Blazing Regalia

Chapter XIV: Kindle

          The void welcomes Xon once more, before its silence is abruptly ended by sudden speech.

???: "You've finally arrived."

Xon slowly opens his eyes, before him he see's.. himself? "He's" much older. He wears the same golden armor as before, but as he focuses on it, the armor begins to crack and crumble, before fading to dust.

???: "Since your dead, I can talk to you more freely now."

Xon: "Who are you?"

???: "We share the same name. ???."

Xon?: "Even now, I cannot say our name.. You aren't .."strong" enough yet."

Xon: "So you're me? But I'm me, there cant be two me's."

Xon?: "I don't know how much I can tell you, so I'll save that for another time, right now you're probably curious of where your consciousness is going right?"

Xon: "..Right."

Xon?: "When i told you to go to hell, I meant it literally."

Xon?: "I can't say what you'll experience, but it'd do you well to keep your emotions in check."

Xon: "Alright, but why aren't I in heaven? I'm a pure soul, no?"

Xon?: "Are you coping right now?.. Regardless, you're not in hell, just the underworld."

The conversation is interrupted by the sound of glass cracking.

Xon?: "And that's all the time we have. Reach out your hand to me and summon your blade."

Xon extends his arm forward, before his aura emerges, molding into the shape of his sword, and solidifying itself. The sword shakes briefly before a golden dusts begins surrounding it. It encapsulates the blade, coating it in a serrated "sheathe."

Xon?: ""Zenir", It's the heavens regalia. It has the ability to manipulate its form into anything. Swing your blade."

Xon swings his sword to his right casually. But the force of the swing multiplies, and the pressure collides with the surrounding void, shattering it, and bringing him to reality, whilst his sword and the golden dust disappears from reality, as if it weren't meant to be there at all.

Xon immediately falls to the ground. He lays down on his back and tries to lift his head but he fails as his head feels significantly heavier than before, he tries to lift his arm but the same thing happens. He inflates his aura as much as he possibly can to reinforce his body and just barely gain the ability to move his body freely, to which he slowly stands up. The sun isn't visible, in fact, the sky wasn't either, or rather the sky was a dark shade of blue and gray. Looking forward, he's in what seems like a wasteland, but the ground is rough and extremely warm, he cant see anything besides empty land. He wanders about the wasteland before a beam of light from above shines before him, and a man appears before him.

Xon: ("I've had enough of people just magically coming out of nowhere..")

The man speaks.

???:" Hello, my name is Ren, I am the gatekeeper of the underworld, It seems you have landed outside of the underworlds usual courts. Allow me to relocate you."

Xon slowly walks towards the man, who notices Xon's difficulty moving.

Ren: "It shouldn't be that hard to move, were you perhaps sickly during your lifetime?"

Xon: "No, I'm just tired, that's all."

Ren: "Hm, well you should know, that in the underworld, the gravity is about x4 stronger than in the terrestrial world. This gravity is artificially implemented by the ruler to reduce the capability of the citizens here."

Xon: "Citizens?"

Ren: "Yes, this is not "hell" but the underworld, where the deceased souls are kept until they reincarnate or are destroyed.

Xon: "I see."

Xon reaches the man, and the beam of light disappears, Taking them to the courts of the underworlds "living quarters".

Xon: "This place looks oddly familiar."

Ren: "Up ahead, you will enter the living quarters, simply enter through the front door and the rest is self explanatory. But before then, let me verify your humanity."

A paper gently appears before the man, as he begins to read.

Ren: "Xonn, with two n's. Born on June 18th, 1799. Currently 15 years old. Blood type AB. Physical description: Young, short natural red hair, red eyes, 5'6, "sleeper build." Resonance: Ene-"

Xon: "Wait, my name has TWO N's??, and whats a "sleeper build??""

Ren: "Don't ask me, I just work here."

Ren: "Anyways, you're free to walk forwards into the living quarters now, enjoy your stay."

Ren disappears into a beam of light once again. Leaving Xon to his own devices. He walks forwards towards the massive building, he notices that the doors are already open, but he cant see inside. As he approaches, the dark interior slowly illuminates itself, and he see's a completely empty room, except for the singular desk in the middle. He walks towards the desk and as he get close, a person seemingly withers into existence before him, they sit before him. They ask a simple request.

???: "Please extend your left arm to me, I will "stamp" you.

Xon extends his arm, before the woman behind the desk lays her hand upon his arm, and as she lifts her hand shortly after, a dark mark is left on his skin, resembling that of a blue sun. His body vibrates before being transported away, he arrives in a circular courtyard. He faces forwards towards a building resembling that of a normal wooden house in a village, the word "Tsurin"was etched into a metal plate above the door, beckoning him to enter. He approached the door and slowly creeped it open, but he immediately felt lightheaded as he entered, realizing that the interior seemed much larger than the house would be able to contain. He looked around, the area in front of him was decorated with furnishings and framed pictures. He walks to one of the framed photos on the wall, noticing that that it was a monochrome photo of a man and a baby. He continues walking along until he finds a door with his name above it. He enters it, it's empty, the only thing in the room was a singular bed placed near the back wall. He lays on the bed, resting on his back, and as he recalls his aura, he feels his body sink into the bed, leaving him incapable of moving. He sighs briefly, before entering a deep sleep.