Chapter 4: Death (III)

It is dark. Am I hell or in heaven?

A shadowy room as everything is shaded by darkness. There is no feeling, no sound, no touch, no smell, and nothing that my eyes can gaze upon.

My body that I can't even feel, seems to suspend into the air, or am I floating.

There is darkness everywhere. Every chord of dim darkness is shadowed upon eclipse like darkness. I am not afraid, I think there is something more to this.

But where am I?

I try to move my body but I cut through nothing. Air that feels light, and lifeless. A barren land where there is no sunlight and only darkness. A suppressive and yet suffocating feeling surrounds me as it squirms like a charred black ink that moves to surround an object. Drowning inside the darkness, I realize that I'm not breathing. The murky waters of darkness grasp me tight as I panic at the grievous feeling. Perhaps what I moving through is not air. Perhaps there is simply no air.

An overbearing feeling of subtle warmth then follows suit as I feel trapped in a chasm that I can't seem to get out of. I definitely am dead.

I close my eyes and there is only a shadow that shades the effulgence light. I open my eyes and there is more of the same. It's as if I don't have a body and it's just me in my silent consciousness.

I wonder.

I wonder.

And then a ray of light emerges from the darkness as a luscious and celestial divine hand reaches out. Its open hand filled to the brim with a ravaging light reaches out in a similar manner of a handshake.

Floating or whatever a motion that I commit to, I try to reach out an invisible hand towards the light as the soft chords of light become stronger.

A soft feeling of cordiality and ardor rained upon my hand as the being made contact between my hands. I could see it clearly. The seemingly blinking light blinded my vision in a similar manner to the darkness as I could only see a hand and a woman in a silk-laden dress. Her body glittered with a Glamazonian figure grasped my hand and dragged me up with a passionate glee. A luminescent essence onto my consciousness and with strings of embers pushed me closer to the surface of light.

A distinct figure became clearer but it felt as if the celestial light intended to block my vision as the features of her face seemed to be blind-sighted by unnatural light.

A second radiating light emerged this time for me as I felt something emerge. Like a matryoshka, it triggered something within me, a feeling that I couldn't resist and an insane madness that I didn't understand.

And finally, like a koi on a fishing rod. I was lifted back into the open air. The shades of darkness fell into the light and awoke. No one longer is devoid of energy and the suffocating feeling that I once felt faded away.

Was I dead and revived back to life? Just the simple thought felt as it felt like a delirious horror.

A grave delirium arose from me as it was offset by the pounding pitter-patter of the looming rain. Heavy droplets of Adam's Ale fell from the sky as an ashy gray sky. The bleak night sky was dark with an irksome thunderstorm.

Aroused from the profoundest of slumbers, I stood up as the heavy rain soaked my charcoal hair.

In the distance, was the panthers. Its tail swung around violently as it mauled the nearby trees into a bark shred as it glitters with irritating patience. Its black fur is sleek with the early fall's crisp rain.

My new profound powers surge through my mana channels as if its about to burst, as a new wave of emotions bursts through. An overwhelming burst of energy and emotions surmounted through as my hands began to glow an azure blue.

A seemingly similar feeling I had earlier washed over me as it was watching a fragment of myself disappear.

More and more mana coursed through my veins and exited my hands as my strong aura grew.

And suddenly, I had control over something.

The pounding rain of an early autumn rain fell from the sky as it crushed a wilted orchid flower that was desperate for water. Forcing down the stems of the flower, it only seemed as if a miracle had surmised that the withered plant was still alive. The irony of hosw a flower that desired water got what it wanted but was consumed by its own desire.

And suddenly the flowing beads of rain on the flower froze into shards of ice. The rain that bounded through the grim sky instantly froze into thick shards of frost that hovered in the sky. Glowing a faded cerulean blue, my hands moved in unison with the ice shards as I felt delirium surmount its prison.

"You fucker, get back here."

The panther's head perked up and looked back. While I grinned at the sight.

In a matter of seconds, it had covered the distance as its feline mouth was outstretched as its teeth had the pallor of death. In the moments of time, all of the ice shards that had hovered nearby raced through the air, cutting through the droplets of rain.

It lifted a giant paw and with a crackle of powerful lightning, a few of the ice shards split and broke splattering its mana essence everywhere. Though few couldn't be defined as many. More and more of the ice rained through the air as more of it broke on the way down. Until its ability missed one as a single ice shard pierced through the tough skin it honed and gauged the first blood of the battle.

One turned into two which morphed into five and soon it had many minor wounds that riddled its body. Panting heavily a mixture of sweat, tears and rain flew down my hair and face as I trembled. My newfound abilities seemed to be hitting the limit and fast. Clenching my fist, I wanted this battle to last long, the manipulative fun that I would achieve that would bring my desires to end. But that would only be possible if I survived.

Pushing myself forward, I pulled my sword out of its sheath and quickly coated it with my aura. And with a single fluid motion from me pulling out my blade to horizontally slashing my air, an azure crescent of mana flew out as it flew through the air as it sliced through the fur of the beast— howling, it felt more enraged than ever.

Pounding forward, its electricity scorched my skin and singed my bones. Thunder resounded through the forest as a bright flash of deafening light appeared for just a moment before residing back into the palace of grim onyx clouds.

Before the electricity that emanated from the panther's body could kill me, I slit its pelt before dodging more flares of scorching electricity.

Turning, it went for me again as its paws hit against my blade, generating a familiar metallic clang. This time, its strength didn't feel as gruesome as before.

Slamming both paws down on the ground, the land beneath them cracked as a small crater began to join. Electricity blazed out of the craters as I desperately jumped backward to avoid the blow entirely.

Though the attack was a series of chain reactions as a rift along the land began to spread open. Large cracks formed as electricity flared out of each crack and straight at me. Dodging towards the left, a second chasm along the ground formed and electricity flared.

Dodging that, that I rain along in the middle, aiming straight for the beast. With a terrible glint in my eye, I leaped into the air with my blade raised high ready to strike down.

I was no longer here to survive. I was here to kill.