Afterworld?!

I looked at the entrance, where I could see a figure clad in black steadily making its way to me, the air around the figure glowing with a black luster, suffocating me—how does it suffocate me when I'm made of smoke?

Then, in the fraction of a minute, the figu—no, the handsome figure is standing in front of me. His sparkling eyes staring at me as if observing and judging the very depths of my soul and the more he stares…. It's as if I'm being dragged, pulled by some strong forc-

Then he stopped. He smiled. He stared at me. And when he did, the world froze.

I can feel, but I can't hear.

I can see but it's all still.

I can't move my eyes but my body's free.

I...I can't feel my heart pounding, My lungs… are getting heav….y..haahh

I can't breathe. Now I can.

But Everything's cold. And I can't move. I opened my eyes but...I'm blind, everything's black.

I can't move, and now my eyes have lost their sight

I try to cry. But no tears or sound came out.

This pain… Its excrutiating

Why is this happening?

Then an image slowly formed in front of me… mom?

"Mom!" I wanted to shout, but nothing came out.

My chest got heavier, and heavier. Like heartbreak.

"You failed me, even in death." She whispered, dragging my burdened heart to the ground before disappearing like a wisp of smoke.

How did I… but I thought you were proud of me. I feel tears welling up, but they won't fall. It hurts. I wanna… no, I can't die. Not when I found a literal new dimension of botany.

The pain got sharper, like a thousand needles piercing me. A thousand serrated needles, slowly making its way inside the crevices of my soul. But I can't shout, nor can I pull them away and weep.

Am I actually dying? I don't want to die… I don't want to…

But the pain just keeps going deeper. Everything keeps getting colder. My chest is getting heavier.

I can feel everything fading. Like how heat slowly dissipates, I can feel my body slowly disappear, the pain going with it.

Then, I slowly opened my...eyes?

I can see… I CAN SEE.—Wait, how can I… oh

After waking up and immediately opening my eyes, I found myself staring straight at the same God who accidentally killed m-

"It was my apprentice who killed you, not me." He grumbled, interrupting my thoughts.

"Right. Right." I dejectedly replied. I ran my hands all over my body, feeling my arms, legs, feet.

"It's fine." The old man said. "I apologize I was too late."

"Too late for what?"

"Saving you."

He saved me? So all that was real? Wow, that so-called brother is insane, I can still feel the needles everywhere my body…

"T-thank you then." I sighed. "Why did you save me?"

"Because." The old man shrugged his arms.

"Because?"

"Because, because." He looked at me. "Don't ask."

"Oh, um, okay then."

Then two beams of light came down beside me. Revealing Reyna and Fern, clutching their chests, their nails going deep on their skin as they collapsed, desperately gasping for air.

"Reyna? Fern?"

They looked straight at me with frightened faces, nothing different from before that figure appeared.

"Hey, the three of you." The old man spoke. "I don't want you in my place for too long —And I don't even know why the two of you are here, you should be in the damn afterlife.

Isn't he that god of justice guy?

"WHAT WAS THAT" Reyna shouted, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Wh-who are you?!" She pointed at the God.

"I'm a God."

Meanwhile, Fern remained quiet, his mouth agape and his eyes overflowing with tears.

"Oh that's the Penitentiary of Death, or in elven, [Extermiictus Juvenarmus]. And although that requires crap loads of sacrifices and casters, that young man can cast it while only looking at you, putting you in an eternal cycle of pain until the end of times." He casually said. "He can do that on everything except Gods… I think so, at least."

"ISN'T THAT TOO—WHY DOES THAT EXIST?!" Reyna screamed, looking at the God with wide eyes. "IT GOES AGAINST THE WOR-"

Yep, thought the same thing. That stuff is broken as heck. I mean, I can still feal the weight on my chest and the

The God raised his hand, silencing Reyna. "Shush, human. His understanding of his magic goes beyond your depths of imagination."

Reyna did not reply. She simply sat there, grasping her head and processing what she's just been told.

The god then flicked his hands then the two disappeared into thin air. Leaving behind only black puffs of smoke.

"Where did they go?" I asked.

