1 No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

What do you think will be your last thoughts before you die? For some it's bartering for their life with whatever deity they believe is coming to collect their soul as they make promises that they will do things differently if only they are given a second chance. For others it's the most meaningful moments of their life or about those they care about and are leaving behind. Then there are those who are filled with regret for their choices they made that lead them to that final moment. I happen to fall into the latter.

So let me set the story straight: The world is a dark place, where corruption runs deep and the odds of finding someone who is genuinely good and actually cares about others more than themselves is rarer than winning the lottery. Now that's not to say that people can't do kind deeds, it's just that those good deeds usually end badly for those giving them.

After all, the biggest preachers of peace and equality have been killed for speaking out and doing the right thing. Don't believe me, here's some examples: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Abraham Lincoln, heck even Jesus if you believe in him that is.

Why do good deeds if all that you can expect in return is only death, exile, pain, or a stab in the back.

It must be my bad luck that I just happen to come from a family that lives by the code of accepting others for who they are and being kind to you fellow man.

Unfortunately as a result of the code I'm lying here dying on the ground bleeding out in an alley next to a man I was trying to save. How did I end up like this? You might ask, well let's just say that helping others isn't always the best idea.

It started innocently enough when I was walking home from work I saw a few delinquents kicking an old man in an alley. The old man seemed to be unconscious as he lay flat unmoving. Being a good samaritan I decided to call out to them while holding up my phone with 911 ready to be dialed in an attempt to intimidate the delinquents.

"What are you kids doing, leave him alone or I'll call the cops." I say. Showing my screen so they could see it.

The kids clearly didn't have much guts as they started to make a break for it down the other end of the alley. Putting away my phone and making my way toward the old man to check his condition.

I ask: "Hey, old guy you alr…"

The words died in my mouth as I got closer and a strong metallic smell assaulted my nose. Moving closer I notice a pool of blood. Crouching down next to him I put two fingers on his neck to check his pulse to make sure he's still alive.

Finding his pulse and confirming he is still breathing although weakly. I rolled him over to check the wound. It seems to be a stab wound most likely from a switchblade a lot of the kids in the area used to look cool or tough. The cut was deep and knowing that time is of the essence I quickly took off my collared shirt and applied pressure to the wound. After securing the shirt on the wound with my left hand.

I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone to call an ambulance. As I do I hear a bang, followed by another, and then another. Looking down I see the blood coming out of my own chest. Struggling to look from where the sound came from I manage briefly to get a glance at a blue uniform before everything goes dark.

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I was woken by a blinding light. After struggling to adjust my vision I try to get my bearings but looking around all I see is white as far as the eye can see. Now I'll be honest I'm an atheist but I'm pretty sure I was dead. In other words I believe that gods are just a concept used to control the ignorant and native into doing what those in charge want.

Checking my chest for wounds and finding none I can tell something is wrong.

Looking around, a thought comes to mind. "Is this purgatory?"

"Not quite"

Hearing a voice from behind me I turn around only to find no one in sight. Ok, that's creepy. Wearily I managed to utter: "Uhhh hello…. Is there anyone there?"

After a moment of silence I hear the voice again: "Why yes there is."

As the words reached my ears a blinding light appeared before my eyes and as my vision began to return I could make out the outline of a man seemingly made of light.

Falling backward I ask with a shaky tone: "What are you?"

The man seemed to ponder for a minute holding his hand to his chin before replying: "I have many names such as The Creator, The Almighty, Lord, The Father, but I am most often called God."

Making my way to my feet, I reply: "Well damn, I guess I'm going to hell then."

"Why would you think that? In all honesty you have led a good life sharing kindness when you can, helping out those less fortunate than you when you're able, and standing up for those who are in need. Now you're not perfect, you've made mistakes but so has everyone else." God replied.

"Great, does that mean I get to go to heaven then?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, you are a special case you weren't supposed to die yet so you can't go to either heaven or hell." He said.

Confused and angry, I questioned him: "What do you mean I wasn't supposed to die and what's going to happen to me then."

Now I know what you're thinking, getting angry at the guy who can spite you with a mere thought. Probably not the smartest idea I've ever had, however how would you feel if you learned that you died before your time.

Apologetically, he replied. "That was my son Lucifer's doing toying with the fate of man. For his actions I'm sorry.

He bowed his head, as before continuing: "I'm willing to give you a second chance. If you are willing, I'll even give you some gifts to help you in your new life."

He seemed to be honestly sorry for his son's actions so while I'm angry I can't really give the guy a hard time and since mom passed I haven't had much attachment to my life either so maybe a new life isn't such a bad idea.

Letting out a deep sign I ask. "Tell me more about these gifts I will be getting and will I be going back to the same world I was in or will I be going to a new one?"

"I give you 3 wishes and I'll even let you pick the world reborn in. It can be the same as your old world, even one from fiction the choice is yours. However I'll give you a small warning to make sure at least one of your gifts has the ability to grow." He warned.

"Can I ask for a system like Han Ji-han from the gamer manhwa?" I ask.

"If that is your wish then I can make it so, but make sure to choose wisely." He warns again.

It took me a while to weigh the pros and cons of different abilities, my final decision fell on Zhao Hai's Space from Bringing a Farm to Live in Another World for the first wish. The Space has a lot of potential to grow and if used well it can produce both food, support, and even has subworlds and factories as it grows.

I use the second wish to have an ability like Jiang Chen from I Have a Mansion in the Post-apocalyptic World that with enough energy he can travel back and forth between the future and the present and even has a subspace that as long as the user has enough power in the mark. The mark can be recharged by absorbing energy such as electricity. However I ask God to modify the mark to give me the ability to travel to different worlds instead of from the present to the future and vice versa. I left the requirement and mechanics up to him to decide.

For my last wish I wanted Bai Hei's stopwatch from Mischievous Time Stopper that gives the user the ability to stop time.

After relaying my wishes to God and getting his ok he asks me which world would I like to travel to first.

After contemplating for a while I decided that I wanted to go to the Percy Jackson world as I grew up really enjoying the series a lot and if I want to develop the Space an architect would be helpful and the monsters, animals, and plants could be used to raise the level of the Space relatively quickly.

"Any requests before I send you on your way?" God asks.

Thinking for a minute something comes to mind: "Can you make it so others can't read my mind or copy my DNA. I don't want clones of me running around too badly and can I please skip the early years? I don't think I can handle the whole baby years again with the mind of an adult I'd probably die of boredom?"

"Not a problem and remember to have fun over there." As he finishes speaking I'm engulfed by I white light as I disappear.