Chapter 6: Adjustment
Kyo, clad in his cloak and grabbing his scythe, proceeded out of the room through the small doorway that had appeared after his brutal period of agony and pain had finished. As he left, the judge from before stood waiting for him.
"Kyo, did everything go well?" he inquired.
"If by well, you mean two hours of physical torment and unparalleled horror, then yes, everything went smoothly," Kyo retorted smartly. "So, I guess I'm Death now, huh?"
"Yes, it's true. You are the thing that you hated most. You are the person who is responsible for sending countless souls to the afterlife each day. You are Death. New powers and abilities are sleeping inside of you, but you must unlock them, by studying this book." The judge handed Kyo a book that looked ancient with the same symbols that he had seen in the room where he changed on the book's front cover. The book must have stood the test of time for hundreds of years. "Kyo, by reading this book, you will learn more about yourself and your life's duties. Keep it safe, and never lose it."
"Yes sir," Kyo said nervously. "I want to ask you something though. What's your name? Who are you?"
The old man looked at him, and then said, "I am Arteas, the ruling God of this planet. Many different continents are on this planet, Ephemera, where creatures of all shapes and sizes live. My kingdom is Zael, one of the five floating continents. It is the central point of all governing and living on Ephemera. To be frank, it is the most powerful continent on the entire planet. Now, don't be confused. When I said that we have 'kingdoms,' don't think of them as the kind you would see in a fairy tale of knights and dragons. They are futuristic societies, which you may see as strange when the beings of the planet roam about. They seem out of place, but we are about 10 years ahead in terms of technology than Earth. Simply put, Ephemera is just like Earth and has many of the same luxuries, just with no humans."
"Wow," Kyo said in awe. "I wanted to ask you two other questions. First, who is that guy, Revan?"
Arteas' eyes closed, and a grim look came upon his face. "Revan is the source of all evil in the universe. He is the very calamity to all of existence, with scores of evil generals under his command. One of your enemies, Vexus, is a general of his. She is a very high-ranking officer in his twisted army. There are villains who operate outside of his control, but not many of them exist. Revan controlled Death with an unbreakable possession spell to destroy all of Earth's inhabitants, so he would be able to conquer it and be one step closer to a universe where only villains exist. So far, he's conquered a great number of planets, and it's only a matter of time until he attacks Ephemera. What was your second question?"
Kyo looked at the ground, frowning, with a worried expression. "Is there any way…any way at all…that I would be able to bring back Jenny from the dead? I loved her, and she died in my arms, telling me never to forget her. There was no chance of repairing her, and my soul was being ripped apart. Is there any way possible to bring her back?"
Arteas closed his eyes with a solemn expression. "There is one way," he said, "and that is to gather souls so that you can use magic for a revival spell. However, those souls never move on to the afterlife, for they are being used to keep someone alive. This is a forbidden art, for the fact that all souls must pass on, whether to Nirvana or Hell, and also because whoever performs it has their dark side drawn out of their souls. But I'm not stopping you. You can choose to do so and face the consequences that you create for yourself, or you can let her remain dead and keep yourself alive. It's your choice."
Kyo looked at Arteas for a moment, and nodded his head. "I'll do anything to bring her back…anything…"
"Remember, it's your decision. But for now, you must get back to Earth. I'll transport you there." Arteas placed his hand upon Kyo's head, and said, "Lutea, Earth!" In a mere instant, a light swept Kyo away, and before he knew it, Kyo was right back where he was in Tremorton, standing over Jenny's body in the cold night of the leaf-covered forest.
"Jenny," he said to her body, "I'll bring you back. I promise."