1.2. Awakening in an Unknown World

"Hahahaha... What? Did I just die? Was I killed by some bastard, only to end up in hell and burn alive?"

What did I do to deserve this fate? Was it because I killed a spider when I was a kid? Or because I hated flies? Does that put me on the same level as the demon who took my life in God's eyes? And what about him? He's probably living it up, drinking beer somewhere, relaxing, and planning his next couple of murders. And if that bastard has a family, does his mother deserve the same fate as me? Just for giving birth to such a monster?

Suddenly, a voice whispered in my ear: "You need to get out of here, or... you will simply die!"

Following that, an infernally loud laughter echoed inside my head... No, not just my head—it resonated through my entire being! The voice told me to get out or I'd die? But am I not already dead?

A sharp pain pierced my eye. Suddenly, fire began to spread through this iron coffin. I felt that hellish heat again, but only for a split second.

What? No! I'm getting out of here. I'm going to smash this stupid glass! I kicked the barrier in front of me with all my might. Surprisingly, I didn't feel any pain in my legs. And what am I even wearing?

It doesn't matter... The only thing that matters right now is escaping this coffin.

I continued to kick the glass with full force until, suddenly, it just flew outward. I immediately tried to scramble out. I managed to exit, but I instantly collapsed to the floor; a profound weakness shackled my legs, making them feel like cotton.

Suddenly, a loud sound erupted from behind me, like a powerful stream of gas igniting from a canister, and my back was bathed in pleasant warmth. I looked back and saw that the coffin I had just escaped was now filled with flames.

I just smiled. What if I had stayed in there? Would I have died for good? Would my very soul have burned away?

To hell with it!

I looked ahead and saw something resembling a door. I immediately crawled toward it and began pushing the panel with my hands. Lucky for me, my hands were still obeying my commands. Just then, someone opened the door from the outside.

"What the hell? How did he resurrect?!" a strange man holding a spear recoiled in horror.

AAAAAAAAAAAAH!

He immediately struck me in the head with the spear. I felt the blow piercing my skull and reaching my brain, but a second later, everything vanished, and I... was lying by that door again, whole and unharmed.

So, simply barging through the door isn't an option. I'd better hide among... whatever this is. The room looked like a server room. I hid behind a large black box.

After some time, the man with the spear entered. He slowly approached the coffin I had climbed out of.

"What the hell? Was the pressure really so high that it blew the lid off? I think the engineers need to work harder," he grumbled.

He then pulled out a device that looked like a mobile phone and started typing something. He stood there for a moment and left, but he didn't close the door behind him.

Either this is the afterlife, or I'm in another world, or I've completely lost my mind. It doesn't matter—I need to get out.

I crawled toward the open door, from which a bright white light was pouring. When I crawled out, I was literally blinded. A white, sterile corridor, like a hospital, stretched far into the distance. I crawled and crawled. It was strange that no one was around. Where did the man with the spear go? Did he enter one of the doors or move down the hallway like me?

I'm asking stupid questions. In my situation, it's not even worth thinking about. Is that the exit?

I looked at a door with a glowing sign above it. It blurred before my eyes, and the characters were unfamiliar—nothing like the word "EXIT"—yet deep down, I somehow understood that was exactly what it meant. I don't even know how to explain it...

I had no choice, so I crawled toward it.

The door handle was too high; I couldn't reach it just like that. I had to try and stand up. I gathered my strength. Very slowly, leaning my hands against the door, I attempted to rise to my feet. I managed it, but I felt like I was going to collapse any minute. I yanked the handle and immediately tumbled forward.

A bright flash. My face met... the ground? I slowly looked around.

I was lying on grass, and behind me towered a majestic building—the one I had just exited. Where am I? In Paradise? Why are there no guards at this door? I wiggled my legs—sensation was returning. I was even able to stand up. Although my legs trembled with weakness, it seemed I could stand now.

I greedily inhaled the air through my nose. The smell... it was different. I had never felt such lightness when breathing in my life. Maybe this really is Paradise?

I wandered forward, looking around. Beautiful trees grew all around, the likes of which I had never seen before. Red fruits hung from the branches. They resembled apples, but they were different—larger and of a saturated scarlet shade I had never encountered in my life.

And the flowers! They were so whimsical: many were shaped like spirals or windmill blades. Strange associations, but they really did look like that. And they were speckled with so many colors that my eyes began to ripple.

Among the trees sat a pleasant-looking girl. Her hair color was the same as many of the flowers growing near her. What a peaceful scene... A lovely lady in such a wonderful landscape—it was very nice to see this after what I had endured.

At some point, she noticed me and looked at me with surprise.

"What? Why are you looking at me?" the girl huffed continuously. For some reason, her voice sounded doubled: it was simultaneously understandable and alien. It was as if she were speaking a language I didn't know, with a voiceover in my native tongue layered on top.

I continued to dumbly stare at the girl.

"Do you even hear me? Why are you gawking? Are you slow or something?"

I decided to try and answer her. "N-no... I just..."

The girl interrupted me: "Wait, aren't you that sick boy who was buried recently?"

