As a kid, I had always wondered what happens after a person dies. Where do they go? How do they just stop existing?
The issue had troubled me to the extent that I had consulted most of my masters and trainers but all of them had nothing relevant to say.
But after I died, I guess that I finally knew what happens after a person dies.
My eyes fluttered as the bright lights from an open window shined upon my poor eyes.
I groaned in pain as I rose up to a sitting position.
"Where am I?" I asked myself as I looked around me.
To my utmost surprise, the whole place looked familiar and it took me a minute to recognize where I was.
I was in the great temple, the only difference being that it was in ruins.
Most of the statues of the gods and goddesses had been beheaded while some were shattered and others were missing.
The emerald marble was covered in dust and dirt and most of the windows were broken.
"Is this...the afterlife??". I asked in awe.
"NO." I heard a voice behind me say.
I turned around and I saw a man in a long robe.
Despite the grey and dull atmosphere, it took me only seconds to recognize who it was.
It was my good-for-nothing father, Baron Clair.
"How are you, my son?" He asked as he walked closer to me.
To my surprise, he looked my age and I could even see some resemblance. Nonetheless, I still hated him.
"How am I?" I asked rhetorically. "I am DEAD! That's how am I right now."
He giggled. "Funny enough, you look upset when only a few hours ago, you had openly wished to die in this same temple."
"So that's funny." I said in annoyance. "You seem really happy to see your only child join you in death."
His smile faded. "Death hasn't reached us yet."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "I was pushed down a building just moments ago and I'm pretty sure that I died there."
"Yes, Novich." He said. "You're dead...but you're not yet in the land of the dead."
"I don't get you." I said in confusion.
"This place is a mirror-realm where I have been for nineteen years." He said.
"So, where is mum?" I asked. "She should be here too, right?"
He was silent.
"Is she somewhere else?" I asked with sudden excitement. "Is she in the castle? Can you tell her that her son is…. "
"STOP IT!!!" He yelled. "Your mother isn't here! Death took her immediately."
"And why are you here?" I asked in annoyance. "Why aren't you rotting in the seventh hell?"
He stared at me and I could see tears glistening in his eyes. "What you heard about me isn't true."
"What do you mean?"
"All the stories you've heard aren't real. Your mother and I weren't stupid enough to unleash a curse because of love."
I shook my head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mother found out she was miraculously with child and in fear she came to me for help. She had a feeling that something was really wrong with the energy balance of the world which led to her miraculous conception."
"Hold on!" I said, raising a palm up. "What you're saying is that I, Novich Clair, was born abnormally."
"What I am saying is that you are a miracle." He said, smiling from ear to ear. "Your mother had a serious hunch that something really bad was going to happen, so she had to go to the mirror-realm."
"Which is this place?" I asked.
"Yes." He said. "She had to come here to see what the future held."
"Hold on!" I said, interrupting him again. "So, this place can tell what happens in the future?"
"No! This place is the future."
I looked around the ruins and destruction everywhere. "You're kidding, right?"
"How I wish I was, son." He said as he walked over to one of the large broken windows. "It's really terrifying to see everything in ruins."
"So did mum see this?" I asked.
"No." He said. "I didn't let her come to this realm as it was too risky for her and you."
"So you died instead?" I asked.
"There are only two ways to come here. The first way is the way in which you came."
"Death?" I asked.
"Not just death. You came here by invitation. If I hadn't invited you here, you would have gone straight to Death."
"So, what's the other way?"
"The other way is the way I came, which is through a portal."
"A portal? I heard that you were killed by my mother."
"People always assume nonsense. I went through a portal which was in your mother's eyes."
"Her eyes? Is that why no one ever saw her true face?"
"Yes. Even she, herself, never saw her own face." He replied with a faint smile. "But I did, even if it was just for five seconds, I knew she was the most beautiful person in the world."
"I don't understand how the world is going to be destroyed." I said as I looked outside to see the horrifying scene of burning buildings, destroyed bridges, collapsed homes and dead bodies. "How did this happen?"
"I don't know how but I know who will destroy the world." He said.
"And who is that?"
He remained quiet for a while. "His name is AKHILIS. He is the leader of the underworld."
"Wow!" I said. "So a demon is going to destroy the world? I thought all the demons were now bound in hell?"
"Well, I don't know how but your birth somehow opened a gateway for Akhilis."
"In other words, I am the cause of this destruction."
"No!" He said. "There's a way for us to stop this horrible future."
"How?" I asked.
"We have to destroy Akhilis before he destroys the world!" My father said,
"And how do we do that?"
He smiled. "Through you!"
"ME!!!!" I said in alarm. "You're joking, right?"
"You're the only hope we have, Novich." He said. "Without you, we're all doomed."
I shook my head in disbelief. "There has to be someone else, someone else who fits the role perfectly."
"And why not you, my son?"
I chuckled nervously. "You don't know me at all. Everyone that's heard of Novich Clair, knows that I am nothing close to a Hero. I'm just a good-for-nothing problematic alcoholic who's weak and powerless."
"It's not your fault that you're weak." He began. "I know you've tried to learn but it seemed too difficult for you."
"Yes, because I'm a dummy who knows nothing." I said as I struggled to keep in the stinging tears welling up in my eyes.
"That's not true." He said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "You weren't able to learn because I kept your learning ability from you."
"WHAAATTTT."
"I'm sorry but I had to do it to protect you from the evil demon."
My eyes were wide open and red in anger. "So, you made me a joke of the land. A clown to everyone!!"
"Like I said earlier, I'm sorry. I only did it to protect you from Akhilis."
I heard a loud beeping sound which drew both my attention and father's.
"What is that?" I asked.
He suddenly looked worried. "It's time for you to go back." He turned around and ran to one of the broken windows. "Oh my! Death is approaching!!!"
He ran back to me and brought out a small spherical toy. Then he opened the toy and in it was red-hot iron which had the shape of an eagle.
Without any warning, he took out the red-hot iron with his bare hands.
"What are you doing?" I asked as he yelled in pain. "It can…."
Then I shrieked in excruciating pain as my father drew me closer and placed the red-hot iron on my forehead.
"Aaaaarrrrrhhhhh!!!"
Still gripping his swollen burnt palm, he took a step away.
"Death is coming, you have to go!" He ran towards one of the gods' statues and took out something from behind it which I didn't see because my eyes were clouded with tears. "Remember Novich, Akhilis is the Master of Manipulation. Don't be deceived by him and also, DON'T TRUST ANYONE!!"
"W-what a-about you?" I managed to ask despite the pain.
He smiled. "Don't worry about me. Death can't take me, I'll be fine."
Then he drew out a long sword from behind him. "Remember this sword and also remember where to find it."
I nodded my head. "Behind one of the statues."
"Yes. It was your mother's sword." He turned around to see the rising dark shadows from outside.
Then he looked back at me. "Goodbye, son."
And without any warning, he took a full step backward and stabbed me with the five-foot sword.
And for the second time, I DIED.