Author's Note: Nothing to note at this time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of its characters. I only claim Serena, as well as the demons and descendants that I introduce.
A Demon's Mate
Chapter Forty
"Upstairs." Corrine looked up as she spoke after Undertaker and Serena had left them.
"Let's go." Haagenti waved the woman to go ahead of him into the darkened halls.
As they climbed the stairs, she could feel his anger with her was still there and found herself fidgeting as they moved through the house.
Corrine popped her head into the first door that they came to but felt nothing and closed it again. "Elder, I would like to apologize for my behavior."
"I would certainly hope so, for your sake." He stayed back, letting her take the lead.
"I don't know what came over me." Her voice was unusually harsh for the demon he knew. Corrine was always held together, secure in herself. Even when she had been moved to his house without notice.
"Are you saying that you like Serena now?"
"I wouldn't say that. But, I know your vengeance for my disrespect. I would never have done something like that deliberately. I know how to keep my feelings to myself. Especially, concerning the mate of an Elder."
Haagenti stopped in the middle of the hallway.
"Elder?"
"I wonder." He looked around them, seeing nothing but the servants still passed out. "I wonder if this Jonathan can manipulate the emotions of others in the house. Even demons."
"I felt a surge of anger when I stepped onto the property." The brunette shrugged. "I just thought that it was being called to help her and tried to bury it."
"Corrine," He warned.
"I know, but I am being honest."
Haagenti raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous of Serena? Are you contending that you love your former Elder?"
She shook her head. "No, I did not love him. But I was angry to be moved without a word because he was worried about having us in the same house. I know that our arrangement would have ended if he found his mate. He didn't need to toss me away."
Corrine gasped as the Elder's hand landed on her head and realized that her hands had clenched into fists.
"You're growing angry again."
She nodded and took a moment to calm herself.
"He was manipulating you to attack Serena yourself. Jonathan would not have had to show himself and we would have been distracted dealing with you."
"I would never have attacked an Elder's mate on my own."
"I know. It's a death sentence with all of us there and I never thought you stupid enough to try something like that." Haagenti took his hand back and started down the hall again.
"Elder," she waited for him to stop. "I do appreciate your taking me in after I was pushed out."
He nodded, a softening in his face. "Then make yourself useful to me."
Corrine smiled and took the lead again.
*********************A Demon's Mate***********************
Serena stayed behind Undertaker as they made their way to the ballroom, the iron rod held tightly against her chest. She jumped every time his scythe smashed into a mirror on the wall that was in their path. She had never noticed how many were scattered around the house and tried to remember how many she had seen in her time staying with Ciel, surely not this many.
The double doors leading to the ballroom appeared in front of them. Undertaker looked over his shoulder and made sure that she was still with him and still willing to go inside this place.
"Serena. It's possible that his power will be exponentially more here if you are correct. I want to make sure that you are not going to try to die on me again." There was no laughter in his voice and made the red head a little more nervous than she was already.
"It's not like I had any control over that." She glared at him, but the reaper just smiled.
"Yes, you did. That is the point." He turned to face her. "Everything that he does is manipulation. You have to be secure in your reality to defeat him."
The red head nodded, feeling guilty that she had believed the lie enough to worry him.
Undertaker sighed and looked at the doors again. "I have a feeling that Jonathan has orchestrated much of the tragedy that has always followed his descendants."
"But, how?"
"He manipulates the decisions they make while in the house. When they leave it, they find the repercussions of those decisions. Thinking on it now, he changes their thought process after they take on the title. I noticed it with Vincent, but thought it was the pressure of being Earl and Guard Dog at such a young age, that changed his way of thinking and reacting. He was only a teenager. But then Ciel became both even younger and didn't seem to make the same choices that Vincent did."
"But Ciel had someone else influencing his decisions."
"Yes, but even the demon couldn't break his need to stay in this house." Undertaker looked at her carefully. "You weren't around for their early years, so you didn't see it. Mr. Butler tried several times to get Ciel to participate in London life. Many of the social battlefields are found in the ballrooms of the nobles. Also, his work for the queen was always carried out in London. All of his businesses were based in London. It simply made more sense for him to live at the townhouse until he had a family of his own, but Ciel refused. As a child, he enjoyed following his father to parties and meetings in town, even though he was shy. After he became Earl, Ciel cut himself off from everyone else but his demon. I thought that it was because of the death that surrounded him, but now I'm not so sure."
