...Gone into a coma!?

He stared at the mysterious being with mouth agape. Never has he seen such a sight before in his entire life, never ever. Or does something like this being exist in the world?

He slightly shivered as he stared continually at the being, discerning the outlines. Obviously, it was not attempting to attack him but the aura emanating from it was really mind oppressing. Although he couldn't see the traces of a set of eyes from the being's supposed face, he felt he was being stared at with a piercing gaze...

The being he was looking at was covered in a gear from the top of the head down to the toes, leaving no room for any form of skin showcasing. The gear looked ancient and medieval but had a shiny dark glow.

This sight? ...this being? He wasn't imagining it all, was he? The being was the one with the voice, wasn't it? This being, was it a human disguised in a costume?

His thoughts took him back to the initial question he had asked himself when he became conscious: Where was he?

Without moving an inch from the spot, his eyes danced around as he stared at the space he was in, totally unaware of it. This space, this place... this was a place he had never seen or heard of before — that's if it even exists. Even though the mist had been cleared from his line of sight, the other parts of the place were still covered in mist, making him unable to see through.

But, the being had called this place something... What was it again? Yes, '...the pathway dividing the balance of your world...'

[Are you done looking around?]

A voice came into his head and immediately, he went knees down to the ground, holding his head tightly with both hands as he let out a shrilling sound. The echoes of the voice rang in his head over and over again, leaving what seemed to be a throbbing pain pounding in his head. He looked up to see the being still standing there and it...

"I seem to have forgotten that your mind is not ready yet..." Words flowed out from the being's direction. This proved one thing — this mysterious being was the initial talker... and wait, did it do a mind communication with him?

Still holding on to his head, he yelled with clenched teeth, "What are you doing to me?"

"Doing to you? Nothing!" came the being's reply.

"What is this voice, this echo inside my head? Get it out...!"

The ringing echo stopped immediately. He still held onto his head as the pain began subsiding. But, he was still confused, still worried about the situation he just experienced. He had to summon every courage to eventually speak.

"What am I doing here?" He questioned without raising up his head to look at the being.

"You are not here..."

The being's straightforward reply to the question surprised the man totally as he immediately looked up to stare at it. "What— What do you mean?" he managed to ask.

"Your physical body is lying somewhere... this is your summoned soul."

The man's mind went blank. His what? Soul? This is hilarious, he thought after, having the urge to laugh it out until...

[This is not a joke.]

"Ahhhh!!!!" He screamed out loud while supporting his head with his hands again. Those words in his head resounded like an alarm bell, causing a type of migraine. "Stop it!" he shouted on top of his voice.

"I am doing nothing to you. Your mind is just not prepared for this," the being told him.

As the pseudo migraine subsided, the man asked the being three straight questions, "What is this place? Where am I? What am I really doing here?"

"I already told you where you are. And as for what you are doing here, you are bound to find out soon enough,"

"Who then are you?"

"I have told you that as well,"

The man looked up to stare at the being with mixed emotions. There was one thing that bothered his mind at this very moment but the words seemed to choke in his throat as he tried to let them out.

"You are not dead!"

WHAT!?

He... he was just about to ask if he was dead but the being actually just gave him the answer without him uttering anything. Could it be that it could... read his mind?

"How do you know what I was going to ask?"

The being didn't bother replying his question. "That does not matter. All I can say is that you are not dead, believe it or not. Your soul has only been taking out of your body to complete the ascension of your new life... There are many things you will get to know of very soon,"

Immediately those words were uttered, the being vanished into thin air.

The man watched the now void space which the mysterious being occupied a moment ago. His mind was in disarray. What was going on with him?

This is unreal... This is so unreal!

.....

Inside a doctor's office.

Seated behind a desk was a man with a white coat over a white shirt, black tie and a pair of black khaki pants. He had a pair of spectacles below his sharp eyes as he read through one of the numerous files on the desk.

The desk had a lit desktop computer, a stethoscope, a full collection of RX slips, a box of sphygmomanometer and a pen case asides the stack of files on it.

Inside the office, with a plain creamy painted wall, a coat hanger and an hanger with a stethoscope on one side could be seen near a see-through window. Just opposite the window lay an examination bed with a white clean sheet and a white cased pillow. A set of electronics was on the floor from behind the examination bed, tracing up a wire to a stereo box.

The door to the doctor's office opened suddenly and a man with a domineering presence in a handmade retro suit barged in, stomping his pair of cap toes shoes on the hard floor. Trailing behind the man was a woman dressed in a sky blue semi-casual gown and a small black handbag.

The doctor looked up with an unreadable expression which altered between contempt and surprise but immediately had it switched to a soft gaze upon realizing who the 'intruding' visitors were — the CEO and president of Ruben Corporations and the Titan Technology's CEO's fiancée.

"Dr Martin," The domineering man uttered sharply with a tone of disdain. "Why isn't my brother out of here yet?"

The doctor immediately stood up. "President Ruben," he called out, "I'm sorry—"

"Sorry about what?"

The doctor released a silent sigh. "It seems Mr Ruben isn't responding to treatment..."

"What do you mean by he's not responding to treatment? I thought you said he has been stabilized already?" The man's increasing anger was made visible in his voice.

"That's what I said yesterday, sir, but..."

"But what, Dr Martin? Isn't this hospital competent enough to deal with a mere problem again?" The man lashed out, cutting the doctor short of his words.

The doctor fidgeted a little. Most times, he hated dealing with the president when he was in an angry state. He had an unpleasant thing to say but didn't know how to voice it out, especially with the present reaction of the other party.

"President Ruben, I— I—,"

"Do you also mind explaining how this matter hit the public's hearing?" The man slightly lowered his voice as he interrupted the doctor, yet again.

The doctor became slightly confused. "What matter, sir?"

"This matter, Dr Martin... my brother's indisposed state... how did the public get hold of the information that he's in the hospital?"

The doctor was stunned for a moment. Truthfully, he has no idea how it hit the public. Although this was just like any other private hospital, there was one unique thing about the hospital. The hospital highly restricted media intervention, also disabling any form of news leakage. So knowing that a confidential matter had hit the public was something he couldn't help but get surprised at.

"I'm sorry but I don't have any idea about it. Maybe—"

The man waved his hand in annoyance. "Just tell me what is wrong with my brother,"

"Sir," the doctor said as he contemplated on how to put the words the right way. "... I'm afraid, but with the look of things, I think Mr Ruben might have gone into a coma."

...gone into a coma.

...gone into a coma!?

"What!!!?" The man's voice immediately came out loud and ear-piercing, making the doctor flinch in his position.

Suddenly, from behind the man, a loud thud was heard. It was a bag. The man quickly turned around out of impulse, and luckily, he was right on time to save the woman standing behind him from collapsing head-first to the floor.

Turning his face to the fidgety doctor, he yelled while holding the unconscious woman tightly in his arms, "Doctor, get over here, quickly!"