2 The Feeling of Death - Part 2

---"Why?", the silence ceased in the same instant when the magnetic voice replaced thoughts in his mind.

"Why? Because everything's strange. I don't feel myself. A lot of 'physical' things are lacking, yet there are lots of patterns that remained the same. It's as if my soul left my body and purely exists in its soul form - a collective of pure information.". Asura Ryuu said, but was once again greeted with silence.

Silence and Asura Ryuu were good old friends. They had each other from his birth and even before - while he was still fighting to be born; they were friends. He only had silence as a friend and silence only had him as a friend too.

Silence had a lot of 'colleagues' - all other people, but only Asura Ryuu was its friend.

How can someone be a friend with silence? That person must be crazy, right?

- Right. Who said he wasn't crazy? Is it bad being crazy? If it is, at least he's not lonely...

Who knows... you answer that question yourself. Only that is the true answer, dear 'observer'.

The common trick used to make people continue with what they were talking about is being attentive to what they're speaking about and when they finish, remain silent. Instinct will make the opposite party go on with the monologue as if they're the defendant in a court who needs to prove their innocence.

"Wait, isn't that the trick that fucker is using right now?", Asura Ryuu thought. But even then, he still went on with it because he had a feeling if he didn't, he would be trapped in this eternal reign of silence for a long time.

"The soul knows the 'patterns' but there's no change in the body. That's the main point that led me up to here. I know what should occur when I'm afraid, but there isn't an appropriate reaction in the brain and body which should follow, is there?"

Although Asura Ryuu's answer was a rhetorical question, it was still a question and naturally, only humans understood when the question was rhetoric and when it wasn't, probably from observing other human's reactions when asking the same. But what if the opposite party of the conversation wasn't human? Would it recognize the rhetorical question being rhetorical?

Surely it wouldn't, right?

Right?

---"Right my ass. You can't be as dumb to believe that, ..... right?", the voice finally answered.

---"Well, anyway. You're right. You are dead, that's why you don't feel the same. Ask what you want to know, I'm sure there are a lot of questions on your mind, ... RIGHT?"

"Damn. It didn't work after all." Asura Ryuu said, but he wasn't dejected and was instead curious like a little child.

But then again, who wouldn't be curious if they were conscious after death? Would you not? I surely would.

"First of all, who are you?", he asked.

---"Me? You already know the answer to that question. Ask something else!"

"Huh? I do?". A need to question his sanity arose again.

Did I lose my memory? Wait, no-

How do I know someone who's talking with the dead? Since I'm dead, then this person must be dead too!

His thoughts flared up faster than the speed of light, trying to remember when and where they first 'met'.

And there it was. His early age, around six years old. He met a <thing>.

It wasn't a person, yet it resembled one but was still different. No emotional understanding, no physical medium, no reason and no purpose. Why was it there then? Why did it come into his dream turning it into a nightmare?

As if feeling what Asura Ryuu was thinking of, the <thing> chuckled in the same, already familiar, magnetic voice.

---"You got it, didn't you? Hehe. How could you possibly forget me? After all, our bond is eternal because that was your choice, wasn't it?", the <thing> asked.

"..."

A vast amount of memories magically appeared in his mind. From early age he was alone, with nobody to talk to. Each passing day, he was in silence. The previous life of his flashed before his eyes in an instant, reminding him of the past.

He finally figured out how to 'open' his eyes.

Asura Ryuu imagined the third eye opening in a position slightly above his eyes, something he was very accustomed to doing in his past life - even though that's not possible on Earth.

What greeted him was an endless starry sky filled with same shining dots from before, but this time he could see them. He could see even better than before.

Asura Ryuu had a feeling that he could even 'see' the energy and vibration of every little star.

But what took away his breath wasn't an enormous river of stars above him - it was a sight of a slim figure before him, sitting on a seemingly dead tree.

The tree itself was made of stars, its branches piercing the invisible sky and even beyond it - as if piercing through the space into myriad different worlds.

On the lowest branch of the tree sat a slim, beautiful girl with draconic wings. Hanging from her back was a tail made of stars whose tip ended in the tree's trunk. Actually, it wasn't embedded - it seemed as if the tip of the tail was a part of the tree itself.

The scene for a moment overlapped with that of an electrical plug being plugged into an outlet which should have made him laugh - but it didn't.

His mind was in a very volatile state from the strange roller-coaster it had been through a moment ago.

His sight fell on a pair of black wings curled around her own body, shielding it from Asura Ryuu's gaze. After all, she was naked, so she had to improvise.

The wings were big enough to cover what should be covered but instead of an expected 'flame' down there, Asura Ryuu found it incredible that there was no reaction.

"Heee, even my companion is missing — no wonder I feel nothing." Asura Ryuu thought.

---"Fufu~ is it strange?", the magnetic neutral voice lost the 'male' part of it and purely shifted to the angelic melody Asura Ryuu was familiar with.

This demoness invaded his consciousness when he was merely six years old and put him through a torture of running away from her scary form of grim reaper for a long time. How could he then, a six-years-old child, endure the endless escape from death?

"Hm- it's a bit strange. Anyway, long time no see - little girl."

With his memories back, Asura Ryuu's old personality came back as well.

---"Hehe, aren't you mischievous now. You would have already pissed your pants if this wasn't an astral realm."

"Hmph. How can you blame me - after all, I wasn't my usual self back then."

---"Alright, alright. I know how shameless you can be. Ask away what you wish to know."

Asura Ryuu smirked as if waiting precisely for this moment. Was there a greater joy for a scientist than getting an answer to the questions he couldn't put a finger on - and even more so when they came from such a beautiful demonic girl.

One had to know, Asura Ryuu was a big demon girl fan in his past life, but that's a story for itself.