Afterlife

Broken is the sphere of the body, When the spirit will ascend
Over the infinite boundaries, Over the gulches of death

— Pale Morning Star - Insomnium

The afterlife, or the hereafter, is the state of existence of a soul after death.
The soul is an immortal and inviolable spirit that detaches from its body after death. It is the will of Empyreal Gods that souls must find a path to the afterlife they deserve, whether that be among the gods, as a plaything for demons, fighting on eternal battlefields, or perhaps as part of nature itself.
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Path to the afterlife

Shortly after death, the soul of a creature leaves its body as an ethereal apparition -- the less that remains of the body, the quicker this process. The soul detaches from its corporeal remains into Purgatory, a mirror dimension that encompasses the entire universe and exists in parallel to it. One can see into the real world from Purgatory, but not the other way around, and a freshly-dead soul has no apparent means of returning to the real world. Thus they immediately face the first trial of their afterlife: beholding their corpse and its surroundings -- perhaps loved ones and family, or the scene of a violent murder -- the deceased must relinquish their past life and find the werewithal to move on.
The path to one's afterlife might be little more than a planar portal, hidden within the colorless mists of Purgatory. However, some chosen beings might be retrieved from Purgatory in person by planar messengers. Devout servants of the gods might earn the guidance of a valkyrie, druids and other friends of nature might be lead forwards by a wisp, while warlocks that made pacts with terrible cosmic powers might very well find themselves face to face with those very entities.

Associated relic
Animus
Visualization / manifestation
After death, afterlife is reached via Purgatory.
Localization
Universe

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LAWS OF CREATION
Life
Matter
Soul
Magic
Space
Time
ARTIFICIAL LAWS
Divinity
Afterlife
Undeath

Afterlife and resurrection

In afterlife, souls usually continue their existence as incorporeal spirits, but some are given new bodies, effectively granting them a new life in the service of gods. However, creating living bodies and binding souls to them requires such great power, that not even all gods can accomplish such a feat. The Twelve Sovereigns have such power, and often lend it to other gods of the Empyreals. The greatest deities of the Outer Gods are also capable of this.

The Diminishing and the Cycle of Souls

Although souls are immortal, not even afterlife lasts forever.
The disembodied souls of dead creatures are ever drawn from their place in the afterlife to the Living Infinite. Through a process known to the gods as the Diminishing, ethereal souls do -- ever so slowly -- fade away from the afterlife. This is a decades-long process, at the end of which the soul disappears entirely, becoming one with the Living Infinite. Powerful gods have the ability to slow the Diminishing, some to such an extent that a soul's afterlife can last centuries if not even millenia.
When creatures are born in the universe, their souls do not come from the gods, but from the Living Infinite. Thus, the Living Infinite is the beginning and end of all creatures. This phenomenon is known as the Cycle of Souls. Truth be told, were it not for the divine designs of Anthos and the other Sovereigns, there wouldn't even be afterlife. Rather, all souls would enter the Cycle directly after death. It is by the power of the Animus, and the secrets gleaned from its usage, that the gods are able to postpone the re-entry of a soul into the Cycle.
There is no afterlife for gods, who are drawn to the Living Infinite immediately after their corporeal forms perish. Although gods can prevent the souls of creatures from entering the Cycle of Souls, they cannot do this to the souls of other gods. This is because their powers over souls are limited. The Diminishing of gods lasts only mere moments. Thus death is a very real danger for the gods -- and many other cosmic entities besides.