The transition, or whatever strange thing was happening to him, was not instantaneous and Kael felt stuck mid-movement. He had no reference for what to expect, but, considering how fucked up everything in this strange place seemed, the transition could just be messing with his senses. Regardless of how long he spent here, it was not high on his list of things to repeat.

In life, everything of value is worth waiting for, or something along those lines anyway. It had been a few years since literature class, after all. Mhh, now that he thought about it, was that even where he heard the saying? Haaa, first waiting in black space, now I am waiting to enter the white space. What is this, the doctor's office? Thoughts rambling on and on about useless topics, Kael tried to distract himself from all the horrific outcomes his decision might lead to. There was no point in contemplating those anyway. The decision had already been made.

He let his eyes glide over the pure white surrounding him, making him feel as if he was inside of a light-bulb somehow. As more and more time passed with him stuck in the white void, Kael could not distract himself anymore, and his thoughts turned back to already spilled milk.

Was this even the path to magic? Was this the white light at the end of the tunnel? The waiting room for heaven? Who knows. With enough time, even the hell-like scenarios of his possible ultimate descent into evil were exhausted, and it was time to look for something else to do.

With him just waiting here, he began to hum. „Hm hm hmhm hm hm hmhmhm...“ The quick and repetitive tune of elevator music was playing in his head on repeat. Time slowly became inconsequential, and Kael soon fell into a trance.

His senses expanded, and instead of a white void, he found himself floating in a vast space. The moment he got his bearing, he knew that there was something else inside this space. Far away, Kael felt a source of energy. Like a warm fire in winter, he felt drawn to it. Without much conscious effort, he began to move. Willing himself to move closer and closer to the anomaly, he could feel the energy that seemed to come from his destination.

Undisturbed by the passage of time, he moved, and soon he was close enough to, metaphorically, touch the thing. Instead of his body, he used the new limb that had guided his journey so far. Stretching his senses out, he made contact.

Similar to jumping into cold water on a summer day, he felt himself diving into an ocean of energy and life, only to be ejected almost instantly again. The loss he felt when the strange and wonderful world rejected him was overwhelming. It took minutes for him to stop crying. Even though, by the time he had finished crying, he could not remember why the experience had been so devastating to him. Coming back to his senses, he noticed movement in the eternal white.

A ripple ran through the white surrounding him. Kael now focused on the light again, saw another, and then another ripple. They became more and more frequent until they occurred every few seconds. With their increasing appearance speed, they began to overlap and cross each other from time to time. Once their intensity had grown to a state where Kael could not distinguish one ripple from another anymore, they turned the world around him into static.

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Feeling the crescendo coming, Kael could only wait for whatever climax the ripples had been heralding. Counting the seconds, he had just about reached fifteen when the static suddenly stopped. The light turned into darkness, and he felt himself falling. Before he had time to really process what was happening and go into panic mode, his feet landed on something solid.

Confusion muddling his mind, he looked around. Shades of black and grey greeted him in the distance. Waiting for his eyes to adjust to the sudden change, he knelt down and saw himself standing on rough cobblestone. Slowly, his eyes adjusted, and he saw more of the world.

Stones, some big, some small, had been fitted together to make a path. Uneven as the path may appear, he felt the stones locking into place so evenly that his hand slid over them as if it was a flat surface. Looking up his eyes following the path into the distance, he found himself in a desolate garden.

Although there was no distinct light source anywhere to be seen, a strange diffuse glow that seemed to be everywhere was enough for his eyes. He could make out the shapes of hills, raised flower beds, and more paths slithering throughout the area.

Everywhere his eyes moved, they picked up details. Small, broken stone walls ran alongside some of the paths. Areas clearly barred from access by remnants of fences where he spotted the grotesque hunks of long-dead trees. Dried-up fountains once used for viewing pleasure or gathering water now sat empty and with obvious signs of damage. Channels meant to transport water around the garden ran into walls of earth or had collapsed.

Then there was the fence surrounding the entire area. The only undamaged or decrepit part of the garden Kael had found so far. It was two meters tall with finely crafted metal rods that ended in stylized spear tips, over and over-decorated with symbols.

There was everything that a garden, close to a small park in size, needed to thrive. Aside from one thing. Life. There were no plants, no light, and no water. The structures were there, but they lay dormant or in disrepair instead. It was a scene that was both sad and hopeful at the same time. While everything lay broken, it could still be fixed.

Everything was there for someone to make a home, but something had robbed its essence. The essence that turned a house or room into a home and made plants grow. Looking around the barren garden, he felt, although it was his first visit like he had returned home after a long time. Both strange and familiar at the same time.

He would have to move, do something, at some point. Standing in this garden was not the goal of this trip, of that he was sure. So he pushed his thoughts away and acted instead. Step after step, he moved forwards, exploring the garden.

Feet stepping on the old stone, he began following the path wherever it led him. By the time he had walked for a few minutes, he had already lost himself in the walk. Ignoring his thoughts, he simply walked, taking in all of the devastation and potential that surrounded him. With one foot in front of the other, he journeyed through a garden without plants, water, or life.

Suddenly, he stopped. His journey had come to an end. He found himself at what appeared to be a park gate of some sort. Two ancient-looking gargoyles, the likes he had only seen on old churches, sat on two stone towers, the metal gate in between. At about three meters wide and two meters high, shaped like medieval double doors, it reminded him more of a castle wall than a flimsy park fence. Heavy-looking handles protruded from the center of the gate, allowing it to be opened.

While the gate was just like the surrounding fence in that there were gaps between the metal rods, he could only see darkness on the other side. Already committed and unwilling to change his mind, Kael set his hands on the handles. Taking a deep breath, he felt the cold metal in his hands, almost begging him to press down. Then, he pressed the ancient handles down in one fluid motion, feeling them move smoothly and without resistance.

As the gates opened, the darkness that had shrouded what lay beyond began to lift, allowing Kael to see what was next.