Richard couldn't comprehend or recall what had happened at the very end.
The foul, crimson ooze abruptly reversed its flow, surging outward instead of inward and churning up a giant wave more than a dozen meters high right before his eyes.
But something even faster was expanding. Before the massive wave could engulf Richard, it was struck by a pulse, vaporized, and vanished without a trace.
This was the last thing he saw, the final image he remembered. The last frame was an endless white that consumed him.
What followed was a dream.
At first, Richard thought he had arrived in the Netherworld or the Divine Kingdom of some Divine Spirit. He found himself involuntarily drifting to the base of an immense tree, its canopy shimmering with light. In the distance stood magnificent buildings...
His first reaction was that an afterlife truly existed. His second was a question. 'How strange. I'm an unbeliever. What god would be bored enough to take me in?'
