Dual Soul Reincarnation

Chapter 1 - Hell

[The Voice]

Wh-where am I..?

It was dark. No sound, no light. Nothing. Nothing at all. I couldn't feel or hear or see or... anything. I existed in a void.

S-... so this is the afterlife, huh? ... Its a little freaky. The least they could do was light the place up a bit! I mean even hell has fire, right?

I sat on that thought for a bit.

Well... If this is "hell," then I guess I should count my blessings.

After all, the hell I grew up learning about was eternal pain and torment. This situation was by no means comfortable, but it at the very least wasn't painful. It was pretty lonely, though. I had plenty of time to think things over now. Which, in truth, wasn't something I was really looking forward to doing. It was the one thing I really needed a break from. As it turned out, 'hell' had an appreciation for irony.

My eternity continued to pass in a void surrounded by an endless darkness. Darkness was probably inaccurate; it was nothingness. Nothing but me and my thoughts... and that terrified me. In an oppressive atmosphere of inability, I almost felt like nothing myself.

Well, I'm kinda stuck here. No use worrying about it. I might as well get used to things.

I thought that. Again and again I thought that. But in reality, which would last longer? My will or eternity?

It didn't take me too long to realize the obvious. Honestly, I didn't actually know how long it took. With all that waiting and thinking, time kind of lost all meaning. All I knew was I eventually cracked. The isolation becoming unbearable, I felt the crushing weight of that void more and more with every passing moment.

Since all I could do was think, the only hope for sanity was to try and do so without letting my many regrets litter my mind, which itself proved impossible. Guilt was a feeling the soul didn't so easily forget. I began wishing for any other possible distraction: a radio, a tv, a single light floating in the distance, anything.

Hey!! I joked with myself. It was weird how talking seemed to work for me. It was distinctly different from my thoughts. It wasn't a voicebox making sounds, but it wasn't my thoughts. It was almost like my thoughts were thrown outward into this nothingness around me. If there's anyone out there, say something!!!

I had felt the smallest sense of relief at my own joke. As if by saying it alone, I would summon forth someone to save me from my loneliness. As fleeting as it was, I really wanted to hear something, and praying for a new friend in that void was better way to pass eternity that licking my wounds. So I prayed, not in any religious sort of way, that ship had sailed a long time ago, but still I prayed. At first, it worked. My jokes continued and I kept getting that ever-so-short recess from loneliness.

Hey!  I'd say. Is anyone out there?

It didn't take long for that to stop working. Inevitably, sadness and fear began to swirl inside me. I felt like the last person at the edge of the universe at the end of time. I muttered one last cry.

Please...

Then I heard it. A faint noise off in the distance, or at least what felt like a 'distance.' It was muffled, but the more I tried to listen the clearer it became; the closer it felt. Before I realized it I could hear it loud and clear.

"Enu-ra lai satura-soasha!"

A woman's voice rang through my ears loud and clear in some language I didn't understand. The same frantic gibberish over and over again. I could even tell where it was coming from. It was coming from... myself.