A/N Hullo my wonderful Greekies! Welcome to the first chapter of The Afterlives. A little note, not all characters will be introduced here, only two (and a half technically). The next chapter will have brief mentions of all the other characters, but with the style, I'm using, you're going to figure out about a certain character more thoroughly with each passing chapter. You'll see what I mean! This chapter is 3578 words long according to Wattpad, 3642 according to google docs, 3638 according to Grammarly.

"YOU HAVE TO STOP THIS!"

"I CAN'T!"

"You can't or you won't?"

...

Nia winced the moment they woke up. She could see the bright white lights even through her closed eyelids. The light was astounding, as if it was flowing with power; power that caused radiance on godly levels.

'How could light have power?' Nia thought to herself. They kept their eyelids shut tightly, hoping that it would help adjust her eyes to the bright light. Luckily, her hopes were granted. She was able to stop squeezing her eyelids shut and could relax her eyelids slightly.

'Oh Nia, you idiot! Of course, light can have power, remember that time when...' then the thought subsided. Nia wrinkled their eyebrows together. That was strange. The thought went away from her brain as fast as it came, like waves tickling toes on a beach.

Speaking of beaches, the light Nia was surrounded by didn't feel like sunlight like at a beach, but it didn't feel like it was artificial light either, like the ones in operating rooms. That ruled out basically...everywhere.

'Where am I?' Nia thought to themself.

'Maybe try opening your eyes,' her logic finally decided to tell her.

Nia nodded in appreciation of their logic before slowly opening their eyes. Once their eyes were fully opened, they realized they were sitting on a bench—a white one, that is. White like everything else she could see. Heck, even her clothes were white. She ran her fingers over the soft, cool fabric on her lap. She stood up, and after looking at almost the entire outfit (there wasn't a mirror in sight) she realized she was wearing a Greek chiton. Strange. She never remembered owning anything of the sort.

She couldn't remember anything at all, for that matter. All she could remember was her name, her mother's smile (a soft one with bright white teeth that was a sharp contrast to the dark skin surrounding it), and her fathers' eyes (happy, almond-shaped with brown almost back iris' and smile lines around the corners). She could remember basic things though, her gender, how to talk, and walk. She just couldn't remember anything about her life.

Nia quickly looked around, trying to figure out where she was. She couldn't see anything for miles, though. All they saw was bright white.

Nia started breathing quickly, panic slowly settling in. She was somewhere, alone, without anything, and she didn't know where she was, how she got there, or even her age. Did they forget to mention that they couldn't remember one very important, basic thing, such as their age?

Before Nia could panic fully, she saw a dark figure in the distance.

Adrenaline flooded through Nia's body. She didn't know whether to be thrilled that there was another person where she was, or terrified that there was another person where she was. She decided a combination of the two would suffice as she grabbed handfuls of the front fabric of her chiton and started running towards the figure.

Nia dropped one handful of fabric and started waving her arm frantically, hoping that the person could see her. Well, they had to...right? They were the only moving thing for miles on end.

The person froze, probably wondering why someone was practically sprinting towards them. Before Nia could shout out anything though, the person disappeared.

"Wha?" Nia began to say, the end of the word cut out in confusion before she heard someone speak behind her.

"Turn around," the person said.

Their voice was commanding as if they'd been a leader of something for a while. It also sounded tired, as if this exact situation had happened dozens of times before Nia. And the voice sounded, forgive Nia for assuming, but it sounded feminine; like it belonged to someone who was a girl--or at least wanted to sound like one.

Nia slowly turned around, and you may be thinking. You idiot! What if they're going to kill you? They would reply with the fact that they had practically no memory and no sense of where they were, or how they got there. She was getting desperate despite it being no more than five minutes at that place.

Nia took a deep breath and held it as they turned to face the person. Only, the person wasn't a person or may have once been, the person couldn't have been alive, or... she should just explain it.

Half of the person was dead, yes, that's right, dead. Like, some parts you could see bone, kind of dead. Like the body was faintly blue, kind of dead. But, the other side was one of a beautiful woman, or, at least Nia thought she (hopefully they were a she, Nia made a mental note to ask) was beautiful. Long hair as dark as shadows ran down the person's back with intricate braids woven in like delicate embroidery on a silk robe. Her eyes were a pale green that reminded Nia of a certain god that she just couldn't place—probably because of not remembering most anything. She was wearing long black robes that looked like they were beautifully crafted and very comfortable. A black jewelled crown sat atop her head, the braids in her hair perfectly framing it and her face.

