When that flash of light came, Emil felt a brief instant of pain and then there was nothing.Emil looked around but he could only see darkness.
[Where am I?] He thought.
His memory was a little fuzzy but scenes and pictures gradually came back to him.
[I...I remember!] Emil thought as memories flashed into his mind like a tidal wave. He was fighting the King and then he saved Lilium before being consumed by a blinding light.
[Lilium...I hope she"s safe.]
"Boy!" A voice sounded from behind him.
Turning around Emil saw a strange sight. In the void of darkness there was a table with a lamp stuck securely on it.
Sitting at the table was an old man in stylish foreign clothes that made the ones he and the Seraphim wore look primitive in comparison.
"Come and sit boy." The old man gestured towards him as a chair appeared on the other side of the desk.
Emil obediently sat in the chair and got a closer look at the old man.
His hair was thin and grey, his features were bony as if he hadn"t eaten anything in weeks. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes glowed with a dim white light.
On the side of the desk was a briefcase that had many abstruse patterns that shifted places on it. The old man opened the briefcase and took out a piece of paper which he then placed on the desk, a red pen appeared in his hand and then he stared at Emil.
"Boy, do you know that you"re already dead?" The old man said with a gruff voice.
Emil tried to speak but he couldn"t, he nodded his head instead. Of the thoughts currently running through his mind, he wondered most who this mysterious man was.
"Good, I don"t have to explain it then." The old man sighed in relief.
Emil t.i.tled his head curiously.
The old man scratched his head and chuckled. "Usually when someone dies, their memories are scrambled. It"s extremely rare for them to remember anything relating to their life or demise and it"s takes a while to collect themselves. Honestly it"s a pain," The old man cupped his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe it"s because they were from the lower heavens? You"re the first from the G.o.d races to perish and you retained your memories, perhaps that"s the reason? I"ll have to wait until more of your race dies to see."
"Now to business then." The old man looked him up and down before writing down on the piece of paper, occasionally muttering something Emil couldn"t make out.
Emil didn"t know how much time pa.s.sed but eventually the old man put the paper in front of him.
A small red box appeared in the man"s hand, he placed it in front of Emil and opened it.
Inside was a damp cushion soaked in red ink.
"I need your signature. Now I know that your races have yet to create a written language so all you need to do is press your thumb on this pad here," The old man pointed to the box. "And the stamp your thumb on this part right here." He pointed to a point on the paper.
Emil nodded and complied.
After the deed was done, the old man packed the paper, pen and box into the briefcase and closed it. Standing up the old man straightened his clothes before looking at Emil.
"Your destination is Limbo boy, work hard and you may have a chance at reincarnation." The old man waved his hand towards Emil.
As he vanished into a blinding light, Emil"s thoughts were filled with unanswered questions. What was Limbo? What was Reincarnation? Who was that old man?