Paulo's journey in the afterlife took an unexpected turn as his body found itself in a universe completely different from Earth, where he had manifested.
After crash-landing on a crumbling mountain, Paulo rose to his feet and surveyed the area with a sense of detachment in his cold eyes.
The thick fog enveloping the surroundings added to the eerie atmosphere, signalling to Paulo that he was no longer on familiar ground.
As the mountain began to break apart, Paulo felt himself falling, only to hit the ground with a jolt that tore his arm.
Despite the injury, he remained stoic, devoid of any emotional response as his wound miraculously healed in an instant.
This newfound state of detachment allowed Paulo to process the events unfolding before him with an unsettling calmness.
With his surroundings now becoming more visible, Paulo witnessed bizarre creatures rushing towards him, their otherworldly forms creating a sense of unease in his immortal soul.
Despite his weariness from the stresses he had endured, Paulo managed to push himself up, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead in this strange new realm.
As he took his first tentative steps in this mysterious universe, a sense of calm determination overcame him, sparking a glimmer of curiosity to explore this uncharted territory beyond the physical and into the realms of the unknown.
On the Ground, Paulo wonders what the bizarre Soul creatures chasing him are. When one of the creatures snaps its jaws right towards him, he rolls away and coincidentally presses into a human skull that was lying on the ground.
Terrified and furious, he screams and curses the people that made him commit suicide.
When Paulo tries to climb up a broken mountain, he trips and falls down the pile of rubble. He notices that this place is dangerous and would need to figure out a way to get back to earth.
One of the Soul Beasts tires to kick Paulo in the stomach, but he blocked it, and it caused his arm to rip off. Paulo then stepped back and picked up a stick, but he did not know that his left arm has grown back.
Paulo lift the stick up but did not realise that some cosmic green energy was forming around the stick and then Paulo swings it down, cutting the beast in half and the mountain behind it.
Paulo then said to himself while dropping the stick, "So being dead has its perks."
Paulo was shocked to see a city while he was sprinting across the wilderness because he had assumed that there were no towns in this world.
When he finally made it into the city, the residents gave him a lot of strange looks because it was his first time there. Then Satoshi noticed the town sign name, "Gristle Hollow," when he gazed up at it.
***
The sky above the town of Gristle Hollow was a permanent shade of bruised yellow, choked by the fumes of a long-dead refinery that still coughed smoke like a dying god.
Paulo stepped over a rusted pipe jutting from the cracked pavement, his boots crunching through a layer of ash and bone dust. The bar's neon sign flickered weakly: Ash & Spirits.
Half the letters were missing, but the message was clear enough. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of ethanol and regret. A few patrons hunched over their drinks like they were trying to disappear into them.
Paulo approached the bar; his coat still damps from the acid drizzle outside. "I'll take whatever passes for whiskey around here," he said, voice low but firm.
The bartender, a woman with a cybernetic eye and a scar that ran from temple to jaw, just nodded and poured something amber into a cracked glass. It hissed faintly as it settled.
Before Paulo could take a sip, a voice rasped behind him. "New face. You are not from around here." Paulo turned. An old man stood there, hunched and wrapped in layers of patchwork cloth.
His eyes were milky, but sharp. He smelled of rust and old stories. "This town," the old man said, sliding onto the stool beside Paulo, "used to be a mining colony. Rich in thorium and secrets. Then the spill happened. Turned the soil sour, the air mean. Folks either adapted or died. Most did both."
Paulo raised an eyebrow. "And you stayed?"
The old man chuckled, a sound like gravel in a tin can. "Someone has got to remember. Someone has got to tell the newcomers what not to touch, who not to trust, and where not to sleep. You planning to stay?"
Paulo took a sip of the drink. It burned like betrayal. "Depends," he said. "On whether this place has anything left worth finding."
The old man leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. "Depends on what you are looking for. But in Gristle Hollow, everything comes at a cost. Even the truth."
Paulo swirled the drink in his glass, watching the amber liquid catch the dim light like a dying flame. The old man beside him leaned in, his breath wheezing through cracked lips. "Hey old man does a group rules the world or not."
"You asked if anyone rules the world," the old man said, voice low and gravelly. "Truth is, it is not ruled. It is contested. Two factions. Two visions." Paulo's eyes narrowed. "Who are they?"
