What is the purpose of life? To find happiness that lasts more than a few fleeting moments? To find a purpose that transcends our fragile and meek lives here on this Earthly real? Or even to find and create a legacy that long out lives oneself. All these thoughts swirled through the head of a young man that stood before a reflective pool of water. It took him some time to realize that what stood in front of him was no ordinary pool of water but was a gargantuan wall of water that stretched to eternity and back. Yet this wall may have seemed infinite in length it was still finite in size. The geometric impossibility of it all caused the young man a headache.
"Why am I here? What is all this?"
As the young man stated this, his perception shrank as he was dragged farther and farther away from the pool of water. As the wind flew by he noticed the silhouette of other travelers as well. They were initially a sporadic and few hunched silhouettes he saw but as moved further and further away from the pool of water, the young man realized the density of people was growing exponentially. When his journey reached it's end the density in which people were packed was almost suffocating. He was left in the middle of hundreds of thousands of people and this was just one of the many thousands he saw beforehand. While each large clump was estimated to be around multiple millions of people, he assumed.
As he was dropped off he landed with a hard thud onto the white unknown surface below him. Everything as far as the eye could see where hunched over people draped in black clothes, the whiteness of the air and land itself, and in the distance he saw the looming eternal pool of the water.
Staring at the pool in the distance he only now realized how badly he wanted to grasp at it. He wanted to grasp at the pool of water and enter its sleekness. Only now did he realize how much he wanted to have taken a step forward and enter into it's depths.
As he peered into the distance momentarily stunned, he was forced to move along with the crowd as they pushed him forward and toward the pool in the distance. Once he was fully aware of the situation as a whole he started moving with the group with his newfound desire to get as close to the pool as he could.
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Hours, days weeks, months, or even years could have passed and the young man would have never known as he only ever trudged along toward his target. Time seemed to fasten or slow at random, the lack of day-night cycle made it even harder to judge how much time had passed. The brightness of the world never seemed to dim or brighten and always stay a monotonous bright white color no matter what.
The young man witnessed as the more distance travelled increasing clumps of people would peel away and start walking back, seemingly disinterested in what they had to do before. Yet he never deterred, he would continue to push on, forever moving forward. At first he tried counting the seconds passed to keep entertained and pass the time, yet that became monotonous after counting past 156,879 he gave up and considered trying to start conversation with those around him. The people around him always repeated the same phrase no matter what he tried and that was: "Lord have mercy on our souls for we have sinned".
This puzzled the man on why they would bring the Biblical God into this long walk to their destination yet he could not ponder such things as he soon realized more pressing matters where at hand. While continue his pilgrimage the weather patterns would seem to change, at random intervals changing between searing hot to the bitter cold at a moments notice. Sometimes rain would sweep in to while other times wind by itself would make the journey even harder. All these factors kept the young man too occupied to think much more deeply on his situation. He may ponder but right as he did he would face more challenges making him suffer as body struggled against the elements.
There was a brief period of respite after the weather turned against them and during that time they lost half of the people in their entourage. While a considerable portion of people remained, the young man was finally able to breath a short yet subtle breath of newfound freedom as they were no longer kept pressed like sardines in a can.
Yet as the young man raised his spirits hoping for the best and the end nearing, he was proven wrong. The land turned hellish, the winds lifted those off the ground and threw them away, the barely bearable heat and cold turned deadly with most receiving burns on a constant and the next moment receiving frostbit on the burns as they were frozen alive. The worst part? The floods that would arrive on constant basis. They would sweep hundreds even thousands of people away making them have to stop and move at an increased pace to keep up with the rest.
This continued for time too long for the young man to count. When the phenomena ended all that was left was him, and a small group of 7 people. He was never able to be privy of their names or who they were but that was the last time in a long time he would have company of another with him. as they kept moving through another burn storm as they called them, they suddenly felt all their wounds and exhaustion slowly start to leave them. They watched as their skin sowed itself back together and felt a fleeting yet strong sense of pure bliss and tranquility wash over them. Then slowly but surely small orbs of light descended upon the 8 survivors left and urged them to turn back.