The reaper took off his hat and pushed his hair out of his eyes to better see their environment.
"Alex attached himself to the demon that guards this house, because he protects him from Jonathan, even without realizing it. I wonder if the little Earl had been so desperate for his demon to stay for the same reason."
Serena tightened her grip on the iron rod she carried and looked to the double doors leading into the ballroom. As they watched, the doors creaked open on their own, beckoning them in with an open invitation to the monster's lair.
*********************A Demon's Mate*********************
'You have to be secure in your reality.'
Something Haagenti had to figure out the hard way. The further they went into the upper floor, the more both demons noticed the sheer amount of mirrors that had been used to decorate. Along with heavy gilt mirrors, were little mirrored cabinets, antiques with mirror pieces set in them, as well as picture frames that had been polished to reflect the world around them. Several had been carefully placed to be easily over-looked.
As the Elder had looked into one hanging on the wall, his intent to smash the glass, a vision of his Zachery appeared. The man was sitting in the library his demon had built for him, head bowed over a tome that Haagenti had reproduced and the man had read before. Zachery's blonde hair glinted in the eternal twilight that was shining through the balcony doors, open to allow the breeze to slide within the room and play with the pages of notes his mate had sitting on the table.
It was a calming sight and reminded the Elder how long he had been away, making sure that the boy didn't screw up again. Zachery's head raised and looked to the doors leading into the house, hearing something that the demon did not. He closed the book in front of him before the doors burst open, the demons of their house flowing into the room with anger written on their faces.
Haagenti saw the terror on his mate's face as they grabbed the blonde and forced him to his knees in a matter of seconds. He could smell the smoke as fire was set to the precious books that he had read while in the human world and recreated for Zachery when he returned to their home. The demon watched paralyzed as Leiko, Zachery's guard when he was away, raised her favorite katana and brought the sword down to sever the blonde's head from his shoulders.
Haagenti heard screaming, not realizing that it came from his own throat. Power welled up within him. Thousands of souls, with each and every one of their sins, rose from his form, intent on escape. There was no reason for him to hold them anymore. No reason to fight, no reason to try.
He felt the ground shake beneath him as the Elder let loose of his control.
*********************A Demon's Mate********************
Serena and Undertaker looked back as the doors slammed shut behind them. Tiles under their feet started to buck and break as the ground shook. The red head grabbed the reaper's arm to keep her balance as she stared in awe at the mirrors everywhere, the only surface free of them was the painted ceiling. Instead of their own reflections, however, one man stood in each mirror.
She could see what the reaper had been talking about. His resemblance to the Phantomhives she had seen, marked him the originator. There had been a piece of him in each of them. Ciel's blue-black hair and slender build, the vivid green eyes that many of his descendants carried, Vincent's cheek bones and height, Alex's jawline.
"How could you do this? They're your family." The red head started forward but Undertaker grabbed her arm and hauled her back behind him.
"That's right. They are mine. I started this family, raised it to power and privilege. Everything that each of them had or will have, everything that they were and are, it was all because of me. It still is." He raise his arms with a smirk. "They owe me everything. Their lives, their fortunes, their blood, even, their very souls."
Serena gasped as they appeared. Chained to the columns that she had once hidden behind while Ciel and Lizzy fought, were souls. Two were connected to each column by heavy collars around their necks, symbols carved in each.
"He's been using them like batteries." Undertaker kept a tight hold on the red head as he looked around the room, seeing many familiar faces from his years of acquaintance with the family. "Draining the power of their souls as time goes on to keep himself strong."
One face made Serena walk forward, her hand out to comfort or protect, she wasn't sure. Her voice was breathless barely a whisper as she called out to the other girl that had once been so full of life but now stood vacantly staring into space. Her blonde hair, always curled and bouncing with her excitement, now lay limp and flat around her blank face. Green eyes with their spark for life, every emotion could be read in them, now stared ahead blankly.
"Lizzy."
*****************A Demon's Mate******************
"Elder!"
Corrine watched as Haagenti continued to stare in front of him as if he hadn't heard her at all. The hand that was once raised to smash the glass now hung limply at his side and his face was completely blank. A scream lit the hallway as the walls around them shook and she grabbed his arm, trying to understand what was wrong.
