Afterlife – Soulbound

Hello, I am back! I had to rest a bit in the last few months so I could get back in shape. Unfortunately, I did not have the resources to improve the website for the moment and to make some AI image representations as it is hard to recreate them, but at some point, they will come also.

Continuation from Afterlife – The Relative Sin

“The binding seems to be completed, but what happened to you? Who is your binding?” asks Sarco.

“A human…just like I was…”

“I can sense something is wrong, explain me more,” says Sarco.

“I…I know him…”

“So you met him in your past reality?” asks Sarco.

“No, I never met him while I was a human before becoming an entity…but he is the one from my visions after bonding with the Elements. I wonder what were the chances for this to happen.”

“Sometimes it might be something predefined. Don’t let chances fool you, everything has a purpose. This is what we consider. The trembling is stopping, and the Quantum’s harmony is returning back, we must go to Aberon now.”

“I feel something strange…my own being seems to resonate with this shard.”

“This is an effect from the binding, it will stop at some point, the human behind the soul shard might feel the same at this point, being unaware of what happened here,” says Sarco.

You look back one more time to the vastity of the Quantum of Chaos and the multitudes of soul shards that are within. You can’t help but wonder how all shards from all living and unliving beings in the cosmos and your new reality are there, with your own one together somewhere. You leave the vortex behind, as Sarco opens a rift to return to the Element of Sin, and you pass through.

“Aberon, we have returned with what you asked, the binding is complete and this young soul has a shard now from his own past reality,” says Sarco.

“This is good news indeed, what kind of shard came before you?” asks Aberon.

“It seems he is a halfling, with both Lights residing in the shard,” you tell Aberon.

“Interesting, a rather complicated one it seems, did you see his memories?” says Aberon while changing shape to his own avatar, an imposing figure just like the Dark Star.

“I was not aware I could do this, how does this process happen?” you ask Aberon.

“Open your hand and visualize the shard, focus on giving it a shape.”

You do as Aberon says, you open your hand and you start focusing. Slowly but steadily a mirror-like shard appears in your hand, and you start seeing the human you had a binding with.

“It is done, let’s see the memories that this human has,” says Sarco.

Memories and Consequences

Memories of the human begin to unfold in the mirror-like shard at your wish and as everything has a beginning, so does his life in your past reality. He was born into a normal family, surrounded by love and cherished by everyone. Even as a baby, he showed that he was a fast learner, and quickly developed the traits needed for that reality.

“I see he learned very fast to get out of bed all by himself, scaring his grandparents,” you tell Sarco and Aberon.

“Frail as a baby could be, you were one at some point also,” says Sarco

“Yes, a long and distant memory remains of that. But parts of it can still bring a smile in this emotionless reality.”

The baby starts to grow, playing with toys and letting his imagination run free. He is innocent, untouched by any stain. Curious by nature he explores and with his big eyes he starts to see the world from one perspective to another. He is being uncertain in which way he should view and indecisive in his actions, but his family is there to support him and show him a way. As he grows, he easily makes friends, is sociable, and is always eager to help anyone in need as well as he can, bringing a smile and supporting them. He continues to live a normal life with his parents in their home. His friends would always come to his door to ask his parents if he could play outside with them, and they never refused.

“I see he has empathy and emotional intelligence even if he is so young,” you tell Aberon.

“Traits that are undervalued in your past reality. When survival is at its limits, they disappear, but if life is more welcoming, you can nourish them.”

You see him sleeping, and his mother would always read bedtime stories to him, his father was always proud of him and slowly learned him to be a man and have moral values. He is now at the age where he is going to school, trying to learn how he can and get good grades. He does a fairly good job, but because of the jealousy of his colleagues, he is being bullied, and the human is not fighting them back. He retreats playing video games and escaping reality, and this is a safe place for him.

“I feel sadness, but not fear, what are these emotions?” you ask Sarco.

“The binding can make you feel the emotions that he had in those memories. This is now your gateway back to your reality. You are feeling what he feels, and in some cases, he can sense some things from you also, without knowing what is at play.”

“I understand, he didn’t feel fear in the face of danger, but in this case, he feels sadness because he did nothing wrong and wonders why these things are happening without a reason.”

“The reason is humans do not analyze their own feelings or behavior, or they just don’t care. Here in Andes not all souls are pure, but they are offered another chance,” says Aberon

“At least he loves video games, this can help him cope with some things, I wonder if a video game with us could be possible?”

