Trei waited. He floated in the void listlessly for what felt like aeons now. It had been a while since the voice had told everyone to wait.
Had he gone mad? Was the voice he heard just something his subconscious had come up with to are with his own death. Maybe it was a hallucination. Could you even have those when you died?
Well…if it really is nothing but a void I might as well just explore whatever this is, I don't have anything to lose.
He reached out mentally and imagined his hand stretching forward. Nothing responded. But the moment he desired to move forward, he drifted. Gently, like the memory of a fall.
Interesting.
He imagined turning. The void complied, rotating around him even though there was no 'up' or 'down.' Motion was a matter of decision. There was no resistance, no inertia.
Is this what happens after you die…?Just…nothing…? It feels so boring. This is exactly what I feared, that after the end, there would be nothing. Just as Trei's mind began to spiral deeper into the crushing loneliness of the void, the silence was shattered by a sudden blinding light so intense it seemed to consume everything.
Before Trei could process it, the light fractured into shapes, and he was falling.Suddenly, the void disappeared, replaced by a strange, overwhelming presence he couldn't comprehend. it felt like he was at the center of everything, like every consciousness that had ever existed was converging here.
He blinked, his senses dizzy with the sudden shift in perception. Above him stretched an endless, dark purple sky which faded into soft shades of orange over the endless horizon. Stars glittered in the sky like diamonds on rich velvet. The floor he stood on reflected the sky above him making it seem like he was standing of the sky itself. The floor was slippery and he spread his legs apart to prevent himself from slipping. He reached down and cupped liquid beneath him it felt like he was holding a liquid mirror slipping through his fingers like light made soft. Ripples fanned outward from where his hands disturbed the surface, bending the stars above and below into warping spirals. It was cold — not with the chill of ice, but the kind of cold that pressed into your bones, ancient and knowing. He brought his hands close to his face, watching the light drip between his fingers — and then, slowly, he let it slip away, letting it fall soundlessly back to the floor. It splashed without a sound, melting back into the surface like it had never been touched at all.
So I wasn't hallucinating.
He looked around the place, his face full of awe when he heard a deep voice behind him.
"There you are! Ugh you were going to get me in so much trouble, why did you start roaming around in your Pocket? The higher ups clearly said not to. "
Trei jumped. What the hell?
He turned to face the speaker. The speaker looked nothing like he sounded. It was a strange fluffy creature with four short, stubby limbs. It had a pair of big black eyes which swirled with all sorts of colours. A pair of small sharp white horns jutted from its head and curved outwards to form a circle. Its mouth was small and pink and curled into a frown. The creatures fur was a dark shade of gray from the bottom and gradually faded into a soft shade of white upwards. Its arms were crossed and it floated up till it was at eye level with Trei. It felt like Trei was staring at a fluffy version of a smiling Buddha which was mad at an unruly disciple.
" You can stop staring at me now." The creature said in that deep voice from before, it lifted one of its hands up to its face and began to expect its nails.
Trei realised he was gaping, he closed his mouth trying to think of what to say. Where am i? Am I hallucinating? Is the universe really over? Is this the after life? Why's your voice so deep? He finally settled on "who are you…?"
"The name's Muru." The creature said, it floated up and started doing loops in the air.
"Are you a cherub…?"
Muru stopped and floated closer towards Trei, Its voice had taken a higher pitch, like that of a small child's." How could you compare me to those lowlifes? They're just giant overgrown ugly babies with wings. No, human. I am a dimarith."
Dimarith? Trei had never heard of those before, he'd studied countless different myths and legends but never had he heard of a Dimarith. "What's a Dimarith?"
Muru's swirling eyes narrow slightly, the colors within them shifting like glimmering constellations. His tiny arms remain crossed, and he floats a little higher, as if appraising Trei from a new angle.
Muru continues with the high-pitched voice from before.
"A Dimarith?" he huffs, sounding mildly offended by the question. "We are the ones who ensure gods don't tear apart the fabric of existence over bruised egos and petty squabbles. We mediate, negotiate, and make sure reality doesn't fold in on itself because some deity decided to have a tantrum."
He uncrosses one stubby arm to gesture around, as if pointing to invisible threads woven through the air.
"We are the custodians of balance, the arbiters of divine nonsense. Call us mediators, negotiators... cosmic babysitters if you must."
"So Dimariths are angels…?"