"Elder, please!" She jerked as a piece of ceiling fell down beside her. "You have to pull yourself together."
Corrine looked at his face and saw that his eyes never left the mirror in front of him. She waved her hand in front of his face, but there was no response. It was as though he was no longer in the house, even though his body was still there. She felt the shaking taking over the house and raised her hand.
"Forgive me, Elder."
She swung her fist straight at his jaw, felt her bones give against the stronger body, but the other demon still didn't move. Corrine cradled her broken fingers to her chest, already feeling the bones knitting back together. Her other reached out to shake Haagenti again.
The demon followed her Elder's line of sight, seeing the mirror that hung on the wall, but there was no image in the glass.
"There is nothing there, Elder." She shouted at him. "We're not even in the mirror."
Corrine looked at the glass again. "We're not in the mirror."
She hurried to stand and threw her newly healed fist into the framed mirror. As the shattered pieces fell to the floor, Corrine heard the Elder gasp and felt the shake as his body slammed into the wall behind him. When she turned around, a demon that she had never seen leaned against the wall behind her. She refused to believe that this demon in front of her was the leader of her house. There was terror that she had never seen grace her Elder's face. His eyes were wide, taking in all of their surroundings as they darted back and forth, looking for any threat. His hands shook and his breath rattled in and out of his lungs.
"Elder?" Corrine reached out a hand but pulled back at the growl that came out of his throat.
"I'm fine." The voice was forceful, whether Haagenti was trying to convince her or himself, Corrine didn't know. He turned away, his breathing still harsh as he leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes on the vision that still played in his mind. "Just find that object. Now."
*****************A Demon's Mate******************
Serena ran forward but was pulled back by Undertaker. The heavy, crystal chandelier that matched the one that once hung in the main hall, hit the floor right where she was headed. The metal passed through the glowing, barely visible body and Lizzy didn't even blink. The red head screamed as she watched the chandelier pull back to the ceiling, ready to fall again at any moment.
"You son of a bitch! Let them go!" Serena tried to pull away from the reaper but he was too strong for her.
"Serena, stop."
"No." She tried to jerk away again. "You're already dead. Why are you keeping them here?"
The images of Jonathan laughed from every mirror in the room, his voice filling the room.
"You're right that I am dead. But not for much longer." He spread his hands again and the collars on each soul started to glow. They watched as the man's image started to become more solid as the souls became more wisp-like.
"Stop it!"
Jonathan smirked at her from every angle but lowered his hands. The souls pulled back into their original states, still staring straight ahead. They were utterly unresponsive to the goings on around them. Serena's eyes still watched Lizzy, looking for any sign of awareness from the blonde.
"You seem quite attached to that one. Fine." His smirk disappeared. "We'll make a deal. Doesn't that sound fitting for a demon's bitch?"
Undertaker jerked her arm, pulling Serena behind him when the red head would have charged forward.
"You bring back my new body, and I'll let you have all of them. That's a good deal, isn't it?"
"Your new body?"
It took a moment for her to understand. All of Alex's little quirks, the changes in personality, the adult's awareness in a child's body, all of it made sense in a bolt of understanding. She shook her head, apologizing to Lizzy and the others in her mind. "You'll never touch him again."
"What is it that you think that you can do? Do you think that you can keep him from this house? It's his ancestral home, his family is here, his life is here."
"I'll take him with me when I go home. Sebastian stopped you from getting Ciel's soul, he can keep Alex from you too."
"And what happens when his father dies? The crown will not make another exception when there is a son available to take over the title."
"I'll get rid of you before that happens, before Henry dies."
"Really? That embarrassment can die so easily, so quickly." The smirk came back. "Don't you know that most fatal accidents occur in the home?"
They watched his smirk turn to a sneer at the thought of Henry. "I'd be doing them a favor, really. That lowly steward's son has no business in a noble family, let alone taking over the title of Earl. It's disgraceful."
"He's a better man than you."
"It matters not what you say. In the end, Alexander will be returned here to rule his family, and my time will come again. You cannot save him from his fate any more than you could my other descendent. He still died young, on that ridiculous quest for vengeance." Jonathan looked at her. "Think of my offer. I can afford to let them go. The power of their souls are nothing compared to his. Alexander is the only one that I need."
