No sound, no smell... nothing that could tell me whether I'm alive or dead...
The darkness is deeper than usual, yet Riku's thoughts seem able to pierce through it.
He recalled the moment he had plunged the knife into his own neck before finding himself in this void.
I did it. I went through with it. I'm probably dead...
Suddenly, out of absolute nothingness, Riku appeared suspended in space.
The sight made him jump.
"What the hell!?" he exclaimed, looking around.
A moment later, he anxiously touched his neck.
My wound... it's gone...
Riku realized he wasn't alone.
There were other people around him.
But what immediately caught his attention was a gigantic arc lined with countless armchairs and thrones, almost swallowed by the darkness.
"What is that...?" he wondered, only to be struck in the face by a punch that sent him crashing into a nearby boy.
"Ouch..."
Riku struggled to get back to his feet, holding the spot where he had been hit.
"Entschuldige! Alles in Ordnung?"
A girl approached him, speaking in German.
Riku looked confused.
Then he glanced up and saw her face, becoming momentarily captivated by it.
Standing before him was a tall girl with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail.
Her blue eyes watched him with obvious concern, while her training clothes hinted at an athletic and disciplined physique.
Riku snapped out of his observations and composed himself.
What language is that?
"I don't understand. Can you speak English?" Riku asked, confused.
The girl looked surprised by the request and immediately became flustered.
"Ehm… yes?" she replied hesitantly.
Riku stared at her skeptically.
Probably not…
She looked around, finally realizing the situation she was in.
"Woah!"
She only noticed now!?
Riku quickly turned his attention back, remembering the boy he had collided with.
"Sorry! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine…" the boy muttered, still looking around in confusion. "What place is this!?"
"I don't know…" Riku answered, tension in his voice.
The boy stepped closer, and only then did Riku fully notice his unusual height.
He's tall… no, ridiculously tall!
He had short dark hair and matching eyes.
Even though his hoodie and long pants hid most of his body, the sheer muscle mass beneath the fabric was impossible to ignore.
Riku met his gaze for a brief second, then quickly looked away, feeling strangely intimidated.
The boy raised an eyebrow slightly, as if puzzled by that reaction.
More and more people began appearing out of nowhere around them.
The crowd expanded rapidly, from hundreds of thousands to millions of individuals in moments.
Confusion, fear, and panic mixed into a massive wave of noise.
That relentless chaos immediately tensed Riku's body.
How did we end up in this situation!?
Footsteps began echoing through the space, distinct even amid the overwhelming noise.
A figure was slowly descending a staircase that split the massive arc of thrones in two.
The man cleared his throat with a few dry coughs.
"Mortals!"
His voice tore through the vast space like a thunderclap.
Millions of voices fell silent instantly.
Riku's eyes widened in shock.
How…? He just raised his voice and everyone went quiet…
The man continued descending the steps, while a light that had appeared from nowhere followed him from above, making him look like the absolute ruler of that enormous space.
He was not young, yet his age only made his presence more imposing.
He had a long silver beard, and his slow, controlled movements carried an almost oppressive calm.
Every gesture drew the attention of everyone present.
He reached the final step and smiled warmly at the crowd.
"Welcome to the Divine Space! I am Bragi, the god of poetry and music. I will be your guide in this new chapter of your lives!"
Silence remained—but this time, it was born of disbelief.
"He said… god?" the boy next to Riku asked weakly.
Riku, however, simply stared at him without replying.
"What?" the boy asked, confused.
"How do you suddenly know Japanese?"
"I never learned it…"
Bragi snapped his fingers and pointed at the two boys. A light engulfed them instantly, locking their bodies in place.
"Excellent observation! Let me clear your doubts right away."
The deity carefully looked over the mortals before him.
"Language differences used to be a massive problem. That's why we ensured that all of you now speak a single tongue… the language of the gods!"
Riku frowned slightly.
"We…?" he repeated, uncertain.
A choral, almost angelic sound echoed through the space.
In an instant, all the thrones and seats were filled with mysterious figures.
But what truly captured everyone's attention was a blinding light that appeared at the top of the staircase Bragi had descended from.
Riku tried to look directly at it, but immediately had to shield his eyes.
It's even brighter than the sun…
Bragi clapped his hands, the sound resonating across the entire space.
"Mortals! Before your eyes stand the deities of the Divine Space… and above them all, the Supreme God!"
Bragi slowly pointed upward.
"And you have been brought here to decide who will succeed him!"