He was walking down a long corridor with freshly dyed, red fabric swaying in the breeze. A bright light shone down from above while a thick white mist rose from the floor, so thick he couldn't see the step in front of him. Looking down at himself, he was surprised to see himself wearing a golden robe with a puma embroidered in white, silk thread on the sleeves. His expression soured and he threw his hands up in irritation.

This damn creature. It was everywhere.

Shaking his head, Shaugn kept walking down the corridor. It was then he realized there seemed to be a pan flute playing softly in the background. He couldn't help but think about all the movies with calm mystical scenes right before a big fight.

Shaugn chuckled to himself. It was absurd. Who the heck would he fight with?

Not that he was worried. In his reality, he'd taken several years of martial arts and boxing. He could hold his own against anyone trying to do him harm. He stopped in his tracks and frowned at a thought.

Maybe not against a Shaolin master from the old movies or John Wick but an average Joe, he was straight.

As he got to the end of the corridor, a piece of fabric covered what appeared to be a door. The cloth fabric that had been dancing since he entered the space, stopped swaying and hung still against the wall. The pan music stopped filling the room with endless silence. The mysterious mist seemed to be sucked from the room and the light above dimmed. Shaugn felt like a rock dropped into his stomach. What waited for him beyond this fabric?

"I'm a man of the 21st century. I've seen countless horror movies and thrillers. Whatever this is, I can handle it." He clenched his hands into fists and nodded his head. "Right." After giving himself a pep talk, he brushed the fabric aside and stepped into the next room.

A force pulled him forward into darkness. He felt disoriented and nearly fell to the floor. This room was completely pitch black. He couldn't even see his own hands. There was a slight rustle of fabric then nothing but his own breathing.

Shaugn rubbed his forehead. Ok. So this wasn't anything he'd ever imagined.

"Hello?" Shaugn called out. He put his hands out and took a few steps forward. The darkness was still. He could see nothing and hear even less. This was beyond creepy. Shaugn felt his heart rate climbing. What the hell was going on?

The room partially lit up as a tv screen appeared in the gloom. On it was a frozen image of a man that looked just like him with slightly darker eyes. The man was facing the left and smiling at someone there. Shaugn walked toward the tv and the image panned to the left. The man on the screen was smiling at Xoan who was standing beside him. They were both dressed in red robes. Shaugn smiled in understanding. This was their wedding day.

Shaugn watched as the entire day played out. From Xoan picking the OG up at his home and taking him around the city, to the soldiers holding their swords in the air forming an arch for the newly married couple to run through, to their tender first night as newlyweds. It was a magical day for the two people involved.

Shaugn felt a little sting in his chest. Was this to make him feel guilty? He hadn't done anything with Xoan.

Xoan's voice spoke from the image. "You are the first, Shau, to treat me like a person. To listen to me and not expect anything of me."

OG Shaugn smiled. "All I want from you, my lord, is your love and happiness."

Xoan cupped Shaugn's face in his hands. "You have them and then some."

As they kissed, the scene changed. Several images scrolled by. OG Shaugn in court by Xoan's side. A power duo that brought out envy and admiration in the ministers and generals. OG Shaugn working in the clinic. The immense love of the people and the scorn of other physicians who only catered to the rich. OG dealing with the consorts and servants. Loved by those who believed in merit, fairness, and unconditional respect and despised by the rest used to favoritism and rank.

Shaugn put his hands on his hips. He'd seen all that before. As if it knew his thoughts, the images stopped. On the screen was OG laying at the bottom of the stairs. There was a bloodstain on the lower half of his white robes. Four of the consorts stood in the background with smirks on their faces.

His mouth dropped open. Did they cause him -OG - to have a miscarriage? What the fuck? Or maybe someone else did it and they just happened to find him? Or maybe he fell on his own?

More images played. The more that played, the angrier Shaugn got. An accident where Akechi was burned. Kazim being trampled by a horse during an outing. Radagar fending off a drunken citizen when Shaugn went to treat a sickened child.

It was the death of Po Nenih that finally broke OG. While working in his clinic, OG's beloved father was attacked by a crazy man that came to his clinic. The crazy man was never found. OG Shaugn knew one of the consorts was behind it but he couldn't find any proof. The guards assigned to his clinic miraculously disappeared.

After that, the consorts went out of their way the last two years of the original Shaugn's life to make him miserable. From poisoning to taunting to his clinic being destroyed, the OG Shaugn suffered a lot at the hands of the consorts, the servants, and the court officials behind them. Many were offended that a dujshua had so much political power. The consorts were angry that not only was a dujshua the empress, but that he could do things they could not.

He alone was able to participate in court. He could leave and go to the clinic to practice medicine. He could run an herbal and medicine shop and earn money. He was able to run the household and have the same power and authority as the emperor. OG was the most highly favored empress in decades.

Shaugn snorted. It wasn't the OG's fault he was talented and intelligent. Perhaps if those consorts tried to improve themselves and think of serving others, Xoan might have let them out of the palace as well. They were just pretty things that wanted to fight for power from behind the scenes with tricks. OG Shaun cared for none of that and Xoan knew it.

The screen changed to a dark night. There was thunder in the background and streaks of lightning zigzagged across the sky. OG Shaugn was standing on a wooden bridge looking at the bioluminescent creatures in the lake. These creatures were a new addition to the lake Xoan had acquired for him from an allied kingdom by the sea.

