jungle.