The most striking things about her to Nia, though, was the look on her face and the way she held herself. They told you the same thing: Don't worry, both you and I know I'm better than you, but I'm not going to say it.

"Hello, Nia. I am Hel Lokidottir, Princess of Asgard, Rightful Queen of Helheim, Goddess of Death, Ruler of the Dead, Guide of Helheim and the Afterlives," The woman—Queen (?) Hel said.

Hel looked at Nia, and she nearly scoffed. She appeared so innocent, so carefree. Hel could not say that about most of the people who ended up here.

"Hi! I'm Nia! Well, you knew that already. Sorry! Should I call you your majesty? Or maybe Queen Hel? Or just Hel? Whatever you prefer, and for now, I'm going to use she/her pronouns because they seem to fit, but you can tell me to change that. Oh! I go by she/they pronouns, by the way. Anyways, where are we? And how did I get here? And what are these clothes? Don't get me wrong, it looks absolutely beautiful! But still! And what's a guide? It sounds pretty cool. And wow, you're so pretty! Though you probably already know that, you probably get a lot of crap for the dead side huh?" Nia rambled without taking a breath. Strangely enough, she didn't feel tired even after all that running she did.

Hel looked at Nia, masking her confusion—something she's mastered after having this job for as long as she did, and just for being who he is. Did this girl really not know? Was she that oblivious? Hel hadn't had someone like them in a while, she can't even remember the last one who didn't realize it.

"Nia," Hel said firmly. She saw Nia's eyes pop back up to her own after straying for a bit while they rambled.

"Yeah Miss Your Highness Ma'am Queen of Helheim Your Majesty Hel?" Nia said. She wasn't sure which title to call Hel, so might as well go for all and see which ones to eliminate down the road.

Hel raised an eyebrow at the name but dropped it when Nia smiled brightly at her waiting for her to say something.

"I'll answer all of your questions, but you have to walk with me to our destination," Hel said. Nia agreed without any hesitation, causing Hel to make a mental note that this one's either stupid, naive, or both.

"First of all, you should know that you're dead," Hel said.

Nia stopped in their tracks.

Hel noticed and slowly stopped along with Nia in response before she looked over to them. She expected this reaction. Being told you were dead when you didn't know it had to be surprising on at least some level, after all.

"I'm what?" Nia asked.

"You're dead, and we have places to be at the moment," Hel replied simply.

"Dead," Nia repeated.

"Yes, dead."

"I'm dead," Nia said once more, blinking quickly as the realization slowly sunk in.

"Yes, you are, and I'd prefer it if I didn't have to repeat that again," Hel said, getting slightly agitated. But she shouldn't have, should she? She was telling a person that they've died. It was a big announcement, not, especially for someone who seemed to have never seen it coming.

"And this isn't some prank or practical joke or anything, right?" Nia asked, her voice a little higher than usual. Hel could detect the faintest of ounces of hope in their voice.

"No, it's not," Hel reassured.

"I'm actually dead? Oh no! And I don't even remember anything! What if I didn't get to say goodbye? To anyone! If I had a family, or friends, or a partner!"

Hel subconsciously went to rub a locket on her chest, right next to where her heart was, before remembering it wasn't there and going down to rub a different locket.

Hel replied slowly as to not freak Nia out more than they already were, "I'm sure it'll come back to you, but for now we have places to be Nia."

Nia took some deep breaths to try and calm herself down. She went to push a stray hair behind her ear, but something felt off, so she patted up the side of her head and to the top before patting down to the back of her head. Nia realized that her hair had been put up into a half-bun. She didn't remember doing that. Well, she couldn't remember anything so that was probably a given.

"I can do this," Nia whispered to herself as a small pep talk.

Hel scoffed almost inaudibly with the smallest of smiles on her face. "Alright. If you could keep walking that would be ideal. To answer your questions..."

Hel told Nia that she could call her Your Majesty, Queen Hel, Queen Lokidottir, Your Highness, my Queen, or Hel. Preferably not all at the same time either. She rarely ever let people call her by her first name alone, and she didn't know why she told Nia she could do it. Perhaps it was because Hel hadn't actually been asked by most people. Most were so terrified of her after seeing her dead side that they called her the highest titles.

Hel explained that they were in the world of white. A pocket between worlds, in the spaces between realms, and the crevices of the universe. They were everywhere but nowhere at once. This was the waiting room of most of all the dead souls anywhere. Because Nia died, her soul had been transferred there by default. It was a natural way, like a baby knowing how to cry for milk without being told.

After Hel finished her short speech explaining where they were and how Nia got there, Nia started bobbing their head up and down.

