ARC 1 - DAMNATION

A Sacrilege.

The love between a god and the incarnation of a demon has aroused the anger of the Gods.

By the Order of Chaos, King of the Gods, Rhaia stood before the heavenly court facing the Gods in judgement.

The chattering and murmurings dispelling the tension in the room.

She looked at the man sitting on the highest throne, Chaos himself, the man who would have been her father-in-law if only he wasn't so repulsed by her identity, repulsed by demons.

She took a shaky breath and dropped down her head, her black hair covering her seductive face. Rhaia twisted her body, the holy chains that bound her dug into her flesh and was draining her of her life force.

She let out a sigh, her main body would be in pains also.

The huge gavel struck the sounding block and the murmurings stopped suddenly.

Rhaia took in another breath....

'Now is the time' she thought.

"Evil demoness attempting to seduce my son!"

The deep baritone voice sounded thundering across the heavens. The Gods within the room trembled in their seats because they knew now that Chaos was livid, something that has never happened before.

Rhaia as the direct recepient of the fury couldn't stand up to it and fell embarrassingly on the cold ground.

She couldn't raise her head, neither did she want to.

"Your memory is to be withdrawn and you are punished with nine lifetimes of doom" The cold voice sounded again without any emotions in it.

Rhaia raised her head and watched as Chaos swung the wide sleeves of his coat and left his seat, leaving the hall entirely.

Even with all that happened, his words weren't more than two sentences, the pain of betrayal really hurt deeply.

"How could the punishment be so lenient to an ordinary demon?"

"Yes, I thought with the Lord's anger she would have to be sent to the abyss to be punished by the devils there."

" Your words are true. A mere nine lifetimes of doom, this isn't punishment at all!"

"Perhaps the Lord isn't really angry, he only wiped his son's memory and did nothing else, if he was angry, he would have also been punished according to the laws!"

"You are such a fool. His father made the crime and the punishment too, he could also change it if his son was the doer you know."

"Okay I understand that, but what about the demon's punishment, isn't it a bit too light also?"

The murmurings started again.

Rhaia dropped her head, she knew and understood what confused others.

Truly Alaric was Chaos's son, a son he loved.

And she was the daughter of a betrayer. The woman who played with Chaos's heart and betrayed him was her mother, the woman he loved and hated.

Rhaia raised her head to the highest chair as she felt the punishment guards walking towards her.

She stared straight ahead blankly, her eyes staring at that throne before she was finally blindfolded.

She was the result of that betrayal, that betrayal that caused these pains..and truly her punishment seemed too light.

She was pulled up by the guards and escorted out of the hall amidst the murmurings in the background.

The guards guided her way and she knew where they were taking her. They were taking her to the dark pool of reincarnation.

The pools of reincarnation are a place to restart a new life. They were used to reward and to punish as their names suggested, The Holy and Dark Pools of Reincarnation.

The blindfold came off her eyes and

Rhaia looked at the pool before her and shrugged her shoulders in disappointment.

This pool was famous in the underlands where she was queen. It was rumoured by the Gods to be a frightening place filled with terror, and this rumour circulated the underlands . However, Rhaia had never believed any of it, what place of terror existed in heaven?

Now looking at it, although it was gloomy enough for it being in a place with so much positive energy like the heavens, Rhaia never felt it was frightening nor was it full of terror because if placed in a place like the underlands she ruled it could even be considered beautiful, let alone a place like the abyss where it could even be an utopia for the devils there.

Maybe the Gods could move the pool to the abyss and it would grow into what a real terror should be.

Rhaia thought mockingly before looking back at the bright, faraway light knowing that was where her beloved was, his memory taken and he was forced into sleep.

She looked back at the pool, withdrawing her eyes from that bewitching light and clenched her fists slowly but tightly.

"I would keep fighting for us Alaric, I would keep fighting."

An involuntary scream tore out Rhaia's throat at the sudden pain filling and piercing her head.

Gloom flitted across her eyes, her memories were being pulled out and she was helpless.

Soon a twinkle flashed within the depths of her eyes, a sly smile on her lips.

'Who needs memories when the feelings are sincere and the love is real?' She thought.

A little while later, Rhaia looked down at herself and her surroundings, confusion etched on her face.

"Wasn't I running a kingdom just now, where am I? How did I get here? what am I doing here in my incarnation?"

Before she could understand her situation, she was pushed into the chilly water below and consciousness left her quickly as shock flitted across her face.

Her eyelids began closing slowly and a handsome face flashed beneath them.

The beautiful and seductive face looked peaceful and calm as a smile slowly fixed itself onto it, the eyelids finally closed covering the blue pupils within them.

The dark clouds swayed in the sky as they fluttered by. The atmosphere was gloomy and the stench of death pervaded the air, this lengthened battle was finally coming to its climax.

The General plunged his sword deep in the enemy's throat, watching as the blood gurgled out of the vicious wound, his stance was very vigilant.

"Good work General! That is the last one, he is a formidable enemy indeed! Worthy of his name I might say."

A slim, pale hand patted on his shoulder and the voice behind that hand continued

"Empty the castle, I am going in."

The indifferent voice spoke without any emotions in it. It sounded so raspy and hoarse like an old engine that had been abandoned for a long time.

The General nodded without distraction. His attention concentrated as he watched the still corpse in front of him, his sword drawn, his eyes focused and his stance?... still vigilant.

Soon! The corpse ejected its soul and the white, transparent lookalike of the body stared at the General in hatred, before all of sudden it swept up into the sky trying to flee away.

The sword in the General's hand tinged a hue of blue, it's cold blade flashing in the little sunlight peeping through the dark clouds before it swung upwards.

The fleeing soul was sliced in two, despair on its face as it dissipated into nothingness.

The General took a deep breath and finally relaxed his stance, looking at the petite figure walking slowly in the distance he said

"No stone left unturned".

This is a story in a world where the Soul, despite being the most fragile being is the most powerful weapon...

A world where the projection of the soul out of one's body is an innate ability everyone of its people was blessed with.

In this world however, no one easily exercises this ability because you don't know the moment you leave, who lurks in the shadows greedy for your empty body.

Spells and enchantment have all been created by warlocks and witches alike to protect these vacant bodies when the soul is not present.

However, even as there is a spell to protect your body, better safe than sorry right?

In this world, the moment your body dies, either by sustaining an injury leading to its death or otherwise, it instinctively rejects the soul and it was up to the soul to find a new suitable vessel for itself.

This however includes danger, because there lies a limit to how long souls could exist without a body.

This limit depending on how strong one's soul is, as the soul would dissipate into nothingness or voluntary go to the netherworld where it gets its if an empty suitable vessel isn't found for it.

Many greedy for a long life, many who have committed countless atrocities and not wanting to go for judgement, they sought ways to defy this limit.

They found ways to strengthen the soul breaking the boundaries of this limit over and over again,

And these many have succeeded.

The greed of these many has upgraded this world, a world which was just one that had been blessed with a minor power that controlled souls to one of long life, a home for powerful beings...

Immortals!

The strong who die destroyed the souls of their brothers, sisters, friends, strangers and the commonly found...

Slaves.

They find ways to possess a suitable vessel either by coercing the former soul out of it or luckily finding an empty suitable body for themselves and then...

They live on and on and on.