Void Crossing

Void Crossing is a Ninhavan phrase used to describe the period immediately following death but before reaching one's final resting place. It is a liminal phase in which the soul of the recently deceased leaves the body and is forced to walk across the universe to their "nexus"; a separate gateway for each soul which will lead them to Paradise. Ninhavan belief states that closer one followed the commandments of Aiou, as outlined by Ninhavé and The Pedermann, the more brightly one's nexus will shine, ensuring that one is incapable of losing their way as they journey across the universe. Conversely, if one did not follow Aiou's precepts, or lived a nihilistic and disorderly life, their nexus will be indistinguishable from all other lights in the sky, and they will wander space forever, until all of reality collapses and their soul disappears from existence.

There are a number of beliefs which Ninhavans hold regarding Void Crossing that are not attested in scripture, but have been confirmed by the exegesis of The Pedermann. The first is that if a soul wanders too long, or strays from its path, the Dragon of Chaos will hunt down and annihilate it, damning the individual to non-existence. The second belief is that soulmates have nexes which are close to one another, and when a soulmate dies they will know to wait for the other, and thus will journey across the void together, free of all outside concerns. For some members of the Ninhavan faith, this represents the first of three paradises, the Earthly Paradise, and generally lasts over 1 billion years. Because of this, Ninhavans place a great deal of emphasis on marriage, and strongly discourage their faithful from remaining unwed.