3 Is this death?

[[Unknown Location]]

This space! I finally found it! Finally free from the pain and the dizziness! But will I survive till the morning? he asked himself. Looking around, Mathyn noticed that this time the space around him seemed different.

Normally there was darkness all around with a hint of smoke hovering around the floor. This time his eyes felt like they were covered by a hazy film. The sky was light grey with a giant yellow sun casting a warm light. There was no foliage anywhere around, only an empty plain of grey in all directions. His vision was somewhat limited by the ash that was falling from the sky.

Is this truly the same place? Mathyn tried to wake himself up. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't leave this place. It must be the same! I'll just have to hope someone finds my body.

Why do I feel so strange here though? His whole body had an lighter than air feel to it. He moved to check his body and watched in horror as his hands passed through his chest. Perhaps this is truly the end. Is this eternal damnation? Shouldn't there be pain or demons or torture or angels, something? Shouldn't I be angry I died before my prime? No one ever said death would be like this?

Mathyn sat waiting for some sort of vision or guide to explain what was going on. Seems I am on my own. After several hours with no one showing up he decided perhaps he should look around. He tried to think back and realized he had never tried to explore the other strange space he was in. Perhaps because there was nothing but darkness surrounding him there. He felt more secure not moving around to much. Using the hazy sun as his guide, Mathyn set off walking.

Time has little relevance or meaning here. There was no way for him to tell if it was passing or not. The sun seemed to remain high in the sky no matter how far he went. At some point during his journey the ash stopped falling.

This being the only hint that perhaps there is more to this place. Each of his steps continuing to cause small cracks to appear. Each step seemed the same. However none of them actually caused any damage to the ground beneath him. With each step the cracks behind him healed themselves. There was no way to retrace his steps. Moving forward is the only option.

Trees! Finally a change in the scenery. Ahead in the distance, bright green trees broke up the blinding yellowish grey haze that surrounded him. Running ahead the ground beneath him even started to shift from grey ash to brown dirt.

The small forest around him seemed filled with life.

Strange bird calls could be heard deeper in the forest. Following a small stream he came to a cliff face. Below he could see a large valley. What caught him off guard is that there was a huge looking military base in this valley. Troops seemed to be patrolling in set patterns. The dark black flags are to far away to see the symbol upon them.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* The sound of someone slowly clapping loudly behind him caused his attention to abruptly shift away from the scene below. Standing several feet behind him was a man in a black uniform. The light seemed to dim around him as if his clothing was absorbing it.

The military style cut of his uniform gave the man a dangerous presence. The strangest part of the man was his face. The mask looked like a demonic fox. Soft fur and weird runes gave the mask a very ancient tribal feeling.

"I was wondering where our little rabbit hopped off to." Magic! The voice that spoke seemed to echo in his mind. Each word lingering for several seconds. After several moments he realized the man in front of him never uttered a word out loud. "Impressive, even without training you managed to find your way here."

"AsuraFox?" Mathyn tried to say only to find out no words escaped from his lips.

Oh right I'm a spirit now. What do spirits do? Am I supposed to say things like boo now? He pondered.

The man moved closer to him while laughing. That mystical voice one again responding in his head, "Please don't start going around saying boo. Everyone will start laughing at me and you."

This man can read his thoughts? "Time to wake up little rabbit! Its not your time to be a spirit just yet!" The laughter of the man continued to echo in his head.

The strange man made several symbols with his hands. Runes began to appear in the air around them. A warm sensation filled Mathyn's body. His body began to shift and become less and less ethereal. As soon as he could feel the firmness of the ground underneath him, he found himself being kicked out of this space.

Before he opened his eyes, he could tell was he was in a hospital. The harsh smelling antiseptic chemicals were like finding his way back home. It comforted him and helped calm him down. He could feel the IV needle in his arm.

Keeping his eyes closed he started inspected his body. Everything seems to be working. Toes, *wiggle*, fingers *wiggle*. Not feeling any pain. Wait that's not right!

He opened his eyes. The room that surrounded him was not at all what he was expecting. Instead of walls he found himself in a military tent. No wonder the bed was so uncomfortable. It was a military field stretcher.

How did he end up in a field hospital? Wasn't he outside a large hospital. Why wouldn't they just move him inside? Oh right, my father payed off those immoral heathens. He seethed in anger for a bit before trying to sit up some. Why am I still not feeling pain?

"Hello?" His voice crackled like brittle fall leaves. His throat was extremely parched. His voice was so soft it barely left the tent.

A man wearing a maroon beret stuck his head in the tent. "This Reaper shall return with the Dr. Please remain in your bed." Then quickly exited.

Reaper????? Am I dead now? Lets not jump to any conclusions. I wasn't dead last time, so this time, maybe its the same? Mathyn didn't even have a chance to respond before the mans head left the tent. He was to caught up in his own thoughts. What is wrong with these people? When did my life become so strange? Couldn't he at least give me some water before he left? He closed his eyes trying to process everything that had happened these past two days.

