Author's Notes: Greetings everybody. After what seem like years of absence, I have finally returned. I was really busy with my college life. But now that college's history, I can finally concentrate on continuing my fanfics.
What was once my very first fanfiction has been taken down and re-uploaded. Well, I want to take some time and remodel the older chapters and improve them. The versions of the story before this have a lot more inconsistency in past and present tenses, which I am desperate to fix. I'm not saying the revised version has no errors at all. Well, at least it's a lot better than the past ones with countless stupid mistakes, which was really horrible.
I haven't written anything in the past few years. So, please give me some time to reshape myself, if you know what I mean. Constructive critiques are always welcomed here. =) However, no flaming please.
Now that's that. I hope you guys find this a better read (for my past readers) and an enjoyable story (for new readers).
And so it reopens the book of Afterlife.
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters belonging to it. Square does. I only own Egil.
Chapter One: Beginning of Death
The sky is a dull grey.
Snowflakes fall from above, swaying and dancing gently in the air. The once green lawns are now blanketed with sheets of white snow. The trees have lost their green, their branches now bald and leafless. People are walking down the streets dressed in thick jackets or fur coats, their necks warmed by scarves and their hands wearing mittens. It is cold, even the breath of air we exhale is visible under the low temperature.
I look out the window. Everything is more or less the same as they have always been. Every day I am staring at the same street, watching the same people coming in and out of the houses in this neighborhood. Life's like this when you have been quarantined inside a hospital ward for a couple of months.
I hear footsteps on the other side of the door. I'm hoping that someone will come in. But the footsteps become fainter as the person leaves the corridor outside. I sigh, sitting down on my bed. It has been long since I accepted the truth. Nobody will come in this room, even the doctors and nurses seem to have been trying to avoid my ward. I have to face it.
No one will be coming to visit me.
It has been ten years since my parents died in a bank robbery. I have been parentless ever since. I live through these years alone. No relatives came to visit me all these while. Maybe I have none at all. The tragedy that caused my parent's death somehow transformed me. I became something else in people's eyes. My friends began to distant themselves from me. I couldn't figure out the cause. It might have been my own problem, like how I reacted when people tried to comfort me.
I feel like a nobody, someone worthless and of no value, like a tiny grass that grows beside the roads. I am always the least noticed in my class, the least commented by teachers. I don't have excellent grades, only average ones. I don't think they will remember me, a student named Egil Black.
I could have been famous in the archery club, but I didn't want to. I practice almost every day when everyone has left school. I train hard and sometimes I work until my hands bleed. But whenever I'm shooting in front of everybody else, I pretend to be really bad at it, even though I have perfect confidence in my own accuracy. I don't know why I've done so. I just don't want to attract attention. I want to be alone. But then, I practice archery to not feel alone. How contradicting is that?
At times when I'm home, I play a lot of video games; especially fantasy ones like the Final Fantasy series. Sometimes, I wish that the characters in the game can somehow just come alive. Then I will have someone to talk to, someone to spend time with, and someone to laugh with. But who am I kidding? It's merely a fool's wish.
But I doubt if I ever will have the chance to play them again.
It all came to me a week ago, a night when I failed to sleep no matter how much I tried to.
FLASHBACK
I continuously rolled on the bad, my eyes shut, trying to force myself to sleep. But I couldn't. I stared out of the window and into the sky. A bright star shined in the dark. I wondered how long I still have to be here in this boring room.
The sound of footsteps suddenly broke the silent night. I closed my eyes once again and pretended to have fallen asleep as the ward's door opened. I heard the footsteps coming closer, until it stopped right beside my bed.
"Do you think we should we tell him? He has the right to know," a doctor said.
"I think it's best if we leave him be, George. It's the only way he can rest in peace," another doctor said.
I recognized their voices. They are Doctor George and Doctor Samuel. They are the ones checking my medical conditions. Why are they here this late at night? Is something wrong?
"But surely you haven't given up yet? Isn't there a cure for his disease?" Dr. George asked.
