Chapter 2: Afterlife [1]

The earliest memory Ardyn could remember of his childhood was back when he was five years old.

Born into a middle-class family, he was the apple of his parents' eye. His sister adored him as well. He had these captivating features that bordered on a mixture of masculinity and femininity. He had big, almond-shaped eyes that were the color of gray, framed by long, dark lashes. His black hair was short and wavy, with strands falling across his forehead.

His older sister, Abigail, would fuss over him from time to time, finding him adorable. But as he grew up, he shed a few layers of his good-boy innocence and turned into a playful menace.

At five, he was loud and active, much like the other boys his age. He was occasionally teased for having a delicate face and that he looked like he couldn't hurt a fly. But he was surprisingly fierce and knew how to stand up for himself. Though he wasn't physically strong, he fought back with his mouth, even showing off all the curse words he'd picked up from his parents, much to their chagrin.

He sometimes came across as self-assured and stubborn, but the kids liked being around him because he was usually funny and always had something interesting to talk about. Despite his fearless personality, he was actually easygoing and knew how to forgive and forget.

His childhood was happy and as normal as it could be. He remembered the times when he and his friends would run through the woods and play tag in their little neighborhood, not having a care in the world.

Probably the most vivid of his memories compared to the others though, would be the time he discovered something strange in the mirror upon waking up one day.

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"Mom? Mom!" he cried out as he ran down the stairs, searching frantically for his mother in the kitchen area.

His mother was a woman of small stature, but she always carried herself with a humble, dignified aura. At that moment, she turned to him with a look of concern in her eyes. Her features, usually stern with deep traces of vibrant beauty in her youth, were etched in Ardyn's mind as clear as day, down to the smallest detail, despite the otherwise blurry surroundings.

It was so strange. The hazy scene made it evident that he was reliving a past memory and that he was an observer in his own mind, unable to control his body. He could still remember the accident, but it felt like it happened so long ago.

But he was dead now… right?

Then… was this possibly his life flashing before his eyes?

"What's wrong?" his mother asked, bending down to meet his eyes levelly.

He lifted his bangs away from his face. "What happened to my forehead, Mom?"

"Hm?" She peered at him closely, eyebrows knitted together. "What are you talking about? Your forehead looks fine, dear."

He blinked. "But I saw something weird there!"

"What on earth did you see?" She reached out and pressed a cool palm against his bare skin. "It feels fine. There's no scar." She retracted her hand and shook her head somewhat amusedly, as if she thought that this was just some sort of prank. "There's nothing there, Ardyn. You probably just had a strange dream."

When she turned her back on him and returned to the kitchen, he hung his head low, still puzzled. Then, thinking that it was nothing to worry so deeply about, he finally shrugged it off and went back to his room.

But earlier, he could've sworn that he'd seen a blue mark on his forehead shaped like a crescent moon, glowing so brightly…

…and then quickly fading away.

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Ardyn jerked out of his unconscious state as if he were suddenly hit by an electric current.

He gasped aloud as he immediately sat up, eyes wide while instantly surveying his surroundings. God, he could still feel the burning sensation of hot metal piercing against his skin, the boiling flames that seared at his body, inflicting upon him excruciating pain before everything turned black—

"Oh god," he spoke, and he was unnerved by the fact that his voice still sounded the same.

Still sounded normal.

Hurriedly, he inspected his arms and legs. They were completely intact.

He lifted his hands to his face and felt the skin there — nope, he couldn't even feel the slightest charred texture.

He was alive.

…Or was he, really?

His mind slowly gaining clarity, Ardyn began to take in the sight before him, something that he'd been too rattled to do these past few minutes due to panic.

Disbelief clouded his head as he saw a beach right in front of his eyes, with the sun rising at its brightest. The place seemed to be barren of people because of the peaceful sounds constantly drifting into his ears, the sounds of the waves gently crashing against the shore, and the sound of the birds chirping merrily in the sky.

Am I in heaven…? Ardyn thought to himself blankly.

Oh, god… I really am dead, aren't I…?

The thought began hitting him slowly, and Ardyn slumped back against the sand, feeling the strength leave his limbs. As he stared disbelievingly at the bright blue sky, he wondered why heaven seemed like a tropical place rather than a majestic kingdom on the clouds. Granted, that kind of imagination was one that kids reveled in believing, but Ardyn hadn't really thought much about what the afterlife would look like during his school years. He'd been busy making plans for himself and for the future. He'd been certain that he'd get to live long, even longer than all his other peers.

But here he was… apparently dead. A soul wandering around an empty beach with no signs of life…

But wait! Ardyn instantly sprang up from the sand, eyes wide as his mind began to calculate another type of possibility.

What if this is just a dream? What if my real body is actually lying comatose in a hospital bed somewhere, and my parents are currently crying to my vegetable state to come back, to open my eyes—

With that in mind, Ardyn immediately pinched his arm. Hard.

"Ow!" he cried out, feeling the sensation of pain shocking his muscles. "That hurt!"

So it's not a dream?

Ardyn thought about it some more, his brain whirring with endless reasons to justify how he had gotten into this kind of place. Okay, if this isn't a dream… wait, just because I can feel pain doesn't mean that this can't be a dream…

But what if this isn't heaven? What if… this place is what they call…

Ardyn gulped.

…the purgatory?

"Oh god!" he cried aloud in panic, lifting his hands to his head. "No! I don't wanna possibly end up in hell!"

There was a beat of silence for a moment, and as Ardyn tried to gather all the coherency he had left, a disembodied voice suddenly cut into his disorderly thoughts.

"Excuse me. Are you all right?"

Ardyn froze.

Who said that just now?