𝐿𝒾𝑒𝓈 「𝒜𝒹𝒶𝓂 𝓍 𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇」

𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ -None-

Your eyes shot open, the world around you shifting into focus with a suddenness that left you breathless. Gasping for air, your lungs filled with oxygen as you sat up, instinctively reaching for your stomach where the wound had been. But to your astonishment, there was no wound, only smooth, unblemished skin beneath your trembling fingers.

Confusion washed over you like a tidal wave as you took in your surroundings. Gone were the familiar sights and sounds of the world you knew. Instead, you found yourself in a realm of ethereal beauty, where everything was bathed in a blinding white light that seemed to pierce through your very soul.

Your clothes had been replaced by a familiar robe, one that you had worn in your previous life in heaven. Memories flooded back, fragments of a life you had once lived, now distant and hazy in the recesses of your mind.

Struggling to stand, you wavered on unsteady legs, your hand instinctively going to the phantom wound in your stomach. But as you looked around the unfamiliar space, a sense of unease settled over you like a shroud, casting a shadow over the overwhelming brightness that surrounded you.

As you stumbled through the unfamiliar expanse, the echo of your voice reverberated back to you, a haunting reminder of your solitude. "Hello?" you called out again, your voice tinged with desperation, but there was no response, only the eerie silence of the empty space around you.

Time seemed to blur as you continued to walk, your footsteps echoing in the void. With each passing moment, the sense of isolation weighed heavier upon you, a relentless burden that seemed to crush your spirit.

Days, weeks, perhaps even months passed in this timeless realm, yet still, there was no end in sight. You called out into the abyss, your voice growing hoarse with exhaustion and despair, but there was no one to answer, no one to offer solace in the face of your endless wandering.

Alone and lost in this strange and unforgiving realm, you pressed on, driven by a flicker of hope that burned dimly within you. But as the days stretched into eternity, even that fragile spark began to fade, leaving you adrift in a sea of emptiness, with no beacon to guide you home.

Falling to your knees, exhaustion washing over you like a tidal wave, you closed your eyes, seeking refuge from the blinding lights that surrounded you. As your hands rested on your thighs, you found solace in the fragments of peace that filtered through the overwhelming brightness.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, you prayed. "God, please," your voice cracked with emotion, tears welling in your eyes. "I beg you. I don't know what this is, whether it's the afterlife's afterlife or simply the fate of a lost soul, but I need your help. I can't take this anymore. I need your guidance, your strength, your mercy."

Your words hung heavy in the air, the weight of your desperation palpable in the silence that followed. With bated breath, you waited, your heart aching with a longing so profound it threatened to consume you whole.

And then, as tears spilled down your cheeks, you felt a glimmer of hope stirring deep within your soul. Whether it was a divine intervention or simply the echo of your own resilience, you knew that you were not alone.

You open your eyes, blinking away the remnants of tears, and find yourself face to face with a man you thought you'd never see again. His tall figure cuts a striking silhouette against the backdrop of blinding light, his top hat adding an air of mystery to his presence. But it's his eyes that draw your attention the most, floating around him like ethereal orbs instead of resting on his face.

Frozen in place, you watch as his neutral expression softens into a small smile, a glimmer of warmth in the vast emptiness around you. With a gentle gesture, he steps forward and extends his hand towards you. "Come, child," his voice resonates with a soothing calmness, a beacon of reassurance amidst the uncertainty that surrounds you.