"Dreadful doesn't begin to describe the atmosphere there, Beckham. I only went out of respect for our familial ties, but I can't believe you are involved with such freaks. Tch, damn. One moment...", A middle aged man spoke into an earpiece. He wore a sharp suit and possessed a wispy mustache. The relatively handsome man pressed a button on his larger than necessary desk. He waited 3 seconds until a light flashed on the intercom.
"Horacio, get my evening suit. And prepare the flamethrower, the one that I'm wearing needs to be burned," he lifted a glass to eye level and swirled it. Well, swirled was a bit of an understatement. His entire body trembled uncontrollably. He set the glass down since it accidentally emptied onto his clothing, right next to another wine stain. Someone spoke into his earpiece.
"...I don't care about the connections I could make; I'm not going back. I have more than enough to live comfortably," The man slammed his hand on his desk. The earpiece crackled again.
"Disrespectful? Untoward! I don't care. They are a freak death cult. And that monster...", the man choked on his breath and looked over his shoulder with a jump. He felt a hand slide down the length of his back, or maybe touch his spine?
"You're yelling at me? You dare! I am merely stating facts Beckham. You are free to spend the money my mother left for you however you like but I won't join that disgusting cult. I don't need connections if it means dealing with things like that demon child you call a god," the man roared. He slammed the desk and knocked his glass onto its side. The earpiece roared back.
"You really think so? You really think you are still in control. I've only seen your group for a few hours, and I can tell you are going to be forced out. That monster is going to be a blight on humanity soon...", the man shot out of his chair and roared. The glass smashed on the floor with a piercing screech and snapped him out of a potential mad rant.
"Don't patronize me Beckham. I know it's the proof I wanted. What I saw... what I have been through, was exactly enough. But, can you not see how dangerous that child is? He destabilized your position, yes, but you should be more concerned that the child invites monstrosities into our world...", the man's voice came out as nothing more than a soft whisper near the end. The voice in his ear crackled one last time before it shut off. The man pulled the earpiece and threw it across the room with such force that it shattered.
"This fucking ungrateful bastard. Social parasite. Lowlife beggar of a shitstain. He wouldn't even be anywhere without mother's proclivities and my benevolence, yet he dares to break off our ties because I wont join him in a fools errand...", the man destroyed everything he could in his office. But, for some reason, he slowed to a stop… A violent chill curled his toes and forced the hairs on the back of his neck to stand. Both of his hands trembled as a weight gradually pressed on his heart and choked his lungs.
Blood... so much blood... it was everywhere. It pooled in his eyes and stuck to his skin. It clung to his lungs and invited horror. Something just passed through his body, a viscous gel wrapped around each and every cell in a crippling ripple as it not only passed, it took something from him. A sickening cacophony of cackling and screams rang out in the man's mind as each and every one of his bones creaked under the pressure of this invisible passing force that pulled his strength away. Scents and sounds he never knew before, drilled into his senses. His pupils ruptured as sights he couldn't understand printed into his brain. Monsters, pallid forms all lanky and gaunt, turned their eyeless faces towards his fallen body with gasps and growls. Each one had a red and bloody flame in their chest with a sickly yellow or orange ring around them. One of the figures seemed to notice his blank stare and approached and touched his shoulder. This leather skinned, sharp toothed, patchy haired woman teared up and turned towards her allies as they huddled around.
The man sobbed endlessly and rocked back and forth as the slime in his body turned into a soul deep chill and itch. He didn't know what was happening, but this human connection made him feel all the better.... That is... at least... until the blood rushing to his brain reached a boiling point. His very soul jolted with instinctual fear the moment he saw another tearful person walk through his office wall. Rational kicked in, "Who are these people?" he thought.
A second later, blue light erupted out of his shoulder as one of the figures bit into him. The other misshapen humanoid creatures swarmed like a pack of hyenas around a fresh kill. There was no green flame burning away the blue light as he was accustomed to. In fact, there was no blue light at all after they devoured the initial light ejections that burst out of his body. In his last moments, the man noticed how his vision was covered with particles of various brown, red, and oranges that swirled about without end and, like a mist of gore.
