Chapter 2: Awakened In The Beyond

Jessie's POV 

When my eyes opened, I expected nothing, yet I found myself staring into a world I could not recognize. My body trembled as I whispered to myself, “I thought I was dead… what am I still doing awake? Where is this place?”

It was too quiet. No birds, no wind, no heartbeat, only the deafening echo of my own breath. Shadows danced along the edges of my vision, shifting shapes that vanished when I turned my head. My wolf, usually restless, was eerily silent within me, and that silence was worse than any scream.

Fear clawed at me as I staggered forward, my footsteps echoing like thunder in the emptiness. “Why is it so deserted? Why does it feel like even time itself has died here?” I thought, my voice trembling in the hollow air.

Then, without warning, a voice broke the silence, deep, haunting, and endless, as though it had been speaking since before time itself.

“Of course you are dead, child. Welcome to Bamafida… where all spirits dwell.”

The sound rolled across the barren land, making the very ground shiver beneath me. My chest tightened, the agony of betrayal flaring again as though my heart was being pierced anew.

The voice softened, but its echo still carried power. “I feel the torment that clings to your soul, the betrayal, the grief, the unending rage. But let it go, child. Your time in the mortal world is done. Walk through that path ahead. You have lived… and suffered… enough. Your ancestors await you.”

I turned toward the direction it spoke of. A long, narrow path stretched into the distance, lit by a faint, ghostly glow. Beyond it, I saw shadows moving, tall, proud figures waiting, watching, calling. My ancestors.

Yet even as their voices beckoned, my hands clenched into fists. My soul burned. Could I truly let go when everything inside me screamed for vengeance?

As I walked slowly in the direction of the glowing path, something struck me in the heart, an ache I could not explain. “Am I really going? Am I really leaving everything behind?” I whispered, my voice breaking. My legs gave way, and I fell to my knees. Tears rushed down my cheeks as though racing each other, pouring like a stream I could not hold back.

“Please… I need a favor,” I cried out, my voice trembling, my palms pressing against the cold, cracked ground.

The moment the words left my lips, the air shifted. The atmosphere grew heavy, almost crushing, and the mist around me thickened until I could barely breathe. It felt as though the whole land was holding its breath, listening.

Then, out of the shadows, it appeared.

The being was taller than any man I had ever seen, its body cloaked in a robe that moved like smoke, fading in and out of the mist. Its face was hidden beneath a hood, but two burning eyes glowed within the darkness, piercing straight into my soul. Its arms were long and bony, the fingers sharp like claws, yet it carried an aura of power that was neither alive nor dead. The ground beneath it cracked with each step, yet it made no sound as it moved closer.

When it spoke, its voice was not just one voice, but many, male, female, old, young, all layered together like a thousand spirits speaking at once.

As I saw how mighty it looked, I buried my face to the ground, unable to hold its gaze. My body trembled, but still, I pleaded. “Please… help me, I beg you. I need a favor. The Moon Goddess… where can I find her?”

The being froze, then let out a low, thunderous growl that shook the ground. “How dare you! How dare you utter that name with such simplicity!” it roared, its many voices blending into a sound so terrifying that I clutched my chest, thinking my soul might split apart.

Fear surged through me, but something stronger pushed from within: Desperation. Before I knew what had come over me, the words ripped from my throat in defiance, “Moon Goddess! Moon Goddess!” I shouted again and again, each cry louder than the last.

The ground beneath me began to quake violently, cracks splitting open as light burst through them. The mist swirled into a wild storm, and the barren trees groaned like dying beasts. I shielded my face with my hands, my tears mixing with the dust as the world itself seemed to tremble at her name.

Then, from the heavens above, a silver light pierced the gray sky. Slowly, another being descended, bathed in a glow so radiant that the shadows themselves fled from her presence.

She was taller than the first, her form slender yet commanding. Her skin shimmered like polished marble under moonlight, and her long hair flowed behind her like a river of silver stars. Draped in a gown that seemed woven from light itself, she carried no crown, yet her very presence demanded worship. Her eyes were pools of pure white light, gentle yet fierce, like they had seen the birth of worlds.

Around her, the air grew calm and sweet, filled with the faint fragrance of blooming lilies. A crescent moon burned faintly above her head, and whenever her bare feet touched the ground, the dead earth sprouted with pale glowing flowers.

The first being stepped back, bowing low, its mighty form suddenly trembling like a servant before a master.

And then she spoke, her voice soft yet ringing like a thousand chimes in the night, “Child… you called my name. Now speak"

I was still trembling, my body refusing to lift its gaze to her radiant figure. Her presence was too much, too glorious for mortal eyes. Yet when she spoke again, her voice had softened, carrying warmth that wrapped around me like a mother’s embrace.

In that moment, the terror melted away. A soothing calm spread inside me, as though every wound in my heart had been kissed by peace itself. My knees straightened, and I found myself standing before her, not as a sinner or a beggar, but as a child before her mother.

My lips quivered. “I… Derek,” I stammered, trying to explain, trying to pour out the betrayal that weighed heavily on my soul.

But before the words could fall, she raised her hand, silencing me with nothing but a glance.

“I do not wish to hear the betrayal part,” she said, her voice firm yet still gentle, like a stream flowing over stones. “The past has already been spoken. What do you want?”