Jinzo strained his ears to make sense of the whispering voices that echoed through his ears. It was as if a hundred people were speaking all at once, but he couldn't decipher a single word. He began to wonder if he had already died, and this was the eerie in-between world he'd heard about in ghost stories.
Jinzo strained to hear the faint whispers that seemed to be coming from all around him. "What's going on?" he thought to himself. "I can't understand anything. Am I not dead yet?"
The words seemed to hang in the air, and for a moment, there was nothing but silence. Jinzo's heart began to race as he waited for an answer, but none came. He repeated the question in his mind, louder this time, hoping for some kind of response.
But the only sound was the echo of his thoughts bouncing around in his head. It was as if he was trapped in a void, cut off from the world around him. A chill ran down his spine, and he wondered if he was truly alone or if something else was lurking in the darkness with him.
Suddenly Jinzo's chest tightened as the darkness seemed to constrict around him, squeezing him tighter with each passing moment. Fear coiled around his heart like a viper, and he gasped for breath. Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, a strange sensation washed over him, calming him in a way he had never experienced before. The darkness no longer felt suffocating; instead, he felt a sense of relief wash over him.
As he calmed down, the whispers grew louder, and Jinzo again strained to make out what was being said. As the sound became clearer, he realized that there was only one word being repeated again and again - "Judgment."
The word echoed through his mind, filling him with a sense of unease. What kind of judgment was being passed? Who was the judge? Jinzo's thoughts raced as he tried to make sense of the word and its significance. Was this some kind of afterlife he had stumbled into, where his fate would be decided? Or was it something else entirely?
The whispers continued, growing in intensity until they were almost deafening. But through the noise, the word "Judgment" persisted, like a warning or a mantra. Jinzo braced himself, unsure of what was to come.
With great effort, Jinzo managed to force his eyes open. Blinking away the blurriness, he was surprised to find himself standing in a long queue of people, stretching as far as his eyes could see. The crowd was diverse, consisting of people of all ages, young and old alike.
Jinzo looked around at the people in the queue and noticed that they were all silent, their faces devoid of any expression. They stood completely still, without making any movement.
He tried to move his legs, but to his surprise, he found that he couldn't. It was as if some invisible force was holding him in place, restricting his movements. He strained against the force, using all his might to break free, but it was no use. Whatever held him was stronger than he was.
Jinzo grunted in frustration as he tried to move, but he might as well have been rooted to the spot. The invisible force holding him in place was unyielding, and he was powerless to break free.
He tried to call out for help, but no sound came out of his mouth. It was as if his vocal cords had been paralyzed, leaving him unable to make a sound.
Jinzo felt a surge of panic rising within him. How was he supposed to get out of this place if he couldn't even move or speak?
Jinzo began to feel a sense of claustrophobia. There was no air moving, no breeze to cool him down, yet he didn't feel suffocated. It was as if he was in a vacuum, cut off from the world around him.
As the silence stretched on, Jinzo's sense of unease grew stronger. The lack of movement, the absence of sound, and the eerie mist hanging in the air all added to his growing sense of dread.
Jinzo began to wonder if this was some kind of punishment or test, Or was it simply a random twist of fate that had brought him to this strange place?
Jinzo's eyes darted upwards, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The sky above him was a deep, blood-red, unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was as if the heavens themselves were bleeding, and Jinzo couldn't shake the feeling that he had stumbled into a nightmare.
And then he saw them: multiple enormous giant hands, each longer than the other, reaching down from the sky. They were grotesque, with fingers as long as buildings and skin that looked like it was made of stone.
Jinzo's heart leaped into his throat as he gazed up at the closest hand. It was holding a crowd of people, just like the one he had been standing in only moments before. But these people haven't frozen in place anymore. They were screaming, thrashing about in terror as the giant hand lifted them higher and higher into the sky.
Jinzo felt a surge of panic rising within him. He had never felt so small and insignificant in his entire life. The giant hands above him seemed to mock his very existence, reminding him of just how fragile and helpless he was.
He tried to move again, to run, to hide, to do anything to escape the nightmare that surrounded him. But his body was still rooted to the spot, and he could only watch in horror as the giant hands continued to snatch up people and carry them away.
