All around him, the world shrunk to a point. Gone was the light and color and the roaring sounds. In its place was a smoke-filled chamber through which he dragged his feet as if being dragged.
He was ten yards by ten, forty feet by forty, and he bounded from side to side as if being pushed by an unseen force. Though hundreds of others, he was alone in his agony, because even after dying he felt the pain of his physical body bound to the surface by the spell that made his former mind immortal.
His descent into the abyss felt like the end, until he encountered the first person he had seen in the confrontation. In his brief time on Madoopalus, he had seen many beings, but this was the only one he had seen up close. Unlike others, the humanoid looked happy to see him.
"Once again, you're safe," it said as it assisted him. "Why?" he asked. "I don't understand," the creature said. "I'm sure I don't," the man replied. "Why are you here?" he asked. ">It's amazing," she replied, "The first life we've saved. The first we've known was either going to die or be released."
He tried to respond to the woman, but found himself unable. Instead, he stared at her and tried to comprehend why he should live. He hadn't done much, and what he had done was barely enough. If he had done his job better, he would have done much more, but he didn't. He had failed everyone whom he now knew he would protect.
Even in his failure he had somehow managed to save himself from death. It didn't make sense, but as he thought about it he found himself unable to care. At the same time, she continued to talk about greater things.
"It's time now for what will happen next," she said as she helped him stand up. "Why is that?" he asked. "Because we saved you," she replied. "We saved him," she said as if sensing his confusion and pain. "Do you not know?" he asked. "Maybe," she replied with a smile. "But you don't need to now do you?" he asked. "No. Now's the time for what you are going to do next." "Me?" he asked. "Yes," she said as she handed him his wand and pointed it towards a column of smoke high above.
As he did so, the air around them began to shake and a thumping noise reverberated throughout the room. A beam of light appeared high above, accompanied by rolling thunder.
"Can you see what that light is?" she asked. "Yes," he replied. "I know. You'll be able to see it better in the air," she said, pointing to the smoke column above a door. "I'm not going there," he said. "Yes, you are," she said with a smile. "We need you to. Remember why you're here." He was about to protest, but the thumping started again and the light came on.
"I'll never see my son again," he said. "You will," she said as she placed her hand on his. "Now, come on." He followed her to the door, and they entered the air beyond. As they emerged, he noticed a host of other doorways in the distance and a great many more people. Once again he felt alone, but he saw his friend with him.
"Where are we?" he asked. "This is where you will find the world," she replied. "Where you're meant to be." As they continued upwards at an impossible pace, he noticed a great deal of life. He saw millions of worlds from millions of places, and he saw himself in them. In some he saved people, others he was the one in need of saving. In one, she was with him.
"She is you," the woman said. "Yes. She is you. The many things you have been and the many things you will be." "They are all me?" he asked. "This is all you," she said, pointing to a great pool of water. "It's all us, because it's all the same, isn't it?" she asked.
"You are right," he said as he saw on the water the last few things he saw. Each moment that he lived, he saw something of himself in them. It was all the same, yet different. As he entered the water, he felt himself become stronger and faster. He saw every other reflection of himself as someone else and knew them by sight. He looked at the first one and said, "You're wrong here. He's me. You're not."
"Yes. I am," she replied as she pointed her wand to a spot just above the water. "He is you." "Who?" he asked. "Your son. This is how it's going to be, so you better learn to live with it." "Why?" he asked. "Because this is how it's meant to be from the beginning. This is why you were born," she replied. "To be free of your body, free of your mind. That's why you're here, to learn about the world and yourself. Now, come on." "Do what?" he asked.
"Run through the water," she said. "To the other side." As he did so, the light shone downwards like a feeling, and the water parted to let him pass.
As he did so, he passed between each perfect reflection in the world, each one more perfect than the other except one. In one, they had their arms locked in a chokehold that made the man taller than the woman. Unlike the rest, he was older and looked as if he were fifty. Though he wanted to help, he knew he couldn't. Though she wanted him to help, he could not. He could only watch as she struggled.
As he passed through the water, he remembered her. Her name was Shikara, and she was someone he had seen before. "You feel you need to be the hero," the woman said as he rose upwards to a doorway. "To everyone, forever," he said. "You're wrong," she said.
"It's just to her." "Who?" he asked. "The woman who has been with you since the beginning and who will be with you in the very end," she replied. "That's not true," he said. "Think," she said. He thought about her. He thought about her words, but realized she was wrong. The woman was not with him in the beginning and knew it. The woman would not be there in the end.
