What if one day someone came up to you and said something completely absurd. Trying to clear up something that had been planted inside you, something that was never true, but is a lie that's been so continually purified it's become clean, essentially becoming a truth. Your whole understanding of death is flawed. Death isn't just ceasing to exist. It's not having the power to channel your consciousness through a physical means onto the surface plane.
The only way to channel consciousness into the surface plane is through organic matter, which has its flaws.
A barrier, existing between the surface plane and the so called underworld, prevents frequent travel. Each existence is granted one chance to cross over from the deeper plane to the surface plane.
When the machine channeling their consciousness gives in, they start the journey to return to the deeper plane. As already mentioned, this journey is impossible, as it uses up the whole consciousness of the travellor, not even making it halfway through.
Think of it this way. Your traveling to the moon. And suddenly, trapped in outer space, you run out of fuel. You're then left stranded in that space with no furthure means if propulsion. No one is interfering because of the consequences. Adding to the load may also bring them into the same situation.
But here's the catch. While other ships can be dispatched to rescue the party stuck in space, one can't simply amass enough consciousness to bear the load for two while crossing the barrier as it is with astronauts.
This leads to a mass of consciousness forming within the barrier, making it more resistant, each addition making it harder to make the journey. So those trapped in between are essentially dead, only helplessly watching others make the trip and join them, because no one has been stuck in the space long enough to observe and report on the situation.
The barrier, growing more resistant, amasses more awareness within itself and becomes a sentient entity, pilling up from the tonnes of consciousness that have been entering with no way out.
It eventually becomes 'a living death', watching 'souls' cross over from the deeper realm to the surface plane, not interested in sparing effort to capture them, knowing full well they'll be back. And thus it forms.
A sinister black mass so vile it can only be described as pure evil. Capable of traversing both worlds, because once the space within the two realms, it has now evolved and become a barrier.
Not obstructing movement between the two realms because it doesn't want to, but because it doesn't need to. To understand that what goes in must come out. So those who slip past it once mustuse the same route again, only this time to meet their end.
The deeper realm, not really much different from the surface realm. What makes it outstanding is mostly it's development. Knowledge ammased from generations of living life there have made it more outstanding than the surface realm ever could be. It is for this reason that new technologies were formed, capable of transportation from the deeper realm into the surface plane.
What these inhabitants didn't know is that no one had truly existed in the surface realm before. It was simply a vast plane with no end in sight. So those championed and sent by the deeper realm became the first true conscious beings in the surface realm, not having any recollections of their prior existence in the deeper realm.
Thus, the first life forms, begun to form. Only, the first deeper realm inhabitants turned out to be earthworms, some lucky enough to become apes and the truly smiled upon by lady luck became present day humans.
So what happens after the machine holding their consciousness fails, it starts slowly slipping away, back to the source. But the journey back is not an easy one.
Coupled with the increased resistance, the awareness itself is incorporated into the black mass, fueling the already existing harbinger of doom.
Then while humans (Plants and animals are a different concept altogether) on the surface realm live on their lives, not oblivious to death but not knowing what it actually is, the same applies to the masses of consciousness in the deeper realm, eagerly waiting for their chance to travel to the surface realm.
Countless generations, each undying, reproducing ceaselessly, almost infinite albeit for the small amount that trickles down the path to the surface realm every day, every second.
Each led by a ruler capable of governing the innumerable population, live out their lives in complete harmony. Not because of fear, but because of mutual understanding. Any unsatisfied party is free to leave.
And though the travel is described as free for all. All but one position are prohibited from making the travel. And that is the position of the ruler of the deeper realm.
But why exist to govern an orderly place. And most importantly, what happened to the predecessors, did they all travel to the surface plane in defiance of the regulations set it did something else entirely happen to them.
Each ruler serving for almost two centuries is appointed on merit once the predecessor vanishes. This cycle has been going on for a long time and though everyone has concerns, none is bold enough to voice them out. Not even the rulers appointed afterwards. They only know that once they have also completed their terms, they will also face the same and new rulers will take over from them.
In essence, the travel is more of a disadvantage as it leads one to lose more than to gain. Sadly, there has been no one who has observed the short working time of the machines on the surface or the fact that it was a one way trip to begin with. Otherwise, it could have changed a lot of things.
And so with that, what is death, is it just the ceasing to exist or is it the loss of awareness that one exists. And if so, then how do you stop death. In short, WHEN WILL IT STOP?