Tidal Florette - A Painted Soul I

Yumi - 55

Yumi feels totally weightless in a void of nothingness. There's no sounds, no sensations, nothing to see in an infinite expanse of darkness. She feels like she can move freely, but also it doesn't move her anywhere at all. It's all the same nothing no matter which way she turns or how loudly she tries to call for help. If I died... and this is what happens?! This is insanely dull... I died for Sapha just to float around forever? Kind of fucked up I didn't end up in Kessaku... It would have been nice to just be back with Jin...

She hears a resonating chime from behind her that echoes throughout the void. Turning around, a golden flame hovers within an arm's length. Reaching out slowly, she touches it gently with a finger and it ripples like a pool of water with a louder chime.

The flame pulls away as it rings and suddenly rises as a man stands into the nothingness. The flame settles into his red hair and burns brightly, revealing a young and alluring face with strong golden eyes looking down at Yumi. Her gaze lowers to see his gallant, muscular figure revealed by the lack of a shirt and she feels herself blush. I'm sorry for doubting you, afterlife, apparently I ended up in some sort of paradise...

He clears his throat, snapping her attention away from the sculpted torso at her eye level and she looks back up to see the confusion on his face. Her voice echoes as she speaks. "Hi... um... handsome..."

His hair brightens and she can feel the heat of the flame. "Hello ma'am."

Whoa... deep.. .I could feel that voice in my bones... Yumi shakes off the flustered chills. "Do you know where we are?"

He looks around for a few seconds. "We're here."

"Well... yeah, but where is here?"

"Somewhere very dark..."

I suppose maintaining... THIS... hasn't given much time to work on things upstairs, huh? "Well... this 'somewhere dark' doesn't seem to have an exit. So we're probably going to be here for a while. I'm Yumi..."

"Pyris." He seems very proud to announce his name and offers a dashing grin.

Yumi can't help but smile gently, "So how did you–"

A deep, sonorous hum behind her interrupts her question and she turns to look and finds a door. Just a basic wooden door with a knob and a frame. "What's that?"

Pyris huffs. "That is a door, ma'am."

"Where does it go?"

"To the other side."

Yumi scrunches her nose and looks back with her eyes narrowed. "Are you mocking me?"

Pyris jolts into straightening up, hair flaring up. "No ma'am!! Of course not!"

She looks back at the door again and floats herself toward it. "I guess I'll–"

She's stopped suddenly as Pyris grabs her arm tightly, startling her into a yelp. "What?! What's wrong?!"

"No. We don't know what's behind it."

"It's just a door! Can you please let go?"

He looks at his hand and his eyes widen as he releases. "I'm sorry ma'am."

"Are you going to stop me if I try again?"

He nods firmly, "Yes."

"Why? It's just a door, we have to do something or we're going to lose it."

"Lose what?"

Gods... "Our minds. There's nothing to do here except opening the damn door."

He grumbles in protest. Yumi sighs. "Just let me?"