Chương 83: You May Proceed

At first, the darkness was all there was. Darker than dark. So thick as to be almost solid. It was the kind of darkness that brooked no light, natural or magical or otherwise. Jordan already knew that from his and Pewter's experiments, but knowing it and actually experiencing it were two entirely different beasts. For the time being, the two companions beside him disappeared into the darkness.

Jordan, oddly enough, was reminded of that time he and the Chronicler Who Shall Not Be Named had smuggled themselves through a tunnel. That tunnel too had been dark. But that darkness had been cozy —the kind of dark that let you hide a while, both from the world and from yourself. This darkness was anything but that. Cold, cloying, strangely invasive. It wasn't exactly inviting, but neither did it want you to leave. Rather, it wanted to know everything about you.

Lay you bare and cast judgment on the life you'd led as a humble mortal.

"Do not be alarmed." Hanza's voice carried from somewhere slightly ahead. Jordan was surprised by the solidity of the sound, no different to how they had been conversing just outside the cave. The Shaman continued, "This is but a momentary shifting of the senses as we traverse the conduit. Forge straight on ahead and soon, we'll have shed our mortal sensibilities, to then better perceive the nether realm." Somehow, that didn't sound like a very enticing outcome to Jordan.

Then again, extraordinary times called for extra sensory measures. He forged on ahead as Hanza had advised, wondering just how long this conduit might last. It should've been nighttime outside the cave, but you wouldn't know it from the inside. The only 'clock' available to Jordan was the system timer provided by [Between Two Lives], which now read [93 days, 7 hours, 85 minutes]. Which was also the exact time when Jordan felt rather than saw the first faint glimmer of light.

A pale flame in the darkness, giving off a ghostly-blue glow. This was soon joined by more flames lining either side of the passage at regular intervals. Getting closer, Jordan could see that these were lantern flames, housed within the gaping jaws of stone lion statues. The lions glared at the party as they passed, their stone eyes glinting even more sharply than the light inside their mouths. Oh, this is some proper ancient Chinese horror shit, Jordan thought as he drew closer to the man leading the party.

Hanza, who'd been all but a doddering old man outside the cave, now somewhat looked the part of a Lv. 20 Shaman. His steps were a little steadier, back a little straighter. The walking stick's click-clack against the stone floor felt almost soothing to Jordan, who equated it to the drums that kept time for marching soldiers. Soon, the cave became more than a cave. It took on features of actual architecture: paved floors, patterned walls, and gates of heavy painted wood, kept ajar in invitation.

The party accepted the invitation, each member no doubt wrestling with their own feelings of foreboding. And then, finally, a figure. Sitting at what could only be described as a desk, having 'set up shop' next to a gate that was closed unlike the ones before it. Jordan had expected to see someone by now, but somehow, he knew this wasn't the person he'd expected to see.

The man, unlike the ghosts that had found their way to the surface, was dressed in a black robe, one intricately embroidered to denote a certain level of class. Upon his head was a winged cap, the kind often worn by imperial officials on those shows Mom liked to watch. His desk had the typical calligraphy setup. The man picked up his ink brush as the party approached, his pale face taking on a noticeably disgruntled expression." Full name and spellcaster class?"

The question, spoken in a tinny hum that still managed to carry a note of annoyance, threw Jordan for a loop. This was, presumably, his first ever face-to-face with an inhabitant of the nether realm. However he might have pictured the occasion, it hadn't looked quite this prosaic. It also took him a second or two to twig that the man lacked a [Character Sheet]. If he'd been a someone in another life, that someone was no longer recognized by the Vesselia system.

It stood to reason, then, that the man also couldn't see any identifying information about the newcomers. One such newcomer took the lead, obliging the pale-faced man—the official —by giving an honest answer to his rather prosaic question.

"Hanza Padma, Shaman." The official took a moment to write it down." Occupation in life?" In life? Jordan couldn't help but gulp. Boy, that sure doesn't bode well for us fellas who still have a lot left to do in the mortal realm. Hanza, on the other hand, appeared unfazed by the phrasing.

"The lord of House Padma." The official gave the lord of House Padma a once-over before writing down the latest answer. He then turned his annoyed frown onto Jordan." You. Full name and spellcaster class?" Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Er, Jordan Yu. Gatekeeper." The brush paused noticeably between the name and the class." Occupation in life?"

"Er… I was a soldier as of two months ago, but right now… just looking for a career change, you know? It's a little hard to pin down what I do for a living at the minute. I guess I did earn a bit of money recently by helping a gho—a lady—with a quest, so maybe you could say I'm a freelancer? Or… Mountain M—no, no—maybe… adventurer is the right term. Is that a job title here in Stormvast? Adventurer?" The official stared, mouth slightly agape.

