Mundane Lives: Legacy

[Paradis: Gazeera's Domain]

Beep... Beep... Beep...

 The embroidered mirror was beeping in the background. 

"Yaahhahh...", Gazeera yawned as he got off the hammock, scratching his head. He wore a loose silver robe with black linings and navy blue pants. Blue light shined brightly over his back. The cottage looked brighter, more vibrant and jovial.

The mirror clicked and warped, projecting Lord Hades' cloudy mannequin face.

"You look well rested, young wolf.", he said. "Not bad, we are briefing all the [Manifestations] at the courtyard."

"Yeah!..", yawned Gazeera, stretching his arms. "I'll be there, shortly. It was a long day."

"Okay, don't be late. We will be assigning duties and portfolios to each one of you today.", replied Lord Hades.

"Wait!, how do I get to the courtyard?", asked Gazeera.

"I will send a beacon to the courtyard, to your room. You can figure out a way later on, as you explore more of [Paradis].", replied Lord Hades. "Once you are ready just enter the mirror."

The mirror clicked again and the projection disappeared.

Gazeera walked towards the door, opening it. He strode outside, gazing upon his domain. It was no longer dim and cold, but was bright and warm. The navy blue void, was now a light shade of blue. The island itself illuminated brightly, shining white.

Feeling refreshed, Gazeera couldn't help but smile. He walked back in, humming a tune. Snapping his finger, he summoned his staff. There was a name written on it.

"[Bailka- The Shepherd's Ward]...-", mused Gazeera

He then shrugged his shoulders summoning his armor. Peach colored armor draped upon him, with an abstract sigil on it's chest plate. It also had a name.

"...- and [Koharun- The Fold's Sanctuary], my trusty weapon and armor."

After pacing around the room for a bit, he entered the mirror putting on a confident smile.

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[Paradis-Courtyard]

Gazeera stepped out of a warping grey rift that opened at the entrance of the courtyard.

The courtyard was a huge place. Many [Incarnations] were huddled together at it's center, while several of them were still entering through several aisles, corridors and veranda's connected to it. It had a gravel floor and was shrouded in a blueish hue. The place was surrounded by a forest of pale white cypress trees. There was a platform hovering above it.

Gazeera made his way to the huddled group of [Incarnations]. Everyone present was staring at him, murmuring and whispering. A few more [Incarnations] joined the briefing.

Lord Hades arrived, warping over the platform hovering above the courtyard. He occupied a formless throne that had materialized on the platform. He was followed by [The Three Furies], [The Three Sovereign Judges], [Thanatos] and [Aminon], who stood in front of him facing the [Incarnates] within the courtyard. 

"Greetings, former [Manifestations].", addressed Lord Hades, with a deep booming voice. "Firstly, I would like to congratulate you all for successfully ascending to an [Incarnation]. I welcome all of you to [MYRIAD], the culmination of every life you ever lived, every timeline you experienced. The realm that holds the very fabric of our existence!"

"And as the [Incarnates] of [Paradis], it is our duty to protect this realm and the sentients inhabiting it.", he continued. "For we are the ones who maintain the delicate balance of life and death, we are the ones who reward and punish. We ensure redemption and reincarnation. We bare a grave responsibility that shall and will be carried out meticulously. A mistake in our efforts, might spell the demise of every sentient alive. [MYRIAD] has survived eight cycles of [Ragnarok]. And we the [Sentients] have established ourselves as one of the Three supreme factions of [Yggdrasil], through immense turmoil and by our sheer will to thrive. [Paradis] ensures all of us have a home to return. I commend each and every one of you for performing remarkably well, in your time as a [Manifestation]. Now it's time to take on the mantle of an [Incarnation], bringing glory and prosperity to our realm [MYRIAD]."

Everyone in the courtyard stood rooted at their spot, unmoving and determined. Their eyes fixed on the man addressing them.

Lord Hades then gazed upon all the [Incarnations] summoned in the courtyard. He continued-

"As new members of [Paradis], all of you have been assigned a role based on your merit and nature as a [Manifestation]. Reapers, Apostles, Heralds and Overseers. Make note that, these roles are not permanent and will change according to your merit and performance. Remember when assigned a role you will ensure that you do your duties meticulously. [Reapers] ensure that the delicate balance of life and death is not disturbed, [Apostles] aide in the judgement of souls and their reincarnation, [Heralds] deliver the will of [Erebos], while the [Overseers] ensure the very safety of all sentients. Do not under any circumstance deviate from your duty. Always remember the weight of the responsibility you bare. All it takes is one crucial mistake, and everything falls apart. Now the sorting shall commence!"

First, [The Three Furies] descended on the courtyard. They were covered in an armor of feathers and fur. They wore bestial claws as gauntlets. Wild but luscious black hair braided with bones. Their faces covered behind a dark, formless veil. Huge vulture wings rested on their backs.

They walked through the group of [Incarnates] pointing at different [Incarnations], who followed the [Furies] as the rest made way for them. These were the chosen [Heralds].

Then, [The Three Sovereign Judges] drifted down to the courtyard. They had neatly trimmed oak brown beards and their hair was braided inside a laurel. Each wore a different colored toga, one blue, one yellow and one red.

Each of them simultaneously waved their hands, as mysterious sigils appeared over some of the [Incarnates], these [Incarnates] followed the [Sovereign Judges]. These were the chosen [Apostles]

Thanatos jumped down the platform and took in all the remaining [Incarnations], the Grim [Reapers]. Well all but one.

Gazeera stood alone in the courtyard. Wearing the peach armor [Koharun] and wielding the blue palisman [Bailka].

A grim frown formed over Lord Hades' cloudy face, as he gazed upon Gazeera's armor.

