Darkness...Darkness...Darkness, that was all he was seeing. Then suddenly..light..light, and then,
"Huh! Where am I? Why am I floating in the air? This place seems like space". Aiden uttered to himself after opening his eyes and becoming conscious of where he was.
He was just floating in the air and moving forward. He was still moving forward when he noticed he wasn't the only one here, there were other young men like him floating, and there were even some teenagers.
One of the young men glanced at him and inquired,
"What is this place? Where are we?".
"I have no idea, not even the slightest". Aiden responded.
"What is your name?". The guy inquired of Aiden once again.
"I'm Aiden by name, what of you, what is your name?". Aiden responded throwing back the question.
"My name is, James. So, how did you find yourself in this place?". James threw another question.
Aiden didn't want to beat around the bush, he has no time for long explanation, so he said,
"I died, and that's it. What of you? How did you find yourself in this place?".
"The same thing, I died, the next time I opened my eyes, I was already here".
"Hmmm".
And at that moment, he began thinking of how he died before he found himself in this place. Yeah, he got shot in the face, just a bullet to the face...and it was over. He touched his face to see if the bullet hole was still there, but he felt nothing...it had vanished.
Coming to the situation he was in right now, what was this place? Why was he floating in the air along with some other guys? Was this heaven? These questions kept on ringing in his head.
They were still floating and moving forward when they saw a bright light, it was very wide, and it was shining. And according to the look of things, they were gonna float into it.
"Damn! What is that?". One of the teenagers voiced out.
"Seems like it's gonna lead us straight into salvation". Another teenager voiced out.
But the teenager was wrong, completely wrong. The moment they entered the bright light that seemed like a portal, they weren't floating anymore, they were now standing on a surface. But the thing was, it doesn't seem like they were standing on anything 'cause everywhere looked the same...glittering, they could see no surface.
They began moving forward while glancing around 'cause they were astonished. Then they saw a man in front with a certain type of aura circulating him. He was an old man with bald head and flowing white beards...
He was dressed in white long garment, and his whole body was beaming, the aura circulating him was really strong.
"Who is that old man?". A certain young man asked as they strolled towards him.
They got to where the old man was, and they couldn't even glance at him properly 'cause of how his body was gleaming. Then suddenly, the gleaming of his body reduced, the old man made that possible so they could glance at him and he could speak to them properly.
"Welcome to the Celestial Temple". The old man uttered.
"The Celestial Temple?". A teenager questioned.
"Yes, the Celestial Temple. You all died, and you've been given a chance to live again 'cause your deaths were a little unfair. You all have painful pasts, you've gone through things in your previous life. You did things you never wanted to do, life made you do so. So you all have been given a chance to choose new paths". The old man explained.
"Do we have the right to ask questions?". One of the young men uttered.
"Yes, go on".
"Who are you?".
"I'm the god of light". The old man responded.
"Oh!".
"So I'm seeing a god in front of me right now, wow! This is nice". Another young man commented.
"You all should follow me". The old man uttered and began moving immediately.
They followed him from behind, and many of them couldn't stop themselves from glancing around. They loved what they were seeing. They strolled until suddenly, they found themselves in another place, it was just like they teleported.
Just like the old man, they saw many of his kinds in that place. All of them were in white garments, and they all had white beards, but with different faces. Their bodies were also gleaming, but not to the extent that they couldn't glance at them. Apart from their bodies, the place was also gleaming...
"Are they gods too?". A teenager asked the old man.
"Some are gods, and some are helpers". The old man responded.
He then glanced at them all and said, "You all are on your way to choosing a path".
Aiden stood there glancing in awe when one of the old men walked toward him and said,
"Walk alongside me".
Then he began sauntering, and Aiden walked beside him. As they sauntered, the old man glanced at him and said,
"You chose to live a life of violence, you chose to join a notorious gang".
How did he know that? Well, it shouldn't be surprising, he was a god or a helper. Aiden glanced at him and voiced out,
"Life made me do so".
"That's why you were given a second chance to choose a new path". The old man uttered.
