Harbinger of shadows: The Umbral Harbinger Series

Chapter 2- Crossing the Threshold

Leilani's consciousness flickered like a candle in a storm. She felt herself drifting, the fiery chaos of her home receding into an abyss of darkness. Her body felt weightless, as if she were floating in a vast, empty void. Her last thoughts of Ayanna's safety remained a tether to the mortal world, but even that began to dissolve as the darkness engulfed her. Panic gnawed at her edges, the helplessness suffocating.

Slowly, she became aware of a soft, ethereal light filtering through the void. It grew brighter, illuminating her surroundings with a soothing luminescence. The air around her shimmered with an otherworldly glow, and the ground beneath her feet felt both solid and intangible, as if she stood on the very essence of light itself. Disoriented, she glanced around, her breath hitching in her throat. "Am I dreaming?" she whispered, her voice barely more than a breath, yet it echoed softly in the vast expanse.

A warm, resonant voice answered from everywhere and nowhere, gently caressing all her senses at once, "I'm afraid not."

Startled, Leilani whipped her head around, searching for the source. Her heart pounded in her chest, a wild, erratic beat that echoed in the stillness of the place. "Who's there?" she demanded, her voice cracking with a mixture of fear and confusion.

"I go by many names you mortals have given me," the voice replied, a gentle lilt to its tone, each word resonating with ancient power and infinite kindness.

"So... God?" Leilani's voice trembled, disbelief and awe mingling within her. The word felt too inadequate for the presence she sensed.

"If that's what you prefer to call me," they responded gently, the sound enveloping her like a comforting embrace.

Realization that this wasn't a dream struck Leilani like a blow, and she stammered, "S- so, I'm really dead? Is this... heaven?" Her mind struggled to catch up with the enormity of the revelation, the words tasting foreign and surreal on her tongue.

"Yes, and no. This is the threshold before the crossover." The voice clarified, its words laden with truth, wrapping around her like a blanket of inevitability.

Leilani cringed, her thoughts racing. "Does this mean I'm about to receive judgment?" she asked, her voice trembling, the fear of eternal condemnation clawing at her insides.

The voice chuckled softly, a sound like warm sunlight breaking through clouds. "No, dear one. I do not control where a mortal soul goes. Your choices in life do."

Leilani mumbled more to herself, her brows furrowing. "This is so different from what I was expecting when I died someday." Someday..that someday came a lot sooner than she expected.

"You'd be surprised how different it is from your mortal scriptures." The voice said with kind amusement. "Your soul is in a state of transition, Leilani. Not quite alive, but not entirely dead either. Something is still tethering you to the mortal realm."

Leilani's heart sank. She felt a cold, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "So, my choices couldn't even get me fully into heaven," she muttered, bitterness creeping into her tone. A sense of dread and confusion weighed heavily on her as she thought about her own choices. Her mind swirled with memories, regrets, and the unbearable thought of leaving Ayanna behind. Each second stretched into an eternity, the enormity of her situation pressing down on her chest like a vise. She felt exposed, vulnerable, as if every hidden part of her soul was laid bare in this place of light and truth.

A soft chuckle resonated around her, warming the air slightly breaking Leilani out of her spiraling thoughts. "You are in this threshold because of your strong will to live. It seems you made a choice before you even realized it."

Hope sparked within Leilani, igniting a small flame of determination. "Does that mean there's a chance I could go back to my family?"

"Yes," the voice answered, but with a note of caution, "though I recommend against it."