"…I'm very sorry about that. Even the latest technology could not define what kind of disease had struck this poor boy. He may look as if nothing's happening to him on the outside, but in the inside… His heart is slowly dying." Dr. Samuel explained. "It's very abnormal. The rate of his heartbeat was gradually dropping. We tried everything, but nothing could stop the decreasing of his heartbeat. It's like his whole cardiovascular system is shutting down by itself. As this continues on, his heart will eventually stop pumping…"
"…Poor fella'. He's always alone. Nobody has visited him ever since he was warded, no even his friends and relatives. He's an orphan, I hear?" Dr. George said with a compassionate tone.
"Yes," Dr. Samuel answered.
"…How much time does he have left?"
"A week, or a few more days extra if he's lucky…" Dr. Samuel said with a deep sigh. "…Come, George, let's just leave him alone."
"You sure you don't want to tell him the truth?"
"I think it's best for him to leave not knowing… It will be just like falling into a deep sleep…and not waking up."
"…If only some kind of miracle will happen…"
With a sigh, Dr. George left the room with Dr. Samuel. My eyes opened up when the door was closed. It was a long night.
FLASHBACK ENDED
I rest myself on the bed. My disease is incurable. And my life is supposed to end by this midnight. But why don't I feel afraid? It's supposed to be shocking news to me. But I feel nothing. Is it this easy to accept death?
Maybe it's because I've got nothing to lose.
I wonder will there be an afterlife? Will my soul go to some sort of resting place? Perhaps I get to see Mom and Dad again. Maybe they're waiting for me over there. If then, I'm more than willing to go and join them.
But why? How can I welcome death so easily?
I recall Dr. George's words before he left the room that night.
If only some kind of miracle will happen…
Miracle. Maybe I'm not hoping for one to happen, considering its chances are who knows how many billions to one. Maybe I have already lost all hope.
I place my hand on my chest. My heart is really weak. I can barely feel it beating inside me. It's struggling to stay alive for me, but its efforts are futile. It cannot win over death after all.
So, this is how my life will end, huh? I ask myself as I close my eyes. There's no one to say goodbye to, no one there to hear my last words. I don't have a will to leave. Even if I do, I doubt if there's anyone out there that will read it.
Time goes on flowing, drawing me closer and closer to my end. But it seem like an eternity before night descends upon me. It's like the world has slowed down around me, wanting to help me treasure my last day alive.
I can't hear my heart beating anymore. Its sound is now so faint. My eyelids are getting heavier. I know perfectly well that the moment has arrived.
A tear roll down from my cheek at this final second. Do I regret not hoping? Do I regret over my life? Do I regret that I should have let go of the past and embraced my friends' companionship, instead of throwing everything away and sitting alone in the corner? I have no idea over my current feelings. I just leave them running inside my mind as darkness engulfs me, pulling me into nothingness…
I've died, so where the heck am I now? Everything's dark around here. I can only see myself. Is this heaven or hell? Whichever place I'm in, it doesn't change the fact that I'm alone. So, I remain alone even after I have died. I look around, trying to see if Mom and Dad are around. But there is no sight of either of them. I guess this is what really happens when your life ends, getting imprisoned in a realm of nothingness in solitude for eternity.
"You gave up too soon, young one."
Startled by the sudden voice, I look around but see no one. I begin to feel somewhat scared, unable to see anything.
"Anybody here?" I ask. My voice's loud and clear. It's amazing how someone dead like me can speak with the tone of a normal person's. I thought when I have died, I am supposed to become weaker. But somehow it's the other way around, I feel stronger than before.
"Yes, I am here," the voice answers.
"Where are you? Who are you?" I continue to ask, still looking around for answers.
"I am everywhere. I am the very nothingness you are walking in. I have no name, but if you must, you can call me Enigma," the voice explains.
"Enigma? What exactly are you?" I inquire. "Are you some kind of spirit? A god?"
