I awoke, still numb after yet another death. Once again, I found myself in that dark place where I always return upon perishing. The silhouettes of lights wandered on the horizons of an eternal and dark void, like stars showing me 'memories' that were slipping away from me.

Always this cursed place.

I think, I dive, I sink into the murky depths of my memories that have unraveled before me for centuries, losing identity with each death. It feels like a cruel twist of fate, a sense of helplessness consuming me, like a creature at the mercy of the tides of time, with no control over my own life—or lives. Amidst the fog of fragmented memories, I find myself in a spiral of absolute frustration.

I feel like I've never truly been alive all this time; I reflect on each time I return here, seeing that these lives have no meaning... they are just a slaughterhouse that corrodes my sanity with each demise.

The sensation of lightness covers my non-existent body in this place... my hands, feet, wings, any limb I might have once had, replaced by black or invisible liquid.

Nothing makes sense in this place.

I sat in that anguishing abyss and screamed: "I want out, I can't take this anymore! End it, please, let me die for good." But only incomprehensible buzzing came out.

I tried to vent, to hit and shake the dark ground.

"I don't want to exist anymore! Cast me into non-existence, you abominable universe! Enough of this agony!"

In vain;

No law, absolutely none, governs this post-life environment; this empty, endless corridor could be someone's dream, a whimsical place representing the state of their subconscious... but for me, it is a hellish cycle that has become my nightmare with each awakening.

I looked up, behind me, when an inaudible noise, a sensation of burning, crusted into the darkness that is my form.

A timid dripping began to catch my attention with a quick tinkling. A fluid of golden light, defying the mundane notion of gravity by rising instead of falling, emerged from the dark blue ground, indistinguishable from black, stopping in mid-air.

The liquid stood out from everything in this place: bringing a kind of life in golden color to a once dead, dark, and cold environment. These were subtly replaced by a luminous orb, right in front of me, growing as the drops gathered into its brilliant form, gaining body and strength.

Despite being something unprecedented, I was skeptical of the presence of the first light that bathed this desolate void.

The drops stopped, and what seemed to be growing ever larger ceased. It grew to a limit: the size of a bowling ball. Its form cast a weak but warm light throughout the environment.

"Child, listen to what I have to say," echoed a calm and serene female voice throughout the space, filling my solitude with a strange calmness, certainly synthetic.

The sphere, floating half a meter away, landed on the black liquid that began to reflect its singularity and contrast.

I tried to utter any word or phrase, but no sound came out. I wanted to speak, I wanted my voice to be heard—like a child seeking attention—any response, any at all, to alleviate my agonizing sensation and its desolation.

"I did not allow you to speak; I want you to listen," the voice tinged the environment again, not penetrating my senses but my mind. Then she continued, leaving me calm and apprehensive at the same time: "You don't remember how you got here, but I assure you it was necessary. This is your punishment, my ideal of justice," she paused for a moment, "Every life, every soul, every being you reaped, left a bitter scar on existence. You were a hero, loved by all, an example among your peers. However, you became corrupted by revenge and hatred, abused your power, your strength, everything I gave you, to cause harm. What you were in your first life, before coming here, was born to create, guide, cherish, love, and save. Yet, like many of your kind, you lost sight of these objectives... But you... You did worse, becoming a weapon of destruction and annihilation. I didn't concern myself with all the killings and lost purposes of your peers regarding the 'lesser ones,'" she continued, "You reaped millions: I gave you a chance, the path of light. My children pulled you from the Eternal Void, I welcomed you gladly, so your life would be something beyond this veil of ignorance and give hope to those who had lost faith in me. But you did not deserve it; you succumbed to hatred."

I tried to speak, this time my voice came out low and weak. I had nothing, I couldn't, it was impossible to counter; I could only accept what this entity said... deep down, I knew it was the pure and harsh truth.

"Forgive me, please, I tried... I was wrong..." I responded, trembling and defeated, kneeling before the entity with my deepest sincerity. Her benevolence was the only thing that could save me from this cycle.

The sphere flickered like water forming waves, maintaining silence. In the following moments, the ethereal orb began to descend and sink into the black, dead river, its glow fading until absolute darkness returned.

My hopes began to dissolve into a deep sense of despair; I tried to cry, I tried to thrash, I tried to express anything I still had inside me. Yet, nothing came out; I had no body to release my emotions, so the growing fading did not overflow.

It seemed like this would all continue, that I would once again inhabit the body of some random animal on a specific planet and persist in this wretched cycle of back and forth.

