I never thought the way i would go out would be by suicide. "How pathetic"....
Everything went black after I pulled the trigger, but that only lasted a few seconds. At least that's what it felt like to me. I felt myself wake up, in a way but there was nothing but blackness everywhere. I could feel the coldness so I assumed I must be alive.
I tried to speak but I couldn't feel my mouth moving. Was i paralyzed? Was I actually alive? I felt weirdly relaxed even after everything I realized. Was it the peace and quiet that made me feel like this? I came to the conclusion that this must be the after life. Just nothingness for an eternity.
A couple hours had passed, at least I think it has. I was trying to count every minute that had passed. Keeping track started to get difficult once I hit about an hour and a half. It's like my mind didn't want me to focus on anything. I began to let my thoughts wander as I remembered my mother holding my brother in her arms. I felt sick to the stomach but it quickly faded away as I heard a voice..
I quickly tried to turn to the voice but I had no sense of direction in this place. I tried once again to call out but I heard nothing. This kinda irritated me as I got more and more annoyed with the complete blackness. Suddenly a young girl appeared in front of me. She wore an all white dress and her head had a hood over it. Her hair was long and black, she was, to be frank, beautiful. Her ears were long, kinda like elves in fantasy novels. She seemed to be around my age but I couldn't be sure.
She continued to stare into my eyes and I stared back. Considering this was the first time I've seen something other than nothing I couldn't take my eyes off her. She almost seemed incorporeal. Her lips moved but this time I didn't hear anything. She laid her hand on my shoulder and she spoke once again. This time though i heard her " Hello there" she said. Her voice was very soothing. It felt great to hear something other than my own thoughts. I felt myself start to smile but i didn't know for sure if my face showed the same thing.
"How did you get here?... Are you not able to talk?... I see you must not be able to talk." she said letting out a small laugh. "Well if you're not able to talk you must not know where you are." she said seriously. "We are in what's called 'The Eternal Obscurity". "It's a place between the worlds that exist for when people pass on to the next life. To put it into something you might understand more it's like Heaven and Hell.". "The fact that you are here is a huge mystery." She finally stopped talking, I'm assuming it was to allow me to digest everything she said. I dont get why it matters though, I'm dead. She moved her hand towards my face slowly laying it against my cheek and she spoke "Speak" her hand glowed a slight purple before i felt my body tense and I could for the first time being here breathe. I didn't realize that until now but I wasn't breathing this whole time.
"Uhh.. hello" i said finally being able to speak. She seemed surprised, almost like she didn't believe what she did was going to work. " So… What's your name?" I asked, breaking the silence. She let out a small smile and said "I am Alice. And you?" "My name is… uh.. it doesn't matter. After all, I'm supposed to be dead. I'm nobody anymore." "Am I going to be here forever? Should I be trying to get used to this place?" I said slowly, relaxing back. She looked at me with a confused look on her face still thinking about how I responded back to her question about my name.
"I've actually been waiting for quite some time hoping for someone human to be exact to get stuck in this area between the two worlds. I am what you might call a goddess, in no way am I an actual god but I'm considered powerful when it comes to the human world." She said, " I ended up here saving a human's life while also trying to keep myself alive. It went against the law of nature but I still tried. It saved her life but it killed me even though I set up precautions to bring me back if I did die. It brought me back but it didn't give me enough life force. So basically I died with some life force left which ended up leaving me here between worlds." she finally paused, giving me a chance to answer.
"So how does this affect me? Or help me in any way?" I said. " Like I was saying, I've been waiting for a human to get stuck in this space as well. I managed to get my magic back and was able to create a rip in space to send us to a new world. But for this to work I need someone with a mortal body like yourself." She finished. "And you expect me to just believe you? And what go into this world with you?" I said with a glare on my face. " Would you rather stay here forever? You can get another chance at a new life." she said getting a bit worked up. "Fine. What do you need from me?" I said thinking of how I could help in any way. " First I will take us to the portal." She said, Suddenly the world shifted and in the blink of an eye we were in front of a glowing portal that had a shiny silver aura around it. You couldn't see anything through it, just a silver blur. "Now, we are going to have to merge with each other for it to work. So from now on we will be together. This also means you might mix with my blood and change because of it. Don't worry you won't die, I can be sure of that." She then flew right towards me and disappeared into me. I felt a jolt of pain in my heart and I kneeled down. I then lost control of my body and I heard Alice say, "It's okay let yourself fall unconscious." She said with a reassuring tone in her voice. "I'll see you soon." My eyes closed and I instantly fell into a deep sleep.
***
My eyes opened slowly adjusting to the light. Once my eyes focused I noticed a woman with long black hair and eyes the color of rubies. She was beautiful, majestic even. She was sweating like she had just worked out. Someone I could not see said " It's a boy sir" . He sounded like an older guy. "Let me see him," another guy said this one younger. The woman handed me over to the new man, he was a tall man with blonde hair and green eyes. I tried to speak but all that came out was cries. That's when I realized that woman was sweaty because she just had a baby.. I was that baby. The man who must've been my father said " He's already so handsome, he must get that from me HAHA".
