Beyond the Gates of Death

Just a little bit before Kalastros gets his note, Haalfrin is looking around at a familiar sea of blood and corpses with Das at his side. 'So it wasn't a dream then… this place.' This was the place he saw when he met Felkawyn, and when he lost his Kareen Clan some 50 years ago.

"Indeed," Das adds while stroking his long white mustache, "this place is a special layer of the Spirit Realm." Haalfrin is a little startled since it felt like Das could read his mind.

Haalfrin hadn't been a scholar's student for 50 years for nothing; he's learned to ask inciteful questions. "If this is a spiritual realm, then why are there blood and corpses? Those are physical things, not spiritual."

"Hmm..." Das thinks for a moment before answering, "The Spirit Realm is influenced by people's emotions and what they're naturally drawn towards or repulsed by. People are repulsed emotionally by death, yet Death never fails to draw them in; this part of the spirit realm where spirits finally meet death is one of the larger territories in this plane of existence."

Das looks up and smiles, "In a more calm and peaceful area of the Spirit realm, you'll see a lot more blue skies and sparkling seas - quite pretty too. You should go sometime!"

"Anyway Das," Haalfrin scowls unenthusiastically, "why did you bring me here?"

"I just want to be honest with you, Haalfrin," Das answers politely, "You have a divinity potential in your soul, and you're particularly compatible with death... seeing as how you've Comprehended the Name of the white phoenix, Felkawyn, on your own."

Das continues, "Freyya and I are the only death gods who don't have Contracting partners yet, which is why I suppose you think we both want to claim your soul, eh?"

Haalfrin tightens his eyebrows for a moment and asks, "What? Is that NOT why you want my soul?"

(After learning more about the benefits even gods get from Contracting, Haalfrin had guessed this is the reason for the Death gods' interference in his life long ago.)

Instead of answering, Das turns back to the bloody waters down below and says, "I was hoping to show you the death realm so you can make a more clear decision about which Death god you want to choose."

"Oh? I get a choice? Whatever, I'll come with you." Haalfrin certainly doesn't trust Das, but if he's being told that he can be taken to the death realm, then he won't turn it down.

"Follow me... Or rather, hold on tight," Das warns once they start to descend into the red waters of the Spirit Realm. As they sink further into the sea of blood, Das erects a barrier around the two of them to keep the blood off their clean clothes.

As they finally arrive at the barrier at the bottom, where the glistening white phoenix with 7 wings floats at the bottom of the spirit realm. As ever, Felkawyn works hard in Transforming the spirits of the recently deceased.

Looking at the 7 winged bird, Das notes, "You may not know this, but most spirits don't even see Felkawyn at all; they just see a giant stone doorway that they dissolve upon touching, flow into, then are rebuilt into a denizen of the Death Realm on the other side. Only people like us, who are compatible with Death, can see the white phoenix."

"Ah. Interesting," Haalfrin curtly mumbles. "So, does that mean that life and death is a type of 'Fel'?"

Das's only answer is a silent nod.

As they're about to pass through the barrier, Das reaches into his pocket and hands Haalfrin a large grey feather. "Make sure you hold onto this," Das warns sternly, "It's a feather from another Phoenix called 'Felkala'."

"Felkala?" Haalfrin asks, "Doesn't 'La' mean 'without' in the Naming tongue, and 'Fel' mean 'Change'? Felkala means 'never changing'?" Of course, Names can mean all sorts of things, but this translation made the most sense to him.

Das momentarily has a proud look on his face, and he says, "You catch on quickly; your teacher taught you well. Yes, Felkawyn here is what makes a spirit really die and join the dead. Still, as long as you're holding Felkala's feather, you can never die… among other perks like being immune to injuries, sickness, sleep, hunger, fatigue, and all other things that could possibly change about a person."

Haalfrin looks down at the large grey feather, which is longer than his forearm. He has that strange feeling of fear you only get when you're handed something priceless that also happens to be super fragile, easily torn, and small enough to easily lose track of. His grip on the feather tightens.

Seeing Haalfrin's knuckles go white while gripping the feather too tightly, Das smiles and adds, "It's... priceless. I had to borrow this feather from the Death king himself. It's really valuable even to gods since its effects don't diminish at all even for people like me. Please don't lose it, and give it back to me right away after we're through the portal."