Moments later, Horatio the butler entered the room with a suit in hand and called emergency medical services. His boss laid on the floor, bleeding from every facial orifice, body jolting as if struck by lightning. Horacio held his boss's head and prevented the man from biting his own tongue. The reflection in the fallen man's eyes showed a different scene. One where monsters ripped at his organs and suckled his blood. His soul was being devoured whilst he was alive but even so, the man didn't die. When he woke, nothing would ever be the same.
EARLIER THAT WEEK, around three months after the birth of Death's champion…
Like a certain princess, Aaradhya truly was locked inside of a well insulated glass coffin. The coffin was placed atop a raised dais that was inscribed with runes and inlaid with ivory and gold. A velvet carpet rested on the steps and it was decorated with motifs of ritual and myth. Back to the coffin, it was placed atop an engraved metal platform that hummed and thrummed with hidden machinery. All that was visible beyond the intricate plating were about a dozen vents on either side of the base. Within the scorched chamber of one of those airlocks was the words, "Only the best for Death's Champion. Your humble servant".
"Hm. Where am I and what is this," Aaradhya's mind raced at a few thousand meters a minute as he woke up for the first time in a while.
"Everything is covered in the same green tinted filter since the last time that I woke up mid rest. Not only that, but there are people that are glowing with a blue light suffused throughout their bodies. Is it more appropriate to call it an aura? Also, let me revise that observation. Help center, is this visual change consistent with the effects of the [Soul sense] skill. In other words, am I seeing the souls of people that are actually standing beside me, wherever I am," Aaradhya connected the abstract knowledge within his mind to the system entries.
"I can see the utility of seeing someone's soul or aura. But not being able to control how much I am able to see, is a pain. For right now, it's detrimental," he sighed and did not falter under the pressuring and uncomfortable gazes of three... well, four figures. The first three individuals may not have been looking at him the more he thought about it and the longer he silently observed. He could see their eyes as if they were blazing blue suns through their skulls but that didn't mean that they could be looking in his direction. It would have been easier if he could see their physical bodies beyond the pale green filter that inundated everything. Instead of harping, he vocalized one of his thoughts.
"Help center, does soul sense also augment my other senses," he slowly turned to the fourth figure that he assumed was not human based on the fact that it was incomparably different from the three blue figures that surrounded him.
The fourth person was an oddity in that they were not a mass of light. It was a vaguely human thing with black holes for eyes, rotten and shark-like teeth, and blood matted hair that peeked through the green filter. It possessed two arms, two legs, and a head, but that was where the similarities between it and humans ended as it has multijointed limbs and a contorted expression. He did his best to ignore the sound of creaking bones and the twitching head that banged against the glass soundlessly. It was only after blinking a few dozen more times that Aaradhya noticed the hair thin blue thread that lifted away from his own body, pierced through the glass, and connected the long haired creature to himself. The spectre possessed a blood red flame over its heart and a deep orange ring of light around it but exactly where the blue thread touched the ring, an almost sunshine yellow light emanated.
"Ah. So that must be what a roaming or lost spirit looks like in this world," as he spoke internally, his body shuddered. A breezy chill washed over his body as the creature lifted its head and scrambled off toward some dark corner. It reinvigorated him, not seeing such a gruesome creature. Or maybe there was another reason why his heart felt light when the lost spirit left as the blue string connecting him and it cut off. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, the radiance that displayed the core and aura of one's soul dulled to the point where he could see the people behind the soul lights. As it turned out, eyes were an important convergence point of spiritual energy so what he saw was the buildup of energy, not people looking in his direction as he saw three broad and robe-covered backs facing him. His soul sense had either died down or reached an equilibrium with the environment, allowing him to pierce through the green.
"Hm. My nose is starting to itch, it also smells a little...horrible," without missing a beat, Aaradhya's other physical senses returned as his eyes settled.
"I'm sorry my lord!", the youngest of the group banged his head on the side of the coffin and cried with an ugly expression as he accidentally side eyed and met the gaze of his god.