I was put into a small basket covered in blankets where I eventually fell asleep. After a few days had passed I picked up on a few things I found important to remember. First my new mother and father's name were Melonie and Elias Vance. And my new name was Isaiah Vance. I also found out I have an older sister. She was 5 years old at the time I was born. Her name is Angeline Vance. She shared the same blonde hair as our father and her eyes were both green.. I quickly found out my family was kinda important, my father ran his own guild that took on missions to earn a living. His guild was well known in the area where we lived. My mother on the other hand stayed home caring for me but before I was born she was a teacher at a school near our home.
Time went quickly as an infant and I constantly picked up on more information through the days. Many people would come and go to our house so there were a lot of things to pick up on. I learned that there were three continents in this world, two of them were connected by land and the third was across an ocean. The continent we currently lived in was named Luminaris; it was the continent to the west of the world. We stayed in the third largest city in Luminaris, Nivoria which was surrounded by magic infused woods. The most important information I've picked up on is that there is some type of magic in this world called AetherBound Essence or just Essence. My father was a swordsman but he also has a Zephyr essence, which gathers essence from the winds, enhancing speed, communication, and sound-based attacks. My mother has solar essence which is basically Drawn from sunlight, granting power over heat, light, and vitality. Strongest during the day.
This Essence is an ethereal energy that binds the physical and spiritual realms. The energy resides in natural elements, emotions, and celestial alignments, making it dynamic and ever-shifting. People have managed to draw on this essence and connect with it introducing an era of mages, magic enhancement equipment and engineering. There was so much to learn and I was only going to be turning two this month. Each individual has an internal "reservoir" that holds a limited amount of Aetherbound Essence. Overuse can cause "decay," leading to sickness or loss of powers. I've also noticed they keep track of time differently here each year. Here a year is 10 months instead of 12 that I'm used to.
I was born in the month Solinar on the 10th day. This month is commonly referred to as the Month of Endless Light. The day of my birthday came quickly and when I woke up that morning it wasn't my mother who woke me up like she usually did. This time it was Alice. I haven't heard from her since the moment we went through that portal. She stared at me with a smile on her face and her eyes sparkling at the sight of me " SOO CUTEE" She said unusually loud. "Happy birthday Master" she followed up with. Master? I said in my head "Yes master" she replied. 'YOU CAN HEAR MY THOUGHTS??' "Yes I can, like i said we are connected now i will always be here to help you." she said proudly. 'Well you can start by getting back in me so no one sees you.' "Currently I am on visible to you until I am able to take in more essence and get me closer to my former power." Alice said.
'Is there really anything you can do to help me at this moment in time?' I said genuinely curious if she can do anything that can be of use. " My knowledge of this world is top notch so you can ask questions and for the most part I may be able to answer it." she said brimming with confidence. 'Ummm that's cool i guess.' I said sarcastically.
'Well Alice, before when you asked me name… I never gave you a real answer. Now that I have been given a new name I would like you to start calling me by it. My name is Isaiah Vance, nice to meet you.' " It's nice to meet you as well Master Isaiah. I hope I can be of great use to you." she said, kneeling before me. 'Kneeling is not necessary, thank you though.'
"Happy Birthday my handsome baby!" My mother said bursting into the room. She picked me up and swirled me around in the air. "Let's get you ready for your special day". I sat in my mother's lap as she brushed my hair in front of the mirror. I finally had the chance to really take in my new appearance. I had all black hair with two different colored eyes, one a ruby color and the other a light green. 'I'd say I'm a handsome baby.' I said confidently "Yes, you are master". Alice replied, her eyes sparkling once again.
The day went on and my parents held a party for my birthday, it was only the four of us. We sat in front of the fire and opened the presents I received. Most were just baby clothes but one present from a member of my father's guild gave me a magic item that collected my essence and would tell me my affinities. I held off using the item for now considering I just turned 2. Alice on the other hand kept pushing me to use it already because she was curious to see my strength since she merged with me.
***
A few years went by and I was now 5 years old. The years went by in a flash and I felt like I grew so much in these years. I started to learn the way of the sword from my father and after only 8 months for a 5 year old i was pretty skilled. It may have helped that I lived 16 years before this life. Now that I was 5 I was only a few weeks away from testing what my Aetherbound essence will be.
"This is so exciting master! You're gonna be super powerful!" Alice said, trying to contain her excitement.
'Calm down Alice for all we know I won't even receive an essence.' "Please don't say that master" Alice's whole mood changed to what felt like sadness. I could now feel Alice's emotions like they were my own.
We are definitely closer to being one person than I thought….