Short yet very much effective. When a man recognises an angel, the first thing they think about is all the sins they carelessly committed. Sometimes, your final judgement comes sooner than you think.

And thus, David overcame the biggest of all Goliaths. Fascinating story. What stronger proof of free will is there than to chew out the leash your owner has on you ? Die as a person who has shown God what he and his kins were capable of, and made God take a step back. Die with your people. Thus, humanity reaches its greatest potential, as it flies beyond its creator, and extends its arms to embrace the fire of the Sun.

A simple, but effective extension of the original prompt ! For once, no major problem put in perspective here, simply a conception of how each of these Earths would be, and putting in evidence the good that this system would do, while also reflecting that it was not just God’s act that magically fixed everything, but also the human’s willingness to change. Not a story in itself, but a very pleasant summary, might be my favorite so far.

“The Man who healed Hell”. It’s amusing and touching really, like a more optimistic take on u/sadnesslaughs story, where a man sacrifices himself to help sinners, maybe even get them out of here. I see a lot of stories expending on the idea of trying to defy God’s will, and turn the tables around. It’s quite heartwarming, the idea that even when better worlds are open for them, people would rather try to be with the ones they love, and save the people that suffer below.

Oh wow ! It’s funny in a way, of course Earth 4 would be the most similar to ours, with both good and bad things, and of course the Angels’ coming would be used as media material, with politicians trying to get a good image. I didn’t quite get the whole ending, even after looking up what March Madness was, but I’m guessing there is some kind of corruption here ? With the protagonist, who I assume to be either a fallen angel or Cain himself (the idea of inserting more biblical elements is very bold and interesting in itself), offering a list of sinners in exchange for his own guarantee to go up. A somewhat dark, but not dystopian take on the prompt.

Chilling. An ironic thought, that this segregative system prevents any improvement whatsoever, separating reformed people and those still in need of guidance. Hell is real now, because they crafted it as such. It’s another interesting take, like every person that moves gets some parallel life, be it better or worse. A scary thought, to imagine what Rederick could have done to earn a one-way ticket back to Earth 7. But this idea of people feeling like they “belong” to a specific society, be it specifically good or bad, is another thing that could be expanded a lot.

Few words, huge lesson, wow.

”Nothing intelligently designed is designed intelligently”. What a great opening line. Really like how this one put into perspective the obvious flaws of the system. The idea that to access Earth 1, it’s not just you but your entire bloodline that must earn it. Kids going to Earth 1 (then again, is there more perverse soul than a child’s ?), this idealization of other Earths, very good.

Hm… like I said for u/ThiefCitron’s story, this is a very deep problematic here, using this novel as a way to depict the flaws of current religion.

Who could imagine after all ? Sins aren’t like a disease you can cure, get vaccinated from, or avoid by staying with other clean people. They are innate, proper to humanity.

HAHAHA !

I expected this idea of religions as we know them originally to be taken literally, making it an unlivable hell. What a scary, dystopian twist ! Who knows what Earth 7 could be like then ? There is a very profound problematic being raised here. Perhaps rejecting the dark parts of us for a belief only makes us less humans ? That it is why gods are better observed and praised from a certain distance, both physically and mentally, for our sins, our raw emotions and desires are part of what allow us to live as a happy society, perhaps they are in a way, what makes us humans.

This.

The anticipation, the two characters putting in all the good work to go higher as you’d expect them, their very sweet bond, the growing unease when fear and remorse take place, the question of the paradise they’ve been waiting for so long, the ideas set into motion, with both acceptance, questioning, and rejection of the set order of things. Can you really change humanity ? Can you really prove God wrong ?

My personal guess would be that they can’t. No good deed goes unpunished, unfortunately, and who knows ? Maybe if they did change things, then they’d just be the new Earth 3 ?

A lot of sweetness and fear in this, a very deep and mind-opening read.

Wow ! A child being separated from her family, causing sins to cheat the system, a fixation on reaching a specific Earth ? All very interesting ideas, and the surnatural/action genre vibes emanated by this are very pleasant. Angels as maddening entities who have no time to waste in talking (it reminds me of the 10th plague of Egypt in a way), a mystery with Yuna’s mother being sent down for unknown reasons, somewhat wholesome with her husband being ready to condemn himself to follow her, and who knows what Yuna herself could have done to earn her banishment further down ?

Oooh, when you put it in a way where humans are not even aware of all this, it takes a very different form, like a Matrix with religious undersides. Really impressed by how you took into account such things as culture, generation mentalities, and changes between realities that would be caused by this separation (was poker never created in the after-1998 reality ?!). Clever cliffhanger ending.

Wow ! I had never considered the idea of immortality for humans, but it does make a lot of sense as both a utopic characteristic of a sin-less world, and a way to perpetually torment the sinners. I knew this prompt could spark a lot of concepts, but the character of Alex is really something surprising, and kind of terrifying, as a very violent Lawful Evil character, like it was some hidden part of the good man he had been before. I like it a lot.

“…But why ? Why would you ask for someone to come and slay you ?”

The great beast exhaled a grey cloud from its nose, as it extended its neck to look at the armored warrior. “You know us for being dangerous, violent, and greedy, but we are also very smart, little man. When one of us feels themself going, what better way to go than in a final fight against you, fierce warriors who don’t fear our fire ? What better way, if we want to do wrong to another of our kind, than to offer a part of our treasure for someone to come rob or kill them ? And you are also very entertaining. Those little armies and their wooden sticks are nothing to us, but if we want a real fight, against someone who is actualLu a match for us, then we just have to ask, with a good bounty on our heads.”

The slayer was astonished. “So… all of these quests are all for you to have fun ? How do you even register them ?!”

The dragon closed its golden eyes and chuckled, as its tail happily whipped the piles of gold it was resting on. “No, of course some quests still come from humans. As for registering, we do have to get creative from time to time, the smaller of us simply dip their claws in ink and write messages, while others just wreak havoc until they accumulate a high enough bounty… personally, I use smoke signals.”, it said, pointing at the open crater at the top of the cave.

The knight lowered their head, and placed one hand on the handled of their sheathed sword. “Then I assume you want me to fight you, right ?”

The dragon laughed once more, then menacingly opened its mouth to reveal its terrifying dentition, and the brasier that was already burning in its throat, projecting light onto the shining gold like a large oil lamp. “I sure would appreciate a good distraction.”