Council of Gods

Aria looked back at Sora who was quietly trailing behind them, his expression calm and composed.

She was impressed; she thought that the human would be a nervous wreck, agitated and firing questions at them non-stop, like what happened with the previous humans who were summoned to the Inter-dimensional Palace before him- 'Sion Palace' for short- but Sora exceeded her expectations.

'Hey Xavi,' Aria spoke through their mind link.

The green haired man side-glared his friend. 'What?'

'Aren't you surprised? He's not freaking out.'

Xavi slyly glanced at Sora, who was curiously staring at the interior of the palace as they walked through the long hallway.

'Well… I suppose I'm not surprised. After all, this particular human is highly regarded by the Gods of our realm. It's only to be expected that he wouldn't behave like the others.' he nonchalantly replied.

It was still… strange, to say the least. Usually if Gods wanted to communicate with a human mortal, they'd get a Messenger to do it for them.

But demanding to see a human personally, and even going out of their way? It was unheard of. Xavi's eyes lingered on Sora's face, analysing him.

He doesn't know anything about him, but whoever this was, probably shouldn't be underestimated.

'Ahhh, you're right! Yes, Sora personally caught their eyes. Of course that could only mean he's worthy.' Aria nodded in agreement.

Xavi rolled his eyes, 'Aria, how many times have I told you that we are NOT on a first name basis with our summons? We have certain etiquette we need to uphold. Call them by their last name, instead. You're too… friendly. How do you think our Master would feel if he knew you were acting all familiar with them?'

Aria grinned devilishly, 'Hehe, I'm too friendly you say? I'll take that as a compliment.'

Xavi shook his head with a small smile, immune to Aria's antics.

They've spent over a millennium together, ever since their Master, the God of Spirit Summoning, first introduced them when they started work as the official Summoners of the Sion Palace.

Which is a very prestigious position to hold, considering how they get the privilege to work with all the Gods in the universe and beyond on a day to day basis.

Meanwhile, back to Sora. While on the outside, he may appear collected and impassive, but in his mind, he was freaking out.

What the f*ck was going on? Where was he being taken? Was this some sort of elaborate dream or hallucination his brain made up, or was this really the afterlife?

He was only quiet because he hadn't actually fully comprehended everything, and his thoughts were going into overdrive.

Sora followed behind the two figures, noticing how the inside of this palace was filled with glittering gold decor, velvet navy carpets lined the floors and the lights on the walls... weren't actually lightbulbs or candles, but seemed more like strange luminescent floating orbs.

Looking out the high arched windows, Sora saw nothing else apart from the stars and planets. Huh, so this place was drifting in space. Weird.

Overall, everything was grand and extravagant, but not overly so, and it made Sora feel warm and welcome. This palace was extremely pretty and surreal.

It wasn't until the three of them arrived at the large doors of the main room, that Sora became even more stressed out.

They mentioned that he was granted an audience with the so called 'Council of Gods' but other than that, they didn't elaborate. How was he supposed to act? He doesn't know what to do!

Aria was about to knock on the door, but before she could, the doors were already opening up. Sora couldn't prepare himself for what he saw.

"Shhhh, he's coming!"

"Shut up you guys, we have to appear dignified."

"Oh wow, I can't believe we're finally getting to meet him. This is exciting."

"Yes, after spectating him for so long…"

Voices whispered to each other, and Sora stood still, eyes settling on the seven figures in front of him.

They were situated around a round table, except it wasn't a table at all, and more like… a semi-transparent pool of water, showing vivid images and real time scenes from random people's lives.

A bearded man in a long white robe who had his back facing the door turned around rapidly, clasping his hands together enthusiastically at Sora.

"Sora, my boy." his deep voice said, in a humble and warm tone. Sora was startled at the familiarity in which he said his name, as if he'd known him all his life. And Sora's pretty sure he's never met this man before.

"Why don't you come closer. Xavi, Aria, good work, you two are dismissed."

Xavi and Aria bowed their heads respectfully, before exiting the room, leaving Sora alone with these mysterious beings.

"Aw, don't be shy." A sultry female voice said, and Sora glimpsed at a woman in a vibrant red robe that was tailored to her voluptuous figure. "Hugo, darling, look. He's even cuter in person!"

A tanned muscular man with messy golden hair shaped like a lion's mane deeply hummed, gazing intently at the 24 year old. What was even going on at this point? He hesitantly walked forwards, not sure of what to do.

"So, I'm sure you have questions," the white-robed one said, stroking his beard. "You can go ahead and ask us if you'd like, before we begin."

There were too many things that Sora wanted to ask. But the most important one-

"Did I die?" Sora blurted out. He just had to find out, the curiosity was eating away at him.

Everyone in the room gazed at him, an inexplicable emotion in their eyes. Words lingering at the tip of their tongue, left unsaid.

Sora has this phantom feeling of his stomach's innards twisting, in unbearable anticipation, waiting for the answer.

"...Yes, my child. I'm afraid that's the case." he nodded solemnly.

Sora blinked. Once, twice.

And then, he let out a long sigh of relief. "Oh. Cool. So… what happens now?"