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[[ Makeshift Field Hospital - Outdoor Garden @ People's Hospital ]]

In the center of the garden was a large military medical triage tent. Soldiers dressed in an older style armor had set up a 100 ft perimeter around this garden. The thick blood filled aura of the guards was able to easily keep people away.

In essence this whole section of the hospital was now cordoned off. On the edge of the perimeter was a mobile command vehicle. Inside there were two people having a discussion over a cup of coffee.

The old doctor was updating the young soldier. "Commander, per your orders we have stabilized the patient. I have looked over the charts and all the symptoms seem to match. I need to take him back to base to confirm the findings.

Currently though, there is about a 90% chance of him being one of us. I need to request authorization to access higher grade materials if you don't want the patient to die on the way. These foolish doctors pumped him full of so many chemicals its a surprise the boy isn't dead already." The old doctor stroked his thin white beard.

"One of us? hmmm. No wonder. The Emperor has authorized 2 drops of the divinity elixir. It should be here in the next hour, just keep him alive that long." The old man couldn't help but stand up as he heard this! He had to serve this organization for 10 years before he got his first drop.

"2 Drops! Just who is this kid?" Frustration and jealousy filled the doctors voice.

"You don't need to know. Just keep him alive." The cold response cut off all further communication. The doctor slumped back into his seat, dejected.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

A voice from outside broke up the awkward silence, "Reaper 5 requesting permission to enter sir!"

"Granted!"

The soldier outside opened the door, then saluted the commander. "Commander the patient has awoken and is requesting the Doctor Sir."

"Dismissed soldier. Doc, You know what you need to do. You wouldn't want to upset the Emperor now would you."

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[[ Xi Family Residence ]]

The large study had a very somber feeling. The dark woods and poor lighting turned what could have been an amazing study lounge into a sub-par work room. Even the artwork on the walls was cheap and gaudy.

Xi Gao hunched over the reports on his desk. He looked like an under payed salary man. If someone were to look in they probably wouldn't believe you if you told them this man was the head of the mighty Xi family.

For 30 years the Xi family was the largest munitions dealer in the Empire. Smuggling weapons and armaments to 3 of the 7 surrounding empires as well. Currently he was working hard on convincing the Amari Emperor to accept his terms. That would bring his numbers up to 4/7.

He had finally gotten some good blackmail material on this royal family. Xi Gao started laughing as he thought about how his great plan was coming together. Soon he would plug the bleeding money hole that was his son. He couldn't help but laugh again. His thoughts were rudely interrupted by his cell phone.

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

"Mr. Xi!" The frantic voice of Dr. Qian came from the phone. "Some soldiers have surrounded your Son! They have blocked off the whole garden outside the hospital."

Xi Gao was caught off guard. His early joy was not turned into one of fear and concern. "What do you mean surrounded my Son? Didn't you kill.... I mean discharge that despicable cur yesterday? Why would he still be at your hospital! You can't even follow a simple instruction?!?" Xi Gao's face began to turn more and more red as his anger was rising.

"Mr. Xi!" Dr. Qian responded frantically, " I swear we discharged him yesterday, one hour after your call. Not even giving him the whole two hours. We only discovered this morning after seeing the strange soldiers and reviewing the camera footage! Your son went to the garden after being discharged and sometime yesterday evening all these soldiers appeared."

"I'm on my way right now. Don't expect to have your position for long. Lets see just who these hired guards think they are! No one gets to have blackmail against me!" He almost broke the phone disconnecting the call. Not even bothering to call his butler to bring a car around, Xi Gao got one himself from the garage.

After 30 minutes he arrived at the hospital. All kinds of wild thoughts ran through his head. Just who was stupid enough to try something against him and his family. He is the blackmail king, no one is allowed to blackmail him. Don't they know how powerful I am? Pulling into the parking lot, he immediately headed towards the soldiers.

Looking at the garden area he noticed just how quickly they had put up makeshift walls. Guards stood on weapons platforms at every corner. Two guards stood at a temporary entrance eyeing Xi Gao as he approached. Their armor looked like it came out of a history museum. Their spears were darker than a moonless night and seemed to fade from sight if you didn't focus on them. On their hip was a modern day pistol. "Halt! State your purpose!" One of the guards called out.

"How dare you question my purpose! You have my son in there! What right do you have to lock my son up like this? As a concerned father, I demand to see him! Let me see your commander!" Xi Gao's rapid fire comments pelted the two guards. They didn't seem phased at all though.

"Request denied. Citizen, please move back 500 yards away from the perimeter. Failure to do so will result in the use of deadly force." The guard pointed his spear at Xi Gao.

"Do you know who I am? With one call I can have you thrown out of this crappy unit. Living on the streets!" The guard arched his eyebrow at that, but said nothing more. Xi Gao moved forward disregarding the guards. "Get out of my way! I'm going to see my son!"

The guard who had spoken earlier seemed to teleport. Disappearing in an instant and arriving behind Xi Gao. The spear in his hand seemed to vanish in the shadows as he attacked. The heavy spear slammed behind Xi Gao's knees, forcing him to kneel. The Guard reappeared at his post. "This is your only warning. Next time it will be your life. Please return to a distance five hundred yards away sir."