1 Gate of Soul

When Kai woke up in the Asphodel dimension, he was cradled in the arms of the ethereal Reaper who had received his soul. Behind the crouched pair, the glorious golden rays of the sun receded in the horizon.

The first thing he was told was that he was in the mid-stages of the life cycling process. The process that happens after sentients die, with their souls being carried to median dimensions created and overseen by Reapers who eventually reincarnate the waiting souls to whatever system requires a soul.

The newly informed soul nodded, accepting it, because there was no reason to not believe his guardian. Then the second thing he was told was the last thing he would hear in a long time.

"Sleep..." A sudden drowsiness overtook Kai and he succumbed to the pull of slumber. His bright green eyes drooped and the feathery caress of death's watcher closed his tired lids.

For an innumerable amount of time, the soul dreamt of many things. Clouds drifting wispily about the sky, stars falling to the very earth he stood on, fire dying in the rain, corpses being burned everyday, and beauty in the midst of desolation.

These dreams he had, were seen through the eyes of just one person and Kai instinctively knew they were somehow his memories of a life he had. Bare knuckle fights for survival, humanity evolving further, and society devolving into a cesspool of chaos, then his own demise.

But beauty is to the eye of the beholder, and as such the beholder in their strange ways would perish as a direct result of the beauty they so appreciated.

At a much later time, Kai woke up in the same field saturated with dark purple flowers. This time the sun steadily crept from beneath the world and painted the blackness of the sky in a palette of raging orange to violet.

"Good morning Kai, how was your rest?" The cloaked reaper warmly smiled and gently helped the boy sit up as he blinked the vestiges of sleep away. Rays of light caught in his lashes making the reaper appear like an angel.

"Ah- it was... interesting to say the least." Kai couldn't help but smile back at the friendly man. "I know why I'm here Mr.-?"

"Oh, just call me Kang."

The youth nodded and continued. "Well, Kang, I know why I'm here and I want to thank you for letting me rest in peace. Is it time..?"

Those dreams he had, were seen through the eyes of just one person and Kai instinctively knew they were somehow his memories of a life he had. Knife fights for survival, humanity evolving further, and society devolving into a cesspool of chaos in the hands of one man.

"Ah, yes. It's finally your turn to be reintegrated into the cycle." The elder's calm voice put Kai at ease and his anxiety lessened.

Kang tapped Kai's shoulder and gestured to something behind the boy. Kai turned around and was surprised to see an enormous circular gate towering overhead. It looked similar to a ship's steering wheel, shining silver and touching the clouds while it slowly rotated.

"C'mon, let's get you up." Kai allowed himself to be hoisted up onto his feet. At the moment that sight stunned him, leaving him breathless. This was truly amazing, but he was thinking about the fact that none of the beliefs back in his world reflected this system. Sure there were many religions that preached about reincarnation and stuff like that, but nothing was said about 'Reapers' or that giant metal circle.

The pair sedately strolled down the rolling hills, then stopped at the foot of the floating metal circle. "This is the gateway to your new life, a reincarnation in other words." A breeze tickled Kai's bare feet. For some reason none of this fazed him, but he did wonder where this would lead him.

Kang looked at the soul standing at his side and smiled. Kai's memories were interesting to watch and he was a very laid back person in his previous lives to say the least. He turned away, and placed the flat of his palm in the air where the silver gate rotated around.

Drrrr! The gate immediately ground to a halt and the air in the middle rippled like how water droplets displace water in a pond. Now the duo could see their reflections and the background's reflection in front of them.

"Enter Gate-code: Freeborn-Delta-306-Lezt." Immediately, the mirror rippled and dissolved into an expanse of matte black. Then giant blocked words appeared on-screen.

[[ WHARF DOCKING PROTOCOL MET AND RECEIVED: ]]

[[ PROCEED WITH SOUL TRANSFERENCE ]]

[[ GATE CLOSING IN> 00:10 ]]

"This is goodbye for now, I'll be seeing you in another time Kai. Until then, I hope you'll live well!" Kai nodded without looking at the Reaper, for some reason Don't fear the reaper was stuck playing repeat in his head.

He walked straight into the blackness. All light, sound, and sensation disappeared along with his body which was now spiraling into the abyss. It was not long until he awoke again, but this time it wouldn't be in the soothing embrace of death's employ.