It felt like an eternity. Natasha hesitated to open her eyes. She partly anticipated waking up alone in her room with the same sense of loss, but Natasha’s arms and his essence overwhelmed her senses. Warmth raced to her skin, his lips resting on her neck, and her heart leaped with joy. She leaned her back against him, feeling his skin on hers. She opened her eyes and turned to face him.
“It’s so bizarre,” she murmured, circling her finger on his chest. Azrael’s arms wrap around her, massaging her arm.
“What is strange?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Weren’t you suppose to?” Azrael looks at her, puzzled.
“I died, I am… I feel better and as if I haven’t lost anything. It feels just as I did when I was alive; I feel…human.”
“You’re alive,” he chuckled.
Natasha was the next to be perplexed.
“If you were a mortal soul, you would have traveled to the Realm of Light and lived there for a while, attending absolution,”
“Absolution?”
“Freedom from the circle of life, you would disintegrate into nothingness,” Azrael said, his eyes sad. It finally landed on Natasha.
“This is what you feared; you knew I’d go to the land of light.”
“But wait, does that mean I’m not a mortal soul?” she wondered. Azrael smiles.
“If not, who am I?”
“That,” Azrael said, pointing to his right, and Natasha raised to her elbow, the perfume of rose hitting her first, the breeze picking up in the room, and the window opening itself. The previously dimly lighted room was suddenly bathed in sunlight. She closed her eyes and saw the sun as she came in, but her thoughts didn’t catch up to the weirdness, but Natasha remembered every time she left here. The sun does not rise in the underworld.
“How is this possible?” She appeared shocked at the rose vines creeping up the stone frame of the long window.
“Because you’re here,” Azrael stood up and drew her back to him.
“Azrael, tell me!” She resists, a little concerned. The memories of her death began to arise. She had caught Sahir in the roots, and the shadows had snapped something inside her.
Azrael sighed. He didn’t know where to begin.
“Two thousand years ago…” He told her about the struggle between the Ghost Realm and the Realm of Light-the ancient forbidden ritual employed by the Ghost Emperor to suck three elements of life from the creation.
“Light, Love, and Life…” He hesitated.
“Then?”
“My Master, the God of War, is following the Ghost Emperor to the depths of the cosmos; we have no idea where he is or when he will be able to return.” The balance of the entire creation was in the palace, Sahir and Ishah’s power went all to halt the forces of the ghost realm, and I returned to the underworld to stop the impact of the Ghost Emperor’s spell that was taking over everything. To counteract the effect, I cast a spell, an ancient spell with hazards.” Azrael stood up and walked up to the chambers, taking up a black robe from the sofa.
“What was the risk?” Natasha inquired, drawing the silky teal blankets up to her chest.
Azrael glances out the window, seeing his realm come to life in front of him. It is not enough to know the sun has risen; one must also feel the warmth of its rays.
“I lost my ability to feel; some spell requires sacrifice.” I believed my power would be enough, but it wasn’t; the magic took my heartbeats first, then my blood, and finally, my compassion and life began to reappear.”
Natasha breathes out as her heart recoils in her chest. That’s why he felt cold, and his eyes were red. He did it to save everyone, and she felt her heart fill with pride. She slid out of bed and hugged him from behind.
Azrael covers her hand with his.
“I didn’t feel anything till I saw you,” “Because of you, I am what I once was,” he sighed. He paused and drew Natasha to his front, holding her close. Natasha smiled as he kissed her shoulder. “I am better because of you.”
“I still don’t understand my participation,” Natasha admitted.
“Didn’t I leave you hanging?” He kissed her temple and turned her to face him. She nodded, “Did your Master ever return?”
“He did; the three elements had taken three forms: light as stone, love as fruit, and life as a flower.”
Natasha felt her legs weaken and took a deep breath, remembering her previous life; no specifics were precise, but she still understood what she was, how it ended, and the significance each life contained. Everything now makes sense, and everything fits, but this is beyond her. She stares at Azrael, quietly asking whether it is what she is thinking.
“I am…”
Natasha took another deep breath and turned to face the vista out the window, the growing new fresh green grass, trees, flowers, and vines. The reality sets in.
“Every life you’ve lived has been a challenge to bring you into your real form,” He tucked one strand of her hair behind her ear. She locked her gaze on him.
“You are the goddess of life,”