Returned compendiums

She as the index keepers knew that some folks would still be 'alive' and still will be protecting what tattered remains are left of the books. She is mildly impressed that it was mostly sections with names still written, but the souls are stubborn and don't want any part of what is brewing. For that, she can't blame the souls and the tome remains for still being feisty when given the chance.

As good charity the books locked in bullet glass cases were on display within the drinking greeters Hall. A large castle hired for the event with proper traditional architectural beauty.

As promising, she has continued being at the mage Kings side as note taker and whisperer of small stuff. The Lord king certainly can tell she not his Matthew and that even though she was darker, she retains a odd humanity about her commentary. She still respected the same people and stood neutral party for any that approached. The rare time she was ever leery when the king only son was around, but it was different form of leery. Mathew was never certain of what changes of fate happens around that boy but Dahlia was always ready for whatever happens. She was leery for what level of need that was required of her to do. She truly does try to respect laws, even when laws don't make it easy for her.

"You mustn't touch these books, at any cost. If your name becomes written into it... well. You may have to start fearing my influences as you fear your son." Honesty was at the core of her policy, likely the afterlife years of being a undertaker and grim repear. She truly styles as the darker misfortune that omens can be. She always pointed those darker things more then Matthew did. The half empty glass at times.

"King James the second." The greeters bow upon meeting eye to eye with the king.

"Sir archangel general and Lady Duchess of the fourth layers... Both former since the collapse of your universe. The change as risen them two the last two highest titles. At this point, minor gods. Due to the limitations of govern laws, they are as here as any damned is. Please be leery of these two... they take murder to their own hands. Even to the point of breaking laws. After all, the dead can't kill the living." She spoke gentle and made both snarl in reflexive fear. The king nods in appreciating this warning.

"Just as you two are the head of the family. My wife and myself are. I have no doubt that you must met each other before if you knew them this well."

"It be a lie to say we haven't. But there will be no reason for them to know me. Inside or out. For once I will make it clear, even if the Lord of Omens is a neutral party. I have plenty reasons to distrust these two. I could take back what is lost if it mattered. But even the stubborn will lash out at even me." She glares, "Give me one reason and I will send you out of this realm. I am not so tolerant of a being as the keeper around here."

"You must be an soul from our universe. Even if the body isn't. You will also have to be a Trickster too. But there are many that were book keepers. Many like you have scorned us for what we done. There is nothing special about you, just another that turned coats." The demoness snarls and it is clear now that the two were soul swapped. The soul of the angel was in the demon and the demon soul is in the angel. The journey to this universe has out them back correctly.

"Very interesting. I don't think you have ever exerted such abilities before me, Dahlia." The mage king notes.

"I make it my respect to keep within the laws as possible. This isn't my universe and so I will respect the house rules." She bows lightly.

"Many Undertakers are all about the laws. They share that business with Grim reapers and Shadows of the Damned in this universe. They are normally in pairs but the crossing to this side would have demanded sacrifices. Many are missing partners. You aren't any different at all." The Archangel sighs, "Maybe the better relationship between our house names will bring back lost pairs. There is nothing to restore back home but we can restore what we brought with us."

"You really mustn't. Your tome is different to this universes. Even I with not history, I know a god eater's scales when I see one. You books might not restore what you really wish for. Not here." The mage king warns, "But if transfer names out from the book to set them a new home in Old places, that is something we can work towards together." The prolong silence following the Kings suggested help.

"Our tome has always been part god eater. Why is that a issue?" The demoness ponders.

"There are no god eaters. Only in the dream lands." The king mage is slowly seeing the conflict that was brought to him, "Release of such beasts will damage fragile realms we need left undisturbed. Science and Magic are truly the balancing act, just as life and death is. These factors have made many scream. I wish them to not scream like that again." She knows that Enders will hear souls scream within thier universe which why most are driven to insanity. Clearly the mage king has quelled the screams of this universe to achieve this level of peace in many worlds. Setting god eaters loose will no doubt return these screams.

"I don't think it be wise to let them have these books at all. Just in listening to the stories these poor fools did to thier universe." Mark, the brother of the king. He sneers at the meer notice of her and skirts to whisper about the Kings ear. The brothers were planning on trashing the party. They didn't want to extend offers to a bunch of broken souls with universe breaking plans.

"Dahlia." She reacts quickly at sweeping the Kings head down from the beheading. She got him out of range and has weapons of her own to block blows. She watches what the god of Omens wants her to watch in mind of at all times. That the Lord isn't able to also see the damned lounging around. At a guess with Curiosity among them, he was using this universe damned against the family of Tricksters. Interesting more was that the Prince was watching too, hovering the side line in waiting too.

