POV: Audrey Hall
An eternal, grayish-white mist flowed slowly around me, rolling like a calm ocean above the Spirit World. Upon opening my eyes, I found myself seated in an intricately patterned, high-backed chair at the end of a massive bronze table.
Reflexively, I adjusted my posture to appear elegant and composed, wearing the faint smile that had become second nature to me. Yet, beneath that mask of serenity, my mind was racing.
Something was terribly wrong. This Sefirah Castle... felt different. Varry different.
I couldn't even find the right words to explain or describe it, but my spiritual instincts screamed that this place was not the same Sefirah Castle I usually visited whether for Tarot Club gatherings or while helping Mr. Fool stabilize his dreams.
The atmosphere, the silence, and even the vibrations of the surrounding mist held an unfamiliar, indefinable quality.
I swept my gaze along the bronze table, hoping to see Mr. Hanged Man, Mr. Sun, or my other companions. But my spiritual heart seemed to stop when I discovered that the other five chairs were occupied by figures I did not recognize at all.
To my opposite sat a massive, pale-skinned man with blazing red tattoo patterns crisscrossing his face and body.
Beside him was a heavily muscled man clad in deep green, combat armor; the aura of slaughter radiating from him was so savage it made the hair on my arms stand on end. The other three beside me were women: a woman with flaming red hair and a unique spiritual energy, a brown-haired woman with a gentle gaze that seemed almost translucent, and a silver-haired girl who looked very fragile body.
As I tried to sharpen my perception to read their body language, emotions, and soul structures from a distance. Yet, the more I observed them, the deeper the confusion that clouded my heart. Not a single one of them radiated the Beyonder characteristics of the twenty-two original pathways.
Who are these people? And why did Sefirah Castle bring us all here in this state?
POV: Kratos
The warmth of Faye's cremation ashes seemed to linger on my palm. The scent of burning wood and the aroma of her body which used to bring such calm to our home still filled my mind.
Faye was gone.
Grief weighed heavily upon my chest, yet I could not allow myself to crumble. Now, it was just The boy and me. The boy was still too young, unprepared for the cruelties of this world. I had to guide him with discipline and firmness, teaching him self how to hunt down enemies and self-control. I will make sure to guide him to be better than me.
As I closed my eyes in the cabin to gather my remaining strength, my consciousness was suddenly pulled away.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer on the soil of Midgard. Thick gray mist swirled endlessly around me, filling a strange space dominated by a massive bronze table. I remained calm. Having lived through eras of blood and destiny, I knew my physical body lay safe and asleep back home; only my soul and consciousness had been forcibly drawn into this spiritual realm.
My gaze swept across the table, studying the figures in the room.
Beside me sat a massive, muscular man clad in futuristic green armor. He spoke not a word, yet the aura radiating from him was thick with pure rage.
He reminded me of my younger self—a warrior blinded by vengeance, for whom slaughter was the only way of life, driven by an unending fury.
At the opposite side of the table, on the top side there is a young blonde woman regarded us with a calm, analytical gaze. As for the other three women... they appeared frail, and weak.
What kind of place is this, really? And what sort of entity possesses the power to breach the boundaries of existence, reaching out to seize the soul of a god—unstoppably? I sense no murderous intent directed at me here. All that remains in my mind is a cold, detached curiosity.
Who was capable of bringing my consciousness here, and what is the true purpose behind this summoning?
POV: Meteria
For as long as I can remember, my life has been full of color—but today, the illness has flared up again. For some reason, it feels more painful today than usual.
Every breath I drew felt like shards of sharp glass tearing their way into my airways. My lungs burned incessantly, crushed by a cursed sickness that crept outward from within my very bones. There were days when the agony was so excruciating that I lost my voice; I could only clutch the blood-stained sheets and weep silently, letting the thick, crimson fluid spill from my lips to soak the pillow.
Within the dark walls of the Hera Familia's headquarters, I spent my entire life gazing at the night sky through a grimy window.
I knew my twin sister Alfia was always standing just outside that door. She's a genius mage revered and feared alike under the banner of the Goddess Hera had to endure the torment of that same disease while fighting on the front lines.
Yet, unlike her, who possessed the strength to stand tall, I was left with nothing but this frailty and physical ruin.
