P H A S E S - Part One

My name is Krym, and this is the story of how I died.

Dramatic start, I know. Then again according to Tsukimi, I'm a drama queen.

I don't remember who I was before this. I only get glimpses, enough to put together a child's finger painting of my previous life, which, let me tell you, was not a very fun one. Lots of trouble, some of which followed me after death. Talk about annoying.

The week leading up to the events that changed my life (or afterlife - still not too clear on that yet) was by far the strangest week that could ever have possibly happened in all of history. It included my death, a party that lasted less than a minute, a frozen narwhal, and a missing moon, and that was just in one day.

Imagine how the rest went. I dare you. You'd never guess right.

The first thing I remember was waking up. It was cold - not "Oh, its chilly enough to wear a jacket" cold, more like "Holy shit am I naked in the arctic" cold. I didn't know where I was, or how I'd gotten there, or who I even was at the time.

Then I heard the voices.

"Storm, what the hell is this?"

"He's on the list. He was fine until we were halfway here. Then he sort of...passed out."

"Souls don't pass out, Storm."

The voices echoed around me. I didn't know where they were coming from. My head throbbed, like someone had reached in, taken my brain and squished. Each breath sent a stabbing pain through my temples.

"I know that." The voice sighed, a frustrated sound that grated against my skull. "But that's what happened. He hasn't moved since."

I really wished they'd shut up. Maybe they'd go away. Why were they talking anyways? Didn't they know I was trying to sleep?

"What do we do in this kind of situation?"

Another sigh. "Wake him up."

For a few moments there was blissful silence. I almost relaxed enough to fall asleep again.

A wave of cold splashed over my face. My eyes snapped open as I yelped, scrambling into a sitting position. Water dripped from my hair, down my face and down my shirt, making me shiver. The pain in my head was momentarily forgotten.

At first I didn't really know what to think of the place. It was long, like those enormous rooms that should be hallways in temples and churches. The ceiling was held up by curved pillars on the walls. The entire place seemed to be made out of black stone, and was lit by strange glowing orbs floating around. The air was freezing; I could see my breath misting in front of me and my body felt numb.

I was lying in front of a throne of some sort. It was a simple enough structure - chair, cushion, arms, tall back. But it was...glowing. Strange symbols were etched into the arms and the back. I didn't know what they meant but a few seemed familiar.

Sitting in the throne, staring down at me, sat a man. He couldn't have been much older than his late thirties, with dark hair and deathly pale skin. His eyes, sharp and blue, seemed to pierce into me. He wore a business suit; the tie was loosened, like he was relaxing after a hard day in the office.

What caught my attention, however, were the wings. Two huge, taloned wings arched over his head from his shoulders. Feathers fading from black to white were tucked along the places where the membranes should have been. He looked like the spawn of an angel and a demon. Somehow I knew it wasn't far from the truth.

The man regarded me with an annoyed look. "Glad you could join us," he said dryly.

"W-what?" I stammered. My voice sounded deep, rough almost. It surprised me. Why did it surprise me?

"What's your name?"

I stared at him. I wanted to answer, but...I couldn't. My name? I had one? What was it? I knew it, but I couldn't remember it. Why was that?

"I...I don't know."

His eyes narrowed. "Storm?"

Beside him stood another man, this one younger and more solid looking. He had black hair, brilliantly gold eyes, two gold hoops in each ear and he was holding a bucket, presumably the one that had held the water he'd dumped on me. He was dressed in a black t-shirt and old jeans with boots that had seen better days. He was holding a scythe, but that wasn't the strangest thing about him. He, too, had wings; they looked like they were made out of wax and feathers. Like that Icarus legend.

He pulled out a paper from his pocket and studied it. "Krym," he said. "Just Krym, no last name."

It clicked, somewhere. "Yes," I said. "That's it. That's my name."

"You passed out on the way here," the man in the throne said. "Do you remember why?"

"I...no," I told him. A strange nagging feeling tugged at me. "Where...am I?"

The man looked less annoyed and more suspicious. He was silent for a moment. "This is my realm," he said after a moment. "Underworld, afterlife, it has many names."

