An unknown amount of time passed before Ria jolted awake from what she felt was a deep slumber. She looked around the small room, it looked just like a normal one back home, but somehow it felt just a bit off. As she sat up there was a knock on the door and a familiar voice was heard from the other side

 

“Ria Hallow, may I come in?” 

 

“Yes.” Ria timidly replied 

 

The door opened to reveal a familiar face, the man she had seen multiple times before she ended up here. Ria unintentionally stared at the man as he took a seat just by the door. The man acknowledged Ria’s confusion and offered an explanation and introduction. 

 

“I am Orion, I was the Dove that was assigned to you upon your death. If you have anything to ask then I will try and give an answer to the best of my ability.”

 

Ria was still stunned and didn’t know what to specifically ask, so she blurted out the first question that came to her mind.

 

“What is this place?” 

 

“This is the Paradius, it is where souls of the dead come to rest until they are ready to pass onto the next life.” Orion promptly replied.

 

Ria looked puzzled with the term ‘Paradius’, but before she could ask, Orion already answered as if he could read her thoughts

 

“There are 3 levels in Celestia; Inferius, Paradius, and Caelestus. We are currently in Paradisus, a sort of replica of the living world where the dead could rest in peace. On the other hand there is Inferius, it is a mostly barren wasteland where punishment is executed for people who defy the will of Caelestus.”

 

”Thank you.” Ria replied.

 

“It’s just part of my role as a Dove.” said Orion with a smile. 

 

The room fell silent again for a few moments.

 

“Do you have any more questions, Ria?” Orion asked to break the silence.

 

After a moment of hesitation she shook her head.

 

“Ok, please follow me outside of the room.” Said Orion as he stood up and left the room. 

 

Ria soon followed his instructions and prepared to stand, but to her dismay legs failed to keep her up and she fell with a thud. Orion worriedly opened the door and immediately helped Ria up, he profusely apologized 

 

“Oh I‘m so sorry! I forgot to mention the difference of being in Paradius compared to the mortal realm.” 

 

Ria looked like a newborn deer struggling to stand up in an ice rink, it’s as if her legs didn’t know how to function anymore. In a loss of words to say she only could look helplessly at Orion.

 

“Your body may have learned how to walk but your soul didn’t, it had always relied on your physical body to hold it up. You may rely on your wings to help you get the hang of things for now.” Explained Orion.

 

Now that Orion had mentioned it, she hadn’t really looked behind her, as she did she noticed a pair of pure white wings. They were weightless and were barely noticeable apart from the faint glow they emit, Ria stared in awe as they floated just behind her, but this was cut short when Orion asked

 

“Can you control them?” 

 

Instantly Ria whipped back her head to face Orion with a clear expression of embarrassment, she then stammered dejectedly

 

“I-I don’t know how…”

 

Orion didn’t react much and only instructed her with a soft tone as he lightly held her hands.

 

“It’s really simple, relax yourself and let your energy flow towards your wings.”

 

Ria took a few moments to calm herself down and felt a faint warmth from behind her and soon found herself becoming lighter and lighter, soon she was able to let go of Orion’s hands and stand on her own. But only after a few minutes she began to stumble and soon helplessly fell back onto the floor. 

 

Orion once again helped her up and sat her back down onto the bed, and then Ria muttered as she was defeatedly looking down onto the floor

 

“I’m sorry…”

 

But as embarrassing as the situation was, Orion remained soft spoken and professional as he had when they first met. He then smiled and said

 

“It’s alright, this was a fairly common situation so we always had a way to help. So if you don’t mind, could you please bring out your wrists?” 

 

Ria nodded and rolled back her sleeves to expose her wrists, Orion then cupped his hands around it and a faint golden glow emitted from his hands and it took a minute but the glow faded as quickly as it appeared, Orion then opened his hands to reveal a silver bracelet that wrapped comfortably around Ria’s arm. It was simple yet elegant in design, in the middle there was a bright aqua gemstone that emitted a faint glow, it was surrounded by a design of two wings. 

 

“This should help you fly until you get used to walking on your own here, this makes sure your wings are always active so if you ever want to rest then just take it off.” Explained Orion.

 

Ria once again stood up and this time she was able to do so without falling, she then smiled and said 

 

“Thank you, when should I return this to you though?” 

 

“No need to return it, we always had plenty of these so just keep it for convenience.” he replied.

 

“So do you need anything else? If not then follow me outside so we can get you settled in Paradius.” Orion then asked.

 

Ria only shook her head lightly as a reply and Orion nodded then said

 

“Okay then please follow me to the gates.” 

 

They walked outside of the small room and Ria was greeted by an extravagant interior of a building. Beautiful chandeliers and glowing crystals adorned the ceiling like stars, the floor was covered in pearl white tiles that reflected the light of the windows. It was all very spacious and grand, and within it a lot of people were going through their day to day tasks. Some were running, some were flying through the spacious halls in a hurry, there were even times they nearly bumped into her and Orion if they had not been quick to evade. 

 

“Are you always this busy?” Ria asked. 

 

“Kinda, winter is when the amount of souls going to the afterlife spike exponentially. Everyone has their own set of souls to manage and get settled.” Orion replied rather calmly considering the chaotic situation. 

 

“O-oh did I hold you back?…if so then I’m sorry…” Ria then said with a worried tone.

 

“Maybe lessen that apologetic habit of yours? It really isn’t that big of a deal as you were the last one I needed to meet my quota for the week so I figured there was no need to rush.” Orion said with a slight chuckle. 

 

Just then a voice from above the crowd spoke up 

 

“Hey Orion stop teasing her will ya!” 

 

It was another Dove dressed the same as Orion, he had his wings spread out as he flew through the crowd while carrying a small blue gem in his hands. He landed just in front of Orion and said

 

“Estella just finished processing Ria Hallow’s information and told me to deliver her ID.” 

 

“Oh thanks, she wasn’t replying to my calls so I was worried that she had drowned in her ocean of tasks.” Orion replied jokingly, seeming to have dropped the professional act. 

 

“Just remember to pay her back for this rush order.” Said the man just before he sped off once again. 

 

“Who was that?” Ria asked

 

“Oh, that’s Nathan, he was the assigned delivery boy here. He has the fastest record for flying so naturally he got the job.” Orion explained as he was tinkering with the gem.

 

They soon reached the front door where a bright light blinded Ria for a moment. After a while her eyes finally adjusted to the brightness and she saw a peaceful community where everyone seemed to get along, no burdens nor pain. It was the very definition of “paradise”, no more were the earthly problems that burdened mortals. It was a simple free existence where you never had to worry about anything.

 

Orion then spoke up

 

“You’ll soon be able to go there to stay, but please can I have your attention for a moment?” 

 

Ria turned to face him and as she did, she noticed the blue gem he had on his palm.

 

“You will need this device to help you settle here in Paradius, it is bound to your soul so if you would simply hold it…” said Orion as he trailed off

 

Orion then gave the gem to Ria and when it fully made contact with her hand it illuminated a faint blue, indicating that it was ready for use. 

 

“Oh there we go, now you are officially part of Paradius.” He said with his usual smile.

 

“What does this do?” Ria asked as they were walking towards the gates.

 

“It is proof that you are accepted here in Paradius, it also alerts us should you run into any trouble.” Orion explained 

 

Ria nodded and it wasn’t long before she and Orion parted ways and she was welcomed into her new “life”.