CHAPTER 1: REBORN

I can hear voices asking for help. I can feel people's emotions gently in my ears begging and hoping that someone could save them. It's like a daily routine that happens each day.

“Mommy! Mommy!--” I can hear a loud cry coming from a child and an infant. 

I can feel their loss, hoping that they can find that certain person that they are looking for. I can also sense the metal thing falling from the sky, making a huge explosion when it reaches the ground and the sound of people panicking while thinking of a way for survival.

The coldness of people lying on the ground, breathless gives me chills into my bones. It was like ice slightly touching my skin and the rage of the earth suddenly blew a fuse that made the ground cut into two. I feel heavy and miserable watching and hearing these noises lingering into my ears. 

People on both sides are in a rally, it feels like they lost their minds and killed anyone who was on each side. They are killing one another while thinking about their victory and pride. I can feel everyones' emotions, I can feel their purposes and I can feel their evil intentions. It was all heavy and it made my head dizzy but I suddenly heard the sound of water dripping from the sky. 

I slowly lift my head and look at the sky. It was raining, and I could feel the sadness and sorrow of the rain drops touching my skin. I lifted my right hand up the sky hoping that I could reach it. However, the raindrops suddenly turned black and it was stuck in my hand. The black raindrops suddenly became thick and covered my whole body. I tried to remove it but I couldn't. 

“Help!-” I tried to call for help but I was more shocked by what I saw. All of the people that I just saw recently are all covered in black raindrops and turned into crying souls that only people in hell could see.

“Why?” I muttered. 

“Why do I have to see the end of the world with my own eyes?” I said and gave up the hope of surviving that era. The black raindrops covered my whole body until all I could see was black.

***

“You know that you should wake up early today right? It's already spring, and your school festival is coming. Wake up, Lazy head!” said the person who was currently opening the window and gave me a bright light. 

Argh! It was so Shiny, I couldn't look at it.

“It's so bright- Mom! Please close it. My eyes hurts” I said while getting up from the bed.

“You should light up your room from time to time, dear. What are you?” she asked 

“A vampire?!” She continually said, I can feel her gentle love from her own words and movements of her body. 

It was like everyday whenever I go to school I always feel people's emotions, movements, and motives. It was like I could read their minds which is true. I could hear what people were thinking. I also have this ability where I could see people’s past lives and experiences once I’ve touched them. Sometimes it creeps me out, that's why I always prefer to be alone.

Whenever I sleep I always dream about the war that happened a long time ago and the raindrops that covered my whole body. Sometimes I'll dream about the ages and eras of this world. Starting from the Era of the Gods where Goddesses and unknown creatures still exist. Also, the Era where people are starting to develop knowledge and make something useful for everyone. It was a strange dream that I always see. It feels real and it was like I've already seen them. 

I'm not even sure if it was my own memory. Maybe it was a memory of someone close to me? though I think that's impossible. I'm always alone and I don't have any friends. How could it be a memory of someone I know? I'm just overthinking it too much.

***

I’m currently walking inside my school and looking at the people around me. I can see their intentions, and I can feel their emotions. Even though, I don’t intend to butt in their lives. I can’t help but see and feel their emotions.

“murmur-murmur” I can hear voices from the room filled with young people that I just entered. 

I can also sense someone’s presence walking towards this room. I entered quickly and went back to where I'm supposed to sit. The presence that I sensed was the teacher’s and because of that we eventually started the class at a rapid speed. I looked at the outside window and got lost in my own thoughts. I wondered...

Why are people suffering? 

Why do people fight? 

Why do people keep on going and continue living?

I still can't find the answer but I feel like I'm almost close to that truth. While watching outside the window I saw a spirit hanging around. A spirit that looked like a person and it was sitting on a branch of a tree. 

That spirit is called “purity”. It’s a good spirit of someone who recently died that couldn’t ascend to heaven because of a certain reason. I looked at the people inside my classroom and then looked back at the spirit again. It feels like I know what that spirit’s purpose is.

When the teacher had already finished the lesson, he started to leave the classroom. I followed the teacher and poked his shoulders in a polite way. My eyes suddenly gleamed and saw a vision of something. It was his past life and experiences. It happened again, even though It’s not my intention to interfere with their past. I couldn’t help myself seeing it after touching them.  I tried to talk to him. After I poked him, He looked at me and smiled.

“Yes, dear? What brings you here?” He said while smiling. 

Behind those smiles I can sense his feeling of sorrow and sadness all over his body. If my guess is correct, he might have experienced losing someone that he loves so much, died in front of him and fell in his arms.

“Uhm… Good day, Sir! I just wanted to share my condolences to you” His smile suddenly disappeared and he was filled with confusion. 

“How does she know that?!” he said using his mind. I can also read people’s thoughts unintendedly.

“I know you are confused right now but look. I know you’re still mourning about your wife’s death and I know how much pain you must’ve felt but please don't make yourself suffer too much. It will be hard for their spirit to rest in peace.” I said to him,

It made his eyes a bit teary. I was a bit nervous because people usually reply… 

“You’re so nosy, fuck off!”

or 

“What does it have to do with you? Get out of my sight!”

