It was a random thought, but it refused to go away as I bled out on the floor, feeling strangely numb despite having just been run over by a drunk driver's truck.

'Who will take care of my cat?'

It was such a stupid thing to think about as I died. I'd cut contact with more or less the entirety of my family after finally getting out of that toxic place, and while I did have some friends, none of them were close enough for me to trust them to care for him.

My vision was getting dark despite the fact that the sun was so bright. It was a shame to die on such a nice day, too. I could hear people screaming and cars honking, but those noises were quickly deafened by the ringing in my ears.

My thoughts continued to go in useless circles, almost as though I was high on some kind of drug. Images of cute kittens, of stupid memes, of my shitty cashier job, and for some reason, of men and women with wings sprouting from their backs flying through a golden sky.

After god-knows how long, however, things finally went completely dark and silent. It was eerie, especially since, somehow, I could still think.

My previous delirious thoughts had gone away, leaving me surprisingly clear-headed. Tentatively, I tried to call for help, for someone, for anything... And yet, no words left my mouth.

It was only then that I realized that I was trapped in some sort of thick and viscous liquid. A moment later, I also realized that I couldn't breathe.

Panic set in as I began struggling desperately, clawing at the heavy liquid surrounding me. I kicked desperately as I tried to go up, my mind refusing to acknowledge the fact that I didn't even know which way was up and which was down.

Time seemed almost meaningless despite the burning in my lungs. I had never really been a fighting type of girl throughout my life, always going with the flow. Thus, I was rather surprised at myself about the fact that I was still fighting despite the fact that with each passing second, the burning only got worse.

However, reality is a harsh mistress, and it hardly cared for my desires. When the burning finally got too bad, I found myself unconsciously sucking in a deep breath, causing the liquid trapping me to rush into my lungs.

I didn't know what I'd expected. Perhaps for me to somehow die twice in a row, or for the burning to worsen, or perhaps for me to develop magic post-death cancer.

What I certainly didn't expect is for the burning to almost immediately go away, replaced with a strange sense of... peacefulness.

I stopped struggling almost immediately as a strange calm enveloped me. It was a foreign sensation and had I been in a better state of mind, I would've wondered just how it worked.

Instead, I found myself going completely still, all my muscles relaxing simultaneously as my thoughts became as light as feathers, and just as empty as the sky itself.

It was as though I had somehow achieved nirvana in an instant. I honestly could've remained in that strange state for the rest of time, and I would've been happy.

But, once again, reality was a cruel thing, and after an unknown yet far too short amount of time, my calmness abandoned me, leaving me confused and disoriented.

I tried to look around even though I was still completely blind to the world around me. Unsurprisingly, everything was still pitch black... Well, everything save a small spot of bright light in the distance.

I gasped at the sight, realizing too late that I probably shouldn't have done that as more of the liquid rushed into my mouth the moment I opened it.

And yet, this time, I felt... nothing. I wasn't suffocating, and I wasn't inundated by the mystical calmness once again.

Rather, it felt like I was simply breathing air instead of a weird post-death magic liquid. Tentatively, I breathed it out, and sure enough, the liquid left my lungs easily.

I remained there for a couple dozen seconds, simply breathing in and out. Only when I finally internalized that my lungs wouldn't start burning again did the lingering fear I'd still been feeling go away.

After that little PTSD-driven delay, I began to swim towards the light. Ironically, despite the fact that I'd just been literally killed before almost suffocating to death, my body felt better than ever. I felt light and powerful, and my body reacted so quickly and easily to my wishes, inhumanly so in fact.

Thus, despite the fact that it had looked so far away, I was surprised at how quickly I managed to reach the light. I paused before it as I took it in and examined it.

It was like a perfect circle of golden light, utterly surrounded by darkness. Curious, I swam beyond it and looked at it from the other side, and yet, to my shock, the light turned with me, managing to always keep itself angled towards me.

It was beyond weird, but at this point, I honestly was just sort of done with it. I glanced around one last time to confirm that, yes, other than the light there was absolutely nothing but utter darkness.

Letting out a small sigh, I bit my lip slightly as I psyched myself up.

Then, I swam through the circle of light.

Almost immediately, I felt myself breach through the liquid that had surrounded me since this whole thing began. I gasped and coughed, trying desperately to clear my suddenly far too heavy lungs.

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"Easy, sister." A calm and smooth voice gently said as I felt a pair of strong arms surround my waist and delicately lift me up and out into the clear air, then helping me remain on my feet even as I finished coughing out all the weird stuff out of my airways.

"W-who..." I tried to say only for my words to die in my throat as my eyes finally adjusted to not being in utter darkness anymore and I took in who'd helped me.

He was an incredibly beautiful and handsome man, tall and with shoulder-length golden hair. However, his looks paled when compared to the fact that he had honest-to-god wings as well as bright golden eyes which completely lacked any pupils.

I staggered slightly at the sight, but thankfully, the winged man was quick to react as he gently yet firmly grabbed my hand, preventing me from falling onto my butt.

"Careful, sister. Your body is still weak." The man's voice was incredibly smooth as he led me away from wherever it was that I'd come from. "I am Sabaoth, guardian of the blessed pools. I know that doesn't mean much to you, but don't worry. Everything will be explained soon."

"O-oh..." I mumbled out, only half-listening to him as I glanced backward and at the 'pool' that I'd come out from.

It was a large, perfectly round pool, filled with bright yellow liquid that seemingly refused to make even the slightest ripple.

Had... Had I come out from that?

"Yes, you did, sister." Sabaoth said from beside me, giving me an amused glance. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment at the fact that I'd accidentally spoken aloud, but thankfully, Sabaoth didn't comment on it further and instead continued to lead me away from the pool.

