Heightened Emotions

You could finally smell it, the overpowering yet pleasant smell of flowers, grass and other foliage taking over you and giving you a sense of serenity and VICTORY. You fought hard against a tyrant, you fought against someone who was ready to destroy the world for the sake of 'cleansing out the bad' and 'welcoming the good'. It was a wonderful feeling to finally get some rest after the long battle. Your clothes were torn, your body was broken and your spirit was full of pride, yet like your body was shattered.

It was like you could hear many of your friends cheering your name, but you couldn't hear it. You could however SENSE they were cheering for you and your victory no matter how far they were to you currently.

That is...

You THINK that they are far away from you, but quite the opposite. They were right beside you and you couldn't really pay heed to any of them, they were crying and trying to get you to talk out of hopes that they would get to see their friend again another day. But instead all they did was surprising even to you, the girl in the middle from your circle of party members was your sister. She was the smartest AND strategist of the ragtag group you acclaimed to be the young leader of.

... You never really asked to be the leader ... You never were one in the first place ...

Your sister began to pick up the blade you dropped and went to you, the others tried to stop her and reason with her but in the end it all came down to one option.

"I... I have to put him out of his misery..." Your sister says despite the fact you couldn't even hear her, only see and smile at her as she broke through and impaled the blade right into your chest, ending your existence in the matter of a split second.

All you could feel and see now was nothing, you were in darkness. You were in an infinite void and the worst thing about it is, you can feel yourself... But you can't SEE or HEAR yourself, you try to speak and desperately look around but all you get was nothing. You can feel yourself slapping your face and you grunt in pain despite the fact you can't hear it.

You just stop and float, feeling nothing but pure comfort despite the harsh cold and darkest of places. You were a being that could see through the dark, but not even that was able to help you figure out where you were.

But it was a good thing you stopped and calmed down, because now you could think about the situation and draw up a pretty hefty conclusion.

... You're dead.

By your sister's hand, you are one of the dead and no doubt where you are is with the stars...

And just like that, your vision regains as the entire surroundings begin to reveal it'self to be outer space, you're floating in outer space. Seeing the many stars lighting up your battered and bruised body, you can finally see what is going on with you. You have a blade tip sized hole in your chest, you still have cuts and left-over bursts of elemental magic around your body.

When you float along space, you sigh and then realize... You could hear yourself. "I can talk..." You said to no one in particular and feel a sense of strange relief, is this some kind of afterlife you wonder? And this afterlife didn't accept you until you at least accept the fact you knew you were dead? Or at least accepted the very fact of your death in general?

Very strange, indeed.

You were about to speak to yourself out of boredom until you heard someone speak out your name. "Kyo..." A gentle feminine voice was heard, you look around for whom has just said your name just now. "Yes?" You hear yourself with a mild sense of weakness to your voice, it was really pathetic.

"It is sad, to see such talent go to waste over a long battle." The voice said sadly, but it seemed to perk up. "But not to worry... How about a... Second chance?" She said sweetly.

"A second chance?" You question with the grimace, not from the pain but from the confusion of your current situation, are you talking to a god-- Er, Goddess rather?

...Or are you hallucinating as part of your punishment?

She giggles and looks at you with the most playful look she can conjure. "Well, that belief is up to you... But I don't want to see your actions go to waste... And for you to have a more ... Well, I shouldn't say normal... But I would say you'll have a more 'peaceful' life... You will have many bumpy roads ahead, but you will survive if you keep your wits about you." She explained... Even if it was cryptic.

You didn't like this, you didn't like this ONE BIT. You tried to talk to her, but then a blinding flash of light engulfs you, you cover your eyes weakly and instinctively. "Wah!" You shout out before you are completely engulfed in this light.

And with one final objective, you hear the goddess talk to you one final time. "...Live your life to the fullest, my little warrior."

~To Be Continued > Chapter 1