"Please sir, I'm begging you- give me a chance!"

The dark-haired salaryman forced down the disgust to keep his expression stoic, though the tapping of his pen became a bit louder- how many times had he heard this line now? And yet, the bespectacled man before him never learned, never even tried to make the effort to clean up his performance. If he kept the man before him around, it would only lower the morale of the people under him and cause trouble for their clients.

"I have a family and a daughter in college- how will I pay for our house or her tuition?!"

He was done listening to his excuses, done giving him chances. If he cared as much for either as he said he did, he wouldn't disregarded the attempts to help him better himself or so flippantly disregarded the rules of the workplace.

"You brought this on yourself," he stated, voice impassive but final. "You have been given several warnings and opportunities to improve your ethic- I myself have offered to help. But you have repeatedly been tardy, absent without excuse and you haven't even tried to improve your numbers."

The pen rotated in his hand as he held it out, palm up. "At this point, there is no logical reason to keep you in our employment," and the contempt seeped into his voice, "At this point, you're nothing but a waste of space."

"Please! You can't just fire me, come on-"

The salarymam's dark brown gaze held no sympathy as he pushed forward the pamphlet that all employees were given upon being hired. "Kindly clean out your desk."

The bespectacled man slumped to his knees out of the chair but the salaryman behind the desk gave him no sympathy, watching impassively as the now jobless man stumbled out of his office. When he was gone, the salaryman closed his eyes for a moment and put the pen down- that was not wise for him to let his composure slip like that.

He reported this to the manager above him and finished his work as storm clouds rolled in over the busy metropolis. He packed away his things, including a favorite book of his, "Freedom of Choice", which he kept rolled up in his pocket. As he began to walk home, the rain started to trickle down and the salaryman hurried his pace to the subway. As he waited for the train to arrive, he found that his concentration on the book kept slipping as he remembered the day's earlier events.

Regardless of the man's performance, they were down a worker and would have to hire again. The employees under him would have to adjust to another new worker coming in, account for any mistakes in said new worker and the paperwork required for both. Regardless, if he truly cared for his money and family as he so claimed, that man would have adhered to the rules and regulations that were in place to help make everything run smoother.

It was his duty to oversee the performance of his workers, as the HR agent over them. There was nothing personal in this, as they were all there to make the company run smoother and fill their pockets. Well, at least most of them were- the salaryman's ambitions wouldn't be filled just using the job to pay for a small flat or family. No, he was aiming to gain a corner office of his own and to eventually lead the leisurely and secure life of an executive.

The thought of that future brought a smile to his face- arrogant, hungry, but a smile nonetheless and he turned another page. The rain and general noise of the subway kept him from hearing the short-breath noises of a desperate man or hear the footsteps behind until he had been forcefully pushed forward. His brief case and book went flying as the salaryman entered the train's path and a glance behind him showed the bespectacled man he had fired earlier with his arms out-stretched.

Even with death just seconds away, the salaryman was more annoyed at the other's irrational stunt than afraid for his life.

Then, everything stopped. The wind, the rain, the noise, the people. Everything was silent and still, frozen just seconds before the train came upon the salaryman. Said man's dark brown eyes flickered about, trying to assess the situation. Was this his death?

"This is very tiresome."

The salaryman froze at the man's voice, trying to pinpoint who had spoke before another joined in, this time a woman. "Humans think they're all knowing, and have lost sight of what's right and what's wrong."

"They think the laws of the universe don't apply to them." An older man.

What on earth were these people saying?

"Humans no longer emphasize with others." A teenage girl.

"And they haven't an ounce of faith in their mighty creator." ... a pigeon.

Wait, "creator?"

"You heard the bird," the train conductor said.

The salaryman took this in: he had been pushed by a vindictive former employee into a train and then God himself stopped time seconds before his death, just to speak with him through some random bystanders... and at least one talking pigeon.

"That's correct," said pigeon affirmed.

And that was as far as his suspension of disbelief was willing to stretch itself. The salaryman's panic began to subside as his mind became calm- he had been right in assuming this was a near-death hallucination. He did not believe in the existence of "God" or any other divitinities, logic and reason long having since rationalized away the possibility of such things.

"WHAT." Several voices cried out this time, incredulous.

Besides, how could he be certain that this was indeed "God"? If God did exist, then so would angels, demons and other creatures who inhabited the spiritual realm. Even if God existed, why would he do something this absurd to get a point across and why choose him to try and do so? No, this must be someone else.

"Like the devil?" a bespectacled school girl asked.

Or perhaps a similar entity. For simplicity's sake, he would refer to them as "Being X".

"You really don't want to believe, even with a miracle happening before your eyes?" the same girl asked, expression irate.

If this was God, then perhaps they'd have known that lecturing him on faith would be an exercise in futility. If they had wanted his interest or attention, then they'd have filed a report to him personally.

"As the being who controls the cycle of reincarnation, there are firm rules I abide by," a college student said, gaze becoming cold as they stated, "That said, I shall make an exception for you."

His mind raced as he processed this. Reincarnation? So people are reborn even after they die then?

"That's no longer your concern, I'm afraid," a vest-wearing man stated.

He forced the panic down- did none of them know the principal of full disclosure?! Why even bring this up to him?! Not only that, but if this was really "God" speaking to him, surely he would follow the rules he put into place and avoid heat-of-the-moment decisions like this one?

"I manage over seven billion people, I'm completely over-worked as it is," a man looking at his watch while clutching a briefcase.

"Frankly, reincarnating people who have no faith is a waste of my time," a balding bespectacled man said, scorn audible.

The first sign of a flawed business model, he knew. Why would people need to cling to something they had no certainty existed if the tools to fill their core needs were widespread and common place? Therefore, the only ones who would cling to "God" would be the ones who either couldn't gain access to said tools or were weak and/ or needy enough to believe in something to alleviate their suffering, rather than work to overcome it themselves. People like him would never need Being X or any divinity.

"So you're saying that you have no faith because of the world you are in," a baby mused.

"All your needs are met through technology-"

"- you have a high social class-"

"- and you have never been in dire straits before."

And this conversation was not taking a good turn, the salaryman's eyes widening as he realized what they were insinuating. While they were technically right, they were also jumping to the wrong conclusions about him too fast! His hand twitched as he tried to move and reach towards Being X.

"What if I placed you-"

"- into dire straits?"

"Do you think then-"

"- your faith in me-"

"- would be awakened?"

They couldn't be hasty about this! He didn't want to break any rules of reincarnation-

Three circular walls, each smaller than the last inside one another.

A rose and thorns, blue and white wings and a green unicorn.

A cave of crystal with a staircase leading to a single pillar.

A family in robes with two others flanking them, dressed in black and standing to attention.

Nine naked giants in a single group, one holding a horn while reaching to the sky while the other eight knelt with their backs turned to the first.

A woman accepting an apple from an hooded figure.

Three children looking up to the sky, stunned.

A an arm curled around their chest and the fist above their heart.

Bright green eyes that held a smoldering rage and hatred.

"TRY TO SURVIVE AS LONG AS YOU CAN- IF YOU DIE AGAIN, THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER REINCARNATION. GO."

Wait- what?! was his last coherent thought before every bone in salaryman Ikeda Susumu's body was crushed by the train, ending his life.

Keep going? Think of the possibilities yourselves? Let me know if I should continue this.