I always thought I was a hindrance to my twin sister. Unlike me, Alfia possessed the strength to join the Hera Familia and become one of its most brilliant members—rising through the levels rapidly. And here i am lying in bad.
Even though she and Alfia were treated very well by Hera's familia and she, in particular, received special affection from Hera she always found herself wondering.
Why...? Why were we both born like this?
What sin had we committed to be cursed with bodies that rotted from birth? Why fate treated us like this? Could someone anyone save me and my twin sister? Forget about useless me; could there be a miracle to erase her suffering?
Yet, no hero ever came. There was only an increasingly suffocating pain, slowly snuffing out my consciousness and dragging it into a bottomless darkness.
Then, suddenly... the torment burning in my chest vanished.
The searing sensation in my lungs evaporated without a trace. The crushing tightness around my throat gave way to a flow of air—cool and pure. For the first time in my life, my fingers no longer trembled from pain.
I slowly opened my eyes. The stench of blood was gone; the oppressive walls of the Hera Familia's quarters were nowhere to be found.
I found myself seated upon a massive, intricately patterned bronze chair. Around me, a thick gray mist swirled endlessly like an eternal sea, and before me stretched a long table radiating an aura of antiquity.
"The pain... is gone?" I whispered softly, pressing my palm against my chest, which now rose and fell with calm, steady breaths.
POV: Kushina Uzumaki
"Naruto... Mito... don't be picky eaters, okay? Eat plenty and grow up strong..."
(A/N: Yes boy.... i make he has a twin sister)
My voice trembled, faltering amidst my increasingly labored breathing. The Kyuubi's giant claw, piercing through both Minato and me, burned fiercely, yet that physical agony paled in comparison to the devastation in my heart as I gazed at the two tiny, crying infants before me.
"You must look out for each other... Be each other's support..." my voice shook violently.
"Bathe every day, keep yourselves warm. Don't stay up too late... Find good friends. Study hard, master your ninjutsu... And remember, steer clear of the three shinobi prohibitions... Watch out for Jiraiya-sensei! Do not let Jiraiya sensei approach you or your sister! And as for you, my sweet girl... grow up to be a wonderful woman, just like your mother..."
Tears streamed down, wetting the flushed cheeks of Naruto and my little daughter, Mito. I slowly turned toward Minato, who offered a faint smile beside me, sharing the same heavy fate.
"Minato... I'm sorry, it seems I'm the only one doing the talking..."
A freezing cold crept from my toes up to my chest. Minato's embrace, which held me up, felt increasingly frail. I could feel his life slowly fading, and mine along with it. The *Shiki Fūjin* sealing ritual had reached its conclusion. Our bodies collapsed onto the cold earth, and my vision slowly blurred, swallowed by an impenetrable darkness creeping in from every direction.
Amidst the darkness consuming the last vestiges of my consciousness, the images of little Naruto and Mito were the only things I held tight within my soul. Grow up healthy, cherish one another, and be happy, my childrens... Forgive your mother and father for not being able to watch you grow, for not being able to hold you when you are down, or to feed you warm meals at home.
Yet, beneath that resignation, an excruciating pain grips my soul.
Why...? Why did this have to happen to our family?
What did we do wrong? Today was supposed to be the happiest day—the day we welcomed the twins into the world with such love. Why did that masked man have to come and destroy everything? Why was fate so cruel as to demand Minato sacrifice his life? And why must our two children... tiny babies who had only just glimpsed the world... bear such a heavy burden?
Those desperate questions echoed unanswered as my soul sank deeper into the realm of the unconscious. I closed my spiritual eyes, preparing to enter Pure land
(A/N: Pure land if i'm correct)
The afterlife hoping to find Minato there.
But then... the darkness suddenly parted.
The searing pain from my abdomen—torn open by a giant claw—vanished without a trace. The freezing chill of death that had turned my blood to ice gave way to an unfamiliar warmth enveloping my entire spiritual form.
I opened my eyes, my breath catching in my throat, and my fingers instinctively brushed against my stomach. There was no blood. No gaping wound. My spiritual body felt whole.
Yet, I was not in Pure Land, and Minato was nowhere to be seen beside me.
I found myself seated upon a massive, intricately patterned bronze chair. Around me, thick gray mist swirled ceaselessly like a boundless ocean, framing a long table that radiated an aura of great antiquity.
