Isaac had restrained Sabar using light magic, binding him from behind. The bindings shimmered softly but were strong enough to keep Sabar still.
"Who are you guys?" Sabar asked, his voice tense. "Are you here to get rid of me for good? Am I dead?"
Isaac replied calmly, his voice steady. "No, you're not dead. You're stuck in this realm. You're still alive as long as you can maintain and use your internal energy."
Sabar thought to himself, My guess was correct. I'm not dead.
Isaac continued, his tone softening. "Do you still remember your life? Your memories?"
"Yes, I remember my name," Sabar answered, feeling the tension in his chest ease slightly. "It's the only thing that's kept me sane. My name is Sabar."
"Hello, Sabar," Isaac said with a slight nod, his eyes still closed as if focusing inward. "I'm sorry about the restraint. I had to make sure you wouldn't lash out. My name is Isaac. I lead a group called the Purgers. You must have many questions, so let's play a little game. I'll answer one of your questions if you answer one of mine. Fair enough?"
Isaac snapped his fingers, and the light bindings dissolved, releasing Sabar. He remained calm, showing no sign of aggression. "Also, you are certainly not dead," Isaac reassured him.
Sabar rubbed his arms where the bindings had been. "What is this place? I've been stuck here for so long. I've tried to leave, but I can't. I've seen people who look like me, but they just vanish. I didn't approach them because I thought they'd get rid of me like they do with the spirits."
Isaac nodded thoughtfully. "You made a smart choice staying out of sight. Most purgers would have mistaken you for a strong spirit and attacked you immediately. Now, let me ask you something—what's the last thing you remember from your life?"
Sabar hesitated for a moment, weighing his trust. "I don't remember much—only my name and brother's voice. Sometimes I hear him calling for me, but I can't determine what he's trying to say."
Isaac's eyes flickered with curiosity. "Is his voice the only one you hear?"
"No," Sabar admitted. "Sometimes, when I think hard enough, I hear other voices too. It doesn't happen often, though. That's why I've been thinking… maybe I'm not dead, but I'm in a coma. That would explain why I'm stuck in this strange place between life and death."
Isaac leaned back slightly, his expression contemplative. "You might be right. Coma and deep sleep are similar in many ways. One needs to involve themselves in deep sleep to enter this realm. Both involve a loss of consciousness, reduced brain activity, and a disconnect from the waking world. That could explain why you're here and why your memories are fragmented. If you're in a coma, you're hovering between the primary realm and this one."
Sabar mulled over the idea. It makes sense—coma and deep sleep. That's probably why I can't remember much about my past.
Sabar's eyes instinctively flicked to a clock nearby, and for the first time, he noticed something. 21:08. The time had been frozen since his arrival, and now, with Isaac mentioning the reset, it felt like the world was preparing for something. The faint hum of the realm's energy seemed to pulse, ready to shift again.
Sabar's curiosity deepened. "What do you mean by that? Also, why are the clocks here stuck at 21:08?"
Isaac's expression shifted, becoming slightly more guarded. "You can't know that unless you join us as a purger. You have strong internal energy and seem to have been drawn here, so you could become one of us once you leave this realm."
Sabar frowned. "What is your group exactly? And why do you destroy these spirits? Most of them seem harmless."
Isaac's tone turned serious, but he remained calm. "They may seem harmless now, but spirits grow more aggressive given time. Some can become strong enough to break into the primary realm and threaten the living. We purge them as a form of prevention."
"I'm sorry," Sabar said firmly. "I don't want to be part of something that destroys these peaceful creatures. These spirits feel warm—almost like living things. I don't have the heart to erase them."
Isaac looked at Sabar kindly, though his gaze was intense. "I understand your feelings, but you must remember that the spirits are volatile. They might seem peaceful now, but over time, they'll change. Our responsibility is to prevent them from becoming a danger. That's why we believe that 'prevention is better than cure.'"
Sabar's mind raced with questions. "Where do you even send them? Who gave you the authority to just destroy them like this?"
Isaac's expression softened as he answered. "Think of it like we're just sending them to a better place."
Sabar snapped back. "How would you know they're in a better place? From staying here, I've realized that this realm feels like a moment of peace for the spirits. But you guys drop in daily to destroy that with fire tornadoes."
Isaac muttered to himself, "That psychotic idiot."
His expression softened again as he answered. "I don't know where they go. But they are forced out of this realm. This realm isn't naturally occurring. My forefather, 'The Sage,' created it to contain spirits and stop them from leaking into the primary world. When people die, they become spirits, passing through this realm on their way to the afterlife. But when they try to return to the primary realm, they get stuck here. We urge them to protect the living."
Sabar's eyes widened slightly, pieces of the puzzle falling into place. "So this realm was made to keep spirits from crossing back into the world of the living? It acts like a filter. There's only an exit, no entry."
"Exactly," Isaac said, his smile widening slightly. "You're starting to understand. This information is precious, but I trust you, even if you don't want to join us. As you may have already noticed, this realm resets every day at 21:08. It wipes out all the energy here and updates the realm to reflect the primary world."
Sabar was intrigued. "Isn't this too much to tell someone like me?"
Isaac chuckled. "Maybe. But it's alright. I believe you'll make the right choices, Sabar."
Then, something clicked in Sabar's mind. He glanced at Isaac, his expression turning serious. "Aren't you worried your presence might get erased if you stay here during the reset? Isn't it about to happen soon? I've seen it happen to others."
Isaac's calm smile didn't falter. "I'll be fine. I'm strong enough to survive the realm's reset, but the others who came with me won't last. They had already left. You and I are the only two left in this realm now."
With a spring in his step, Isaac stood up suddenly, his demeanor shifting to excitement. "Here, let me show you how it works. The reset is about to happen in a few minutes."
He gestured for Sabar to follow him outside. They stepped into the open air, where Isaac raised his hand, palm open. A small ball of light appeared, slowly blossoming into the shape of a flower. With a flick of his wrist, Isaac launched the flower into the sky, which exploded into radiant fireworks, casting a dazzling display of colors across the sky.
As Sabar stared in awe, Isaac glanced at his watch. "It's 21:07. Watch closely."
The fireworks, still bursting with vibrant colors, suddenly vanished as if they had never existed. The night's darkness gave way to daylight instantly, and Sabar noticed that a nearby building had grown a few feet taller, its construction advancing in the blink of an eye.
"This is the reset," Isaac said quietly. "The realm cleanses itself and updates. Time moves forward, and everything here reflects changes in the primary world."
Sabar stood in silence with his eyes open, absorbing everything Isaac had revealed.
Isaac turned to him, his voice calm but resolute. "Now, let's get you back to where you belong."