It took me a moment to process what he meant. Honestly, he sounded a little nuts. Then something else clicked. A memory flashed in my head - an alley, moonlight streaming down, cold air and then...

My hands shot up, yanking at my clothes. I found what I was looking for instantly: A small hole in the chest of my shirt, dampness around it. I looked down; red stained the dark gray fabric and my hands. Blood. My blood.

"Oh no," I whispered. "No, no. No."

"There we go," the man said. "You understand now."

I looked up at him slowly, feeling slightly sick. "I'm...I'm dead?" I uttered.

"Very much, yes."

"And this...this is the afterlife?"

"Yes."

"And that means...are you...Death?"

"Obviously." He stood, crossing his arms as he studied me. "You remember nothing?" he asked. "Nothing about your life? Your sins?"

I shook my head. I felt small compared to him. Maybe because I now knew he was Death and could flick me into hell or wherever if he wanted to.

"Tell me what you do know, if anything."

I stared at him. Was he insane? I didn't know anything. I had no memory; my head (which still ached) was empty. It felt like I had things in it, but...I couldn't reach them. My name I knew now. I knew I was dead, and that alone made my head spin.

How was I dead? A bullet had pierced my heart. A gun? I'd probably died instantly.

"I...was killed by a gun," I said.

"Yes. In an alley. You were followed there."

"Silver," I said suddenly.

He blinked. "Pardon?"

"It was a silver bullet," I said. I didn't know how I knew that, but it felt like there was no other explanation.

Death looked at the other man. "Storm?"

The younger man was staring at me with a curious look. "He's right," he said. "It was silver. I saw it."

"You saw it?" I said. I pushed to my feet; dizziness swirled around me but I forced myself to stay upright. "What happened? Who am I? You know, don't you?"

He frowned. "I can't say," he said, but he looked uncertain.

"Please, I need to know," I said urgently. I took a step forward, but the dizziness won. I stumbled into the arm of the throne, stars popping in front of me.

"What's wrong with him, then?" Storm demanded, eyeing Death.

Death was watching me thoughtfully. Finally, he sighed. "God damn that bastard," he muttered.

"Excuse me?" Storm snarled at him.

"Not you, you idiot," Death sighed. "Leave."

"What?"

"Get out. This doesn't concern you anymore. Take the rest of the day off. Just go."

Storm glared at him. The younger man turned and stormed (no pun intended) down the hall to a pair of large doors. He yanked one open, then marched out, allowing the door to slam shut behind him.

"Christ," I muttered once he was gone, sinking to the foot of the throne again. "Is he always like that?"

"Worse," Death growled. He strode to a mirror that rested in between two pillars; the glass seemed...foggy. I couldn't see any clear reflections. "He takes after his father," Death continued as he waved his hand over the glass. "They're both stubborn, and strongly opinionated, and very, very annoying."

"His dad...is he one of your, uh...people?"

"Yes. Quite a story they have, too." Death snapped his fingers; one of the glowing lights zipped into his hand. He reached up, touching it to the top of the mirror.

The glass began to shift. The color changed; as I watched, the glass turned purple and blue, and rippled in circular patterns, like raindrops falling on water.

"Erubis!" Death snapped suddenly, making me jump. "Come get your bloody soul or I'm throwing him in the mists, you understand?"

Okay, here's the thing: On a regular day you'd think seeing a guy with wings and glowy magic balls yelling at a mirror would mean you'd be taking an instant trip to the nearest loony bin. But for some reason it didn't alarm me. Being dead? Yeah, pretty alarming, but I was starting to get used to that. I mean, I didn't exactly remember being alive.

At first nothing happened. The mirror stayed the same, the room was silent, nothing really exciting happening at all. Then the mirror exploded.

Yes, literally exploded. Shards of obsidian and glass shot everywhere. Death's suit was reduced to shreds, but the shards didn't hurt me. They passed through me like water drops, completely harmless. I guess being dead has its advantages.

Then time seemed to...rewind. The shards flew back into place, forming a cracked mirror. The glass rippled again. And then - I kid you not - fucking Anubis stepped out of the mirror.

The guy was taller than Death. Taller than the mirror, actually. I don't know how he fit. He was a good eight feet tall, easy. He was wearing flowing robes that looked like they moved on their own. He looked like a regular human. Pale, thin, arms, legs, hands, etc. But then you got to his head and things got...weird.