Jinzo knew he had to find a way out, but he had no idea where to even begin. The world around him had become a twisted, surreal nightmare, and he was nothing more than a small, insignificant player in it.
Jinzo felt a chill run down his spine as a frigid whisper pierced the silence. It was as if Death itself had spoken. "Wastrel Hand, rise," the voice commanded.
Jinzo's heart skipped a beat as the hand he stood on began to ascend, carrying him with it. He couldn't move, frozen in terror as he gazed up at the massive hand that held him captive. Compared to its sheer size, he felt as small as an ant - utterly helpless and at the mercy of an unknown force.
The hand continued to rise, lifting Jinzo higher and higher until he felt as if he were being carried toward infinity. The world below him grew smaller and smaller until it was nothing but a blur of colors and shapes. Jinzo's heart raced with fear and uncertainty as he wondered where the hand was taking him and what fate awaited him at its destination.
Jinzo's cheeks were wet with tears as he silently pleaded for the hand to stop, for the nightmare to end. But it continued, heedless of his anguish. He was filled with an overwhelming sense of dread, certain that he was about to face something terrible.
With every passing moment, the fear grew stronger and more palpable, until it felt like a physical weight on his chest. Jinzo closed his eyes, wishing he could wake up from this nightmare, but when he opened them again, he was still being carried upward into the unknown.
Jinzo closed his eyes once more, bracing himself for whatever the future held. He knew it was out of his control, and the thought filled him with a sense of helplessness. All he could do was wait and see where the hand would take him, hoping against hope that it would be somewhere safe. His heart raced with anxiety as he tried to prepare himself for the worst, but the unknown loomed over him like a dark cloud.
After what felt like an eternity, the hand finally came to a stop. Jinzo's heart pounded in his chest as he opened his eyes, but he saw nothing but darkness. For a moment, he felt as if he were floating in space, completely untethered to anything. He tried to steady his breathing, but his nerves were frayed from the journey and the uncertainty of his situation.
Out of the darkness, a shadow appeared, stretching and contorting until it took on the shape of a monster. Its eyes glowed like red-hot embers. He felt a sense of overwhelming dread as he gazed upon the creature, wondering what terrible fate awaited him.
The monster seemed to emanate darkness and malice as if it were a physical embodiment of all of Jinzo's worst fears. He wanted to run, to escape, but his body was frozen with terror, and he could do nothing but stand there and face the creature.
Its voice was a sinister whisper that chilled Jinzo to the bone."You have died," it said, its voice dripping with malevolence. "You have accomplished nothing in your life, but your journey is not yet over. You have been given another chance."
Jinzo felt a surge of confusion and disbelief. He had always thought that death was final, that there was no coming back from it. But now, faced with this ominous creature and its cryptic message, he realized that there was more to the afterlife than he had ever imagined.
The creature performed a series of intricate gestures in the air, tracing out a symbol of Celtic origin - a triple spiral composed of three interlocked spirals. Jinzo watched in both awe and horror as the symbol seemed to come alive, pulsating with otherworldly energy. Suddenly, the symbol connected with Jinzo, and he felt a powerful jolt of electricity shoot through his body, leaving him shaken and uncertain of what was happening to him.
After the blinding flash of light dissipated, Jinzo felt disoriented, as if transported to another dimension. Suddenly he felt a strange sensation coursing through his body. It was as if every cell in his being was vibrating with new energy, pulsing with a life force that he had never felt before. He felt weightless as if he were floating on a cloud, and a sense of peace and clarity washed over him.
As Jinzo slowly regained his senses, he became aware of a sensation of softness beneath him. It felt like grass, cool and yielding, and he could feel a gentle breeze wafting over him, soothing him. Curiosity overcoming his confusion, he slowly opened his eyes, and the sight that greeted him was breathtaking.
Above him, the sky stretched out in a vast expanse of blue, punctuated by fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily by. He could feel the soft blades of grass tickling his skin. For a moment, Jinzo forgot his fear and confusion, lost in the sheer beauty of this new world that he had been reborn into.
"Where am I?" thought Jinzo...