Relief washed over me when I saw something growing from where the sphere had disappeared; a patch of soil emerged from the black liquid and began to grow slowly as everything around me transformed: roots sprouted from everywhere, growing at a slow pace and taking the shape of black trees. The most impressive was that clump of soil being enveloped by roots that started to glow blue in the black sea.

Gradually, a trunk began to emerge, twisting and wrapping around its own branches before splitting into multiple limbs. From these grew leaves that radiated a golden glow, giving the tree an aura of unparalleled beauty. Meanwhile, in the background, the white dots that had previously dotted the scene like distant stars faded away, giving way to a yellow light. This light now intensely illuminated a corridor amidst a swamp of leafless trees.

Golden sparks began to twinkle around the tree, weaving a golden ring around it. In an instant, the sparks condensed and shot towards me like a strong yet gentle wind, wrapping me in an aura of warmth and celestial light.

The sensation was as if a heat capable of purging me at any moment, without requiring time—since time was abstract—could be exerted.

Perhaps a threat? No, it seemed more like a test. A genuine fear of being destroyed by a light I couldn't bear gripped me as that glow circled my darkness-formed body. The spark seemed enough to illuminate me and end my existence in that state without demanding time.

The voice that had left me returned: "This has been enough; puerility, a transient state that vanishes before the imminence of death. Life, a puzzle to be solved, driving the search for a meaning that transcends mere existence. The time to break free from illusions and build an authentic future is approaching, demanding courage and determination."

I could not find words before the shining cedar or the entity it represented.

The female voice said, "Say something; I want to hear your wishes, though I already know them."

With pangs of hope trying to break through my rigid shell, I rose before the uncertainty and murmured, "I want to rest; I want to die once and for all, to reach nirvana and cease to exist... forgive me for everything."

"Dear one, despite everything, I forgive you, remember that above all. But many do not, many still hate you. I will reincarnate you once more, one last time." She paused for a moment, and in that instant, I realized the entire space around us was folding, bringing me closer to the tree as an absolute form of power over time, space, and immaterial reality.

"Why do I have to continue? Why one more?" I questioned.

The tree remained majestic, its form unwavering and undisturbed. It responded: "There is still much hatred, disdain, anguish, and despair hidden in your soul. Try to be different, try to change in this last chance. Besides, the choice is yours; decide if you will continue to walk the path of life or fade away—it won't be hard to die, but surviving will be a great challenge in your journey. Free will is yours; kill yourself when you are reborn or live until the very end."

With each word in mind, I asked, "How can I change? This incessant cycle has turned me into a cold shell, almost without emotions, a being drowned in traumas and scars. Not even my own memories belong to me. I am lost in a depressive labyrinth, not knowing where to start to find my way out."

The brightness emanating from the entity's leaves intensified even more when she spoke again, burning my soul: "You forgot the value of life, you no longer see its beauty. However, you still feel the fear of death and, in the future, the fear of leaving those you love behind."

"How can I change? I no longer feel any appreciation for life. Can the mere existence of an irrational creature really make me feel truly alive?" I questioned, confused by her statement.

She countered me: "The lives you have lived are different from this one you are about to live. So many superficial lives cannot guarantee you meaning, but this time, you will have something you didn’t have in your first life. In the end, it will be you who decides what to do in your Last life, so be wise when choosing what is best. Do you have any other questions? I know you do."

There were many, the possibility of clarifying my accumulated doubts: to know everything that led me here in detail, who this entity is, and what life I am going to now. But before I could say anything, she intervened. "Forget the past; it doesn’t exist, only the now. My identity you will know eventually. As for life, you will only discover that when you find meaning in your own life; I am not the one to guide you to a meaning; you are responsible for your choices."

She continued: "There’s not much more to say to you now, perhaps in the future when we meet again. It’s time to go; remember, living is not easy, but it is also rewarding. Feeling alive and content is priceless. However, you will face many challenges along the way: fight, kill, love, cry, protect, deal with losses, get up, and persist. The ground is not your place, so resist. No one said it would be easy; after all, see your existence with new eyes and find happiness."

Everything around me began to shine, the trees returned to their majestic life, and finally, behind the brilliant cedar, the intense yellow light began to distort and fill the entire corridor. The branches of the tree flattened, as if the world were being swallowed by a golden black hole. I tried to speak one last time, tried to scream, but it was in vain: "Calm down! I’m not yet..." From all sides, my consciousness heard echoing: "ALIGN, LIVE."

I opened my eyes in complete darkness, only hearing voices, grunts, and the noises of a body... I am inside a...

Of a living Being.