I looked into her eyes in surprise. Who is she talking about?

"For real! Your family lives near the shop. I saw you being carried in the sacred coffin to the Great Temple."

What is she blabbering about? What sacred coffin, and what temple?

"I don't understand you..." I mumbled under my breath.

She stood up, walked right up to me, and poked a finger in my face. "A real... Live corpse walking around Etheria..." She laughed. "If I tell anyone, they won't believe me! So I have to show you to someone..." She thought for a moment. "For example, your sister!"

She grabbed my hand and ran somewhere, but I immediately fell, planting my face in the grass and dirt.

"What's with you? You rose from the dead but didn't learn how to stand? Come on, grab hold!" she extended her palm.

I took her hand and stood up. Strength appeared in my legs from somewhere.

"Alright, running with you isn't an option, so let's go slower. Follow me."

She headed toward some low buildings. Is this their village? The houses were so old, absolutely unlike the ones in my town. But this village was lively enough: many people in strange robes sat at counters, strolled around, or rode in carriages. Except they weren't pulled by horses, but by strange creatures resembling cows.

Someone tugged my ear. "Here we are," said the girl, knocking on one of the doors.

The door was opened by another pleasant-looking girl. As soon as she saw me, she started crying. Tears welled up on her face; she rushed to me and hugged me with all her might. I felt her warmth and a certain softness, and then, pulling back slightly, she looked me straight in the eyes.

A bright flash and an unpleasant burning sensation flared on my cheek in that same second. She had slapped me, hard enough that the mark would likely remain on my face for a long time.

"Prima, he looks exactly like my brother... Why did you bring this guy to me?!" the girl screamed through sobs and suddenly doubled over, weeping loudly.

I absolutely didn't understand what was happening, but I felt so sad watching the girl cry because of me.

"Aria, this is your brother! He walked straight out of our Goddess's Great Temple!" declared the girl named Prima.

"Enough! My brother suffered for a long time and died; he wouldn't want to return to this hell again!" said the girl named Aria, straightening up. "Leave... You," she pointed a finger at me, "and you, Prima!" "I don't care that he came out of the stupid Goddess's temple. My brother is dead!"

A woman peeked out from behind the door. "You... You! Did you really return?" The woman moved toward me.

"That's why you came..." whispered Aria, wiping tears from her eyes.

The woman approached and looked at me as if I were the most precious treasure in the world. "Veles... Did you really come back?" "You... You're alive!" She tried to hug me, but Aria stopped her.

"No, Mom, that isn't Dad."

The woman began to cry. She looked at Aria with a crazed gaze. "Who is it then, if not Veles? It's him, I know it for sure! Let me go!"

The woman tried to break free, but Aria forcibly guided her back into the house. "Leave and don't come back!"

Aria went inside and slammed the door in our faces.

"Well, she didn't believe me! Or maybe you really just look like her brother, and I touched a sore subject for nothing... Then who are you?" Prima asked me.

I touched my face. The skin was surprisingly soft and smooth.

"I... I don't know... I died, but suddenly woke up in something that looked like a coffin, and..."

The girl looked at me with bewilderment. "That's strange... Maybe it's a miracle of the Goddess?" Prima pondered. "The Goddess saw your suffering and decided to bring you back to life?"

I asked, "And who is the Goddess?"

The girl gasped in amazement. "Are you serious? You don't know the Goddess? Our Goddess?" "The Great Goddess of the Sky who saved us from inevitable death?" She laughed. "It's like you're not from our world at all!" "So lost, I just can't... The Goddess was able to resurrect you but couldn't leave you your memories?"

I hesitated slightly, then answered, "What if I'm really not from this world?"

She looked at me with surprising seriousness. "Then that changes everything. Only, that's hardly possible." "After all, no one knows if another world exists. Maybe you're just crazy?"

"Maybe I really am crazy, and this is just my fantasy?" I thought, smiling stupidly.

"What are you doing? Why are you making such a creepy face?" stated Prima.

I sat on the ground, staring at a random stone. Why am I here? Who am I right now, and where am I anyway? I remember being tortured brutally; it's as if I can still feel the unbearable pain with every cell of my body. Afterwards, I woke up in that damn coffin and burned... But no, then that man with the spear killed me... But no... What is this even?!

This is all driving me insane!

I grabbed my head, and I started shaking, but a light flick on the forehead brought me back to my senses.

"Hey, why did you sit down?" she clicked her tongue. "Get up and follow me."

Prima walked off somewhere. I can't get so fixated... I stood up, brushed myself off slightly, and followed Prima. I just wanted to close my eyes and forget about everything, just sleep an eternal sleep. Why didn't I die? Maybe simple death would have been better?

"Hey, stop!" Prima's scream was heard.

I looked down at my feet and saw that I was standing on the very edge... Of what? Is this land in the sky?

I immediately plummeted downward. From somewhere above came Prima's voice, shouting something indistinctly. I fell faster and faster, the wind hitting my face painfully, but the view of the beautiful, majestic, and somewhat primeval earth below eclipsed my consciousness.

