Tales of Raiverin: One

Chapter 6

He felt his body on the ground, feeling the soft patches of grass and what felt like flowers. He groaned as he sat up, opening his eyes and taking a glimpse around. The area seemed more lively than the Earth, though it was rather dark... and cold. He took a breath, coughing out the particles that flew into his throat.

"Hhm... wh- where am I?" He asked himself, starting to take a few steps forward. He peered up at the ceiling, it was like a tall, never-ending tunnel with a bright light shining down. It was unusual, to say the least, as he wandered in a straight line, he saw a small desk up ahead, and what looked like a cat sitting behind it. The cat waved at him, beckoning him to approach. It wasn't like he had any other option.

The cat put its paws on the desk, smiling as he came up to it.
"Hello there, I'm sure you must be confused. Don't worry, that's natural."
"Uhm, well- yes, I am... what is this place?"
"One second," The cat said, reaching behind the counter and grabbing a small tart. They took a bite of it and gestured towards him. "Would you like one? I have a ton."
"N-No, thank you though..."
"Suit yourself." They chuckled, eating the rest of it in one bite. "Anyways, my name is Caterpillar. I'm filling in for the usual guy today, who happens to be my husband. I wonder what-" He stopped speaking when he noticed that the other feline wasn't necessarily interested in hearing about it.

"Sorry. What's your name?"
"I- I don't know my name."
"Oh, that's okay. I didn't know mine either when I got here. I have a few files here for today, so give me a moment to find yours." Caterpillar purred gently, shuffling through a couple of documents, holding one up and looking between the file and the cat's face. He smiled and handed the papers to him.

"I got it. Hi, Paris."
One stared at the document, it was a photo of him as a kitten, a lot of it was written in a language he didn't understand, but he could read some of it.

"Paris Viceroy

Age: Unknown

Mortal Status: Unknown, assumed deceased

Tied to the Mayflower Family, keep watch."

The rest of the text was unfamiliar to him, as he read the file, he could feel memories returning to his mind. It couldn't have been longer than ten seconds, but he was starting to remember who the cat in his mind was. It was a sibling, Ash Viceroy. His brother. He remembered that they had always been together, and he seemed happy. Paris finally managed to snap out of this trance, looking up at Caterpillar with teary eyes and a big smile.

"Thank you, Caterpillar."
"It's nothing. Welcome to Hell, by the way."
His happy mood was instantly shot down, he had only ever heard of Hell in stories. He really was dead, he could only remember living a few years of life, and now it's over?

"Is my family here..? Can I see them?"
"No, sorry. Your mother and brother are both up there," Caterpillar shook his head, pointing up at the large tunnel in the sky. "Your father is here though, if you'd like to meet him."
"I'd prefer to skip that, I don't think he'd like to see me..."
"I understand, it's hard to accept." He said softly. "If you'd like, I could tell you about your family. That might help."

Paris nodded slowly, his tail flicking to the side.

"Okay, let's see... Osiris Viceroy, your mother. From what I have here, and reports from others, she was one of the prettiest cats in the area." He purred, laughing softly. "No wonder you and Ash look so good, you resemble your mother more than anyone."
Paris chuckled softly, putting his head back as he tried to recall what his mother was like. From what he could remember, she was very quiet, but she was very effective in raising two kittens. "That sounds like her... She was very proud of that."
"She still is, Paris, but not as proud as she is of you."
"Huh?"
"I can't confirm this, but I've heard from some angels that come down here... she's very proud of you. You're a lot stronger than most." He ruffled Paris' hair, laughing gently. "I mean, you survived ten years in a chamber, and you never let those scientists break you, never cried, never gave in. I couldn't do that."

Paris looked away, he didn't think it was something to be praised for, but he accepted it either way.

Caterpillar smiled, shrugging a bit before opening another file. "Now, Ash Viceroy. I hear that he didn't live the longest life, nor was it very successful. But the moments he spent with you were the moments he was happiest. He loved to talk to you, even though you were too young to remember that."

His eyes began to water, and he shook his head. He felt a deep connection to Ash. He knew that he had saved him before, being his best friend and that he missed him dearly. He didn't fully remember ever meeting him, but the imprint that he left in his mind was something that couldn't be erased.

Caterpillar continued now, "He loved you, and he spent his life trying to get back to you. He'd be happy to see you if you had ever made it to Heaven."

"I can still make it."
"Sorry, there's no way to get out of here."

Paris shook his head, picking up his file that was left on the table. "No, it isn't my time yet! I can't die like that!"

Caterpillar took the file back, shaking his head before glancing over it. His eyes widened as he dropped it onto the cold ground.

"Y-... You're the only one I've ever seen that has a date written for their death..."
Paris yelped a bit, leaning back before slamming his paws on the desk. "What?! When!?"
"I-I can't tell you that, but it's not today! You need to get out of here!" He shouted, grabbing Paris by the shoulders and frantically shoving him back to the pile of flowers he had awoken on.
"Sorry for the rush, but Raiverin is gonna be furious if he finds out you're here!"
Paris only grunted in understanding, sitting up and preparing for whatever was next.
"This might hurt a bit, sorry," Caterpillar said softly before placing a paw on his forehead. "Let the world find your soul, rebind it to your mind, live well and live long!" He yelped out.

Paris felt his body fill with energy, a white aura flowing off of him. He began to hover up into the tall ceiling, he stared down at Caterpillar, waving a bit and smiling.
"Thank you! I hope to... not see you soon!"
He laughed before his vision filled with white, making it impossible to see anything... suppose the return to the living world must stay hidden.