"Have you visited the human realm before?" Heka asked Waylinn as they cruised down the winding road in the sleek, Otherworldly car that shimmered faintly under the sunlight.
Waylinn's eyes, deep and ancient, reflected a distant memory. He replied softly. His voice carried the weight of centuries. "The last visit was about 3000 years ago, when it was counted by human time."
Heka's eyes widened in surprise. Without warning, he slammed his foot on the brake pedal. The car screeched to a halt. The sudden stop jolted them both.
"What's up? Have we arrived yet?" Waylinn asked. His heart pounded with anticipation.
Waylinn shook her head gently. Curiosity gnawed at Heka. "Not yet. Sorry, I'm just surprised."
He had always wondered about the true age of his enigmatic companion. He ventured cautiously. "May I ask… how old are you, really?"
Waylinn turned her gaze toward him, her eyes piercing and unreadable. The intensity made Heka shift uncomfortably in his seat.
Sensing his unease, Heka quickly added. "I'm just curious about life in the Immortal realm. It seems much more fascinating than living in the human realm."
Before Waylinn could respond, Heka suddenly felt a jolt beneath the car. The vehicle shuddered as if it had struck something solid. He slammed on the brakes again, bringing the car to a sudden stop.
"I think I hit something. I'll get out to check it." Heka said, his voice tense.
Heka reached out to open the car door. But to his surprise, it wouldn't budge. He was certain he had unlocked it moments ago.
Glancing down at the dashboard, he saw the indicator clearly showing the door was unlocked. Confused, he tugged again, harder this time, but the door remained firmly shut.
"Don't get out, just drive." Waylinn said calmly. His voice was steady but carrying an unmistakable edge of warning.
Heka stared at him, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. He couldn't quite grasp what he meant, but something in his tone made him hesitate.
He didn't dare to question him further. For now, avoiding any small debate seemed the wiser choice.
He took a deep breath and followed his advice. His mind raced with one hope. Whatever he had hit on the road was just a wild animal. If it were a pet, the owner would surely come after him, demanding answers or worse.
The car's engine hummed softly as he pressed the accelerator. The road stretched ahead under the dim glow of the sun.
Breaking the silence, Waylinn spoke again. His voice was almost a whisper. "Do you really want to know how long I've lived?"
Heka nodded without hesitation, curiosity overpowering his caution.
After several visits to the Immortal realm, Heka had nurtured a secret dream. A dream that one day, he could leave behind the fleeting and fragile human world.
Then, he lived forever in the Immortal realm. To him, that realm was the most fitting place, timeless, mysterious, and full of wonders beyond human comprehension.
Heka felt an overwhelming sense of comfort and safety in the presence of Waylinn and within the mysterious world they inhabited. The weariness of his life in the human realm, the endless struggles, fleeting moments, and inevitable decay, weighed heavily on him.
There, in the Immortal realm, time seemed to stretch endlessly. It offered a reprieve from the relentless march of mortality.
Waylinn's voice broke the silence, calm and steady. "I have lived for about 10.000 years, maybe more."
The number hung in the air, vast and almost incomprehensible. Heka's eyes widened as he absorbed the enormity of her existence. His gaze fixed on him with a mixture of awe and longing. He said. "It seems like it's good to be an Immortal and live forever."
Deep inside, he wished with all his heart that he could have been born an Immortal. To be free from the constraints and fragility of human life.
But his thoughts quickly shifted to another figure, someone important to him. He asked, curiosity and concern mingling in his voice. "Then, what about Marchio? How long has he lived?"
Waylinn's expression softened slightly at the mention of Marchio, a name that carried its own weight in their shared history. He paused for a moment, as if weighing how much to reveal, before responding.
"My lord." Waylinn began, his voice tinged with a mixture of reverence and melancholy. "Of course, he has lived much longer than I have. Maybe about 500,000 years, or perhaps even more. I consider myself incredibly lucky that he adopted me. Otherwise, I would have become nothing more than a hungry creature, wandering here and there, struggling just to survive."
He paused. His eyes reflected a shadow of past hardships. "Becoming an Immortal is not easy. It's far more complicated than it seems. Sometimes, I think it's easier to be an ordinary person, living a short but simple life."
Heka frowned. He struggled to grasp the full meaning of his words. "What do you mean? I don't understand at all. I always thought living forever would be the most wonderful thing. Unlike humans, who can only live for a maximum of about a hundred years, immortality seems like a blessing."
Waylinn sighed softly. Then, he began to explain in more detail about the reality of life in the Immortal realm. "The rules in there are very strict, unforgiving, and terrifying. If you violate them, the stakes are high: your soul is at risk. For spiritual beasts like me, who come from the lowest origins, survival is a constant battle. Many of us are hunted by others, captured, and forced into slavery, treated cruelly and without respect."
He looked out into the distance, his voice growing quieter but no less intense. "The Immortal realm is not as beautiful or as peaceful as you might imagine. Only a select few, those of high status and power can live in peace, free to do as they please. The rest of us... We live in the shadows, always wary, always fighting for our place."
Heka absorbed his words, the glow of his earlier dreams dimming as the harsh truth settled in. Immortality, he realized, was not simply a gift of endless time. But there was a complex existence fraught with danger, hierarchy, and sacrifice.
The harsh truth Waylinn revealed shattered Heka's hope like a fragile glass breaking against stone. The dream he had cherished for so long. The dream of leaving the human realm behind and stepping into the Immortal realm.
Suddenly it felt much more complicated, even daunting. Yet, despite the dangers and the strict rules, he still longed to escape the fleeting, fragile existence of human life.