44. Ivy
44
IVY
The transition always feels like stepping through a curtain of starlight. One moment I’m in the physical world, the next I’m here, the place that used to be the Void—that terrible nothing that swallowed souls whole—now exists as something so beautiful it makes my heart ache.
I stand in what looks like an infinite cosmic nursery. Souls drift like luminous stars in every direction, their light casting soft colours. Some cluster together in spiralling patterns, while others float in serene solitude. Each one pulses with its own rhythm, its own story.
The space itself is alive and responsive. It’s not just the end of the line anymore. It’s an integral part of the cycle. Streams of energy flow like celestial rivers, carrying echoes of lives lived and lives yet to begin. The boundaries between what was and what will be blur here, creating something entirely new.
I’ve been working to understand this space since we transformed it, but it still takes my breath away. My power feels different here, something more nuanced. More complete.
Moving deeper into the cosmic expanse, I reach out with my awareness. Thousands of souls respond, their lights brightening or dimming in acknowledgement. Some have newly arrived, still carrying the sharp edges of their recent lives. Others have been here longer, their energies softened into possibility.
I approach a cluster of souls that have been here the longest. I grimace at the waves of violence and hatred that come from some of them, others are less angry, some are even happy. They are ready for the transition. My power extends naturally now, weaving through their light like threads through fabric. The first soul I touch blazes brilliant blue-white, eager for connection.
I begin the careful process of distillation. My power acts like a prism, separating the essential from the specific. It’s not about erasing the past but about transforming it into something that can take root in a new life.
The soul brightens as we work together, its energy harmonising with the process. This one understands what we’re doing and is actively participating in its own transformation. When it’s ready, I create the path. It’s not just a direction, but a thread of possibility leading to its next beginning.
With a final pulse of light, like a farewell wave, the soul streams away. Somewhere, a new life will begin, carrying with it traces of its former life.
I move to the next soul, this one a deep crimson shot through with gold. Its energy is more chaotic and resistant. As I connect with it, I understand why. This soul carried pain in its last life. Suffering, but the weight of causing suffering to others as well.
These are always the most challenging.
So, I work more carefully with this one. The soul struggles against this at first, wanting either complete forgiveness or total punishment. But that’s not what this space is for. It’s about rebirth.
Gradually, the soul’s resistance softens. Its angry red light mellows into something more profound, richer. When it finally moves on, it is eager for that second chance.
Each one teaches me something new about this process. It’s slow but I know I will speed up and be able to set souls free as one like I did in the beginning. For now, I want to take care. To make sure I do right by them.
But it definitely needs an expedited process, or the repercussions will be catastrophic. This is the downside, and where I still have much to learn.
I’m aware of how different this is from the old way. The Void was stagnation masked as peace. This living, breathing space of transformation is true peace. Not an ending, but an eternal dance of renewal.
A small group of souls draws my attention - these ones feel different, more focused. As I move closer, I see they’re a group of the worst souls that Death has collected over the millennia. Some of them even the souls who tormented me when I first arrived here, my own kills. Nervously, I approach them, but there is no hostility now. They know I hold their future in my hands. I need to set them free, and what they do with their rebirth is up to them. Most of me thinks they won’t change their ways, but you never know. They might surprise me.
We don’t communicate. I just do my job, and they go on their way to do whatever it is they are going to do.
I turn slowly, my power extending with extra sensitivity. In a quiet pocket of space float two souls, their lights intertwined in a double helix of silver and gold. They’re not newly arrived. Their energy has that softened quality that comes with time spent here. But they’re not ready to move on either. They seem to be waiting.
The recognition hits me like a hurricane. I know these souls. Know them in a way that goes beyond sight or sense or power. The silver light holds echoes of bedtime stories and gentle hands braiding my hair. The gold carries memories of laughing lessons in shifting and pushing the boundaries.
“Mum?” My voice shakes. “Dad?”
Their lights brighten in response, pulsing with love so pure it brings tears to my eyes. They’re not exactly my parents anymore, I know that. The souls here exist in a state of in-between, neither fully who they were nor who they’ll become. But their essential nature, the core of who they were, remains.
I reach out with trembling power, not to guide or transform, but simply to connect. Their energy meets mine halfway, wrapping around me in what feels like an embrace. Memories flow between us. I see myself through their eyes: a beloved daughter, watched over even after they passed. They’ve been here all along, choosing to wait rather than move immediately into new lives.
Through our connection, they share more. They show me how they’ve been helping other souls adjust to this space, using their own acceptance of the cycle to ease others’ transitions. They’ve become guides in their own right, helping preserve the knowledge and wisdom souls bring with them.
But there’s something else, a gentle suggestion carrying hints of farewell. They’re ready now. Ready to move on, to begin new journeys.
Grief and joy tangle in my chest. “I’m not sure I can do this,” I admit. “Help you transition. It feels too much like losing you again.”
Their lights pulse with gentle understanding, then something more. Pride, encouragement, love. But in the circle now, nothing is ever truly lost. Everything transforms.
Taking a deep breath, my power flows differently now, coloured by love and memory and understanding.
They move in perfect sync, their lights still intertwined. Even as they prepare for separate journeys, their souls maintain a harmony that will echo into their new lives, I just know it. Fated mates. I’m sure they’ll find each other again, and again, always finding their way back, lifetime after lifetime.
When they’re ready, I create not one path but two parallel streams of possibility. Their lights brighten one final time. A farewell, a blessing, a promise that all things continue. Then they flow forward, accepting their rebirth with delight.
I stand in the starlit space, tears flowing freely. But they’re not tears of loss. They are out there now and who knows, maybe I’ll see them again one day, not as them, but who they have become.
That makes me smile and brush the tears away.
Love doesn’t end. It changes form, becomes potential, and finds new ways to bloom.
Around me, thousands of souls continue their gentle drift, each one a story waiting to begin again. My power feels steadier now, more complete. I understand better what I am - not just a gateway between life and death, but a guardian of transformation itself.
I turn to the next cluster of waiting souls, ready to help them find their way forward. After all, every ending is just another word for beginning.
And in this space between spaces, everything is possible.