“This can be a good way to perceive other realities, but don’t take it too far,” says Sarco.

The memories continue and you see the human in different groups of people, trying to find his own place among others. Gossip is at play and he is often secluded and viewed as different because of his shyness. The bullying made him lose his self-esteem, but his parents are with him and support him, this keeps him in balance. The human is more grown up now and he start catching feelings for girls, a normal phase at his age. In his memory, he is outside with a girl he likes, but again, a bully comes and hits him, making him do push-ups in front of the girl he likes, and he accepts the defeat and does them.

“He seems to live in a rough neighborhood. He always seems to get into a conflict without even wanting to, but at least he has his family,” you tell Sarco.

“He is not telling them about this problem, he believes he should pass through this alone, but it is not always a wise choice to do that.”

“He is still young, but I can sense now with the passing of his age that it weighs on his own soul. To be humiliated is not a great feeling,” you tell Sarco.

The boy is now at high school as a freshman, he moved from the neighborhood together with his mother and father, and he can feel a fresh start. He passed the other trials that were before, and he now seems to enjoy life with new friends. This is when he also meets a girl, and that girl becomes his first love.

“It seems like his first love was from another ethnicity. I am glad he views any human without the boundaries that those before him did,” you tell Aberon

“It is good he understands that from now on, most of them only understand they are the same when they arrive here.”

It does not take long until you feel a sharp pain piercing your chest. The memories continue and you see how the girl found another man and abandoned him. His first love made way for the first heartache, and this continues in all the relationships human has.

“Looks like he has not found yet his special one. This pain is intense, and he feels it every time. But it seems he is so stubborn he never gives up, always raising when put down.” you tell Sarco

“I know someone as stubborn as him, who got almost all the bondings with the Elements,” Sarco says while referring to you.

“Indeed, I think it was not a bad choice to bind with him, let’s see what will continue to happen.”

The memories shift, and you see now the man at the end of high school, finishing it and surrounded by his family who is congratulating him. Both his parents remember the difficult times he had, but now they are proud of him yet again. They celebrate his deed together with him. In the same time period he meets a new group of people, a bit shady to say the least, and he starts hanging out with them every night. It does not take long until they influence him in a way that will harm him.

“He is smoking weed with them and started to buy for himself, he gave in right where it was not needed. I might take back what I said, maybe this binding was not a good idea,” you tell Aberon.

“Good idea or not, it is your binding now, and nothing can be done to reverse this. Don’t be too quick to judge on this.”

“But those people are not his friends, they are using him only to get money from him, but he is too naive to see this. I wish I could do something to tell him.”

“You have a wish to tell your past kind about what is here?” asks Aberon.

“I have this wish, but the Dark Star told me it is prohibited that we interfere with our past realities,” you tell Aberon

“Interesting…”

The man continued his bad habits without telling his parents. It started to feel normal for him to do this, night by night. But even if this habit persists, he remains unchangeable.

“His group of friends has started gang-related activities, selling drugs to strangers, but he does not do that. I believe he considers that self-harm is more acceptable than doing harm to somebody else. He just stays with them, trying to give advice to them to stop. He cares about them. But at the same time he is a witness to this.” you say to both Sarco and Aberon.

“This is what greed does to people. Sometimes they step on corpses just to have what they want, never considering the well-being of others. All his friends come from wealthy families, but they just want more.” says Aberon

“His only luck is the fact that he does not care for money, and neither wants to be corrupted by them. I don’t think the education played a big part in this. He is self-educating himself to become a better version, and the experiences played their part more.” says Sarco.

The last memory that the shard contains shows the human at college. But his habits are starting to make life difficult for him. One night, he is outside with other people as he prepares to leave for home. He is high and without being aware the police stop him. He becomes a suspect and he is handcuffed while the police drive him to the station. Still handcuffed he manages to get the drugs out of his sock, preparing to hide it in the backseat of their car. They took a turn and at that moment the drugs slipped away between the seat and the door of the car. He cannot reach them, and the police while taking him out discover what he wanted to do. He is stripped naked in the police section and humiliated, officers beating him also because he would not snitch. In the end, the police set him free to go home, and he awaits the day he will be called to the court for his trial.

