The realms are divided into five stages: the soul, the womb, the world, the barzakh, and the hereafter.
The soul is a bodyless spirit, the womb is a soul with a body.
The world is a breathing body, a soul that has forgotten the two previous realms.
The barzakh is the soul leaving its vessel, the intermediary realm after death while awaiting the day of resurrection.
The hereafter is the soul resurrected, judged between heaven and hell.
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Barq walked as far as the eye could see. With a single leap, he crossed immeasurable distances. It was a journey across dimensions, not merely physical speed, but transcending the limits of space and time.
Barq showed that time in the heavenly domain is not the same as human time.
What feels brief in the heavens can feel long on your earth, and vice versa. A day in the heavens is like a thousand years according to your reckoning.
Barq did not speak through his mouth, but through his mind connected to Raven. Barq's voice was deep, like that of a grown man.
Your body right now is only a soul without flesh.
When the fetus reaches 120 days, Barq will breathe the soul into the body. From then on, humans live as both physical and spiritual beings.
The soul dwells within the body, undergoing the test of life. The body becomes the 'vehicle' of the soul to act.
Upon reaching the world, that messenger being softly breathed the soul into the fetus within a mother's womb.
His presence could not be sensed by those who breathe.
Raven, in soul form, faded into intangible shards of light.
Fsssshhhh.
A young mother was fast asleep on a cold night, the soul entered the fetus that had already formed perfectly.
After Barq placed the soul into the body within the womb, he left the earthly realm, darting back toward a domain unknown to the universe.
Since the soul entered the womb, Raven slept for a long time. The womb's owner simply lived her days as usual, protecting her pregnancy, tending to her household, and preparing herself as a new mother-to-be.
Until time passed quickly. Raven awakened when the pregnancy reached eight months.
His eyelids struggled to open, perhaps they never truly opened, for only darkness entered his pupils.
Dark… Where am I…? This dark place feels so warm, what is happening?!
Raven did not understand the situation he was in, he only remembered when a four-legged beast with wings of light carried him off to who-knows-where.
Cramped, his body felt pressed by soft walls. Raven tried to kick the walls with all his strength.
But the wall bounced back.
When he reached toward his belly, his navel felt joined to something, like a long, elastic cord.
Raven also felt his fingers shrink. He panicked, yet felt comforted in the strange darkness.
What is happening? Is this the realm of death? Oh God, grant me a second chance. I am still a sinner.
At times his heart suddenly felt joy. Since awakening, his body only lay still all the time, moving within limited space and constantly complaining. Often Raven felt shaken by sudden changes in mood.
Endlessly he tried to guess the passing of time in the silence-wrapped place.
He forgot the last food he ate, yet strangely his belly always felt full. It was as if the cord attached to his navel channeled something so he never felt hunger.
Sometimes faint voices hummed within his head.
Why is someone calling my full name…? Raven…? Morcant…? And will I remain here forever?
He longed to shout, but his lips never uttered a sound, time kept running yet he never grew sleepy.
Until suddenly his body stiffened. He felt rapid vibrations like someone's heartbeat. Raven tried not to panic, but his heart became furious.
Stop it, my chest feels like it's burning! Hah… suffocating… so suffocating…!
This dark place… Why has it suddenly become so choking! I don't understand why my heart feels so hot.
He felt his breath gasping, but no air entered his nose.
The feeling was familiar, like when Raven saw Aira always with Celdric, it was the feeling of jealousy.
A heavy, intimidating voice entered Raven's mind uninvited, the same voice as when in the heavenly realm, but it felt like a different person.
Do you wish to be born…?
The voice was not as painful as the death throes he had felt in the starry realm.
W-who are you…?!
Born? What do you mean?
I beg you… I don't want to feel that pain again.
The trauma still lingered within him.
In an instant, Raven shifted from the dark place. His mind froze, unable to grasp the meaning of what the voice was asking.
His body floated again in the realm full of stars. Now Raven could see his body clearly.
Ahh… This place…
A small body, tiny fingers, short legs, and a small belly.
Everything became clear. Raven's eyes widened at the strange thing attached to his navel, stretching who-knows-where, its end unseen.
"This is the umbilical cord?!"
"Have I been in the womb all this time?"
Until screens reappeared, right before his face. Clearly filling the entire realm.
"Th-these screens again? Why are there so many?"
"Hundreds… No, thousands… Maybe millions, or even billions…?!"
His tiny fingers could not touch the screens. Until they quickly merged into Raven's chest.
"Argh!" Raven winced, his heartbeat racing, ready to explode.
Fragments of someone's memories rushed into his mind at once, with different scenes branching from the same point.
One vision showed the day his grandmother passed away, while another showed himself choosing not to leave the village, yet another showed him deciding to go to the capital.
The small baby furrowed his brow in fear, until the voice entered his mind once more.
This is the path of your life story. Thousands of timelines you must live, and only one you can choose.
Every choice you make will affect what you will go through.
"Argh!" The voice once again tortured his head, along with the flood of memories merging into his chest.
You must know one thing… In this world, destiny is not something you should regret… Your destiny as a man cannot be changed…
But all deeds… Actions… And the path of life you choose are of your own will. Those memories are but a million glimpses of what you will feel.
"Argh!" The voice grew darker, then gradually softened.
Raven cried loudly, the cry of a baby filled the silence.
Live that life as a foolish human. And learn to become a good one.
As he wept, the voice weakened.
But I will still ask.
Do you wish to be born into the world…?
The final words of that voice repeated dozens of times in his head.
Until one vision appeared, where Raven saw himself, at one point in time, truly happy.