Athan realized it. It had been this barrier that he always felt shrouded his mind. To think that it would be hidden here of all places. But whatever was about to happen carried a momentum that caused waves in the vast golden sea.
This sea usually was like hard earth because his steps had never caused it any ripples on it. This had led him to realizing that it was a fluid but it did not have liquid properties.
Whatever was coming caused waves in the vast sea. There was even shaking of the island such that it almost crumbled. But the skies were a different story.
The crack which had started as a centimeter was extending pretty slowly. Soon it stopped at half a meter. But that did not explain the shaking the skies had. The reverberations from the skies seemed to want to cause the sea to threaten to split into different ways.
Like the weight of the skies was dropping on it. Still, it seemed like there was something holding back the crack from fully breaking. Athan was curious though.
But that was the moment he felt a crack in his mind. The momentum of this crack felt like an explosion in his mind. This was followed by a spitting headache which threatened to drive him into madness.
He held his head with both hands as he let out a scream. But the pain just seemed to get even stronger. He even could not think straight. Let alone straight. He could not even bring himself to think.
All that existed to him at the moment was nothing but the pain. He fell on his knees as he pulled his hair. He grit his teeth as his eyes bulged outwards almost popping out.
He raised his head and looked at the crack but the moment his eyes landed on the crack, he felt like something had crushed his already crushing mind.
But he had done it. He had had a glimpse and whatever he saw made him forget all the pain he was feeling at the moment. Whatever he saw gave the feeling like he was being laid out naked.
Every part of his being been exposed. All he had seen was just a white light that was somehow like a reflection. And whomever that reflection's owner was, it was no other than himself.
It was just a glance but he had gotten a breakthrough. He raised his head once again and looked at the crack. This time he did not hold back as he ignored all the pain. What could possibly go wrong?
This time, the light came out like a white silk thread. But it reached him instantly it as soon as it left the crack. But its effect? Athan felt his vision split into two. One on the top and the other one still looking forward.
He did not even register what happened. Why was everything getting blurry? Why could he no longer feel his body? What was that slight pain at the back of his head? Why were his thoughts slowing down?
****
The girl was shocked when the guy went into meditation position and instantly cut himself off from the world. She could not help but get shocked.
Entering a meditative state was not as easy as one might think. One had to meditate for at least five minutes. How could she not get shocked if he did so instantly with a thought?
She could not help but wonder how someone like him did not know about something as basic as the Soul. She sighed as she waited for him to finish. It was not that it was going to take long anyway.
Ten minutes passed and suddenly there was a change in his body. His closed eyelids flickered every now and then but did not open. In a few more seconds, she heard a scream come from him.
What was he doing? She wondered as she felt vibrations on the ground. She was not sure where it was coming from at first but it was his scream that seemed to increase the shaking.
What was he doing? There was no way he could cause the vibration just by looking for his Soul. She looked at him and for a few seconds he grit his teeth and looked at the sky with his eyes still closed.
This act alone seemed to force him to fall side ways but with her sharp eyes, she did not miss the slight shake in the skies. What was happening with him.
Suddenly everything became still and the guy seemed to have quietened. But in the next second, she realized that he was not breathing and it did not take long to realize that even his heart had stopped.
For a moment, she panicked. What were the circumstances that led to his death? It was impossible in the first place. She hurried to him and helped him sit up but he could only lean on her for support.
She cursed as she lay him on his back and started giving him first aid trying to restart his heart. But it was futile as she exerted her utmost strength but she was shocked she could not even make his chest curve inwards the slightest...
His body was like a concrete wall. She cursed again as she used her elements to strengthen herself but she only managed to make it bulge inwards slightly...
****
Athan never got to know anything as his vision dimmed. After a second, Athan opened his eyes. He sighed but there was something wrong with him. His body felt corporeal...
Also, he could not feel his heart racing... He raised his hand and he almost freaked out. He had to raise his other hand to confirm what he saw.
What he first saw was the golden glow. It was then he scanned his body and saw that it was glowing the same golden. Golden dust falling from the body.
But he could not call it body. It was like a mere projection of his body. He freaked out again as tried to clasp his hands together but to his surprise, the hands went past each other.
He cursed. He realized just what was happening. He was dead. He looked around and saw that he was still in the vast sea of gold.
He looked at where he had been kneeling and what he saw next could have made his heart race but the fact that he did not have a heart at the moment changed everything as he watched his body laying dead.
His upper part of the head had been severed from the lower head right at the centre of his pupils. So he had died and this was him looking at his body for the last time before he proceeded to the afterlife...
So this was how death felt like? It was unreal and yet calm. Still something told him that this was not the case here. He had experienced death but this was not the feeling.
Also, he could see that his head was not bleeding. He could not delude himself that this was an illusion though. It was more than that.
He slowly raised his head and looked at the crack. This time, there was no headache or such. He could see through the crack but it was only an eye he saw. A red eye. He could feel like most of himself was inside that crack.
Right above the skies of this vast sea he could feel it. Yes. It was calling on to him. It was agitated and it wanted to cross the barrier. He also felt like he wanted it to cross from that barrier to come and merge with him.
"Who are you?" He asked. He was 101% sure that there was a person on the other side.
"Haha!" Came a laugh from the other side. The laugh made him raise goosebumps. He knew that person somehow... "So you have figured it ou? Very good. Very good. I thought that I was going to have to spend another few decades before you finally realized that I am here," the voice said.
Athan was confused at first but he quickly stopped straying away. At least he could try to keep a conversation with this voice.
"Are you... My Soul?..." Athan asked hesitantly.
"Bingo!" Came an unexpected reply. "Had you asked another question first, I would have closed myself away from you forever," the voice replied.
Athan was shocked by this discovery. So the Soul to was real.
"But why are you sealed?" Athan asked. He could not lie here though. He could tell that his soul was trying to break out.
"Ha! So you noticed. Very good. Very good. That body you are in is just a fraction of myself that I have managed to squeeze through this crack. I know that you can feel its power. It more than anything you have felt before right?. Could you imagine just what lies above this seal?" The voice asked and Athan could not help but shiver.
" Why is it that my Soul has been sealed then. And what is this space even?" Athan asked.
" I like it. Just good questions coming. I will first answer the first question you ask. This space is just a part of the almost infinite space that is hidden above this crack. It is the Divine sense..."