Chapter 2: ...There Is Life

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“The Dvem’s main religion is the Cult of the Machine God, where they give praise to their Machine God for the technology that they have. The Ely have the Creator, whereas the Naga worship the Great Wyrm of the Deep. The beastmen tribes praise the Spirits of the Wild, and the humans give thanks to the Mana Stream.”

- Summary, Religions of the World (Old World Edition)

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It seemed as if this world had no place for him. Perhaps his existence was really abnormal, and was merely tolerated by the laws of the world.

A sudden flash of inspiration hit him. “That’s right! If this world won’t have me, maybe others might.”

He didn’t know if it would work. Were souls confined to the world they lived in? It didn’t hurt to give it a try though, and off he went, floating toward the dimensional rift with new resolve.

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The Rift, as it was now known by both the Ely and the Gar’nash, was guarded quite heavily by the strongest members of the royal army. Even though more than two decades had passed since the Year of Massacre, aptly named by Elyian historians, the king still took the threat of invasion seriously. They had made peace with the Gar’nash, but since the Ely did not know much about the world on the other side of the Rift, they had decided to take no chance.

Despite having made peace with each other, tensions were still high between both races. The blood of the innocent, spilt by both parties, was still fresh on their minds. This was extremely evident – Gar’nashian merchants coming through the Rift to trade were greeted with wary eyes, and vice versa. Public opinion was beginning to sway for the better, however, during recent years, as the cities were rebuilt and the economy restored.

In fact, the existence of the Rift contributed much to the national coffers of the Ely and the Gar’nash. The Dvem particularly, were very much interested once the news of the Rift had spread. They sent ambassadors to Elysium to improve relationships and discuss trade routes, so that they could send their merchants into the new world. The lure of unknown technology across the Rift was strong, and they were very much willing to agree to whatever terms the Elysium government proposed.

The humans of the Sorcerer States were also interested in what lay beyond the Rift. The very existence of the Rift intrigued them. It was an ominous, thick, and purple gash in reality. It pulsed mana in unbelievably huge quantities, though weirdly enough, magicks seemed to be weaker when used in its immediate vicinity. No one had known such magick existed before, and surely those who could use such magick had stronger tricks up their sleeves. Numerous scholars sought permission from the Gar’nashian Embassy in Elysium’s capitol to venture forth through the Rift, so that they could learn such new magicks.

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Being a soul had its perks. He didn’t have to go through the stringent checks by the Rift guards, as the living did when coming or going. He paused to take one last look at the capitol of Elysium and at the Elyian people, before floating forward through the Rift.

“It was a good life. It is time for me to start over. Thank you.”

Perhaps he would see them again in the future. The two worlds were connected now, after all.

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The Rift was a peculiar existence.

“Just like me…” he mused, edging further into it.

It was a corridor between worlds. An extremely wide purple road linked the two portals, on which travellers could walk in safety. Other than the magical glow of the road, the Rift was void of any light. Travellers usually stayed in the middle of the road, away from the edges, though both the Ely and Gar’nash had taken the liberty to place guards and signs at certain intervals, to warn and prevent curious individuals from straying too close to the edge. The first travellers had tried dropping stones and other knick-knacks off the edge of the road, with no sign of a bottom. No one wanted to know what would happen if they fell off.

The guards had to be changed every few hours. The inside of the Rift drained mana from its occupants, and there had been many cases of guards and travellers fainting from fatigue after having spent too long in it. The mana drain didn’t affect him in his current form however; souls didn’t possess mana, nor did they feel fatigue.

He took some time to closely observe the guards. Some of the Elyian and Gar’nashian guards had become friends, bonded by their similar duties. It was refreshing to see interactions between the two races with no animosity, though it was also apparent that some still harboured unpleasant feelings.

The Gar’nashian guards drew his curiosity, especially now that he was able to witness them up close, without the goggles of war staining his thoughts. During the war, he had thought of them as bloodthirsty monsters, but now, he could see that they were a beautiful race in their own right. They were more draconian in nature, with scales covering most of their bodies and a tail protruding from their behinds. They also had horns of varying lengths, and only grew hair atop their heads. The scales and horns of the Gar’nash ranged from a deep red to black, and the same went for their hair and eyes. Gazing upon their beauty, he felt a pang of regret for having killed so many of them in the war.

As he observed the guards on his journey, he realised something curious. There were no other souls in the Rift.

“Oh right, they seem to be avoiding it for some reason,” he noted, thinking back to how he’d observed the other souls giving the Rift a wide berth before his entrance. Were they simply avoiding it? Or could they not enter at all? He had no way to tell. He didn’t really count himself as an example, considering how he’d been an anomaly all his life.

Perhaps souls were really meant to stay in their own world. He had no intention of turning back now, however. Soon, the light of the new world was visible in the distance, and he pushed on forwards, his consciousness once more filled with thoughts of home.

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It was night by the time he exited the other side of the Rift. The stars were a gorgeous, yet familiar sight, and they reminded him of the many nights he had spent gazing at the stars in his previous life, pondering his existence. The lands surrounding the Rift were a familiar sight to him as well.

