The first queue was meant for souls that had only tasted death once, but for the girl at the back of the line, she had been dead not once, twice, or even thrice; this was her seventh time as a wandering soul at the In-Between rebirth station. She kept her head down, avoiding eyes because her presence back here was a taboo that could warrant drastic punishment. She couldn't afford to be caught. She wrung her hands nervously. Her nails were chipped from chewing too hard on them. Her knuckles shimmered with red welts from too much scratching. If the long, winding reception hall with glassy Walls that soared into the sky didn't demand pin-drop silence; she would have let out a loud cry or two. It was a staple for first-time souls, called Freshers, to be the most disoriented and weepy at being first-time ghosts. Irina had seen enough of them to know all the tell-tale signs. Her mastery of them had gotten her through her first six rebirths unnoticed and unscathed. However, she was back here because she still hadn't found what she had been looking for in all her previous lives. She was risking it all again, hoping this time would be her last. She dared to look ahead at the front desk where the gatekeepers in white apparel went through routine interrogations with the souls. The man in front of the Freshers line shook like a leaf as he gave details of his tragic death. Irina looked at the queue next to hers, the only other queue allowed. The people on that line were called passengers. They had been dead twice, the second time being out of their control and less than five years after their first rebirth. Their second rebirth was deemed a consolation in a way, but after their second lives began, any death that ensued would be their last. In this world, being reborn was a privilege and a reward that came as a result of a strict set of rules. One's death must have never been orchestrated by them in any shape or form, and they must have a concrete reason for being desperate to have a do-over in life. Every pure human was entitled to a rebirth under the right circumstances, but for other species like vampires, werewolves, and whatnot, rebirth cases were super rare because the route was steeped with difficult conditions. For every ten thousand human rebirths, there was one rebirth of an impure human species. That was how difficult it was for those creatures. Irina knew almost everything there was to know about rebirth because her second life had been in the body of Ursula Grimes, a voracious reader with an unhealthy interest in history books. She had consumed every dusty old leather book she could find on rebirth, spent her savings on visiting ancient libraries and interrogating sages who were willing to speak on the sacred topic. She was desperate to find a way to cheat the system, and she eventually found a way. Recently, she had discovered how to influence the body that would be assigned to her and planned to use it this time around, so she never had to risk coming here again. Thankfully, the gatekeepers were so numerous that it was rare to chance upon the same one that attended to her the last time she was here to be assigned her sixth rebirth. Not one of them had clued in. Hopefully, they won't break that streak today. Irina glanced at the Passengers' queue. The souls were a lot calmer and organized. The only reason the Freshers' line moved faster was because the passengers were grilled with tougher questions to ensure they were worthy of a second rebirth. That was why Irina chose the Freshers line. It was easier to slip through, and most of the gatekeepers who attended to them were newbies. A loud sound was followed by a shower of blinding, bright light at the back of the hall. The Freshers panicked and went haywire. Irina joined them even though she knew it was just the arrival of another tranche of souls. A loud order was barked out from what appeared to be an intercom, warning the Freshers to keep calm while gatekeepers with their masked faces headed over to guide the new souls to the right queues. When Irina glanced to her right, a burly passenger sneered at her for being spineless and rudely whispered that she get a grip on herself. Irina pretended to vibrate with fear, still as new Freshers were added to her queue. Finally, her line progressed till she was right behind the Fresher being attended to. The burly passenger yelled in anger as his request for rebirth was denied flatly. He tried to protest, causing a ruckus almost as loud as the one the Freshers made earlier, but before he could make his case, the gatekeeper attending to him angled her head. A thin red light shot from her eyes like lasers and caused the man to evaporate in front of her. More shocked stares and cries erupted from the Freshers, but this time, it was a bit subdued. "W-What h-happened to h-him?" A teenage,r, quaking with fear, asked the man behind Irina. He dabbed his eyebrows and leaned to whisper to her. "His soul just got extinguished. He is lost forever in the abyss." Irina's ears pricked at his words. Immediately, she turned to him. If he knew that, then this was not his first rebirth, either. Fool. How could he put himself in that position? Like she expected, the man was immediately illuminated by a ring of red light. "INTRUDER! INTRUDER! INTRUDER!" The intercom blasted. The gatekeepers that came swooping popped out from glass tiles that parted on the floor. They were donned in black with pitchforks. "No. No, this is a mistake." The man begged as he was dragged away, kicking and crying. Irina calmed her racing heart. No, that would not happen to her. The man found a way to return for his second rebirth. He could have qualified as a passenger, but for whatever reason, he chose to sneak into the Freshers' line. If she were caught, her case would be different. For a soul like hers that didn't qualify either as a Fresher or a passenger, she would be called a wraith. Wraiths had been reborn more than twice, which was a taboo. Their souls were deemed evil. She would be treated worse than the man who had been dragged away. She would endure immeasurable pain before being extinguished into the abyss. "Next." The gatekeeper attending to the Freshers yelled. Irina's fingers went cold. Ok, she could do this. She had done it many times. She stepped up to the front and wiped her teary eyes. "Name?" "N-Nyla S-Stark." She mumbled as rehearsed, keeping her head low. The gatekeeper pulled up a floating screen and input the name. He wasn't going to find it, Irina knew. Based on her experience and extensive research, it was always best to go with the names of dead impure human species whose chances at rebirth were a thousand percent unlikely. Unless those creatures had unusual luck in the entire universe, they would only get extinguished at their deaths. Thus, there were no records of them in the In-Between Rebirth station, and no record on the floating screen translates as 'New Soul,' which further means she was eligible to be reborn if she had a concrete reason to desire it. "NYLA STARK" An electronic voice repeats on the screen as the name runs. When Irina looked up, there was a flash of green boxing her carefully chosen name. It wasn't supposed to appear on the screen at all. What the fuck was happening right now? However, the shock in the gatekeeper's eyes frightened her even more as he lurched backwards. "Wraith!" He shrilled frightfully, stabbing a finger in her direction. The entire hall went dark except for the blinding light that illuminated the spot where Irina was standing. Screams echoed all around her. She heard the tiles sliding open as underground gatekeepers surged with their pitchforks. They were accompanied by the thrum of boots from more gatekeepers in red and white hastening towards Irina. No, this can't be happening. She had been meticulous in her preparation. Where did she get it wrong? Irina wondered as she lowered her head and played out her best Fresher act, pretending to be misunderstood. She felt a surge of electric power coursing through her body, from her head straight to her feet. The last thing she recalled was convulsing till she passed out.