by TIME, S. O.
THE SPHERE
of
TIME
S.O.TIME
Copyright © 2020
S.O.Time
The Sphere of Time
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
S.O.Time
First Edition 2020
To my family who taught me the value of hard work and commitment.
To my best friend who taught me the value of acceptance and understanding.
To the friends who always listened to my incessant, often incoherent, story ramblings.
Check out the first chapter of the comic version of the story for free on the Webtoons website at:
https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/the-sphere-of-time/list?title_no=411747
Follow the Stories of Time Project for future projects and comic teasers on Instagram:
The Sphere of Time
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter One
T he flow of time pauses around me as people stop moving and the busy sounds of the city cease.
People have died.
The thought circulates in my mind as I continue making my way through a crowded sky-bridge on the forty-fifth level of these two skyscrapers. A part of me doesn’t believe it’s true. As few people are dying these days, I was beginning to think I’d never guide a soul again. These have to be the first deaths in several months. I pulse out further ahead where the energy from two souls has vanished and a third one wavers, fighting to stay active. They’re located on the tube opposite of the Mirai Condenser Works building, which is now directly in front of me.
Amidst the distorted activity in the energy waves from the people in the tube ahead, those around me emit a calming energy. They vibrate and bounce off each other delicately and harmoniously—unaware of the tragedy ahead.
I try to ascend and fly directly to them when a sudden feeling of nausea jolts through my body and I stumble. Not again. I take a deep breath before walking through the crowd. If I collapsed right now, would anyone know?
There must be hundreds of people on this bridge, yet the silence is enough to make anyone feel alone.
I’d feel alone, regardless.
So many people and not a single one to share my thoughts or feelings with. They wouldn’t even be able to see me until they died. An awful twisting sensation forms in my stomach as I watch the expressions on their faces. All around me, people are smiling, holding each other, spending time with each other. Even motionless, the bonds these people share are evident. I have…nothing. My life—if I can even call it that—has been filled with nothing but death. I want more. I need more.
I look to my left through the semi-reflectant glass window of the bridge. Despite the beauty of the many vibrant gardens in the skyscrapers that make up the city of Vale, my eyes don’t make it past a vague reflection in the glass. It’s my reflection, except I can’t see myself in it. It’s blurry, nothing more than a dark, hazy shape, barely distinguishable as a humanoid form. A powerful urge to punch the reflection rises from within me and I have to turn away to avoid acting on it. I can never see my face, no matter what reflective surface I look into.
I move toward the center of the bridge, where a family of three are holding hands—a child in between two adults. Their energies ripple together gently with warmth—in sync with each other. I don’t realize I’ve slowed my pace until I’m standing beside them, reaching out for the hand of the woman nearest to me. My heartbeat quickens and the twisting in my stomach worsens the closer I get. I can see my hand shake as it nears hers. I want to hold her hand. I want to be with them. I… I want—
I jump when everyone begins moving again and the noises of the city blast through my eardrums. The family continues moving forward and the laughter and conversations around me return. I lost my grasp on time. It’s never continued without me like this before. I look at my hands and see they’re still shaking. The pounding in my chest moves through my body and I realize I haven’t felt a desire this powerful before. I wanted to be with them so badly. I desperately wanted to hold her hand.
Ahead of us, the screaming from the incident can now be heard, and the energies from the people here fluctuate and increase in activity like ripples in a puddle during a storm.
The souls.
I push past my feelings and scramble to ascend again, phasing through people and signs as I fly toward them. I need to get to them before they wander off.
I make my way to the site of the incident as people run away from a wreck involving a transport pod that appears to have veered off path and smashed straight into the side of the building this bridge connects to. I reach what little remains of the pod and find a man and a woman. Their bodies are pinned motionless within the pod, but their souls rise easily, drawn by my presence to leave their broken physical forms behind. Their souls don’t look much different from their bodies—just blue, transparent, and unmarred by the ravages of the crash.
The last soul is still in the pod, barely hanging on to life. To give the survivor a better chance at making it out alive, I carry the unconscious souls of the two decedents away from the scene and wake them up elsewhere. I pick a small indoor park located on a skyscraper’s thirty-third floor.
Already, the sounds of emergency response droids and distressed passersby permeate the building. Since death has become especially rare, I wonder if the Ceremony of Passing will be broadcast to everyone on the planet and the immediate lunar colonies, rather than just the regional news.
Despite the large number of people gathering at the incident site, here, amongst the perfectly manicured greenery, there are only the three of us. The man and woman finally awaken and stand up.
“Where…where am I?” the man asks as he gazes around, dazed.
