Eryndor sat up as he glanced around him and all he could see was a field of battle. Everyone was dead, opponents alike. It was almost as if the sky had let out a downpour of arrows on this part of earth with the number of arrows embedded in bodies, impaled on the ground and even lying around.
"Eryndor." A voice called to him and he looked right in front of him.
There was a cloaked man beside him and he really seemed confused. The more he tried to see his face under the cloak, the more distorted his thoughts seemed. It took him a moment only to realise that this was not a person.
"Who are you?" Eryndor asked him.
"I am No One. But I am here to send you on your way." The man said to him.
"No One? Are you kidding me? You must have a name and besides, where are you taking me to?" Eryndor asked him.
"The great mage awaits." The cloaked man said as he stepped aside for Eryndor to see that a doorway had appeared right in the middle of the battlefield.
There seemed to be a field of wheat through it, making Eryndor confused. Nevertheless, he started rising up and now took one last glance at his body. That was when he noticed it.
His head was missing.
"Where is my head?" Eryndor demanded.
The cloaked man said nothing to him as he started moving towards the doorway. He did not enter yet as he turned to Eryndor.
"There is no time. This way." He said to him,
There was no need to say anything else. Eryndor himself started walking as he believed there was nothing he could do for his physical body. He was clearly dead and would have to go face the great mage on his past sins.
The moment he walked through, the cloaked man entered after him and the doorway disappeared. The only thing that lay in the area was the field of wheat that he could not even see where it started or where it ended.
"Now what?" Eryndor demanded.
The cloaked figure said nothing to him. He was being ominous as he stepped forward. Then he turned and faced Eryndor yet again.
"Now, you die." He said to Eryndor.
"But I am already dead!" Eryndor protested.
Before he could say anything else, in a twinkling of an eye, all his surroundings changed and he was in the void. Absolute chaos and darkness spread across this place as lightning from time to time flashed across.
Eryndor suddenly realised that he was lying on a platform and there were heavy chains keeping him down there. He was confused, he managed to look around to his side and he realised that he could not see anything else. That was when he looked up and he realised that there was a very big boulder above him. It was more than enough to bury him inside.
Suddenly, there was a hiss beneath him and he felt his flesh sizzling. The platform where he was occasionally coughing out fiery liquid that added to his torment.
'I was supposed to see the great mage. What is this?' He thought to himself.
[Eryndor Blackthorn, a complaint was made against you, how do you plead?]
A voice from the void suddenly asked him and he could not even look around to ascertain who was speaking.
"Who are you?" Eryndor asked. His eyes flailed wildly as he was hoping to see someone or something.
[How do you plead?]
The voice was stern.
"I have done nothing wrong. I am not guilty of anything." He stated.
Just then, there was a rumbling sound and the boulder above him came down a little. Eryndor's eyes widened as he realised what this was. He was definitely going to die if something was not done and he started shaking all over again.
"Please, let me out of here. My family were all murdered in cold blood and I have only killed to avenge them. Let me out, please." He said.
[Eryndor Blackthorn, a complaint was made against you, how do you plead?]
The voice asked yet again.
"Not guilty!" Eryndor yelled with all his might.
Then he waited as his eyes were fixed on the boulder. There was another rumble and it came down a couple of inches again.
"Stop, please! What do you want? I never knew those were children. I swear, please! Let me go!" He cried out.
Instead of a response, he heard the hissing sound as the platform coughed up another bit of fiery liquid. This time, it opened up right beside his face, causing some of the liquid to spill on his eyes.
"Arghhhh!" Eryndor cried out in so much pain. It was almost like he could feel himself getting cooked.
The voice spoke again and demanded the same question, Eryndor could not understand what it wanted and he kept on crying out that he was not guilty. And each time, the boulder came down more inches making him start wondering what he had done.
At this point, he had already started going through his mind on everything that he had done which might have caused his punishment and nothing seemed to match. The boulder itself was only a few inches away from him and he was already breathing hard.
Then it struck him.
Someone had made a complaint against him. Definitely, that could only be another soul and if ever there was someone that bore such a grudge against him, it was going to be Wang. The Eunuch he had betrayed.
Then the voice asked him the question yet again and Eryndor had his answer ready.
"I'm guilty. Guilty of the greatest evil. I betrayed a man and made him die of a treasonous charge. Please. I have brought sorrow to his soul. I am guilty!" He said.
He looked up, there was that still silence and suddenly, the boulder started shaking again and he knew he was done for. Clearly, he had been wrong about what he thought was the problem. So, he closed his eyes as he awaited his fate.
Suddenly, he realised that there was a light and he opened his eyes to see where he was. It was the most beautiful place ever. A bridge of the sort made of refined transparent glass was overhead and there were tiny creatures driving in small things he did not recognise above it.
Eryndor stood up slowly as he observed his surroundings. This was the most beautiful place he had ever set his eyes on.
"It takes a lot for a man to admit his wrong doing. Truth be told, I would say that I already gave up on you." A voice startled him and he turned around to come face to face with an old man seated with his legs folded underneath him.
He had his hands out and resting at his sides like he was meditating and his eyes were closed. His long beard was more like a bundle making Eryndor wonder just how old he was.
"Who are you?" Eryndor asked him.
"It seems you like asking everyone who they are without trying to look within to know who they are. Sometimes, the answers which we seek are just within our reach, yet, only the foolish man leaves everything to people. Are you foolish, Tear-bringer?"
That was his sword's name. But then, there was only one person that had ever called him by that name and he looked closely at the man. It was then it struck him. He should have known. The long beard, the posture, the long brows and the hair packed up in a bun above his head. He recognised it all. Down to the necklace around his neck.
Eryndor fell on his knees.
"It's you. The Great mage. The first to walk the earth." He said as he bowed down his head.
"Took you long enough." The great mage said to him.
"Why am I here?" Eryndor asked him.
"Well, what else if not to receive your instructions?" The great mage asked him.
"What are my instructions?" Eryndor asked him.
"You shall be punished for the sin you have committed against the soul who sought to protect you." The great mage said.
"I shall receive my punishment with all my heart but I have a question, if that does not seem like a fool's hardy." Eryndor said to him.
"Ask." The Great mage said to him.
"I have a complaint against a soul too, how shall Iay mine?" He demanded.
The Great mage started off with a hearty chuckle that broke into laughter. His response clearly made Eryndor confused so much that he had to look up.
"Have I said something wrong?" He asked.
"No. But you have asked for something that is solely on your shoulders. You shall return to earth and build the ultimate mage warrior of the son of the man you betrayed. His name shall be even greater than yours and regarding your request, your answer is in your own hands." The great mage said.
"But that man was an eunuch. They don't have children!" Eryndor said.
"Oh but he does. And to make certain you see this fulfilled, you shall be tied down to an Ultimate Penance System. You have a hundred days to complete your task. If you fail, you shall be disintegrated and your family will suffer for your deeds." The Great mage declared.