"Where... is this?" I whispered, eyes wide, gazing around at the strangers seated at the table figures of bizarre shapes and strange attire. Is this... not the Pure Land?
POV: Ifalna
My steps faltered on the cold, wet stairs of the Sector 7 station. My insides felt like they were burning—the toll of the relentless torture and experiments in the Shinra laboratories was finally destroying my body. I slumped onto the concrete, letting the drizzle wash over my face, which was growing paler by the moment.
My little Aerith had been running about the station, searching for someone to help us. But people hurried past, indifferent. When she realized my condition was worsening, she ran back to me, tears welling in her eyes.
"Mommy!"
"Aerith..." I replied, my voice raspy and weak.
Deep within my chest, I could feel my heartbeat slowing, fading away. My time had truly run out. There was no strength left to take another step, no time left to flee. My body was utterly broken.
"Mommy has to go back to the Planet," I whispered softly.
Aerith looked at me, her eyes wide with confusion. "What?"
With the last of my fading strength, I raised a trembling hand and gently stroked her small, tear-streaked cheek.
"Don't cry, sweetie. I'll be with you. Always and forever."
"But you can't go! You can't!" little Aerith cried out, her tiny fingers clutching my clothes tightly, as if trying to hold me back from the encroaching darkness.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a stranger approaching us.
"What about our adventure!?" Aerith sobbed, her voice tearing at my heart.
The stranger knelt beside us, looking at me with anxious concern.
"Ma'am... do you need help?"
I summoned the last remnants of my strength, reaching out hand to clasp the fingers of the stranger. I gazed into her eyes, entrusting her with the most precious treasure I possessed in this world.
"Please... take Aerith somewhere safe."
My grip slackened. My final breath escaped my throat as my soul drifted away from that cold, lifeless shell. My vision plunged into total darkness, and the sound of Aerith's weeping faded into the silent void.
Amidst the solitude of my disembodied spirit, an agonizing anguish welled up within me.
Why...? Why did Gaia allow this to happen to us?
We were the Cetra—the First Ones who dedicated our lives to listening to the Planet's whispers, maintaining the balance, and healing its wounds. Yet Gaia left our people to perish in silent suffering. Where was the Planet's justice for its most loyal children? Why did my innocent little daughter have to bear this torment?
The echoes of my anguished questions simply dissipated. I closed my spiritual eyes, preparing to dissolve into the flow of the Lifestream—hoping to feel the warmth of the Mako that serves as the final resting place for all souls.
But the warmth of the Planet I longed for never came.
The chill of the station and the pain of death suddenly vanished. There was no flow of Mako, no resonance of the Planet's souls. I started, realizing my soul had not dissolved at all.
When I opened my eyes, I was not within the Planet's core.
I found myself seated upon a colossal, intricately patterned bronze chair.
Around me, a thick, grey mist swirled endlessly like a boundless ocean, framing a long table that appeared both magnificent and mysterious. Surrounding me, unfamiliar figures radiating an aura unlike anything I had ever encountered sat in silence.
"Where am I?" my startled mind trembled, reaching out to sense my soul, which was now whole.
"This isn't the Lifestream... where has my soul been taken?"
3rd person:
The atmosphere in the bronze hall was on the verge of exploding when the man in green armor Doomguy He stepped forward. He thinks he fall into Demons Illusions
There were no complex thoughts in his mind, only a single thought: Kill the demons. Slaughter them. He taught they're demons too messing with his mind.
Kratos let out a low grunt, ready to meet an attack at any moment.
Before the interdimensional clash could erupt, Audrey Hall took action.
She had danger sense from Doomguy's mind. The murderous intent made her shudder, but she quickly activated her ability.
Calm down. A wave of mental serenity washed over the demon slayer's mind. Audrey's elegant voice sounded soothing.
"Please, hold back your anger. We are not enemies, and this is no place for a fight."
The Doomguy paused. This sudden, permeating calm felt alien to him. He stared at Audrey, snorted roughly, then slowly stepped back and sat down again, remaining fully on guard.
Seeing the crisis averted, Audrey offered a polite smile to everyone.
"Welcome to Sefirah Castle—a meeting space situated above the Spirit World. Judging by your reactions, it seems none of you are Beyonders?
Silence settled over the table. Kratos simply fixed her with a sharp stare.
"I am Kratos," his deep, gravelly voice broke the silence.
