A symphony of harmonious notes and an angelic chorus stirred Lucius from his deep sleep. His groggy eyes struggled to register his surroundings, but even before he was fully awake, he began to panic, recalling what had just occurred.
An arrow…
His heart…
The pain…
The pain was miraculously no longer there, but he could still feel it. His newfound trauma left a phantom ache that persisted even when he knew that he was no longer injured.
He was sure he had died… Yet, here he was, alive. Had his mother managed to save him in time? She could sometimes bring back the recently dead, after all.
Dazed and disoriented, he opened his eyes and soon realized that was not the case. He found himself standing in a place he couldn't recognize. The surroundings were ethereal, almost too perfect to be real. A realm of divine beauty and tranquility. Even the Vatican could not rival the celestial appearance of this place.
He slowly looked around, trying to make sense of what had just happened. His heart raced, and a sense of confusion and dread began to settle in.
Where the hell… was he?!
He panicked as he quickly searched for answers, but soon it clicked, and he calmed down with a heavy sorrow weighing on him.
A realization had struck him. There was only one place he could think of that could befit a name as divine as this. Heaven. It was Heaven. Only that was befitting of its name…
The shimmering clouds beneath his feet, the unearthly atmosphere, and the chorus of angels in the distance were unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Amidst the ethereal clouds and distant majestic structures of Heaven, Lucius stood in a state of utter confusion. He had been abruptly whisked away from his former life, only to find himself surrounded by otherworldly beauty and divine beings he couldn't communicate with. He could hardly comprehend what was happening, and why he had been brought to this place.
Why had he been brought here? What was he supposed to do now? Was this all there was to do in the afterlife? Meaninglessly explore? Wouldn't he just go insane then?
The scriptures always described Heaven as a majestic place, the place where all the good people went to after death, but all he could ever think about was the amount of boredom one would have to suffer.
Compared to that, wasn't Hell much better? A place where something was always happening?
But thinking back, he quickly took his idea back. Why the heck did he think HELL was much better than Heaven? The arrow that caused his death already hurt so much. He couldn't begin to imagine experiencing it multiple times a day. Why had he been so foolish to think Hell was better?!
"…"
A bit flabbergasted at himself, he started to wander around the vast celestial landscape while confusingly awestruck of his circumstances.
Eventually, he found an otherworldly beauty playing among a group of blooming flowers. She was an ethereal beauty, the very embodiment of divine grace and elegance. Her captivating, emerald-green eyes held a depth of wisdom and compassion that could pierce through the soul of anyone who met her gaze. Her lustrous, golden hair cascaded down her back in gentle waves, shimmering like sunlight against her flawless, porcelain skin.
Her delicate features were perfectly balanced, creating a visage that was both mesmerizing and serene. Her lithe, graceful form seemed to move effortlessly, as if she were gliding through the air, and her flowing, celestial gown accentuated her otherworldly presence. To behold her was to witness the sublime beauty of the heavens themselves, leaving those who crossed her path in a state of awe and reverence.
But seeing his mother daily, a beauty of equal parlor, no other feelings arose from him other than utter perplexity. However... she seemed a bit familiar Lucius.
Although he initially thought she was a person like him, he instantly stopped that thought process. That face, he immediately recognized it. In fact, he should've recognized her sooner. If he couldn't, the heretic inquisitors might as well be sent for him. She was the goddess that the followers of the Vatican worshipped. The kind Goddess of Light and Nature, Goddess Elysia.
Noticing that Lucius had spotted her, she stopped playing with the flowers and approached him with a smile.
Lucius was frightened. Although he still followed all the teachings, he couldn't help but think back to all the thoughts he had on the Goddess he was supposed to believe in. He always suspected that religion was just a tool to control the populace more easily.
Having thoughts like these, it would inevitably lead him to question their religion, and the focal point of it all, the Goddess. But seeing her in person made these long-held doubts vanish instantly.
Nevertheless, Lucius quickly kneeled down and nervously greeted her. "The Goddess of Light and Nature, the savior and mother of the Celestial Kingdom, I, your most humble servant, Lucius, greet you with all my being."
Goddess Elysia's smile widened at his greeting.
"Hello…"
Seeing her kindly greet him back, it seemed his devout faith he practiced in the Vatican all throughout his life had won out his doubts.
"Heretic."
…or perhaps his doubts had long won over his faith. Lucius started to sweat.
A playful grin emerged on her beautiful face. Her eyes shimmering from delight in Lucius's fright.