After Death Part 1

I felt myself fade away. It felt like I was in a warm hug from my mother. I hoped the guard got my intentions when I showed him my mark.

"Little cub." A soft feminine voice spoke out to him. I opened my eyes and saw the goddess of forests, Ophelia. I knelt and said. "I, Raheem Judas, meet and greet you." Ophelia smiled and once again spoke to him. "I acknowledge your greetings, little cub. Raise your head, cub. I have witnessed your deed. You have earned the right to enter my Forrest."

Raheem's heart rate spiked upwards as the grandest of smiles appeared on his face. "Thank you, Goddess Ophelia". He knelt once more. Ophelia smiled and was about to escort the brave cub into her domain when a man's voice stopped her.

"Ophy, let me speak with this young one for a moment." Ophelia stopped in her tracks. A few people called her Ophy. She turned around and knelt before him. Raheem almost couldn't believe his eyes.

"Of course, Father, talk to him as much as you like." She turned to Raheem and told him. "Little one, I will be going now. Chat with my father, and remember you will always have a place here." Raheem didn't know what was happening but knew the man existed above Ophelia.

The man looked at Raheem, who was still kneeling. "Stand up, Raheem, and follow me. The man simply walked away from him. Raheem followed him, and before he knew it, he sat in a chair facing him.

"Many people call me by different names from different universes and planets. The one name I usually answer to is All-Father. Now these days, I let my son Godfreed and my daughter Hellexia run the omniverse."

Raheem was just about to respond when Father spoke first. "I have a proposition for you. I want you to become the All-Beast. Before you ask, the All-Beast is the creature, monster, or humanoid. They become the punisher, father, and God of all beasts across the omniverse."

Raheem was stunned by this old man. "Sir, why me? I'm just a simple boy." Raheem just could not comprehend this man. "My child, you are many things, but simple is not a word I would use to describe you. All-Father snapped his fingers and monitors popped into existence, they showed Raheem's entire life.

Raheem marveled at this site. There he was, watching his life play on monitors, each being a significant occasion. "Sir, I-." All-Father cut him off. "You may call me Father instead of sir."

"Father, why show me these memories? I remember everything." "You have to look closer to find out why." Raheem sat quietly, looking at the monitors until he figured it out. "The ruined city! I went there for field training."

All of the other monitors faded away. "Yes, this event is what made you truly devote yourself to animals." On the monitor, you can see Raheem finding a hidden passage.

Raheem entered the passage and followed it to its end. He came to a door and checked it for traps, once he knew it was safe to enter he did. The room was old, and everything looked like it would crumble with the touch of a finger. It smelled of books and mold. One could tell that this place had seen better days.

Raheem turned on his flashlight and looked around. He walked towards the books and had just reached out when the floor below him cracked apart. Reaching his hand out to grab the bookshelf to save himself, the wood broke apart in his hands.

He fell downwards along with the floor. Luckily, it wasn't a far fall. He stood up and got his bearings, opened his backpack, and broke a glowstick. Looking around, he found a briefcase on a rusted table.

The picture paused when the briefcase came on the screen. "Tell me what you found that made you truly want to study and love animals." Raheem sat and stared at the monitor. "I found a relic from the past. I believe it was called an iPad. It was inside the briefcase."

"What name did you see inside of it?" Raheem combed his memories. "The name was Steve something. The last part was too hard to tell even with the scanner." The All-Father sighed. "His full name is Steve Irwin. He was among the few humans who loved nature and the children who resided in it."

Raheem knew this already. After all, he watched the videos and read the articles on the iPad. Because of him, he wanted to become a zoologist in the first place. He always loved to study and be around animals, but it wasn't until he learned about Mr. Irwin he took his passion seriously.

The All-Father looked at Raheem and asked. "What else did you find on the iPad?" "I found books, encyclopedias, and data on animals. I also found the book and diary of a man called Darwin."

The All-Father smiled and excitedly asked him. "How did you feel about it." Raheem sat there for what seemed like a long time before he responded. He began with a quote from the man himself. " 'It's not the strongest or smartest species that survives, but it is the one who is the most adaptable to change.' Darwin's theory of natural selection and evolution changed how humans saw themselves and the beasts around them."

"He didn't study animals, though, mainly cells of humans and plants," Raheem said reluctantly. Darwin's theory is correct in some aspects, but it always left a nasty aftertaste. All-Father laughed at his facial expression.

"This is why I want you to be the All-Beast. You soak up information like a sponge, open-minded, but will not lose yourself in other people's theories, and you won't hesitate to kill when it comes down to it." Raheem didn't like to be reminded of the times when he had to kill. He hated harvest season the most.

The All-Father felt his emotions and comforted him. "Child, your heart can be broken many times, but your soul and spirit must never be broken. I understand you hate taking lives of other living creatures, but as you have to understand it is a part of nature."

Raheem melancholy nodded his head. After a few moments he raised his head. "Father may I watch my ceremony?" All-Father nodded and a new monitor appeared. He left the room to give some space.

On the monitor, Raheem watched his ceremony from the time his mother cried of his body. It finally dawned on him, that he was truly gone and wasn't going back. Tears filled his eyes, but none fell.

His dad taught him a man can cry when he's going to die and the tears should come from not being able to slay anymore enemies.

He watched as his mother was knocked out by his dad and taken to the barracks. He watched as the entire platoon of guards marched with his body in the middle following his dad to the gates.

When he saw his dad, the man who never shed a tear before fall on his knees and roared to the skies in anguish at his death. His own tears couldn't be held back anymore.

"I'm sorry dad! I'm sorry mom! Your son wasn't strong enough!!" Tears streamed down his face, he started shouting. "Please forgive me mom. I never wanted to be buried. I know you can't hear me, but please have other children after me, you deserve it. You was the best mom I could've been born with."

On the outside stood Ophelia and All-Father. "Father please let me go comfort him!" Ophelia couldn't help herself, she felt her heart twisting inside. The All-Father stated. " I know you want to comfort him, but you will not be by his side in the future. He will experience greater pain and loss than this."

Ophelia became mad and stormed off. As a Goddess she had powers of unimaginable levels. She waved her hand the floor opened up revealing Raheem's father. "I'm not allowed to directly interfere, but I hope this rain fall will soothe your heart."

Sometime later the door opened up and Raheem stepped out. "Thank you for allowing me to watch my ceremony. I'm ready to accept the position of the All-Beast."