Whenever I say my insights about spirits and death. So, I’m a bit anxious about what will happen next. I looked at the spirit that is now behind him. It was waiting for me to finish what I’m saying to him as if it were the same words that she wanted to leave for him.

“Your wife is safe now in heaven, she won’t feel any pain anymore. The only thing that matters is that the people she left behind in this place will feel sad. Things won’t be the same anymore because there’s already a missing piece in our puzzle that we called ‘life’ but even though we’re incomplete. It doesn’t mean we need to stop too, there will be times that you’ll miss her. I know you’ll do but life must go on. The real battle of life is yet to come, you’ll meet her again when the right time comes.” I said unconsciously.

I think that was a bit bad. I mean, I didn’t wish him to be dead, it's just-- Let’s all be frank about it. Everyone dies when their right time comes, doesn't it? So, we’ll meet those people we love again in heaven when our right time comes.

Seriously? I don't even know if he'll believe me because it happens everytime that I try to share my opinions about spirits I always get shutted out or ignored. Spirits are creatures that only I can understand and I don’t know the reason why. I'm always wondering why I'm the only one who can understand them and why I know lots of stuff about them because of that fact lots of people call me crazy. That's also why I started to hide that fact. I only use it for people who might need it. I never learn, I'm still doing the same thing after being rejected hundreds of times. I looked at the teacher and I was surprised to see him smile at me and say.

“You are a great child! To be worried about someone like me is enough to make me feel at ease. Thank you dear! I'll do what you said. Now go back to your classroom” He said to me with a gentle and calm emotion. 

I saw the spirit behind him suddenly disappear. It feels like he accepted all the things that I've said without giving a second thought. For the first time I've felt something amazing, I was able to help a spirit and at the same time a person’s feelings. I feel like my cup is getting filled.

A cup that symbolizes my curiosity and a water that symbolizes the answer that I'm seeking for. I smiled then went back to my seat. This is such a great day! I hope nothing bad happens today. I just listened well to my next class when I suddenly thought that everything that I’m currently learning felt like It happened before. That was weird.

After the class, I started to walk home from school. While walking, I saw a bunch of cats outside the school. It was like they were waiting for someone. While walking I can suddenly feel the change that is happening in the whole place. The wind suddenly becomes breezy. The colors of the trees in front of the gate of my school suddenly turned gray, blue and pale. All I could see in this place was lots of spirits wandering around. I looked at the whole place and realized that there are no living people here. There’s only me and these thousands of spirits in front of me. 

“What the hell is going on here?” I mumbled in my thoughts.

“What is this place?” I said.

I looked at the spirits that were walking across me and tried to touch some of them but It seems like they couldn't see me. I saw a spirit sitting on the bench in front of the gate in my school. This spirit was reading a newspaper. I looked at it and tried to wave my hand in front of his face but there wasn't any reaction. Then a sudden flash of a memory showed up in my mind.

“What's this?” I mumbled. I suddenly stepped backward unintendedly. 

***

There are some people in my memory. 

They looked messy and skint. 

I was one of them and It was an old scenery that felt like it happened a long time ago. 

We were all riding the same carriage but the carriage suddenly got into a landslide 

and the people fell off the cliff near the hill. 

A lot of people died but...

***

“Why? Am I the only one alive?”  I asked in my thoughts. My head hurts again and another memory shows up. 

***

I could see a spirit filled with thick black raindrops and it was very angry. 

This spirit was trying to hurt a human,

But the spirit suddenly vanished in front of me after I walked through it. 

I was holding a scythe when I walked near the human. Then I...

***

“Ahh shit! what's wrong with my head today?” I mumbled. My head was really in pain while thinking about those memories that suddenly showed up. 

“Why am I holding a scythe anyway?”

“What am I?” 

“A grim reaper--?” 

My eyes suddenly widened. It feels like everything that I have dreamed about makes sense. My memories suddenly came back.

“I'm not a human?” I asked myself. I suddenly heard someone talk.

“You were a human” I looked up and searched for the voice that I'd just heard. 

After looking around, I saw a large window coming from a high building. I took a first step and walked near it then saw a reflection of a woman with blue neon fire hair and a scythe. She's very beautiful but somehow looks like a fairy demon. She was floating in the air using her beautiful black wings. She reminded me of someone but I couldn’t remember who.

“You were a human before, that turned into an immortal” she said with a gentle voice. 

I'm so confused right now and I don't even know what's happening. I asked a question that unconsciously got out of my mouth. 

“Who are you?” I looked at her and faced her.

“I am you. I'm Azrael, the last psychopomp that exists in this world and you are me. Wake up! It's time to remember your duty” she said.

“What are you talking about-?” 

What the!--

My head suddenly rang and it’s extremely painful. I suddenly fell off the whole place and became unconscious. The next thing I knew I was already at home with my memories of being the “Guardian of souls” had returned.

AZRAEL THE LAST PSYCHOPOMP

"to kill or to save: choose your purpose"

Written by: Chavinsky Y.E