in a previous life

Final Moments

Prince Anu’s spirit stepped through the invisible portal and floated back into the stiff body lying in bed. Warmth spread through his limbs once again, and he slowly opened his eyes to find an unfamiliar face at his bedside.

“Your Highness has finally woken up,” the nursemaid said, putting down her crochet needle.

Anu settled his nerves. “Where is my aide?” he asked, despite the lingering discomfort of having been out of his body for too long.

“Good that Your Highness should ask,” the nursemaid answered, a faint smile curling her lips. “Why don’t we go pay him a visit together?”

Before Anu could respond, the woman stood up and rang a golden bell to summon the servants. Upon entering, they hauled him—still in his nightclothes—straight into his wheelchair and began pushing the wooden carriage out of the bedchamber. Two guards stationed at the door bent down on either side to carry him down the staircase.

They passed the palace’s golden gates, then pushed him further out through the gardens toward the square beyond. A suffocating cloak of fear clawed at Anu’s chest. “Where are we going?” he demanded.

“You’ll know in a minute,” the nurse said sweetly, keeping pace with the guards.

From a distance, Anu caught sight of Seena, his back heaving in uneven rhythms. He called out to his cousin, but Seena didn’t answer. Instead, Seena broke into a run down toward the pier. The pit in Anu’s stomach deepened, though he maintained a facade of calm. Servants and nobles alike within the castle were no better than vultures; a single moment of weakness could cost him dearly.

The guards arrived at the square and stepped back. Anu squinted against the blinding glare of the sun. In the center of the square, a body hung limply from the pillory. Fresh blood coated the ground beneath it, and a few feet away lay a discarded flogging whip. Who did my father execute this time? he wondered.

He wheeled himself closer to the body. His breath caught as realization struck.

One moment he was in his wheelchair; the next, he was on the ground. Whether his spirit had been severed or he remained inside his flesh, Anu no longer knew. Everything around him simply collapsed into black.

“Anu, stop!”

“You must cease this at once!”

“I am begging you to stop!”

The voices came from far away, vaguely familiar. Perhaps it’s Ran.

“That’s enough.”

“You are going to kill us all...” the voice pleaded, sounding almost resigned.

It was Ran. In his current state, Anu didn’t care. None of it mattered anymore. He only hoped his best friend would make it quick.

In answer to his prayer, Ran’s blade descended, severing Anu’s head from his neck with one swift cut.

-

Within the Ether

In the afterlife, departed souls crossed the River Lethe aboard gondolas. Each boat carried two occupants: the soul of the recently deceased and, standing beside it, its guiding spirit.

Shrouded in thick fog, the river stretched endlessly into the dark. Yet beneath the vessel, the water shimmered with sparkling orbs that glittered like countless stars in the deep.

Spirits flickered around him, their forms gliding through the air. He was gliding among them, hearing their thoughts echo in his mind—and the topic of their discussion was him.

“Another one,” blurted a formless specter.

“The second one in such a short span of time,” another mused in response.

Anu wondered if they realized he could hear them.

“What do you think his powers are?”

“Is the Guiding Saint here yet?”

“What should we do with him?”

“Just leave him be until the Saint arrives.”

“He seems dark,” a timid little specter quivered.

It reminded Anu of his own form when he had first learned to step outside his body. He, too, had been nothing more than a foolish little ball of light back then.

The specter inched closer, reaching out with silver tendons, only to recoil in sudden revulsion. It turned to its companions. “His energy isn’t right. He might corrupt the river!”

Ahead of them, more spirits were arriving, escorted by resident spirit guides. The souls of the dead were easily recognizable by the agony etched onto their faces. By contrast, the higher-ranking heralds possessed defined bodies draped in shadowy white robes, their faces blank canvases of pure light. It was impossible to tell whether they had once been men or women, or if they had ever been human at all.

Perhaps they were once just little specks of light, too, Anu thought, watching the little menace approach him again, only to flinch as if stung.

“Truly, it’s terrible,” it continued to whine. “Was he sent here by mistake?”

“We do not make mistakes here,” another chastised. “Be patient. The Saint will arrive shortly.”

“Do you think he will be sent to the Lower Realms?”

“What are the Lower Realms?” Anu interrupted.

The phantoms around him froze instantly. Then, a vast expanse of distance materialized between them in a snap.

“He can hear us!” the little thing wailed.

“Hush,” its companions echoed in unison.

Anu did not have to dwell on them for long. Out of the eternal darkness, a glowing portal rippled open much like the ones he used to conjure on the mortal plane. Through it stepped a giant of a woman with long white hair cascading to her toes and skin as dark as the night sky. Unlike the others, her face was not featureless; it bore fine wrinkles and warm smile lines.

The woman shrank in scale until she stood directly before him. “You cannot see their faces here, but you will in the Higher Realm,” she said kindly, resting a steadying hand on his shoulder.

“Are you the Queen of this place?” he asked in awe.

“Royalty is a invention of mortals; humans create castes to distinguish themselves. Up here, we are all one and the same.”

“How is it that I can see your face, but not theirs?” Anu challenged.

She laughed, her voice reverberating through the night as the submerged orbs sparkled brighter in response. “Because I am tasked with guiding ascended spirits like you into the Higher Realms,” she said with a wink. “Whereas their task is merely to herald souls into their next life.”

She lowered her hand and extended an open palm toward him. “Come. You are among your own kind now.”

“What about Ash? Is he there, too?” Anu asked, his hand reflexively reaching for hers. Warmth spread through his form, washing away whatever remnants of unease had settled into his core. He felt lighter, almost at peace.

Her brow furrowed with sympathy. “Your companion is a mortal,” she said softly. “He has already crossed the river.”

Anu’s hand snapped back as if struck by lightning. The warmth instantly evaporated, leaving a void where the volatile, chaotic energy within his spirit threatened to flare up once more.

“You carry more power than any human ought to possess,” the Saint warned, her tone firm yet filled with pity. “You no longer belong on the mortal plane. You belong up here, with us.”

He caught a faint trace of melancholy in her voice.

“I belong wherever he is,” Anu answered.

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