Darkness was all that greeted Vinoria when she woke up. Finding nothing other than herself within this abyss. Suddenly, standing in front of her was a woman in men’s attire, similar to her own. She wore a purple dress shirt with a black tuxedo vest and pants, and around her neck was a ribbon tie with what looked to be a rat skull at the base. The woman then spoke up right when she was noticed, her piercing purple eyes staring back. 

"What a beautiful little cat!" Her voice was soft and enchanting. The woman leaned down a bit and tilted her head slightly, observing Vinoria. She smiled, which revealed a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Do you, by any chance, do guard duty?"

Vinoria slowly got up on her feet, finding herself more scared and confused than she’ll ever be in her life. "What is this place?" She asked, her voice reflecting her fear. Before another word was said, something clicked in her head. "Oh... I'm dead." Her tone then went flat as she came to the realization. She remembered what had happened back at the mansion. She remembered the twist of the neck, but nothing after that. It didn’t take long to come to terms with her condition. She assumed that this well-dressed woman standing in front of her was the infamous Grim Reaper… Which looked very different from how the books and folklore described the character.

The dark figure raised her hand and gestured the suggested direction they should be headed. Vinoria followed, for she felt like she had no other choice. They traveled down through the darkness, being the only two people visible in this void. The former-living owner made sure to stick close to the woman, unknowing where the road ends or begins. 

“Who are you?” Vinoria tried to look beyond the woman’s back, curious to see her expression.

“Gwadeweido. Gwady, if you like. I’ll work with any name you give me.” The pair of sharp eyes slightly peaked back at the newly departed consciousness. 

“Where am I?” Vinoria then asked. 

“Stuck, for the time being.” The woman continued walking forward.

“Where are you taking me?” It felt like they were walking in big circles, but Vinoria wasn’t sure. 

“To be unstuck, I suppose.” Gwady responded, plain and simple, but not at the same time. 

“....How much sin have I accumulated?” Vinoria finally asked, hesitantly. She knew all too well the crimes that she had gotten away with. Perhaps since the day she took lives, her days were numbered. It was just a shame it had to be shortly after she had taken over the responsibility of the mansion. No chance for her to do good. And she had no one to blame but herself. 

“How much do you think?” The woman looked back again, grinning a bit, showing off the sharp teeth again.

“How… deep into hell will I go?” Was Vinoria’s next question, fearing how much pain she will be enduring for all eternity. She had to ask, just so she can prepare herself, mentally. 

“How deep do you wish to go?” Gwadeweido huffed a little, amused by that question, though why was a mystery. She suddenly stopped in her tracks. “So about that guard job-” 

Vinoria was in such a chaotic mindset, she didn’t notice the woman in front of her coming to a halt. She lightly bumped into Gwady’s back, and upon contact with the fabric, the fragile composure that was trying to hold everything together had finally shattered into a million pieces. 

Vinoria dropped to the floor, hands over her face, trying her best to hold everything in, but it all came out in sharp, short cries. She had nowhere to go, no one to be with, nothing to her name now that she's dead. All the mistreatments and unfairness in her life flashed before her eyes; The humiliation, the belittling, the bullying, she felt like she had endured it for the most part of her life. She wished she had more time to breathe and relax. She wished she didn’t need to constantly check over her shoulder to see if she was being backstabbed somehow. The moment things finally seemed to turn for the better due to her hard work, she lost it all, even her life. And now, she isn’t even sure if she can do whatever this sinister looking woman is asking her to do. She felt helpless, lost; and she hated her life.

Gwadeweido looked back at the sobbing mess on the floor. Very slowly, as to not startle the woman, turned to face her and kneeled down. “I will hug you now. Feel free to move away if you don’t like it.” And as promised, Vinoria was met with a warm embrace. It was a familiar and alien feeling at the same time, but it certainly felt like it was something long overdue. Now she was crying for a very different reason.

As a wave of peacefulness washed over her body like a gentle splash of cool water, her cries calmed down and her mood was stabled. The void doesn’t feel as empty and lifeless as before. In fact, it felt like she was currently in a place that was being wrapped by layers of… something. She didn’t know how to describe it, but she was equating it to being inside the layers of an onion. It wasn’t experienced through her five senses, but it felt like she was a part of a bigger whole. Similar to how one doesn’t find it necessary  to see or hear a limb of their own to know that they exist and can feel the extension of it. It reminded her of what Tucker told her about the multiverse and the pocket universes, but instead of seeing them as a separate thing, she felt as if she was a part of it, or that they were an extension of herself. 

Gwady lightly stroked the woman’s back, “Everything that we may do, live through, and anything that may happen to us, happens for a reason.” she whispered. Vinoria looked up, surprised by those exact words being said.

“You’re scared. I know.” The lady’s purple eyes had a gentle hue to it now. “You don’t want to repeat the experiences you’ve just lived through over and over again.” Gwadweido paused a bit and patted the woman’s head. “I won’t ‘throw you to the wolves’. I think that’s how the saying goes in your world. Wherever I am bringing you to, it will give you a chance to achieve what you desire.” 

Hearing that, Vinoria was intrigued. Though a little voice in the back of her mind was doubting if life now would be any different from before, she was still guided by the curiosity Gwady provided. She buried her face into the woman's hug again, and yearned for the feeling of comfort, just for a bit longer.  

“We’re here.” Vinoria felt a light gust of wind caressing her face as Gwadeweido announced their arrival. Slowly, she opened her eyes, as they were adjusting from the void they just came from. Looking around, she saw herself inside a large reflecting pool of water, and beside them was a large beam of light stretching high above them. Connected to this was what looked like a set of three islands. What she saw felt alien and otherworldly.


Vinoria wondered if this was another plane of existence, like the ones mentioned in Frederick’s theories. It got her thinking of how they got here, the abyss they had to traverse. Was that a wormhole? Did this woman bring her through a wormhole into this new dimension? 

The woman’s mind happily raced, connecting dots between this place and everything she learned with Tucker. The glee in her mind was not from the view, but the realization that after months of hard work, she proved it. She proved Frederick’s theories to be true. That this was the one of many planes of existence, and there was truly a way to travel between them all. 

Vinoria stood up and took it all in, wishing Frederick could see this all as well. Her mind was left in awe, as she witnessed what felt like the impossible.

Gwady took a step into the water and traversed forward, not minding her clothing getting wet. In fact, upon closer inspection, it seemed like the moment she lifted her legs out of the water, the moisture evaporated right away. "Your journey isn't over. It has just begun, Vinoria." She told the servant following in her footsteps through the shallow pool. 

Vinoria stopped when she heard her name being spoken. “Please, don’t reveal my first name to anyone.” She requested. When the being seemed fine with it, she continued speaking: “I am the last of my bloodline. I’d like my presence here to represent all that was great about my ancestors. From this moment on, I’d like people to call me only by my family name: Miao.” 

“Very well, Miao.” Gwadeweido then nodded with a smile. “Welcome to ‘The Realms’.”