Chapter 4

PAIN; PAIN IS ALL I FEEL!!! I CAN'T FEEL MY BODY. I DON'T THINK I EVEN HAVE ONE; BUT STILL I CAN STILL FEEL PAIN!!! As I tried to lift my right hand, I couldn't feel it. No, it wasn't there, so was the rest of my body.

As I looked around for any clues, I wasn't sure where I was. This place looked so elegant. Xavier remembered in one of the books he got about planet Earth, there was a certain story about a God who created these two places: one for those who obeyed him and the other for those who didn't. They were called heaven and hell. It is stated that heaven was a beautiful place with golden tiled roads and houses so pure and magnificent no building back on Earth could stand toe to toe with it.

Xavier wasn't sure if heaven did exist, but if it did, this was surely it. Well, not all of it, but certainly part of it. The floors were also white. It looked like no one has ever stepped on it. But something else caught his eye; they had gold lines coming from all corners of the room leading to the center where they all came together to form a shape one Xavier had never seen before but it looked beautiful, simple but beautiful. The room itself was so large he couldn't see the end nor could he see any walls close to him. He couldn't move, so he wasn't sure if there was even an end or a beginning to this magnificent place.

After an hour of laying there, he could finally feel the pain subside as he could now feel his fingers. At least he was sure he still had hands, since he still couldn't move to check he just hoped his "fingers" were all intact. It's been 6 hours now. I could finally move my neck, but I still felt pains anytime I decided to turn or switch positions. So I decided to just wait a bit more. I hope mum and the girls are alright. I hope they were able to get away from that monster.

But that isn't the main problem now. There is someone else in the room with me. Yes, it I wasn't sure it was human. The force it radiated was far superior to that of that man behind the door. Only that it isn't that hostile, but I was sure that it could kill me anytime. But yet he hasn't. I'm sure it sees me as a toy, as a plaything. When he gets tired of watching me struggle, it will end my life.

It's been over 20 hours or more. I can't really tell time in here since there was no sun nor was any source of light in the hall. Now I could turn my head sideways. I was able to see the thing that has been staring at me for hours now, and yes, the thing. It wasn't human, neither was it a monster, at least none that I knew of. Its body was covered with light so bright I couldn't make out its features. But that wasn't all. Its right hand was across its chest. On its right hand was an hourglass, but this was not any ordinary hourglass. Inside the hourglass was a little seedling, its leaves were not ordinary, not that they were weirdly shaped or had some kind of aura but it was gold, yes gold that was certainly not any planet Xavier had ever seen before. There was a sand-like substance underneath the seedling. It was black, not the usual color of sand one could see on the 7th compartment. This sand was gradually going down into the other half of the hourglass. It was as if it was a timer or a reminder to the little seedling how much it had left to live. The hourglass itself was no ordinary one. Its structure was beautiful and colorful as if it was made with all the beautiful crystals of the universe. Its glass was somewhat blue. Xavier had never seen a blue glass before and was mesmerized by its beauty.

"Finally woken up?"

But then he heard a voice, one filled with power yet it sounded comforting and welcoming. It came from the being of light.

"Yes, I have. Although I have been awake all this while, he doesn't need to know that," Xavier thought.

Xavier looked around before saying, "If you don't mind me asking, where am I and who are you?"

The being replied, "I am Asrotth, what your kind calls a god, and this is my domain, the Library of Asrotth."

"A god? Library of Asrotth? Looking around now I can see what seems like books on shelves, hundreds of shelves all filled with books. I am sure now I am in heaven."

"Yes, you are," said Asrotth. "Rejoice! You are the first mortal to step foot into my library."

Xavier was still confused. Why was he here? He was thinking and hoping his family was safe with that monster back at the village. He looked back at the being who called itself a god and asked why was he here.

"You see, Xavier, your soul is damaged. Although your physical body is currently receiving some medical aid and is recovering well, your soul, on the other hand, is damaged. In fact, if I did not intervene, you would've been dead the moment that spell came in contact with you."

Xavier could feel sweat dripping down his forehead. "I would've been dead? No, what's the difference? I am currently not alive. The thought of leaving mum, dad, and the twins behind was one I couldn't comprehend. No, I did not want to understand. I am sure that man, not those men, are up to no good. I have to warn my family. I have to go back."

Looking back at Asrotth, Xavier asked, "How do I get back?"

"As I said, those words I couldn't see his face, but I was sure he smiled. No, he smirked. 'Healing your soul isn't something that's going to be easy, nor will it be done at the snap of a finger.'"

With a snap of his finger, a bottle appeared floating mid-air by Xavier's side.

"'Take your soul as this broken bottle. You don't just glue the shattered pieces together and expect it to hold liquid.'"

"Not really," Xavier said.

"Good. I could quickly join your soul back together, but it won't function well and might end up destroying you from the inside anytime you come in contact with Ziy or Zhin."

"Zhin?!"