Relaxation is King

Upon Somer opening the door there was a wave of warm air along with the smell of scented candles and a slight tinge of sweat, Somer smiled and Cain remained indifferent as they went in. The main reception area was manned by a tall man with pastel-colored hair and a t-shirt that had 'Relaxation is King' on it. He smiled and said, "Old man, are you shirking your duties again? You're here far too often."

Somer grumbled, "I did my job already Godfort, besides, I've got an important job for you and your girls," he said as he motioned towards Cain. In response, Godfort hopped over the reception desk and skidded in front of Cain, putting both hands on his shoulders, "You poor boy! Your whole soul is such a mess! Did the old man do this to you? Do you need me to beat him up? How did-"

Cain, as somewhat of an introvert, froze up with the very active Godfort talking in his face. And before he or Somer could reply Godfort just picked him up and started carrying him off to the back room. "Umm-" Cain tried to protest but was cut off.

"Hush, everything's okay now, my girls will make everything better, and I'll go teach that old man a lesson after."

"But-" interrupted again.

A solitary tear appeared in the corner of Godfort's eye, "It must have been terrible, he's always harsh on the newcomers, especially when they ask dumb questions!"

Cain sighed and gave up, and after being manhandled for about a minute Godfort went into a room and gently laid him onto a massage table face down, "Now just wait here and I'll get someone to fix you right up~." he says with a sickly sweet voice, then leaves the room. At first, Cain wanted to look around the room but he had to admit, the massage table was very comfortable. He even found buttons in reach of his hand that turned on the vibration of varying intensities and flipped on the lowest setting.

Soon there was a knock at the door and with affirmation from Cain it opened, and someone walked in. With the vibration, Cain didn't even feel like lifting his head, and Godfort said someone was coming so he didn't bother looking. He felt a palm being placed upon his back, and a sweet voice rang out, "Oh my, big brother was right, you poor thing! I'll start immediately if that is okay with you."

"Okay," is all Cain responded with.

At some point, his shirt disappeared, and with the sound of cracking knuckles, the person started working on Cain's back. It felt warm and soothing, like a warm blanket roll across his back. The massage continued for a few minutes and while he felt like it was going great a worried voice cried out, "I've never seen a soul this tense, I need to call for backup!"

Cain heard what sounded like a button being pressed and soon more footsteps approached the room, and then more people came in. Cain had to tune the noise out, every time someone came in they exclaimed about how serious it was and they all seemed to be too energetic. Even if he was told his soul was in a critical state he didn't think it was bad enough for people to shout and lament over him. Eventually, he fell asleep to the feeling of vibrations and several hands upon his body.

For the first time in a long time, he dreamt without having a nightmare.

Sometime later he awoke in a soft bed in a small room, there were candles of various colors on the nightstand and a button labeled 'Press when awake'. Cain shrugged and hit the button, then swung his legs off the bed and sat up. Surprisingly his joints didn't hurt when he moved, and he still felt a warmth covering his body. He got up and did some basic stretches he learned from a foreman in a construction job and found that he felt amazing.

A knock sounded out from the door, so Cain called out, "Come in," and a... Cain wasn't sure what gender they were, but they were wearing flagrant and frilly clothing. They looked female, but there was stubble on their chin, and a sweet voice came from them, "Good to see you're awake sweety, how do you feel?"

"Eh... Good, I suppose," Cain responded in subtle confusion. The woman? nodded and motion for him to follow, "That's great, now come on, we've just begun!" And so he was led through the building but on his own feet this time. Along the way, he saw many people enjoying the spa and several workers who were clearly female, and many more who were questionable. The person leading him took him to various rooms and had him go through many treatments. Cain just followed along wordlessly, he had no reason to protest as he clearly felt better after every experience.

By the end of the day, even his skin looked clearer, which confused him as he was supposed to be a soul, but the worker explained that was his soul showing signs of healing. His muscles felt stronger, and even the kinks in his compressed spine were worked out, making him look a bit taller. The worker eventually lead him back into the main room and winked at him before going back. Somer was sitting on a chair looking somewhat tired, "Oh? You're finally done, kid."

Cain nodded, "You were right, I feel much better. Didn't you relax too?"

Somer grumbled, "I wanted to, but I had to explain to that over-enthusiastic buffoon that it wasn't my fault you ended up as you did," he sighed as he stood up, "Anyways, let's go get some food."

Cain frowned, "Not that I'm complaining, but why do we need food?"

"Ha! We don't, but we can still enjoy it. Depending on where you're sent after you might never get to enjoy food as good as the stuff here," Somer explained as he pats his lower back a few times, then heads out the door. He took Cain to his favorite place, an old-style Chinese buffet, and despite having terrible teeth he bit into everything with vigor. Cain ate moderately, not used to eating more than what was necessary to live. The plateau even had a day and night cycle, so Somer suggested him a good hotel and then went back to the administration building where he apparently slept.