"I am the entity of naught, the ruler of the realm of null."
I shake my head at that. I've never heard of such thing before.
"So, I'm dead, right?" I ask. "Is this my afterlife?"
"Yes and no," Enigma answers. "You are neither in the realm of death nor still in the realm of life. Let us just say that this realm is in between those two."
"Why did I end up here? Aren't I supposed to go to the realm of death? Do people usually end up here when they die?" I question. There are so many things that confuse me right now.
"There was an uncertainty in your death. You gave up on life, that part is true. You thought you have accepted death, but truth be told, you did not. You merely tossed everything aside and left the choice be. Your soul could not conclude whether you should stay at the realm of life or pass on to the realm of death. And so, you arrived here, to make a choice," Enigma explains briefly. "This is quite a rare occasion."
"A choice?" I'm shocked. "You mean I can go back to the realm of life? I can still live on and not die?" Is this just a dream? Is a miracle really happening now?
"It depends."
"What do you mean it depends?"
"The choice is not given to you, but rather to what is inside you. Your soul must undertake a journey, and by the end of the journey it shall decide for you."
"What?" I snap. Who the hell knew that dying can be so complicated. "Why can't I just decide for myself? I have nothing left in life, so why can't I just go on to death like this?"
"Have you not understood? You are not being true to yourself. Only your heart and soul knows what do you really think deep inside. The heart possesses the unfathomable truth which normal beings cannot comprehend. The journey you must take is a test to draw out the true thoughts that slumber in the depths of your heart. And once the journey comes to an end, your soul will judge on your heart and carry out the decision."
I can't believe what I'm hearing right now. I never knew that the afterlife is such a pain in the ass. "You said this is a rare occasion. Does that mean people have been here before me?" I ask.
"…Yes. There was once a young child, a girl, who was like you, ended up here under the same circumstances." Enigma says monotonously.
"…What happened to her?" Judging from Enigma's tone, what occurred to the girl might not have been a happy ending.
"I sent her, too, on a journey to seek her answer. But she never returned. Either she never found what she really wanted inside her or her soul never actually made the decision. Of course, it might have been something else that had happened to her. I had lost contact with her for ten years in the realm of null. Until today, I could not understand why have this happened."
"She's lost?" I ask. "Will the same thing happen to me? Like, if I'm not careful enough?"
"The same thing could happen to you. But do not worry, your journey will already be prepared when you begin, and I will guide you along the path," Enigma assures.
Well, that certainly made me feel better, somehow.
"So, when do we begin?"
"Now."
Before I can say anything in response, the invisible floor beneath me disappears and I'm sucked into a vortex. My body spins rapidly inside the vortex for several minutes before it stops and I hit the ground. Feeling dizzy, I drop to my knees, unable to stand straight. I hold on something quickly for support.
A horrible headache. Great, what a way to begin your journey of life and death.
It took me minutes before I realize that I'm in a dark room packed with wooden barrels and crates. A lantern hangs at the ceiling, its flickering light illuminating the room. The floor is made of wooden planks and so is the door. Pipes line the walls. I wonder where am I as I stand up and scrutinize myself.
What the hell.
I'm wearing a forest-green shirt with no sleeves and brown pants. I am gloved in leather that stretches nearly all the way to my elbows while my legs are in leather boots. Over my shirt, I wear a breastplate that's well fashioned to my build. A black belt is buckled around my waist and a sheathed short sword hangs from it. Wrapped around my body is an oak-brown traveling cloak and, behind my back, a quiver of arrows and a teal-colored bow.
What happened to me? Did I get transported back into the medieval age or something?
"Hey, Enigma?" I call out.
There is no response.
"Well, I guess there's no use waiting here," I sigh. Having decided to do a little exploring on my surroundings, I begin towards the door. I was pushing the door open when a sudden explosion boom through the silence.
