He indeed had his eyes open, but when he lowered them to see his hands, there was nothing but emptiness. He couldn't see anything as if his eyes were closed.
'I sense a kind of astonishment.' Jaden's sharp senses allowed him to feel that there was a feeling resembling astonishment in the air, which was a bit unexpected since he couldn't feel anything at all just a moment ago.
'Is it abnormal, being able to see? even if I can't see anything.' The last part of this sentence was an octave lower than the first.
"So, the devil has deceived me, I am truly in hell." He spoke out a little disappointed.
"'Lying is only practiced by the weak." Said the devil.
However, Jaden was not entirely convinced. It's quite obvious, isn't it? The devil saying, he doesn't lie, when he's known to be the greatest liar in the universe.
But as for lying being defined as a tool for the weak, there's something to think about. Why lie? To hide the truth out of fear of being seen in a different light, out of fear of hurting others, or out of fear of changing things?
When one chooses to lie, it's always to hide something. If you are strong, why hide? You could just stomp over anything in your way and continue. If you are strong enough, lying serves no purpose.
Some might say that one can lie to protect the weak, but even in that case, it's the lack of strength that compels it. Out of fear that the situation might spiral out of control, we decide to lie. But if we were strong enough, we wouldn't have that fear. Fear is a tool for the weak.
"Listen carefully once again, young human." the devil was not done capturing Jaden's attention.
'Well, I can only do that.' Jaden grumbled in his mind just before the devil launched into his long speech.
"You will beg me to kill you, like a father who loves his son, I will refuse. You will want to kill me, but being a mere human, you won't succeed. You will try to commit suicide, for your life no longer belongs to you, you will live again. You will burn like a phoenix, you will be reborn, you will flee the world, much like happiness, the world will follow you.
Go, live, and suffer, child of humankind unafraid of death, go, live, and suffer, Jaden Lavender, child of humankind."
'Go, live, and suffer...' There was confusion in Jaden; his interlocutor kept saying shocking things over and over again.
It was a very different way of saying goodbye. It's true that life is filled with suffering, but telling someone that their life will be full of suffering is often not a good sign—it's probably a wish for unhappiness.
'Too weird, too bizarre, is this a science fiction movie?'
After listening to too many supernatural things, the young human felt like he was losing his mind. It was a far cry from his supposed beautiful life.
One moment he was with his friends, and the next he found himself near a guy who called himself the devil and claimed to be the owner of the HOUMs. The wheel had truly turned.
'I'll try rubbing my eyes or pinching myself to see what happens.'
...
After a few seconds, Jaden realized that just because something seemed beyond his comprehension didn't mean he was dreaming.
He had to come to terms with the fact that everything he was experiencing was indeed real—this might be life after death.
"Can I at least ask some questions, owner of the HOUMs?" He went from 'devil' to 'owner of the HOUMs' just like that.
Noticing that the 'owner' was not responding, he turned the silence into 'silence implies consent'.
The owner's name seemed to resemble that of a certain magician in a certain novel, but that's a story for another day.
"Why won't you let me die? I'm sure I'm not the only human unafraid of death." Jaden continued after his question, but this time he looked much more serious, and his voice carried much farther in this empty place.
Though it was still infinitely inferior to that of the owner of the HOUMs, his voice had the same power as his interlocutor's.
There are many psychopaths who, like him, would cry tears of joy at the prospect of death, although they often need to accomplish a certain task. But still, the owner didn't want to make him believe he's the only person on Earth to die without regret for about 17 centuries, right?
"All these humans, young human, have a certain regret just as their life slips away: family, friends, enemies, and me, the Supreme HOUM..."
The HOUM?
'The Supreme HOUM... what does he mean by that?'
Jaden was becoming more and more lost in their conversation. The more he listened, the more he thought about how to maintain the sanity of his mind.
And there was more than just the fact that he was learning that this being he couldn't see was the Supreme HOUM, which meant he was some sort of emperor, and all that was happening now was the result of his ingratitude and pride.
There was reason for remorse. At the time of his death, he hadn't thought at all about his friends or even his family. No one had come to mind during the battle against the HOUMs.
His parents, his brothers and sisters, they would surely be very sad, and he had chosen to die as if all of this meant nothing at all—what ego?
'Mom... Dad... friends, I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry for my selfishness.'
After finishing his self-blame, he realized through his senses that the HOUM had not stopped talking at all but that he simply couldn't perceive anything.
No voice, no sound, not even a whisper, but his senses assured him that the being he was conversing with was indeed talking. It was like there was some higher force preventing him from hearing what the Supreme HOUM was saying—it was like a barrier.
"Young human, did you hear me? Did you understand?"
As if he knew there was a possibility that the person in front of him couldn't hear him, the Supreme HOUM asked Jaden with his all-powerful voice if he could understand him.
"No, sorry, I stopped after you said Supreme HOUM... sorry." was Jaden's response.
"I see, young human, so that's your limit."
'My limit? But what was he talking about?" This sentence implied a lot, like the fact that he might not be the only one in this place.
Maybe not for the same reasons, but it was highly likely that several people had already arrived at this place, and each of them had their limits. Limits that were probably different for each of these individuals.
'I still can't see him.' Jaden thought just before the voice of the Supreme HOUM echoed again.
"Can you see me, young human?" The devil asked graciously as ever.
That's what he had been thinking just a few moments ago, maybe his instincts had picked up that there would be something related to his inability to see the Supreme HOUM just before he asked the question.
Humans tend to overlook certain things, but there are things that we think are supernatural that are mastered by some individuals, like intuition, for example.
In many people, it's a quality of great importance. In the police, for example, there's a category of officers who sometimes base their entire careers on simple intuitions.
"You were able to sense something, right, young human?"
"Um... yes?"
Jaden couldn't help but be wary of this kind of question. Moreover, this creature that seemed to be his 'benefactor' was content with how things were going. Why did he seem pleased that he could at least feel what he was saying? There was surely something suspicious behind all of this.
"Interesting, very interesting." The voice was a bit more powerful, but other than that, there was nothing to indicate that he found it genuinely interesting.
But contrary to what one might think, he was truly happy with how things were going, Jaden could feel it, but the Supreme HOUM was too proud to laugh like everyone else.
But then...
'What does he find interesting? Does he even think I'm a genius?' Jaden was still as shocked as before; all this information was just too much for his brain. If he were a computer, he would have probably overheated at this moment.
While trying to summarize all of this interaction with the Supreme HOUM, he felt less and less the place where he was. The presence of the HOUM, the sensation this place gave him after he had somewhat managed to open his eyes, all these things were gradually fading away.
And he couldn't help but think of one last thing before everything became empty again.
'And what's with that 'Go, live, and suffer, child of humankind' stuff?'