Chương 29: The Massive gathering (I)

<Zero>

A bright flash of white light completely filled Zero's vision. A pure note entered his ear and then smoothly faded away. He did feel a very brief moment of pain, but now it was completely gone. Feeling extremely confused, he rubbed his blurry eyes a few times to clear his vision.

In the distance Zero could see thin strips of film that grew larger and larger as they came towards him. A thin film flashed forward, and his game life was plainly displayed. The plain events were colored in black and white while his grand battles and adventures were colored vibrantly.

Old memories were brought back that he had forgotten. The day Agnis appeared in front of him. The day she saw him hatch. There were times when she bothered him and made him feel like a fool. Some made him angry, some happy, others made him laugh at her idiocy when it came to animals. A friend is what he called her. A friend she had become.

Just as Agnis's movie reel ended, scenes of Zeraph's started to play. He noticed Zeraph's arrogant stature and pristine clean look. Girls surrounding him from left to right, he gave each a wink with a dazzling smile. A couple of times Zero wondered how Zeraph's face did not start twitching from the amount of smiles and winks he gave off to the girls. Already he felt his own face feel a bit stiff from watching. Either way, he was surprised that Zeraph had come to save them.

Dozens more film strips surrounded him in a circle and encased him in a shell. Zero felt overwhelmed. He was dying; this was what death was like in the game, and it felt strange. It was an odd sensation that he could not explain. He felt waves of complete peace while watching over his life, but a sense of sadness wallowed down in the pit of his stomach. It felt as if he still had unfinished business. It made him feel more attached to the physical world of Noriene. The unusual thing was he felt a bit of regret.

I wonder if this is what real death feels like, thought Zero. He continued watching his life play out in front of him; the last picture flew by inches away from his face. A blinding white humanoid apparition appeared in front of him. He shielded his eyes, squinting towards it. Its mouth opened and closed like it was saying something, but nothing could be heard.

Swirls of colors formed around the lips of the white apparition. It reminded him of the soft rippling effect of water color painting that had layers upon layers of bright colors. Its lips were colored light pink and full. A warm smile appeared on its blank white face. Zero felt his heart tingle with warmth; he felt that smile reminded him of someone.

"Zero."

It was a sentient being staring at him even though there weren't any eyes looking towards him.

"With every breath you take I am with you. Let them see you in me," the apparition spoke. Its sweet voice sounded like a soft spring breeze. The smell of fresh lavender and a tangy mix of spices calmed him further and made him more at ease. Soft sounds of ancient bells rang, and somewhere, people laughed joyfully.

Zero looked upon the apparition, confused.

"If you've got to start somewhere, tonight is the night for the sinner and the saints as two worlds collide, becoming one. Walk upon the many paths created by endless possibilities. You who are part of me, both broken and whole, do not be afraid. I am here."

The white apparition pointed towards Zero's heart. At the moment of contact a flash of blinding, pure light erupted in Zero's face as he once again woke up on the ground. Dazed, he looked up towards the dark starry sky. A bright red moon hung low. Breathing out an icy cold breath, all the warmth escaped from his body. He shivered. Slowly sitting up, he looked around wondering where he was.

The world around him felt stifling and stagnant as if he couldn't breathe. Words could not easily express what he felt and saw. Picking himself up to glance around, he saw the color of the world was dull and depressing. It was as if the world spat out the bright cheery colors and kept the dull gloomy ones. He noticed that he was still in the same place where he'd died. Everything was the same in the City of Diadem; just the color was off. There was barely any laughter or any kind of sound. Instead, silence was his only friend.

As his vision cleared, he looked down at his hands. Lifting them towards his face, he noticed that they were slightly transparent. Putting his hands together, they felt as solid as when he'd been alive. As he looked around he saw his body and he stopped. It surprised him to see his own dead body lying on the ground. It was the only thing at the moment that was vibrant in color. But then the colors on his dead body faded away as it turned lifelessly and ashen.

"Where am I?" he asked as he gazed around his surroundings. A white orb floated and danced around him. It gave off a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Just then a message appeared in front of him and it flickered with static.

Would you like to walk among the dead with the sinner and the saints or do you wish to be guided towards the light?

Zero pondered for a moment. Death. This was his first death in-game and he was a bit curious about the world. Who knew what was in this dimension? It was a risk he wouldn't mind taking to explore new things.