A thought came to mind, and he found it a little funny; the first time he had set foot here, he had come to take lives, and now, he had come with the wish to experience life once more.

As he had expected, there were souls here as well. Some were observing him with curiosity, while others radiated emotions that he had come to know very well in his time as a soul. Rage and fear bombarded him once more, as the souls recognised their murderer. He replied with sorrow and regret, trying to apologise for the wrongs that he had done against them. A few souls seemed to accept his apology and calmed down, whereas others seem to be enraged that he expected their forgiveness with a simple apology.

He sighed within his consciousness. He hadn’t expected to be forgiven easily, and their response was well warranted, taking into consideration his misdeeds. Nevertheless, it still hurt him, as he truly wanted to make peace with them.

Just as he was about to wander off from the crowd of souls to find his new life, he felt a powerful aura approaching. Several auras, in fact. Before he could organise his thoughts enough to think about what could be happening, a bright light engulfed his vision.

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“My, my. What do we have here?”

Several figures had emerged from the bright light, and he could feel the mood changing amongst the souls. They seemed to be bowing down in reverence to the figures, and he wondered who they could be.

The figure that spoke was a lady of breath-taking beauty. She had the same bodily traits as the Gar’nash, with the exception of her pure white scales and horns. She had long black hair, and her eyes burned a fiery red. She seemed to be the embodiment of grace and beauty, and she radiated an aura of calmness. He felt her voice sing in his consciousness as she spoke again; it was as if he was being put in a trance.

“I was wondering who could have caused such a commotion amongst our children, but I didn’t expect you, strange one.”

That was weird. He had managed to clear his consciousness from the effects of her voice, but now he was confused. She spoke with a certain familiarity, as if she knew who he was.

“It seems he doesn’t remember us, Mhi’ra. I am Shaitan, and I welcome you, strange one.”

The figure to the left of the lady spoke out with a cackle, as if sensing his confusion, and he could feel the immediate fear radiating out of all the souls present as they heard the diabolical laugh. The fear seemed to multiply at the mention of the figure’s name. The figure was male, and taller than the one called Mhi’ra. Shaitan had the same fiery red eyes as her, but other than that, he was different. Shaitan’s hair burned with a deep shade of red, and his scales and horns were as black as the abyss. His very presence seemed to inspire terror.

There were three other figures behind Mhi’ra and Shaitan, though they did not deign to speak up, and only nodded in agreement at Shaitan’s greeting.

His consciousness was a mess. He had realised the group’s identities at the mention of Shaitan’s name. They were the gods of the Gar’nash! Their very existence only brought more questions to mind. If they existed, surely the Creator existed as well! What about the gods of the Dvem, the beastmen, the Naga and the humans? Why were they silent when he had called out repeatedly for them, in life and death?

“All those deaths were a worthy gift, strange one. You always were an excellent fighter. I thank you for the spilling of blood which sustains my strength.”

His train of thought was interrupted when Shaitan spoke up again, praising him for having caused such wanton destruction during the war, which caused a slight hint of a frown to appear on Mhi’ra’s face.

“…You’re welcome,” he thought, and was surprised when Shaitan acknowledged his reply with an evil chuckle. “You can hear me?”

“Indeed we can, strange one,” was Mhi’ra’s response. “The deaths of our children was painful to me, but we bear you no ill will, for you were only doing your duty.”

Relief flooded his consciousness at her words, and she continued.

“We know your true self, strange one, though you may not remember. You were of help to us eons ago, and all that we do will never repay that debt. The path you chose to walk then was a lonely path, as it is now. Though we cannot take you off that path, we can render our assistance. We only hope that you will remember our friendship when you regain your true power, strange one.”

He couldn’t fully understand her. What did she mean by his true self? What was that about a lonely path? She didn’t allow him to raise any questions, however.

“It is time for us to return. Go now, strange one, to your new home, and always remember: we are more alike than you think!”

The group of gods smiled at him as a close friend would, before they faded back to wherever they came from.

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The crowd of souls had long dispersed when their gods had departed, leaving him alone to ponder all the newfound information. Questions were bursting out from his consciousness, but he had no one to ask, and no answers came to him. For now, he could wait. It didn’t matter at the moment anyway, since he’d forget everything until the death of his next life.

He felt the familiar feeling of longing tugging at his consciousness once again, except this time it was stronger, and gave him a clear direction to head towards! He began speeding off towards it, excitement flooding his consciousness, and soon he arrived at a particular household in the capitol of the Gar’nashian country.

There, he found no pregnant women. Instead, he found a female Gar’nash hugging an egg tightly, probably keeping it warm. He hadn’t expected an egg, though in hindsight it should have been obvious, with the reptilian traits of the Gar’nashians.

He paused again, looking around at the many souls flitting about above the city. He would certainly miss the freedom of being a soul. With a last look around, he floated into the egg and settled in. Soon, he felt his consciousness fading, and a happy thought came to mind before it finally winked out.

He was home.

Hey, author here! Thanks for reading!

This is my first work, and I'd appreciate any feedback and criticism.

There'll be more to come, so look forward to it! ^^