"Forgive me. I was impudent. Please punish me for my insolence," the second youngest trembled before she turned to meet Aaradhya's eyes after a difficult time deciding whether or not to break rank. She jumped back and shot down in a 90 degree bow. She didn't cry, like the youngest that could be no older than ten, but a violent smile spread across her face cheek to cheek.
"Please do as you wish, my lord. I know it's presumptuous but please, spare the children of your wrath," the eldest prostrated on his knees with a deadpan expression as he also turned to look at the baby that was kept in a glass case.
"Are these, no. Please, no. Please don't let these guards be idiots," Aaradhya closed his eyes and stifled a gag as he smelled the inside of his case. No matter how clean one could make it, he was, effectively, a dead baby kept inside a vacuum sealed and temperature controlled box. A stench was bound to build up.
"No, I refuse to believe that Death would supply me with idiots. They are Fanatics. These are steadfast minions and zealots that I can control at a whim. Their intelligence is directly equivalent to how I use them, so they aren't dumb," Aaradhya paused as he tried to keep his composure.
"Oh God. Oh my God. It smells like a rotting corpse in a musty basement. I can hear the whirring of whatever filter they have going on for this contraption but when was the last time that it was cleaned out or changed," his empty stomach did a dozen backflips.
"Help Center, is there something that can filter scent or replace it altogether," Aaradhya silently choked on the air in his coffin but none of the guards noticed in their own little world.
"Can you find a match that is available to me now and make sure that match won't restrict my growth in the future," Aaradhya retained his intelligence despite being hampered by scent. He also began to notice something else as he adjusted his head. His skin felt itchy beyond anything he had ever experienced before. There was also a grating inability to move as he wished, as if he were trapped in his own skin. He tried to move but it was impossible to extricate himself. As he twitched to free himself, the loading symbol on the search bar on the top of his vision came to a halt.
"Open it," he was greeted by pictures of a four legged humanoid with a barrel chest, a fan-like mouth, and holes all over its body. The technique showed a step by step guide to improve and control one's breathing to vent and alter what one sensed, at least, thats what he assumed as the information imprinted on his mind.
"I CAN'T USE THIS. Useless help center. I can't read whatever chicken scratch this is...", Aaradhya teared up unintentionally. The putrid stench burned his eyes and clogged his throat. The dilemma of needing to breathe but being incapable of bringing yourself to do so nearly tore his body apart. Thankfully, as he suffocated himself, two sets of steps echoed throughout the hall outside.
"What is going on here," an old grumbling voice boomed out. An old man in military grade combat gear with a robe over it led the way for another man in an elaborately layered outfit. This second man didn't try but still popped with grace and pomp. His luxurious silver half robe with black and gold accents fluttered and glistened like a cicada's wings. Numerous accessories that denoted high authority, if not some kind of royalty, flashed with a polished sheen in this man's hair and on his wrists. The militant old man stared at the coffin and nearly collapsed from a heart attack. He motioned toward the coffin then at the guards, then back at the coffin.
"None of you thought to call this in," the old man bellowed.
"This is not the time, open it," the high priest, Aaradhya's father, commanded the gruff old man without so much as a change in expression. With that order, the three guards ended their antics and swept their emotions under the rug. The solid gold handles along each face of the glass lid twisted and pushed into the larger altar as the guards worked in unison to twist the top of the entire pyramid like the altar. Once the gears snapped into place, the locks on the edges clicked. The entire structure rose with a hydraulic hiss that echoed throughout the room. The youngest guard fell unconscious as a deathly stench rolled out of the huge elaborate casket. The guards gagged or held their noses once the rotten air wafted out. The old man chose to scrunch his nose with dissatisfaction rather than running the risk of disrespecting his lord.
The priest's expression did not shift in the slightest. Instead, he pushed toward the coffin cradle and reached out to hold his son. Immediately after touching Aaradhya, a shell of dead skin and clotted blood cracked. A blinding emerald light that Aaradhya was not accustomed to flashed and swirled out of his cocoon of dead skin. To the others in the room, a fresh breeze and heartwarming feeling just replaced their deathly stench for a moment. Aaradhya closed his burning eyes and grimaced almost unnaturally for a baby. Sadly, even with closed eyes he could see the spiritual light. In fact, the light, presence, and particles of spiritual energy around him increased supernaturally.
