The Task Ahead

Micheal sniffled and wiped his sleeve across his face. His cheeks flashed red in embarrassment as the euphoria of reminiscence died down and his mind calmed down.

Galia chuckled and beckoned Michael to follow her. He didn't object, too embarrassed to try and too taken by his emotions to consider it. They walked silently for a few steps before she broke the silence after Michael had calmed down enough.

"Your body is still in the field you know", Michael had completely forgotten about that. He had not devoted his mind to puzzling how he moved through the void, leaving the matter at something akin to astral projection and moving forward. The last few weeks had been robotic for him. Now however he felt different.

"I have no idea how any of this is possible", he muttered allowing himself to think out loud, his gaze drifting to the area around him, its beauty still as startling as it had been a few minutes ago, greater even.

"You will in due time. Tell me, how was your awakening?" she asked taking his mind off admiring nature and back to the darkness of the void.

"It had been cold", he began as the image played out in his mind, darker and more ominous. "It felt... empty, but not empty. Like something was lurking in the shadows. Initially, the void had been empty, but after a while, it didn't feel empty. It was dark too. I don't know how I got there the first time. I can go into it on command now but before now... I was confused. It was overwhelming, to be honest; everything was. Nothing made sense, nothing makes sense now but it was more apparent back then. I just died recently you know, I never had the time to grieve or come to terms with my death. Every time I think I have managed to get over it, I relapse, going back to that dark corner where I wish time stops and allows me to... think." he paused remembering the question he was supposed to be answering.

"Oh, right, Awakening. It was a first for me, but terrifying and painful. It is much like when I met the legacy. That's what the old man called it. I didn't know what it was, I still don't. I had hoped Caster would give me answers, but he is as helpful as a blade of grass. So I eventually stopped asking him questions. But yeah, awakening was a trip. I was in the void for, I don't know how long.

It was empty at first, and then it became different than before. Time was weird, like... it was chaotic. One moment it felt like minutes had passed another it felt like barely a few seconds and sometimes days. I assumed it was common. I was terrified, my sanity was slipping from me. I still feel it even now. The weird dilation of time fucked up my mind. I walked around, hallucinating, drifting between sanity and utter madness. My memory was unreliable too.

Then there was a child, I don't remember the child's name; honestly, I don't think I asked. He didn't speak, well at least not until the darkness rose. I think... he had my face at some point. I don't remember clearly, but I swear he resembled me, at least a younger version of me. It's all hazy in my mind. But the shadows poured on me and I believe that was when I awakened."

He recounted the tale to the best of his memory, compelled somehow, to give the details of the ordeal withholding nothing. Sighing, he trained his gaze on the skies, a raging storm of emotions that he couldn't process swirling within him.

"Does dying get better?" he asked, more to himself than to Galia.

This trip to her domain allowed him to ignore the burden of his role and refocus on matters he had tried to bury. Deep inside him, he felt it was redundant, repetitive even. Constantly going over the puzzle of his life was nothing novel and didn't promise to reveal any new secrets. Yet, now, he couldn't hold off on the retrospection.

Michael remembered his time in the void before the legacy came, his philosophy and aches all clear in his mind. Only a few weeks had passed, maybe two months, since he died but it felt nothing like it. He couldn't help but wonder; was this going to be his life, his past haunting him constantly no matter how much he tried to ignore it? It was an empty feeling, one in stark contrast to the hope that lay close to his heart.

"Hm," Galia said thoughtfully after Michael fell silent for a while. "You know, your awakening, it's different from the rest. Those before you had tests, and trials that they had to endure in the 'void' before they were accepted by the darkness. It's nothing grand but just know your awakening is rather... unusual."

What did she mean by unusual? Michael had assumed it was standard and regular awakening. That was puzzling in and of itself, to learn it was unusual was even more enigmatic and unsettling. What did it mean for him?

"What does it mean for me?" he asked.

"That the start of your journey is not like that of many before you." she paused her mind in deep thought as if she were considering her next words. "Did Zahe-el tell you how many emissaries have been successful in the first merge?"

"Who is Zahe-el? And what's a merge?" he asked both questions new pieces of information the latter more demanding than the former.

"Oh, the man you call Caster. A merge is a trial for all emissaries. They vary and each bears their significance. The first is always there in the Nether. You defeat the first king and bring all his disciples under your thumb, then gain control over the Nether. Make it- yours."

Caster's true name was not as juicy as learning a fragment of the essence of his being in the Nether and the milestones of his path. The picture suddenly seemed grander. Still, he did not feel the weight of it all, but he was starting to get a grasp of his journey. He had heard of the first king several times leading him to assume the Nether to be divided into kingdoms. However, he couldn't wrap his mind around the rest of the information. What did she mean by 'defeat the first king'? and who were his disciples?

Once again, the information he was learning, the questions it invoked, it was all dizzying.