"Little Alex is much like Ciel, isn't he?" Undertaker walked a few steps toward the columns. "I knew that something had gone wrong the night the Phantomhive manor burned. I didn't realize that it had gone wrong for you. It wasn't fate or any other force that wanted Ciel to die that night, it was you. You wanted him to die young, in this house, so that you could have his body and the power of his soul."
Jonathan didn't say anything, only looked more angry at the thought of the soul that got away from him.
"It must have thrown a large wrench in your plans that he survived." The reaper laughed. "Even more so, when he returned to the house with his demon. His demon that had prior claim on his soul and would protect his body at all costs. I wonder how angry that made you?"
"That stupid boy ruined everything." Jonathan snarled at the two. "Do you have any idea how deep into hiding I had to go while that demon was living here? How deep I had to hide my souls? And then I had to wait another hundred years before another of my descendants was a perfect match for me. That idiot couldn't just go quietly like he was supposed to."
"There is more anger in you than just having your plans postponed." Serena smirked as it clicked in her mind. "Why were you so into the occult in the first place? What were you trying to do?"
Silence took over the room and the girl laughed.
"No wonder you're so mad at him. Ciel succeeded, by force of will, where you failed after years of trying. You did this to your descendants, not because they belonged to you, but because they were better than you."
"Silence!" The glass sconces that had been built into the mirror walls shattered at Jonathan's temper, the sharp pieces flying at the two.
Undertaker threw the red head behind him, taking the glass shards himself. In the darkened room, now lit only by the moon streaming through the skylights, Serena's eyes ran around the room. She looked at the dozens of Jonathan's to the faces of Phantomhive and Carthrage that had been trapped in their own home since their deaths. She thought of Alex, smiling and happy one moment, quiet and angry the next. She looked at Lizzy again, so unrecognizable from the bright and happy girl that she had known, who had wanted nothing more than to be with Ciel, to be a part of this family. Look at what it had gotten her. She may not have been a Phantomhive in the end, but she was still Countess and helped to move the generations of the family Ciel was devoted to along into the future. As she looked around the columns, Serena shut her eyes when light bounced off the blade of the scythe Undertaker still held. She opened her eyes again as the idea came.
Her hand reached out, grabbing a hold of the scythe and pushing the iron bar at the reaper.
"Let me borrow this for a minute."
"Serena! What the hell are you doing?"
She ran out into the ballroom, staying close to the columns and the souls that were attached to them.
"Come on, drop that damn chandelier again."
He seemed to hear her wish and gave her exactly what she asked for. The metal dropped, crashing into the floor and breaking more of the once smooth marble into rubble. Serena grabbed the arm nearest to her and held on. As the crystal piece swung around the floor, she held on, careful to keep the blade of the reaper's scythe away from her body. The wild ride came close enough to one of the columns and the souls held captured by a phantom chain.
Swinging the scythe, Serena felt the giant blade slice through the chain and laughed in triumph. She looked back to see the two souls that were now free. Both were smiling as they ran for the ballroom doors, now free of the chains and collar that bound them to the first Earl. Jonathan screamed as the house shook again, this time from himself as Undertaker ran to the doors and broke them open.
Serena watched the two souls escape into the halls and smirked at the closet mirror. "No deal. I'll take them all myself."
The chandelier swung faster and Serena held on. Below her, Undertaker smashed through the mirrors that formed the walls of the ballroom while directing the souls that she freed. Even though the ballroom made Jonathan stronger because of the mirrors that concentrated the power that he had stolen over the centuries, this was a draw back for him as well. There was not much in the room that he could use as a weapon as the room was mostly empty.
There were no portraits to be flung at them, no ancient weapons that were on display. There were no tables and chairs to clutter the space, just as Ciel used to keep it for his daily fencing practice. The only thing he could use was the chandelier that Serena had turned into an asset for herself.
Or so she thought.
The columns had no purpose after the souls she freed were no longer attached and Jonathan was more than willing to use them. As the chandelier spun again, Serena curled in on herself as a column lifted out of the floor and swung on it's own toward her. Colors exploded behind her eyelids and a scream came out of her mouth as the heavy piece slammed into her body that was outside the metal arms of the lighting.
"Use the scythe!"
