Chapter Four- SpiritFall
Lilliana lay belly-up on her newly reclined seat, staring up at the world that a literal God of reincarnation claimed would be her new home. It really was beautiful, from way up here. The whole of two lush, green continents could be seen, as well as three or four partial ones. The oceans and seas were wide swaths of blue, and massive ice caps covered the poles. Truly a marvel. She thought, but to be honest, Lili did not feel ready for reincarnation. Before all this, she reminisced, I was a princess. An accomplished princess, who had achieved the feats she had always hoped for for her people. But I had my whole life ahead of me. A life to do the things I wanted for me, not for the kingdom. She sighed. But then, she had fallen prey to the fabled indigo-eye plague, of all things. The plague had, according to the royal librarian, not been seen since the time fall of the Kalabrian Empire 700 years ago, at which time it had accosted 37 seemingly random individuals throughout the eastern provincial city of Karbeel. None had lived, and no connection could be drawn between any of them. Records left behind by healers who attempted to treat the affliction had stated that the virus “Seemed incredibly painful.”
They didn’t know the half of it. Lilliana grimaced. For the first few days, Lilliana had remained in control of her body, despite the agony. Before the week was up, the pain had taken over, and her consciousness had retreated to the darkest recesses of her mind. She was forced to watch on, day after day, as her body was eaten away by an incurable disease. Her worries, which had once consisted of pressing internal political disputes, arranging ceasefire agreements between the rulers of warring nations, and whether or not she was eating her food in the most fashionably modern way possible, were wiped away in a flash. After more than a month, The virus, seemingly placated by all the suffering, afforded her one final goodbye to her father, and then she died.
Then my consciousness made its way through the abyss for an unknown amount of time. Because the Goddess of omens and secrets thought that I fit her “Selected criteria”. Lili cringed at that. Do I even want to know what that means? After that, the God of reincarnation showed up to ‘Explain’. Calling that an explanation, she thought, is a complete and utter fallacy. The speech contained plenty of information, ranging from useful to terrifying. This included a simplified description of how each individual spirit had been brought here, been assigned a partner and that, together, they would be randomly tossed into a world that operated under some sort of an experimental ‘system’. This system included skills of some sort, and affinities based on the energy they were ‘most attuned to’ upon death. “What does that even mean?” She questioned aloud, her tone less than pleased. This, of course, drew a quick glance from the man in the seat next to hers. Her partner. It would be wise, she knew, not to even try unpacking that basket of naga fruit. But of course she was going to.
On one hand, the concept of reincarnation was great. Even if it was as part of an experiment, Lili really didn’t love the idea of not existing anymore. Thus, the majority of this she had immediately accepted. The admittedly random and likely hostile location? Sure, why not. The fact that the entire world was some kind of poorly defined Godly experiment? Sign me up! The thing that really got to Lilliana about this whole concept was the part where her mind had to be permanently linked to another so as not to lose its ability to Godsdamned function. Yes, the God had assured them that it was minimally intrusive. Yes, Lili knew that it was a small price to pay for what she would get in return. A price that, before her consciousness had been forcibly relegated to a small corner of her mind, she would not have even hesitated to pay. Now? Now she was scared, wary of just letting anything or anyone else into her mind, the one place that had always, at least a little, been hers.
“Alright spirits!” said Novi casually, the God slamming his way through her caravan of thought. “The system has finished calculating and preparing landing zones for each group. In a moment, the SpiritFall protocol will initiate, and you shall be expelled somewhat forcefully from your seats towards the planet you see before you. Whichever layer you see now is the one you'll get." I hope the 'layer' we get is as nice as it looks, thought Lili, and the God kept going. "Truth be told, the process will not be comfortable in any sense of the word.” He warned, and she felt a prickle of distinct unease go up her spine from what those words left unsaid. “The view from the surface is quite nice, however, so I encourage you all to make an effort to see the next one when it comes around. “Now, just as Mali granted you her blessing, I now grant you mine, to do with as you see fit"- A beep resounded, interrupting his speech, and prompting him to move on. "It's time." he said, and if it was possible for a being with no mouth to smile, Novi definitely did. "Become your own legends, Spirits. I wish you all nothing but the best in your new lives. Good luck.” A flash of light, and the God was gone. Seconds later, a monotone voice spoke, seemingly coming from both nowhere and everywhere at once.
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Commencing protocol initiative one, SpiritFall number seven-one-two in:
Five…
Lili’s heart pounded wildly in her chest. A chance to build your own life, rather than filling in a role, she thought. I’ll make reality of the dreams I always had for myself. Princess Lilliana won't be the most important part of me anymore. Don’t fear it.
Four…
She could feel the ambient energy around her grow stronger and more powerful. One thousand sets of eyes locked onto the planet before them.
Three…
She heard quick, last second prayers to various assorted Gods and Goddesses from some of those who had been gathered. others cried, or giggled hysterically. Most were silent.
Two…
This is going to hurt, she thought. Already her entire being prickled with the same discomfort that had come when her consciousness had separated from her body upon her death.
One. Commencing now.
Much like the ancient Kalabrian healers, Lili didn't know the half of it. A wave of pain washed over her entire being. Her mind felt as if it was being brutally assaulted by a hive of pyra beetles. her eyes bulged as if inflated, before imploding in on themselves. She tried to scream, but found that she no longer had the ability, her vocal cords mangled. Within seconds, she and every other spirit were ripped apart, atomized into their constituent energy, and cast forward at great speed into space.
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Novi watched on from the sidelines. It was midday, but outside it was dark. The people of the third-layer coastal city of Poluma, where he had disguised himself as a Tortian street urchin, were lighting ceremonial floating lanterns to celebrate the occasion. Massive cities, quaint towns, and tiny villages alike across Magnorum and the other six layers were bustling with excited people as the sun was eclipsed by the Podium. Once the SpiritFall started, it would last for Nearly an hour, and people of all sorts would dance, drink, and overall take the occasion as their queue to have a good time. Even on the opposite side of the globe, families gathered together under the dark of night and waited for the spectacle to come.
And come it did. Glorious colors filled the darkened sky. Streaks of vibrant gold and silver, followed by billowing waves of energy that appeared as purple and blue fire signaled the beginning. Most of it, of course, was simply for show. Gods were all about presentation, and he simply couldn’t help himself. It was in his nature. Then the spirits began their journeys at last. They burst forth from the podium in a mass of swirling, glowing colors, taking up the better half of the sky. This part was not for show. Partnered spirits began to appear from the mass. Each individual pairing had their own unique beauty as they flew in different, seemingly random directions through the darkened sky. The process of permanently establishing the mental bond is beautiful, he thought. It’s just a shame that in order for it to work it needs to be so… traumatic.