"To wait for a moment that never arrives is a slow execution; an eternity of hope is the cruelest form of torture."
The first rays of the sun didn't bring warmth; they brought a strange, pale clarity that washed away the blood-red nightmare of the forest. I dragged my battered, golden-armored body past the final line of weeping trees, my boots heavy with the mud of the orchard. My lungs burned, and my vision blurred, but as I stepped into the open clearing, the world shifted. It wasn't just a change in scenery; it was a change in the very fabric of reality.
I had escaped the forest, but I had stepped into a dream made of jade.
The air here was sweet and cool, vibrating with a low, invisible hum that made my teeth ache. Surrounding me were figures made of a soft, pulsating emerald light. They were translucent, like reflections on water, drifting aimlessly through the morning mist. I saw the elegant, pointed ears of elves, the sturdy, broad frames of dwarves, and the towering, sky-reaching silhouettes of giants. Even normal humans moved among them, their forms flickering like candle flames in a breeze. They were like passengers at a station where the train was never coming.
I walked slowly, my armor clanking—a sound that felt like a sacrilege in this quiet place. Most of the spirits ignored me, but I spotted a human spirit tucked away in the shadow of a glowing stone, hiding from the others as if he were afraid of being seen.
"Hello?" I rasped, my voice sounding foreign and jagged. "Is... is this place safe?"
The spirit jumped, his green eyes widening in shock. He stared at me, his gaze traveling over my dented armor with disbelief. "Safe? No. Safety is a concept for those who still have blood in their veins. This is the Spirit World. We are tethered here, unable to pass the specific boundaries of this domain... but you? How can you see us? Only a spirit can see a spirit. Are you the one we have heard of? The one who finds souls to fulfill their last wishes, so they can be truly free from this purgatory and go toward the Eternal Judgment?"
I shook my head, my mind spinning. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just trying to survive." I looked around at the thousands of glowing figures. "Are they all waiting for their last wishes? For someone back in the living world to finish what they started?"
"Yes," the spirit replied, his voice a hollow echo. "It is a slow, agonizing existence after death. To wait for a person who may not even remember you, just so you can finally be released. But you must be careful where you wander. This world is divided into two distinct parts."
He pointed a translucent finger toward a jagged, dark horizon where the green light turned into a sickly, bruised shadow.
"Here, in the Limbus of Longing, we wait for our peace. But beyond the Great Rift lies the second part—the Domain of the Damned. Far in the distance of that sector, you can see it: the Castle of Mortius. It is the area of those who prayed to the false god Mortius. They sought power from him in life, and now they pay for it in death. It is the area of eternal suffering, a place where the spirits are twisted into things that can no longer be called souls. Do not go into that area, traveler. Those spirits can never be fulfilled; they only know how to consume."
I shivered, the weight of the Abyss feeling heavier than ever. Mortius. Even the name sounded like a curse. "Thank you for the warning. But... why are you here? Why are you hiding?"
The spirit's form dimmed for a moment. "I am waiting for my son. I died before he was even born. I never saw his face; I never heard his voice. My wife was pregnant when the iron took me, and my last wish is simply to see him once. Just once, so I can know he is alive."
My heart sank. Seeing the sorrow of a man who died before he could be a father was a different kind of horror than the Minosok. "My condolences... I truly wish your son comes to see you one day. Take care, and thank you for everything you've told me."
As I walked away, I felt the eyes of the Spirit World on me. Some spirits watched me with a terrifying intensity, as if they wanted to beg me for help; others cowered as if my physical presence was a flame that might burn them. I realized then that waiting for a wish that might never be fulfilled was a pain worse than any physical wound.
Suddenly, a different light caught my eye. Standing in my path was a spirit made of brilliant blue light, wearing heavy, purple ceremonial robes that completely obscured their face.
"We are finding you," the spirit said, their voice vibrating inside my skull like a bell.
"Finding me? What do you mean?" I demanded, my hand instinctively reaching for the empty space where my knife used to be.
The spirit didn't move. "The path is set. The wheel has turned. Go this way, and you can escape the Spirit World."
They pointed toward a narrow trail that led into a shimmering, golden mist. I didn't know where I was going to end up, or if this blue figure was a friend or another trap, but I had no choice. I started going that way, leaving the emerald ghosts behind, my mind filled with the thought of going to the right path to go back to the kingdom this knight is from but I don't know where is I am going to end up now is that blue spirit really telling truth.
"In a world built on the prayers of the dead, survival is not a victory—it is merely a debt paid in blood to a god who isn't listening."
[USER: RIAN]
[09 YEARS | 363 DAYS | 01 HOURS | 12 MINUTES]