*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
*SMASH*
"Ugh" says Evan Miller, your average depressed college student who was woken by his alarm for another tedious day of mind-numbingly boring classes. Dragging himself out of bed he did his usual routine of showering and brushing his teeth as he prepared himself for the day.
Usually, he felt almost useless as if there was nothing to live for. His grades were fine, but he always felt as if he could never live up to the expectations that had surrounded him his whole life. This day was one of his worst as he saw midterms approaching and feared what would happen if he didn’t bring home good grades.
Opening his phone he quickly read a chapter from his latest fantasy book and rushed off to class. On his way he quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and started the monotonous journey to his 8:00 am lecture that he was on the verge of failing. While reading the news as he briskly walked to class, he stepped onto one of the many roads that weaved through campus.
This was the last thing he remembered before opening his eyes once again to a dark and eerie place with what looked like souls stretching on for endless miles in a single file line spiraling downward into a chasm lit by hellish green flames that hurt him to even look at.
Where am I? Evan thought to himself. Looking down he saw his body was as incorporeal as all the other souls around him.
Starting to freak out as he thought back to his last moments, he realized that a car must have hit him proving fatal. He began to try and run away from the endless line that stretched in front of him but found his body or what he thought was his body resist his mental commands and continue slowly walking forward keeping pace with the line in front of him. All of a sudden, he heard a loud booming voice that seemed to come from everywhere around him.
"WHAT IS THIS I SEE!"
Evan began to freak out. What the hell was that, and why did I feel like it was speaking to me?
A MORTAL SOUL THAT IS AWARE OF WHERE HE IS
Evan had never been deeply religious only going to church on holidays such as Christmas or Easter but in this moment, he prayed to any and every god he could think of begging to save him.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"THOSE YOU PRAY TO CANNOT HELP YOU MORTAL"
Evan tried to speak only to find his lips would not move yet somehow, he could still hear himself speaking. "WHO THE ARE YOU AND WHERE THE HELL AM I!" He shouted into the abyss.
"HOW PECULIER. YOU CAN ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE WITH ME."
Suddenly, seemingly from nowhere a figure adorned in obsidian armor wreathed in those same green flames that hurt him to look appeared before his eyes. Evan felt his mind shudder in this being's presence and the next time it spoke the booming voice from before was now quieter.
"WHY HELLO THERE." The ominous figure said gazing at him like he was some new toy his parents had bought him. "YOU CAN CALL ME XAROS, THE LORD OF LOST SOULS, AND FOR WHERE YOU ARE IS THAT NOT OBVIOUS? YOU ARE IN MY DOMAIN, OR AS YOU UNDERSTAND THE UNDERWORLD"
The voice sounded ancient and hurt Evan to even listen to. It sounded like millions of nails scraping across metal. The answer made Evan pause.
The underworld? So, I did die. Is this really the afterlife, just eternally walking in a line approaching nothingness? He had to have answers. "So Xaros, is this really what hell looks like? Is there even a way to escape?
"NOW NOW YOUNG MORTAL THERE IS NO WAY FOR YOU TO ESCAPE THROUGH YOUR OWN MEANS. HOWEVER, SINCE I AM FEELING GENEROUS AS IT IS RARE SOMEONE IS ACTUALLY AWARE OF THEMSELF ONCE THEY CROSS THE GATE INTO MY DOMAIN, I AM CONSIDERING SETTING YOU FREE. WITH A CAVEAT OF COURSE."
Evan considered the implications of what he just heard. So, it has happened before and better, yet this god was even willing to give him another life. But of course, there is a caveat. "What is required for me to have a second chance at life?" Evan asked.
“OHH IT IS SIMPLE.” Xaros said as he let out a chuckle. “I JUST REUIRE YOU TO ACCEPT MY BLESSING.”
Evan hesitated for a second. Pondering why this would be the only requirement to have a second chance at life. “So why exactly would I not leap at this opportunity?” He asked.
“IT IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS YOU MAKE IT SOUND. RECEIVING A BLESSING FROM A DIETY SUCH AS ME WOULD CAUSE YOU TO BE THE TARGET OF MANY. THE WORLD YOU WOULD BE TRANSPORTED TO IS ROUGHT WITH STRIFE.”
“Even so I will accept your blessing if that means I have a second chance to live.” This Evan said in a tone that made Xaros smile.
“WELL SO BE IT IN THAT CASE HERE IS MY BLESSING AND I CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT ENTERTAINMENT YOU WILL BRING ME.”
Following this Evan heard a language he could not quite comprehend but could feel the power within the words being spoken as suddenly the entire underworld shook as if an earthquake had hit it. With this Evan began to feel a hot burning sensation over his skin as if something were being pressed into his skin. As the final words of Xaros’s chant finished Evan saw the world grow black and he felt as if he was being torn into millions of different pieces the last thing, he heard was Xaros saying “goodbye foolish mortal I hope you don’t die immediately.” This was said in a tone that lacked the usual booming nature it had before now sounding almost intrigued. And then everything went dark.