His head was a dog. I'm not talking cute Pomeranian puppy dog, either. More like husky. His face was covered in fine silver fur that faded from white to black with a purply sheen to it. His eyes were deep, dark purple, and he looked...ancient somehow. Older than Death. Older than anything.

He was fucking terrifying.

I'm ashamed to say I screamed like a little girl.

"WHATTHEFUCKISTHAT?!" I shrieked, jerking to my feet again. I was met by my new friend the wave of dizziness and sank into the throne this time. I thought I might be sick, but between my head throbbing, the overwhelming confusion, being dead and now being faced with a giant dog-headed dude who made Death look cute and fluffy, I couldn't do much but, well, stare.

Death was glaring down at his suit. "Wonderful," he growled. "You realize these aren't easy to find? I have to go to Italy now."

The Anubis-dude regarded him with an unimpressed look. "Your portal is inadequate, as usual" he said, though how the hell he managed to form words with a dog mouth, I have no idea.

"Maybe if you'd give me an actual one," Death snarled, "we'd stop having this problem."

"You've proved untrustworthy of a portal," the dog-man said. "Considering how you've abused the privilege in the past."

"That was an accident."

"Doubtful. Weren't you the one who told me 'Death doesn't have accidents'?"

Death glared so fiercely at the guy I was surprised the dog-head wasn't blown off. "Just take your soul and go," he growled.

"Gladly." The dog-man turned to me, and I realized I was still staring blankly at them.

I snapped out of it. "Whoa, wait," I said weakly. "Me? What?"

"You are the only soul here," the dog-man said.

"I'm standing right here," Death snapped.

"Yes, of course. Allow me to rephrase. You are the only person still with a soul here."

Death looked like he could spontaneously combust at any second. "You son of a bitch," he snarled.

"That is quite true, as my mother was a dog deity."

"I have no trouble believing that," I muttered. I glanced up at Death, somewhat uneasy to ask him anything, but hey, I was already dead. "What's happening?" I asked him.

He scowled at the dog-man. "This is Erubis," he said coolly. "He's claimed your soul. You belong to him now. Get out of my throne."

"You mean he's not Anubis?"

Erubis the dog-man grinned. A truly terrifying sight. "No," he said, "although we are related."

"I can believe that too."

"Out of the throne," Death snapped. I stood, stumbling a little from the dizziness. He sat, picking at some shredded pieces of his tie. "Leave," he said. "Before I throw you both into the mists."

"I would not suggest it, as the last time you attempted to be rid of me in that manner, you had to rebuild half of your realm," Erubis said.

"Get. OUT."

"You're just letting him take me?" I said, staring at Death. "I thought you were in charge!"

"Not when he claims a soul," Death said, rather sulkily. "And he's claimed you. Now, go."

"I'm not going anywhere," I said firmly.

"You would prefer the mists, then?"

"What the hell are the mists?" I said sharply, crossing my arms.

Death smirked, and for a moment he was scarier than Erubis's grin could ever be. "Oh, the mists are wonderful," he said. "Filled with all sorts of nasty things. I'm told they're worse than hell itself. Care to visit?"

He sounded so pleased with the thought, so excited, that I'm pretty sure my gut froze solid. I swallowed hard, then glanced at Erubis. "So," I managed to croak out, "where're we going, huh?"


Let me tell you, traveling through a mirror which is actually a portal while you have a mind blowing headache is not a recommended experience.

I almost passed out once we stepped out of a different mirror. I stumbled a lot before falling and emptying...something out of my stomach onto the ground.

"Krym?" Erubis knelt beside me. He sounded concerned, but it was hard to tell his emotions because...yeah. Dog face.

"Wh-what's wrong with me?" I panted. I was shaking now, from the pain and the nausea. "What did you do to me?"

"I did not cause this pain," he said. He lifted a hand and laid it on my forehead; his skin was pleasantly cool against my burning skin. The pain in my head gave one final, excruciating pang, then suddenly it was gone. My head felt better. I was no longer nauseous. I felt fine. Better than fine. I felt...alive.

