Darkness. Stillness. Complete and total silence. It was all around her. And it was driving her nuts.
Her eyes saw nothing, her ears heard nothing other than her panicked breathing. It felt very cold around her, yet she was not capable of shivering. Even when she tried to, just to see if it were still possible, she could not. That was when she realized something.
She was in a horrifying void.
Mahpari sat up, looking around, trying her best not to freak out. The girl felt as though she were breathing, but no breath came from her mouth or from her nose when she exhaled. Could it be she simply could not feel it? Or was it because of this void?
Whatever it was, Mahpari didn't like it.
"Where am I? In fact...what am I?"
Mahpari's voice echoed softly, as though there were walls surrounding her on all sides. She blinked, then looked around again. Then, she realized she no longer needed to blink. She could feel nothing. And just to prove the fact for herself, Mahpari pinched her cheek.
It didn't even phase her.
"This is insane. I must just be dreaming. Nothing more than a dream."
"Wrong, Mahpari. You're not dreaming. I'm afraid to say that you have died and passed into the Void of the Afterlife."
Mahpari was terror stricken. She couldn't will herself to scream, however, for she no longer had emotions left that would allow her to. Only the regular five senses.
Well, technically four. Her sense of touch had gone out the window.
"Hey, who's out there?" Mahpari called. Her answer was not formed from words. Rather, a bright, vibrant light with a blue tint appeared, and it seemed to be miles and miles away from her. Mahpari tilted her head to the left, trying to make sense of all of this.
The light began to move closer to her. Mahpari was thankful she had no sense of fear left. If she did, she most likely would've been running forever into a pit of nothingness.
Instead, she allowed the light to come closer. But as it began to slowly crawl into view, it turned out that it was not a light. It was a glowing young boy, about her age. Maybe two years older, give or take. As Mahpari began to take a closer look at him, she thought she began to recognize him.
In fact, she did recognize him. And even though it was unnecessary, Mahpari let out a gasp.
Hart Tenjo now floated in front of her.
"Hello, Mahpari," Hart said, smiling and placing a hand in front of her. Mahpari stared at it for a moment, then decided there was no danger. And even if there was, what was the big deal? It couldn't hurt her if she couldn't feel anything. She gingerly touched her hand to his, letting him pull her up. As he did, a vibrant orange aura formed around her, causing her to begin to float as well.
Mahpari stared down at herself curiously for a moment, then looked back up at Hart, gazing into his amber eyes.
"Where did you say we were?"
"The Void of the Afterlife, where spirits are eliminated, sent on to Heaven, or sent on to Hell."
"Do you know what my fate is? Like, where I'm supposed to go?"
Hart shook his head. "Sorry, no. Not until I see how you react to certain things do I know where you're to be sent."
The two children stared at each other, not taking their gazes away whatsoever. Finally, however, Hart gestured with his hand. "Look," he whispered, pointing to his right. Mahpari looked over, seeing nothing but blackness at first.
Soon, in replacement to the blackness, a small portal opened up. Mahpari somehow knew better than to try and go through it. Instead, she watched as an image began to fill the light. It was unclear of what it was for a second, but soon, Mahpari could see everything.
Mizael was standing there, with Kite next to him. Both had tears streaming down their cheeks as they stared at something. In a flash, the portal directed its attention to Alit, Shark, and Gilag, who were managing to keep their tears at bay. With one more flash, it turned to the last thing there. And Mahpari could not believe what that was.
Her older brother, Durbe.
Mahpari touched her fingertips to the portal. "Nii-san," she whispered, listening as the sounds started to enter her ears directly and drown everything else out completely. The gray-haired girl couldn't believe what she was hearing. Durbe was crying! No, not simply crying. He was sobbing.
"How come he's so upset?" Mahpari asked, not taking her eyes off the portal.
"Because. You're dead, and he could not save you. You jumped in the way to protect him from Vector. As payment, you were forced to give up your mortal soul."
Mahpari felt tears coming to her eyes as the portal closed, her older brother's sobs and whimpers still echoing in her ears. It made no sense to her. Durbe had never once shed a tear before. And she was confident this was a dream. So then why did this seem to sting her heart and cause her to feel the first bit of pain she'd felt since she first came here?
"Hart, I'm not dead. This is only a dream."
"I wish I could agree. But, I think you have the potential to float on up to Heaven. You should go before the Void decides to keep you here instead."
But Mahpari shook her head. This stunned Hart, for his amber eyes went wide with shock.
"Hart, I don't wanna go anywhere without my nii-san. If there was a way that I could have just one more chance at life...just one more chance to be with him...I'd jump on it in a heartbeat."
"Perhaps there is a way."
Now it was Mahpari's turn to widen her eyes in shock. She blinked, then raised an eyebrow. "What? Are you implying I could go back?"
"Maybe. I could turn you into a Barian."
"What's a Barian?"
"They're mythical creatures. You'd be surprised how many are really on Earth right now wandering around. Some of them are sent there to be guardians. In fact, all of them sent from here are. The ones sent from the other side of the Void, however, are sent only to cause trouble and mayhem."
"There's a whole other side of this place here?"
"Yes. You were very fortunate to land on this one. I guess you truly have a pure heart not to wind up stuck with Don Thousand on the other side."
Don Thousand, Mahpari thought. Where on Earth have I heard that name before?
"The people on that side are turned against the ones they love, regardless if they are a nice, peaceful soul. They must have a very pure heart to back that up, like you do," Hart continued. "If I turn you into a Barian, you'll be assigned to protect the ones you love, not harm them."
"I understand."
Hart nodded. "Good. I shall change you and send you back down to Earth for one last shot at life."
Not a word was spoken as Hart's hand lit up a bright blue. Mahpari closed her smokey-gray eyes as he touched her forehead. She could feel a strange pulse of power come from her heart, which she could now feel was beating. Her breath could be felt when she exhaled. And she could feel the hand that touched her forehead now. All of her senses had returned back to her.
A faint glow came from Mahpari's wrist. She looked down, then gasped upon the foreign object that was now attached to it. It appeared to be a bracelet made completely out of stone, with a single gem in the center.
Hart seemed to realize the confusion from the girl in front of him. He smiled, then took her hand and held it up to see the object for himself. "This is a Baria Lapis," he explained. "It will allow you to access your full power on Earth in case of an emergency." The boy chuckled, then looked up at her.
Mahpari blinked. She hated being stared at, and a small bit of blush began to form on her pale cheeks. "What?" she asked at last.
"For years now, there has been a prophecy that we knew would one day be fulfilled. A soul would wander here, and she would have such a pure heart and soul that she would be considered the Fairy Protector, a Barian of great light and goodness. There would also be a Dragon Attacker, a Barian of harsh darkness and evil. He would be sent to the other side. It is said they would battle one day, the Fairy and the Dragon, and whoever won the battle would show that that was the side to one day overpower the other," Hart whispered, looking Mahpari in the eye, "and I think the Fairy...may just be you, Mahpari."
"I doubt that highly. But it would be neat."
Hart only chuckled as he opened a portal. He gestured for her to step through, and she did. When he was sure he was alone, he let out a giggle.
"I don't just think you're the Fairy, Mahpari," Hart whispered. "I know you're the Fairy. And I know you'll protect the light of good from the darkness of evil that will come from the Dragon, whoever he may be."