Driving the car down the street, I had one hand on the steering wheel while resting my head on my fist that was being propped up on the door, and I couldn't help but sigh, eliciting Jala's, my wife, curiosity.
"What's wrong, Tom? You sound frustrated. That's rare coming from you." Asked Jala curiously as she turned and looked at Tom, who gently pressed on the brakes, slowing the car down to a halt right before the red light.
"Nothing, dear. I'm not frustrated. You know, I'm not easily upset; it's just that my boss wanted me to work next Sunday. I don't get much time off to spend with you, so it was…" Replied Tom lightly as he glanced at Jala, and before he could finish speaking the light turned green, prompting him to gently press the pedal while she finished his sentence.
"…Frustrating?" Asked Jala with a small smirk as she eyed Tom, who sighed before faintly smiling and nodding.
"I suppose I was frustrated." Said Tom lightly as he glanced at Jala, who softly chuckled before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.
"Yes, yes, I know, Tom; you can hide your feelings even from yourself, but not from me. Call it a woman's intuition." Remarked Jala with a lovely smile, causing Tom to lightly nod as he softly glanced at her before gazing down at her slightly bulging stomach.
"Have you decided on their names yet?" Asked Tom curiously as he switched his hands on the wheel, using his left hand to drive while his right hand softly rubbed Jala's stomach, causing her to smile.
"Well, after I discarded your poor selections of names, I spoke with Mom and my mother-in-law before deciding on two different names. If they're a boy, he'll be named Jason, and if they're a girl, she'll be named Jasmine." Replied Jala softly as she rested her hand atop Tom's hand while lovingly gazing at her pregnant belly, causing him to shake his head lightly.
"My selection wasn't poor, mind you, Jala." Said Tom as he slowed down to make a turn while Jala gave him a blank look, which he missed as he was focused on driving.
"You wanted to name the child Zalm if he was a boy and Azula if she was a girl. Those are not actual names; they are names from a TV show or something. I will not be having my child bullied at school because of the poor decision of his/her father." Stated Jala firmly as she eyed Tom, gently slapping his hand away from her stomach, causing him to chuckle faintly.
"They were good names; you're just being difficult," Said Tom calmly, earning him a huff from Jala as she started playfully hitting him in annoyance, causing him to yield.
"I yield, I yield." Added Tom lightly, prompting Jala to smirk in victory while protectively rubbing her stomach.
"It's okay, little Jasmine or Jason; I'll ensure your name is good." Said Jala softly as she whispered into her stomach while Tom just sported an amused smile.
Seeing the light turn green, I waited a second to make sure no one ran a red light, which thankfully no one did; pressing the pedal, I drove across the intersection while taking a glance at Jala before looking to my right, only to notice a speeding sports car heading right for us. In that split microsecond, as I stared at the car's speeding headlights, the only thing on my mind was Jala since I instantly knew I was going to die; nothing was saving me from this; my death was guaranteed.
Moving on pure instinct, I turned the steering wheel clockwise, hoping to better protect Jala and my soon-to-be child, though it wasn't even a half a second later before the car rammed into us; for a split second, I felt an unfathomable amount of pain throughout my whole body as our vehicle was flung into the air, and before we even managed to hit the ground, darkness had consumed my mind is everything vanished.
'Jala-'
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___
Looking around, trying to find Jala, I didn't bother to question how come I was still alive or why I was floating in what looked to be an endless void filled with multi-colored ethereal lights, running, or I suppose, flying through this endless void, I tried to yell for Jala, yet, I couldn't. I could only think I couldn't physically do anything other than float through this void; I didn't even seem to have a physical body of sorts; I was merely a collection of thoughts that formed an ego.
'A soul.' Mused Tom as he flew through the multi-colored void, searching every nook and cranny he encountered in hopes of finding Jala.
The more time passded, the more unnerved I got since wherever I was, this rainbow void had a chaotic time dilation; time here didn't move at a constant rate. A few seconds would feel as if only a few seconds had passed, but in actuality, days, years, or even centuries could've passed. I didn't know how I knew this; I just seemed to suddenly realize it after I spent a long enough time in here, but I didn't question it too much; after all, I was more focused on finding Jala, which was getting less and less likely as the millenniums passed.
Despite knowing Jala was most likely not here, and even if she were, it would take millions upon millions of years to find her; I continued to preserve while keeping a steady and calm mind as I searched for her while millions of years passed by in a blink of an eye. However, one thing I did notice while aimlessly floating through this void was the presence of a large white sphere in the distance; it attracted my attention, and while I searched for Jala, I slowly made my way there before; eventually, I arrived floating in front of it.
[Hello Soul, I'm the Overseer of all reality in existence; could you tell me how you made it into my domain?] Asked the large white sphere as it looked down at Tom, sounding calm as it suppressed its annoyance at having yet another visitor land in its domain.
While I was surprised to hear a voice other than my own thoughts within this domain, as the Overseer of all reality calls it, I still kept my cool and looked around, searching for where the voice may have originated from before eventually coming up empty-handed, prompting me to look up at the large white sphere in uncertainty.
'I do not know; I believe I'm supposed to be dead. Do you know where I can find my wife, Jala?' Replied Tom respectively as he looked up at the white sphere before quickly asking his own question.
[…That is Interesting. For a soul to not only stay conscious after death but even absorb some of my remnant energy in only a couple hundred million years after shielding my domain.] Said the White sphere calmly while looking at Tom, feeling rather annoyed internally.
'Hmm, I see. About my wife, Jala.' Said Tom softly with what he believed to be a nod while gazing at the glowing white sphere.
[She is currently on her deathbed as we speak; she only has roughly three minutes left to live before the vessel can no longer contain her Soul.] Stated the white sphere, its annoyance being placated by Tom's calm and respectful attitude.
'You said you're the Overseer of all reality, and I happened to absorb some of your remnant energy? Does that mean I can help Jala?' Asked Tom carefully as he suppressed his joy and delight while looking at the white sphere.
[Yes. However, not through your own methods; you're a child who was just given a reality culling weapon; you'll destroy your universe if even a fraction of that energy grazes it.] Said the Oversee, its words causing Tom to internally frown as he went silent pondering ways to save Jala.
[You can stay with me for all of eternity. Or I could reincarnate you into another universe of my choosing. The option you choose doesn't matter, as either way, I will need to take my energy back.] Remarked the white sphere, its words causing Tom to freeze as he cautiously gazed up at the white sphere.
[Do not fret; you've worked hard to acquire my energy. So, I shall convert the energy into wishes of your choosing. Just know, there is no numerical amount of wishes as some will take more energy to fulfill, and others might take barely any energy at all.] Added the White sphere, seemingly discerning Tom, who had sighed in relief, was smart enough to handle complicated sentences compared to the previous two guests.
'I'd like for Jala and the child inside of her to make a perfectly healthy recovery.' Stated Tom immediately, his words causing the white sphere to take the most minuscule of energy out from his body and send it to his previous universe.
[99.99999999998% Energy remaining.]
'I'd like to be sent back to my universe in a perfectly healthy body that's an exact replica of my previous body before I died.' Said Tom instantly afterward; only once the scenery didn't change even after a few seconds, he frowned.
[Not possible. Your Soul has already vacated that universe; returning now would be tampering too deeply with the laws of reality, which isn't something I can or will do for one Soul.] Stated the white sphere calmly, its words causing Tom to go silent for several years before he finally opened his mouth.
'I-I see.' Muttered Tom in a sad voice as he lowered his head, seemingly accepting his inevitable fate.