I sat back, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. "How did you..?"

He smiled, which was less scary now. "I am...gifted," he said. He helped me to my feet again, and I was able to get a good look at where we were.

We stood in front of a river. The water was dark, deep blue, like the middle of the ocean, but it was clear, too. The grass was green and waved in a warm breeze.  The sky...god, the sky. It was gorgeous. Bluest blue to ever blue gorgeous. There were no clouds. It was just...beautiful. Heaven had nothing on this place.

A bridge arched over the river. On the other side was a stone structure - some kind of wall stretched off from it, and as far as I could tell, the walls never ended. The stone looked...shiny. But it still seemed to be just stone.

"Where are we?" I asked him, awed by, well, everything.

"Your new home," he told me. "Come. The others are waiting."

"Others? What others? What is this place?" I demanded, stopping at the edge of the bridge. "I'm not taking another step until you explain what the hell is happening."

Erubis sighed. He didn't sound impatient, more like he'd been through this thousands of times already and was tired of it.

"This is the Realm," he said. "I created it. It is a sanctuary, above the ordinary planes of reality."

"It's...an alternate dimension?"

"Similar, but not quite. It is...how do you put it...another level, yes? Above reality, a part of it but separate all at once."

"And you made this place?" I looked around, at the bridge, the river, the fields of grass, the stone walls. "Wow.  That's...wow. Good job."

I swear his eyes twinkled. "You have not seen the best parts," he said.

"And...who are...these 'others' you mentioned?"

"My chosen. Guardians of reality. Like you."

"Like...what?"

"I chose you for a reason, Krym," he said, more gently. "You have a duty to the Realm now. To me. The others are waiting inside to, ah, welcome you."

I kind of just stared at him for a few seconds. "...Is this real?" I managed.

"Yes."

"I'm...dead."

"To reality, yes. You are dead there. Here you are...part of the Realm. You became part of it the moment you stepped through the portal."

"I didn't know I was signing up for a job!"

Erubis snorted. A very un-god-like sound. "Would you rather be in Death's charge? I can promise he is much less caring than me."

I scowled at him. "What's my job, then?"

"That you must find out yourself."

"Oh, gee, yeah, that's super helpful. Thanks."

"You are welcome."

I had the sudden urge to punch him, but he was too damn tall. I'd probably end up breaking something anyways. But damn it, I was annoyed. I'd already been through so much already. I'd died, somehow. Lost my memory. Been "claimed" or whatever by Mr. Not-Anubis over there. Been sick, confused, and so dizzy it would've made teacup rides look like a breeze.  And now I was in some "Realm", where I had a new job, and no idea what it was going to be.

All in all, I was having a bad day.

"Fine," I grumbled. "Let's go meet these...whoever they are and get it over with."

"You will be meeting them alone."

"What?"

"I am no longer needed as your escort," he said. "I have other duties to attend to. You will be fine," he assured me. "They are an odd bunch, and some are quite mad, but they will welcome you. You are one of them now, after all."

"This is not very calming information."

He smiled. "Good-bye, Krym," he said. And then he vanished. Just...poof. Gone. Zip.

I kind of stood there for a few minutes contemplating whether or not I should have a temper tantrum or just go along with it and walk across the bridge. I chose the latter.

The bridge was, thankfully, very sturdy. I walked across it, uneasy. Nothing about this felt right. It felt...wrong. I couldn't pinpoint why, either, which was really frustrating. Everything I was feeling was like one giant confliction. Nothing felt right. I wasn't even sure if I was scared or not, but I was sure as hell annoyed, and unsettled.

I reached the stone structure; it looked like it curved off at the sides, lke a rough circle. Two giant doors stood before me, with strange silver spirals across the glossy wood.

Here goes nothing, I thought, and reaching out, I gave the doors a push.


The doors creaked open, and I got my first look at the place.

It was like a square, like in those medieval paintings? It was kind of nice, actually. The walls were in a rough circle, with a small pillar connecting each wall. On top of those pillars were these strange orb; they glowed, and every few seconds I saw the outline of a web connecting them all over the sky.

A fountain bubbled in the center of the place, and there were market stalls and even a cafe along the walls.  Most impressive, though, was the tower.