“This left me with a bitter taste, I did not expect this turn of events. What will happen with the shard now?” you ask Aberon.

“Now that you have seen his memories you are tied with him to his present. You will feel what he feels, and the opposite in some cases. The conditions have been met and you can have your bonding. When you will leave this place the connections with the other Elements will return to normal.” says Aberon.

“You don’t seem mad as the other Elements told me. Why did they think about you as this?” you ask Aberon.

“I don’t care what my kind says about me, I just have a different agenda and perspective. My experiences were different, and I opposed some things that the Dark Star wanted. And one of them is the secrecy to other realities that we exist.”

“So you believe also that humanity should know about our existence.”

“Yes I do young soul, they have the right to know, as this can change a life just as death changes us here,” says Aberon

“What did you experience in the Darkness that changed you?”

“This…is a subject for another time. Touch my hand, so the bonding can begin.”

Vision of the White Light

You touch hands with Aberon’s avatar, and the process begins. You are carried away slowly to another vision. In a blank space, you start seeing another entity before you, one made of White Light. You ask for the name of the entity but you do not receive any answer. You start following it. It arrives in front of something that reminds you of the Dark Star, but because of the bright White Light, you cannot distinguish clearly what it is about. As you approach a sense of warmth and positivity engulfs your being and the white entity starts talking with the source of White Light.

“It is time. You must venture into their realm and take what we need. It will not be easy, but I trust you can do this,” says the source of White Light.

“I am more than prepared to do this, but even if I fail or I succeed, the pact will be broken.” says the white entity in what seems to be a woman’s tone.

“We will hope our actions will be understandable, and we can solve this problem through diplomatic means. Go now, and return back with the Light.” says the source of White Light.

The vision ends, and you are back, both Sarco and Aberon waiting for your awakening.

“Hope this will be your last vision, I am starting to think you might be an Oracle or something,” says Sarco in a funny manner.

“What did you see?” asks Aberon

“There was this White Light and an entity made of it, he was talking with something, a source, about a pact and something that needs to be their own.”

“The White Light…listen carefully, young soul, do not tell anyone about this vision, and neither you, Sarco. We will meet again and discuss further when the moment is right. Go now and see the new abilities you have from our bonding.”

You leave Aberon’s cave and at the moment you exit, the connection with the other Elements returns back to normal. You start making your way back to the Tower with the ability from Tor-Nihil.

“Did you succeed young soul? asks Rakar

“He blocked our connection with you, we could not sense you anymore while you were with him,” says Suron

“We had a rough start, but things turned out to be good, he does not seem so dangerous and mad as you described him to me.”

“Do not trust him so easily, young soul, madness can have many faces, and one of them can be a false rationality,” says Kar-Gorgon

“At least your mission is done, now you can sharpen the skills you have from us,” says Tor-Nihil.

“Thank you for the advice, I will remember this, now I am on my way back.”

Together with Sarco, you return back to the Dark Star to announce your success and Eos is with him.

“We have returned with the Light of Aberon back to you, Dark Star,”

“This is a rare event indeed, you are one of the few souls here in Andes to bond with all the elements. Did you see the abilities yet?” asks the Dark Star.

“From what I can recall, the Elements told me about my extensions becoming a weapon, let me try.”

While focusing you stretch your arms forward. With your own imagination as you learned from the other abilities of the other Elements, the hands start taking the form of a blade, coursing with energy, ready to cut through everything.

“This is so awesome, I did not expect the Afterlife to be so fun.”

“For those who can comprehend and adapt, it can be fun,” says Eos

“Wait, I’ve been told of some special powers that you can unlock if you have all the bondings.”

“You are right, there are some special powers. If you master all the Elements to the edge of perfection, and you use the combinations of the Elements in an effective way, only the edge of imagination is the limit. For example, if you can shapeshift into the forms from your past reality now with Rakar’s Light, the special power is that you can shapeshift into what being you want to imagine. In the case of Tor-Nihil, your wings can become also a weapon, spreading shards of Light that can pierce. For Suron, there are not only rifts you can create, but also attach to other entities and teleport yourself to them. In the case of Kar-Gorgon, you become immune to all sources of pain, even the one of Darkness can be mitigated for a while.” says the Dark Star.

“Seems like I still have work to do…”

“Leave that behind for now, young soul. I can sense something other than the Light of the Elements inside you.” says the Dark Star.