Serena looked down as her vision swum and her stomach jumped into her throat. The reaper was running below her and it took a moment to make the other two Undertakers that she saw fade into the original. She looked to the blade that she still held and higher reasoning came back in a rush, a massive migraine right on it's heels. The next swing of the metal she held onto brought around another pillar of marble headed straight for her. Rearranging her hold on the chandelier, Serena held the scythe straight out and cringed as she waited to feel the impact again, but nothing came.
As soon as the death scythe cut through the rock, pieces crashed down to the marble floor, no longer under Jonathan's control. The red head breathed a sigh of relief but had to force herself to concentrate on the next pillar coming at her. The more souls she freed the more weapons he had, but she couldn't stop. As the chandelier began to swing more rapidly and out of control, she realized that he was flying blind. Shards of broken glass mixed with the rubble that had once been a smooth floor, but there were no more mirrors for Jonathan to see the room through and no more souls for her free.
"Great, what do I do now?" Serena tried to concentrate as her eyes wanted nothing more than to close, her body wanting to stop.
The heavy scythe dropped from her hand and absently, she heard Undertaker yell as he jumped away from the deadly blade. Her body grew heavy, too heavy to hold up as the metal piece swung around the room.
"Serena! Don't you do it." Undertaker yelled up at her as she swayed limply with each pass.
She shook her head, trying to clear the fog that had crept in.
"Jump."
"Are you crazy?"
"I'll catch you."
"Is this a trust thing?"
"Just jump." Undertaker watched her body sway again with the movement of the chandelier and saw her slide out of the grip of the metal arms. Jumping quickly, he pulled the red head out of the air and landed safely on the ground again. "Or fall, that's good too. I guess."
The reaper hurried to get Serena under the cover of the small balcony that had once been supported by the columns that now were so much rubble on the floor. Laying her gently on the floor, Undertaker checked the bruises that were already forming along her skin and the side of her head that was swelling. Making sure that nothing was life threatening, he started trying to wake her. He did try to be gentle at first.
When that didn't work, a smack was heard around the room and a gasp from the red head waking up.
"Oh, good. You woke up." Undertaker giggled as he pulled her into a sitting position even though she wasn't ready.
Serena's head swam as she tried to look around and felt her stomach rise up again. She put a hand to her head, hoping to stop the spinning and closed her eyes to block out the colors.
"Hey. None of that. You don't have time to sleep right now." He poked her in the middle of her forehead. "Also, that's a rather impressive concussion that you have there. Might be a bad idea to sleep when you may not wake up again."
Serena tried to nod, but quickly nixed that idea. When she was sure that she wouldn't throw up on him, the red head held out a hand to Undertaker and waited for the help to get up. The reaper was quick to move when Serena lost the battle with her stomach as soon as her feet were under her.
"Why do I always get beat up around you guys and you all look like nothing happened?"
"Because you're a frail human still. Once you join our supernatural ranks, you can look like nothing happened too."
"I can't believe that I'm saying this but, sign me up."
The reaper laughed and forced her head up. Looking at her widened pupils and the green tinge that still covered her skin, he ran his fingers over the lump on her head again. "I'm worried that you may have cracked your skull."
"You make it sound like I did it on purpose."
"Well, you looked like you were having fun until that pillar came at you. Isn't that what human's say? 'It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.' Or in your case, cracks their head open." His thumb ran along the edge of the raised area. "You should have let me ride the chandelier and you could have smashed the mirrors while staying on the ground."
"And he may have heard me telling you about my plan."
"True." Undertaker pulled his hand away, still staring at her head. "I suppose since you are going to be mated to a demon, another brush with the unusual won't hurt you."
"What do you mean?"
Using a nail, Undertaker cut the swelled skin over her swollen temple.
"What are you doing?" Serena tried to jerk away, but he held her head until she stopped.
"Shh. This isn't something that I like doing."
She watched as he used the same nail to make a cut in his thumb. The blood that welled out of the reaper's slice was darker than the vivid red she had expected. She tried to get her eyes to focus on the burgundy liquid that was welling out of his finger but her mind wouldn't concentrate. His hand raised to her head and Serena started to flinch back.
Cooling relief flowed through her skull and made her sigh. The massive pounding and swirling colors inside her head slowed before coming to a stop completely. Opening her eyes, the room was back in focus and the pain was gone. Slowly, the nausea receded and she could take a deep breath without feeling like more was going to come out than air. She leaned into the cool hand and closed her eyes again as her body moved through weeks of healing in only a few moments. A whimper came out of her throat when the reaper pulled away.