"Got it." It's not like Haalfrin himself has any designs on such a feather. He DOES plan on dying one day, after all. Still, he holds onto the feather for now, since passing through the gate and just dying out of nowhere certainly isn't the death he craves.

After emerging on the other side gate, Haalfrin immediately senses a black Death Aura so thick that it makes his skin tingle. He knows instinctually that if he were to let go of the feather for a second here, he would instantly decay and die.

Haalfrin then looks around the spiritual waters they're still engulfed in and notices the stark difference.

In the mortal world side of the gate, the waters were filled with blood and cries of despair. On THIS side… pure energy is spitting out of the gate, then recondensing into clear, glistening, crystalline water.

Haalfrin also sees transparent spirits come through the portal and recondense further into something more solid looking – appearing as if they never died in the first place!

Well, one thing is different about these spirits; instead of their spiritual aura glowing yellow, their natural ambiance has turned silvery white.

Indeed, death really IS a form of Transformation - of Felkawyn. Even the way their spirits were built has completely changed.

Das holds Haalfrin's wrist tighter, and they ascend up in the deep ocean of spirits until they arrive at the surface.

Haalfrin looks down in fascination and worry as he witnesses some of the spirits sinking even deeper into the dark depths of the water, while some float up. "Why are they doing that?" Haalfrin queries.

Das replies bluntly, "One's feelings and Will affects your 'physical' state in the Spirit Realm. Despair makes you heavier in the water, while hope and happiness make you lighter."

The old god pauses, then continues with more pity in his voice, "Spirits who have just died often have a hard time coming to grips with their new reality, and they may take some time making it to the top and escaping this place."

Haalfrin recalls how things were on the other side of the portal and surmises, "That must also be why the spirits in the ocean of blood on the other side are sinking towards the gate at the bottom; realizing you are dead must be pretty hard on your spirit."

"Indeed... that's also why, when a person dies and has a strong will to live, they can take a really long time to sink to the bottom and truly die like they're supposed to."

Really, Das doesn't mind explaining all of this to Haalfrin; in fact, part of his reason for bringing Haalfrin here is to build trust between them.

"Plus," Das confidently thinks, "if Haalfrin understands more about the truth of the Death Realm, then he can make a more educated choice on how he really chooses to die!"

And in Das's mind, it's absolutely certain that if Haalfrin knows a little more about the truth about Death, he'll happily choose to follow the god of decay instead of the Crow goddess.

… Whether or not Das is correct remains to be seen.

After they finally get to the top of the spiritual waters, they break through the surface… and the things Haalfrin sees are so stunning that he'll never be able to forget it, even if he tries.

Haalfrin beholds what looks like a sea of liquid crystal all the way out as far as the eyes could see. The sea of spiritual water is so still that it's akin to a mirror reflecting the billions of stars lighting up the night sky. The water itself is shimmering with an array of colors…

And all around him, countless spirits are rising out of the water and ascending into the sky. Up above, countless other spirits appear and welcome their newly arrived friends and families as they all disappear forever from this place.

Haalfrin sniffs for a second and wipes his eyes once. "You're right, Das. It is beautiful."

Seeing this, Das faintly smiles. He then waves his hand, and his body glows a brilliant silver.

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The scene of the Spirit realm fades away, and Haalfrin finds himself in an empty section of space – seemingly floating in the middle of nowhere.

The feeling of weightlessness is so unnatural and startling that Haalfrin tries screaming out in panic… only to find that no sound is coming out of his lungs. For a moment, his blood feels like it's boiling, and all the air in his lungs is forced out of his body.

Before Haalfrin has time to freak out or suffer any real damage, Das waves his hand immediately. A spherical barrier surrounds both of them, which quickly fills up with air.

"Sorry about that," Das apologizes.

Now that there's air around him, Haalfrin can finally talk again. "Uh, Das? Why is there no land here?" he accuses, "Are spirits just catapulted into the void or something when they die?"

The idea of the dead being indiscriminately thrown into a black void makes Haalfrin's blood boil with rage.

"Not really, no. I'll explain on the way to the Death Lands." Das then waves his hand again, and the space around them seems to fold in on itself.