She latches on to the definite question (even as a well-ingrained habit, in a corner of her mind, notices his concern for her despite his own horror).

"Yes.  You died.  Your soul was taken away from your home world and plane, and -"  She pauses, wishing she'd actually read the part about the metaphysics of his home plane.  "Like I said, there're many names for the place where we are that wouldn't mean anything to you.  But it's farther away from your home plane than anywhere your plane's souls usually go.  I think you're the first person to be taken here from your homeworld."

Her own horror has lifted enough that she's now consciously touched by his concern for her.  "Please, don't worry," she adds.

Is he in the Far Realms? Further? And he's the first person to be taken. He might not see anyone he loved ever again.

The thought occurs to him that this could all be a Mephistopholean illusion. If he somehow got Lawful Evil?? Or maybe all his memories are fake?

He should probably proceed on the assumption that it isn't Mephistopheles. If it is then there isn't really anything he can do except hurt and be toyed with until Heaven defeats Hell (If Heaven defeats Hell).

He should assume that this is real, and that the concern the "angel" has for him is real. What could he even do, otherwise?

"Why did you take me? For what purpose?"

She can't get the full cheer in her voice as usual, not right after that, but -

"We're going to give you a new story, in a new world, and you can help design it!"

A custom afterlife??

"What do you mean, a 'new story?' Was my old life a 'story?' And why me, of all people?" Could this angel be convinced to randomly kidnap Abrogail Thrune II next, a hysterical voice questions.

"Why yes, you did survive infancy - thanks in part to being born where you were - so your old life did have a story.  How interesting a story it was..."  She shrugs; she wouldn't dispute Lac's opinion if he cared to insist that it hadn't been an interesting story yet.  "But that's something we can fix in your next one.

"And as for why you..." She shrugs her wings.  "I didn't make the choice; I'm not sure why the Will-in-Council did choose you."

So this "angel" cares about stories. And... wants him to have an interesting one? Or thinks he wants that?

"What sort of story are we designing?" He's utterly in the power of this outsider, but maybe he can build rapport here and have any agency over his fate. 

"A story of... I don't believe your world has a specific term for the sort of story, but it would be around a romantic rivalry, among other things.  Which other things, you largely get to choose.  To be more specific, we will fill in the outline of the original story to whatever degree you want to - and then you will be inserted into that story in the role of the villainess."

...

He's supposed to be a villainess in a romantic drama. There is so much wrong with that. For one thing, the closest he's come to romance is reading Love Born of Clarity* and The Mirror of Boundlessness**. 

That the outsider wants him to be a girl, is so baffling that he just sets it aside - it wouldn't be a problem unless he's the kind of person who feels awful when Alter Self'd into the opposite sex, which he would guess he isn't...

As for being a villain, that's the most concerning part. He'd thought the outsider was Good. She certainly seemed to have empathy for him and feel bad for making him think he was in Elysium! 

*A work arguing that a wise and forgiving mind loves instinctively and without effort, with instructions on how this quality can be attained. Author unknown, but suspected to be one of Gruhastha's direct disciples.

**Written by an acclaimed Shelynite philosopher, this work reconciles and unifies sensual enjoyment of the beloved with love's empathetic and spiritual dimensions. 

This is overwhelming and he's worried about being pressured into a decision. He needs to figure out how much negotiating power he actually has, and whether he can refuse to participate without them mind controlling or torturing him about it.

When in a high-stakes negotiation, don't let them control the tempo. Maybe he can play for time. Immortal outsiders are generally patient, right?

"That’s... a lot. Can I have a few minutes to think about it?"

"Of course, and longer if you want it."

Unfortunately she can only guess what he's worrying about.

"But in case it helps - you won't need to relive toddlerhood; you'll be reincarnated into the person who would be the villainess when she is a teenager, usually leaving for boarding school... you do have boarding schools where you're from... unless you pick another time."

He smiles. It probably looks pretty tense.

"I wouldn't want to be a toddler again, so that does help. And yes, we do have boarding schools, though it's not common." It's a point of reference, at least.

Okay think think think think what does he need to know and how far can he push things. Is this organization Evil. Does Pharasma's categorization even apply. That has fascinating implications.

Is the "story" she's sending him to a real world that actually exists. Is he... displacing? Killing? The soul of a teenage girl? What does her organization even want, is it just entertainment? There are so many questions he doesn't even know where to start.

He should ask an open-ended question, and see if he can learn from what she considers important. She seems kind and patient so far, which is a stark contrast to the bizarre and concerning fate she (or her organization?) plans for him.

He's tempted to break the silence, but that seems stupid, if she's giving him time then he should use the time. She probably has the patience of an immortal. He thinks for a while, trying to decide on a question to ask.

It's a nice garden.

"To be honest, I feel very out of my depth here. I'd appreciate learning more about your organization, what they want and why, and what their usual methods are."

