The heavy gates of the Realm groaned as they answered to the GateKeeper’s command, opening barely wide enough for Renatus to slip through. A blinding light shone through the Gate as he trudged through it, opening his eyes once his eyelids were no longer blasted with white light. A constant chill filled the air as he was shortly greeted by the sight of land boasting rich ethereal greens and blues with heavy fog that cloaked its entirety, a curtain of lights blending the sky with a mist of greenish blues in one fine stroke. He noticed a staircase from the distance illuminated by tall stone lanterns, a large gate looming at the top. 

Perfect, it’ll only take a minute or two, he thought to himself. 

The path ahead appeared rather linear with the guidance of the celestial lights, with a sea of luminous phantoms obstructing the path. The light glow of apparitions crowded together by the nearby river had Renatus initially think that they were oversized weeds that had grown within the wetlands. 

Must be the unjudged souls that everyone’s raving about, he pondered, though it was considerably a much less lifeless crowd than he anticipated as he pushed through them, their collective zombie-like groans adding to the unsettling, chilling atmosphere. 

He lightly tread through the wetlands with thick mud drenching his heavy boots, each step becoming more sluggish as the moist soil grew increasingly sticky against the heel of his boots. He was thankful that the mud wasn’t too deep, otherwise it would’ve been an annoying mess to clean up before starting his mission - not to mention that these were his only pair. He approached the edge of the river, the thickness of the fog beginning to obstruct his view of the Gate nearby, feeling an odd crunch under his foot akin to that of a crispy leaf - except, there were no leaves let alone any real greenery in this Pocket Realm. They were very similar in concept to those of alternate worlds and dimensions, such that even the impossible seemed feasible in places like these.

He took a quick glance beneath him and noticed the soul that laid against the muddy soil now crushed underneath his foot, slowly disintegrating into flakes of dust and dissolved into thin air. The sudden deafening screech that crashed through the silence had Renatus sharply turn his head behind him, the sea of souls that were lingering along the riverbed now lunging towards him at an alarmingly rapid pace. He quickly sidestepped to avoid the hasty grasps of three souls that charged into him, noticing his footsteps become heavier the more he danced around. A sudden grasp of his arm from behind almost had him completely off guard, uncertain as to how he didn’t hear the soul sneak behind him.

The souls continued their ear piercing screeching as they attempted to latch onto his body, slowly weighing him down as they tugged on one another in an attempt to sink him deeper into the mud. He wrestled them off his arm, his efforts becoming futile as the souls eagerly continued the chase. The increasingly loud noises began to irk him as he trudged through the sea of the unjudged souls, his wings furling inwards each second as his patience grew thin, the distance to the staircase seeming a lot further than he had initially thought.

“Ah, fuck this,” he swore beneath his breath.

Without hesitation, he unsheathed the Heavenly Blades from their holsters and let them glide through the raging crowd, slicing through their translucent bodies as they sprung towards him. He waltzed his way into the aggressive horde, letting the blades slash their way into their core entities which consisted of a small ball of luminous energy, each one becoming cracked with every piercing thrust he made. Hearing each one crackle and subsequently burst into small pieces was extremely satisfying as he continued to tear them apart, the crease of his lip subtly curling upwards. He darted towards the last remaining soul by the edge of the riverbed, deeply impaling their core entity with both his blades. He watched the rain of dust disintegrate and evaporate into nothing, and the silence that rang brought a large smirk on his face.

Surely, they won’t mind missing a few dead people, he sighed, the riverbed behind him now completely desolate of any life. 

At last, he approached the stone pathway leading up towards the stairs of the Gate of Ylipeste, considerably well-lit with the stone lanterns that loomed over him. With each step he took, the stones beneath him illuminated themselves with a low beam of light that hummed. He considered taking the idea to Hiram to illuminate the bathroom hall at night in a similar manner whenever he returned to the Underworld, since his half-asleep self always crashed into the walls with a loud thud in the middle of the night. The fog slowly lifted as he ascended the staircase with the clouds of water vapour dissipating with each step, revealing the spectacular view of the lights in the sky. He sensed an ominous presence ahead, a vague figure sitting beside a stone lantern just in front of the Gate. As he continued to climb the steps, he noticed a luminescent angel near the top of the steps, making Renatus pause for a moment as he recognised their blindingly white angel wings and sky-blue hair. 

Vaina. 

The name creeped into his mind almost as a whisper. Her magenta eyes gleamed beneath the flames from the stone lanterns, her skin ghastly pale. She became rather wide eyed as she turned to notice him, cautiously making her way down the stone steps as she held onto the skirt of her lengthy dress. 

“Renba-”

The sweet gentle coo of her voice was cut off in an instant, with the Heavenly Blades slicing through her body in one smooth motion as they soared in the air. The apparition was swept away like a wispy mist that was whisked away by the cool air before him, and the blades flew back into his hands like a boomerang. He exhaled in exhaustion, and sheathed the blades back into their sheaths. He wanted to deny it at first, but there was no other explanation for it.

There was only one person in all the Realms that dared to call him such a silly name. A wide smirk grew on his face as he sprinted towards the Gate of Ylipeste, its glorious light beckoning him to enter the kingdom of perfection and all things good.