Isaac's knees buckled. His arms hung loose. He couldn't breathe.
Not from pain. Not from exhaustion. But from something heavier. Something deeper.
The moment the voice said, "Are you ready to know the truth?", something cracked inside him.
And then…
He fell.
Darkness.
—-----
When he opened his eyes, there was no forest. No
blood. No Hopper.
Only light. Endless, silent light. It wasn't warm. But it wasn't cold either.
A figure stood beside him, but Isaac couldn't turn to see it.
He could only feel it. Like it had always been with him. Watching. Waiting.
Then the being's voice came again. Calm. Steady. Neither cruel nor kind.
"This is Heaven. Not as the world imagines it… but as it truly is."
Isaac looked forward.
Angels floated through the sky like slow-moving stars.
Some sang in tongues he didn't know but somehow understood. Their voices were layered, like echoes in harmony.
Others sparred in pairs, silent battles of blades and movement, graceful yet brutal.
