'AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!'

'...'

'???'

'What is going on?'

I can't see. I can't hear. I can't smell. I can't taste. I can't feel.

My whole body seem to have disappeared.

I am somehow conscious, but I'm unable to know anything else than the fact that my mind is still active. Am I dead?

'I think, therefore I am'

I guess I'm not dead then. At least strictly speaking. So what now? Am I in a hospital, in some sort of artificial coma? I guess I'm regaining my body little by little then. Let's wait to see if I feel anything...

.

.

.

'Wait, nothing's happening at all. Then, what's going on? Do I have to wake up by myself?

Then, my thoughts drifted towards the last instant before I arrived in this situation.

'I fell from pretty high, this is really impressive that I'm still alive after all that... However, it's impossible that I won't have any aftereffect.'

.

'WAIT!'

'Is it possible that I'm paraplegic now?? And if I can't feel my body, and I can't sense anything, that could explain all of that...'

I sweated profusely (in my mind of course)

'Ok ok ok ok... Let's... Calm down...'

'I remember that as long as you could imagine your "lost limbs", you could still try to move them, after a few months of reeducation.'

'Ok, let's try to see if I can do anything on that end'

I then proceeded by imagining my body, feeling my usual sensations, remembering the way my muscles felt when I was activating them before.

After a while of exercises, I started to feel something. This something grew as time passed. I knew I was on the right way. Little by little, I was starting to feel normal sensations. And after a long while, I completely regained the sense of touch.

'... But I'm not waking up...'

I then proceeded onto getting back my 4 other senses. It took really long this time. However, after a given time, I felt all my senses coming back all at once and instantly. It gave me the same feeling as the one we get when we unclog our ears, but with this sensation adapted for each sense. And what I sensed at this very moment was way out of any expectations I could ever have.

I heard some sort of growling, with white noise at low volume in the background.

'What... Is that?!?'

I then realized I could open my eyes. When I did so, for the first time after an eternity from my point of view, I froze immediately.

In front of me, some sort of huge creature made from some sort of heap of a black goo that would have several arms, heads, and feet was looking at me menacingly (or at least had a menacing aura, since it lacked any form of eyes).

I was drenched in sweat (quite literally this time).

I didn't dare to move. After a while, the creature pronounced from several mouths situated all around it :

"...What are you?" (creature)

'I'M THE ONE SUPPOSED TO ASK THIS!!!'

The voice was kinda scary. It was very distorted, as if there was some sort of echo, and it was low-pitched.

Many things were contradicting in my mind. I wanted to run, answer to him, know how such creature is able to talk my language, but above all run.

"I-I am a H-Human..." (Haru)

I then mustered my courage and I added :

"May I K-know-w what y-you are t-t-too? If it d-doesn't bother y-you of c-c-course..." (Haru)

I was stuttering like crazy. My heart was definitly not prepared for this at all.

"No, no it doesn't bother me at all. Quite the opposite actually. We are called Cleaner." (Cleaner)

The creature then made a pause, before talking again.

"Now, I would like to know how you are able to maintain a body and a mind here. Depending on your answer, I might spare you for now." (Cleaner)

'It just switched from "we" to "I" to describe itself?' I noted.

"E-etto... I don't-t know..." (Haru)

I saw it twitching strangely. It seemed startled.

I finally took the time to examine the place. It looked like some kind of empty space, with only a dark blue color hue. The ground seemed... alive somehow, as it was twitching, and it's surface looked like a sort of plastic film, or a solidified liquid. I could see body parts of several animals, and odd creatures that were right under the film, but most of them were too dismantled to properly identify what they were.

"... Als-so, Cleaner, if I may, could y-you tell me where w-we are?" (Haru)

"You don't even know that?" (Cleaner)

It seemed more and more concerned about me.

"... This place is called Limbo. I think you may understand more now." (Cleaner)

"Limbo?" (Haru)

"... A place where souls are put after they lived." (Cleaner)

"So I'm dead." (Haru)

As this fact struck me, I was finally able to relax in its presence. After all, if I'm dead, I don't risk much.