The old man tapped a crooked finger on the bar. "First, there is the Ghostface Group. Shadows in suits. They do not build; they consume. Any power source they find, soul energy, elemental cores, ancient tech, they drain it dry and twist it into their own arsenal. They do not care if it is sacred, sentient, or screaming."
Paulo's jaw tightened. "So, they harvest the soul creatures. Rip their essence for fuel." The old man nodded slowly, eyes dim with memory. "They call it 'reclamation.' I call it slaughter."
Paulo leaned forward. "Is there anyone who fights back? Someone who protects the innocent?"
A faint smile tugged at the old man's lips. "There is. A team known as the Cosmic 10. Guardians of balance. Each member radiates a distinct glow, ten colours, ten virtues. Red for courage. Blue for wisdom. Green for healing. Yellow for hope. Black for resilience. Brown for grounding. White for purity. Pink for compassion. Purple for vision. Orange for joy." Paulo raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a rainbow with fists."
The old man chuckled. "They do not just fight. They restore. When the Ghostface Group corrupts a region, the Cosmic 10 brings it back. But they are scattered now. Hunted. The war's gone quiet... but it is far from over." Paulo drained his glass, the burn in his throat matching the fire in his chest. "Then maybe it's time someone lit it up again."
After finishing his drink, Paulo quietly placed a few bills on the counter, enough to cover his tab and the old man's. The bartender gave him a nod of thanks, but Paulo did not respond.
***
He stepped out into the dusky street, the air cool and unfamiliar. The sky above this world was tinged with violet, stars beginning to blink into view like distant memories.
As he walked, something tugged at him, a strange weight in his clothes. He looked down and froze. He was wearing the same outfit in which he had died. The same scuffed shoes.
The same blazer, still slightly torn at the sleeve. Even the faint bloodstain near the collar had not vanished. His breath caught in his throat. He reached into his pocket, half-expecting emptiness.
But instead, his fingers brushed against something solid. His old phone. Paulo pulled it out slowly, staring at the cracked screen. It was impossible. This universe was not supposed to carry fragments of the last.
Yet here it was, his phone, exactly as he had left it. He unlocked it with muscle memory, and the screen flickered to life. His contacts were still there. Ava. Alexis.
His thumb hovered over Ava's name. He did not expect it to work. Not across dimensions. Not across death.
But he tapped it anyway. The line rang once. Twice. Then, "Hello?" Ava's voice was fragile and also trembling, came through.
Paulo's heart stopped. He had not heard her voice since the rooftop. Since the fall. "…I've missed chatting with you," he said softly, stunned. "What's been going on lately?"
There was silence. Then the sound of sobbing. Ava was crying, crying from Earth, from the world he had left behind. Her breath hitched, her voice breaking as she whispered his name over and over.
"Paulo… Paulo, is it really you? I thought, I thought I was going insane. I have been dreaming of you every night. I wear your tie. I sit where you fell. I talk to you like you are still here. But you are not. You are not."
Paulo closed his eyes, the weight of her grief pressing against his chest like a stone. "I did not expect this. I did not think I would hear you again."
"How are you calling me?" Ava asked, her voice desperate. "Where are you? Are you alive? Are you coming back?"
"I don't know," Paulo admitted. "I woke up in a different world. I do not know how I got here. But I found my phone. I found you." Ava sobbed harder. "I thought I lost you forever. I thought you lied when you said you would not leave me."
"I didn't lie," Paulo said, his voice steady but thick with emotion. "I meant every word. I just… did not expect to die." There was a long pause. Then Ava whispered, "I do not care what it takes. I will find you. I will tear through every universe if I have to."
Paulo smiled faintly, the first smile since waking in this strange place. "I'll call you back when I figure out how to travel through universes."
"Promise me," Ava said, her voice trembling. "Promise me you'll find a way."
"I promise," Paulo whispered. "I am not going anywhere. Not really." The call ended, but the connection lingered, like a thread stretched between worlds, fragile but unbreakable.
Paulo stood in the quiet street, phone still in hand, heart pounding. Somewhere, in another universe, Ava was crying for him. And somehow, impossibly, he had heard her. Now he had a mission. Not just to survive. But to return to Ava.
As soon as Ava hung up the phone, her hands were still trembling, her breath uneven. The call had left her shaken, but not in despair. For the first time since Paulo's death, she felt something spark inside her: hope.
She rushed to find Saya and Tsuki, her footsteps echoing through the hallway like thunder.
