The Serpent Enforcer

Chapter 2: Here, We Have Options!

James rubbed his throat, the pain still kinda there. It wasn't as agonizing as before, more along the lines of a sore throat now, but it still sucked. He didn't even notice Alexander move beside him, making him jump as he placed his hand on his shoulder in a comforting way.

"My boy, you have now idea how much this means to me!" The old man exclaimed. "Now that I've got you, I can finally start looking for more candidates!" He seemed extremely pleased. But James couldn't blame him. From what he could gather, Alexander had been placing his hopes on him, for whatever reason.

"Ye-Yeah. No problem." James said raspily, trying not to speak too loudly where it hurts, but enough for Alexander to hear.

"Now then," Alexander began. "Let's get you situated. Come with me." He moved towards a door that James had not seen before and motioned for him to follow. James just shrugged and followed suit, he was in the afterlife, and he had just gotten a job offer. So what if doors appear randomly?

Alexander led James through a fairly plain hall that stretched for a couple meters before ending at an intersection. There were no signs on the walls, making him a bit confused, but was interrupted by Alexander. "Yeah, I know. Since this place is still relatively new, I need to map it out properly then label the directions. Luckily, for now, I know my way around by heart, so just follow me." He went down the corridor to the left, James following close behind.

Time skip

The pair had wandered for a couple of minutes, taking lefts, rights, and straights through the fairly bland and undecorated facility. They had passed by a few rooms and buildings that had seemed to be important. An auditorium, a cafeteria, barracks, a couple more separate rooms that had blank plaques above the doors. It was a very long walk.

Eventually, they reached a larger office, this one barren and empty. Save for a lone desk in the back of the room. "This, Mr. Havard, is your office." Alexander gestured to the room. "I know it looks sterile and unimportant now, but that will change." He walked over to the plain desk and reached into the biggest drawer it had and pulled something out.

He had grabbed a tablet and turned it on. He looked at James and pressed a button, turning the room's white walls to black, then red, then back to white. "This tablet customizes the look of the room. When we are finished with everything today you can go ahead and spend a while customizing this room to your liking!" He finished cheerily, which got James to smile. 'Man this guy loves his toys'

He set the tablet back on the desk. "Anyway, the place we need to be is just next door, so come!" He walked out the door with James following closely. Once James closed the door fully and looked at Alexander, the old man showed him to a room across the hall. It had large sterile white double doors with a set of windows, but nothing could be seen behind them.

They entered, Alexander holding the door for the younger man. Once James had passed through, Alexander closed the door. "Good! Now that we're here, we can get to business." He moved in front of James and looked him in the eyes.

"Mr. Havard, I can not express how grateful I am for you to have accepted my offer! Truly!" He patted James' back roughly. "But now that you have accepted, we're gonna need you to be in peak condition!" James raised his brow.

"And how are we gonna do that? I don't see any weights in here, nor anything else for that matter..."

Alexander smiled. "I'm sure you're already familiar with the concept, but I'm giving you three wishes. Or more accurately, forcing onto you two wishes, while you get one. Sorry..." He cringed slightly.

"Ok.... What are you 'forcing on me' exactly?" James asked.

"Well, since you are now my second-in-command, I need you to be just as strong, if not a wee bit weaker than I am now," He explained, getting a hesitant nod in return "but the whole overpowered process takes time. So I am giving you a few ways to be overpowered!"