Black.

There was nothing but black.

It was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes, and even now, everything's black. No changes. No ripples. No color.

Nothing.

Wait, did I even have eyes?

Whether I did or didn't, I had no way of knowing. I would've liked to say that my curiosity was bothering me, but it wasn't. I wasn't bothered, nor was I curious. Peaceful, maybe? But no, it didn't quite feel like something so... positive.

I felt empty.

Drained of who I was supposed to be.

Who was I?

Who...

Who am I?

These questions filled my being. Questions about myself... selves? I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure about anything. My speculations held no grounds. I had nothing but inquiries and uncertainties--nothing that can provide an answer.

In other words, I was stuck at a standstill.

But I knew one thing.

I...

Continued to exist.

-

I didn't know how much time had passed since I first 'woke up'.

Time was a foreign idea to me. I knew how to count, yes, but the words weren't coming. I had ideas but lacked the knowledge to express them.

Because I wasn't alive.

I existed, but had no body.

I lacked the most important aspect to process thought more thoroughly than I could at the moment.

Life.

I needed life.

But I felt conflicted.

Emotions welled up in me and fluctuated constantly, only to turn back into the empty void that was the initial state of this self of mine. Somehow... Those emotions never felt like my own.

Except the confusion.

And the haunting feeling of desolation.

I was alone.

I knew that.

Why was I alone?

Why was I here?

How was I capable of thought?

Why did I lack feelings except for a few that were unrelated to being sad, angry, happy, or shocked?

Why did I not remember anything?

I knew I was dead.

But why did I still exist?

What...

What was my purpose?

As time passed by, the thoughts and questions that came to me became more and more numerous. I asked about everything. I thought up theories about my own questions. I didn't have anything else to do, anyway. I had no one with me. My knowledge was void. I seemed to have had something that I believed in sometime ago, but it felt like that part of me had been forcefully pulled away, my consciousness being unaware at the moment.

Just like every other part of me.

Which made me ask another question.

What makes me... me?

And every time I thought about it, a series of questions would follow. All of them, I've asked before, but remained unanswered. Strangely, somehow I knew I was making progress.

I lacked everything else, but I had awareness.

I knew.

I had the ability to think for myself.

And of course, I also knew.

That something like that was extremely odd for a soul.

Yes, a soul.

I knew.

I don't know how exactly, but the thoughts that came to me said it all.

In truth, I could've answered some of my own questions, but whenever I was close to doing so, I start to feel faint. The answers become blurry. Thoughts become scarce, and I fall into a deep sleep, only to wake up bombarded by new questions.

I exist, and am a soul.

And for the first time since I started thinking and feeling, a new one made itself known.

Desire.

I wanted to be someone.

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I wanted to have an identity.

I desired the validation of my existence.

And then he came, bright light and all, wearing all black, a scarf around his neck, and separate pieces of cloth covering both his upper and lower body.

His skin glowed in contrast to his dark clothing, pale--no, translucent, even. His hair was a shade of blue that came closest to being black than anything, and his golden eyes glimmered with wisdom and mischief, as well as unconcealed amusement.

"Child," a deep voice boomed throughout the space, yet his mouth remained unmoving. "Why do you exist?"

I paused and stared at him. A smile was etched on his face, neither mocking nor happy. It was just there, as if it was naturally supposed to be there.

"I don't know," I thought.

I was taken aback when I heard a voice that came with the words I thought of. It was neither deep nor high, but somewhere around the middle. It sounded more like a whisper than anything else.

He raised an eyebrow, the amusement his eyes clearer than ever. He took more steps towards me, each one exuding elegance and calmness, his gait seemed to contain way too much certainty for his being to be considered human.

A new feeling bubbled within me. I looked up at the man, who was now closer to me, within arms' length. The new emotion, which my consciousness dubbed as 'curiosity', coursed through me as I thought, "Are you God?"

The man paused, then chuckled all of a sudden. I stared at him, waiting for a reply. He stopped laughing, but kept the amused smile on his face. His golden eyes seemed to glow brighter in his mirth.

"My answer depends on which God you are talking about, little one," the voice hummed in the space we were in. This time, I wasn't taken aback.

Hearing his answer, I kept staring at him, the intensity of my gaze increasing by the minute. There was something in the back of my mind--knowledge, I presume--that was pulsing, throbbing in a way that was almost painful, as if wanting to break free. But my limitations won't allow it.

"I.." I began, but found myself unable to continue. I had no words left to say. Or rather, I couldn't push through the invisible barriers that kept me from the knowledge I used to have.

The knowledge that I might never reclaim.

Still, I touched the strange area within me, and felt the ripples that tore through me right after. What was supposed to be gentle, brought me pain much worse than everything I've ever experienced.

"Oh?" The man started, a hint of surprise in his voice. Unlike before, it held no underlying amusement, only genuine surprise. "The little one is capable of touching the rift?"

He examined my intangible self as I floated amid the empty space that was slowly but surely suffocating me. Not that I had to be concerned about it since I didn't have a physical body to begin with. Shock made its way onto his face bit by bit.

