Death
Casimir had no idea how he got here, but he couldn't deny the familiarity he felt in this place. He found himself standing in the centre of a circular lobby, the air thick with an odd smell of ozone, emanating from the fluorescent lights above. The hall was completely empty, the only sound was the distant hum of the bulbs.
He warily looked up to the ceiling, noting how it was arched and broad, and supported by pillars of marble that were gracefully curved. The walls were made of white marble stone, and the floors were pleasantly polished and pristine white. All around the room, Casimir sensed an intense stillness, as if he was in an isolated place outside of time and space.
He couldn't help but think that it eerily resembled the motion pictures he'd been introduced to while in the military, movies are what they were called if he remembered correctly. The room reminded him of scenes like this where people who had supposedly died were greeted with eerie silent lobbies. Was this his fate now?
Casimir shook his head, trying to push away the thought. If he could think then there must be a better explanation for his situation and he could bet his Fable it was on the other side of that door. He turned to the door, the only exit in the room, and slowly walked towards it. As he approached, he noticed the door was made of thick, aged wood and had ornate iron handles on either side. He paused for a moment before reaching out and grabbing one of the handles, not knowing what might be on the other side.
The door swung open and on the other side was another empty lobby, with the same kind of door on the other side of the room. Things were not getting any easier for Casimir and it seemed as if he was in fact dead. He didn't fundamentally fear death but he was unsure how to feel about the circumstances surrounding his death. Not to mention some unfinished business he left behind. His mother's murderers were still walking back in the land of the living and he had failed to fulfil the request the Child of Gedeon had made to him.
He was unsure what to call the emotion that occupied his consciousness but if he could describe it to anyone he'd call it a feeling of lacking. Inadequacy, he felt like he had left things prematurely and hadn't done enough of what needed to be done. He felt empty, but not the emptiness of having done something and receiving or feeling nothing, but the emptiness of not completing what he set out to do. His heart ached and his throat constricted, he was in pain.
The self-accusations kept coming after that and all of a sudden the mental dam that held back a vast and neverending sea of doubt, anguish and regrets was failing. It cracked repeatedly under the mounting pressure of his intrusive thoughts. Was it his fault that she was killed? Maybe if she left him in Ninflen Bay then things might have gone differently for her. Was his fate too heavy for him to shoulder? Was his Origin a power too great for him to hold? Why did he even get an Aura and a Fable in the first place if this was all he'd amount to? Demons he thought he had defeated not too long ago rose from their ruins, eager to once more haunt him and disturb his inner peace. Even in death, he had no peace.
"Hello, old friend," the voice said.
Casimir's eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the voice. It was his own.
"I've been waiting for you."
'Old friend?'
Casimir was tense. He didn't know what to make of the situation, especially now that he was conversing with "himself" in this strange state he found himself in. He had lost it, hadn't he? Talking to himself was the last line he drew for finally going insane and he had just breezed past that line.
"You ran out of air," the voice said matter-of-factly. Calm laced in its tone and maybe even a hint of... was that patience? Casimir was unsure.
"But don't worry, you're not dead. Not yet, anyway."
Casimir furrowed his brow in confusion.
"What do you mean, not yet?"
The voice chuckled.
"You're in a state of limbo."
"Okay... but that still means I am dying I'm sinking as it is am I not?"
"Not necessarily."
"What does that even mean?"
The voice didn't respond. Casimir looked incredulously at the ceiling, he didn't really know where to look really if one was having a conversation with another consciousness that claimed to be his old friend. Crazy would fit a description about him right about now.
"So... am I going to wake up?"
"If you want to."
The voice responded... or he did, at this point, he wasn't sure if it really mattered who was who.
"However I would like to let you know we are no longer underwater, there has been some... fated interference."
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"What else you idiot, a higher power has just decided to forcefully drag you from that point in reality to somewhere else... Hell, I know just as much as you do, I am literally you."
"How come you know this and I don't"
"Subconsciounce."
Casimir let out an exasperated sigh. As if that word would be enough to answer anything. He decided not to press on.
"Do we know what higher power this is? The one you are referring to."
"I don't know but it's definitely not sentient or at least fully sentient... you are in a weird temple... i think."
"Why do you keep referring to me as you as if we are two different people are thought you said were where the same person?"
"So that I don't confuse the readers"
"The what?"
"Nothing."
Casimir felt a headache coming up. His subconscious was even more annoying than Oscar it seemed and he knew exactly what that meant about him, he just didn't want to accept it.
"What happens if I don't wake up?"
"You die of course."
Casimir faltered briefly. In that moment of hesitation, he truly considered it. What if he just gave up and let himself rest? He had been through a lot as it was and he deserved some form of respite for all his troubles. What if he just closed his eyes for good this time? However, the voice he had been conversing with suddenly changed. His subconscious, as it had claimed, rebuked his notions. The voice was now double vocalled and each voice insidious and evil-toned.
"What do you think you are doing? Where do you think you are going? Quitting already Casimir? After all those promises you made, and all those vows you took, that dreadful power you took hold of from its mighty Predecessor. Have you forgotten what they did to us? To our mother? They killed her all because they think you are a threat to their sovereignty... "
His heart thumped like a war drum against his chest. His breath held tightly, he suddenly felt alive, felt driven and reinvigorated. He needed justice, and the world needed justice... if it wasn't going provide it for him and his mother, then he would sure as hell provide it himself. Even if it meant making a sacrifice he would regret, he would destabilize this nation all in the name of revenge. His resolve would be fueled by spite. His spite.
He forced his mind to gather itself and awaken. Not even vestiges of the dead gods would be able to save his aggressors from Casimir should he survive this whole ordeal. He would be their nightmare.
He heard the insidious voice once more as he woke up.
"Prove. Them. Right."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Croppedtrolley
Croppedtrolley Sorry once again for the absence my avid readers. Just recently I was involved in an accident so I am recovering as we speak and I'm still undergoing some legal processes right now for the insurance and whatnot.
End of volume by the way so volume two will be commencing soon... you could even say the accident was right on cue... maybe that's not a good joke I could've come out worse... anyways
Have a Lovely day.
Yours Faithfully.
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