I jump at the sudden noise and let slipped a few swear words under my breath. That explosion must be pretty close judging by its amplitude. I find myself in a dim corridor with black smoke piling in from one end. I follow that direction immediately. As I run, I somehow feel that this corridor belonged to those of a ship's. Am I in a ship? I shield my nose from the smoke using my cloak. As the smoke clear, I find myself standing on the dock of a ship.
The dock is decorated into more of a stage for drama, with a huge fake castle as the background. Part of the stage's floor has been destroyed by large harpoons attached to huge chains. Several characters stand on the stage. And all of them are no strangers to me. My eyes go round and my mouth gapes when I begin to identify them as characters from the game 'Final Fantasy IX'.
There is Zidane, a young man with wavy, blond hair tied into a ponytail. He wears a teal vest over a white shirt along with blue pants. He wears both white gloves and white boots and has a long, monkey-like tail sticking out of his pants' back. And in his hands is a pair of daggers.
Next to him is Marcus, a friend of Zidane's. He wears a red bandana around his head, almost covering his eyes. He dresses himself in sleeveless blue vest and blue pants, with leather boots at his feet. Leather belts can be seen strapped around his wrists, across his chest diagonally and around his waist. He carries a broadsword in his right hand.
Vivi is standing on the other side of Zidane. He is no larger than an ordinary nine years old kid. He wears blue robes with huge white cuffs and baggy white pants with green vertical lines. He has an oversized pointy hat on his head, shadowing his round black face and his two luminous, yellow orb-like eyes. He, too, wears leather protections for his hands and legs and carries a wooden staff in his hands.
Behind the three is Garnet, the princess of Alexandria. She has long, silky black hair pulled back into a ponytail and wears an orange jumpsuit with long white sleeves. She merely has a simple rod in her hands as a weapon.
Facing the four is Steiner, a man with rather large size and donned in a suit of rusty knight armor. He wears a chain mail under that armor along with iron gloves and boots. A leather belt is strapped diagonally across his armor, fixing a sheath at his back for the broadsword he carries.
And behind Steiner is a Bomb, a large fireball monster with blazing eyes, little claws and a wide mouth across its round body. But that's not all. The Bomb's size grows as the battle continues and upon swelling to its maximum size, it will go off with a bang.
So, the story is already this deep into the game? I pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming. I remain flabbergasted until Zidane's voice snaps me out of my trance.
"Hey, look behind you!" he yells as he clashes his daggers with Steiner's broadsword.
"I will not fall for such an old trick!" Steiner bellows.
Looking at the actual scene, I'm wondering how the hell he cannot notice a giant Bomb floating behind him.
"Please, Steiner! Behind you!" Garnet makes her attempt to warn the knight. But the Bomb set off an explosion at the fake castle at the same time. Her warning have not reached Steiner.
Someone have to make Steiner come to his senses. It looks like it's a job for me. My blood runs through my veins in excitement. I run a quick check over what I can do. I have a bow and arrows, just perfect for me to show off my marksmanship. I guess I will start with that. I immediately nock an arrow and fire it at the Bomb. To my surprise, the Bomb's flames burn the arrow into crisps before it can sink into its body. I try a few more shots but they all end up getting incinerated into ashes.
"What the—who are you?" Zidane suddenly comes to notice that I am here.
"Now's not a good time for that!" I yell back to him.
Damn it, my arrows aren't working. Come on, think… the Bomb's a fire-elemental monster, so it will be weak against…
"Ice!" I thought out loud. I quickly run to Vivi, finding the little black mage staring at me in confusion. "Hey, Vi— I mean, kid! Can you infuse my arrow with a Blizzard spell? Try to condense the magic as much as possible at the arrow's tip. Hurry, the Bomb's gonna blow up any second."
Apparently like Zidane, Vivi is startled at my sudden appearance. But he quickly shrugs it off and nods. "A-alrighty, I'll give it a shot."
I nod in return and nock an arrow. As I aim, a chilling sensation surrounds the tip of my arrow, slowly turning it blue. I know my plan is working. Without further hesitation, I let go of the bowstring and fire the Blizzard-infused arrow at the Bomb.
