Beyond The Eternity

Chapter 2 - Newcomer

The last thing she remembered was lying on a rough concrete road.

She shuffled and shifted in place, feeling the soft cushion on her back. As she opened her eyes, her confusion was only met with more questions.

"My room?"

She looked around from her desk to her shelves, everything was just like how she remembered it. A knowing warmth that sat in the old corners of these four walls. The same place she'd spent most of her life growing up in; this was none other than her childhood bedroom.

Regardless of how and when she got herself here, another pressing question weighed on her mind. Lifting off the blanket, she examined her body from head to toe — spotless. Not a scar, bruise, or scratch in sight. Karin even pinched herself to see if this was all a dream.

For a brief moment, her heart swelled with joy. Maybe everything was fine and she was just recovering. But the lack of scars made her doubt that train of thought. She contemplated the matter, her mind venturing even to the wildest ideas of what could have happened.

Could it be that she'd just dreamt everything?

When the idea first popped up, she thought it was crazy. But if ghosts could exist, what was to say a hyper-realistic dream of her dying couldn't?

There was no more time to waste. She jumped to her feet and headed straight to the door. After what felt like the end, all she needed was to hear the familiar sounds of home again.

Adrenaline fueled her growing excitement as she quickly swung the door open. Her outstretched smile dropped the moment she laid eyes on the bottomless pit before her.

It was at that moment she remembered something, a saying she often heard growing up. Humans can't dream of their own death.

Darkness soon shrouded from all corners of her periphery. Her blood ran cold and fear crashed onto her like a raging storm.

With shagged breaths, panic swept at her feet as the walls began crumbling down. A sudden thick stream flowed from her forehead. Touching it ever so lightly, her hand was drenched in a red and viscous liquid. Blood.

Before she could even let out a scream, the floor cracked beneath her and she toppled into the abyss. Her vision darkened and she could no longer see her hands and feet in front of her. All that was left was the sensation of free falling.

'...Wake up.'

Karin held herself tight and closed her eyes, accepting her untimely fate. She could only pray that it would all be over soon.

" WAKE UP!"

Her eyes shot open.

Bright blue skies and white clouds hovered from above.

The sounds of a bustling street snapped Karin from her daze. Surrounding her were a mass of people and an older man tapping her awake.

" Finally you heard me! Do you know how long it took to wake you up?" He said, looking back to the crowd, "Everyone, come look at the newcomer!"

As he yelled, more strangers proceeded to gather around her. Karin grew anxious at the sight but - more than that, she was confused.

She pulled her body into an upright position, sitting up to see she was in completely different clothes. Long drapes of fabric wrapped around her, and a pair of wooden sandals adorned her feet.

" Welcome to the Soul Society. You've just died."

She looked at him with disbelief, "...what? " But the older man remained nonchalant even at her exasperation.