2 Chapter 61: New Job

"Four hundred years, good job persevering for so long."

Those were the first words Lucilla heard when she opened her eyes. She looked around confused for a few seconds before realizing she was back in Ovana's throne room. She was just walking down the hall when she found herself here without warning. She didn't even notice she was teleported; it was like the world around her had simply shifted in an instant.

"Now that your training is finished it's time, we return to the original reason you came here."

Looking towards the large throne Lucilla found her Goddess sitting fairly casual with her legs crossed in front of her and her head being propped up by her hand as she leaned into it. She was at her normally large height of seven-hundred-and-sixty-two centimeters, making her feel far more apposing despite how carefree she seems to be acting. The crimsoned eyed woman sometimes forgets that this entity in front of her was a Celestial. One of, if not the most powerful existences to exist.

Lucilla then glanced towards her side, where Geminus and Filia hung from her waist. She had transformed them back into swords at this point. Herself and two companions by her side have been training the transformation ability, but it was slow progress. While they had managed to shorten the time to a degree, it had the unfortunate side effect of making all of them mentally drained. It feels like a physical phenomenon, but it truly was only mental, and spiritual fatigue.

The problem with using negative emotions to form such temporary and weak connections is that it will never be useful in battle. She could theoretically try, but that would leave her valuable, and in battle any distraction could be fatal. Then there was the fact the twins would fall into a coma for years after each transformation. The time between when they fall asleep then wake up have shorten, but again, not useful in battle if Lucilla needs to have a different weapon.

She didn't have to worry about that right now though. She wasn't in any immediate danger and the need to use different weapons in battle has yet to come up.

"I understand." Lucilla said, turning her attention back to Ovana. "I just hope you don't force my two companions here to transform again. It'll be a large burden on them while in this state."

The Goddess smiled. "Oh, don't worry, that was a one-time thing. Once those two cuties wake up again, I do hope you transform them into either a Halberd or a Scythe."

She gave the Celestial a single nod in acknowledgement to indicate she understood. While she did transform the twins into a halberd one or twice, she was far more comfortable with the scythe than her Goddesses weapon of choice. She wasn't likely to use a halberd any time soon.

"When do I start judging souls?" Asked Lucilla glancing around the room. She never really thought about how judging a soul would look like, but she figured it didn't happen here.

"Yes well, come here." Ovana said beckoning the young woman approach.

Listing to her Goddess Lucilla started making her way to the tall woman, with long confident strides. Once she was directly in front of her throne, Ovana leaned forwards and tapped Lucilla on the forehead. Feeling energy enter through her, the silver haired woman helped guide it through her body, and soul. After only a few seconds she felt her awareness of the unique existence that is the soul become clear.

While her face didn't change much, Lucilla looked at Ovana with raised eyebrows, shocked. She could feel, and if she concentration a little, even see the soul of the Celestial in front of her. Looking at her own soul and that of her own swords in comparison, she realized the 'soul' her Goddess possessed was different from her and the twins.

"I wouldn't recommend staring." Ovana said, before shielding her soul from Lucilla's prying eyes. "I would hate for you to comprehend something you shouldn't and go mad."

Lucilla nodded, slightly dazed. She couldn't quite comprehend what she witnessed, the only thing she could gather was that it was the soul of a higher power. Her mind felt muddy as she tried to think back on what she saw but just could not picture it. She once again looked at her own soul with concern.

The pale blue color of her soul sat right in the middle of her chest. Faint hairline fracturs could be seen running along what appeared to be its surface, along with the few Mana-links that ran through it, connecting with it. She didn't know how to describe the soul itself for It looked almost light and fuzzy, but also hard and glassy. It seemed to vibrate similar to when the surface of still water is disturbed.

Looking even more closely she could see a black coloration staining the inside of her soul. It was deep within, almost like it was stuffed down there forcefully so it wouldn't come near the surface. Lucilla thought she saw some chains wrapped around this amorphous blob, but she couldn't get a clear view of it.

The he most noteworthy thing that she saw was the clear golden light wrapped around her soul like a protective covering. It was where her Celestial energy seemed to have congregated inside her before spreading through the rest of her body. Finally, bright Golden chains that looked almost white wrapped around everything protectively. Just glancing at its Lucilla knew they were the blessings she revived from her Goddess.

"Lucilla." Ovana called, snapping the woman out of her trance.

"I apologies, what were we talking about again?"

"We were talking about your new task of judging souls, and if needed, eliminating them."

"Wait, eliminating them?" Lucilla said incredulously. "Wont they just reform somewhere else?"

