Raphael's eyes feathered open, and he found himself in a seemingly endless darkness. He staggered to his feet and dusted himself clean, the sound of his palms slapping against his clothes traveling through the darkness without bouncing back.
"Hello? Is anyone there, Is anyone in this lonely....endless abyss" he called out
"Is this what death feels like? It's so boring and...empty" He said, walking around the darkness, trying to get a feel of the place he had landed in.
"Ohh, what is this? It's soft, and has a strange pleasantness to it...I recognise this tenderness but I can't quite place my finger on it. Hmmm..." Raphael muttered to himself as he repeatedly fondled the unknown object in the darkness.
"What do you think you are doing?!" A voice thundered throughout the darkness causing Raphael to shudder, the voice sounded very annoyed and Irritated.
Even though he was now filled with fear, his hands remained firmly planted on the strange soft object.
"W-Who is there?!" Raphael asked
Suddenly the darkness began to lighten up until the space around became completely illuminated by a brilliant light.
Raphael shielded his eyes with one of his arms, he gradually opened his eyes until his eyes completely adjusted to the brilliant light.
He found himself in a white space with nothing else but him...and a girl?!
In front of him was a girl who looked nothing above the age of sixteen judging by her facial features and her slender frame that was 170cm at most when at full height.
Her presence commanded reverence, with flowing silver hair that cascaded like a river of moonlight, adorned with a delicate crown of antlers that seemed to be woven from the branches of the ancient World Tree itself.
Her eyes, deep and all-knowing, glimmer with the wisdom of countless ages, holding the secrets of every past, present, and future.
Clad in robes as white as the first snowfall, her attire is accented with golden embroidery that glows faintly, suggesting the divine power that courses through her being.
At her heart rests a luminous sapphire, pulsating with the energies of destiny.
Her gaze, serene yet intense, carries a seemingly infinite weight.
The girl elegantly dropped her cup on her saucer, "Not a word more from you" she ordered
"To begin with, I am Moera the Goddess of fate and destiny, I am the personification of fate and I oversee the life paths of every single thing in existence, both inanimate and animate.
And you Raphael, you are just one clingy human, aren't you? Normally, everyone at a point in time tries to go against their destined path, do something that completely goes against what is planned out for them, and sometimes a handful of them do succeed and create a new fate for themselves.
But you my child, you never once left my embrace, you lived life as dictated for you without trying to even change the situations you find yourself in, like the time you were in that car crash with your family, if you had just tried to call for help and not concluded that they were already dead, you may have changed the outcome of that day, instead you just accepted your fate like a little bi–." Moera paused and took another sip of her tea
She offered Raphael some tea and biscuits, but one look at the scowl on his face suggested that he wanted none, "Pardon my sudden outburst, I get worked up when I talk about fate and my children.
As I was saying, you mostly just accept what life throws at you without questioning it, and the first time you decided to go against your fate, you tried to kill yourself, oh boy was I furious.
Good thing you didn't kill yourself, else you would have been done for, you have the truck that slammed into you to thank for that.
I had an intense fight with the king of hell over where your soul should go after all, you are one of my favorite children, well it was more of a bickering and obviously, I won" she paused as if waiting for an applause or some sort of praise for her feat.
"After serious consideration, I concluded what to do with your soul. All I have to say is be prepared for what lies ahead of you" she continued.
Moera waved a hand whilst taking a sip of her tea, and Raphael felt relief on his lips, he moved his lips around and stretched his jaw, "What are you planning to do with me?" He asked, a wistful look on his face
"Nothing much, I'm just going to send you into that game you love playing so much"
"I see...wait what?! Arcane days?! You can do that?" Raphael stood up as he slammed his hands on the table
"Yeah, that is the name. And yes I can do that...technically. You see, there are worlds beyond yours, worlds that are parallel to yours, worlds that are created by each decision you choose not to take and every choice you choose not to make.
They branch out, creating a web of infinite worlds, any world you can think of exists within the web, and in one of those worlds, that game which you tirelessly play is a reality for its inhabitants " Moera explained
"I see, let's do it then. If you actually do this, I promise to do whatever you want, I'll even go against my fate or whatnot"
A knowing smile appeared on Moera's face, "Oh I know you will"
Raphael's vision suddenly became blurry, and his limbs became numb until he could not feel them anymore eventually his consciousness was swallowed by darkness