Abasi
You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
Abasi had known coming into the burning woods that it was a dangerous situation; had felt the heat of the flames burn his skin after barely any time within. Nonetheless he had pressed onwards, feeling safe both because of the presence of Loren and the precedent of things he had lived through already on Caido: some days, he felt invincible.
Yet in the sudden quiet of the moment, the Luxere seemingly calmed for just a second, he felt an uneasy turn in his stomach. All appeared to be controlled yet he could not help the sudden anxiety, the sudden knowledge that something was wrong; he turned to Loren to speak, lips barely even forming a word before the heat struck him--
Still, he hadn't imagined that this would be the day he'd die. The timing didn't feel quite right, as if he was halfway through the introduction to the story, taken away before he got the climax. Falling he felt only panic, writhed around on the forest floor trying desperately to put the fire out, casting his Purify spell just in case it had a chance of doing anything at all (which of course, it did not).
Thankfully, the pain of the flames lasted for only a moment, then all there was for endless time was a dark void and one thought: Oh. That's how it feels.
He knew from his time speaking to Ludo that anything he saw after his death would be an illusion, mere disguises for the sake of saving further pain; yet still he was comforted by the sight of Anubis approaching, jackal-headed God the most wonderful sight he had seen. Abasi fell to his feet, ready to be judged, to be found worthy, tears brimming in his eyes as he knew he would be, but that he'd had so much more to prove.
Come. Your heart is satisfactory and your rebirth must begin.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Abasi looked down to see the bracelets on his wrists a shining gold again, his arms now shrouded in a white muslin bearing traditional patterns and feet in comforting leather sandals; how he had always felt comfortable. How he would always be.
He stood and looked back, just once. Looked to see Loren, knowing he could not say anything and that even if he could, nothing would close the wound. It seemed wildly unfair, if only because in a mere second, he had suddenly come to an understanding about all the problems they had had. Perhaps, he comforted himself, he could tell him when they met again. Until then, he could only hope his love (because what else could he have been?) was strong enough to work his way past this.
Turning back to his God and nodding, Abasi walked into the land of Caido's souls, finding it to look pleasingly like the fields of Aaru.
Perhaps he'd missed the climax, but the ending was still as he'd always wanted it to be.