You stretch the palm of your hand forward, and the shard from your binding appears.

“A binding? And he is a halfling. When and why did this happen?” asks the Dark Star.

“To tell you the short version of the story, it was the wish of Aberon. He wanted me to have a binding in exchange for his Light. I went with Sarco into the Quantum of Chaos, and this shard came and I bound it to me.”

“I don’t know what games is Aberon playing, but be careful and report to me if something is not right.”

“Well, there is a strange…” you say before Sarco interrupts you.

“We will tell you if something is amiss, Dark Star,” says Sarco while looking at you

“Then for now it is time to rejoice and follow a tradition for all those who mastered the Elements,” says Eos

“Do you have traditions here?” you ask Eos.

“Of course we do, and that tradition is a celebration with all the entities you met in your journey to bond with the Elements. I will call for Aruna and the others. Let’s meet in Rakar’s forest.” says Eos

“Alright, I will be there together with Sarco.”

“May the Light guide you to new reaches, young soul, until we meet again.” says the Dark Star.

Celebration and Bondings

You start moving towards the Forest of the Shapeless together with Sarco. There Aruna greets you, and all three of you go to a nearby pond of Light. There you meet again Raion, Gor, Yuusei, and Yushin. Eos made the preparation and the celebration is underway. Fragments of Black Light start moving and dancing together. There is also a fragment near the pond and Eos lights it like a beacon just by a touch. All of your friends gather around the beacon, you being in the middle of them.

“It is time for some stories,” says Aruna

“What kind of stories?” you ask

“Those from our past lives, you never got a chance to meet that part of us,” says Eos.

“Gor is the biggest, let him start first,” says Yuusei

“Very well, my story starts on a planet…” says Gor.

“This is where all our stories start you dummy…” says Yuusei

“Let me rephrase it…I was born in a land where giants ruled. We all lived there together, peacefully and communing with the essence of our world. As the dominant race of our planet, we cared for and nurtured our world, never letting anything go to waste and always respecting what was given to us. We had no natural enemies, but everything there was at a large scale. We had our own fauna and flora and because of our understanding of it, we could befriend very easily everything.”

“That sounds like a great world to live in. My kind might learn from your kind,” you tell Gor.

“We lived a simple life, we wanted to set our evolution in another way, without wars or anything destructive. We were not influenced by greed because there was enough for us all, and we helped ourselves as we helped our own world. I remember an old saying from my kind when one of us would pass away. ‘He lived as a giant, but died as an indomitable mountain’. I lived a long and peaceful life and died a painless death. Now is your turn Raion”

“I want to start with the fact that all the ladies in my world loved my wings”

“You mean only your mother, right?” Aruna sighs

“So in your world your kind has wings?” you ask Raion.

“Yes, we are closely related to Tor-Nihil because of that. In my world, we had tall structures that would pierce our sky. We used the wings as a method of travel. Our own sun generated all the energy we needed because above our clouds there was only day and never night. But our world was different from Gor’s world. The different patterns of our wings meant we belonged to a type of rank, like a class that was either inferior or superior. We looked mostly at how humans would look except for the wings that we had. I died an honorable death when a rebellion took place and the lower class attacked the upper class. I died defending the upper class and only after arriving here we all understood we were the same and we united as the Akash. Let’s see what Yuusei and Yushin have to say.”

“Oh so it is our turn?” says Yuusei

“Yes, dummy, you didn’t hear?” says Yushin

“Alright, our world was pretty developed when we existed in it. We had a lot of technology that helped us and made our life easier,” says Yuusei

“Yes, we had pretty dangerous technology, and some of it was pretty hard to control. Our people were conquerors and we always looked for planets that we could exploit and gain the resources they had,” says Yushin

“Every resource was put to good use, and if we encountered other races we would switch off to trading, giving them a part of the technology we had for that specific resource,” says Yuusei.

“We died a pretty stupid death…” says Yushin

“Don’t you dare tell them,” says Yuusei

“Come on we are all friends here, there is no need to feel shy,” you say to both of them

“Very well, we died in a crash, our ship malfunctioned on our way to inspect a planet…” says Yuusei

“Yeah…and we kind of lost control and plunged to our death. Now is your turn Aruna” says Yushin

“My people were nomads and we lived in a pretty harsh world. There were a lot of things that could end our life and we learned to survive from a very young age. We hunted other creatures but we always paid our respects for the sacrifice. We befriended also creatures that could help us in our survival. In one hunt me and my people were surrounded by a pack of vicious predators. I had to distract their attention so my people could be saved. This was my death and sacrifice. Now is your turn Eos.”

