Axel tried to get a hold of his feelings but he was feeling anxious and a bit scared. This was way too elaborate to be a dream, way too farfetched to be the afterlife (Axel had trouble with the naivety of religion, the promises of self-righteousness, and the fear of evil).So, according to Axel, he must be in a lab somewhere being experimented on, but still, he was quite shocked by the attention to detail and ingenuity on display.Axel tried shouting a few times with no response, so he tried to get a feel of the situation. His few senses weren't working: no smell, no taste, and he couldn't feel his touch, but he was able to see and hear."This is quite peculiar," said Axel. "It is, isn't it?" Suddenly, a voice came from all around as if he were in a hall with a surround sound system. "Who is it?" Axel asked politely. "Don't worry, young man, out of all the situations that you are imagining, it isn't any of them," the sound of an old man with a bit of a deep voice sounded. "That voice is a bit cliché, don't you think?" Axel exclaimed. "Oh, is that so? Well, you see, this whole scenario is created for you to feel a bit at ease and to be able to trust me.""Then why are you divulging that to me? Doesn't that nullify the whole purpose?" "Does it?" the old man said. A long pause followed. "Oh, okay, okay, I am done being mysterious. Basically, with the events that are going to follow, you will eventually learn to trust and depend on me," the old man explained. "And why is that so?" Axel asked, as he was not convinced but a bit scared hearing this."Let me explain, the place you are at is kind of a junction of sorts, it connects many worlds, one of which you are from (the Earth) to the Elemental Plane, which you are going to. To clarify further, you are not dead; it's just that your consciousness has traveled, and time moves differently in both worlds, so for now, you don't need to worry about your body. And I am sort of your guide. So now my turn to ask, which planet/plane/sphere/node/existeree are you from?" (different terms prevalent in the universe) the old man asked."I don't know about plane or node, but I am from a planet called Earth from the solar system in the Milky Way," Axel answered. "Well, the more the form of life, the more the languages, although I can deduce a lot from your existence itself, and the language barrier becomes non-existent when you come here, but still, to give you the gravity of the situation, I used those terms. It's fun that way, you see..." the old man explained."Is it possible you already know everything about me? And are you just asking these questions for your entertainment?" Axel asked."Oh, forget it. Let's get down to business then. You were offered five schools, hmm... quite talented," the old man surmised.