.
"MOM! DAD!"
A little boy cried in despair as he shook the two butchered bodies lying in front of him, desperately trying to wake them from their slumber.
However, Jordan did not understand that his parents had fallen into an eternal sleep—one from which they would never wake again.
Their blood stained the wooden floor beneath them, spreading slowly, quietly, as if the house itself was swallowing the evidence of what had happened. The air smelled metallic. Heavy. Suffocating.
Jordan's small hands trembled as he pushed against his father's shoulder again.
"Dad. Please…"
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him.
The crying boy froze.
Through blurred, tear-filled eyes, Jordan looked up and saw a man dressed entirely in black. A sword rested across his back. The lower half of his face was concealed by a metallic skull mask, its cold surface reflecting the dim light of the room. The carved teeth of the mask grinned eternally, giving him a dark, intimidating presence.
His posture was relaxed—almost casual—with one hand tucked into his pocket. But there was nothing casual about the way he stood over the bodies.
"What should we do about the kid?" the masked man asked, his voice low and indifferent.
Before Jordan could process the words, another figure stepped into view.
This one had white hair that fell loosely around his face. He wore a dark, high-collared jacket, and a black mechanical-style mask covered most of his features. The mask bore a grim, toothy design, almost like a predator frozen mid-snarl.
He did not look at Jordan for long.
"Get rid of him," the white-haired figure said calmly as he turned and walked away.
There was no hesitation. No pause.
The man with the metallic skull mask glanced down at Jordan. Without a word, he drew his sword in a motion so fast it could not be seen.
A sharp pain bloomed in Jordan's chest.
He looked down.
A wound had appeared there.
Then he fell to the ground.
The entire environment went silent.
Jordan lay in his growing pool of blood, vision fading as the two men calmly exited the house, their footsteps echoing faintly before disappearing altogether.
The world slowly turned black.
And then—
Jordan found himself elsewhere.
The place resembled a vast, desolate plain of cracked earth stretching endlessly beneath a storm-choked sky. Dark clouds twisted above like living things, heavy with unspent lightning. At the center of this wasteland stood a towering pillar crowned with an enormous set of scales.
One side glowed with radiant golden light.
The other hung heavy in shadow.
A single bolt of lightning split the heavens, illuminating the monument like divine judgment made visible.
Surrounding it were countless silent figures, robed and still, forming an endless crowd beneath the brooding sky.
Jordan looked down.
He was wearing the same robe as them.
The fabric felt light, yet strangely heavy on his small shoulders.
The crowd moved forward in a slow, orderly line.
Jordan's chest tightened.
"MOM! DAD!" he cried out again, his voice small in the endless plain.
"JORDAN!"
This time, his parents answered.
Jordan spun toward the sound of their voices and saw them pushing through the crowd, running toward him.
They looked unharmed.
Whole.
Alive.
They reached him, and he threw himself into their arms. The warmth of their embrace felt real. Solid. For the first time since everything went dark, Jordan felt complete again.
They were together.
The three of them joined the line of robed figures walking toward the massive scale of judgment.
As they neared the front, Jordan could finally see who everyone was approaching.
Standing at the head of the line was a hooded figure robed in flowing ivory and gold. Intricate patterns shimmered across the fabric like threads of sunlight woven into cloth. His face remained hidden in shadow beneath the hood.
Behind him rotated a radiant clockwork halo of golden rings, slowly turning and casting warm light across the wasteland.
When Jordan and his parents stepped closer, the man at the very front approached the hooded figure.
"Where are your crystals?" the hooded figure asked, voice calm yet absolute.
The man trembled.
"Please show me mercy! I have nothing to offer!" he pleaded.
The hooded figure did not respond to the plea. Instead, he turned to glance at the massive scales behind him.
The shadowed side dipped lower.
Then he faced the man again.
"You have failed to pay the price of salvation. For this, you are hereby condemned for all eternity."
Before the man could speak again, golden flames erupted across his body.
His scream tore through the air.
The earth beneath him split open violently, revealing a vast lake of fire below—its surface writhing with bodies. Countless hands reached upward, clawing desperately, faces twisted in agony.
The man fell into the inferno.
The rift closed as if it had never existed.
Jordan trembled and hid behind his parents.
Another woman stepped forward.
"Where are your crystals?" the hooded figure asked again.
The woman smiled softly and handed over a glowing ring.
The golden side of the scales tilted downward.
"You have paid the price of salvation. You are now saved."
The sky above tore open.
A breathtaking paradise revealed itself—a golden city suspended above the clouds, radiant and impossibly beautiful. Towers shimmered like sunlight captured in crystal. The air seemed alive with warmth and music.
A beam of golden light descended and lifted the laughing woman upward.
Then the sky sealed shut once more.
Time passed.
Some fell into the lake of fire.
Some ascended to paradise.
Eventually, it was Jordan's father's turn.
"Where are your crystals?" the hooded figure asked.
"Wise one," his father said, voice steady despite the fear in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I do not have any. I am willing to suffer eternal torment. But please—spare my boy. He's innocent."
The hooded figure turned to the scales.
The shadowed side dropped.
Golden flames consumed Jordan's father.
"DAD!"
"HONEY!"
Jordan and his mother cried out together as the earth opened and swallowed him into the lake of fire.
The rift sealed again.
His father was gone.
Through tears, Jordan's mother gently pushed him back and stepped forward.
Jordan tried to follow, but an invisible barrier stopped him cold. He pressed his palms against it, feeling something solid—like glass—blocking his path.
He could only watch.
"Where are your crystals?" the hooded figure asked her.
"I don't have any… But please! Spare my son! Show mercy to my son!" she cried, falling to her knees and bowing desperately.
The scales tipped against her.
Flames engulfed her body.
Jordan screamed as she too was swallowed by the earth.
The rift closed.
Silence.
The barrier vanished.
Jordan stumbled forward and collapsed at the hooded figure's feet.
The shadowed face looked down at him.
"Where are your crystals?"
Jordan could not answer.
He only cried.
The scales tilted.
Fire wrapped around him instantly.
"ARGHHH! MOM! DAD! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"
The ground tore open beneath him—
But before he could fall into the lake of fire, a blue mist engulfed his body.
Everything stopped.
He vanished.