Chapter Text
#1:” Welcome”
Gray could feel the grass on his hands. The cold light breeze brushed over his skin as he sat up and looked around. A red bridge and a Japanese-styled building was the only thing he saw in front of him. He noticed the pond behind him as he stood up.
“Young Gray” Gray jumped at the soft-elegant voice calling out his name.
“oh… sorry… uhm, where did you…?”He asked the woman who appeared in front of him out of nowhere.
“I’ve been here all the time” she smiled sweetly. Her eyes closed, and her hair over her shoulder. Her hanbok with 2 combinations of blues shines under the dark surroundings.
“Where am I? Where are we?” Gray looked at her, confused.
“Welcome… To the Silence After.”
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“Wait, so I’m dead?!” Gray asked her frustratedly.
“Yes. And you will live In this world with the others from now on” She smiled sweetly as she led him inside.
“How did I die?” Gray asked, she looked at him gently.
“No one knows!” She moved on and showed him the way to the room where he’d be living.
They walked down to a hallway with a series of never-ending rooms. Gray looked around as they walked down. A blob. A dog. He thought to himself. Gray finally realizes something.
“Wait, you know my name but I don’t seem to know your name,” Gray said to the nice lady.
“Please do call me The Lady, Young Gray” The Lady smiled as she opened the door to Gray’s new room.
Gray walked in after The Lady. There’s a window right in the middle of the room with a bed along with a table and a chair right below the window. It was depressing. Gray thought.
“Suit yourself in, Gray,” She said as she put something down on the table “Do call out my name if you need any help, understood?”
Gray nodded and let The Lady walk out of the room. Still puzzled, Gray looks around as he tries to process all of the information he got 7 minutes ago. I’m dead… He tries to look for a mirror to at least get a clue on how he died. But the only thing he saw in the mirror was… nothing.
Gray looked out of the window to see what the world is like while he tried to clear out his ─non-existent─ brain. The world was rather… gloomy. A dark world with every building lighting up everything surrounding it. Other… People? Wait, no. Everyone coming in and from every building looks rather… inhuman. Some without a head, some with a big scar on their face. One has a face that has melted away and one has ears that look like they had been ripped out.
Horrified, Gray closes his window with the cream-colored curtain and hides inside his bed as he tries to collect himself. He’s dead. With no clue on how he died or even who he was before he died. It’s like he was born again but only as souls. A soul without a body. A soul seeking for what he once was.
Gray sat down on his bed still trying to get himself together. Horrified Gray slowly walked to the door and opened it slowly. The sudden bark of a nearby dog caught him off guard, causing him to jump slightly. A brown and small dog ran in front of him with a kid behind it. Gray hesitantly stepped out as closed his room’s door and walked to the front of this “hotel”.
“Ah, Gray! Have you settled in, young one?” The Lady asked him.
“What is this place?” Gray asked with a frustrated face.
“What do you mean?” The Lady chuckled.
“What is this place and is it heaven or hell?” The Lady looked at him confused, “If I’m dead, why am I not in either hell or heaven?”
The Lady laughed quietly, “Oh, Gray… Apologies for the laughs. It’s just that, these questions never get old”
Gray looked at her confused/
“There is no heaven and hell, Gray. There’s only one world to live in after death, young one,” she paused. “There is only Silence After.”
“What?” Gray looked even more confused.
“No heaven, No hell, only this eternal world.” The lady told him in a much simpler way in the hope he’d understand.
“Why?”
“Who knows…” she stood up, “That’s only for Lord Hades to know, young one”
Hades? As in the Greek Mythology Hades? The Hades who’s known for being the god of the dead? Gray thought for a second as he processed every word that came out of her mouth. This can’t be real. He thought to himself.
“I’m… I’m heading out…”
“Sure thing! The orange door should lead you to the plaza” The Lady smiled sweetly.
Gray walked away from the front desk to the orange door. He sighed as he turn the knob and open the door. The only thing he knows is what Earth looks like. Crowded. Very Crowded. Years of civilization are merged into a place after death. A place for lonely and popular souls to connect.
Gray still cannot believe how all of these “people” used to be humans. They used to be what we thought we were. Some faces were discarded, and some only had their skulls. Gray walked around to see what this place is and if he was lucky enough, a clue on how he died. That's if he’s really dead.
As he walked around and looked to his left and right, he bumped into someone who thought they could pass the speed of light.
“Oh! Sorry!” The girl stood in front of Gray with a worried look on her face.
“It’s… fine. Why were you running anyway?”
“I was racing with a friend” She chuckled, “you’re new, I assume?”
“Yeah. Gray, by the way” he offers his hand for a handshake.
“Stella.” She shook her hand with his.
“What happened to your…” Gray asked hesitantly as he pointed at her ripped-out ear.
“Oh, this?” She points out her ears, “I have no idea. I mean, everyone in here has no idea what happened to them. The only thing they know is that they’re dead.”
“I see…”Gray nodded.
“Well, see you around, Gray! Nice meeting you!” Stella said as she continued to run.
Everyone does not remember how they died? He is left with his own thoughts. He continued to walk aimlessly while looking around him as if he could find what he was looking for. He found what seemed to be a garden and got in. It was empty. There were 3 benches and a few trees that were carved with… names?
Gray walked over to one of the trees. He was right. It was carved all over with names of people who he suggested were the names of people who had died and is now in what they called Silence After.
The name Gray was carved on the bottom of one of the trees. The orange leaves fell as if it were autumn. Or maybe it is? He’ll never know. No one will ever know.