As the light dimmed, Daiden stared at a stairway that led to a higher plane of existence. It was instinctive, his first step. But the journey wasn’t as hard as he had expected it to be. It was guided, in an embrace, veiled in an aura of calm and tranquillity. He reached his destination without effort, and the spears that shielded the door parted, without issue.

Daiden eyed the two soldiers on guard – two soldiers, emitting a sense of nothingness; he shivered. His eyes watered at their sight, a mild pain and nothing more. He couldn’t identify the two soldiers, not their information even – the light, it shielded from the gaze of mortals. As he entered, the door closed to a shut behind him, at a gentle pace, through stone-cut floors, and with a loud thud.

At a distance, Daiden noticed what appeared to be a throne, and a being seated atop it. He lowered his head from the pressure and approached with caution. His body tingled with fright, but the light that had summoned him, embraced him once more. It soothed his nerves, repelling both panic and fear. Daiden refused to raise his head; it was as it was with the soldiers on guard, only more powerful. He feared the fate of his eyes, when placed upon a being outside the realm of human comprehension.

[I see that the Contractor made a mistake,] the being said; Daiden shrank from the voice – high-pitched in a treble, almost childlike. But the pressure remained, as an overwhelming sea of nothingness. [You weren’t supposed to lose your head in the event of your death. It’s why the process took as long as it did; not easy to reconstruct a headless body, even for a God.]

Daiden shivered; the words had confirmed it for him.

[On a positive note, you appear to have acclimatized to your death in the Earthen Realm,] continued the being, unhurriedly. [As an apology, Baha and I decided to make your body more robust to the concept of pain. I hope you accept.]

Daiden waited for more to follow, but the silence persisted. It resulted in a meek response, “Yes.”

The situation was hard to come to terms with, but conflicted in thought. Daiden sought the return of his abilities, but he had never imagined the process to occur via death. His head spun at the idea of a life beyond, but the year helped him, just as the being had described. Daiden paused thought in that moment, realizing that it had, in fact, been a year since his death.

“Shit!” thought Daiden, his head lowered still.

[You wonder about the state of your parents,] the being guessed, with a tone indicative of a smile. [Rest your worry; time is a fluid concept. The space that trapped you through your reconstruction, it runs through a year in the span of an hour within the Earthen Realm. Not that it matters; you are dead to that world.]

“Is there any way to solve that situation?” asked Daiden, with some energy. “I do not wish it upon my parents, the memory of my death.”

When a pause followed, Daiden cursed at having spoken out of turn, but eased when the moments furthered into laughter. It echoed with strength and loudness, and once more with an overwhelming sense of nothingness.

[I see that you ask not of your return to the living, but for the peace of your parents and loved ones,] the being said. [Thank you; I do not remember when last I laughed as such.]

“Is it possible?” asked Daiden, once more, cautiously.

[Most certainly,] the being said, calming from laughter. [But it would come at the cost of erasure, the permanent kind.]

Daiden formed a puzzled expression at first, but the god allowed little opportunity for a state of confusion.

[Nobody would ever know you existed,] the being explained, coldly. [You will be lost from memory, in permanence, and without doubt. All your accomplishments, your legacy, everything; knowing this, do you still wish to ask me of this favour?]

“I understand that death is permanent to begin with,” said Daiden, slowly. “The existence of this world, the contract I signed, and all else – it’s a muddle in my head. But I somehow understand that this is a path of no return. With all my strength, I hated it; I hated my world and what it took away from me. I hated every waking moment being unable to achieve what I knew I could!”

Daiden noticed tears; it trickled down the course of his face, hanging at the end of his chin. Some fell, only to turn to light upon contact with the floor. He was allowed this chance to finish, to vent.

“I do not wish to return to that state of helplessness, and yet I crumbled at the knowledge of my death,” continued Daiden, between sobs. “The year, it killed me from the inside just as much as the pain did from the outside. It was horrifyingly selfish, what I felt; but I felt it, nonetheless. I do not wish to return. I do not wish to return! But as much as I want it, it kills me more to know what it would do to my parents.”

The being watched the human break once more; it felt emotion.

[I tremble at the sight of your honesty,] the being said, after some thought.

The light watched Daiden weaken with emotional pain; it gathered around him, with kindness, with warmth.

The apparent god dug deeper into thought at the sight, but only briefly. [I’ll allow it then, in my name, in the name of Ehedus. Remember that I did you this favour, and remember that you are now bound to me by contract.]

Daiden merely nodded in acknowledgement, in tears still.

[You shall be blessed with the name Lost, to remind you of what you have forsaken, to remind you of your renewed purpose,] continued Ehedus, only louder and with more dignity. [You are due one more test, and you shall pass it, or die trying. Remember, Daiden Lost, ours is a world of conquest; do not underestimate your limitations.]

As the words slowed to an end, the light shone with greater ferocity. It burned skin, just as it had upon entrance. Daiden felt his body disintegrate, and in thanks, he bowed sincerely. Overcome with light, his body meshed with the radiance, and in that process, Daiden made another promise.

“I won’t underestimate it,” whispered Daiden, on the thought of his potential. “Even if it kills me again, I promise to scar this new world with my name.”