Chapter 2

Michael awoke to a bright, light grey room, with a cold stone floor. He squinted his eyes to let them adjust as he tried to process where he might be.

'I definitely died from the bomb. It had enough power to wipe out a planet, let alone my small aircraft.' He thought to himself. 'Is this what the next stage of life looks like?'

As his eyes finally adjusted, he noticed that he was not alone. Surrounding him on all side were thousands of people, each spread apart by just over a metre. As he scanned across some of the closer faces, he recognised some from the army and some known cultists along as well. He gave those he served with subtle nods of acknowledgemen, once he found he was unable to speak or make any kind of sound. Michael however, stopped his movement when his gaze rested on one particular person who he would never forget in this life, even if it may have already ended. One man by the name of Jack Thorpal, the man who has caused so much death and carnage.

Immediately following this, Michael, alongside everyone else in the room were all forcefully turned to face one direction. As everyone looked on, the far wall seemed to begin to ripple, before parting aside to reveal a shrouded figure, draped in a long, flowing, black cloak, extending past his feet as he floated half a metre off the stone floor. He had two large, pitch black, feathered wings, with several jagged bones jutting out across the upper half. In his left hand, he wielded a large, pitch-black scythe that, to Michael, seemed as if it could slice just about anything it came across.

As this figure glided closer to the crowd, people all over began shifting uncomfortably, excitedly or freezing up, as if scared stiff. As Michael processed these movements in his peripherals, it finally clicked who this figure was. Thanatos. The god that 'supposedly' ordered his cult of worshippers to kill billions of innocent people. The cult members who worshipped Thanatos immediately began clapping their hands in celebration for being able to meet their god face to face. However, the soldiers who fought against Thanatos, showed various emotions of fear, distress, loss, rage, curiosity and even some helplessness and resignation as they accepted what they thought was to come.

"Welcome to the Isle of the Dead." Thanatos started off, his voice somehow clear and booming, but simultaneously raspy and cold. "I am Thanatos, God of Death, who will lead you to your afterlife."

As soon as these words are spoken, the people who previously were unable to accept that they had ultimately died, settled down as they knew there was no going back.

Thanatos meanwhile continued to speak, "I will now carry out your judgement. You will be sent into either Elysium, Asphodel Meadows or for many of you the Fields of Punishment. I have noticed that some of you thought it was smart to kill and massacre in my name WITHOUT MY ACKNOWLEDGMENT"

He took a moment before going on, "Slowly tarnishing my dietic faith and name in the mortal world, not to mention ending the lives of many beings well before their fate demanded. I was unable to demand punishment during your life, but now I am granted with the power to customise your punishment as I see fit." His smile grew as if he was relishing in the punishment that those who ruined his name will receive for eternity.

"Well enjoy the Fields. It is only soul-breaking eternal torture, with a little bit of healing to keep you sane." As soon as he said this, he swiped his hand in an arc across his body, which caused all of the members of the cult and a small number of people Michael had at one point in time seen in the army, to begin withering away until dark grey and black orbs remained. These orbs were then whisked off through the wall behind Thanatos and out of sight.

Michael watched on in bewilderment as Thanatos acted in a way he was completely unprepared for, even if he never believed the God was actually guiding them. He also could not help but think back to what just happened with the grey and black orbs, 'What were those things? Were they the souls that were mentioned in religious texts and myth?' His thoughts, however, were quickly cast aside as Thanatos began speaking once again.

"Well now that those filthy people are out of the way, let's get the show on the road. Most of you will be going to the Asphodel Meadows. While you did contribute somewhat for the good of humanity, you either did it in your own self-interest or committed enough negative acts to balance out your fate. However, since you did help to put an end to the cult prior to your death, I will allow you all to enter a slightly nicer area of the meadows." Just like the last time he sentenced a group, people began disappearing again, however much more peacefully this time. Michael noticed that these souls were mostly light grey in colour, with some lighter or darker than others.

Following this groups dismissal into the middle underworld realm, there was only around one-hundred and fifty people left. Michael recognised everyone in the room. There were many who he had toured or fought alongside throughout his career, before they all got promoted into various military official rankings. He couldn't help but smile, reminiscing on the good memories he had with all of these people. However, as if it was becoming a normal thing now, his smile couldn't help but fade as he realised that all of these men and women were now dead. Many had wives or husbands and children to boot. He silently wished their families good fortune and hoped they were able to receive the support they deserved after their partner or parent sacrificed themselves for humanity.

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order for the rest of you. Throughout your lives, you were able to commit enough positive acts, allowing you to enter Elysium where you will be able to stay in happiness and peace. I know some of you will be missing your family, however, once their fate demands their end, acknowledging that they are able to at least enter the Asphodel Meadows and aren't sentenced to the Fields of Punishment, will be able to join you in Elysium. Once you are there you will learn about what you can expect and do in Elysium by some of my chosen champions. Some of which you even recognise from your history such as Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Mother Theresa, Mozart, Galileo, who funnily enough was one of the very few people in the world who discovered our pantheon's existence on the human plane and Jesus Christ who is actually a demi-god. And before you ask or think about it, yes it took a very long time for some of them to accept that the gods they worshipped were just one of the many different gods in existence, spanning across several hundred different pantheons from across every universe.

For the first time since Michael's arrival in the room, the wall behind Thanatos began changing until it turned into a pure white gate that just radiated holiness and peace. Holy light bathed all those who were left, leaving just their very light grey and pure white orbs. Thanatos turned around to watch, as the orbs flew into the heavenly gate which was now in front of the god.

Unlike the rest of the crowd who kept flying past Thanatos, Michael began to slow down until he came to a complete stop behind him. Michael was very confused but decided not to react, as he waited for Thanatos to notice him. This decision was not a wise one, as Thanatos began floating away immediately afterwards back to the wall he entered from, leaving Michael floating in mid-air as a shining white orb.