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Trials of Heaven - Regret in Heaven


natrolite
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You were sound asleep as you feel a bright light shine against your eyelids and it's making you uncomfortable. You slowly open your eyes as you find yourself in a white space. The bleached sky meets with the white earth forming a monochrome scene, the horizon unnoticeable. Almost, infinite. "Wha- Where am I? How did I get here?" You think to yourself as you stand up to investigate. But you're a little hesitant, you don't know why, but you just want to get back to sleep. Wearily, you look around the room, yet all you find is a bright white color. It's not blinding to look at, and it's not what's making you uncomfortable.

 

You keep looking. You look right, left, up and down and in front of you but all you find is emptiness. Then you hear a sound coming from behind you, whispering "I'm here". You've heard this sound countless times before, yet you can't seem to recognize it. You look over your shoulder, and you find a sphere-like being. Its color grey, sad as if it was an incomplete painting. It was... missing something. "Come closer," it said. You start walking towards it, as your discomfort rises and you start to feel this faint voice inside of you that tells to stop and go back to sleep. As you've finally reached the sphere, with an annoyed tone it says "My my, you finally came. Shame must've done a number on you, huh?" you're very confused at this point, "Who are you? Who's Shame? Where am I?!"

 

"Ahh, nevermind, let's just get this done with" it replies. 

 

It goes silent for a minute, which barely helps to ease your tension. "You've died, Nathan," it says.

 

"Umm, beg your pardon?" you reply. "You died about two weeks ago, the result of a car crash". As it says that, you recall the vague memory of a rainy night, you were late from work and you were texting your wife telling her you're going to be a little late for dinner. And as you were doing that, you caught the glimpse of a stranded dog crossing the street. You remember turning your steering wheel to avoid hitting the animal, and that's where the memory ends. "So, am I dead? What about my wife, my kids, my friends!?" you ask with a distressed tone.

 

"Don't worry about them, they're fine. Everything will be fine". You can't explain it, but you trust this sphere, it's almost as if you've known it your entire life. "Now, Nathan, you're probably wondering who I am, and why I sound familiar to you".

 

"Y-yeah. That and many other questions".

 

Softly, it introduces itself; "I am Regret, Nathan. I represent the fourth gate of Heaven".

 

"Right, but seriously. Who are you?" you wryly ask.

 

"I just told you. I am the personification of Regret. I am the fourth of nine gates of which you need to pass to enter The Garden".

 

Mockingly, you say "The Garden, as in, Eden? LOL. Can I speak to your manager?"

 

"Ah great, one of those." It murmurs.

 

"What was that?" you say, "Nothing, umm. I'm afraid God is indisposed right now" it replies with a serious, roiled tone.

 

You begin to question yourself. You think to yourself; What's this thing talking about? Regret? God? Heaven!? I've never believed in any of that! Is this the Afterlife? "No, this is the entrance to the Afterlife," it says, with an arrogant tone. "Wh-How did you know what I was thinking?!" with a shocked look on your face.

 

"Nathan, I know everything about you. Every thought you've ever had. Every girl you wanted to ask out, but didn't. Every New Year's Resolution you set but abandoned the following week. I've been that voice inside your head every time you wanted to do something but didn't. I am every "What if" you've ever said to yourself in remorse to what could've been, but never happened", it replies.

 

You're speechless at this point. You begin to feel your body hair rise as shivers creep through your spine and out to your arms and feet. Your sarcastic and taunting attitude fades away as you ask "Alright. And what am I doing here? What are these "Gates of Heaven" you speak of?"


"They are trials you need to pass before stepping foot in The Garden. There are nine trials you need to pass before you enter God's city. I am the fourth trial, Regret" it responds. "Fourth?" you say. "Yes, you've already passed three gates; Glee, Despair, and Shame. You don't remember them, and you will forget me as well if you pass my gate, but you will remember everything if you pass the final gate, the gate of Love".

 

With a concerned voice, you ask "And what if I don't pass?"

 

The sphere says "Well, ever heard of Dante's Inferno?".

 

You say, in a confident voice "Yeah, it's a videogame I used to play".

 

Dumbfounded, the sphere says "Wha - Videoga - look. If you fail to pass any of Heaven's Gates, you will then have to go through Hell (no pun intended) which is depicted as nine circles of torment. It is the realm of those who have rejected spiritual values and morals by surrendering to bestial appetites or violence, or by perverting their human intellect to fraud, malice, and mischief against their kith and kin".

 

With a shocked, horrified tone, you ask, "So, if I fail any of the gates I will be sent to the underworld?"

 

"Yes, the gates are aspects of human nature where one must reminisce, atone for and appreciate to attain the wisdom and empathy needed to walk The Garden" the sphere explains.

 

"Aspects?" you ponder.

 

"Yes, they are Glee, Despair, Shame, Regret, Sorrow, Desire, Fear, Hate and finally, Love." Worried, you ask "But why are there more gates that reflect negative aspects than those that reflect positive ones?"

 

"Well, human nature is defined by grief. Grief gives joy perspective. Negative emotions have a greater impact on your being than positive ones. You humans even have more words for negative emotions than positive ones, and richer vocabulary to describe them. And the more exposure you're revealed to, the wiser and more appreciative you are of the better things in life."

 

You slowly take it in, realizing how you remember the negative mishaps more vividly and lucidly than positive ones. "Okay, I understand now. So, what sort of trial will I need to overcome to pass this gate?"