"Damnit...", the stench disappeared a few seconds after the shell cracked. In the span of these few seconds, the guards all dropped to their knees in fervent prayer, all except for the boy who fainted. The priest took his robe off and loosely covered Aaradhya, revealing that he wore skin tight body armor underneath the regalia.
"This is all too much stimulus. Everything is happening too quickly. No wonder normal babies cry so much. Help center, for a spirit guide, is there a technique I can use to adjust my spiritual senses without locking myself out of anything in the future," Aaradhya silently watched his father who met his gaze without a hint of deference.
"Show me the one that I can use right now," Aaradhya quickly said as his senses blinded him.
Data on how to, very minutely, control one's spiritual senses flashed in Aaradhya's analytical mind and in moments, he found the crux of his issue. He was too sensitive to the spirit world, to the point where it overpowered his physical senses to a violent degree.
"Does this mean I will automatically grow my spiritual strength? If so, I should focus on developing my weaknesses. If I were to forcefully adjust or train my soul, it would grow out of proportion. My body wouldn't be able to contain my soul. If that were to happen, I believe I would spend more time in Death's sleep than necessary," the green tint around the room died down once more. Not by a lot, but enough for Aaradhya to physically see further than just two or three meters.
"I have been placed in a shrine, in a cave, who knows where. But, if I remember right, this is exactly the scenario Death said I would be in. They also wrote down some narrative beats I should meet but I'll get to those when I need to. Hah. It's unfortunate that I can't just follow the original stories narrative beats...", though he couldn't see the whole cavern with his physical senses, the spirit world more than made up for it. Green particles gushed out of the walls in rushing tides, outlining the room at the edges of his vision. Then he moved, or rather, Aaradhya departed alongside his father, who gave some orders to the prostrating guards. The prayers of the guards rang through dark cavernous halls as a haunting siren's call.
"Frightening. They show the makings of some serious zealots," Aaradhya took in the actions of these crazy people as food for thought.
"But it would seem that this priestly father of mine is even more interesting. How can he see in the dark? Or has he committed these halls to memory," rolled about in his mind for a few moments as he realized that the guards that surrounded him while he was in the coffin also stood in complete darkness. He could only see their features thanks to their souls that overlapped with their bodies and the blue flames that hovered in their hearts. All of a sudden, the outline of the walls at the edges of his vision tightened to show an expansive network of minty and dot covered caverns. Something spiritual allowed him to see the caverns with soul sense. Some spots remained dark, but the walls were perfectly outlined with green and yellow light. He could even see the cavern behind the walls and even make out some dead ends at some of these routes.
"No, more than likely, my father has a soul sense related skill, but how? This world only has the foundations for mystical powers. None of it should already be active... right," His father walked far enough to no longer hear the prayers of the guard. In the meantime, Aaradhya found his mind shrouded by some sort of intrusive veil of thoughts.
"Oh, could it have been, the foundations were set so they would have developed to the era we are currently in? If the world adjusts to our power level then it goes without saying that some people might have some powers or at least some teachings that must have been passed down in some form," Aaradhya felt he was on the right track and kept the thought in mind as he recognized the dense light near the eyes of a person's soul as their ability to see the spiritual world.
"There is a dense azure light where his eyes should be even if there is more where his ears are. Does that mean he can hear the flow of spiritual energy and sort of see the particles in the environment? If so, would the detail in the aura of other people show the same features of either being bright or detailed," Aaradhya mused. The priest broke the newly entered silence as he spoke of nothing but his worship and fealty to Aaradhya. The champion couldn't see his father's actual face in the darkness of the caverns but the aura of the man's soul vibrated in accordance with his movements.
"I don't understand your language, old man, but I think I understand your body language. You are happy but also scared," Aaradhya raised an eyebrow in the dark. The priest continued to talk but all his words fell on deaf ears. He shook his head. The priest felt Aaradhya move and instantly thought that the child shook his head in displeasure. His even cadence rushed and staggered to a near hurry as he explained himself using words Aaradhya didn't understand.
