Paradise

Somewhere in the vast universe, an island the size of a few dozen acres could be seen floating aimlessly in the void. The island's landscape was adorned with unknown lush green trees, bushes, and flora. Mythical creatures that could previously only be seen in books from Austin's world could be seen grazing the fields or resting beneath the shade of the gigantic trees.

Overlooking the heavenly scene was a jagged and steep mountain, its once majestic peak was no longer as if it had been cleanly cut horizontally by a sword. 

A few yards below the peak of the mountain, a majestic waterfall cascaded down the mountain zig-zagging through the landscape and down into the endless void.

The island was a true paradise amidst the darkness of space.

Situated on top of the mountain was a three-story white mansion. 

Within one of the ten bedrooms, a hunchbacked old man could be seen pacing back and forth with a cane in hand, using it as support for his frail body. Occasionally, as he paced, he mumbled incomprehensible words and at other times he would turn in the direction of the young man, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed while his daughter took care of him before looking away and muttering once more.

"What is Qliphoth thinking?" He murmured as he lifted his right hand from the cane to his aching forehead, attempting to alleviate his headache from being unable to comprehend Qliphoth's decision.

A moment later, the pain from his forehead vanished. He took his right hand off of his forehead and then placed it onto his cane as he calmly spoke, "Whatever. I should just focus on my job."

He then sat down in a nearby plush armchair, sinking into its comfort.

However, the decision proved incorrect, as soon as he felt the comfort of the chair, his mind wandered to the incomprehensible event that happened a mere few minutes ago.

Even the comfort of the chair, which always brought him comfort in times of need, failed to quell his rising frustration.

The old man's gaze shifted to the brown-haired young boy, who peacefully slept. "Why is he free?" He asked aloud with his brow furrowed in confusion, despite knowing he would receive no answer, "Why was he not impaled by one of its accursed vines, forever living out his days as fuel?" 

"What is so special about him?"

"I checked his memories, he's merely a weak Human no different than an ant. …No, even ants are stronger than him."

"The planet he was born on is located in the Dead Zone. A Low Ranked planet in an even lower Ranked sector."

"The Humans from his planet don't even know other Races exist."

He asked question after question, yet the young man continued to peacefully sleep, oblivious to the old man's current thoughts and turmoil.

"Father, how can you say that!?" The woman who sat next to the bed admonished.

"Sorry, dear, I didn't mean it that way. It's not like you don't understand how incomprehensible-" He paused.

"..." A vein threatened to burst on her forehead as her anger continued to rise. However, she did not say anything and continued to stare at her father.

The old man began to sweat under his daughter's gaze. He coughed, and then clarified, hoping his daughter would understand, "...It's not like I want him to be tortured… but why is he not dead?"

Unfortunately, the only Being that could answer did not care about his questions.

A few seconds later, he once more fell silent and the only sound that could be heard in the room was the occasional snoring from the boy.

However, the silence did not last long as frustration took over the old man's judgment.

"What happened to 'Allow me to end your suffering?'" Toward the end, his voice changed, becoming emotionless and genderless, reminiscent of Qliphoth's voice. By the time he realized his blasphemous action, he had already finished speaking. Thankfully, Qliphoth was a Being who cared for little.

"Shouldn't he be dead?"

"Then why is he here?"

The beautiful woman tried, but failed miserably, not to get frustrated.

"Father, shouldn't you be happy? We finally have a chance to be reunited again!" She implored, with desperation and hope contained in her voice and tears that threatened to leak out at any moment.

The old man smiled apologetically as he shakily spoke.

"I am happy."

He then fell silent, slumping back into the chair before closing his eyes. His daughter was right, he should be happy. And of course, he was happy. He was beyond overjoyed. How could he not be? He became Qliphoth's subordinate exactly for this day. However, as the years passed, his understanding of Qliphoth deepened. What happened today was a miracle… a miracle that should not have been possible.

Luna stopped paying attention to her father, understanding that he was correct to be shocked by Qliphoth's decision, yet that did not resolve the anger she felt.

She turned her gaze back to the child who peacefully slept.

Suddenly, her face softened into a gentle and affectionate smile as she reached for the dry towel resting on his forehead. With deft hands, she dipped the towel into the bucket of water next to the bed before carefully placing the towel back on his forehead.

Yet, the peaceful silence was short-lived by a scream.

The young man who was peacefully sleeping, jolted in fright by something splashing across his face; however, as soon as he opened his eyes to check the contents of the liquid, he was hit by a blinding light straight into his eyes.

"ARGH! IT HURTS! MY EYES!" Austin screamed from the top of his legs while pressing his hands into his eyes, almost bursting them in the process.

His eyes hurt.

His eyes felt like they were repeatedly being pierced by a knife.

Luna panicked, inwardly cursing herself for the mistake. Due to her agitated mood by her father's constant questions instead of being happy with the conclusion, she forgot to wring the towel dry causing the water to splash on the boy's face.

While she cursed herself for the mistake, she quickly brought her right hand forward and pressed it against the boy's hands, which were tightly pressed against his eyes, and muttered under her breath, "Heal"

As soon as she spoke the word, 'Heal' for a brief second her hand emitted a silver glow and immediately the anguished screaming stopped.

Luna took her hand back and as soon as the young man stopped screaming she asked with genuine concern.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean to wake you up." Her voice carried a soothing, maternal tone, "Please take your time. You were surrounded by Darkness for far too long. Your eyes will need time to adjust back to the light."

Austin was confused by the angelic, motherly voice, wondering who it belonged to. If his memory was correct, he had never heard a voice so beautiful. Instinctively, he listened to the voice, deciding to keep his eyes closed. He laid back down on the soft and comforting bed.

As Austin waited for his eyes to adjust to the light, he began to think of his newfound predicament.

Where was he?

He had no idea.

Austin attempted to sift through his memory, yet his memory was a blur.

The last memory he had of himself was that he had been freed from the shackles of the Darkness allowing him to move his body and speak. After that... he waited for the owner of the mysterious voice to respond, while waiting... he began to yawn.

... And then... then... he fell asleep?

'Did that old man save me and then bring me to this place?'

Austin didn't remember he had memory problems. For as long as he lived… had lived?

'Death makes no sense.'

'I bet the people from Earth would go crazy if they learned what awaited them after death.'

'If a good person like me ended up in pure darkness then what about those evil scum?' 

At the mention of evil scum, a black-haired shifty-eyed man popped into his mind.

'That waiter better have gone to the deepest layer of Hell.'

'Tch, knowing the authorities from my old world, he's probably getting a 21-course meal every day with full body massages, a flat-screen TV, Zbox Z, SP5, and the best gaming computer as an added bonus.' 

By the time Austin finished with his tangent a few minutes or so passed, tentatively he cracked one of his eyelids fearing he would suffer the same pain again.

After Austin wasn't hit by a blinding light, he realized his eyes had adjusted to the light. He opened both eyes; however before he could investigate where he was, he became stunned by the beautiful face that was looking down at him with a gentle, yet slightly apologetic expression.