Still, he couldn't help but blame himself. Owen, knowing this would hurt a lot, tried the second time to stand up with all of his might. Ostensibly sensing this movement from Owen, reality pulled another shocker.
*bang!
Just as Owen was about to forcefully stand up, an audible "bang," resounded across the room as all of his furniture started to disintegrate into black particles.
He opened his eyes with absolute dread and stumbled back which forced him to fell again. Gritting his teeth, he looked around the now empty room. Only him, Verna and his mother were still present.
This time, without caring for the pain, he stood on his feet. He slowly picked up Verna in one arm and struggled to his mother`s direction. Each step was slow and unstable, like a zombie. There were times he almost fell but still continued on. He was near his mother and his about to pick her up.
"Ahh-ha!"
Suddenly, Owen let out an unbearable small yell and fell down the ground again. He fastened his mouth as small mumbles escaped his tightly sealed lips.
Owen investigated at his source of pain and his eyes twitched at the sight, his left foot disintegrated into similarly black particles as before.
No blood, just a coal blackened wound. Owen`s mother also opened her eyes in shocked horrible and desired to scream unconsciously but refrained because of the pain.
Owen just looked at his eye without any motion, almost like he was bewitched by it. His breathing increased, virtually about to have a panic attack…
"Ruff...ruff!..Ruff!"
Out of nowhere, Verna started groan or bark. This snapped him out of his dreadful state. When Owen fell, he cuddled puppy on his chest to avoid crushing from his weight.
It was faint at first but become louder as time went on. This wasn't the bark because of anger or for attention, no, this was a bark of pure agony. The pitch was becoming louder and louder. The atmosphere was suffocating, Owen wanted to jump out a window.
Owen slowly patted Verna on the head, trying to help her relax. Fortunately, the whimpering started to get lesser. He closed his eyes in relief. The sound of her whimpering was getting lesser and lesser. Owen looked at Verna and thought maybe patting her was relieving from her pain.
"grr..."
Owen let out a pained groan and looked at his leg once more. Escaping was going to harder and almost impossible at their current states.
However, Owen was still hopeful to escape with mother and his puppy. Even if he lost his leg in the process, what does it matter?
As long everyone had a chance to live another day, a leg was worthless to him. However, Owen could sense something was wrong. Yes, there was something wrong in the room.
The pressure in the room was slowly becoming denser and denser. The longer they stayed, the more risk of dieing would increase.
Owen was thinking as hard he could for anyway to escape this hell, however, he felt something motionless on his chest. He looked at Verna with questioning and worrying eyes.
The puppy was there, unmoving. Her body seemed lifeless. Owen could feel warmth from her body in his arms and chest.
'V-verna?'
Owen slowly shook is arms to see any reaction but she was still motionless.
Just as he was about to pat her head, Sunny`s body disintegrated into small black dots, which slowly raised into the air. Owen could feel the raising dots moving between his fingers and palms.
He remained motionless; his hands frozen in place. His eyes just looked at Veran`s previous position without blinking. It was like his mind was frozen in place. A single tear ran down his face when he lowed his hands.
"O-Owen…"
A warm voice reached entered his ears. Owen slowly turned his head and looked at his mother who had sad smile and defeated expression.
Suddenly, she began to crawl into his direction, covering the distance. Owen seeing, struggled to sat upright, fighting the pain and exhaustion. Luckily, his mother already reached his position and hugged him. Owen felt her warm hug and couldn't help the tears.
"Owen...If I don't survive this...Just know l love you with all my heart.
"You were my joy at my darkest times. You were always there for me and your father even if the situation at home was bad. You always cheered us up..."
"Thank you for coming into this world..."
"As my son..."
Owen`s mother, no, "Maisie Henderson" looked straight into her son`s eyes as tears ran down her face. She brought closer to Owen, almost like she wanted to block his vision from something else.
She indeed did it for a reason, yes, her legs were also disintegrated into black particles.