"I don't have the heart or the means...", Aaradhya wore a soft expression and teared up unintentionally. There was no way he could tell his father that he didn't understand... it was physically impossible. At least, that is what he thought until he was his with the knowledge of sign language. He didn't know how he knew how to sign but he knew that using that new skill might help him in conversing with his father and followers.
"I don't understand your language but we might be able to communicate the moment that there is actual light for you to see me," Aaradhya looked expectant as he graciously accepted his new skill as something granted by Big G and the dissemination of the champions collective knowledge Aaradhya's father, in the meantime, quieted down and reconfigured his composure mid sentence as he realized that there was nothing getting through to his lord. His flared soul trembled with some range of emotion that Death's champion could not yet decipher. Regardless, the man said a few more things then went silent. A few more moments later, Aaradhya noticed that the corridor stopped branching off and became a long winding hall. He immediately noticed that a dull light reflected off of the wet cavern wall, illuminating a flowering moss that clung onto the walls, ceiling, and floor. The moss on the floor and more rubbed down but upon a closer look, he noticed how a thick spiritual residue floated up more violently than the walls because of his father's steps. This moss seemed to filter the emergent fog into a pure spiritual energy particulate.
The duo traveled a few more slight turns until it was clear that there were bright LED lights down the hall. Aaradhya noticed that the beautiful moss dulled to a stone gray further outside of the cave, with a marked inability to filter the emergent fog. They rounded one last corner, where they reached a pair of giant stone doors. Aaradhya noticed two things, the first being that soul light particles rushed straight through the doors and flooded towards the depths of the cave from the outside. They swirled through the walls and entered into the deeper parts of the shrine. The already minty green particles darkened to verdant green as it passed through the moss toward the altar that he was previously sleeping in and could still see due to soul sense.
"It's similar to a river that pools into a downhill lake", Aaradhya observed.The second thing he noticed was actually a bit more surprising. He knew that he had followers thanks to Death's priming and the systems notifications but five dozen soldiers in level 3+ ballistic armor, who were each fully equipped to the t's with personal armories was a bit…
"Talk about being excessively prepared, yeesh. Each of them has at least five guns and the face of an action hero or heroine. How do people like this actually exist... Hm. I'll run that back considering what I am and what I am involved in," Aaradhya scanned the group. One of these soldiers stepped forward with an evil sneer. A splash of scarring spread across the right side of his bald head and face. This man bowed his head, kneeled, and prayed with a fervor no less if not more fanatic than the guards from earlier. All of the soldiers stepped forward and followed suit.
"This is too much. If this is the normal greeting for me, I don't like it", Aaradhya almost couldn't handle the sheer display of what these people did. Luckily, the momentum was interrupted by an incoming call. One of the soldiers stood up and passed a satellite phone to the priest.
"Good morning Elder... yes, my absence is inexcusable...", the priest said. Aaradhya's head snapped upward in shock, though not written on his face.
"You do speak a language I know," Aaradhya didn't know this but many of the soldiers observed his every movement, his every breath. These people noticed that once the high priest called the elder, their lord looked at the brick sized satellite phone with a frown even though it was his natural expression. In their minds, their lord already knew the elder and that frown was a look of displeasure.
"I will surely return immediately. Greetings second elder. Yes, I will receive thirty lashes and five hours of repentance upon the bed of thorny agony when I return...", the priest spoke with a deadpan expression, but anger could be gleaned from his posture. Aaradhya heard the conversation on both sides and rolled his eyes with a headshake.
"Uppity idiot. Does he not know Cults only work if the end goal is believable yet unattainable? If they believe I'm their god, any power dynamic already established will shift over to revolving around me if it hasn't already," Aaradhya inwardly scoffed at the idiotic rambling coming through the phone. The soldiers narrowed their eyes. In their minds, their lord found it laughable that a mere elder would try to punish the high priest. But similarly, the absurdity wasn't even worth laughing so a dismissive eye roll and disappointed head shake was all the elders deserved from their little god.
