What We've Started [SEQUEL to A Pure Sacrafice From A Dark Heart]

The Spider

The simple blankness of my now conscious mind was stifling. I couldn't open my eyes, yet I could see where I was. I could feel where I was. My body was weightless and suspended in a pureness I had never witnessed before, yet it held a sort of familiarity.

That was when I felt the air shift in this void purity. A presence became aware to me; its aura over me was crushing. This was definitely a revered being, and its appearance made no change to the purity of this world.

"We finally meet, tenshi. It is nice to see you once again, my dear. It has been so long." Her voice made my chest soar in shock. I thought my heart would explode. She was so familiar, but I couldn't place her face. My eyes screamed for light, but no matter how hard I tried, my eyelids would not budge.

I tried moving my legs forward, but there was no ground. I was suspended in the air with nothing holding me up but the strangeness of this place.

"Who're you? Your voice is so familiar!" My voice resonated through the emptiness, having nothing to bounce off of as it traveled through the space.

A chuckle followed my outburst, her kindness making my head strain in aggravation as it tried to place her name.

"That is not why I am here. I'm afraid my identity will remain locked away in your memories until the proper time. Besides, you would know me if you hadn't stopped your death." A stark silence followed her words as I let the information sink in. My death? I died? How? When? Where? WHAT?!

I couldn't recall a single thing. Nothing about me would pop into my head, not even a single scent or face of any kind. I was truly void.

"You are a blank slate. Your memories left you after you passed the gate of limbo. That's where you are now, and believe it or not, your soul called out to me. However, the body you're in is no longer the vessel containing your soul. You gave it to someone dear to you in life, resulting in your death." I could feel her smiling down at me before she mumbled, "... just like me."

"Huh, just like you?" I repeated her words, my mind still reeling to process the information. My soul? Given to someone else?

Instead of answering me, she circumvented my question. "Your wish brought me here. Tell me, what do you wish for most? Answer me this, and I will grant you rebirth. If you didn't already know, you are apart of the rebirth demon tribe that became extinct long ago. We are only ever granted one rebirth. This is your last chance to live your life right and stop blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault." Her voice was reprimanding, like that of a worried parent, and I felt myself becoming even more confused.

"Wait, we?" I thought about her choice of words. "You're a demon, too? I only have one chance left? How do you know me? What's our connection? I lived a life of self-pity? Tell me!"

"Your answer?" Again, she deterred from my pleas, so I took a deep breath and contemplated long and hard. This was a life changing decision after all. I'd just have to answer my own questions as I lived my newly given life. There was bound to be someone who recognized me, right? I'd just ask them.

Ok... So, what do I wish for most?

Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of pride and need to protect washed over me, and I couldn't help but let the words flow.

"I wish-," my voice was blissful, "I wish to protect those most precious to me without fail." It was silent for a long period of time as I floated in the dark pureness.