Pain.
That was the last thing that Ryuen could remember. Pain so intense that it almost made him want to die.
And then-
Nothing.
No pain.
No coldness of the floor.
No sound.
Just... a feeling of emptiness.
And when finally, his sensations returned what awaited him wasn't pain, neither it were the pale blue eyes of the man who had just shot him. It was something else entirely.
It was- or at least looked like a world that was taken from someone's dreams. It was like a huge hallway that had stars stick to the ceiling, pillars made of constellations- it looked almost unnatural, and yet serene and beautiful
Ryuen blinked out of his daze and looked around the ethereal hallway.
"Where am I?"
Am I dead?" Ryuen muttered.
"That would be the correct assumption, yes." a voice said- it was a calm and gentle voice.
Ryuen turned around.
A young man stood behind him.
Tall, absurdly handsome, with blonde hair and azure eyes.
He almost appeared Godly.
He smiled politely, like a clerk greeting a customer.
"Hello, Ryuen Vale."
Ryuen stared at him. "And you are?"
"Someone who oversees situations like yours." the blond guy replied, hands folded behind his back. "A... caretaker or a guide, you could say."
"Situation?" Ryuen narrowed his eyes. "You mean my death?"
The man winced at this.
"Ah. Yes. About that." He rubbed the back of his neck in a way that felt a bit too human.
"There was a small… error. Technical complications, you see. Some paperworks got exchanged. It happens more often than you'd think."
Ryuen stared blankly.
He had been stabbed, shot at, killed like an animal- and the explanation for that was a paperwork error?
The blonde man cleared his throat and straightened, trying to look dignified again.
"The point is, your death was not supposed to occur. So, I am here to offer compensation. A second life."
Ryuen felt something at this, something strange- not hope, but something else entirely.
"A second life." he repeated slowly. "Just like that?"
"Yes." the man said easily. "With certain benefits, of course, after all it was because of us that you died."
It was the way he said it -that slight carefulness in his tone - that made Ryuen pause.
He wasn't lying.
But he wasn't saying everything, either.
He almost seemed scared of something....or rather someone.
'Hmm, it seems, he isn't that godly after all.'
Something was off and Ryuen was going to find out what it was.
"Why do you look so... nervous?" Ryuen asked.
The man froze.
Then his smile returned, too quick, too polished.
"Nervous? No, no, not at all. Everything is perfectly under my control."
Which meant: everything was not under control.
Ryuen remembered another face.
A cold voice.
A pale coat.
Pale blue eyes staring down at him like he was an inconvenience.
'Useless.
She will notice.
This needs to be done.'
Those words flashed through Ryuen's mind like lightning.
The blonde man's gaze sharpened- he had seen through him, just like he had done with him before.
"You met someone before you died" he said quietly. "Someone with… blue eyes?"
Ryuen's heart skipped, he was sure that the blondie coudn't read his thoughts.
And that means...
"You know him?"
A long, heavy silence.
The man's face changed expression once before he answered, tone carefully neutral.
"He and I are... from different factions. He made a move he shouldn't have. I'm here to... correct things."
'Different factions.
Different agendas.'
Ryuen suddenly felt very small in this star-lit space.
"I see." Ryuen said slowly, "And what is your...faction's agenda? Am I supposed to trust you?"
The man didn't hesitate.
"No."
Ryuen blinked.
The man offered a small, resigned smile- the kind carried by someone who had lived too long, seen too much.
"Trust is earned, Ryuen. And you have every right to doubt me. But regardless of whose side you will one day stand on."
He raised a hand and a warm light enveloped Ryuen.
"I will send you to your new life with a gift."
"A gift?"
"A chance." the blonde man said softly. "Whether you rise… or break, that will depend on you."
The space trembled.
"Wait!"
"We don't have time for this Ryuen. If fate permits, we shall meet again and hopefully, it isn't as enemies."
Ryuen's consciousness started to blur.
Light swallowed him whole and he started to get erased from the star-lit hallway.
And the last thing he heard- so faint he wasn't sure if he had imagined it- was the blonde man muttering under his breath:
"I hope she never finds out..."
And then-
Darkness.
Warmth.
And a new beginning.