Chapter 1 (The Great departure)

The flute's sound filled the air. Cold, smokey air touched Max’s face. 

 By the sound of the pleasant flute, he woke up. He could think no more except the melody. Of course, he would. When the music touches, everyone forgets their pains. Children were singing over the tune, and the piper boy played more. All were in the absence of pain. 
 Wearing a grey clock, the little piper boy has been in this situation numerous times. From the day he started doing this Job, he had met a multitude of untimely fallen leaves. He, too, was one of them in the past. He was the fittest for his job, collecting the souls of departed children. The old grim reaper may frighten the poor innocent right after their decease.

 ….

 As the cold breeze of River Styx fluttered his face, thoughts appeared in Max's mind. He woke from the sound and said, “Where am I?” “Why am I here?”“Where am I heading to?”

 In a loving, resonant voice, the piper boy said, “You are now at River Styx, on the ferry of Charon. You are here, for your lifespan has ended. But, worry not, for we are taking you and the other children to the Blessed Land of Children,” 
 Max was shocked but remained silent and tried to recall what had happened. He was flabbergasted. As he recalled, yesterday, Vithura hugged him and rubbed his hair, and he felt a sharp pain in his back.
“Oh, my God!!!”
 Max screamed. He had noticed that there were tears in Vithura’s eyes. He had felt that Vithura’s hands were shaking and his heartbeat rushing. Vithura had stabbed and killed him. So, He was dead then. Little Max began sobbing.
“Hey, don’t worry. Upon arriving in the blessed land, your pains will go,”
 The piper boy patted his head and said. His tune began to calm rather than be amusing. The kids still sang jolly songs to the melody, except for Max, who got drowned in the stream of thoughts. How could his best friend and mentor could do this to him? For what reason he killed him? He could feel happiness no more, and the piper boy felt distressed for him. His music couldn’t save a boy from sadness. Perhaps, after erasing his memories, Max’s pain would go too. 
…..
 As they arrived at the shore, All the children except Max happily got off the giant ferry. They landed on a sunny grassland. The warm sunshine greeted them, and scant flowers said “Hello,” to the children. Max could see children of all ethnic, genders, and even species apart from human enjoying their pleasurable eternal lives with only joy and no worry nor suffering. No disease, death, or decay. Colorful birds and strange-shaped trees were everywhere, giving happiness to children. Even Max could feel a sense of welcome upon landing on the blessed land. But all this happiness lasted no more than a second.
“Boom!!!” 
 As Max was about to enter the land, two beings dressed in dark robes, having red skin and monstrous looks, appeared near Max. One had the head of a horse, and the other had that of an ox. All the children were shocked, and the piper boy yelled, 
“This is the Blessed land. You shall not enter!” He made a warning tune.
 Suddenly, two guardian deities of the blessed land, the ten-armed Dharmapalas, appeared, holding various weapons, including, swords, Trishulas, bows, arrows, chakrams, Vajras, and clab. Both Dharmapala had four heads, the east-facing black human head, the west-facing golden oxen head, the north-facing green eagle head, and the south-facing red lion head. Six were their wings, endorsed in flames. Their heads glow with auras of fame.
“We are taking what does not belong to the blessed land, a demon boy,” one of the red-skinned giants said while grabbing Max’s shoulder. The sudden action shocked Little Max to the bone. 
 The Piper Boy and the Dharma Palas tried to stop them. But the Giants took Max into a portal. He got to a distant land opposite the blessed realm, where darkness and sulfurous smoke rule and brimstones lighten. The smell of smoke suffocated his lungs. The mists blocked his vision. Max was inside a broad hall surrounded by giants wearing dark cloaks and sitting on chairs. The scene reminded him of the Councilio el Daemonium, the demon council.
 Suddenly, iron chains appeared around Max, restraining him. A giant whipped him with an iron chain and barked him to move. The pain was excruciating, and Max’s demon form appeared for a while. He tried to burn the chains down but ended up hurting himself. 
 “Max, the demon boy, A.K.A Daemonium Hedum,” one of the giants began speaking.
 “You have the power demon Aym and shell cast to Tartarus,” 
Max knew Greek myths and what Tartarus was. “Tartarus? I did nothing wrong!” 
 “Silence! A demon has no right to speak! All demons shell cast to Tartarus, and so will you!”
 “Wham!” “Wham!” Other strokes of lash appeared. Max could barely walk and began crying. His shirt got torn. The lashes caused his mild skin to bleed. He could feel extreme pain in his bones as if they had broken. 
“For your rude behavior at the Naraka Court,” the giants said.
“Then what punishments should be given to the judges for their rude and abusive behavior towards a child!”
 A strong voice appeared, causing an awkward silence among the judges. An old-aged (about 60) bald man wearing the robe of a Japanese Buddhist monk, holding a staff with six rings, appeared. The holy man reminded Max of the Zen Masters he had seen in movies. Immediately, he considered the monk as his savior. The judges seemed to be disgusted and unwelcome toward the monk.
“Ksitigarbha! Why are ye interrupting us? This boy is a demon!” they yelled.
“Everyone who has been judged unfairly relates to me. It is I who’s responsible for liberating them to freedom. And now, I see the so-called great judges abusing and unfairly judging a young boy,”
 His voice is sharp as thunder. He stood still as if a lion upon a cliff.

“How would you say this creature is a boy? Haven’t ye seen its demon form,”
“I will prove it. And I will give him what he deserves. I summon to make Bardo tests upon him just as you did like every human,”
 Judges started opposing loudly. But one judge, who seemed to be the oldest, spoke,
 “I agree!”
 All the judges yelled at him, saying, “Lord Yama! Why would you let this creature get humane tests?” But the old one said,
“If he fails, he will not be cast to Tartarus but to realms of Naraka,”
The monk was shocked and looked at Max for a while in a saddened manner and slowly said to the judges,“If he won, this land had to be away from him,” 
“Agree,” said the old one. Max had no idea what they were talking about.“Let’s start the Bardo test!”