It was a cruel twist of fate- for there he stood, with the spear buried deep within his body and a pain so fierce he could not breath. Not that he would need to as his world darkened, his vision becoming blurred as he blinked back a few tears he hadn't known were there.
"P..princess Em Ush'ere..." he stammered, blood trickling down from the corners of his lips as he trembled. But it was too late, and the army of heartless flooded past him, leaving the man to drop to his knees and watch helplessly as his princess was taken. His sacrifice in vane...
And then into the darkness he went, upon a whisper, and was carried away lighter than air unto the next world....
"Ashai..."
The voice was soft, and distinctly that of a woman's.
"Ashai Amun'de- Keeper of Time..."
His blue eyes opened, and blinked heavily at the sound of the voice.
"Princess Em Ush'ere?"
"No." the voice replied back, and the world around him wavered, and it felt strange- as if he were under water, but there was no pressure on his skin. Peering around, Ashai's eyes took in this world, but it seemed too distance, and most of it was framed in a rippling blur of darkness.
"Then who?" he asked softly, feeling tired and heavy.
"The Spirit." She spoke, the world twinkling. "The Spirit of Death."
"Death?" The world wavered at his sound, the darkness rippling outwards from him. He could see things changing, but he knew not what. "Than am I...?"
"You are dead."
Ashai fell into silence, and had a hard time digesting what the voice told him.
"Then this is..."
"The Kingdom of the After Life."
Ashai moved around, knowing somehow he was moving, pushing through the void- but not knowing how. He couldn't feel, and seeing was an abstract thing. Though as he swam through this place, this kingdom of the dead, he tried to look for the voice when he saw the fluttering of light breaking through the inky darkness that marred his vision.
"You are half way to the heavens." She told him. "But do not despair, for your journey has only just begun."
It was warm now, but that was all he felt when the light over took him- and he felt as if he were being turned upside down, then pulled inside out and pushed away and drifting, until the light twinkled and in it's winking wake, he found himself standing on a horizon of orange so bright, it reminded him of fire. He shielded his eyes, but could not see his hands. He grit his teeth, but could not feel the bite as he looked around, trying to figure out where he was- what this world could be when the voice tried to reach him again.
"This is the warmth of love. Your heart, so rare, so pure, produces so much of this your soul has transcended into another existence all of it's own."
"Transcended? What do you mean?"
The world wavered a bit, before settling back into a softer shade of orange, and Ashai felt as if he might tip over as the world began to shift.
"Your soul is a powerful source of life." The Spirit told him. "It has guided your spirit away from the land of the dead."
"Away? But how.. what do you mean?"
"You are not destined to rest just yet, my child. The Spirits always have answers."
"Rest? What do you mean? What is my destiny? Am I to fulfill something even in death?"
"Your heart.." the voice said, darkening the world into a deeper shade of red. "Your heart feels broken and sad. You feel undeserving of the paradise you have earned. It keeps you from the heavens. From peace."
And it was at the talk of his heart that he felt it, it's pulsating force thumbing and pulsating through the world.
"I feel it..."
"That is your spirit. The true power of your heart."
"Yes, I know. I.. I can sense it."
"Do you feel it pull?"
Ashai grew quiet, lifting up the hands that weren't there as he nodded.
"Yes." And he turned towards were a crack began to dissolve in the edge of the world of color. "And it pulls me near- so near to this... vision."
"That is no vision." She told him. "That is the world of the wake."
"You mean the world of-"
"Yes," she told him, her voice like a chime as the world sparkled subtle. "The world of the living."
Hesitantly, Ashai took a step forward, a hand reaching out, though cautious, and too afraid to touch.
"The world of the living beckons you- and of one so pure, I can not deny those of strong spirit."
He lifte dhis gaze towards the voice
"Then I have another chance?"
There was a pause, the world rippling and feeling softer all around him.
"Yes. You have another choice. But there is a limit. You can return. You can fix what is wrong in the world. You can help cure this darkness."
"But how?" he asked the voice, and in turn, heard the sudden tick, tick, ticking of a clock. He furrowed his brow, not understanding what it was.
"The time of the future resides in you. Take this medallion and be careful of the sands within."
Ashai furrowed his brow and looked down to where something flashed inside a bubble of light. And as it neared him, the light faded and before him sparkled a golden medallion.
"May I touch it?"
The world churned a moment before the spirit answered him.
"Yes. You may touch it. The Medallion of Time is yours. And with it, the future. Life again, and then... the ends of your life, all in one. Use it wisely, protect it. For this is your essence, this is your power. And you will find yourself whole again all anew."
ANd the second Ashai reached for the Medallion it opened, and within it he saw a small hour glass but it was empty- without sands. ANd then in a flooding fanfare of pain and light, he watched his body tear away from him and sift into the glass as sands filled the empty void and the world around him grew smaller and smaller as he free fell back unto the earth.
He awoke, cold, hungry and naked as he shivered against the midnight moon, which capped the vast desert of glass in silver. It was a peculiar thing to see, to feel- as it was hard as ice, and felt cold to the touch; and was mesmerizing. Though there was a faint reflection to it, he could see through it- as if it were a clouded window, but even in the dark- he somehow knew what it was.
"The Seraj Isa..." he whispered, and peered up from the glass dunes beneath him to the stars as he stood at them- and marked a blessed symbol across his breast, and got on one knee in prayer as he thanked all the Spirit Gods.