"For my first question, child. The age-old question– What's the light at the end of the tunnel?" The great being paused, his hands trembling as his eyes shivered, gazing upon the human soul laid bare before him.
It was not fear that overtook his essence. But excitement–Joy at the prospect of the raw potential the soul before him carried. Like a scar across divinity–Morbide could not believe his eyes.
This boy… He's a miracle! How could he have died with such karmic love attached to him?! Morbides' very soul trembled next. However, the patient, with cool eyes that lay upon his godly skin, pulled him back in the moment.
His head shook, but he stilled himself and his jaw by crossing his arms. "Have you ever expected to be the one to see it for yourself?" Morbide's question hung in the air, slow and heavy.
The atmosphere clenched in anticipation, and it wasn't long until those feelings were appeased. The soul hung his head, sighed with a shake that Morbide couldn't quite depict.
The god's eyes twitched, his thoughts roaming as he tried to possibly piece together the mortal's feelings.
"I didn't expect to be greeted by a guy like you, asking me, a kid who just died to some stupid, super sickness. I died in four days." The kid raised his head, eyes narrowed, and equipped with words to go with it.
"Four days." He eccentuated. "If anything, tell me what sickness killed me. Maybe then I'll be so kind as to answer your cryptic question." The mortal shifted in his steps. His face was a sheet of unwavering steel while his emotions stirred within his eyes like a twister.
Morbide chuckled, "Assertive, aren't you? Fine, I will grant your request, so long as you honor your word." Morbide shifted his stance; the ruined, wooden cane he held himself up with creaked under his weight, but it held strong.
"You died of causes not of your world, Haisei Yokuta. Your body had been prematurely soaked in the dust of our gods, Manna. Their nectar and gateway into the higher planes." Morbide settled.
The atmosphere had relaxed.
The mortal soul stood shellshocked, Manna? Nectar into higher planes…? If that's the case, is that why I'm here? I died so fast because my soul was ascending? The soul gazed at Morbide carefully.
Sensing the tension, the god took his cue: "Mortals aren't capable of withstanding such a powerful substance. Your body deconstructed before your soul could completely ascend–Otherwise you'd be possibly standing above me right now, not in front."
The explanation died, and so died the idea in Haiseis's chest. So much for that. He grumbled mentally. Lifting his eyes, he took the silence as his chance to get a grasp of his surroundings.
He couldn't help but let his eyes flatten seeing the baleful, pristine, blinding white for miles on end. He shook his head and focused his gaze back on the god before him.
Morbide tapped his cane on the floor, his eyes burning deeper into Haisei as he waited patiently.
"Are you not going to uphold your word…?" The god tilted his head. Haisei raised a brow, confused before the realization set in. He sucked in a breath, "Oh yeah–My bad." He shifted.
"I haven't seen the end of the tunnel yet–I haven't even seen a tunnel. I just appeared here, you know?" He shrugged, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I don't really have any words for it, but if I can be blunt, I guess I'd say that I wouldn't believe it."
Haisei felt his eyes magnetize towards Morbide. It was a spell he couldn't break as he finished his sentence. The god, on the other end of the platform, stood bleakly, smiling contentedly.
"Your words are noted." Morbide took a step to the left of where he was standing. The domain they resided in slowly, garnering glances of concern from Haisei, but Morbide said nothing even as the tremors picked up in frequency and power.
"Uh! What the hell is going on, god guy!" Haisei ducked, hoping to stabilize himself. Morbide said nothing but smiled, holding his arms out as a ginormous crater separated the white domain and spinning out like a spear was a metal spittle lacquered with rose-gold. White tablets spun about it in perfect sequence, casting a beautiful glare among them, as if they were caressed by the very concept of beauty.
"Whoa…" Haisei murmured. Morbide grinning like a kid on Christmas as he turned back to his guest. The cane in his hand was brought down, eliciting a deep rumble through the domain.
Haisei let his gaze linger a bit on the spittle. Watching it spin indefinitely next to the giant god who brought him here.
