5 Conviction

He opened his eyes, liberated from all of the shackles in his mind, but his body was still confined. A glimmer of light passed through the suffocating darkness, as the entangled roots began to disperse into the ground. He turned towards the ancient tree and gave a slight bow, feeling the pulsating threads of consciousness, he imagined, gently grabbing the biggest thread of all that's around him, the origin of the forest, the ancient tree that stood tall among it's kind. There, he found himself on a familiar grassland, with it's towering trees and gentle breeze. The granny was there, with her slouched back, holding a cup of tea, sitting on a gazebo with another cup beside her.

"Back so soon, lad?" the granny beamed.

"Not for long granny, just paying my respects." Leon smiled back at her, like a grandson conversing with his dearest grandmother.

"Care for a chat whilst drinking this newly brewed tea with me?" she asked.

"Yes, I have all the time in the world to spare." he then sat on the gazebo, taking the spare cup and held it steady, so that granny could pour him some tea.

"How's your body?" the granny asked, to which he said was fine.

Seemingly mulling about something, he quietly asked her, about his confusion regarding his circumstances now. And she started explaining.

"When I first saw you, I see a grievously wounded man, so close to death that he was beyond saving. But some close friends pleaded me to save you, so I tried. At first, I concurred that even with my help, you'll still die. But, when I probed your body, I sensed something. You. I tried my very best to communicate with you, and it was very rewarding. After your 'self' left your body for my domain, I could easily control, spawn, mutate, and introduce many substances to what's left of your body. That itself gave me enough control to heal you fully. For what happened onward, I need to know whether you prefer the bad news first, or the worse news first."

"Well, let's try the bad one first then." he murmured.

"Alright, to put it simply, you became what was known as an undead. A soul residing in a dead body." the granny started to explain the plight he was in.

"I do not feel all that different though..." he thought to himself.

The thought that swarmed into his mind made a confused look surfaced on his face. Noticing that, the granny started to explain the details and peculiarity of his soul. It was a curse, a curse that made his soul unable to leave from his body. As though adapting to this curse, his body stopped aging, giving him the so-called immortality. He was in the half-undead stage because of that, the damage he sustained completed the process of him becoming fully undead.

"I see... then what was the worse news?" he asked.

"Death will not come unto you. Even the undead will perish someday, but not you. Your soul has nowhere to return to, bound by nothing, it was free. When your body perished, even after you used up countless bodies, your soul will drift away freely, it will be over only when it sustained enough damage to perish, and when your soul finally perished, there is no next time nor life forever."

Hearing all that, he can only sip some tea and closed his eyes, thinking about what he will leave behind when he'll finally perish for good.

"I..." he started talking. "I am a sailor, a navigator. I am lost for so many years in the sea of despair. Even if this life of mine was at its last stop, I will never give up my way again. I will travel land and sea, showing those who lost their bearings the path."

"Very good." the granny chuckled. "Having a goal is better in this unending life. But I will give you a little advice, to guide someone one must know the way, and one must have the strength to both guide and protect those they're guiding. Go, look for that strength, and walk down your desired path."

"I will." he replied.