"Little one," he started, "How can you be aware of everything else after death?"

I didn't reply, simply looking--uh, focusing my attention--on him. What was I supposed to say anyway? That was something I myself didn't know the answer to.

"This, these emotions, living the life of a mere human yet achieving enough for the soul to contain traces of Divination," he gasped, eyes wide. Somehow, despite not knowing him prior to this meeting, I felt like such an expression was more than a little out of character.

"How in the world..." He ran a hand through his hair, still in shock. "I've never heard of a case like this before. What are you?"

Again, I said nothing.

Noticing my lack of response, the man closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his nape. "A human soul halfway to the first stage of Divinity... And one that has its own awareness, immune to the System's laws, even... Not to mention..." His gaze went back to me, drilling deeper, as if searching me for answers. Unfortunately, I was empty.

Existing, but empty.

The man blinked, and for some reason, I had a feeling he could read my thoughts.

"Oh, yes, I can."

...At this point, I didn't even know how to react, so I just stayed silent. The amused glint in his eyes returned.

"In fact, I know who you were, where you lived, how you died, why everything happened to you... I know everything about you, child. And now, it's my turn to ask," he crossed his arms, observing me with narrowed eyes, "How are you not destroyed by the those things yet?"

I was positive I was creating question marks out of thin air at that point.

"Those things?"

"Yes." The man sighed. "You know, I'm really not supposed to be telling you this but since you've violated a lot of laws anyway, what's another, right?"

So, I'm breaking laws simply by existing. Perfect.

"It's not that bad..."

I saw his face twitch a little when he tried to smile reassuringly.

... Not that bad, huh?

"Actually, it is," A hint of a scowl showed on his defined features, but quickly vanished, returning to the weird smiling face he had before. "Well, those things tend to hunt abominations such as yourself, but I think I can do something to prevent that."

The smile on his face widened, to the point where it could be considered charming instead of a reserved smile like the one he had a few moments ago. It felt a little wicked, though. It made me wonder what this man--I've really got to ask for his name already--was thinking about.

He started pacing while I watched from a slight distance, not 'saying' a word.

The things he was referring to were just one of the things I was aware of yet am forbidden to know about. I knew they were there but I didn't know what exactly they were. And the stuff I felt about them weren't pleasant. Not one bit.

It felt... disgusting.

My chain of thoughts was interrupted when he paused in his steps, his head suddenly whipping in my direction. For some reason, his eyes twinkled with an emotion I wasn't entirely sure of. And I didn't exactly trust that gleam.

"Soul," he began, "Do you want a chance at another life?"

A ripple went through my corporeal self. Except it wasn't the pain-inducing, torturous one that acted as punishment when I tried to reach into the 'rift' as the man said. Or rambled. I was just eavesdropping.

The feeling was more... pleasant that I would have liked to admit.

The grin was etched on his face, one eyebrow raised teasingly. "Do you want to have a new identity? Unbound by the rules of this plane?"

I had no clue how I could understand what he was saying, but somehow I was aware of the 'plane' he was talking about, and the idea he was proposing was starting make the ripples within me bigger and bigger.

Each one more... emotional than the last.

"Is that a yes or what?"

Yes, I thought.

But first, I would like to hear an explanation about some th--

"Alright, then, reincarnation it is!" As soon as he said that, he jumped and floated around like he owned the place. And he probably did. This space, anyway. Any traces of seriousness vanished from his face, body, and even aura. I don't know how I knew that, but I did.

"You know, little one, it's been a while since I've had some fun, and I'm so bored!" The image I had of him as an elegant man shattered into pieces. Divine? Elegant? Childish was more like it. "And so, you're gonna help me have a bit of entertainment and counter this undying boredom of mine, at a cost."

He cleared his throat.

"You will be reborn, and any restrictions placed on living things upon birth will be rendered invalid. Or cancelled, if you will," He smiled. "This doesn't necessarily mean that you will be invincible, though. Keep that in mind."

I paused to take in what he had just said. The idea of rebirth should've taken longer before it sank in, but it felt natural for some reason. The ripples felt really nice.

"Okay, then! Since everything's been said now," he beamed and pointed a finger at me.

"Off," Yellow light started building up from the tip of that finger, "You..."

I was too entranced by the light to hear the sound it made as he fired it.

"Goooo!!"

It made a little bouncy noise when it hit me. But despite it sounding so cute, the impact was no joke.

I was flung backwards with no chance to even react.

The space I had resided in for years upon years, maybe even decades or centuries, was starting to fade from my view.

Yet even from that far away, he shined, almost like a light at the end of the tunnel.

Wait.

What was his name?

I never got to ask.

Just then, a strong force started pulling me in. Shocked, I resisted, but I could only do so much in my current state.

Then I started falling.

The light he radiated was gone, and everything was dark.

Just as that same darkness crawled over me, I heard a voice echo around me.

"Young one, I'll be watching you. And do not worry, despite my title, I can keep promises if I want to."

A screech followed, and everything started getting blurry.

"My name is Loki, child, and I will be your Guardian. Good luck."

Those words were the last ones I heard before my consciousness faded away.