"Owen, do you remember when you when you used to wear that knight helmet? When we used to play as if we were in fantasy world. And every time you would save me as the knight. I used to call you Prince Owen…and your father was the king."
The disintegrated particles to continued upward on her legs.
"Thank you for always for saving me…Thank you for being my little prince."
"M-mom."
Owen opened his eyes in absolute horror and muffled slowly. She slowly was turning into black particles.
"If you live through this, live for me and say to your father...that I love him."
Finally, she sensing her death, she closed her eyes and completely turned into black particles.
Owen ran tears down his face uncontrollably. Seconds passed like hours and unknown to Owen, both of his legs were slowly turning into black particles. He just looked at the ceiling. His thoughts became numb as seconds continued to past, until they left him.
Owen`s chest was now slowly turning into black particles but honestly, he didn`t care…
Nothing mattered to him anymore. He was going to die and there was nothing that could stop that. However, suddenly, he heard a hazy sound.
"Owen!"
Owen looked at the source of the voice and saw distorted figures rushing to him, however, a pure light entered his vision, nothing could be seen. Owen Henderson had died.
*****
In a plane of existence, resides a void of absolute nothingness. Nonentities can act in this void unless they can break the concepts placed by it, a being that has acquired the level of divinity.
However, in this void, there is a single motion. A slow but steady flow that, moves like a still river. Slowly moving into a single point in the void. Only deceased souls are allowed to pass.
As the physical body is deceased in the realm of earth, senses are meaningless in this plane. Movement is also a trivial matter as muscles and bones don't have the privilege of the soul.
"..."
'Where am I?'
Awakening from an almost parallel slumber, Owen found himself in an unfamiliar manner.
'Why does everything feel still but same time moving?'
Although the senses of the physical body have deceased, Owen could somehow sense the flow of his soul.
'Is this a dream? Why can't I see anything?'
He thought to himself as he could not comprehend the situation. He attempted to move his body but was unable to make any voluntary movements. He was shocked when he realized this and could not help but think,
'Is something disrupting my nerve signals to my muscles? Perhaps I am paralyzed?'
Even after discovering such a bone-chilling realization, his mind was rather calm. There was no increase in a heartbeat or any kind of panic in his body.
'What happened to me?'
He tried to recall his past events. At that moment, floods of information raced into his mind like a raging tsunami. However, because of his calm mind, he pieced everything together like a full-sized puzzle.
'Right, I died. I guess I did not make it...'
Memories of his death crossed his mind. He's demeanor became colder as he remembered every moment that lead to his death. However, a sudden thought met his mind, why he is still conscious? He clearly remembered dying.
'Did I perhaps not die after all or...'
'...No way. The afterlife?'
He quickly understood his situation.
'This is man`s greatest mystery? I thought when someone dies, they go through judgment to see if they go to hell or heaven. Is this really the afterlife that religious people have been always praising about for millenniums?'
Owen indirectly mocked while showing displeasure at the thought. For thousands of years, mankind has theorized the possibility of a paradise, for those who kept the teachings of their respective religions.
Owen was once religious as well but abandoned it after searching a branch known as science. However, although he gave up on his religious beliefs, he somewhat believed that maybe science and religions were somehow linked.
Owen had some trait of pity for those who wasted their time trying to reserve those teachings. However, a sudden thought overlapped his judgmental thoughts.
'Maybe Mom an-! '
Unfortunately, before he could finish his thought, an abrupt but faint shockwave hauled around his body like a fresh breeze.
Slowly, his stamina was decreasing at rapid rate. He felt like his consciousness was slowly slipping away. Sensing such threat, he tried everything he could resist it but it was sadly trivial.
'I feel so tired...'
He couldn't help but emit in his mind. Furthermore, in his final moments, for the first time in the void, a light had reached his retinas. It became brighter and brighter with each passing second.
His body was moved into increasing bright white light until he felt a soft surface. This relaxed him greatly as it felt like a soft warm bed.
Before he could truly lose consciousness, the last thing he could hear were two faint angelic voices.