They kept on sauntering until they arrived in front of a portal, then the man said to, Aiden,
"Enter the portal".
"I should enter the portal?". Aiden inquired like he didn't hear well, but he did.
"Yes, Aiden. Go choose a path, go, Aiden".
Aiden glanced at the man, began sauntering towards the portal, and entered it. The next place he found himself in was a glamorous place that seems like it was made of gold, it was sparkling...straight in teleportation.
Amazement everywhere, he couldn't stop himself from glancing around. Then he glanced front, and there was another set of old men with bald heads, white beards, dressed in white garments, and gleaming bodies.
'They must be gods too'. Aiden thought to himself.
Then one of the old men spoke with an echoing voice,
"Young man, come choose a path. Choose the path you'll love to follow in your next life".
There were about eight of them, and each of them had a golden table in front of them. Aiden walked closer to them and inquired,
"You all are gods, right?".
"Yes, gods of different paths".
Aiden walked to one of the old men and inquired, "You're the god of what?".
"I'm the god of the apocalypse. If you choose me, you're choosing the path to be reborn into a post-apocalyptic world, a world that has undergone annihilation. And you'll be the chosen one, the one that must bring an end to the apocalypse". The old man responded.
Aiden thought about it for some seconds, to be reborn in a post-apocalyptic world, and be the one to bring an end to it? No, he doesn't want to choose this path, he doesn't want to be reborn into a post-apocalyptic world. So he said,
"No, I don't want to choose this path".
He moved to another god and inquired, "So, you're the god of what?".
"I'm the god of thunder. If you choose me, you're choosing the path to be reborn into a world of superpowers. In this world, powers determine how far you'll go, but you'll be granted an amazing power, one of the greatest, and it's the power of lightning. With this power, you can defeat many villains and rise to the top".
Wow! This sounds nice, to be reborn and granted the power of lightning. He can defeat villains and rise to the top with this power. But Aiden doesn't still want this, and he has his reasons, so he said,
"No, I don't want it, I don't want to choose this path".
He moved to another god and inquired, "You're the god of what?".
"I'm the harem god".
Harem god? Now, this sounds new to Aiden's ears.
"If you choose me, you're choosing the path to be reborn into a world of superpowers too, where different power elements exist. At the right time, you'll also awaken your power element. But you'll have a cheat, something extra would be added to you, something other people don't possess…
..You'll be granted a system, and with this system, you can conquer women and become stronger. Apart from that, it can make you stronger in other ways. Magical beasts exist in this world, your power element determines how far you'll go. But as for you, in addition to your power element, your system can make you stronger by conquering females".
Wow! Aiden loved the sound of this, conquering females and becoming stronger? With the help of a system? Seems like this is the path he was gonna choose. The old man wasn't done talking,
"And choosing this path, you'll be the one to conquer the demon goddesses and bring an end to them".
"The demon goddesses? What are they? And how did they come about?". Aiden inquired with an inquisitive facial expression.
"You'll find out once you get to that world, at the right time". The old man responded, then inquired, "So are you choosing this path?".
Aiden thought about it for some seconds, he'll really love to follow this path. A world where superpowers exist, where magical beasts exist, and the rest of that. And he can also conquer women and become stronger with the help of a system?
He didn't even want to know what paths the other gods would offer him, this path really appeals to him, so he voiced out,
"Yes, I'm choosing this path...this is the path I'll love to follow".
"OK then, since you've chosen this path, place your right palm on this circle". The old man said to, Aiden.
Aiden glanced at the circle the man was speaking of, it was on the golden table and it was glowing. He placed his hand on the circle, and he felt a surge of energy pass around his body.
"Now, it's been done, it's been confirmed. Now, go enter that portal". The old man said pointing to a certain portal.
Aiden glanced at where the man was pointing, and he saw the portal the man was speaking of. This portal wasn't here when he was transported into this place, seems like it recently appeared.
He began walking toward the glowing round purple portal, and on reaching it, he glanced at all the gods, and they smiled at him. Sighing a little, he walked into the portal...and Aiden was gone, straight to the afterlife.