He glances at the woman next to him and jumps, hands covering his mouth as he takes in her translucent blue figure.
“Kai? What…” He stutters to a stop and lowers his hands, freezing as he stares at his own blue limbs.
“What is going on?” he whispers.
When I take a step in their direction, the man notices me and darts in front of the woman as if to shield her. I don’t blame his hostility, but I wish people could realize that all I want to do
is help them. It would make the guiding process much easier.
“I know you must be confused. Please listen, and I will help you,” I say.
The man takes a step forward while Kai collapses to her knees, staring in disbelief at her hands.
“What's happened to us?” the man demands. “Where are we?” He studies me. “Are you from another Branch?”
I shake my head. “I’ll explain everything shortly.”
“Who are you?” he asks, peering at me with a mixture of bewilderment and fear.
I sigh, “I’m Death.”
I used to try and soften it, to ease people into guessing my identity, helping them brace themselves for the news. But I found it never helped. If anything, delaying the revelation only heightened their anxiety.
The man regains his voice after a brief moment of shocked silence.
“Death? Like the ‘Reaper of Souls,’ Death?” he scoffs. “You honestly expect me to—”
“Sahra!” Kai’s panicked scream cuts him off.
“Where is Sahra? Sahra!” she calls out, stepping away from him and searching around. Sahra must be the third passenger. The one still fighting for their life.
At this point, the man also realizes that Sahra isn't here and twists in my direction, his face warping sharply.
“What have you done to Sahra? Where is she?”
Before giving me time to respond, he lunges to grab me, but passes right through my form and falls lightly on the grass. He strikes the ground with his fist, which bears no real weight, before going still.
“This makes no sense…” the man whispers again, head drooping.
Kai covers her eyes as frustrated tears stream down her cheeks.
“I can explain,” I say, as gently as I can. Their fear and sorrow grate against me, and I cannot help but share in their pain. I used to believe I would grow accustomed to it—that my empathy would fade with repetition—but it still hurts even now. Every time.
The man slowly stands and walks back to Kai, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she cleans the tears from her face.
“Please, tell us where our daughter is,” Kai says, grabbing hold of her partner’s hand.
“She’s still alive,” I say.
Kai lets out a sob as her partner embraces her, both shutting their eyes tightly at the implications of my words.
“Does that mean that we’re…” the man begins but can’t bring himself to finish.
A silence fills the air between us before I answer.
“I'm afraid so, yes. I'm here to guide you to what comes next.”
Neither of them responds, and for a moment I feel that I will have to speak up again until Kai breaks the silence.
“Isn't there any way we can see her one last time? Even if she can't see us. Please. We wanted her so much...we’ve barely gotten to know her.”
I shake my head.
“I’m sorry. Sahra was injured in the crash. I can’t risk getting close to her again. If I take you to her now, my presence could draw her closer to death.”
“Will she survive?” Kai asks, fresh panic filling her eyes as she pulls away from her partner.
“She’s fighting,” I answer, dimly sensing the faint, flickering blue light back at the crash site.
“Sahra” Kai whimpers. “After everything…she’s had so little time…”
“I'm sorry. There's nothing more that I can do.”
Silence returns to her. It’s time to end their suffering.
“I’m going to open a Tear for each of you. It will take you where you need to go.”
“Where’s that? What does that mean?” the man asks.
“Nothing bad. You’ll walk through the Tear, and whatever you see after that is what your soul most desires.” I hold out my hand, my palm facing them. “There’s nothing more you need to worry about.”
They nod in silence.
I channel my energy to the palm of my hand, and within seconds, a Tear opens, stretching until it’s as tall as a doorway. The Tear is translucent, but it causes a distortion in the space it occupies. It bends the light around it like a large water droplet, causing strange rainbows to ripple within. I focus again, and a second Tear appears beside the first.
Hand in hand, they walk toward the Tears until Kai suddenly stops at the entrance and turns back to look at me. In that instant, I feel their daughter’s energy fade.
Sahra is dead.
“I know I have no right to ask anything of you,” Kai says as she takes a small step toward me, “but please look out for Sahra. She’s just a little girl. This world is so new to her and, just please, help her.” Her voice is hoarse and empty.
The void previously filled with their daughter’s energy lurks behind me as I stand before Kai, her eyes locked on mine. I say nothing, and they bow before they turn back to their Tears. I want so badly to call out to them and tell them about Sahra, but I don't utter a word. In agonizing silence, I watch as they disappear along with the Tears.