The wind whipped his robes about but he was oblivious. He had a hand over his stomach and a small smile played on his lips. Something drew his attention and he turned only to be hit in the head. He fell over the railing of the bridge and into the water. He hit his head a second time on one of the rocks jutting out of the water. His eyes closed for the last time his body sank beneath the water. Mysteriously, lighting struck down at the lake at the same moment. Whoever had been on the bridge ran away.

Shaugn reached up to cover his mouth as he watched the blurry image fade.

"They really fuckin..." His hand went to his stomach. Was the OG pregnant at the time? No, that wasn't right. He was him now so that meant he was pregnant.

A light came on bathing the room in soft light. Shaugn turned to stare as a man with golden robes approached. Golden light surrounded him making it hard to make out his features. The man stopped a foot in front of him making Shaugn gasp.

"It's you." He rolled his eyes in his head at himself. All this time and all he could think to say was, 'it's you.' How lame.

The man smiled. "Hello, Shaugn."

Shaugn reached his hand out to touch the mystical figure. "How?"

OG Shaugn shrugged. "Mystery of the universe, I guess."

Shaugn just gaped at him.

"I know you have a lot of questions."

Shaugn crossed his arms over his chest. What an understatement. "No shit."

"Some I can't answer."

"That sucks." Figures. Shaugn sucked his teeth.

OG covered a soft laugh. "I'll do my best."

Fine. Shaugn asked the most pressing question. "Why am I here?"

OG Shaugn sighed and two chairs appeared out of thin air. They sat down and he began to explain. "I was tired. Tired of the tricks, fighting, constantly being on guard. But I wanted my child to live. So I called out to the heavens."

Shaugn frowned. "What if I hadn't gone hiking and died?"

OG chuckled. "We wouldn't be having this conversation." The two of them talked about their different lives and upbringings. OG Shaugn was an only child while Shaugn only had sisters. Both Shaugns grew up with both parents into adulthood, loved and spoiled. OG Shaugn was into medicines and herbs while Shaugn could kill a cactus. Both liked history, the outdoors, exotic animals, and non-fussy dress.

A moment passed where neither of them said anything.

Shaugn shifted in his seat. "Listen, about Xoan. I...we..."

OG smiled. "Feel no guilt. In my mind, there is no difference. You are me. He is ours."

"So, it's okay for me to...be with your husband?"

"Our husband – yes." OG corrected. "In all ways you can. Make him happy and he'll make you happy."

"He already does." Shaugn looked down as OG reached out and put a hand on his still flat stomach. There was a gentle smile on his lips.

"He's wanted this child for the longest."

Shaugn raised a brow. This wasn't Xoan's first child of either gender. "What of the other children?"

OG snorted and a look of disdain came over his face. "Xoan didn't willingly make those children. They are of him and he loves them, but this child is different." His eyes softened. "This is a child he actually wanted and had the choice to create. It is a child created out of love and a clear mind."

"I will take care of both of them."

OG's face turned serious. "Be careful. The palace is full of treachery. There are few people worthy of your trust. If you can't be gotten to they will try to harm those close to you. They have no scruples. Everyone is a target."

Shaugn nodded. "I understand."

A golden ball of light appeared in OG's palm. He raised his hand up and lightly blew on the ball of light. The ball drifted toward the center of Shaugn's forehead and disappeared inside his body. Shaugn closed his eyes and gasped as he was filled with all the knowledge of a physician and herbologist. There were even fighting skills he'd never seen or heard of and names and faces of people he never knew.

OG smiled. "I've passed all my knowledge on to you. I now leave it all to you." He stood and turned to leave.

Shaugn grabbed his wrist. "Wait. Will I see you again?"

OG shook his head. "I've already lingered too long. It's time I crossed over."

"What about me? Can I...go back?"

OG folded his hands in front of himself and gave Shaugn a sad look. "You were brain dead and your body was damaged beyond repair."

The words echoed in his mind. Shaugn felt like the wind was knocked out of him. He gripped the back of the chair and doubled over trying to breathe. He was brain dead. There was no way to come back from that. His mother must have been devastated. His sisters...

He stood up straight. "What about my body? Did they-?"

OG nodded. "It was found and sent back for your family and loved ones to say goodbye. You were cremated."

Shaugn frowned and balled his hands into fists. He was stuck here, forever. This had been a nagging thought in his mind but to hear it out loud made him feel some type. "So there's no body for me to return to even if I did go back?"

"This is beyond my bit of knowledge." OG bit his lower lip in thought for a moment. "The priest should be able to answer more for you."

"Priest? What priest?"

OG tucked his hands into his sleeves and smiled. "Daga knows." A golden beam of light shone down from the sky. OG Shaugn's body was being replaced piece by piece by little golden dots of light. He gave Shaugn a smile.

"Don't despair. In this time and place, you live."

Shaugn gave a forced smile.

"Take care of them."

Knowing he meant Xoan and their unborn child, Shaugn nodded. "I will. And I'll get revenge for you while I'm here."

OG Shaugn put a fist over his chest and bowed. "Thank you, Shaugn."

Shaugn returned the gesture he'd seen more than a dozen times since coming. "Rest in peace, Shaugn."