[Aminon] jumped down the platform, and walked up to Gazeera.

She had a beautiful marble white face. She was wearing a vintage red tail coat, and a white blouse with a bow tie. She had luscious caramel brown hair, and wore a Kubanka over her head. She wore khaki pants for trousers and black boots.

"Well hello, I am Aminon [The Gatekeeper to Afterlife].", greeted [Aminon], as she shook Gazeera's hand. She had a dainty, calm and soothing voice. "I look forward to working with you, Gazeera-[The Bane of Monsters]."

"[Bane of Monsters]?..", mused Gazeera.

"Well you have become quite famous you see, after your recent victory over [Echidna- The Mother of All Monsters].", replied Aminon, with an excited and joyful smile. "But don't worry about that, it's been a long time since we had another [Overseer], let me show you your workplace. [Cerberus] would be so excited to meet you."

Aminon entered one of the verandahs, as Gazeera followed behind her.

"Sir, that armor.", whispered Thanatos, as he teleported right behind Hades.

"I know, but let's just wait and see. And make sure no other faction or pantheon knows about it", replied Lord Hades, as his expression became more and more grim and dark.

Thanatos nodded and whisped away in shades of black.

************** *************** **************

[Paradis: The Lighthouse]

"Well,.. what do you think?", asked Aminon, smiling brightly.

The lighthouse stood before both of them in all it's glory. It was surrounded by a great ethereal white river, which was torrentially flowing beside it crashing against it's walls. There was a huge obsidian door at it's entrance, with a gravel bridge leading to it.

"Not bad, not bad at all.", replied Gazeera, awed by it's towering structure.

The Lighthouse was an immensely tall structure. With it's pale white walls arching across the sky. It was lined with black obsidian, with several runes glowing brightly on it. At the very top of the lighthouse was a warping vortex of ethereal strands, where the light from the lighthouse shined upon them.

"Welcome to the lighthouse, buddy.", said Aminon, as she walked towards the lighthouse on the gravel bridge. "This is our base of operation, and also sort of our second home as most of us reside here anyway."

"So I presume, the light house is used to guide souls?..", questioned Gazeera, who was walking right beside her.

"Not really, Grim reapers guide the souls and the Apostles are responsible for their reincarnation.", replied Aminon, with a bright smile over her face. "In fact, we barely have to interact with any souls, or fragments. The purpose of the lighthouse is more like recon. We watch out for enemies, look after our allies, monitor everything happening across [Yggdrasil] that concerns us and our well-being."

Aminon walked towards the obsidian door, knocking it thrice.

"So we are more like a relief unit.", replied Gazeera.

"Yes!.. though in very rare cases we might have to personally deal with some problems.", Aminon said, as the door opened. "But that really depends on the urgency of the situation."

She gestured Gazeera to follow her, as she welcomed him to the lighthouse.

Both of them entered a gated lift. The lift had several keys on it. Aminon pressed the zero key and the lift whirred, as it shot up. After traveling in random directions within the lighthouse, it came to a halt. Ting... It's gated door opened and both of them walked out.

The floor they were on was a huge pavilion, where several ethereal strands converged to form a formless spectral portal. There was a ginormous monster at the center of the pavilion. A three headed beast, with huge bestial wings, scaly talons and a serpent for a tail.

"Welcome to the [Gates of Erebos].", chimed Aminon. "This is where the souls guided by the Grim reapers, are summoned to the [Three Sovereign Judges].

And, then there is [Cerberus], our guardian.", she continued, pointing at the beast resting at the center.

"He is huge!", exclaimed Gazeera.

Just as he said that, the beast rose it's three vicious wolf heads gazing upon him, then it went back to sleep. 

"See, he likes you, or at least he seems interested.", grinned Aminon. "You know what, next time you are here bring him something to eat, something sweet. The two of you will get along just fine."

They returned back to the lift. This time Aminon pressed the key with an hourglass sigil on it. The lift started zooming across the lighthouse.

"There are two units among the [Overseer], one monitoring the [Record], while the other monitors [Yggdrasil].", Aminon spoke. "First one led by [The Retired One] while the other is led by [Heimdall]. We work with [The Retired One]."

"And who exactly is [The Retired One]?.. even Charon mentioned him.", Gazeera asked.

"Oh, we don't talk about that.", Aminon replied with a smile.

Ting...

The gated door opened to a grim and bleak room, that was chilling cold.

"Oh well, that's my cue to leave Nasim. Seems like the big man himself wants to speak with you.", she said, saluting off Gazeera as he entered the bleak cold room.

Gazeera stood at the entrance of the room. There was a desk at the far end of the room, occupied by a teenager. He was a bit large compared to other [Incarnations] Gazeera had met so far. He had sharp black eyes, sleek black hair and was draped in dark black robes. With an extremely boyish face.

"Nasim Shabir Gazeera.", he called, in his sharp and raspy tone echoing across the room. "You are a prophet?"

"Huh?..", Gazeera spoke, a bit startled.

"You can see visions, right.", replied the boy, a bit annoyed.

"A-Aah... yes."

"Good, you will be directly working with me from now on.", said the boy. "You will be our [Eye]. Your duty is to personally traverse inside the [Record]. Do you understand?"

"Yes.", replied Gazeera.

"Then for your first task-", the boy was interrupted, his eyes became distant, and then annoyed.

"It seems Hades has summoned you again, well not that I am surprised.", he sighed in annoyance, shutting his eyes and snapping his fingers. 

Dusky-gold sand shrouded Gazeera, as he was teleported away.

He was back in Lord Hades' cabin.

"Hello again, young wolf.", he greeted Gazeera, with a smile warping on his cloudy mannequin like face.

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