She watches him appreciating the garden, and his confusion... not so much subsiding as being pushed a little under the surface.  If she knew what he wanted to ask (is it something about Chaos and trials?  Infinity?  Communes?), she could help...

"I think everyone's out of their depth here - hardly anyone we pick has designed a world before!

"That's basically what our organization does:  designing universes and worlds and setting up stories in them!  At least, that's as far as I know; I wouldn't be surprised if the Will-in-Council is intervening in some of the universes beyond the normal operations of Story and Fate.  I don't know that for sure; the Will hasn't said much about what they don't do.  But this universe -"  She grins.  "No intervention here, I'm pretty sure!  If you want, you can even do away with Fate in this world beyond a very broad setup!

"What we're like...  I could list the departments, if you want?  There're the Angel-guides like me, there's the Worldbuilding Department, the Diplomacy Department..."

It sounds like he's being picked to design a world, full stop, not just give input on one? Is he being handed more power than Pharasma?? He wants time to think again but should probably keep the conversation going. "So you... pick people from existing worlds, and have them design new ones, then create those worlds? Are the worlds real, with real people, and not illusions? And what do you have a diplomacy department for?" Assuming all this is real and they aren't operating under strong constraints he doesn't understand, this organization is powerful enough to crush all of Golarion like bugs. Is there something else out there that rivals them?

"Sometimes, yes!  Sometimes we design them ourselves - or, well, other people do; I've never gotten to myself - but sometimes we choose people, yes.  I think the Will-in-Council and the Worldbuilding Department like to see how other people design them... and I think I would too in their place.

"And yes, they're real worlds with real people with real souls.  At least by default - if you want to say the world has some illusionary people, you can."

If he does, hopefully it'll go better than that one time where the protagonist guessed that and started dismissing the rest of the world as not worth any concern until she found someone she decided was the one other real person there...

Really, her guess about the motives of the Will of the Multiverse in Council is just a guess.  They aren't very talkative about themself... themselves... not even talkative enough to make clear why they sometimes take singular and sometimes plural pronouns?  Not that she minds; they've given her the best job she could possibly have imagined.  Elysium.  Er, in the metaphorical sense.

(The Worldbuilding Department is a lot more talkative - she has some friends there - but they don't know much more about the Will either.)

Hmm, speaking of which, maybe she should check why the Diplomacy Department gave Lac plural pronouns that one time?  But speaking of which, she has a guess there too...

"... I think we have a Diplomacy Department because it's nicer and smoother to talk with people rather than just wrenching them around?"

Holy shit he's going to DESIGN A WORLD, that's terrifying and incredible, maybe literally non-credible but he's already decided not to worry about Mephistopheles even if it's probably Mephistopheles. Anyway. He thinks she's telling the truth?? She could have the deceptive abilities of a succubus but worrying about that is kind of like worrying about Mephistopheles. And "That's a relief to hear, actually. It sounds like you're all very powerful and could do a lot of wrenching around if you wanted." Oh no that was probably too revealing aaaahhh.

"I know it sounds trite, but - don't worry."  She twitches her wings uncomfortably.  Really, she doesn't like people bowing down to her anymore, and people being visibly afraid of her has always been even worse.

"It's not like we're new.  Most universes will never be affected by us beyond, oh, how we lifted your soul out of your old universe and maybe sent a letter to some god there.  And I'm glad about that.

"Or if you must worry - maybe worry about your next life?"

Uh-huh. Worry about his NEXT LIFE instead of a WHOLE NEW WORLD with SOULS in it that has just become Lac's responsibility. He almost wants to laugh. It says something about this "angel"'s priorities, her narrow focus and interest in stories... if she's focused on him, then maybe he can make other parts of the world really, really good, so long as they don't interfere with the angel's intended plot? But he's just had a horrible thought. How to express it... Wait.

"I don't think I ever got your name? And what happens to the new world after my story in it is over, does it just keep going?"

"Yes, it's a real world, just like every other world; it doesn't just vanish when you're not there anymore!  I'd never set someone up to be causing that."

It's been a while since anyone's asked her for her name.  She's borne several in her time, but among those there's one from her human days that still speaks the most to her...

"If you want my name - you can think of me as 'Lila'."

Oh no, now he feels bad. He should treat her like a person with a conscience?? This is really high-stakes, bigger than either of them, but good faith is usually how you bring out the best in people, so it's still indicated. 

"Nice to meet you, Lila. Sorry, it's just - in Golarion, magic is resource-constrained. It's easier to make illusory objects than real objects, and easier to make a temporary effect than a permanent one. But maybe I need to drop my assumptions about how any of this works."

"I'm still glad to meet you too!"  She smiles to try to encourage him past his awkwardness with her happiness.

"And no need for apologies - you're just starting to learn how this works!  Magic usually does work that way within a universe... I've seen people who've set up other ways to have magic work -"