If I had a breath I would have lost it.
A sea of obsidian hills lied before me. The red light was much brighter, making them twinkle beautifully like stars. From this high point, I could just barely see where the hills ended. Beyond that… looked like the source of the light.
"Yeah, a large, red glow. I can just see the it's horizon, but the glow stretches out as far as I can see both left and right. Whatever it is, it must be important."
I looked around to see if I could spot the person I saw earlier. I had no such luck. The constant twinkling of the mountains made it hard to make out any movement among them.
"No matter, I'll just head towards the light. I don't know why, but I really, really want to. Plus, I want to see things clearer. What better way to do that than with light?"
Satisfied with that logic, and the strange urge to keep heading to the light ignited inside me once again. I started forward confidently, ready to—
"Ack!" I yelped.
I jumped away from the unknown creature that had my shoulder in its grip.
I looked back quickly and got into a defense position, ready for any attack. My eyes focused on a figure standing not even two feet away from me. I stood in shock, as I finally came to my senses and could see the figure clearly.
A woman stood before me. At least, she looked like a woman. A calm glow radiated beneath her skin and slightly illuminated the air around her, allowing me to look at her features. She had piercing hazel eyes, staring at me with deep intensity. Her luscious, auburn hair was incredibly long, and it flared out all around her silhouette. It created an illusion, as if it floating around her. Her seemingly flawless skin was so pale it looked faintly silver, especially in the dim lighting. Her slim figure was carved perfectly, covered by a beautiful lace dress.
She was unbelievably gorgeous, emphasis on the unbelievable part. She didn't even look real. Well, she looked like a human.. but not exactly. There was something about her, something deep in my soul that immediately told me she wasn't.
"Is she an angel? Wait, am I actually in heaven right now? It's a bit dark compared to the books…"
I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off.
"Pierce Hartwell?" She asked, with a voice smooth as silk.
I was taken aback once more.
"How does she know my name? Who is this woman? Is she even a woman?"
I stammered, "Uh, who are you?"
She smiled brightly, but for a second it looked slightly forced. "I'm Adeline. Im here to guide you."
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Wha-guide me? What's that supposed to mean?"
The slightly off smile stayed glued to her face. "I'm here to take you to the River of Passing, of course. You've already made some progress towards it, though you were supposed to wait for me at your original location." She said with a hint of annoyance.
I shook my head in confusion, "The…River of Passing?"
"So that's where the glow is coming from."
It suddenly made sense why I could the glow for miles in both directions.
"A red river…weird."
She chucked. "Yes, usually I come here and your soul will either urge you towards or away from it, but it seems your soul has already decided to pass."
I rubbed my temples, "I'm sorry, could you explain this a little more to me? I'm kind of lost right now."
"Oh, right. Forgive me, I haven't guided in a while. I guess I do have some explaining to do. Well, to put in plainly, you're not exactly dead. You're in what we call the Medium. Some people refer the it as Limbo, if you've ever heard of it."
I thought back. "Limbo…right. I remember reading about that in literature class. What was it.. Dante's Inferno, I think?"
She continued, "The Medium is the place where you can either go back to your world or go to the River of Passing. Your soul will appear here when it leaves its body, which is typically only a moment after you die. However likely you are to revive depends on how close you are to the River or not. When you wake up, you'll feel a lot of confusion, I think you recall that. You will feel a slight urge to go either towards or away from the River. These urges as your certainty only get stronger as you go towards or away from it. if you want to go away from it, towards the edge of this domain, I will guide you and you'll return to the living world. On the other hand, if you truly feel the urge to go to the River of Passing, I will guide you there as well. Once you reach the River, you'll truly die."