It was at the very end of the square, and rose above the rest of the walls. Windows of all shapes and size circled around the tower, and at the top of it was another orb, an even bigger one than the rest. It looked unsettlingly like an eye.

The place looked like it should have been full of people bustling around and shopping and talking, but it was empty. At least, I thought it was empty at first. Then I saw a blur and a pink splash sprang up in front of me.

"Hi!" it squealed.

"AH!" I shrieked, stumbling and falling on my ass. Not a very dignified entrance.

The pink splash giggled. "Oh, I'm sorry," it said. "But it's just so exciting! A new Realmer, we haven't had one in ages!"

I stared up at it. Her, actually. It was a girl. A very pink girl. She had long, flowing pink hair that fell past her hips, and pink markings on her cheeks and shoulders. Her dress - a kind of kimono-themed dress - was pink. She wore a necklace with a heart dangling from it and a ink bead bracelet. Even her eyes were pink - a dark, reddish pink. Her skin was not pink, thankfully. Anymore pink and my headache would've come back. Her skin was a light caramel color, like a tan, like she'd spent her days out in the sun.

"You're...pink," I managed after a minute.

She smiled; she was pretty, despite all the pinkness. "Yes," she said. "Pink's a wonderful color. Its kind of welcoming, isn't it?"

"Uh..."

"Here." She leaned down and helped me to my feet. "Goodness, look at you. You're a bit of a mess, aren't you?"

"The man just died, dear," a voice purred behind us. I turned and yelped. The pink girl was nothing compared o this guy; he was tall, mostly made up of leg. HE was wearing a vibrant assortment of fancy clothing in oranges, purples and pinks. HE was a walking spectrum of sunset colors. Gold eyes stared out at me from behind a beaked, feathered mask. Giant plumes of purple and orange feathers bounced around as he strode forward. The way he walked practically screamed sass.

"You're a bird," I uttered.

He laughed. "Hardly," he said.

"What...are you?"

"I'm a Realmer, you adorable little bumpkin," he trilled. He bowed elegantly; I was surprised he didn't brain himself with his own knee. "Sir Sunset, at your service."

"Sir?" I said, not believing for a moment this guy was capable of being in charge of anything at all.

"Yes." He straightened, the feather plumes bouncing. "Realmer and guardian of joy and comfort. And parties. I love parties."

"And..." I glanced at the pink girl. "You are?"

"Lynarisia," she said, beaming. "Realmer of destinies and dreams. You can call me Lyna; everyone else does."

"Lyna." I blinked. "Okay. Sure."

"You must be starving," she said. She grabbed my arm, and dragged me to a market stall. "Dying can do that, I recall. I was absolutely famished when I came here." She started poking through a basket of strange glowing fruits.

"Let the boy breathe, Lyna," Sir Sunset sighed. He patted my shoulder. "She can be a bit motherly at time. Sometimes a bit too much. She gets carried away. Part of her job, I'm afraid."

"Right," I mumbled. "Of course." I glanced around at the empty martket stalls and the lonely looking cafe. "What...is this place?"

"The Square," Lyna said. She had six different fruits in one hand and was still digging around. "The entryway to the Realm. Its nice, isn't it?"

"It's...empty."

"Oh, that's because we reserved it."

"Reserved it?"

"For you, silly," Sir Sunset said. "For your welcome party."

"My...what?"

"Oh, it's going to e grand!" Lyna turned, shoving all the fruit into my hands. "Sir Sunset did most of the planning but Listat and Endeas are bringing decorations, and Inspire is going to be the entertainment."

"...Who?"

"Oh, goodness, I'm sorry." She giggled, a nervous little sound. "I forget, you're new. We just haven't had anyone new here for such a long time."

"Just...how many of you are there?"

"Oh, Realmers?" She cocked her head. "Let's see...nineteen now."

"Nineteen?" I glanced around again. "Where are they?"

"Oh, they'll be here. We sent out invitations last month."

"Last month?" I spluttered. "But I died today."

"Oh, we all got a message from Erubis to expect a new Realmer," Sir Sunset said. "He was quite clear on the date and time."

"He knew?" I looked between them disbelievingly. "He didn't say a thing!"