"I'll walk among the dead," Zero affirmed his decision with confidence.

Please head towards the light of rebirth.

Scanning around him, he noticed that there were people walking around aimlessly, lost in their thoughts. No sense of direction, but a constant loop that had no concrete path. Their faces were ashen; their bodies looked like old TV static, and their heads and shoulders were slouched towards the ground as they slowly shuffled forward. A man walked in front of him, dragging his feet.

"Why? Why? Why?" the man muttered to himself. He coughed and wheezed with pain. The man stumbled forward and then continued on his way.

Zero raised his eyebrows. Is this guy alright? Zero's body shifted a bit away from the man with unease. Warm air blew towards him.

He looks around, surprised, until he saw something off in the distance: a column of bright piercing light that penetrated the gray clouds as it reached up endlessly towards the sky. Its brightness illuminated the dark starry night, pushing back the light of the blood-red moon. Just by looking at it he felt refreshed and warm inside. Something about it felt familiar.

"I'm guessing that is where I need to go." He began to walk towards the light. A young woman who was thin and bony with a heavy hunched back walked up towards Zero. The ashen-looking lady was wearing a white discolored dress, and her face sagged with depression. Wrinkles were prominent on her forehead from the furrow of her eyebrows. She was deep in thought.

"No. No! I didn't do it! I didn't do it! It's not my fault," whimpered the lady as her feet shuffled quickly back and forth in a circle. She bumped into Zero as she walked by.

"Excuse me." Zero cleared his throat with annoyance. He was a bit annoyed she lacked the common courtesy to say sorry when bumping into him.

The lady glanced at him for a moment, tilted her head to the side, and returned to muttering to herself.

"No. No! I didn't do it! I didn't do it! It's not my fault," the lady repeated in a continuous chant.

"Excuse me," exclaimed Zero loudly as he tried again to gain her attention.

She stopped. Her head slowly did an unnatural turn as she looked directly into his eyes. Her body jerked as she disappeared and reappeared in front of him like smoke.

"I didn't do it!" she screeched in his face. Zero jumped back, startled, as the lady in white stared at him. Her eyes were lifeless. She turned around and went on her way. He didn't expect that reaction from her nor would he ever bother her again. Straightening himself, he continued on his way. Another walked past him.

"Why does God not save me?" The old man paused in thought. "What did I do wrong? I know I am right. Yes. God is wrong, I am right. Yes. Yes! Yes." The old man paced back and forth as he dragged his twisted leg. His right leg was paralyzed from the knee down. It looked like it was run over by a carriage.

"Sir, I would like a moment of your time." Zero cautiously walked up towards him. With a dark glare, the old man replied nastily, "Go away, brat." He spat onto the ground. "If you are not going to save me then LEAVE!" he shouted and then shook his fist at Zero. The old man then suddenly stepped towards Zero as if he was ready to throttle him. Zero backed out of reach.

"These people are insane," Zero muttered to himself. "I think it's best to leave them alone." Weaving in and out between the zombie-like people, he heard constant ramblings of anger, sadness, or depression. A couple of times he thought they would all leap out and attack him, but they remained docile.

"So this is what hell must be like. People trapped in their own anger, jealousy, hate, depression, guilt, and sadness wandering around aimlessly. Continuing to torture themselves and not even knowing that their salvation is close by." Zero eyed them warily. "We create our own hell, and it seems the environment is just extra. This place makes one want to think depressing thoughts. I wouldn't be surprised if our minds go crazy from it."

The white orb floated lazily in front of his face, circling and following him as he walked. Its outer transparent film shone with the light of what looked like a small dancing fire surrounding its core.

"What is this?" He poked at the orb a couple of times. A static shock of pleasant feelings tingled up and down his spine. He poked it a couple more times and got the same shivering feeling. With his last poke, the orb bit down hard on his finger.

"Ow!" Zero yelled as he pulled his finger back. He shook his fingers as throbbing pain pulsed throughout his hands. No blood appeared, but small indentations resembling teeth marks were imprinted on his finger.

"This little—" As he was about to smack it, he felt an odd sensation as if someone was watching him. Glancing back and forth, no eyes were found. Nothing. All he observed was the same dark, heavy atmosphere of the city around him.

"This place gives me the creeps," croaked Zero. He began to purposely pick up his pace towards his destination. A few times he thought he saw black apparitions darting back and forth amongst the buildings.