{Just after the garbage truck incident, in a universe where most didn’t know what year it was}
As Jono’s spirit was pulled through the darkness, it sped up as it got closer and closer to the light. He couldn’t quite tell if it took five minutes or an hour. The feeling of speed had increased. As he got closer to the light, he could make out that it was some sort of large building.
He arrived and came to a sickening stop. Jono got the feeling he no longer had a stomach and it seemed unfair for him to get nausea like motion sickness. Once the worst of the feeling passed he looked at the luxurious sprawling mansion before him.
Jono floated down into something that seemed like a blend of a parking lot for flying vehicles and a luxury hotel’s courtyard garden. He didn’t recognise any of the plants that also seemed to glow, adding to the warm light of the place.
Jono touched down and felt the force that had been pulling him in release its hold. He tried to take in everything around him. The structure of the area around him all seemed to be made of energy glowing with warm colours.
A lot of this place seemed to be made of energy with a golden hue. The water channels and fountains of the courtyard looked like they were constructed of jade energy.
Unsure of whether he could touch things and if it was actually water in the structures around him, he tried splashing it. The water from the fountain turned into a mist and wafted up. It rose between two columns and continued away from the mansion’s sheltered entrance.
The little puff of mist floated upward in a lazy spiral. The mist headed towards the outer aura of the mansion. As soon as it passed the aura boundary, it defused, sparking away in a thin arc of energy.
A large door opened down the far end of the covered entrance structure. A little turban-wrapped head popped from behind the door.
“Are good, you’re here,” said the turban wearer.
Jono stayed where he was. The turban wearer stayed half hidden behind the door, observing him.
“You have quite the strange appearance compared to those we usually redirect here,” the turban wearer mused. Several moments passed before he spoke again. “Sometimes we will see skin as pale as yours, but often with darker eyes and black hair. But bright green eyes and orange hair make a strange mix.”
Jono thought for a moment. “Sorry, I’m not quite sure what’s going on, let alone what similarities those who come here might have,” he said
“Hm, that is not surprising,” the turban wearer said. “I’m Faiknowld, Goddess Adelia’s head servant. I was asked to redirect someone here with quite unusual harmonics. Let’s see, you believe in the creator God of your universe, right? I guess you might say we pulled you into purgatory.”
Jono’s face scrunched up, becoming more uncertain of the situation by the moment.
Seeing that his explanation had not gone well, the little ethereal being floated over to Jono. Faiknowld had a slight glow to him and no legs. He was dressed in a very refined robe and turban. If the former issues had not been glaringly obvious, he could have been a valet at a top-of-the-line Indian hotel.
Faiknowld pulled some little spectacles out of his robe and slid them high up his nose. After re-examining Jono, he apologised, “Very sorry, the God of your planet is considered a bit ‘special’ and we only usually deal with those that haven’t been granted freedom by Him. So my assumptions were a little off.”
“Imagine that your world was created by some powerful angels who helped a bunch of other spirits escaping a very dark universe with some broken treasures. They put things together remarkably well,” Faiknowld explained.
“In some ways, your world is like a galactic stage,” Faiknowld added another thought. “When people die, if they have done well, they reside as part of the spirit after-dwelling of the system. That is what you might consider heaven.”
“If not, there is a soul recycler that can painfully slowly convert tainted souls back into energy, or souls can even be dragged back to the after-dwelling of dark universes if they have served their rulers. Either of those options are considered hell.”
“Very occasionally, we will divert people from places like your East Asian continent, who have done well despite being crushed by circumstances. These people who have served under oppressive conditions can be put to use, with more exciting challenges here. They act as heroes and shift the balance in this universe.” Faiknowld said, tucking the tiny glasses back into his robe.
“Things haven’t been going well and heroes have been disappearing so fast that we can’t figure out what is happening to them. Um, so, we changed the process and here you are.” Faiknowld concluded.
“Right now that we have sorted that out, come with me,” Faiknowld said. With that, he turned and walked into the radiant mansion.
Still dazed, Jono followed through the door held open for him.
“Up the stairs and to the left,” Faiknowld said as he closed the door.
The covered outside entrance courtyard had been beyond what Jono had ever seen of a garden before. Even heading through the door, the atrium looked like it had exponentially more spent on its construction. The floor tiles caught his attention. The dark marble energy tiles were almost like liquid; they shimmered. Many gold and silver details sparkled, outlining room entrances and a sweeping staircase.
With all his physical senses gone, Jono instead felt the warmth of the place. In the back of wherever he was currently thinking from, he wondered if this feeling was the equivalent of being affected by chemicals back on earth. Did he feel a little too happy here?
Jono walked around a large jade fountain that dominated the area behind the door. It circulated spray and mist in such a way that it was a morphing architectural feature. One wall had a flower display of vibrant colours that stretched its entire length. As Jono walked past the fountain, he could now take in the rest of the entrance area.
Music that sounded like an amazing harp and woodwind duo wafted through the area. The instruments made a refined melody that ebbed and flowed. While its purpose might have been the same as elevator music, its creator would probably be insulted by the comparison to such cheap upbeat music.
The far end of the cavernous atrium contained huge statues. The largest statue was of a woman with distracting curves, sitting on a strange throne and wearing a garment that left little to the imagination. The statue was four or five levels high in scale.
Is she the ruler here? Jono wondered.
Two other scenes were on each side of this. They were smaller, reaching only the balustrades on the third level. The left sculpture was a scene of a male warrior with chiselled muscles driving a spear into an octopus-like creature.
The statues on the right were a little different. They depicted two dignified female archers. They were the same height as the third balustrade up, on the other side of the entrance room.
As Jono headed up the staircase, he was still trying to take in the details of the place. The only thing he was sure of was that it made everything he knew of on earth seem cheap.
Dezhanite Drafts 