Now what? Parish asked himself. Did that mean Azazel was more? His heart began hammering erratically in his chest. But why would he feel this way? Was he a god now? He looked at himself in disbelief when something unexpected suddenly happened.
A white light enveloped parish out of the blue, making his body lighter that he was now lifted a few feet above the ground. The feeling was sensational yet frightening at the same time for someone like Parish who had never experienced it before. The purple fragments of the now dead fruit began shining brightly and gathered like tiny particles above the ground. Parish watched all this in disbelief, his body still suspended in mid air. Everything was happening so fast that he even lost track of time. The particles like purple light joined the white light and harmoniously danced around parish's body so that he looked like one receiving a transformation now. He now felt a renewed sense of energy settle in every fibre of his being, his tail gradually disappearing. The sight alone scared him as he saw a magnificent pair of legs materialize from his hips. Parish had to blink twice to confirm that what he was seeing was indeed true.
But before he could think further, his mind turned foggy and his vision blurry, …and he was now falling. Oh Lord no! He would kiss the hard ground. He braced himself for what was about to come before his body kissed the hard ground, making him grimace in pain. But strangely, the pain he had so much anticipated for did not come. But how? His gaze shifted to the tree and a new fruit that was glowing in purple had already replaced the fallen one.
"Welcome to the god's world,Parish!"
Wait! Did he hear it right or was his mind just playing another trick on him. That voice! It carried authority with it, like that of an existence far higher and fearsome…the Almighty? Parish creased his brows at that. The Almighty? Was that even possible. Hell, everything and anything was possible now. He had met a god, so why not the Almighty one?
His mind however drifted into a hazy state and the dizziness came again. What the hell is happening to me? He questioned his sanity.
"Your body has just transited from that of a mortal to a godly. You are now one of us," the same voice answered. Oh, how Parish wished this could end! Unfortunately it didn't. His head now began throbbing in pain as more and more light particles sipped into his being. Why hadn't Azazel told him it would be this painful?
And before he could think further, the surrounding light got concentrated on his chest before it let out a blinding flash. And everything turned black after that!
********
Parish had been in the darkness for God knows how long. He had seen a spark of light in the distance but every time he tried to reach for the light, the darkness would always swallow him back. Helplessly, he was now staring at the spark as he held his legs closer to his chest. The room that he was in was pitch black, the silence, eerie. Every passing second seemed like an eternity to Parish. He stared at the spark of light and wait….
Azazel had told him that he was somewhere in the subpar of his mind. Did that mean he was still trapped in a 'dead' person's mind. Hell no! Azazel had said that he was the one controlling his own mind. How then was he going to make it out alive.
"Never let anyone control your mind, ever! Your mind is yours to control and not anyone else's…" Parish's father had told him this once when he was a little boy. Now was the perfect time to put his knowledge into text.
But how was he going to do it. An invisible force was pulling him back to the darkness whenever he tried to reach the light. Though a stone throw distance away, Parish knew how hard it would be to even reach an inch closer to the light.
But what was he doing wrong? Maybe he could start from there. Wait… This was a spiritual world…and he wanted to leave physically! That would be impossible. Yes! He needed to fight with his mind, concentrate on the light and get the hell out of this purgatory or whatever it was.
He sat cross legged and focused all his attention on the light. And in his meditative state, Parish could see a beam of light that was shining brightly in the void of darkness. Apart from this beam, there was no other source of light. He focused solely on the beam ignoring the enchanting whispers in the darkness. Lord! The whispers.. They were affecting his concentration. He closed his ears but to no prevail. It was like the whispers were coming from inside his mind. At this rate, it would be hard to focus his attention on the light. He would be trapped forever!
"You own your mind son!" Came his father's encouraging words.
"Yes! I own my mind and you should leave me alone!" He screamed, his voice echoing in the empty space before everything turned silent. Parish looked around confused now even more than before. The sounds had gone, what now?
The creaking sound of a door opening nearly made his heart jump out of his chest. With rugged breathing and heart erratically beating, Parish slowly turned around towards the direction of the sound, expecting for the worst. But what he saw made his heart flutter.
"Light!" He exclaimed. A huge door was slowly opening as more light seeped in the now dark area. Parish shaded his eyes before the door opened fully letting in a bomb of light that covered the whole place.
"Congratulatuins! You've passed the test!" A test? So it was a damn test! And where was he now? He slowly opened his eyes and the rays of the bright sun struck him. He could see two figures looming over him with worried expressions on their faces.
"He's alive! Parish is alive!"