“I started life on a pretty rocky planet. We used to live in the mountains and we survived by eating plants that would grow in my world. My people served under false beliefs and gods. I wanted to change their old perception, but the roots were too deep and I was alone in this battle. I was considered a heretic and imprisoned by them. In the end, they sacrificed me to their false beliefs, only to arrive here and to see that I was right. They did also this after a certain time and saw the wrongs that they did. Now is your turn Sarco.”

“Our young soul already knows my story from the first time we met and I guided him. There is not much to say, we lived in the same world but at different times. There was a moment when I lost everything I held dear and because of this, I became a destructor and waged wars with my own kind. I still remember the blue seas and sky, the warm sun, and the lush forests filled with life. I do not have faith in my own kind anymore. There will always be wars between themselves due to narrow-mindedness. They will still destroy their world because of greed, and they will still hold on to false beliefs to control and manipulate the ones that are weak.”

“I wish this could be changed, do you all think that by knowing we exist we can change something in our worlds?” you ask the group.

“Maybe, but they will find out anyway, and it is prohibited by the orders of the Dark Star to reveal our existence. What will this effort change anyway when the roots are so deep already from millennia?” asks Eos

“I believe it can stop any bloodshed and unite my people by a true belief. The fear of death and the unknown impacts the life they live. Maybe it could mean freedom or maybe it could mean they can live a more happy life without any fears and find acceptance. To know that the one they loved still exists, even in this strange form.” you tell Eos.

“Rules are rules, young soul. We can’t abide by them, this is our ‘life’ and ideal now, and we must protect it.” says Aruna.

“I don’t understand why this secrecy, what would happen wrong if we showed ourselves?”

“Insanity and chaos, the mind of mortals is not ready for this, nor will it ever be in the near future,” says Eos

“Very well…”

“Don’t be disappointed, young soul, maybe there will be a time when our realities will unite,” says Gor

“And maybe there will be a time when you will change your world,” says Yuusei.

“…and the people that live in it.” continues Yushin.

“Until then, young soul, fly high and sharpen your skills, you are free now from any shackles,” says Raion.

The Point of No Return

The celebration ends, each goes in separate ways and you remain with Sarco. It does not take long until the voice of Aberon reaches your mind.

“Young soul, come to me and bring Sarco with you, we have to discuss.”

“Aberon’s voice just reached my mind, we have to go to him, I believe it might be something important.”

“Open the rift and lead the way,” says Sarco

You open a rift and you pass through it to the entrance of the cave where Aberon resides. You walk through it and you can sense that the connections with the other Elements have been blocked again. You reach him, and as soon as you do he changes into his avatar.

“Welcome back, young soul, it seems you have been a bit busy lately,” says Aberon

“I had a celebration because I completed the bonding with all the Elements, including you.”

“I heard the discussion, don’t forget my Light resides inside you also. I understand you really wish to change the world you came from. Is that true?” says Aberon.

“It is true, but I suppose I must give up, it seems impossible to do that.”

“You need to stretch your mind more, you already have the key for this,” says Aberon.

“Key? What key?”

“Open the palm of your hand and look at the shard again,” says Aberon.

You open the palm of your hand and the shard with your binding starts to form.

“This is the key, you can reach that human and contact him, he could spread the word about us. It will be the beginning of your kind to acknowledge our existence.”

“With all due respect Aberon, what will happen if we are discovered?”

“As long as you have my Light to block the connections with all Elements and the Dark Star, no one will find out about this, it will be taken as an anomaly.”

“This might be the moment of change we were waiting for, young soul,” says Sarco

You ponder on your next response, you are confused and memories of your past life start appearing in your mind. You remember the injustice that happened in your world while you lived, the events of the past and the present you had there with the uncertainty of the future for your kind. All the lives that were lost due to mistakes and errors from other humans with poor judgment who could not handle responsibility and think outside the box. A new beginning can be made and it seems so clear now for you what you must do. There will be no turning back now.

“It is time young soul, what is your final answer?” asks Aberon

“I am going after him.”

To be continued.