Chapter 25: Soul Shenanigans Part 3

Deathly pressure was poured onto the fallen soul of the Sinborn. The Reaper wore a slender black cloak that highlighted its accursed ribcage. It held a staff formed of large bundled black feathers held together by a silver string. Floating behind the hooded figure was an array of red shards in the form of an aureola. A cold aura surrounded the two lifeless beings.

"Nice to finally meet you." said Barbados as he took the graceful hand on the guide. "I believed I would instantly manifest in the room with the Grimm Interviewer?" The ethereal being didn't respond but waved their finger gently through the air, curving away at the frozen space to form letters.

"E v e r y n e w d e a t h, y o u s h a l l b e v i s i t e d b y m e." The Reaper took him to the afterlife right outside the room. Before the unearthly yet dignified entity left, Barbados thanked them for carrying them the last time he was here. They seemed to smile, or that's what it looked like.

"Welcome back Barbados," welcomed the Interviewer, "You only just came back from death, yet here you are…again."

"I've come for an answer to a question regarding souls." Barbados explained the situation unfolding on the mortal plane and asked for any solutions in fixing the cracked soul.

"Heh. What an interesting predicament. Some mortals brought the soul into their realm of existence and have been able to interact with it. Wait, not interact but crack it." The blind-folded skeleton made the same laughing motion from before." Barbados felt annoyed at the Interviewer's lax attitude.

"Well? Have you got an answer?" Barbados asked impatiently.

"Do you believe that it would be as simple as that? Tsk, tsk Sinborn. There are things you don't know because it wasn't meant for you, a person of the living, to know about. One such thing is the soul restoration."

Soothing music played over the intercoms while Barbados received the news.

"What can I do?" asked Sansar.

"Have you heard the tales of mortals receiving knowledge far beyond their comprehension, while giving up an aspect of themselves. What was it that you called it? Ah yes, equivalent exchange for taboos."

"So what would the equivalent be for the knowledge of souls?"

"Hmmm," the figure put their thin finger on their cheek and pondered, "Oh I know. Your left eye, which you won't be able to regenerate." They smiled at Barbados as they said that.

"My eye? How useful would this information be? I doubt I would use it often…"

"Tsk Tsk Barbados. Don't be so pessimistic at this graceful offer. I would normally ask for both your eyes."

The Interviewer pulled a list from under the table and showed what seemed to be a menu.

"Right there," they said while pointing on the page, "The fee of 2 eyes for the knowledge of souls."

"You sound like the devil." exclaimed Barbados.

"Where do you believe the Demon race where bestowed their ability from? From me, a personnel of Death. So, will you accept the offer?"

"Is there any other option?" Barbados asked. The Interviewer sighed as he put the list away.

"Yes. A possession-like state where you possess the knowledge for a certain amount of time and forget it afterwards."

"What if I were to write it down?"

"You wouldn't be able to. Like I said, you would be in a state of possession by some higher being."

"Why would I choose the other option then?"

"You wouldn't be able to learn the knowledge afterwards, even if you were to offer your entire body. Will you accept this offer?"

"Yes." replied the Sinborn. Although it would benefit him in trying to figure out Okia and her unusual case, it would feel cheated. Other than that, he had no reason to learn the knowledge. "So what happens now?"

"Walk back to your body and it will all be handled accordingly. But before you leave," the Interviewer said in a dark tone, "Please give us a review on how you found our establishment today." which was relayed in a typical salesman manner.

Grog witnessed as the lifeless body began to move again, and the halo re-assemble above Barbados's head. However, the body moved rigidly, as if he was being controlled by muscle spasm. The Sinborn approached the body and placed their hands on the cracked membrane that was exposed. Only Azer was able to witness the Sinborn bring out fine strands of material from an unknown realm. In a language never heard before, Barbados spoke a sentence that didn't exist. Azer and Grog, alongside the other conscious people, fainted at the first syllable spoken. Only Chloutarg remained conscious as he felt his very essence being returned to his body. His skin regained its colour and his ears had stopped bleeding.

"Thou shall not remember this experience." whispered the body of Barbados as he put his hand over the half-orc's eyes.

****

"AGH!" yelled Chloutarg as he jumped from the bed he had been resting in. He found himself in a calm and quiet room with navy blue curtains drawn around him. A nurse popped their head through the blinds and was delighted to see the student up.

"Please sit down on the bed and wait for the doctor to arrive." she said while smiling kindly. A large muscular Orc arrived and was handed a tablet containing all the patient's information.

"Good to see you awake." the doctor said as he examined the body for any possible remaining effects. "Oh?" he said as he discovered a hole remaining in his heart that had persisted after healing.

"What seems to be the problem doctor?" asked Chloutarg.

"Please try to use mana." he requested from the youngling.

Chloutarg focussed and brought out an unusual amount of mana, more than he had ever unleashed before.

"Perfect. Now try to hold that mana out for the next 5 minutes." Chloutarg did as he was told, proceeding to hold a ball of dense mana for longer than before.

"Doctor…something has happened to my body," he said as he outputted mana, "I am coursing more mana than ever before and still don't feel exhausted or strained."

"Seems that the Aster worked." said Barbados as he entered the room. "Thank you doctor for examining him."

"It is just as you said. Mana is being brought into the miniature hole from the mana store, lessening the strain on the body. In addition to his heart functioning perfectly fine, his mana output has increased."

"Congratulations!" Barbados yelled as he clapped. "We have a little something waiting for you when you get released from the hospital. The doctor and Barbados left the room, leaving Chloutarg to shed a tear for being able to overcome a burden. However, right below him, a serious meeting was being held with the subject being the anatomy of a mana-using being, which Barbados had joined.

"The problem that we are being faced with is that this proves the theory of there being a place where mana is stored, rather than being generated the moment the user calls upon it. The problem is how should we handle this?" The room was awfully quiet as the news shocked the attendees, being unable to choose if they should cheer or fear for what more they didn't know.