In the end, the man let out a withering sigh before scribbling down something that was infinitely briefer than any part of Jordan's waffling. Jordan glanced down at the paper to find a single word next to his own name:'unemployed'." Full name and spellcaster class?"

"Pewter Sapling, Tetherer."" Occupation in life?"

"Unemployed." Jordan was about to hang his head in shame. But upon seeing the confidence with which Pewter carried himself, he changed his mind. Because the Gym Rats might be unemployed on the census form, but the gods damn them if they weren't proud Mountain Men in spirit!" Very well." The official put away his ink brush, looking as though he'd already lost interest in the trio.

"You may proceed." Maybe the most ominous'you may proceed' ever uttered in the history of the universe. Before the party did proceed, however, their Shaman leader made sure to ask for some directions:"Gratitude, good sir. But if you would be so gracious as to assist further? You see, we had hoped to pay a visit to… a friend. Where might we inquire as to a particular soul's whereabouts?" The official let out another withering sigh, but followed it up with:" You want to start with Central Directory.

Two hallways down, then take a right at the fork."

"Much obliged." The gate swung open soundlessly to let the party through. Jordan looked back briefly to see the official slumped in his seat and tapping his foot, no doubt settling in to wait for the next new souls to come through.

"Is the nether realm," Jordan asked no one in particular, "supposed to be this, uh, bureaucratic?" That got a bona fide chuckle out of Hanza, sounding almost as youthful as a 30-year-old nobleman should.

"I never thought about it in such terms," he said, "but I suppose a bureaucracy is exactly what it is. It's understandable, is it not? Imagine the millions upon billions of souls that crowd the afterlife, with the population only growing day by day, minute by minute. It must be a nightmare to keep track of everything. I for one am glad that it's someone's job and not mine." But that had only been the tip of the bureaucratic iceberg.

After following the official's instructions, the party soon found themselves in an enormous room: an office of sorts lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that overflowed with scrolls and documents. At the room's center was a large stone desk, presently occupied by a second official, one who looked even sterner and grumpier than the first. Here, to Jordan's amazement, the party was joined by other souls.

At least that was what Jordan assumed them to be: wispy, vaguely humanoid apparitions that either floated in place or glided across the air. There were at least a dozen of these wisps already queued up in front of the desk, so the party had no choice but to line up behind them and wait their turn." Reason for using the Central Directory?" The new official demanded as soon as Hanza got to the front of the line.

"I'm looking for a friend. A soul who preceded me… by some time."" Full name?" Hanza didn't answer right away. Jordan subconsciously leaned in, deathly curious as to how the Shaman might play this.

"Shaza Padma." As soon as Hanza said this, a tremendous rustling broke out throughout the room. It looked (and sounded) to Jordan like hundreds if not thousands of invisible hands were flipping through every single document inside the office. Through it all, the official remained firmly in his seat, looking grumpier by the second." There is no soul by that name," he eventually declared.

"Do you not know your friend's name? If you don't have their full name as exactly written in our registries, we can't help you." The trio exchanged a look among themselves. Jordan was at a loss, a feeling that appeared to be shared by Pewter. But the face behind Hanza's veil seemed calm enough, obscured though it was.

"Apologies," Hanza said to the official.

"You see, my friend went by a few different names in her time, so I must have gotten myself confused. The correct name is Tiena Padma." More rustling. At the end of it, the official fixed Hanza with an angry glare." No one by that name, either. If this is some kind of prank, I'll have you know that, under Nether Realm Rules and Regulations Article 13-A, it's a grave offense to—""Ah, is that so?" Hanza interjected, still sounding remarkably calm before an angry spirit of the afterlife.

"She must have gone back to her origin name without telling me! Please, good sir, would you humor me and try one more name? I'm looking for Tiena of Blacksnake Hollow." The official's sigh was drowned out by all the rustling in the background. As the room went quiet again, the glare upon the man's face shifted into a quizzical frown.

"… You say this woman is your friend?"

"Yes."" Even though she died more than 1, 800 years ago?"

"… As I've explained, she did precede me by some time." The official narrowed his eyes. After a second or two, however, he spread his arm to the side in a Stormvaster shrug. Jordan knew that look. It belonged to a low-level office grunt who'd decided to pass the buck to someone else." Very well," he said,"you may proceed. Your friend is in the pre-unification district, so it'll take some time to get there. As for directions… you might want to write this down."