To Live Another Life

{ Prologue | Revival }

Kaira closed her eyes as the beeping droned on and on in her ears. Her own heartbeat had been the only thing she's heard for days on end, and she was growing tired of it. She was growing tired of seeing her friends and family coming to visit her with their sorrowful expressions. She was growing tired of going in and out of surgery, but not going in and out of arcades and stores like she used to. She knew she didn't have much time left to live, and everyone else knew it too.

A sigh left her lips as she listened to her heartbeat from the monitor slow. Maybe this sleep will be her last. A part of her had accepted it; she was told she was going to die one day and that day has come. Yet the other part of her screamed at herself to keep going, to not give up just yet. She had barely lived her life to the fullest. As her mind fought back and forth between acceptance and fear, she found herself slowly being lulled to sleep by her own dreadful thoughts.

Kaira's sleep that night was strange. She seemed to have woken up in the morning in her hospital bed, but what stood at the edge of her bed was what confused her the most. A large, white, cat-like creature grinned at her, showing off its wicked fangs. It hovered above the ground, with large, thorny wings sticking out from its back. Her chest began to fill with fear, yet no sound came from her heart monitor.

"Welcome to the Afterlife, Ms. Kiveski," came the low, rough voice of the creature. Yet the creature did not open its mouth.

"The...Afterlife?" Kaira echoed, her voice shaky.

"Yes...You've noticed you've lost your heartbeat, correct?"

Kaira placed a hand on her chest. As hard as she pressed on her rib cage, she could not feel a single beat from her heart. Her eyes widened in shock. A strange, mocking sound filled the room as the creature appeared to laugh at her, its many eyes squinted and devious.

"There's...There's no way this is the Afterlife..." Kaira said. "No Afterlife would have a creature as creepy as you in it! What even are you? How do you know my name?"

The creature tilted its head, a low, angry growl echoing around the room. Realizing her mistake, Kaira's blood ran cold. However, instead of lunging at her as she expected, the creature merely scoffed.

"Now, now...That's no way to speak to your savior," it hissed, leaning down closer to Kaira's face. She pressed back into her pillow.

"What do you mean 'savior'?" she asked meekly. With its demonic features, she could only assume it was out for blood—especially hers.

"I was tasked with granting you one very important thing," the creature stated, its grin slowly returning. "The chance to live another life."

"Live another life..?" she repeated, eyes wide in both fear and surprise. "But...how is that possible?"

"Is that really what you're questioning here, Ms. Kiveski?" the creature asked. Kaira looked between it and the unnatural, blinding light shining through the window. It continued on: "If you've been talking to me without a heartbeat for so long, then a simple revival spell should be of no surprise."

Kaira clutched her hand against her chest as she looked down at her lap. If this thing really was her one ticket to being able to live again...she was going to take it.

"Okay...Can you...cast it for me?" she asked weakly, looking back up at the creature's shiny golden eyes.

"Of course, Ms. Kiveski. It's what I've been tasked to do," the creature purred. "I'll see you again in a couple decades."

Its eyes suddenly glowed white as golden symbols appeared above its head. The world around her began to shake as an intense warmth swelled in her chest. Kaira watched with fear. She felt like she was dying. She couldn't breathe. Her body felt way too hot. Her heart was slowly brought back to life, yet her heartbeat was already trying to escape her chest again. Clenching her eyes shut, she waited for her inevitable second death to come.

Then all of the overwhelming sensations stopped. Her heart rate began to calm down as a cold breeze washed over her body, and she felt...peaceful. Although all she could see was darkness, not a single negative thought formed in her head. Was what happened before was a dream? Was this what death truly was?

Kaira woke up with a gasp, ears ringing and now seeing nothing but white. Slowly, however, the white began to fade to reveal that she wasn't sitting in her hospital room anymore. She pushed herself to her feet. There was nothing but trees surrounding her, with the only sounds being the distant calls of owls and crickets and the leaves rustling in the wind. She shivered from the cold air.

"Where am I..?" she asked herself, hugging her arms to try and keep warm. She looked around to see if there were any signs to tell her where she was, yet nothing stuck out. With nowhere to go, she began to aimlessly walk through the forest, heart beating quickly with fear. Even a simple bird flapping its wings would make her flinch. Her anxiety began to rise as she felt hunger gnaw at her stomach, forcing her to realize that she needed food and shelter immediately.

As she walked, a stick cracked behind her. She spun around on her heel. A figure, lit only by the light of their torch, stood tall before her. Although they were cloaked in many layers of damaged, medieval-looking clothing, they smiled warmly.

"Why, hello there! Are you lost?"