"Yes, they will. Inside that very room." Ovana answered. "Some mortals think they can fight their way into the afterlife without first being judge, while others try to fight their way out instead. Those that become violent in the chamber Will have to be delt with."

"So, I essentially have to kill them over and over till they behave?"

"After dealing with them once, they won't be able to properly pull themselves together till they leave. After that you'll have to personally send them to the rest of the soul realm. They could also be sent to the 'Isles of Fortune,' or even your favorite place here, Athrem, which some humans of earth call hell." Ovana said.

"Can you trust I'll be unbiased?" Lucilla questioned. "I have personal opinions about some of these people you know?"

"There's an automatic system in place that'll help speed things along." Ovana explained. "Most cases can be judge by this system while your only job is to guide them towards the path that they deserve."

"Are things so black and white they can be judged so mechanically?" Lucilla asked finding it weird.

"Of course not. That's why most people don't end up in the Isles of Fortune where those that have done great things in their life go, or Athrem. You silly little mortals are so complicated."

"...."

"There are also cases that are so complicated they can't be judge by the system. It's part of your job to determine if someone needs to be scrutinized more closely." Ovana continued. "You are fully capable of seeing their souls, which will help you in this process. My sister Veris and her Archdemons will also provide reports on each individual to help with your work."

"... How many people am I dealing with?" Lucilla asked concerned by how much work was ahead of her.

"You're dealing with everyone that died during your little skirmish." Answered the Goddess. "You're lucky I had already delt with that town you destroyed a long time ago."

"Oh yeah, that did happen."

Ovana's smile stiffened a little hearing Lucilla's response. Her proxy seemed to have completely forgotten about the countless deaths she was personally responsible for. She knew Lucilla wasn't really aware of what she was doing when it happened, but she thought the crimsoned eyed woman would at least remember the aftermath.

"Well, I have my own duties to get back too. I'll send one of my Archdemons to assist you on your work for the next few weeks until you're capable of doing it yourself."

"Thank you, Miss Ovana." Thanked Lucilla.

With a snap of the Celestials fingers, Lucilla was once more transported somewhere.

___________________

Observing her new surroundings, the silver haired woman found herself in a large circular chamber full of grey sand that covered the floor. In the middle of the room was a slightly raised round platform similar to a dais. A large pile of sand sat atop the platform, with a beam of light overhead focusing on it. It was a strange sight to bear witness to.

Towards one of the walls of the room another dais stood, but this time it held a throne aloft. It was completely black, with light blue engravings etched into the stone frame of the chair. Lucilla walked over to it and tested the softness of the cushioning with her hand and found it surprisingly comfortable. Other than the throne there was also a small black wooden table sitting beside it with documents already sitting on top.

"That's unfortunate." Lucilla muttered, not completely ready to read over paperwork. Still facing the throne, she looked to her left, where three different archways lined the wall.

The stone frames that formed each archway was a different color A dark crimson, a pale blue, and a polished white. She figured these were probably the gate ways to get to the three different parts of the afterlife where she would personally lead each soul one by one. Though all she could see within each archway was the black stone wall that made up the chamber.

She then looked around the chamber once more, noting the same tapestry and hell fire light sources on the walls found in Ovana's throne room. The sand pile located in the middle of the room had distracted her, so she didn't really give them much thought before then. Lucilla then noticed the door located behind the throne; it's dark surface blending into the wall.

Stepping around the throne to get to the door, she reached out her hand to grab the handle. She slowly opened the door until a small living space was revealed to her. Directly in front of her was a small living room with a couches and chairs and a table in-between them. They all faced the wall towards a flat black rectangular object hanging from it.

To her right looked to be a kitchen with a stove, a more advance looking fridge than the one she was used to, and other kitchen appliances. Some familiar, some unknown. There was even a central counter in the kitchen for more surface space.

Looking to her immediate right she found the door to the bathroom open, noting it also held the bath inside, meaning this was most likely the only bathroom in the place. There were three more doors in the living room area. One led to the bedroom, the other to a small office with even more documents preprepared. The last door was a small closet with nothing to note inside.

"I guess this is where I'll be living from now on." Lucilla said to herself as she finished looking around the place. It looked and felt like more advance version of an apartment back on Zelviea.

Not knowing when the Archdemon would show up, Lucilla decided to head back to the circular chamber and read over the documents sitting next to the throne. Leaving the apartment, she walked around the black chair again, picked up the first folder sitting atop the small pile, before sitting down. Opening the file that had a brief summary of the young hunter's life and his notable deeds in her hand, she got comfortable as she read over the documents inside.