"That's enough. You should be able to finish this night now. Your body can finish healing on it's own."
"You should bottle that and make a fortune." Serena sighed and ran her hand over the healed skin.
"Money isn't really that important. But more than that, I'd not like to think about what humans would do if they could heal in a moment."
"I guess." Serena closed her eyes for another moment but Undertaker saw the depression that flashed through her first.
"What is it?"
She shook her head. "I just...I really don't belong in this world either."
"You see now why humans should leave the supernatural, to the supernatural. It is also why demons keep their mates away from things like this. You'll be stronger after you're bound to your demon, but your body will still never be as strong or able to take as much damage as ours." Undertaker stepped away and picked up his scythe. "You're going to feel a little invincible for a couple days, but don't trust that feeling."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. I hope that your demon stays away until your body processes that. Sharing blood is considered rather intimate, some think that it's more intimate than sex. I'd hate to see what he'd say about this."
Serena watched as he walked to the doors and waited for her.
"Well, that just gives me incentive to not look for him while he's finishing his contract." She started to walk forward and felt her knees go out from under her. Undertaker was next to her in a moment, sliding an arm around her back. "That is far from feeling invincible."
"Well, I've never shared blood with someone who was to mate a demon. Perhaps it won't have the same effect on you."
"I'm just lucky like that."
The reaper laughed as he helped her limp out of the wrecked ballroom. Outside the doors, the souls that had been trapped waited for them. Their uncertainty of what they were to do now was written on each of the semi-transparent faces. Serena felt a cool breeze across her cheek and turned to see Lizzy smiling to her side.
"Thank you, Serena."
The red head reached out but her hand passed through the Lizzy's arm. She watched with a sad smile as a man with light brown hair and smiling eyes came up behind the blonde. His hand, just as faded as her body, laid on the other girl's shoulder and Serena watched the smile that spread over Lizzy's face when she looked back at the soul of her husband. No matter how their marriage came about, Serena knew that the blonde had been happy in the end.
She looked over to Undertaker. "We need to get them out of the house, like we did with Alex."
"No." The reaper held up a hand to stop the mass leaving that had already started. "You cannot leave the house without a reaper to guide you. All of your awareness is tied to Jonathan and this house."
"But he can still suck on them if they are here."
"He doesn't have the same connection to them without the bindings. And if they leave without a reaper, they'll just drift away and be lost forever." He looked back at the souls. "You have to wait until we get rid of Jonathan, then I'll lead you from here."
"We certainly don't want to be lost after all this time." Serena recognized Vincent Phantomhive from the portrait Ciel had hidden in one of the less traveled hallways of the house as he stepped forward. His soul was one of the most solid. His wife at his side, was one of the most faded. "However, we do not want to become trapped here again."
"That will only happen if all of us die." Undertaker smiled at his old friend.
"That doesn't give much comfort." He waved his hand. "With all the other death that has happened in this house."
The reaper looked away. "Your confidence in me is astounding."
Serena looked between the two, sensing there was some kind of unspoken conversation going on between the two. She had a feeling that Vincent had been better friends with the reaper than any of the other Earls.
"Well," the red head started and felt like she was intruding. "I don't think that there is anything left that he can use in the Hall. They could wait there."
"That would probably be the best place for them." Undertaker nodded and looked to Vincent.
The former earl echoed the reaper's nod and clapped his hands to call everyone's attention. There were a couple of the souls, dressed in older period clothing that were mostly faded. They were constantly looking around, awareness slipping in and out of their eyes. Rachel was also one of these, looking at the hand holding her waist and then back at the owner before recognizing him.
Vincent led the others through the rubble that littered the ruined hallway. Serena watched from Undertaker's side as the souls moved through the rubble without a sound. Her mind kept trying to hear the sound of their footsteps, knew logically that the pieces of mirror and frame that lay on the floor should move each time someone stepped on one, however there wasn't a whisper of sound.
"That's just not right." Serena shook her head and tried to clear the disconcerting feeling while waiting for the last of the souls to disappear around the corner. "Why are some of them more faded than the others?"
"Something that you will learn as you delve further into this world is that some souls have more...strength, I guess you would say. The weaker souls fade the fastest."
"What happens when they fade completely?"
He looked at her, completely serious once more. "They're gone forever. The soul ceases to exist."