I descended lower and lower. A sharp impact. A huge, powerful impulse spread through my entire body; I didn't even have time to feel pain...

I collapsed onto my knees and threw up.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" asked Prima, looking at me with slight disgust. "You definitely need a doctor. Who just pukes in the middle of the road?"

I wiped my mouth with my hand. What the hell was that? I was lost in thought, fell down... Is this a floating island?

"This island... Is in the sky?" I asked, rising from my knees.

She just smirked. "Looks like you really aren't from our world. Yes, this island is floating!" "The Great Angelic Island of Etheria, where we lived with the angels!" She looked down somewhere with sadness. "Until the people of the earth killed them."

For some reason, this seems familiar to me... As if I had heard something similar before.

"Sounds pretty interesting. By the way, where were you taking me?"

She chuckled. "Well, to the local healer. To check your head, since there is clearly something wrong with it." "That's it, enough talking, let's go already."

I followed her. Angels... So that's how it is. Does that mean I'm really in Paradise? Although the people of the earth destroyed them. We, ordinary humans, destroyed them? I looked at my hands. This is all so strange; it's turning me inside out. Though this is better than just eternal darkness... Probably.

I looked around and noticed we were walking along a bridge connecting this piece of land to another. It was a bit scary to walk on, considering the height. On the other side of the bridge, on a small islet, stood a single building with a cross on the roof. Looks like a church.

Prima stood before the entrance, bowed, then knocked three times on the bulky door and opened it. "Come on, go inside!" she waved invitingly, and I walked in.

A pleasant, bass voice came from somewhere far away: "Yes, I'll be right there, wait."

Prima sat in one of the armchairs kindly placed near the entrance. I sat down next to her. A minute later, a middle-aged man with a well-built body came out to us.

"Did you call?" He looked me over and immediately plopped down on his rear in shock. "What the hell?! You died, kid!" "That just can't be!"

Prima just smiled. "Doctor, this is that same sick boy who passed away the other day, right?"

The doctor, getting up and swallowing the lump in his throat with difficulty, said, "Yes... This guy looks very similar... Or rather, he is his exact copy." He smiled nervously. "But that simply cannot be. A human rising from the dead? That has never happened..."

Now it dawned on me. I ended up in the body of some kid who died recently. Or I just look like him. But what do I even look like?

Before I could blink, I was in the doctor's office. He examined me carefully.

"This guy is completely healthy. And he... He is..." the doctor paused. "Elian, do you remember how you died?"

Elian? Who is that? Is that really me?

Prima smiled slyly. "So I was right! You really are that kid who recently..."

The doctor interrupted Prima: "You shouldn't tell him that; he's a bit in shock." "Still, to return from the other world and be completely cured of a terminal illness is worth a lot. It's a true miracle!" "Can our Goddess really do such a thing? Then why did she choose this kid?"

The doctor gathered some documents from the table. "You need to be shown to your relatives immediately."

Prima approached him: "We already went to them. They didn't believe us."

The doctor smiled. "Well, of course! It's not every day that dead people return to their kin." "But I have proof that he is real. So they will have to believe and accept the risen dead into their family." He placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. "The fact that you are confused and possibly don't remember much is normal." "The brain is gradually recovering."

I forced a smile. So, I am now a different person? A person who died and abruptly resurrected. What a nightmare... I saw the pain in the eyes of those people; they loved him very much. I won't be able to pretend to be someone else!

And what if... What if someone is pretending to be me right now? Sitting with Asahina at Leo's house, drawing those stupid posters? And then going home, playing on my computer on my account, eating my grandma's delicious soup, fishing in the sea with grandpa, remembering my father whom he doesn't even know?!

I grabbed my face, which was frozen in a grimace of horror.

"Does this happen to him often?" asked the doctor.

"Yes, it happened while we were walking here," answered Prima.

"Interesting!" said the doctor, taking out a notepad and writing something down.

Then he rummaged through the documents and took out a card with a photograph attached.

"Elian, this is you!" said the doctor, showing me the snapshot.

But I didn't react. A grimace of horror remained frozen on my face.

"Doctor, you have to do it like this," said Prima and flicked me on the forehead.

I immediately came to my senses and looked at the medical card. On it was a photo of a white-haired boy—judging by everything, that same Elian.

"Elian, this is you," repeated the doctor, poking his finger at the photograph.

"Ha, is that really me?" I chuckled aloud.

"Yes, it's you. And now let's go before it gets dark, the frosts are strong at night these days."

The doctor put the documents into a small bag and headed for the exit. Prima followed.

"Well, come on, let's go! Why are you hovering there?" she threw back, opening the door and disappearing into the bright light of the opening.

Will I really have to pretend to be another person? I pushed the heavy door and went outside after Prima and the doctor. She was talking to him about something. I wonder, have they known each other for long?

I rubbed my eyes slightly, tired from all the madness that had happened during the day. But when I opened them... The silhouettes of the Doctor and Prima had changed. They didn't have... heads?

I froze on the threshold of the clinic. What?..