Death and True Death

Ryun was laying on the ground, feeling... Drained. His core was drained, his connection to Oblivion closed. Essences around him swirled to take the shape of his shell, the skin that kept his real form inside a human looking body. He—they, lost.

He didn't even know how it happened. They were stronger, his power had cut through the laws of reality. He had erased their attacks as if they were nothing, and yet... He still never touched them. He had felt their willpower only at moments, barely catching it as it was wielded with such mastery and precision that nothing leaked beyond what they wanted it to impact. It was as great and vast as any he had felt before. Their skills and powers hit far above what they should've. And their Aspects... It was as if he was fighting a nature of a thing. Putting his will against an entire plane. When Nathan's spears of fire danced in front of Ryun's eyes, his Qi washed over them and couldn't erase them. He had diminished them at times, but not always, and not at all near the end of the fight. It was... Not just the meaning infused in the Qi that had opposed him, not just the will behind the attack, it was... Fire.

Every time he clashed with it, he felt a burning in the center of his being. He felt a Fire that threatened to burn through everything, that consumed all in its wake.

The entire battle was completely out of his control. It was as if he was part of some choreographed dance, forced to follow the steps, unable to bring his power to bear in the way that he knew it could be borne.

It was... Incredible.

He found himself smiling, it had been a long time since he had felt this way. It was something new, and it made him elated to learn more.

As he was about to stand up, he felt a shift through the battlefield with his perception. Every warrior suddenly turned their heads to the sky, and Ryun followed.

There he saw a giant wheel coming down from the heavens, the True Death within him boiled to the surface and all his senses went insane.

Nayra knelt on the ground, trying to get her breathing under control. She lost, and yet it didn't feel like it. She had come to the field of battle, and brought Death. She had shown these warriors what had brought them all to this place, reminded them of Death. And they had taught her a lesson in return.

That no matter how strong she got, she could still lose.

"How're you doing little sister?" A voice from above said and she raised her head to look at her brother.

Nathan was covered in dirt, his robes cut up and bloody. His wounds were clear to see and looked painful, but he had a smile on his face. His emerald eyes shone with mirth and victory.

"I'll be fine," Nayra groaned, then using Resav as leverage pulled herself to her feet.

She glanced around and saw the devastation that their battle had wrought on their surrounding. It looked like the aftermath of the wars she had fought in the core, not a battle between eight individuals.

"That was a good fight," Nathan said slowly. "Thank you for it."

"No need to thank me," Nayra rolled her shoulder. "I... I didn't realize how strong you were. You were holding out on me before."

Nathan's smile turned brighter. "No, I didn't. You are more powerful, this... This was our attempt to push ourselves over the edge. It was a gamble."

Nayra frowned and tilted her head inquisitively.

Nathan looked around the battlefield, at the other five who had fought with him and the warriors that stood a respective distance away. Then he spoke. "We each had spent every moment since we arrived in this place sharpening our skills. Attempting to grasp at something we had failed to achieve in our lives. We all have regrets, but we are at our core warriors. We thought that perhaps a battle against the two of you, against those more powerful than us, would give us insights that we had failed to achieve on our own. And we were right, I'm sorry Nayra."

She blinked, confused. "Sorry? What for?"

"I'm going to need to burden you, it isn't right, but I still have regrets," his smile turned sad.

Nayra frowned, and he continued talking.

"Tell our family that I love them, that I hope that they live long and be happy. Tell mother that I am sorry I couldn't wait anymore."

"Nathan?" Nayra took a step closer. She could feel something coming. There was a weight on her Soul.

"And... If you can find it in you, try and find Eric. He had fallen too far for my sake, save him from himself. I know that it is selfish of me to ask, but..."

Nayra opened her mouth to speak, but then the world changed. Up above, she saw a giant wheel appear, slowly coming down as if from the heavens.

"We are out of time, I fear," Nathan stepped close and hugged her. "I love you sister, do well," he whispered in her ear before stepping back.

Nayra could hardly breathe. She felt... Death. The Aspect of Transition, of transformation. A gateway from one life to another. A part of it was infused into that wheel.

She watched, unable to move or react as the six warriors that had fought her and Ryun grew ethereal. As their bodies lost form and turned into threads of light.

She followed the light as it rose to the wheel and then watched it turn, sending the threads of six warriors somewhere else, far above.

Her mind trembled as he Soul whispered things to her waking being. Secrets and ideas that she had never even thought before. But one thing was apparent most of all. Death wasn't the end, it was a beginning.

Ryun's realizations mirrored those of Nayra in many ways, but differed in others. Everyone was on their own path, and no path was wrong. He understood, as he watched the Souls of the six warriors flow upward, the purpose of this place. Afterlife was not a reward for a life lived according to some nebulous rules. It was not a gift given if one fulfilled some strange set of requirements.

No, it had a purpose, something that he didn't yet understand. And yet, his mind was whirling at insane speeds. He had slowed down his perception of time as far as he could. His willpower raged against his perks, pushing them to the point of cracking. True Death inside of him had woken up, and he needed to listen, to grasp as much meaning from it as he could. Memories flashed through his head, of an old and ancient being, dreams of a time when one had become two and ages beyond counting.

He couldn't hold them in his hands, they were too heavy for him. They might always be too heavy. But the feelings within them echoed through him. A purpose.

There was no True Death here, he understood that this was not its place, as the guardian at the entrance to the Afterlife had warned him. It would be... Wrong to use it here, to rob these people of the chance to... What?

What is that wheel and where does it lead? He didn't know, he couldn't know. His sense couldn't even touch the wheel, it could barely sense the Souls that moved as threads. It was too much for him to understand. This wasn't his place, it wasn't his time to understand.

But another question wormed its way into his mind as he watched the wheel depart.

Essence can't be destroyed, it can only ever be transformed, its purpose changed. If Death leads to this place, then... Then what is True Death. What purpose does an End serve in the grand design of reality itself?

Ryun could feel the answer there, just out of his reach, elusive. The wheel departed, and the world returned to something resembling normal, at least for this place.

Then he felt it, a feeling that he had felt only a handful of time in his life, and instantly recognizable. Why now? Why here?

He asked himself, feeling... Afraid of the answer. Still, he stood up, then turned and walked away from the battlefield, following that faint feeling. Hoping to find some answers. He headed toward the call of True Death.