When she finally spotted them near the lockers, she did not wait for greetings or questions, she grabbed their arms, eyes wide and brimming with tears.
"I spoke to him," she said, voice barely above a whisper, but urgent. "Paulo. He called me." Saya blinked, stunned. "What do you mean? Like… a dream?"
"No," Ava said, her voice cracking. "A real call. His voice. His number. It was him. He is alive, somewhere. In another world." Tsuki's mouth fell open, her juice box forgotten in her hand. "You're serious?"
Ava nodded, tears spilling freely now. "He said he found his old phone. That he did not expect to reach me. But he did. He said he will call back when he figures out how to travel through universes."
Saya and Tsuki stood frozen, the weight of Ava's words sinking in. It sounded impossible. Unreal. But the look in Ava's eyes, the raw, trembling hope, was unmistakable.
Saya reached out, placing a hand on Ava's shoulder. "If there's even a chance… we'll help you find him." Tsuki nodded slowly, her usual sarcasm gone. "We will figure this out. Whatever it takes."
Ava clutched Paulo's tie around her wrist, her grip tightening. Her voice was soft, but resolute. "He is still mine. And I am going to bring him back."
From that moment on, the grief that had hollowed Ava out began to shift. It did not disappear, but it transformed. Into obsession. Into purpose. Into a fire that would burn through every reality if it meant reaching him again.
***
Back in Paulo's world, he was strolling around the town when he noticed two enigmatic individuals passing.
Then, with perspiration streaming down his face, Paulo's head quickly turned towards them as he sensed their murderous intent.
The Ghostface group then shrieked, and everyone aside from Paulo ran in a panic. When he raced to him and kicked him in the face, causing the member crashed into a building
Paulo yelled, "Sorry deadbeats, this place belongs to the cosmic 10."
Above the deceased member stood Maki Satō, the other member of the Ghostface group.
Then Maki said, "Who the heck are you and what's your deal with the cosmic 10?" while turning to face Paulo.
After that, Paulo shrugged and lunged at the Maki, but she leaped out of his way before he could strike. Then Paulo grabbed one of the other Ghostface members' swords and swung it in the air.
Maki then made lightning pellets emerge by throwing her arms out and jumping violently into the air. Then the elderly bartender showed up, and his eyes widened at what he saw.
Paulo's eyes had become red, and he was now shining a cosmic green. He swung the sword down, killing Maki with a slash of greenlight.
Then, shouting loudly enough for everyone to hear, the elderly man declared, "He has returned everyone, the cosmic green of healing has returned, we are rescued."
Paulo then approached Maki's lifeless body and gazed down at it. Paulo's aura erupted, turning a dark greenish tint and encircling him and Maki. After that, Paulo murmurs, "Arise."
The atmosphere around them becomes more radiant, and Paulo raises his palm above Maki, reviving her as his cosmic protector. As he and Maki left, Paulo grinned and pledged to keep the town safe.
***
Back on earth. The next morning, the halls of Keiko High felt different and charged not with dread or whispers, but with something lighter.
Hope, maybe. Ava walked in with Saya and Tsuki flanking her, their steps purposeful, their expressions unreadable to most. But beneath the surface, they carried something precious: good news.
Ava's eyes were brighter than they had been in weeks. Her wrist still bore Paulo's school tie, but now it looked less like a shackle and more like a vow.
She had not slept much, but she did not care. She had heard his voice. He was alive, somewhere, and that changed everything.
They spotted Alexis near the courtyard, slouched against the wall with his usual half-smirk, earbuds dangling from his collar. He looked up as they approached, his expression shifting when he saw Ava's face.
Before he could speak, Ava stepped forward, her voice steady but brimming with emotion. "We talked to Paulo. He called me."
Alexis blinked, straightening. "Wait… what?"
Saya nodded, her tone calm but firm. "It was not a dream. It was real. He is alive, in another world. He found his old phone. He reached out."
Tsuki added, "He said he'll call back once he figures out how to travel between universes."
Alexis stared at them, stunned. For once, words failed him. The grief that had weighed on all of them suddenly felt… lighter. Not gone but no longer suffocating.
Ava's voice softened. "He is trying to come back. And I am going to help him."
The four of them stood there, surrounded by the hum of morning chatter and the rustle of wind through the courtyard trees.
But in that moment, they were not just students mourning a friend, they were a team, bound by something deeper than grief.
Both worlds have their own conflict but soon they will collide and share the same destruction.