 

"Well..." the sphere said, as you began to notice images inside the sphere, distant memories of a life you once had. Your first time walking, your first date, your graduation. Everything that happened to you, the good and the bad. Wondering if you could've done more. Ate more. Played more. Went out more. Loved more. The years of your life passed through as you watched all the times you stayed in bed because you were too tired. All the times you wanted to ask Sarah out but didn't dare to speak to her. The last time you saw your mother before she suffered a sudden heart failure and couldn't make it.

 

"I wanted to embrace her at least once more. If not, at least a goodbye to ease my mind" you thought to yourself.

 

"So", the sphere said. You didn't reply. "What was the point in life?" It asked. But you didn't reply. "Did you become the person you wanted to be?" The sphere asked. Again, you didn't reply.

 

As memories kept flashing before you. You want to turn away, but you can't. Your body isn't responding. "FINE! Please, just make it stop!" you scream, agony in your voice.

 

"What was the point in life?" the sphere asks.

 

"No..." you reply, as your voice begins to shake. "I just kept living and there was so much to worry about," you say. "And there wasn't enough time!" you start to raise your voice. "Oh, there was enough time."

 

The sphere calmly responded. "You just wasted most of it," disappointed, the sphere said. "Given the opportunity, would you do it differently?" the sphere asked.

 

"Ye-Yes. I would! I would treat my wife better. I would love my kids more. I won't buy anything in the Steam sales. I would go out with friends more. I would do so many things differently, I swear!" you said, as you wiped your tears.

 

"No. No, you wouldn't" the sphere said. "But it's okay. Now you know where you went wrong. And that's what matters. Now, you might want to step back a little."

 

"Why?" You ask. Just then, the ground starts shaking. A bright white light begins to seep from the now broken ground. This light is blinding to look at. From the ground, large pillars of limestone surrounding a pearly jade gate rise from the fractured land, its height is that of a two-story building. It shines as bright as a sapphire. A ladder leading to its center, where a lock etched with writings was. And the writings spoke: "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."

 

The sphere says, "Do you understand what this means?"

 

"Yes, I... I hope," you reply.

 

Then, a jade key that matches that of the gate appears as the sphere says "Whenever you're ready, pass the gate. And begin the trial of Sorrow". Jittering, you open the lock...

 

***

You were sound asleep as you feel a pleasant breeze brushing against your skin. You slowly open your eyes as you find yourself in a green, open field sheltered by a clear, starry night sky... 
 

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I drew inspiration for this story from this video. Although the premise is similar, the direction at which the story drives at is hardly comparable. 

 

With that said, this is my first attempt at doing something like this. So you'll have to excuse the poor formatting and the sub-par structure. 

 

I hope you enjoy! ?

 

PS: I made some minor changes to the plot. Instead of Desire, the next gate will be Sorrow.

Edited by classic-style-hiphop
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Approved.

 

Firstly, welcome to the AWS! Excellent story, as I was editing, I really enjoyed the plot. At first, the second person POV intimidated me a bit, but I realized it was a really good addition (though first person would have worked as well). One quick note, though, please remember to start a new paragraph when you switch speakers, as it was a little confusing to navigate through at first. ?

 

Edits:

 
 
 
 
Spoiler
  • Several commas added
  • Line breaks added in dialogue

 

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Its an amazing article! I really enjoyed it! Hope to see more from you man. 

 

I was thinking, at some places its 'Nathan' thinking and the other times its 'you' meaning the general audience being in consideration. Is it suppose to be this way? Just a slight confusion that does not matter, and honestly, a great piece of writing! 

 

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5 minutes ago, Sacrifice said:

Its an amazing article! I really enjoyed it! Hope to see more from you man. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

I was thinking, at some places its 'Nathan' thinking and the other times its 'you' meaning the general audience being in consideration. Is it suppose to be this way? Just a slight confusion that does not matter, and honestly, a great piece of writing! 

 

 

I think here, 'you' in the story is being addressed as Nathan by the sphere, so it would make sense, at least in my opinion.

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8 hours ago, Person_Random said:

Firstly, welcome to the AWS!

Thank you! I've very glad to be here!

 

8 hours ago, Person_Random said:

Approved.

 

Excellent story, as I was editing, I really enjoyed the plot. At first, the second person POV intimidated me a bit, but I realized it was a really good addition (though first person would have worked as well). 

I did consider that as well when I first drafted the rough script. The first person perspective would've immersed the reader further into the story, but in the end I thought it would be best if I write it in in the second person perspective to be able to serve certain plot points and future plot points as well >.>

 

8 hours ago, Person_Random said:

One quick note, though, please remember to start a new paragraph when you switch speakers, as it was a little confusing to navigate through at first. ?

 

Noted!

7 hours ago, Sacrifice said:

Its an amazing article! I really enjoyed it! Hope to see more from you man. 

 

  Hide contents

 

I was thinking, at some places its 'Nathan' thinking and the other times its 'you' meaning the general audience being in consideration. Is it suppose to be this way? Just a slight confusion that does not matter, and honestly, a great piece of writing! 

 

 

Thank you!

As for your question, wherever 'Nathan' is mentioned, it is the sphere addressing him directly. Hope that cleared it up.

1 hour ago, Lose said:

Nice story, hope to see more of you soon!

I really appreciate it ? 

As things stand, I do indeed want to write further editions of Nathan's story, but I have no idea how to write them yet ?

 

Hopefully I'll come up with something when motivation strikes :3

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