"Oh, that makes sense," Nia said, still bobbing her head. "You sound like you've said that before," Nia added. They stopped bobbing their head and tilted it ever so slightly to one side. Almost barely noticeable.

"Countless times," Hel replied.

Hel further explained that Nia's chiton was what everyone wore when they arrived there. They simply appeared that way when they came there. It was like wrapping a baby in a cloth to keep them warm.

Hel then explained that a guide was precisely what it sounded like. A being that showed you around. There was a guide for almost every underworld. This was something Hel would explain further once they got to their destination. Hel then explained that she was the guide of The Afterlives, and Helheim, both were different kinds of afterlives. She was also a "leader" amongst the guides, meaning the gods and higher beings trusted her enough to be the one to keep the other guides in check, plus she had been doing this job the longest. Because she was the "leader", she was the one to take people from the world of white to their destination.

"That is so cool!" Nia exclaimed brightly, their eyes wide open. "How many other guides are there?" She asked. Nia made fists with her hands and held them right in front of her collarbones, her eyes wide.

"Well, you're about to find out," Hel said as she slowly came to a stop. Nia matched her movements, turning to look at Hel

Nia watched intently as Hel held out her arms palms up, muttering something under her breath. Nia didn't understand a word of it, neither were they paying much attention since only a couple milliseconds after Hel started muttering things, a foggy, long shape appeared across her palms. A couple moments later, the foggy shape became denser and easier to see. Nia realized that it was a scythe, the same one the grim reaper was depicted with. How she could remember that and not her age"? she had no idea.

Nia resisted the urge to touch the long black handle. It looked like it was made of wood because of the annual growth lines on it. The handle had engravings running up and down the long black wood, and some had ghostly shadows of symbols on top of the engraving. Nia's eyes trailed to the right side of the scythe to see the silver, sharp blade attached to it. 

"Are you gonna cut my soul out?" Nia asked tentatively. About half a second after they realized how stupid their question was.

"You are a soul," Hel replied in a monotone voice. A moment before she had spoken, she finished muttering the words under her breath. She swiftly rotated the scythe, the tool making a swish noise in the air as she did so. Nia stared in awe at how the scythe looked with Hel. It was as if the power from both of them radiated off each other and mixed to create something--someone--even more powerful. A moment later, Nia realized Hel probably was the grim reaper. Or at least, the grim reaper was based on her. If her silk cloak's hood covered almost her entire face and her long robes, and if you could only see the dead side of her face, she looked very similar to what people thought the grim reaper looked like. Add in the scythe with the long black handle, and Hel looked like an exact replica of the grim reaper. Or, perhaps the grim reaper was an exact replica of Hel.

Nia stood gawking at how cool Hel looked until Hel raised her eyebrow at her in an "are you done?" kind of way. Nia snapped their jaw shut and smiled sheepishly as she clapped her hands behind her to let Hel do her thing.

Hel couldn't help but be a little amused by Nia as she started the process of opening the doors to the different underworlds.

There were many underworlds in the universes. So many different ideas, myths, and religions believe something different about what happens to you after you die. Every single one of those ideas existed coherently. Once a new idea of an underworld is formed, the underworld is created. Who or what makes it? Unfortunately, Hel did not know. The job of the scythe was to create small tears in the world, to create doors to those different underworlds. Yes, the scythe reaped souls, but it was also a tool for life beyond death.

Hel lifted the scythe and swung down on seemingly thin air. Instead of the usual swoosh sound one would expect the scythe to make, there was dead silence. Hel and Nia saw a little rip made in the air, and behind it was blackness. Hel moved to the side by about three feet and swung down with the scythe, creating another rip. Then she repeated the process one more time.

Hel then turned to Nia, putting the scythe to her side and keeping it steady.

"Choose one," She told Nia. Nia furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the three rips.

"Choose one?" She asked, and Hel nodded once.

"Pick the one you feel most drawn to, the one you want to go through."

Nia pursed her lips together and moved to the side as she looked at the rips. They looked identical, but Nia sensed each one was different. The problem was, she didn't feel drawn to any of them, but she felt drawn to all of them. Nia felt pulled to all three of them equally. She didn't know what to do, so she panicked and pointed to a random spot.

"That one," Nia said with far more confidence than she had. Nia held their head up proudly to help feign confidence to Hel, and they were pretty sure it worked on at least some level.

Hel nodded. Nia had picked the classic. Hel placed the scythe in front of the rip, letting go of it gently. She waited for a moment before the scythe fizzled out of view and a bright white door was in its place.

