In a vast expanse that existed neither in the physical realm nor within the boundaries of a dream, a single soul floated in complete silence.
“This is where you come after death,” a voice suddenly came from right beside the soul.
The voice belonged to a strange being made entirely of a white void, possessing a humanoid figure with a stark black mask covering his face.
A long moment of silence passed between the two as the soul stayed firmly rooted where it was, enveloped in the quiet.
A low, persistent ringing sound permeated the ears of the soul, echoing the distinct static sound people usually hear in moments of utter silence.
The soul did not ask how, why, or why me, simply because it had already realized that none of that mattered anymore.
“Who are you?” the soul finally asked the blank being beside it.
“You see, this place is formed entirely from your own memories.
You walk ahead, and your past life will play out in front of you one last time,” the being explained smoothly.
“Then comes heaven or hell, based entirely on the final judgment of the Forty-Two Judges.
Personally, I think you are going straight to heaven because you are far too young.” The being added that last part in a quiet whisper.
He then waved his hand dismissively and got straight to the point.
“After your allotted time in heaven or hell, you will reincarnate, and your memories of this life will be added directly to me.” The being concluded his explanation, pointing a thumb back toward himself.
“Uh…
wh…” the soul stuttered.
He still did not fully understand what the entity in front of him truly was.
“Well, it is certainly not the first time you have been here.
You have actually been to this place one hundred and eight times before this.
A hundred times you have gone to heaven, and eight times you have gone down to hell.
I was initially formed when you visited here for the very first time,” the being added, spreading his arms a little.
“I am the record of your existences.
All of them.” The being said the words and gestured ahead, urging the soul to move forward.
“Oh,” the soul muttered.
He now understood exactly what the being in front of him represented.
The soul looked ahead and took a single step forward as vibrant images, memories, and past events immediately started playing all around it.
The soul was just about to take another step, but the images suddenly shattered into pieces, and the space around them shook violently the next instant as a jagged tear in un-reality formed directly in front of them.
“Is that supposed to happen?” the soul asked as the masked being quickly stood in front of it protectively.
“Does it look like this is supposed to happen?” the being countered sharply as it looked around frantically for a place to hide or save them.
Though, there was nowhere to hide in an empty void, so the entire effort was futile.
From the roaring tear emerged two fierce, massive beings that seemed to be trapped mid-battle.
One was a magnificent golden dragon with a long, slender tail and massive wings with brilliant platinum tips.
The other was a terrifying, five-headed dragon that snarled viciously as the two ancient dragons fought wildly in the empty void.
The five-headed dragon bit down on the golden dragon with its vicious jaws, causing a flood of blood to pour from the fresh wound.
The golden dragon used its sharp, platinum-tipped claws to deeply wound the five-headed dragon as well, making the rival dragon bleed heavily.
Their blood mingled intimately in the formless void, and some of it fell directly onto the floating soul before another rift suddenly formed in the path of the dragons, and they both fell into it.
“No, no, no, no,” the masked being whispered frantically as he shook his head in dread.
“What…
happened?” the soul asked, feeling the strange dragon blood actively merging with its own essence.
“The doors.
They are closed,” the being said in lament.
“What does that mean?” the soul asked.
“It means you will not be judged by anyone, and we are stuck here forever,” the being answered before the soul could even finish asking.
Time passed slowly in the formless void as the soul and the masked being passed their days talking about the many previous lives of the soul.
In some lives he was a brave warrior, in some a complete coward, in some a powerful king, and in some a beggar.
The extreme duality of his own ancient being fascinated the soul as it considered how the smallest of choices and circumstances could shape a person’s entire life.
Days, weeks, or perhaps even months could have easily passed by.
Not that there was any possible way to tell time in the void, when the un-reality suddenly rippled once again.
The ripple was far gentler this time, and it appeared entirely intentional compared to the violent intrusion from last time.
From the gentle ripple appeared a dragon.
It was the same gold dragon, possessing molten eyes filled with boundless, genuine kindness in them.
A calming, powerful aura instantly enveloped the soul and the masked being, completely disarming their natural wariness and making them far more susceptible to talk.
“I would like to start by apologizing to you, as because of my actions, you will not be able to reach your intended afterlife,” the dragon started speaking in a remarkably soft, soothing voice.
“Is it because of your blood that fell on me?” the soul asked, and the golden dragon answered with a slow nod.
“Although, if you wish, I could reincarnate you in a completely different world instead,” the dragon offered in the very next breath.
The masked being and the soul looked at each other in consideration.
“Will he be able to choose the world he goes to?” the being asked.
“He will be free to choose.
And I will give him a permanent way to traverse different worlds as well,” the dragon answered kindly.
The spilled blood floating around the void started to move swiftly toward the dragon.
He carefully divided it into two separate parts before five vibrant, red threads extended from the soul itself and formed into five different orbs of pulsing energy.
The dragon added half of the floating blood into the five separate orbs, and the other half he fed directly to the soul.
“I have separated my own blood and that of Tiamat from your body,” the dragon explained as he worked.
“Her blood will be formed into five distinct familiars representing five aspects of her being, while mine shall rest inside your own soul, granting you my personal blessing and power.” He added the explanation and stepped back after his work was completely done.
With a sudden wave of the dragon’s massive claw, a literal mountain of glittering treasure materialized all around them.
“Come with me.
You will definitely need proper tools, weapons, and plenty of gold in all the worlds you will be visiting,” the dragon urged, and the soul could have sworn it saw a massive, grin on the dragon’s face.
“This armor is made of a rare magical metal and has bathed in my own magic for a thousand years.
It will serve you well.” The dragon pointed to a magnificent armor set before it instantly disappeared, and the soul could clearly sense that the gear was now resting in a separate inventory space connected directly to it.
“Take this sword as well, it comes with the armor set.” “Take this spear as well.
You will definitely need it if you prefer spears over swords.” “These are rare skill scrolls.
You may not need them yourself, but they can be helpful for your allies.” “Gold.
You will definitely need a lot of gold.” The soul watched in complete amazement and growing horror as the massive pile started depleting at a remarkably fast pace, and everything was added to his personal inventory.
“I can n—” the soul began to speak in clear refusal to getting all those priceless gifts for absolutely nothing, but the cunning gold dragon seemed to have sensed that and quickly interrupted the soul.
“I agree, this is taking far too much time.
You can just have it all right now and sort all of this out later,” the dragon said.
He waved his claw as the entire mountain of treasure instantly disappeared and was added directly to the soul’s inventory.
“That was not wh—” the soul was interrupted once again.
“Off you go then, son.
Call me by my true name, Luxarion, if you ever need me, and I will instantly know and help you,” the dragon said hurriedly.
He waved his claw again as the soul turned into a brilliant streak of light and exited the void entirely.
The masked being walked up to the dragon and stared at the ancient being with deep suspicion.
“What?
I have a lot of things.
And none of my children ever accept anything from me anyway,” the dragon shrugged casually.