"We bequest you all to turn back and gaze into the light of the Lord and bask in it's glory!" said the first angel of three in a domineering tone.
"Turn back now and we will spare you!" the other two angels squeaked out after the first finished.
While many seemed frozen in shock, the young man wasn't busy thinking but rather staring the the orbs themselves. While no one and nothing questioned his odd behavior it truly was an anomaly amongst the system. and yet he could perceive the world for what it truly was.
The young man stared in unease and pain as he watches the orb like persona dissolve into the true shape of these... abominations before him. They were massive constructs that surrounded a basic structure with the middle angel that spoke first being an eye with a mouth on a ball of pulsating flesh while the other two angels seemed to be eyes with a singular ear respective to the side they were on compared to the first angel in addition to having a mouth as well but considerably smaller. Yet surrounding these constructs were layers upon layers of rings made of flesh, covered in eyes, ears and mouths all wailing in apparent agony or ecstasy. Which of the two, the man could not tell. Yet as he was busy realizing the horrors in front of him they spoke up once again.
"We also offer you to join is in holy union letting you reach a blissful existence for the rest of time while embracing the Lord's warm embrace would provide comfort and simple joys for the rest of time." The first angel advertised.
As these options were stated, for the first time in what felt like ages the young man spoke, "What if I refuse the options and forge on in my path?"
The silence that followed suit was oppressive and threatening while also filled with bewilderment. As the man was about to repeat his sentence the Angels cut him off, "We find it hard a mortal such as yourself would deny our most sacred gifts to you," and as quickly as they whipped their heads his way, they changed back to those around him. The man knew it was pointless so he waited his turn.
He watched as those around him made their choices with those embracing the Lord's light laying down and resting for good while those that embrace the union between themselves and the angels, were the most disgusting process to watch. The man had to witness as while other saw someone being absorbed into the light, he saw as their body was torn asunder, rebuilt and modeled into yet another ring with their agony in their death being forever painted in the looks and screams of the rings.
All this stimuli overwhelmed the young man and he froze when asked the question once again but last. "What have you to say of our offer?" the Angel asked. Yet with a question asked no response was given, "Young mortal if you do not give us an answer we will have to incorporate you into our collective whether you like it or not." This time the Angel was more forceful and direct with their statement causing the man to awaken.
"I refuse all offers!" the man stated with true and utter defiance. He has made it is his mission to reach the final wall before him in the distance and he'd be damned if he let anyone or anything stop him now. The Angels contemplated before ignoring his wishes and proceeding with the integration.
When the man noticed the angels pause in thought he took the chance to turn and make a mad dash to the wall of true reflective water in the horizon. He wasn't able to travel far before the Angels noticed his absence and telepathically forced their will in his mind repeating STOP over and over again. The sudden intrusion of a foreign entity into his thoughts created immense pain with in the man. He screamed out in terror and in pain as his immobilized body watched as the Angels moved closer and closer to his location before stopping directly overhead.
As he was forcefully levitated closer to them and his mind intruded upon by the Angels, he was able to see them in their entirety, the first step, fusion of mind, let him transcend his mortal bounds. This period of true transcendence let him momentarily stand on equal ground and footing as the holy being before him. In a last and desperate push for escape he strained the very fabric of the mental union forcibly ripping their minds apart. The Angel fought back but the sheer defiance and instinctual fury in the man's action was able to deliver the final blow splitting two fused minds into their own separate entity. Due to the nature of the human mind, the man was able to remain unharmed while the Angels were left as only half of what they were. Stuck in perpetual torment as their very being was ripped apart from them yet some remained. Yet, in a moment of final desperation, the man ran. He ran and ran for only the Lord knows how long before he reached the end, his final goal he was striving for and he deemed as the 'final reflection at the end'.
Word Count-1908