Navak grinned menacingly, baring his teeth as he made a bold proclamation. "I will collect all the debt with interest, even if I have to wake up from the deathbed."
Suddenly, the deafening sound of a gunshot shattered the silence of the warehouse. Navak had a bullet hole piercing his forehead.
...
"Where am I?" he murmured to himself, his mind muddled with confusion as he struggled to recall the events that had taken place."I was shot," he thought, his heart pounding with fear. "I should be dead."
"I wonder how long it's been since my death," he pondered.
The last thing he remembered was the deafening sound of gunfire, followed by an abrupt darkness. But now, he found himself in an unknown place, enveloped by an eerie silence.
As he attempted to move his arms and legs, a creeping sense of unease settled in the pit of his stomach. But to his shock, he found that he couldn't feel anything, not even his own body. It was as if he was a disembodied spirit, suspended in a vacuum of nothingness.
Panic rose in his chest as he struggled to make sense of his predicament. He strained to hear, to see, to feel something, anything, but there was only silence and emptiness. It was an eerie and unsettling sensation that left him feeling vulnerable and exposed, like a lamb to the slaughter.
As the panic slowly subsided, he realized that there was no use in getting worked up. He was already dead, and whatever was to come could not be worse than this.
"Anyways, where am I?" he wondered. "I'm dead. I don't have a body. It seems I only have my thoughts. Is it my consciousness that is still alive, or is this what people call a soul? I don't understand."
He felt lost and confused, adrift in an endless void without any destination. The nothingness stretched out before him, and he had no way to tell if he was moving or standing still. He tried to reach out, to touch something, anything, but didn't have any of his organs to move.
He wondered if this was his eternal resting place, or if there was some other realm beyond this emptiness. Was there a way out, or was he trapped here forever? These questions raced through his mind, but there were no answers to be found.
The only thing he could do was keep moving forward, hoping that something would change, that there was a purpose to this emptiness. He continued to drift, searching for something, anything, that would give him a clue to where he was and what he was supposed to do.
He had been drifting aimlessly in the void for a long time. After what felt like an eternity, he suddenly saw a glimmer of light in the distance. The glimmer grew brighter and brighter until it was like a cluster of radiant orbs, each emanating a unique hue. Amidst them all, the most prevalent was a shade of gray that cast glow in the emptiness.
He rushed towards the radiant orbs, feeling a sense of purpose and hope for the first time since he had woken up in the void. As he got closer, he noticed that the orbs were entering a portal, a swirling vortex of energy that pulsed with the colors of the rainbow.
As he observed the luminous orbs entering the portal, a nagging thought crept into his mind. "If all of them are like this, then am I like them as well?" he wondered. "Why couldn't I see anything if I was luminous? Is there something more to this than meets the eye?"
Suddenly, an idea struck him like a bolt of lightning. "I see," he thought to himself, "Perhaps this luminosity is just a result of the light given off by the portal, and the colors I'm seeing might just be reflected light, like the glow of the moon on a dark night."
After the realization that the color of the orbs might be a result of the reflected light from the portal, he couldn't help but focus his attention on the swirling vortex of energy.
It was as if the portal had a mesmerizing effect on him, drawing him in like a siren's song. The more he gazed at it, the more mysterious and alluring it became, as if it held the answers to all of his questions.
He felt an urge to step closer, to reach out and touch the energy emanating from the portal. But something deep within him warned him of the danger, that he might never be able to return from the other side. He hesitated, unsure of what to do, but the call of the portal was too strong to ignore.
The curiosity and wonder he felt before were now mixed with a sense of dread, yet he couldn't help but take a step forward towards the unknown. What lay beyond the portal? What secrets and mysteries awaited him there? He knew that he had to follow the orbs and find out for himself.
He stood at the end of the line, eagerly waiting for his turn to enter the portal and explore the other side. As he waited, he couldn't help but notice that the pattern of the portal was changing in a sequential manner after a particular amount of time. It was as if the destination was shifting, and he wondered where the portal was leading him.
The sense of mystery and intrigue grew stronger within him, and he felt a pull towards the portal, like a moth to a flame. He knew that he had to enter the vortex and find out where it was taking him.
He was finally next in line to enter the portal. A sense of joy and excitement filled him as he realized he would finally be able to satisfy his curiosity and escape the endless void. He smiled inside his mind as he eagerly anticipated what lay ahead.
As he stood at the brink of the portal, ready to take the plunge into the unknown, he suddenly heard a voice in his mind. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. The voice was not audible in the conventional sense, but it was as if his thoughts were being transmitted directly to his mind.
A booming voice echoed in his mind, making him freeze in place. "You can't enter," it commanded. . "After searching for so long, I have finally found what I was looking for. How can I let it slip away?" the voice cackled. "And you, my dear, will be the one to help me keep it. Ha ha ha ha ha!"
The voice sent a shiver down his spine. He tried to move, to escape into the portal and leave the void behind, but he found that he couldn't even budge. It was as if the ancient voice's command was instinctively followed by his body. Panic set in as he realized that he was not alone in the void, and he was being pulled away from the portal by an unseen force.
He fought with all his might, trying to break free, but the presence was too strong. He could feel a surge of energy coursing through his body, and the force grew stronger, overwhelming him with blinding light.
As he was being traversed through the endless abyss, an overwhelming sensation of being torn apart consumed him. He struggled to make sense of his surroundings, trying to figure out whose voice it the was, what they wanted from him, and why he was suddenly taken away. A tumultuous flurry of questions raced through his mind, leaving him feeling lost and apprehensive.
But just as suddenly as the pain had started, it receded, as if a protective layer had been wrapped around him. The ancient voice once again resounded in his mind, its tone solemn and resolute.
"This is the only time I will aid you, young one," the voice spoke. "You must do what you are destined to do."
The significance of these words escaped him, and the idea of destiny was foreign to him. Nevertheless, he knew that he had no other option but to follow the path laid before him. Taking a deep breath, he braced himself for the journey ahead, venturing into the unknown with resolute determination.
"Excuse me, senior, may I ask you a question?" he inquired.
The reply came in a measured tone, "You may ask me whatever you wish, and I will answer to the best of my ability. However I have to mind the casualty so if I don't answer some questions you should leave it at that else you won't receive what you could have received."
Navak felt an overwhelming sense of relief as he realized that he would finally be able to get the answers he had been seeking. He wouldn't be forced into a situation that he knew nothing about, and the weight of uncertainty that had been bearing down on him lifted, allowing him to feel a sense of hope once more.