"So, are we locked in here for eternity, or something of the sort?" (Haru)

"Yes and no. I am. You aren't." (Cleaner)

"So that means I can exit this place..." (Haru)

"Not only you can, but you also will." (Cleaner)

"Huh?" (Haru)

"Well, Human, every life form of a world like yours ends up in this dimension when it stops living. This is where we come in. We devour their personality before sending them to the deity that manage their original worlds. There, the deity decides to either end the life form's cycle of life, or to return as a new being in their original world."

That's a lot of information to digest. For now I'll just take care of the most important things.

"If I understand well, you will eat me right?" (Haru)

I marked a pause, but I didn't let him the time to answer back.

"If that's the case, why were you telling me at first that you will spare me?" (Haru)

"Well, if we don't devour you, you can stay here until the place gets reset. At this time you'll leave this place instantly and your existence will be simply eliminated" (Cleaner)

"..." (Haru)

I was left stunned. Basically, either I lose my personality or I lose my existence... NONE OF THOSE ARE CHOICES!!!

"Hey, so... You're saying to me that no matter what happens, I won't ever be able to enjoy my life after all I had to sacrifice...?" (Haru)

My voice was even colder that I ever thought it could get. But that didn't matter. This disgusting thing was trying to do something that made no sense to me.

"Well, that's a pessimistic point of view, but this is indeed the reality." (Cleaner)

"..." (Haru)

"..." (Cleaner)

"..." (All)

"Oi. Can I meet the one in charge of this place?" (Haru)

"...Sorry come again?" (Cleaner)

"I want to meet your damn superior! You have one right?!?" (Haru)

"... How did you guess?" (Cleaner)

It seemed troubled. I could read it's agitation beneath the surface of the goo.

"You were talking about some deities just before, and you seemed to be following rules from how you were talking right before. Moreover, I can't see how a being called 'Cleaner' could be the one managing this place." (Haru)

"... Human right? Anyway, could you wait for a moment then?" (Cleaner)

"Alright. But be quick please." (Haru)

After a moment of inactivity, Cleaner became some sort of puddle of goo, before spreading in some sort of pyramid with arms sprouting from all directions and directed towards the sky. It then stopped, and the arms were ejected in all directions, too far for me to see where they landed. And after a while, I was once again rendered speechless.

There were creatures looking exactly like Cleaner all the way around me, arriving at great speeds. When they finally reached us, they jumped into Cleaner, and formed a unique body.

That was probably the most disgusting thing I ever saw in my life, so let's pass the details. At least, now I know why he was always switching from "I" to "we" all the time.

Anyway, the newly formed body then took the form of a tower. I could sense some sort of energy being amassed inside. And a few seconds later, a huge red beam was shot towards the sky once again. Once it dissipated, Cleaner and the other ones took back their original body and waited.

"Cleaner! What's going on?" (???)

A middle aged man in a yukata appeared out of nowhere above us and started talking.

The creature on my right answered.

"It's Human." (Creature 1)

"He wanted-" (Creature 2)

"-to meet you." (Cleaner)

"A Human? And it is conscious?" (???)

His eyes were immediately directed towards me.

"Who sent you?" (???)

"...?"

Who sent me?

"You aren't the envoy of a deity?" (???)

"Ehm... I don't think so. I just died and then I woke up here" (Haru)

He marked a pause.

"How are you conscious in this place?" (???)

"I don't know." (Haru)

The man seemed troubled.

"I'm sorry for bothering you mister... hum..." (Haru)

"Ora Opifex" (Ora Opifex)

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Haru." (Haru)

"Likewise. So, what made you want to meet me?" (Ora Opifex)

"Well, you see, for a long time, I gave up on every single form of entertainment available to focus on studies. However, I died. And now Cleaner just told me that my whole life is going to be erased, either by an event or by a deity. So I wanted to meet with you to discuss about another possibility." (Haru)

"Another possibility?" (Ora Opifex)

Suddenly, an orb appeared between him and me. It was completely white, but a white so pure that it was almost blinding me. The orb then started to emit light more and more. I placed my arm in front of my eyes to protect them.

"Oh no" (Ora Opifex)