My Big Book of Stories

The void was cold, dark, and damp. It felt as if he had been drifting in this sea for years, if not decades. Ever since he had faced down Mundus and been taken over by his evil influence, he'd been here.

The only difference now was, he couldn't see. He supposed it was a blessing on his part. Before being defeated by his brother, he had been forced to live among demons.

The memory alone was enough to make his stomach churn.

But, there was one good thing that came out of it all. He got to watch his brother grow stronger with every battle they fought. And eventually, he was sent here, to this void. This empty land of nothingness.

He dragged himself to his feet and dusted himself off, surprised to find that his clothes were in perfect condition. He was sure his jacket had gotten ripped to shreds during his fight with Mundus. But he supposed this was the afterlife. All is made whole again in death, it would seem.

But the question was, was he really dead? Was this really the afterlife? he could feel his arms and legs, and move his body just fine, so there was that. He could also talk, though he wasn't sure how he knew he could, given he hadn't tried. He just knew his voice box worked somehow.

He tried clearing his throat. Yep. He could talk alright.

His chest rose and fell normally, signalling that his breathing was also normal, and that air was getting to his lungs. But wait. If oxygen was getting to his body just fine, then that meant his heart was beating, and if his heart was beating then...yes! He was alive!

He took a few steps forward. As he did so, his attention was drawn to the feeling of a weight at his side. Looking to his left, he noticed his scabbard was there as well, complete with his sword sticking out of it, ready and waiting to slice apart his enemies.

He pulled it out of its sheath and held it out, pointing it toward nothing in particular. He lifted it up to check if it was damaged at all. It had been broken when he fought Mundus, but it seemed to have been repaired just like his clothing. In fact, it was in such good condition, that it looked practically brand new. The blade of the sword shone in a nonexistant light.

He did a few practice swings and placed it back inside its scabbard. His father always told him never to draw his sword unless he was ready to use it.

Thinking of his father caused him to remember his mother. The same mother who was killed by demons right in front of his eyes. The same weak, human mother who died in such a pathetic way. The same mother who started this whole thing.

She was the reason he abandoned the path of humans and embraced his demon side. She was the reason he spent the better half of his life seeking power. She was the reason his brother refused to follow him in his quest for his father's legacy. She was the reason for it all. And now she was dead.

He closed his eyes, the memory of her making him feel something he never thought he'd feel for a long time. Despair. How dare she just up and die like that. How dare she leave him and his brother behind. How dare she go without saying goodbye.

But there was good news. If he was actually dead, he would see her somewhere. And so he looked around, but could not find her. He waited for as long as his patience would allow him to before sighing. He still could not see her anywhere.

This just served to drive home the thing that he had already confirmed. He was, well and truly, alive.

But that begs the question. If he was alive, then just where was he? If this wasn't the afterlife, then was he still in hell? The possibility was there, but he doubted it. Something about the place just told him he wasn't.

It wasn't that the place didn't look like hell, as it most certainly did. It was that it didn't feel like hell. The underworld may have been a place for the spirits of the damned, but he could still feel a sense of life there. He could tell that the place existed.

But this place, wherever he was, had no sense of life whatsoever. It felt empty. Barren. It was a dead zone. In every sense of the word.

However, just as he was about to give up hope of ever getting out and resign himself to spending eternity in a black void, he saw a light, just a few feet ahead of him.

Thinking it was a way out, he made his way over to it, and without a second thought, ran straight through...

...and into a forest.

He stopped and looked around, taking stock of his surroundings. He was in a clearing surrounded by nothing but trees with seemingly no exit.

Looking back showed him that he had come out of a cave somewhere deep in the forest.

Turning his attention to the task of finding a way out of there, he made his way over to a line of smaller looking trees blocking his path...

and cut them to pieces with practiced ease.

Finding a straight path ahead, he stepped over the stumps of the trees and began making his way towards what he hoped was an exit. Whatever was happening, he was going to find out where he was. And whoever stood in his way...

would be cut down without mercy.