"What are you doing with such god killing equipment?" The demoness snares. Mute silence, "Just what is a undertaker of little status doing beside a royal king. That is unless you are the ex king advicer before." The lady thinks it was all figured out, "Curiosity." With the memories of this body, it is second nature to cast elemental magic in share of the direct attacks of these weapons. She has no body reaction to the name for what the demon lady seeks.

"Stop." The mage king living body is held hostage and makes slow check that the mask of the king had plans. Given the direct staring to make such eye contact to each other. In full knowledge of whom that title is. She makes quiet a dirty trick of letting the weapons go, only to caught them and stab lady through. It is without mercy for sure.

"You really going to let yourself be a murderer?" The Omens Lord asked.

"Did you not know? We both were sinners before this universe. The lady isn't wrong, Curiosity really was a undertaker with power. He was the king's dirty hands, the man placed balance quiet often. He was as much as sinner as a Saint. I don't think he ever changed coming here. So fickle. So in his nature too. He was defying the laws long before he came to that universe." She throws the empty shell at her feet, "Pray and tell tome, is the soul worth salvageable? Will you recycle her again?"

The pages nearby of locked glass tomes flickering page counting. Pages soon burned and dusted. They can't be collected when locked in this glass.

"Yes... let's not forget the laws now. The living can't murder the dead." The Lord of omens mentions.

"Well yeah." She tossed the dagger about in the air, "This is a scythe and technically the soul of the scythe killed this demon. I am only the poor curse fella weilding it. Cutting air really." She shrugs.

"Loop hole in laws. You sure to not be a demon instead?"

"How do you kill a dead person?" There seems a flaw in thier basic logic. Yet this is not the time to be correcting people.

She shurgs at both questions. She puts away weapons and stands down, following the sort of things dream manifestations are gesturing about. She melted into the crowds, the hood of black raven feathers shielding her among them. The mask of the mage king pulls the archangel general off the living side of the king. Tendrils of shadow pulling the winged man through a gate by force, the work of two men against one. The Lord of omens swoops at collecting the soul of the lady demon and tosses her core to the nearest demon associate. The invisible ghost people among the crowds have stopped fighting and fled the area. Leaving behind just living people, mostly god followers having a juveil chat of happier subjects. Even Dream people were swapping out for nicer ones, good fortune. She got Curiosity back, wearing his mask to her face and returns to him being the one to play this body motions. He is the happy one of the pair, like the past where it was her. Maybe these were the traits they traded as partners.

"It is true that undertakers are quiet difficult people. They regert the actions they made but they feel better to never change the past." A living human Trickster ponders in exploring things at their veiw, "They safe guarded humans from the flaws of angels and demons. They had dirty hands but they carried to protect humanity logic of understanding. It is within the rights of the ex-undertaker among you to had rid of the threat on your life. It is no different to a exorcist or priest getting rid of demons."

"Although the undertakers were lost a while ago for even us. They stopped even that and they disappeared. The work they left behind collapsed, leaving the universe vulnerable. The day your home island left was the last straw for our lands. The ocean drained and world of living was solid lava... and then cold as we lost our magnetic field. A cold stone floats around a black hole. That is all that is left." The deep frowns, "It ended unfinished. Torn and unamused."

"We had experienced the watching of several realms, most not even our own. We watched them from the shore of time scar relics. You lot among the many dragged out in time from the waters. You weren't the only creatures. I am told the mutants that carried a universe collapsed disease landed on the shore, escaped and crawled to the afterlife realms. There is a reptile cat hidden in the cliff now, the god follower to a demon god. Interesting of all was the strange cloth of rags that Matthew collected. It seems they had history beyond this universe. Even the Lord that they follow here can't untangle what exactly was up with them." The king narrows, "So it wasn't out of the question that among those who suddenly appeared would be humans with the cursed regerts of their forefathers. That they are living Damned, just as the Darkwood bloodline." The sweat beads off several folks that now reflected that this diplomatic trades was a disadvantage to them completely. That they could not kick the Darkwoods out the picture and resume the lifestyle they held in the previous universe. According to shared memories, Gladers and Darkwood were the same family all along. But that isn't publicly known. To attempt to rip the family in half and replace with strangers. Strangers with proven bad rule breaking history.