The Bomb roars in pain as the ice arrow sinks into its fiery body. A chunk of solid ice suddenly bursts from its body, freezing part of its flames before shattering into innumerable shards. Filled with pain, the Bomb begin to rampage around the stage. The noise it causes has finally made Steiner realized that there is a Bomb behind him this whole time. The knight gapes in horror as he quickly steps away from the soon-to-come explosion.
Oh, wait, I didn't kill the Bomb?
"It's gonna blow!" Marcus cups a hand to his mouth and shouts. The Bomb's fiery body swells to its largest. Its flames are now vividly crimson. I can sense a lot of heat piling up from within the Bomb.
"TAKE COVER!" Zidane yells as he throws himself and Garnet at the floor. The rest of us follow. I cover my ear for the loudest explosion I've ever heard in my entire life.
The Bomb goes off, its amplitude high enough to almost split my eardrums in half. A minor shockwave radiates from the explosion and sends me and Vivi flying towards the ship cabin's walls. The blast shatters the chains attaching to the harpoons. I feel the ship gaining momentum as I try to stand back up. Rough wind begin blowing in my face. It was seconds before I realize that this is an airship I'm standing on.
As the cloud of smoke clears, I find everyone gathering up in a small circle.
"Is everyone okay?" Zidane asks, dusting a few rubbles off his shoulders.
There is a round of nods.
"We did it. We got away, barely," Marcus says, pouring a vial containing blue liquid down his lips. I assume it must be a Potion.
"Hey, thanks for your help earlier." Zidane pats Vivi on the head, to which the kid has to readjust his hat for. "And you, too." He turns to me. "Thanks for making ol' Rusty here came to his senses."
"No sweat," I answer, hanging my bow back on my shoulder.
"Y-You're welcome." Vivi adjusts his hat shyly.
"I will arrest you bandits for this! Just you wait!" Steiner roars, his gauntleted fists shaking with rage.
"Whatever." Zidane rolls his eyes.
"I am Prin—" Garnet coughs. "I am Garnet. Please to meet you all."
"Hello." Vivi and I greet simultaneously.
"How the hell you two got involved in this?" Zidane asks, referring to Vivi and I.
"Um…" Vivi begins to play with his fingers. "I watched the show without a ticket."
"And I dropped mine." I quickly make up a lie. "The guards willn't believe me and insisted on arresting me. So, I ran."
Zidane nods in understanding. "Well, this airship's heading for Lindblum. I'm sorry. We can't turn back now after all that commotion. The two of you have to stick with us for now."
"I don't think we'll make it that far, Zidane," Marcus informs, gesturing at the smoke piling out from the airship's propellers. Soon enough, the whole floor begins to shake violently as if a tremor has just hit us.
"Well, look on the bright side. At least we got the princess." Zidane forces a smile on his face.
Suddenly, Garnet screams. We all turn to see the floor she was standing on fell apart. The princess vanishes from our sight in an instance and falls through the thick cloud of Mist below.
"You were saying?" Marcus is desperately holding on to the cabin's door.
"PRINCESS!" Steiner yells. He, without giving it much thought, runs towards the direction where Garnet fell and jumps off. Either the man's got balls or he just happens to have been born without common sense.
"Hold on to something!" Zidane shouts to Vivi and I. But before the two of us can stretch out our hands and grab something, the stage crumbled further, dropping the two of us.
"HOLD ON TO ME!" I shout. I extend a hand and pull Vivi in. The two of us hug onto each other for our lives. The air rushes past us with rapid velocity. We manage to make it past the Mist. And now below us is a sea of dark trees. Our bodies crash through twigs and branches painfully, finally making a harsh contact with the ground.
Pain sears through my entire body. My consciousness is slipping away fast.
"What's…next…?" I breathe. "E…nigma…"
A/N: That's it guys. How do you find Afterlife? Please drop a review on your way out. Thank you very much. :)