"The afterworld." He casually replied.

"The after...world?" I stuttered under my breath. Are they dead? Will I die now? Yeah, I probably will. I just wish I could have seen that world more….

Then the old man suddenly spoke, raising his hands "Don't worry, you won't die now. Instead, I want you to see this."

I won't die?

"Why won't I die?"

"Because I don't want you to die yet." He smirked

Fair enough

"What do you want me to see?" I asked him, placing my hands on the long table.

"Someth—Take your hands off the table!" He smacked my cute, pitiful hands with a long golden stick.

"Ouch! You could have just told me!"

"No one touches my table except me." He glared at me.

It's not like I wanted to touch it, I only did that for dramatic effect… s

"Well it did not work." He whispered then waved his hand at the table.

Right, he can read my mind.

After waving his hand, small streaks of light appeared and congested at the center of the table, slowly forming into an image. Like what he did before when he showed my house. It's beautiful. Mesmerizing. Eventually, it showed me the room which I was in before I 'Died'. And in the room, there is Iris, Ivy, Ren who is being supported by Maxim. And Ren is covered in… slime? Well that's… ehem.

All four of them are standing against Graslis, who is standing beside the bodies of Reyna and Fern.

"Well?" Graslis suddenly spoke, not looking at the four of them.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO OUR LORD?!" Ivy screamed, raising her bow against Graslis.

Followed by that, fists started forming on Iris's hand, forming a huge gauntlet that shined with a radiant green luster. The two stood in front of Maxim who is helping Ren stay up.

"I think the four of you are missing something." Graslis said, stepping down the body of the two humans. "I think you missed the part where that—Whatever that is, is not your Lord."

Graslis walked closer and closer to the four, eventually making Iris and Ivy raise their weapons higher. "I would advise against walking any closer, Lord Graslis." Maxim calmly said.

"Oh! And what will you do?!" Graslis laughed, "WHAT WILL YOU DO?! KILL ME?!" He shouted, a deep frown forming on his face.

"Now, you miscreants, tell me! Did you now know my brother?"

"We know him probably more than you… you traitor." Iris replied.

"Right, right, TRAITOR!" Graslis laughed again, "IT'S THIS DAMN CREATURE THAT SIDED WITH HUMANS"

Ivy gulped, slowly considering what Graslis just said. 'He's right.' She thought, My Lord despised humans so deeply… why would he smile beside them? Meanwhile, Iris's face remained the same, never taking Graslis off her sight. "It's probably a part of My Lord's plan, Lord Graslis." She said confidently.

Graslis's body blinked, appearing in front of Iris in a split second, tipping her off balance. "But how do you know that, dear Iris?"

Iris had no response. She herself only blindly followed Her Lord with pure and unobstructed loyalty.

In the silence, Graslis smiled. "You were all fooled." He remarked. "Fooled by the Gods you so despised."

"What do you mean, Lord Graslis." Maxim asked.

Graslis looked straight at Maxim, "Because, THAT, is NOT my Brother." He answered.

"Oh please, you've always wanted to kill him." Iris retorted.

"Well, in my defense, dear Iris, I wanted to kill him because I wanted his power, the power of life." He slid his gloved hand across Iris's face. "But now, I realized that, THAT thing is merely another otherworlder."

Hearing that, Iris's huge gauntlet disappeared, and she fell kneeling to the ground. Ivy wanted to do the same, but she worried that Graslis might do something dirty. "Iris, pick yourself up, he is probably tricking us again." She calmly told Iris, patting her head.

"No, sister." Iris whispered, "I've always felt another presence in him…mostly when he made the first fruit."

"What do you mean?!" Maxim exclaimed.

Seeing this, Graslis stepped away, smiling.

"When Our Lord made the first, mana fruit—or so he calls it, he had this… happiness. And as far as I remember, Our Lord was never happy with his own creations."

"Oh really?!" Graslis laughed, "Then that otherworlder might actually be more deserving of that power." He said, before slowly walking towards the entrance.

But before leaving, Graslis turned back, facing the four. "Oh! And by the way, if you want to live for a few more days, I would advise coming with me."