"No first elder, I am not dissatisfied with yours or the second elder's guidance. I feel it's appropriate if not a showing of your humble benevolence," the priest closed his eyes as the phone crackled nonstop with the voices of two different elders. From time to time, some other voices would chirp but they were quickly drowned out. Aaradhya raised an eyebrow and nodded as he looked at his father in a new light, in the light of the LEDs. His father switched up and spoke a third language, then a fourth, and a fifth to speak to various elders in their native tongues.
"...Of course, thank you for your understanding, I just so happen to be fulfilling my sacred duty as appointed to me by the council of elders. I have gone on my daily pilgrimage to commune with our lord. Our grace and I will return shortly so I can receive my punishment... ", Aaradhya's father didn't change his voice even an octave throughout the verbal beating.
"...yes, I did. Those stationed at the shrine, and I will have the immense pleasure of joining our lord on the journey back to the peak," The priest once again switched languages to respond when one of the elders on the other side of the phone yelled so loud his voice resonated throughout the room.
"By chance first elder, you are not upset with the lord's awakening, are you," the priest opened his eyes with a sharpness that caused the soldiers to shrink down and bow their snooping heads once more. It was already enough that the loud phone echoed through the cave entrance, they shouldn't be greedy and try to glean anything other than what he said.
"... Your body was filled with intense euphoria and thus couldn't contain such a righteous outburst. Yes elders. I am hearing you all fine. Very well then. Elders, since I have you, and it seems you are all already gathered, let's call a conclave in honor of the lord's awakening. It would also be a great opportunity to announce this to all of the patrons who were hesitant to join us and our other fellows in pursuit of divine truth... Yes.... Yes.... Today, tomorrow, and the day after.... On this third day, we will announce our plans going forward under the guidance of our lord... yes. We will return now," the priest returned the phone. The next thing Aaradhya knew, the soldiers packed up and loaded onto heavily armored vehicles in the span of minutes.
" ...wow. Just, wow... ", In the time it took for his father to walk from the stone gate to a personal limo, a convoy had already been prepared and waiting. They drove in relative silence. The hum of engines and song-like prayer from the soldiers pierced the silence, but Aaradhya ignored them in favor of his sanity.
"Im on an island? It's rather big too...", Aaradhya stared off to the side from his father's arms.
"Now that I think about it. I can hold myself up," Aaradhya looked down at his hands and noticed that they were larger than a newborn by quite a margin. The priest said something but all he received was a blank stare from Aaradhya. After a 15 or so minute drive up an incline, they finally reached the base of a small mountain.
"Rather than a cult, this place looks more like a resort island for the mindlessly wealthy," Aaradhya observed enough to realize that the power behind this cult was nothing to scoff at. On the beach, he noticed at least 12 towering buildings not including hundreds of other private cabanas and huts. A few minutes later, they rolled up to a guard post at the entrance to a small town. He spotted row after row after row of mansions further down the incline, each one poked out of the lush forest. All of a sudden alarms and music rang out and legitimately shook the mountain. Birds raced out of the forest as confetti cannons, streamers, and fireworks so bright they overtook the sun, all shot. The convoy continued on as prayer rocked the very earth.
As they drove up, Aaradhya noticed people lined the snaking road. They all prayed and threw flowers, a fervor unlike anything he had ever seen swept through them. In an almost violent show of faith, some of these people tried to rush the limo and meet their god. Luckily, they were stopped by a military car that sped up and cut them off, but it happened too many times for it to not be concerning. The crowd became even larger as time passed along with their ever increasing screams of wild abandon. It only seemed to get more psychotic as soon as someone pointed at the back window and yelled, "The lord lives amongst us, look." This one person seemed to stand out in the crowd, especially his out of fashion clothing. Unlike the tropical wear of the normal follower, this man wore a bowler hat and suit and had the tattoo of a heart just under his eye. A playful smile just so happened to bloom across his face as he locked eyes with Aaradhya. Just as suddenly as he showed up, he vanished and what replaced him was an ocean of bodies that screamed and rushed the limo for the umpteenth time.
