In a room with a dozen people, 10 happening to be slaves. Their hands tied behind their backs wearing blindfolds and a simple white clothing that average slaves would wear. One of these slaves were more important than the rest, Duke Parlor. From looks he is just a teenager with pale skin and jet black hair. 

The ten slaves were resting on their knees waiting for the next command. The quiet murmurs being shared between slaves were shutdown instantly when a man entered the room, his feet clacking on the white marble flooring.

Duke could hear the man walking toward him, the man was humming a old lullaby that kids would be sung before bed, eventually he got closer until he was standing right behind him. The slaves were organized by two rows where Duke was in the last. The man was so close he could hear him breath, until he spoke.

"unfortunately there is no time for introduction. You ten will stand up and slowly be guided to the Podium "

The man cleared his throat from the dryness of the room and stepped aside for the two guards to guide the slaves to the podium.

The podium was one of the main magical items the government used. Instead of killing useless people and having to deal with bodies, this podium transfers humans to the "afterlife" where their bodies are disintegrated instantly.

The slaves had already lined up waiting for their turn to use the podium. Most slaves were obviously enraged, being treated horribly their whole life just to be thrown away when not needed. The room wasn't quiet, one was sobbing, another mumbling, Duke joined the sobbing man with tears, their was no stopping it at this point.

Dukes throat tightens in anger, tears running down his face. The last thing he was going to see was the pitch blackness of the blindfold, dying in darkness was always a fear of his. Time in this moment was going slow, it had felt he was waiting for hours, but now it was his turn. He couldn't see but the guard ordered him to reach his arm out 

He reaches his hand out to be met with a cold hand, the other hand locked its fingers with his own. The feeling of another hand holding his, it reminded him of his mother he had only get to see until he was three, eventually being thrown into a slave camp.

The hand squeezed his own firmly, the cold feeling didn't reside, it only got colder. His fingers were throbbing from the freezing gaze the hand emitted

Slowly the coldness creeped up to his wrist, then his forearm and reaching his shoulder. As much as the cold hurt it was more numbing than pain. By the time he noticed it already reached his chest. It felt like the hand was sucking the life out of him, the life he really never had. 

He already felt like a robot just following orders. The cold energy had finally covered every inch of his body, His whole body submerged in the coldness.

Duke couldn't feel anything, realizing he had his eyes closed this whole time he opens his eyes to see pitch blackness. The blindfold was pretty dark but he could still see the dim light gaping from his nose, but it wasn't there. 

"Am i dead already?"

He chuckled with the slightest relief, the pain was finally gone. A really interesting way to die. He couldn't even feel the coldness anymore, it was as if everything disappeared in just a moment floating through a stream of nothingness, anchored by the pulverizing force. He could only feel tension. He thought he couldn't feel anything but their actually was a slight feeling a slight cold breeze in his nonexistent chest. 

As he was being taken somewhere he felt a sudden stop of the tension. Lost in thought, Duke was happy, only at this moment had the sadness from dying disappeared, experiencing this euphoric feeling he felt nothing but everything all at once, all he could do was smile.

This feeling of nothingness was finally abrupted by the sense of warmth, it filled his body to the brim, he couldn't open his eyes until now, waking up in a bed. It had felt that it had been so long since he had seen colors, a tear rolls down his face and falling on the pillow.

"afterlife huh? im ready, ready to start anew."

Duke gets up from his bed to be treated with a throbbing soreness throughout his while body, apparently traveling to the after life wasn't a walk in the part after all.