"He's a bit...well, he's not strange, just...different. He's a deity. He has a different perspective on things. He probably assumed it wasn't important."

"What?"

"I wouldn't pay it much mind," Lyna said. "You're here now. That's what matters, isn't it?"

"The hell it is," I snapped. If anything I felt worse; the bastard had known I was coming before I did. Which meant he'd known about me before I lost my memory. And he hadn't said anything.

Lyna looked like someone had slapped her. Obviously she didn't get many people snapping at her.

"Now, now," Sir Sunset said. He draped an arm around her, which wasn't easy with his height. She was easily two feet shorter than he was. "There's hardly a reason to get upset now."

"Are you kidding me?" I snarled.

His eyes hardened slightly. "It's not our fault you died," he said. His tone was slightly different. Not so much fun and happiness and more steel and annoyance.

He was right. It wasn't their fault. But dammit, I was angry, and confused. I didn't know who they were, or why I was even there. I ad the words of a deity who hadn't told me anything and I was expected to just go along with it.

Screw that.

"I'm leaving," I said. I dropped the fruit back into the basket, ignoring their dumbfounded looks, and whirled around, intending to storm out of there.

Instead I slammed into something solid that I was very sure hadn't been there before.  I looked up into cold, icy blue eyes and felt a very intense urge to hide under a stall. The other two had been fluff compared to this guy. He was about my height, maybe a few inches taller. He wore a set of robes that looked like they had come from medieval Japan. A katana was strapped to his side. A white mask rested on his head, not over his face, and resembled a smiling face of some sort. He had sleek black hair pulled back into one of those weird high-ponytail things. He was muscular, and lean, and did not look amused. He reminded me of a jungle cat, dangerous and mysterious and kind of terrifyingly beautiful.

"Who," he said, his voice a low, rough growl, "is this?"

"Tsukimi," Lyna said. She sounded relieved. "This is the new Realmer."

"He's having a bit of a tantrum," Sir Sunset added.

Tsukimi studied me; his eyes were cold but his face remained expressionless. "Your name?" he said after a moment.

"Krym," I uttered. I stepped back, away from him.

"Hm." He glanced to Lyna and Sir Sunset. "What is he for?"

"Oh, um..."

"We don't know yet."

"Hm," he said again. He crossed his arms, regarding me with a calculating look. "Welcome to the Realm," he said. His tone was less than welcoming.

"Thanks..."

"Where are the others?" Lyna asked him.

"I came alone," Tsukimi said. "I have not seen the others."

"That's odd," Sir Sunset said. "I recall sending the invitations myself. And specifying the date. I even added glitter."

"I'm sure they have their reasons," Lyna said.

"Can I just..?" I mumbled. "Can someone please explain all this to me?"

"Didn't Erubis tell you?" Sir Sunset said.

"No," I said. "He just...brought me here."

They looked baffled by that; apparently this wasn't an ordinary thing for Doghead to do.

"Poor thing," Lyna said. "No wonder you're so upset!" She stepped over to me, takng my arm again. "I'll explain," she told me. "We need to get you cleaned up, too."

"You can use my portal, Lyna," Sir Sunset said. "I'm sure I have something that'll fit him."

"Oh, thank you." She smiled at him. "You two should get started on the party, anyways."

"Of course," Tsukimi muttered, looking less than thrilled by the idea.

Lyna pulled me towards the tower. "Goodness, there's so much to go over," she said as she led me inside and up a spiral staircase. The windows, I realized, were stained glass, depicting different images and scenes. I saw a pink one with a version of Lynarisia on it, and another that looked like Tsumiki, black and purple. Every color of the spectrum was there, but she was headed for the vibrant orange and purple one towards the top.

"What is this place?"

"The Tower," she said. "It's like the doorway. These windows? They're portals, to Realmer's homes."

"And...we're going to Sunny Boy's home?"

"Sir Sunset," she corrected me. "And yes."

She reached out, touching the glass. Immediately, it began to glow brightly. The glass turned to liquid, swirling into a spiraling blur of color.

"You go first," she told me, giving me an encouraging smile. I eyed the portal; step into a swirling vortex of happy sunset colors and trust you won't be torn apart?

Sure. Why not.