The military cars that were on either side of the limo, and forced the followers to part, did very little to stymie the flood of bodies that forced the convoy to stop. The soldiers shot into the air then pointed guns at the crowd without a single beat of hesitation the moment that the people broke past the armored vehicles. Aaradhya's father said something but, again, none of it made any sense. Aaradhya was quick to realize that his father was not talking to him as the man pressed a button on an earpiece. Immediately, Death's champion was greeted by the cold and callous reality that the cult members lived on the daily as he witnessed the blooming of a crimson flower. The beauty only lasted a moment as blood splattered onto the window he looked out from. The guards opened fire on the crowd and did not allow a single person to touch the limo. Sadly, that only made the crowd scream with even more fervor as they prayed to join their god in death. Dozens of followers laid between the armor trucks and limo with bullet holes riddling their bodies.
Aaradhya felt his heart stop beating as he watched brain matter slide off the window he had just been looking out of. His eyebrow twitched a few dozen times before he gasped and pulled into his fathers chest. His body shook and his mind came to an absolute stop as he tried to catch his breathing. The high priest, completely caught off guard by the aversion and vulnerability of his god, simply stared forward with a slightly agape mouth. The driver, unaware of what happened in the back seat, drove up to the peak of the mountain, through tunnels and woods after the bodies were moved by the soldiers. Moments later, Aaradhya breathed in and held onto the burn that invaded his tiny lungs. He only exhaled after a few dozen seconds, giving himself some time to readjust. He re-read Death's plan for himself as he cowered, unsure if the violence was supposed to be normal or not. He had gotten a clear idea of what exactly he would have to see and live through in order to play his character but it still left him shaken. So instead of dwelling and evaluating his situation, he decided to look out of the other window and lament. Perhaps, following in Wilfred's footsteps wasn't all as bad as it meant to be, he thought. Thankfully, nothing splattered on the glass so he had an unrestricted view of the island below the mountaintop.
"This is remarkable. I owned an Island in my previous life since being away from everything allowed me to retire and feel safe, but this! This is just mind bogglingly stunning," the sun rose on the horizon and reflected gold and purple rays off the sparkling sea. Not only that, but a white spiritual glow also swirled and spread across everything in sight at the horizon. A green filter lit up around the island and gave everything a gemstone like glitter.
"Ah, there we go, more of the island can be seen from here. Is that a dock and an airstrip...", Aaradhya pursed his lips in thought. For once, he didn't think about anything further than an initial observation. Which, in hindsight, was probably a red flag that something was wrong... well. Not really. The sight was just so beautiful that he couldn't really think about anything else. Well, he tried not to think of anything else. Especially not what just happened with the follower having their brain… he gagged as the thought came to mind. When the convoy came out the other side of one last tunnel that bore through the mountain, miraculously, he couldn't even begin to find a description of the beautiful and spiritually dense atmosphere.
"I am in awe. It must have taken years to carve this place out of the stone. Probably even decades or centuries considering all of the details," the soldiers peeled off elsewhere. All that remained were Aaradhya, his father, and the four robe-wearing personal guards with body armor from the cave. How they got there first, he had no clue, how no one saw them show up, he also had no clue. Sadly, his sense of peace and wonder crumbled the moment he looked inside of the mountain top palace with soul sense semi activated.
"Everyone seems to be in a state of panic. A conclave to these people must be an extremely important affair... ", Aaradhya could see a group of at least two or three hundred souls spaced out across the villa as his soul sense seemed to activate. Some most were golden with blue flames in their chests, some were shaped like animals, specifically fish and mice, while a very noticeable minority, like the four guards that attended his coffin, were humanoid outlines made of blue light. All of the humanoid shapes, golden and blue, were constantly moving aside from about a dozen mixed color souls that were seated somewhere high up in the building that had been carved out of the mountain's stone. If he had to guess, they were being waited on by some souls that were busy moving around them. He was privy to a lot of information that distracted him from the distasteful past, but only for a moment as his concentration slipped and soul sense let up.