I seemed to be drifting along some sort of scarlet river, watching bizarre, gate-like structures pass by overhead. The first one was a thorny, wooden arch covered in roses, while the next one was completely gold, laced with intricate patterns that converged at the keystone from where a golden bull’s head protruded. I found myself strangely at peace, calmly observing the designs on each gate that passed by. 'Gate watching' had the nostalgic feel of cloud watching on a warm, sunny day. Unfortunately, the context was a little different.

I was dead.

More specifically, I remembered dying. I didn’t remember exactly how, but I did remember who I was. John Purell, 19 years old, college student. Never dated a girl in my life. The only passion I had in life was music and anime. Sure, I might have had decent grades, but I considered myself to be a good for nothing. I could pity myself endlessly, but there was a time and place for that.

Shaking myself out of my trance, I tried moving, only to discover that I couldn’t feel my limbs. Actually, it was more accurate to say that I didn’t have any limbs. Or a body for that matter. I seemed to have entered some sort of spiritual form that still allowed me to see and blink. Although mortifying, my curiosity got the better of me and I tried experimenting to determine if there was anything I could do. After all, I was already dead. What did I have to fear?

I soon found that I could glide along the surface of the river as long as I willed it, allowing me to explore a little bit. I quickly came to two conclusions. First, the river wasn't bound to any sort of land; rather, it was shaped cylindrically with a modest circumference of around 20 meters, but stretched infinitely into the distance on either end. Second, the gates that I saw previously were only a few of the countless members that were strewn in space randomly along the sides of the river.

'This is some weird ass afterworld, that's for certain.'

Deciding that it would be in my best interests to keep moving, I picked a direction and willed myself towards that end of the river. For what seemed like an eternity, the only things that changed in my immediate environment were the shapes, sizes, colors, and designs on the gates. That is, until I noticed a strange shadow appear in the distance. As it approached, I could make out the outline of a tall skeleton paddling a wooden canoe with strong sweeps of its oar.

“Ahoy there! Need a ride~?”

The tall skeleton posed the question cheerfully as it increased the intensity of its paddling. At this point, I wondered if the canoe would be able to stop in time with that massive velocity. It was coming towards me a little too quickly, perhaps. No, no, DEFINITELY WAY TOO FAST!

“Oops.”

Whack!

Contact with the canoe's hull shot me out of the river like a bullet, helpless and unable to stop myself from hurling through space. The speed was tremendous, and the only thing that I could see was the object that I was heading straight towards. A dilapidated stone gate with branches twisting around the entire arch. I shut my eyes tightly and braced for impact.

...

...

?

Plop.

Unexpectedly, I had passed through the gate without any resistance, and in all probability ended up face-planting the ground which felt like soft Jello, not an unpleasant feeling. Cautiously, I peeked through one eye to see where I was.

‘Blue?’

Indeed, all I could see in front of me was blue. I thought to myself whether I was staring at some kind of ocean, but immediately disregarded the thought. Whatever was in front of me had formed a large indentation and was currently encompassing me from all sides as if it was eating m—