Hel turned to the side and waved a black lace-gloved hand over to the door, inviting Nia to open it.

Nia got the hint and reached for the crystal doorknob. Her hand tingled as she twisted the cool knob, and she attempted to pull it back towards her. She found that it was stuck though, and she kept on twisting and tugging in an attempt to open the door.

Hel looked in disbelief at Nia. Since Nia's back was turned to her, Hel pinched the bridge of her nose before taking a deep breath, letting it calm herself. She counted to seven to make sure she definitely wasn't frustrated before speaking.

"I'd advise you to try pushing the door," Hel told Nia after a couple seconds of them still attempting to pull the door.

Nia blushed and bit her lip before chuckling nervously. "Oops," They said in a higher-pitched voice than their normal one before they twisted the handle and pushed open the door with ease.

"Oh, that was easy!" Nia exclaimed as they turned back to face Hel.

Hel quickly covered up her disbelief as she elegantly walked over to Nia. Nia walked through the door, and Hel followed, closing it behind her. The bright white door slowly faded from view, starting from the handle until it reached the edges and was completely gone.

Hel, despite being older than imaginable and being a literal death goddess, still didn't fully know the working of the scythe. She was merely taught how to use it. She was never taught where it came from, who created it, how it worked, or what it was made of. Nothing. All Hel knew--all Hel was taught--was how to create rips between universes, how to wield it as a traditional weapon, how to create doors out of it to different universes, how to make the door created by the scythe turn back into a scythe, how to summon it, and how to make it disappear. She couldn't tell you anything else about the scythe, and as someone who liked to know everything, that frustrated her very much.

But it wasn't as if she could pop on over to Odin, or Zeus, or Ra, or Tartarus, or Amaterasu, or Morgan le Faye, or any being of that sort and casually ask things about the scythe. There was a hierarchy in the universe, and sadly, Hel wasn't quite top tier. There was something crucial that she learned in all her years of existence. It was that you should never mess with gods of a higher rank than you, especially if you valued your titles and your livelihood. As much as Hel wished she could know all, it sadly wasn't her place as a death goddess, and to think otherwise was just as bad as treason.

Hel turned to face Nia. Nia was looking at the eight doors in front of them, each one as identical as the last. Nia then turned her head to look at Hel, waiting for instructions on which door to pick.

"As before, pick the door that you feel most drawn to," Hel instructed, folding her arms across her chest as she waited for Nia to pick a door.

Nia nodded and looked at all the doors, trying to pick one she felt the most drawn to. Despite trying their hardest, they still ran into the same predicament as the last time. They felt equally drawn and not drawn to all of the doors. Nia closed her eyes, attempting to try and lose one of their senses to see if that helped (not that they could hear anything from the doors), but it didn't. In desperation, Nia did the same thing as last time, pointing a completely random door.

"That one," Nia said with as much confidence as she could muster. It wasn't quite as much faux confidence as last time, but there was enough.

Hel raised an eyebrow. "You're pointing to an empty space," she pointed out.

Nia cringed at herself slightly and blushed. "Whoops!" she squeaked. An anxious laugh followed close behind. They opened their eyes before removing their finger to the right slightly.

"That one," she said confidently, even though all confidence was zapped from them.

Hel doubted Nia's confidence but went along with it, seeing as it was her job. Hel waved her hand over to the door, allowing Nia to twist the silver knob and open it.

Once they did, Nia was greeted by an Asian-looking person wearing a black tailored suit and trousers.

"Hello. How unfortunate for you. Welcome to Heaven."

Question For Your OC: Do they have any accents? Speech mannerisms? Do they say filler words like uh or er a lot?

For Hel: She has an Icelandic/Norweigan accent with faint hints of a British accent from her childhood. She uses British terms over American terms (flat v.s. apartment, common room v.s. living room, buggy v.s. shopping cart, etc.). She doesn't use filler words since she was trained since birth to speak like a Queen.
For Nia: They have a slight British accent, though she tends to mimick the accents she hears, and she too uses British terms over American ones. She does use filler words a lot, and she constantly forgets simple words like "glove" and replaces them with words like, "pretty hand cover thingy".

Characters Used In This Chapter:

Nia Nguyen created by Yours Truly

Hel Lokidottir created by Yours Truly

Gods Mentioned:

Anthony Hopkins as Odin

Timothy Omundson as Zeus

Ahmed Ezz as Ra

Dwayne Johnson as Tartarus

Satomi Ishihara as Amaterasu

Katie McGrath as Morgan le Faye