"I was asleep, and suddenly, my consciousness was forcibly dragged to this place."
Doomguy gave a single, slow nod, indicating the same had happened to him.
"W-Wait," Kushina raised her hand hesitantly.
"My name is Kushina Uzumaki... is this not the afterlife? Because I... I'm certain I died. I was protecting my twins and was killed by my own pet monster."
Ifalna turned to her immediately. "You died too? My name is Ifalna. I died just a short while ago. I thought this place was the Lifestream—the planet's core where souls return."
Meteria lowered her head; her voice, soft and fragile, broke the tension.
"My name is Meteria... but I haven't died. I was lying gravely ill in my world with no hope of recovery, and my consciousness suddenly ended up here the moment I closed my eyes."
Audrey fell silent. The facts made her mind race. Three women from disparate spiritual realms, alongside two formidable warriors whose consciousnesses had been pulled in at random. Audrey realized with a sense of dread that this place was truly no longer bound by the laws of her own world alone.
Kratos broke the oppressive silence, his piercing gaze locked firmly on Audrey. "You... the woman from Loen," his deep, heavy voice resonated softly across the bronze table.
"What exactly is this place? Why do you seem to recognize this room?"
Audrey maintained her composure, though a ripple of unease stirred within her.
"This is Sefirah Castle... a spiritual space situated above the Spirit World," Audrey replied, her tone as gentle as possible. Yet, she shook her head slightly.
"But even I do not know why you are all here. This place... operates beyond my understanding."
"A spiritual space...?" Kushina touched her abdomen again, her gaze betraying deep disbelief.
"But... I should be dead. A giant claw pierced through my body and my husband's as we shielded our twins. I felt it... my final breath had truly ceased."
Ifalna nodded slowly, continuing in a voice that seemed almost lost in the mist.
"Me too... My body gave out at the train station right after I entrusted my daughter to a stranger. My soul should have dissolved back into the Lifestream... yet here I am, waking up in this chair without a single injury."
"The pain that burned through me for years..." Meteria whispered softly, gazing at her fingers, which now felt warm and whole.
"The disease that ravaged my lungs simply vanished the moment I arrived here."
Kratos narrowed his eyes, pondering the women's words.
"I did not die. I merely closed my eyes at home after cremating my wife's body... and my consciousness was dragged here."
The man clad in dark green armor at the far end of the table remained silent, yet the heavy breaths escaping his steel helmet betrayed a soul forcibly torn from the midst of an unending slaughter.
As Audrey carefully absorbed their every word. One had arrived after crossing the threshold of death, another teetered on the brink of demise, one was consumed by grief, and another had been snatched from the battlefield—yet here, their spiritual forms remained entirely intact, free from physical injury.
From within the thick gray fog shrouding the uppermost reaches of Sefirah Castle, something slowly shifted forward.
Yet, it was by no means a physical form, let alone a distinct human silhouette.
The figure appeared as a fractured tear in their perception an abstract entity constantly vibrating, distorting behind the veil of mist. Its form shifted without a fixed shape; at times resembling shards of gray light, then fading into alien patterns that induced dizziness and a loss of focus in anyone attempting to observe it. No bodily features, clothing, or even gender markers could be discerned by the eye.
Its unstable presence instantly triggered a state of alert around the bronze table.
Audrey sharpened her vision as a Spectator, yet her gaze collided only with an indefinable visual incoherence. Kratos narrowed his eyes, his muscles tensing in vigilance against a form unbound by any natural law.
The constantly vibrating, abstract entity finally came to a halt at the head of the main table.
When a voice emanated from it, the sound did not reverberate through the air nor originate from ordinary vocal cords. It was a layered voice—a blend of overlapping, faint, low-frequency tones that created an articulation making it impossible to tell whether the speaker was male, female, or something else entirely.
"Welcome."
(A/N: Damn it's been two month i just well hesitated many tine like fuck this i hit the damn wall for who will appear for this chapter... by the way idk like i just fill it in cuz after this you might be didn like where this will going but yeah... audrey apperance this time is really just accidental by the way. I just wanna say thanks for the reader who waiting this stupid Fanfic honestly even i really think its sucks. Maybe next time, if something like this comes up again, I'll hold some kind of vote—that way, I won't have to struggle with the decision all on my own.. see ya next chapter. Adios ma frend)