Muru scoffed "No, everything you all learn about different pantheons having their own little helpers; Angels, nymphs, venti, spirit animals and whatnot do exist. But they only operate within their respective pantheons. Dimariths however, we work with all of them."
Trei tilted his head as he stared up at Muru. So these creatures were neutral parties who seemed to help the deities with diplomacy. Interesting. "I had another question if you don't mind me asking, but why did the universe end…?"
Muru's expression changed from one of annoyance to an ominous one "It's as it was written. Tell me human, why do you think there were so many beliefs in your universe, always talked about the end of everything? Because after a while many universes decay, it's very rare for a universe to exist indefinitely, yours was one of the unlucky ones. Besides, after watching life on this universe progress, the gods were disappointed with how it turned out in the end, they gave you all enough time, they taught you all virtues, yet what do you become? Parasites, you've grown fat on the suffering of your own kind, blind to the decay you brought upon yourselves," his eyes narrowing as if recalling memories that haunted the edges of his mind. "War, greed, destruction… the gods watched as you clawed at each other for power and wealth, all while the very fabric of your universe unraveled."
"That's not fair. Not everyone was like that." Trei protested.
Muru raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement breaking through his contempt. "Ah, the naïve optimism of mortals. I suppose you think a handful of 'good' people was enough to stop the rot? Enough to reverse centuries of bloodshed and betrayal?"
Trei opened his mouth to respond, but Muru cut him off with a wave of his clawed hand. "No, it wasn't. The universe decayed not just because of mortal actions, but because it had reached its conclusion. Every universe is a story, and yours was written to end."
Trei sighed, the fluffy creature had a point, there was no denying it. Many people were selfish hypocrites, himself included. Besides it didn't matter anymore, why argue on humanity's behalf when the universe had already ended, it wouldn't change anything.
He turned to study the wide expanse around them, "Where are we?"
Muru looked around before returning back to Trei. He sweeped his stubby arms. He smirked. "The inhabitants of your universe gave it many names;Heaven, Nirvana, Valhalla, Elysium, Jannah, Duat, Xibalba, The Dreaming.However all of them weren't completely correct, always something grandiose and dramatic." He paused for a minute before giving a small laugh "Apart from the mesopotamians Kur ofcourse, they really had a depressing idea of what it would be like. Promising warriors with the chance to eat dirt and drink muddy water, blech."
He twirled in the air like a lazy ribbon. "They all weren't wrong, not entirely. But they were only seeing pieces of the puzzle."
He floated backward, arms outstretched, voice deepening again. "This, human, is The Hall of Final Judgment. The place outside of time and space where every deity—yes, every single one—comes together at the end of a universe's life. This is where they decide what happens to every soul, one by one. It's the great convergence. The last trial. No more reincarnation loops. No more prayers. No more second chances."
Trei blinked, heart thudding. "All the gods? Like—Zeus, Odin, Vishnu, Anubis…?"
"All of them," Muru nodded, eyes swirling faster now. "Even the ones your kind forgot. Even the ones whispered only in dreams. The gods of death, of life, of wind and war and whispering shadows—they've all gathered. For you. For everyone." He let that settle for a moment. "And let me tell you, most of them aren't exactly in a good mood. Not after watching your universe decay like a neglected garden. They're very interested in what comes next."
So Trei now had to deal with getting judged by a bunch of very angry gods who would decide where he ended up. How nice. He thought back to everything he did in his life, he was definitely not a saint and he had somewhat questionable morals. However he wasn't a bad person either, true he occasionally had thoughts which any self respecting psychiatrist would say would end up with him in a psych ward but apart from all that, nothing which would guarantee eternal damnation.
He studied the expanse around them again, he didn't see any structures at all which would warrant calling it the hall of final judgement.
Muru seemed to pick up on his thoughts and waved a hand in front of him "C'mon, the Hall is this way." He started zooming away, and Trei made chase. The strange mirror like liquid on the floor splashing as he ran.
"Could you please slow down?" Trei panted after a while as he stopped and bent over, hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
Muru turned to study Trei with annoyance. "You have horrible stamina, it's only been five minutes."
"While alive I focused on academia, not rolling in the dirt."
"Well you don't have to worry about rolling in the dirt anytime soon, we're here."
Trei didn't see anything yet, so he walked to where Muru was and looked up and then he saw it, the hall of final judgement.