Meeting in akasha

White. That was all Hāto could see for miles ahead? The sense of distance seemed warped. The length of the space couldn't be measured and nor could the width and height. There was no depth to the world.

Hāto wondered how he was standing but then thought nothing of it. The world seemed like a two dimensional plane but he couldn't care less.

He was tired. So, so tired.

"Yo."

The voice came from further within the depth? It sounded odd and uncomfortable like a myriad of discordant voices speaking at once, melting into a cacophonous mess.

It was scary, terrifying even. Absolutely bone-chilling.

Hāto wanted nothing more than to shut his ears and eyes but at the same time was compelled to gaze at the source. Even though every ounce of his being screamed in terror, he still lifted his head and then he saw it.

A boy no taller than himself bound by gold chains. And yet he radiated a feeling of authority. Dark brown skin clad in loosely draped robes with lean muscles visible, his hair forest green and his eyes closed.

The figure sat with legs crossed, an arm supporting his jaw with the other extended in a wave. However what stole Hāto's attention was the face that the figure sat on nothing seemingly levitating and upsidedown no less.

"Sorry about the weirdness. Akasha does that and I can't be bothered to correct it every single time. Anyway, welcome, Hāto. My name is Ordin."

Hāto found it all surreal. It was unbelievable, but then again what was?

He had met a vampire, because one, killed one. He had also died. Yes, Hāto was undoubtedly sure he was dead.

"Are you god?"

Hāto took a look at the Ordin's chains and then re-evaluated his thinking.

Just then Ordin suddenly spoke as if reading his thoughts.

"Or the devil, perhaps?"

Hāto shuddered. He couldn't even begin to comprehend the scale of the almighty figure before him. In recent times Hāto had seen the supernatural and now even in death he had somehow been saved.

"Pardon me."

"No worries. I won't kill you, after all you're already dead."

Or not.

Maybe he hadn't been saved, but the last thing he would want was the wrath of the transcendent being.

"I'm sure there are things far worse than death."

Ordin smiled and then giggled uncontrollably for a while.

"You're smart, and funny. I like you. You asked whether I was a god?"

He paused for a brief moment without waiting for a reply and then spoke.

"No, I'm not. I'm also not the devil. Although there are some who call me a demon god,I can't say I'm fond of the title. As for what I am, I am Ordin. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I see."

Hāto simply said what came to mind. Seeing as how ordin could possibly read his thoughts, he stopped thinking altogether, albeit while carefully controlling his words.

"Enough about me, let's talk about you. I'll have you know I've been watching you for a long long time.

"You never cease to amaze me. You even stopped thinking altogether when you realized I could read your thoughts."

Hāto flinched awkwardly. He wasn't exactly sure Ordin could read his thoughts but now it was certain.

"Sorry about that."

"No need to be so polite. I'm the one invading the sanctity of your mind."

"Ok. If you don't mind."

Hāto looked at Ordin's closed eyes and spoke his mind.

"What happens to me now. Also you said you've been watching me."

It couldn't be helped if Hāto came across as sarcastic, hopefully Ordin wouldn't kill him.

"Now you're left with a choice. And also my eyes are closed for your safety. Catching even the tiniest glance at them would drive you mad."

An unconscious gulp went down Hāto's throat and then he readjusted his posture.

"You said I was left with a choice?"

"You can choose between living or dying."

"What are your conditions?"

Hāto didn't know much about imprisoned deities bit he doubted they went out of their way to save dead people. At least no without some form of compensation.

"Ah. Straight to the point, I don't dislike smart people. I want you to take my place in another world, become my incarnation..."

His voice trailed off into a sinister note as a grin spread across his face.

"Or die. Well, you're already dead but you can still be deader."

"I see."

Hāto stood still to momentarily consider his options.

On one hand he was offered new life, a second chance. It even came with a few perks such as being the incarnation of a demon god. Eerie, but manageable.

On the other was death. True death. Some people ofter said death was a blessing but Hāto highly doubted it. Even now, after he had watched everything he loved burn, he still had a will to live. Still, he entertained the thought. There were things worse than death, but being the incarnation of a demon god still seemed doable.

"Time may be broken here but you don't have a lot of it. I'd advise you to hurry up."

Amidst the void Ordin simple watched at Hāto pondered his fate seemingly indifferent to his potential incarnation.

"I've decided. I'll play your game."

"Good. Good. So you've decided to become my incarnation?"

Hāto hesitated to give an answer but then steeled his resolve.

"Yes."

Ordin beamed a childish grin full of mischievous intent and then landed on the floor.

The white world was blank and devoid of colour, there was no doubt about that. Even Hāto's figure did not cast a shadow, but for some reason as Ordin landed, a pool of primal darkness sprung forth into existence around his feet.

From the shadow darker than night, numerous thick grotesque tentacles with maws containing jagged teeth seethed forth and wrapped around the void devouring the emptiness. Before long Hāto found himself standing in a now absolutely dark void.

"Sorry about that. I can't have anyone see what's about to happen."

Ordin now spoke without jest, his tone was cold and also harrowing.

"What is this?"

"This is my belly. Where not even the light of god reaches."

Just as Hāto stopped to think about Ordin's words, the deity's chest split open like a mouth revealing an even darker abyss guarded by several rows of disjointed teeth. His hand reached inside the abyss and pulled out what looked a shard of dark glass. The crystal had a gray colour and and extremely beautiful sheen and before Hāto could even begin to admire it, the shard was thrust into his own chest.

He expected to reel back from pain or at least something along those lines, but Hāto felt nothing. If anything he felt surprisingly... Whole.

"Now as for my other condition."

After witnessing Ordin's horrifying transformation, Hāto struggled to remain perfectly calm but he held through. Hearing there was now other condition just made him anxious.

"You need to forget about all of this ever happening."

Hearing those words made Hāto's heart sink.

Was he going to forget about his life up till now? About his mom? About Sapphira?

"Don't worry. You'll only lose your memories of meeting me."

An exasperated sigh escaped Hāto's lips, but just then Ordin smiled.

"...Hopefully."

"What?!"

All around him, on the grotesque tentacles covering Akasha numerous maddening eyes of different colours, shapes and sizes opened instantly making Hāto lose the will to live and then at the end he caught a glimpse of Ordin's eyes.

His irises were a beautiful gold colour with horizontally slitted pupils that saw through all falsehood.

At that moment, Hāto's mind went blank. He went mad.