I remained silent for a minute longer, taking the time to observe our surroundings. We were in a truly massive room, with the ceiling so far up that I wouldn't be surprised if a skyscraper could fit in here.

The room itself resembled a corridor in that it was surprisingly narrow and long, with a lengthy walk between the pool and toward where I assumed Sabaoth was leading me, which was a pair of equally massive golden gates.

I... was beginning to think that the color gold was rather popular in this place.

Finally, after I finished my examination, I managed to gather up the courage to start asking questions.

"S-so..." I started, only stumbling over my words a little. Sue me, I was being half-carried by one of the most handsome men I'd ever seen, it only makes sense that I was a bit nervous and no that's not an excuse at all- "U-um, can you tell me what happened? I remember... dying..."

I whispered out the last part, feeling a thread of fear run through me at the thought. A pat on the back from Sabaoth thankfully took my mind away from it, however. "Sorry, sister, but it is not my duty to explain, only to guard and lead. I fear that I may induce panic or give you a wrong idea of what has happened should I try to." He sorrowfully explained, his voice apologetic.

"O-oh, no, that's ok I guess." I rushed out, giving him what we both knew was a massively fake smile.

Unsurprisingly, we returned to our silent walk, with me continuing to sneak glances at his back every few seconds. I couldn't help it, his wings were just so... odd.

Not that they weren't beautiful, mind, but more because of the sheer novelty of it. At this point, I'd accept any explanation, be it that I was reborn in the future, past, alternate world, or that I was having the most drug-fuelled lucid dream ever. Anything went, honestly.

Finally, we reached the gates after another few minutes of walking. Almost casually, Sabaoth gave them a soft knock with one hand, causing said gates to, of all things, outright vanish.

I gaped at the empty spot where the gates had previously stood for a split second before my eyes were drawn to the scenery outside.

And what a scene it was. The sky was bright gold somehow, with the sun hanging high in the sky. The ground was completely covered in bright green fields, with the occasional patch of beautiful flowers or plants here and there.

However, what really drew my attention wasn't those things, but rather, the fact that I could see thousands of winged men and women leisurely flying through the sky, fluttering between mind-blowingly beautiful buildings built on literal clouds.

I hardly even noticed as I unconsciously stepped forward, my eyes glued to these sights. Thankfully, Sabaoth's hand on my shoulder prevented me from literally walking off of the edge.

"What is this place?" I asked with awed wonder in my voice. "Is this... Heaven?"

"Not quite." A new voice spoke up, causing me to jump slightly before I swiveled my head to look at the newcomer floating just above us.

She was, just as Sabaoth was, mind-blowingly beautiful, and just like him, she too had wings, although unlike Sabaoth, who only now did I realize had three pairs of them, she only had four.

Her hair was long, reaching down all the way to her butt, and unlike Sabaoth's golden waves, hers were more of a midnight blue. Her eyes were just like his, however. Bright golden pools lacking any sort of pupils or other features.

Even as I observed her, I knew she was doing the same to me, if the curious expression on her face was any indication. "This isn't 'Heaven'." She continued when she realized I was too stunned to talk. "But... This is the Heavenly Realm." She explained with a smile.

"Rhamiel." Sabaoth's rumbling voice thankfully brought me back to reality and caused me to glance back at him. "It's good to see you, sister. Are you the one assigned to take our new sister?" He asked.

"Ah, yes, sorry." Rhamiel's embarrassed laugh had me looking at her again, my neck hurting slightly from all the gawking I'd done so far. The woman reached out into the air, tapping it and causing a small circle, golden circle to abruptly appear.

Then, she reached out inside it with that very same hand and, after ruffling around for a couple of seconds, brought it back out, now holding a few papers.

When she looked back at us and noticed my absolutely dumbstruck look, the amusement on her face increased. "That was just a basic pocket spell," She commented. "Wait until you see real spells, dear, and then you'll truly be mind-blown." She added with a small giggle.

"Rhamiel." Sabaoth sighed. "Stop showing off to your new ward. I must return to my duty as soon as possible." He said impatiently. The woman sheepishly rubbed her head as she descended until she touched down on the ground, er, cloud? Whatever, until she touched down on the floor before promptly passing her papers over to Sabaoth, who glanced over them before giving her a nod.

"Right. You're good to go, sisters." He said with a slight smile before gently but firmly pushing me towards the woman. "Don't worry, she's a bit of a clutz, but ignoring that, she's pretty nice." He added conspiratorially.

"Hey! I resent that!" Said woman pouted, crossing her arms under her bountiful chest. "Right, let's get going, sister! We have much to do!" She happily exclaimed, even as she once again tapped the air and caused another golden circle to appear, although this one was much larger.

"W-where are you taking me?" I shakily asked her, causing Rhamiel to finally pause and look back at me.

She must've seen something she didn't much like, because her tone softened a lot. "Don't worry, we're just going back to my place so that you can relax for a bit before I explain everything. I know this seems like a lot, but don't worry, you're amongst friends."

I... didn't know whether to believe her or not, but in the end, I chose to at least trust Sabaoth. I didn't think he'd leave me with a crazy maniac, and she did seem nice.

I gave her a small nod, causing her smile to bloom wide. "Great. Come on then." She said as she gestured to the portal. "Do you want to go in first or would you rather I do?"

"Uh, I can go, I guess," I mumbled out before shuffling towards the glowy circle, which I assumed to be some sort of portal. Tentatively, I poked a finger through it, and when nothing bad happened, I took a deep breath and walked through.

Had I known just how much my life would change... Well.

I think I'd still have walked through it.