"You will watch as this spittle comes to a stop, thrice. Upon the third spin, the results will be your gift into your new life–So that you may truly come to an answer to my question." Morbide nodded at Haisei, his gaze still sparkling with an emotion Haisei couldn't quite make out.
The young man gulped, "Okay." He nodded. "I can do that." Not a biggy at all. His thoughts wandered towards his supposed options of gifts while Morbide tapped his cane once more. Evoking a groan from the spittle as its speed began to die down–As if friction began to take hold of it.
Moments passed–Anxious moments that Haisei felt lasted hours. The first stop was closing in, and Haisei could just barely make out some options as they swung past.
"Come on… Come on." He fiddled with his fingers, scratching the outside of his thumb with his index finger. Morbide grunte,d and the spittle came to a stop.
[Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. – SUPREME.]
Haisei blinked, his face a blank slate before the rush of excitement kicked in. "Yes!" He pumped his fist outwardly and cheered. Morbide tapped his cane and continued the spin.
The spittle instantly began at its peak velocity–The abnormality of it nearly brought Haisei to his knees, the nausea it caused as his brain tried to wrap itself around it proved more difficult.
Moments later, though, the spittle came to another stop, and Morbide grunted.
[Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. – SUPREME.]
Haisei blinked again, glancing towards Morbide. "W-What does that do? I spun the same thing twice…" He rubbed the back of his head. "Does it stack or something. The power base is two times stronger than it normally is?" To that, Morbide tapped his cane, evoking the next spin.
"Precisely." Morbide nodded, the old god finding himself with a permanent smile as he was happy for Haisei Yokuta's luck. "The gods seem to look upon you." He nodded approvingly.
Comfortable silence ensued as the spittle completed its last round. Morbide shifted anxiously, Haisei watching intently while keeping his hope at bay. "Baby, don't fail me now…" he muttered, his fists clenched, hard as stone.
With a deep click, the spittle came to a screeching halt; the tiles flipped in a steady rhythm before they were covered by a creeping shadow, blanketing them in a tense silence.
Haisei steadied his racing heart by taking deep breaths. Keeping his mind leveled was something he prided himself on. Another deep click resonated through the domain, and the blanket of darkness lifted like a light switch being turned on.
[Absolute Condition. -LEGENDARY.]
Morbide hummed with approval, clicking his staff. That signaled for the spittle to sink back into the cave it came from–Haisei noted how unreal it was to see an entire chunk of reality fix itself in real time.
Holy shit… He shook his head, looking towards his giant god guide for further instruction. Not that he expected anything helpful. Borderline cryptic is the only character trait Haisei had picked up on so far.
"You have completed the Rite of Passage to enter the rivers of Life." Morbide pitched in, breaking the silence. "You have acquired the abilities of One Piece, God of Liberation, Joyboy. The man who embodies freedom." The god grumbled.
Lightning crackled within Haisei, his nerves resisting the urge to shout from the excitement overload ruling his heart.
"Absolute Condition, grants you peak health and physical, mental, and spiritual status. These two are a wonderful combo of traits and abilities." Morbide smiled, fatigue ridding his eyes.
Haisei finally got a grasp on himself and focused his attention, picking up the latter end of the old god's words–
"On the third tap of my staff, you will find yourself at the moment of your conception. Your birthday will remain the same." Morbide analyzed Haisei one last time.
"Prepared?" Morbide questioned, to which Haisei paused. Feeling his knees quiver, his hands and fingers no better. Holy shit, this is really happening… I-I'm about to reincarnate. Haisei gulped.
"Ready as I'll ever be…"
Morbide huffed, raising his cane and letting his arms' natural weight draw it down. The effect was a deep rumble that spread throughout the entirety of the realm. Haisei shook, his footing nearly slipping from underneath him.
Before the first rumble had even settled, the second had landed. Tossing Haisei to the ground and shifting him about like he were a popcorn kernel in the depths of a hot pan.
"D-Damn!" Haisei cried; the resounding thud of the last drop of the cane's tip reverberated in his skull before his vision went dark. His body slumped, then cascaded into dust, wafting into the backdrop of the pure-white domain.