A human, when he dies, his soul dies. In this case, there is a Soul World, where souls are thrown when humans die.
Kai stepped on something that turned his body into dust, with no crimson trace remaining, only blood sprayed onto the land.
His vision was dark, with no feeling, nothing ; just the disappearance of existence.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed in his eyes. The light started as a dot but kept growing bigger and bigger. He felt some motion as the light expanded. A question flashed in his mind: 'What's happening?'
In an instant, he landed on the ground like a cat falling from the sky. Unfortunately for him, he only had two feet, and that impact was painful. Luckily, he didn't break his bones. The land around him was filled with termite mounds; it looked more like a ground covered with large stones.
During the landing, he felt pain in his feet. He fell instantly, clutching his feet and screaming in agony.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! My feet! Awwww…" he yelled loudly. He also heard words like, "Welcome to the Soul World."
The mages, who had decided to wait for the threat in the "Land of Lost Souls", where souls land, they shot hot magical arrows at him when he fell from the sky. But they missed as he crashed down, screaming.
They thought they had succeeded when they heard no sound after a second. Their minds flashed with the idea that he had already turned into a mound, since dying souls turned into those hills. Weaker souls turned into termite mounds when they hit the ground; stronger ones survived the landing on their feet.
Cheers erupted from the seven mages as they celebrated saving the world. But, unfortunately for them, the landed character's mouth was suddenly shut by someone, as they believed silence meant his end.
Kai was in his teenage years (15) when he landed in this new world. He looked handsome, with a smooth, pale white face. He wore a white vest and three-quarter trousers.
His face turned reddish, smelling the nice essence from curly blonde hair that fell over his face, and a soft hand holding his mouth shut. His heart raced, flooded with unknown feelings as if someone was tickling him.
He turned his head to the left, and suddenly, a beautiful, glowing face appeared close to him, with a cute stare that sent chills down his spine. Surprised, he moved back with a small scream, his heart pounding, eyes filled with astonishment, cheeks slightly red.
Before he could scream too loudly, the blonde-haired girl gently shut his mouth, saying, "Shhh."
The girl's name was Sonia.
One of the mages, Taro, stopped celebrating when he heard the faint scream from Kai.
"Wait, I think I heard a scream earlier," Taro said, one of the elder mages. Taro was with Yuna , both as elders who had come to execute the mission of finishing the new lander before he took his second breath in the Soul World. They brought five other young mages too.
"Huh, you must be daydreaming, Taro," Yuna said, checking around. She saw nothing but small trees that were before the Land of Lost Souls.
Before Kai landed, the mages were hiding behind those trees waiting for Kai's arrival. So, the place was ideal for ambushes. When Kai landed, they executed their plan but missed him, thinking they had successfully shot him down.
"But I..." Taro hesitated, as Yuna stopped her.
"Let's go home, or maybe check the mounds, ask them about the recently killed soul," Yuna suggested.
Taro sighed, feeling alone in his suspicion. "Alright, let's go. I just had a feeling, maybe I was imagining."
The mages turned their backs and took a few steps away, but Kai suddenly stood up angrily, heading toward the nearby woods. His eyes blazed with rage, thinking Sonia was trying to seduce him.
Suddenly, he felt a shot in his leg. When he looked down to check the pain, he caught a glimpse of seven people wearing black hoods covering their bodies from head to toe. Before he could react, plants grew rapidly from the ground, covering his mouth, forcing him down.
Taro looked back, sensing some presence behind him. He turned to look back and he caught a glimpse of the clear land with no one.
"Did you hear something, Taro?" Yuna asked, her brow furrowed in curiosity.
"Nothing, just checking," Taro replied as the mages quietly moved away.
Back to Kai
Whispering, Sonia said, "I told you to stay quiet. Where were you going?"
Kai, now free, got a chance to speak as the plants covering his mouth dissolved.
"who were those guys?"
Sonia's eyes narrowed as he replied. "Good question. Those guys are after you."
Instantly, Kai's eyes widened in astonishment, and his mind raced, "They're after me…?!!"
"Shhh, they'll hear you. Speak softly," Sonia warned.
"Why are they after me?" Kai asked, voice trembling.
Sonia sighed, trying to think of a good explanation. Before she could reply, Kai shot another question:
"Who are you? And... my voice, it's a bit different and… grrrr," he said, standing up irritably and walking back toward the woods. Sonia didn't stop him; she let him go.
He was limping from the leg pain he'd sustained earlier before his mouth got covered by plants.
Before reaching the woods, Sonia suddenly jumped onto his back from nowhere, causing Kai to fall forward.
The mages were a bit away , but Taro and Yuna looked back and saw no trace of any creature over there. They continued their journey back home.
"You don't look where you're going, woman!" Kai's face was flushed with rage as he shouted at Sonia.
"Ahh, sorry. I'm a bit clumsy, that's all," Sonia replied, bowing her head.
"Grrrrr, next time… No, there's no next time. Don't follow me!" Kai snapped.
"Where do you think you're going?" Sonia asked with a mischievous smile, laughing at his frustration.
"Finding my way back home, obviously!"
"How are you going to do that?" Sonia continued smiling.
Kai hesitated, his mind flooding with thoughts of returning to his mother. But when he landed, he heard a voice, almost like a young woman saying, "Welcome to the Soul World." He folded his hands and remained still, uncertain.