"Although it be against the wishes of the members of the dead side of our family." Someone bravely steps forward at taking control, "They don't actually care about what happens to the living lines. Yet it matters to us what happens from here. We don't have homes and are at your mercy. So in gifting the tomes we been explicitly told to not give away to folks. That we see that you are who has the tools and support." The nods of all these living people, "We have to adapt to live or face dying in unknown afterlife systems. At least this way, we are going to live." A hard choose but it is on all these living peoples shoulders.

"what good is dust?" A god follower at a case.

"The tome they come from is one without material shape in the living worlds." The god of omens speaks and she translated to all, "There will be sections that even gods can't see."

"The compendiums of the abyss gates, soulless creature realms and the tome of broken souls." That much was translated by the Ender king mage, "Given the conjectures of our universes coming together as one. There is now five Enders for one universe." The king pondering a moment, "But there is something more wrong then just there being five Enders."

"The boundaries of what is alive and dead has gone off course." The son steps in now, "The tome of broken souls is the sheer reason and isn't something to just thrown out." The son steps around smoothly but pulls her arm with him, "Come along... your part of this too."

"Well I know that." She is however dragged unwillingly. Stubborn feet that stay planted as this kid pulls her.

"Will you cooperate?" The kid hissed.

"You ask him. Not me. I had plenty of time being man handled by you." She shurgs and indeed Curiosity was the one being childish.

"What's Dahlias deal with part of this?" The mage king hissed.

"Five Enders and your not going to include a tome maker?" The kid hissed back, "She literally is a tome."

"That doesn't make sense." Mark being confused. He shares the glare with his twin brother. The two mid 40's men glare suspicious of the logic their son / nephew. The Lord of omens not able to understand words can read human body language. Landing on the child's shoulder. Matthew is willing to move where ever his god puts trust, taking the child's hand and following with moving together.

"Now then," The child asked Matthew to lower down to eye level. He preformed a prefect healing magic, it was like perfect surgery without a knife. The counter weight of souls then swap too. She was returned back into the form she came to this universe as. Matthew is a living man again with only a vague scar and a bullet rolling the floor. She is the one as the mask, she clings to her Curiosity in dire fear. She lost all what the body offered and she is left with the dread and numbness.

"I have so many questions." Curiosity back to being his normal self and was being fearless in looking at the child, "Are they really people with unfinished business?" The child sighs glad to see his freind back to himself and the slow peer downwards at the elongated shadows around him.

"Can I have the mask?" Matthew blinks a lot like that was to complicated. He was actually even reluctant about it. Compelled not by her but his own deeper wishes.

"She doesn't deserve being in more pain but still she carried those burdens." His voice sort of throw off a lot of people. Surprised that he was defending this total stranger, "She really does hold back. She left you five to your wishes, even if the scars spreads." He had his hands in placement of what she does. Like holding in guts from spilling out.

"Its her turn to have some healing." The kid opens hands.

"You should..." Matthew lost his voice a moment and soon sort of bubbles, "Find out why they murdered her." He held her strong, "I was ordered to keep an eye on her but not intervene with living matters. I broke that law to save her." He curls more at guarding her, "Executed for a easy fix. She could have stayed an undertaker a while longer."

"Overwhelming the sense of his soul being completed. He's sort of locked with knowing exactly everything." The Lord of omens hops onto his shoulder, "I am starting understand his logic. He watched her grow up and die twice. I suspect he stopped her somehow at the third run."

Curiosity sort of jerked in standing. He felt the intent of blood lust by the four Enders. The only one that wasn't was the child... who didn't actually care. He just couldn't afford losing her. He hadn't any reason why to feel this way. His current life shows that this assumption of lust was wrong. They had no reason for it.

"I can not." He throw his right hand up and time slows into a stop. He took on turn and a undertaker gateway was made for them. He hugs his lord in bird form and her in mask form. He doesn't even look back at the turned faces of disdain malice.

"Return." She vacuums in the dust of all those tomes about to be left, the particles had cut through and seeps into her pocket. The lavished old maze of painting and the echo of the once busy hallways.

The boarding school was a twisted reminder of what it use to be. Message boards if rusted tacks, dropped papers and sun faded inks. There was corpse bones everywhere and a egg like smell cling to surfaces. A very well done Halloween party decoration. Yet it is real. Those heads are melty sticky puddles. Curiosity in sheer panic runs through this place. Not looking back any moment.

This was with the tome of broken souls returned to inhospitable planet with no sun or atmosphere. The light guiding Curiosity was the god of omens, the god using divine power to protect his craze minded follower. Nothing in this version of the living world is alive, just a constant corridor of dead.