Aryza and the Soul Keys

Cliff Hanger

They walked down the pathway, slowly eating their muffins. Finally, nourishment! She felt so hungry and had been craving something sweet.

"This is so good! I have been so hungry! Thank you so much, Athira," commented Aryza.

"Right. Hungry. I forget that you still feel emotions. You are still used to human things. If you are dead, you aren't hungry and never tired. We still do it, though. Who would give up their hot sauce brownies just because they don't need to eat?" Athira replied.

"Hot sauce brownies. Why? Anyway, how long does it take for the human stuff to wear off?" she responded.

"What do you mean, time? Time isn't important. There is no such thing as time here. We are stuck here forever. Literally. Forever. It doesn't matter. We have as long as we want," Athira said.

"Oh." They kept walking. Soon they reached a staircase. It was seemingly endless, covered with layers of red brick. It seemed almost out of place in this picture perfect world. They kept walking down.

Aryza felt so tired and so hungry. She wanted to stop. Despite the yearning to go back to Athira's place and just sleep, she kept walking down, farther from the top. Once she was finally able to push past her tiredness, she looked around. 

She noticed houses. Only big enough for several people, they looked like small cottages. It looked almost exactly the same as the level above it. How was this even possible? She would remember to ask Athira later, when she wasn't so tired.

"Well, we have arrived at our destination. Why don't you go ahead and go inside. It is an office type building. Someone is waiting in the lobby," Athira said.

Aryza walked in. The room was white, covered in chairs and potted plants. She noticed a girl in the corner. She had brown hair, hazel eyes, and freckles. Why did she look so familiar?

The girl looked up. She stood up and ran over. "Aryza! It's been so long! How are you doing?"

"Hey Hannah! What's up?" exclaimed Aryza. The two talked and caught up, reminiscing and telling stories. When they were done, Athira walked in.

"Hey Hannah. Are you guys all good? I know it's been a while," Athira said.

"We are fine. Just doing a bit of catch up," Hannah replied.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Aryza asked.

"Well, how else do you think I got all of your favorite colors of things for you? Not to mention the picture of you two that was on the dresser. We have known each other for absolutely ages,"responded Athira.

Just as she finished talking, a boy, right about the same "age" as Aryza came in. He looked very similar to Athira with the same blonde hair. Matching the blonde hair were his bright green eyes.

"What took you so long, Clifford? We have been waiting for ever. Why don't you introduce yourself to Aryza before I become impatient. Come on, now," said Athira.

"First of all, don't call me that. Second of all, we don't measure time here, so how come you are so impatient? Besides, I was taking a person named Chester Bennington to the checkpoint. Apparently, he was a famous singer. From some band called Linkin'Park or something like that? I don't know," he responded, turning to face Aryza. "Anyway, you must be Aryza. Nice to meet you. My name is Cliff."

A/N Hahaha, get it! Read the title of this chapter! Ha! So what to you think of the new characters added to the story? I think you will really like them. I want to thank Rose and Ghost for helping me (you know who you are). Also, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Chester Bennington. Linkin' Park is my fav band! Thanks for being awesome!

-Lion :3