I look toward the wreck and feel the flowing energy of hundreds of people who have likely never seen a transport pod crash in their lives, let alone one severe enough to cause casualties. Within the crowd is a soul that is no longer living—Sahra. Had I stalled her parents for a few moments longer, I would have been able to guide them together, but I didn't. I’m not sure if that choice was merciful or selfish. Perhaps it was both.
I open a new Tear leading to the wreck. It’s not uncommon for a recently departed soul to leave its body and roam around, confused or unaware, so I almost expect Sahra to do just that. However, passing through the Tear, I find her soul standing near the accident, staring blankly at her own body as paramedic androids try to start her heart again. She doesn’t say a word. She doesn’t move. She just watches.
As I walk up to her, she turns and looks at me, stopping me dead in my tracks. Something about her seems odd. She can’t be any older than ten or eleven, yet her eyes are steady and focused, as if they’ve witnessed tragedy before. The way she twirls her long hair around her fingers shows me her nervousness. After guiding thousands of souls, I’d never remember any of them specifically, but it feels like I know her. With her silent gaze still on me, a ringing sound I’ve never heard before fills my ears. I try to ignore it and speak to her, but the words come out muffled and unrecognizable. The world blurs, and my head pounds with a sickening migraine. The ringing soon grows so loud that it vibrates throughout my entire body and I’m forced to close my eyes.
After what feels like hours, the pain and disorientation recede as I take in my bearings. I open my eyes to find myself standing in a courtyard at the center of what appears to be a devastated town square. It’s deafeningly silent. No breeze, no people, no Sahra. The clouds are heavy and dark, completely blocking out the sun. The air smells faintly of iron, and most of the buildings surrounding me are crumbling or completely destroyed. Black vines cover the structures and reach out of the cracked ground, their twisted, thorny forms resembling desiccated limbs, scrabbling for purchase on every surface. I start to reach down to touch one, but instinct makes me pull back. I’m not used to fear, but something about those plants stirs my heart. As I get back up, a sweet, flowery scent pervades. I’m sure I’ve smelled it before, but I cannot recall where. It brings about a faint pain in my chest that makes my whole body feel weak, like it did on the transport tube.
That’s when I notice two glowing figures a bit farther ahead of me—a boy and a girl, standing on a raised dais. Beside them is a statue of a girl lying on her back, holding a single flower. I sense a part of me reaching out to them, as if I’d been stuck in a cave of darkness and now finally see a light guiding my escape—their gleam illuminating my way to freedom.
The twisting in my stomach returns, like when I’d reached out for the woman’s hand. I walk toward them hoping there is an explanation to all of this. With each step closer, I feel a strange joy rising from the depths of my heart, but something, like a bitter aftertaste, warns me not to trus
t the growing elation.
I pick up my pace, but with every step I take, they glow stronger and brighter, making it harder for me to see anything. Soon, they’re glowing so vibrantly that dazzling white light covers everything and I’m forced to close my eyes again. The ringing sound returns, and I feel like I’m about to pass out, until I hear a young voice call to me, muting everything else.
“Mister? Are you okay?”
I open my eyes and see Sahra standing next to me with a puzzled look on her face. I’m back in the city of Vale, right where I was when the ringing first began. The transport tube is now clear of the wreck, and media drones are filming the scene to broadcast to the people who have amassed here for the Ceremony of Passing. The tube is filled with white-robed mourners going through the solemn motions of the ritual. Beyond the area of the ceremony, everyone else seems to have gone back to their daily lives.
“Mister?” Sahra asks again.
“I’m fine,” I reply with a shaky smile.
“You never answered my question.” She pouts while crossing her arms. “You just zoned out.”
“I’m sorry, Sahra, can you ask it again?”
“Are you sure there’s no way to save them?” she asks. “Can’t you bring them back through the Tears?”
I try to hide my shock at the question. I don’t remember telling her anything. Had I somehow been conversing, even as my mind went to that other place? It’s hard to gauge how to reply when I have no recollection of what we’ve already covered. But this question is common, and the answer is always the same.
“Sahra,” I say after letting out a short sigh, “Death can’t stop anyone from dying or bring anyone back. All we can do is guide or influence.”
She turns away from me, her blue form rippling with distress. I can feel the negativity building up in her energy. She doesn’t respond.
After a few moments, I solidify my body so that my hand doesn’t pass through her when I gently nudge her forward. We drift through the crowd of people and into a nearby park, larger and more populated than the one I had taken her parents to. After a while, she calms down enough to notice that everyone else is immobilized. The wind has stopped blowing, the birds have stopped chirping, and the people and pods that populate our surroundings have frozen in place.