In a moment of contemplation, I found myself in an emptiness that resembled death, a sensation of both movement and stillness enveloping me. It was as though I could perceive every part of myself. My soul…? or rather is this who I really am? I felt realized and true but also a little terror run amok in me. As though I just wore up from a nightmare.
I didn't understand what sort of a suspended state I was in and there was no use trying to understand. I couldn't remember anything, I couldn't think of anything, I wasn't even anything. There is only me, and the void. Actually, there isn't even me…
This is death…? When there is nothing, there is death. Your existence turns to nothing for all eternity, and you carry on… in nothing, as nothing…
"I'd have to say, you're a pretty boring guy aren't you?" A voice resonated in and around me. In this void, there was actually a person?
"You are called Hyouta aren't you? Come in for a moment" The voice rang out. Almost simultaneously, an indescribable light lit up the void, and my body. As the warm light caressed me, I slowly began to think once more, a few flashing images returned to my memory. I still couldn't remember most of my life, but my sense of self and personality was now as obvious as ever.
Glancing around my surrounding, I saw nothing until I gazed upward. There, a throne elevated high, flanked by two columns. Separated by a small gap, six imposing, winged figures adorned in shining white apparel maintained straight-faced expressions, each locking eyes with their counterpart on the opposite end.
"What are those? They seem too terrifying! Are those... Angels?" I mumbled with my eyes still fixated on the figures before me. And it didn't end there.
Around the sides of the throne, four winged men stood guard, resembling those in a royal courtroom but with two extra wings at their back. If I had to guess, they were archangels. A perfect monarchy setting unfolded before me. Dressed in all-white robes with a golden flower on their left shoulder, their faces shrouded in radiant lights made it impossible to discern their features. Their majestic appearance sent shivers down my spine from just looking, I was already developing a sense of reverence. Yet, none of that mattered when I looked up and saw it.
Since I was born, I had only gone to churches for formality's sake and because I couldn't wriggle out of it. The idea of someone far more powerful than anything and the fact we had never seen him but just had to completely believe he exists, turned me off completely.
Maybe I was being too logical, or maybe I just didn't have "faith". I just lived my life the way I pleased, not bound to any doctrine of sorts and free. That was the kinda ideal life I lived.
But for the first time, for the first time since I was born, since I could comprehend anything or maybe even before that. Maybe before I could've even existed, I saw a being that could only be described with one word…
God.
I couldn't fathom the being in front of me. I immediately understood the nature of the light that I claimed to illuminate the void- it was the glory of God. The glory created an atmosphere that couldn't be understood. It was beyond imagination.
"Be at ease my child, I am to be feared and not dreaded. In light of this…" god had said. It's voice spoke directly into me and not through sound. There was a deafening silence in the room, the winged-men poised as statues, not even moving an inch.
Suddenly, the overwhelming pressure vanished in an instant. The burden on my soul was lifted and I had no problem moving anymore. Just as I raised my head up, my eyes set on the most beautiful girl that could ever exist.
Her slender and tall figure was in such proportions it resembled a work of art. Closed off with her long silky white hair, deep golden eyes that pierced through mine and a gold and white patterned dress to compliment her physical features.
She was embroidered with different accessories and finished off with a golden wheel behind her that revolved faster than I could track. Inside me, I started to contemplate on whether or not I should bow again solely for this beauty.
I turned for my attention for a moment to the winged-men and they didn't so much as flinch from this. If it weren't for the intense energy they were radiating, I would've passed them off as inanimate.
"Don't get carried away now. I'm right here." An angelic voice called back my attention. There was God, still smiling. This shift was just too much for me to take in. The terror and glory from before turned into the most super of all super models I had ever seen before. She wore a condescending expression but was still incomparably more gentle than earlier.
"Forgive me, My Lord." I apologized while bowing my head. Offending a god… there are a lot of ways to express stupidity, but right now, I seem to have outdone myself.
"pfft--" She giggled but then covered her mouth immediately. She glared at me for a little for making her have the outburst.
Sorry I guess..?
Then after "coughing", she regained her previous composure.
"Leave." Just as she uttered, the winged-men disappeared not leaving a trace. The auras left as though they were never there. To command such power over other powers on a whim, she was truly a god.
"Hey, could you say what you said earlier again?" She asked meekly, though this time with a more casual manner than before. As if she was trying to close the social distance. I was initially puzzled, but before I could even think about it, my mouth moved.
Although I didn't know this at the time, but I learned first hand one of the commandments of God.
Thou shalt obey the words of God.