Chapter 22: Death

Barbados found himself in a blank empty room facing a figure shrouded by a dark blue cloak.

"Name." said the figure in a quiet and reverbing tone. His eyes darted from side to side, but there was nothing in the room but the chair the two were sitting in, the table in between them and the clipboard in the figure's skeletal hands. Barbados felt anxious and could feel his heart beating.

"My heart?" he questioned as he tried to feel his body, but when he looked down, all he could see was the hazy appearance of light surrounding an orange marble.

"Name." repeated the voice.

"Where am I?

"You're dead. Many have this type of reaction but do not worry. Everything will be sorted out eventually." responded the voice in a colder tone lacking sympathy.

"But I shouldn't be dead. I just can't be." Barbados refused to accept the scenario playing out in front of his eyes.

"Many also have that type of response when they're confronted with the cold hard reality that their mortal life has come to an end. What did you say your name was?"

"Uh. Barbados. My name is Barbados. But I'm not talking about how I shouldn't be here. I'm a Sinborn. I shouldn't be able to die. I'm immortal."

"Sure you are. Next you will say you have the power to breathe fire. There isn't any Sinborn by the name of Barbados anyway, so you should stop lying." He could feel the tension growing between the two, feeling his back drenched in sweat.

"I know there isn't, but check for one by the name of Sansar. Sansar the Creative."

"Why should I? Sansar has been locked away for 2 millenia by the Angels. He wouldn't even have a way to die." Barbados was running out of options and decided to just say any thoughts that came to his mind.

"Can you not do a DNA check to see if I really am lying."

"I could, but if you did lie, your soul would shatter and your remains would be spread across the endless starry night. You won't get the chance for a new life."

Barbados stood and actually contemplated.

"Sure. Do the test." The figure looked straight at him, and while raising its hands, the blackness fog that permeated the person's hood began dissipating, revealing a skull with a bandage across its eye sockets. As they began undoing the bandage, the skeleton began to chant.

"By the grace bestowed by Death and Life, I ask to intrude in this man's life." They took the clean white cloth to reveal a pair of dilated eyes that had a red engraved circle. The eyes floated out of the skull, still attached to their optic nerves. A thin triangle laser emanated from both the eyes and circled around Barbados, who was in disbelief. The eyes stopped and returned to their sockets. "Thank you for the permission." the skeleton said as he rebound the bandage.

"So. You belie-"

"We'll I'll be," interrupted the skeleton, "So you have finally bit more than you could chew."

"What no. I died standing up." Barbados responded offended.

"I know that. I was simply joking. But your wrong about that, you died when your halo shattered."

"What? But I wasn't attacked by anything." asked the Sinborn confused.

"You know how you came back to life via the Spirit's symbol? That put a strain on a half of your body, your angelic side, which allowed for the demonic side to overtake." The skeleton drew a diagram. "Which weakened the halo and destroyed itself. You being stressed about the soul mechanism wasn't helping too."

"Wait. You mean that the halo's degradation could be considered the Sinborn race's equiblvalent of balding."

"Not the entire's race. Just yours. Some of you Nephalem have certain nicks even when it comes to death."

"Oh. How would you rank it in terms of weaknesses?" asked the Sinborn.

"The worst." said the figure in front of him. "Well anyway, welcome to the cycle of reviving. Every time you appear here, you may leave through that exit behind me. You could imagine it to be a hole or a wooden door."

"So you're the Grim Reaper?"

"No, I'm the Grim Interviewer. The Grim Reaper brought your soul here, but he couldn't wake you up even in death so he had to carry you. Be thankful."

"I was laying on a pile of dirt?" Barbados replied outraged.

"If you have a problem with that, you are more than welcome to file a complain to management."

"I might juat do that." Barbados wrote down his critique and watched it descend into a paper shredder. "Why didn't I know about the obstacle course?"

"We make you sign a contract to not reveal information about the afterlife. The other Sinborn also had to sign it."

Barbados signed multiple documents.

"I never would have imagined the afterlife to be so…corporal."

"It's what our deity wishes for." replied the interviewer while going over the files.

"So Gods are real asked Barbados?" asked Barbados as his sense of curiosity was still piqued by the ritual from earlier.

"I do not know. And I believe that is the way it's meant to be. Gods or any other superior power above exist only for our benefit. Also sign this and stamp your finger there."

"So what now? Do I just walk through that exquisite looking door?" Barbados pictured a grand door formed from high quality timber and covered in gold ornaments.

"Yes. Till we meet again next time." The skeleton laughed, or tried to, as the Sinborn left. "Oh shit. I should have told him that time passes differently here."

Barbados woke up as his head hit a comfortable cushion.

"What on earth…is this a shadow?"

"Oh my god! Oh thank goodness!" yelled the presenter as he was able to rid himself of murder charges.

"How long was I out for?" asked Barbados.

"1 second."

"Really? I felt like it was more than 3 hours." Barbados stretched his body when he felt a strange sensation. He checked his back where his wings sprouted from and found the strange muscle that didn't allow him to move his wings had dissapeared.

"Are you okay?" questioned Grog, worrying for his friend's safety.

"Couldn't feel better." the Sinborn responded smilling like a child.

****

The meeting ended and there had been major changes done to ensure the Aster's demonstration wouldn't end up in a disaster. Nerman was re-assured that the mining operation had been approved and that the secluded dwarves weren't being mistreated. Lastly, Barbados was given more of the alcohol to take back to his room, but also an answer to his question.

"The way to still live after dying. It needs you to have good control of mana, to the point of being able to use it to attach ones-soul back to their body." Barbados mumbled his makeshift theory while lying on the grass in his makeshift outdoor classroom.

Besides him was his Blossoms 4th year class, who were all also lying on the grass.

"So teach," Profan began to say, "How was the afterlife." He chewed on the stem of a piece of wheat.

"I would tell you, but I don't want to be struck by the wrath of God as I happen to enjoy living in this semi-peaceful era." Barbados lifted his torso and looked at Chloutarg. "How do you feel Chloutarg?"

"I, uh, I don't know." he replied in a gentle manner. "Will it really help me bring out more mana and maintain for longer times?"

"It should do. What time is it right now?"

"Just gone midday." said the druid girl Minteen.

"That's my que." said Chloutarg as he left to get ready.

"You've got this." said the rest of the students while Barbados gave him a thumbs up.