Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything for this story in a while. Summer school and my new fanfic is keeping me occupied. I'll try to post more often, but it probably won't happen for a while. I have to get studying for a new language (Chinese of all things) and biology, so I'm swamped on time. Plus it's the summer. I'm working hard on driving so I can have my license by the end of June and my parents are having me do other things in the meantime. So there you go. And I need sleep. Can't stay alert if I don't sleep! Well… yeah sorry about that. I'll probably try posting another chapter for my Grell fanfic after this. I haven't posted anything for that in the LONGEST time because I ran out of chapters to review. Oh well *shrugs* I'm just busy I suppose. Well… ENJOY!
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Sophie's head turned to the commotion below them, Naum letting out a sigh as he stood up and summoned a long hunting sword, holding onto the hilt as he walked towards the ledge and looked over. "I'd rather you don't go running into the fight. So stay up here while I work."
She pouted, but gave him a nod as he stepped down, falling from the sky and landing several yards in front of the ranks. As Naum spoke to the other Goddesses of Life, Sophie's mind wandered away to her hands. She sighed, remembering the long golden chains that had bound her a few hours ago. Why were they there in the first place? This trip was getting more and more complicated, and Sophie just wished things could get back to normal… as normal as they'd get for her she supposed. Looking up she could see the battlefield, the daemons starting their advance towards the goddesses. Deciding the best way to show off her skill was to help, she summoned a bow to her hands and a quiver appeared behind her back full of long arrows. Pulling out an arrow from her back she strung it casually to the string of the bow, waiting for Naum to let out a command. Then she noticed a presence behind her, spinning around with the string pulled back in her hand and her eyes narrow. She raised an eyebrow, noticing the daemon that was before her didn't make any advances towards her and only looked at her. "What do you want?" she growled.
"I can't believe you don't know who I am," he chuckled as he ran a claw over his tongue and grinned. "The name you may know me as from your own world is probably Lucifer or Hades perhaps."
Sophie paused, slowly letting the string in her hand contract as she stared at him cautiously. "Hades you say?" she eyed him suspiciously, "Are you telling me you're the Lord of the Underworld?"
"That would be correct," he grinned, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for her to speak.
"Why would you be here?" Sophie frowned. "So… this Ga place is the equivalent to Hell… Are you the reason why these daemons are here?"
"Oh you must be confused little god," he chuckled lightly, "but no worries. This is among the many places in the universe that hold my kin, but I'm usually not here at a silly time like this. Since you're here, however, I decided to show my presence for the time being."
"So this terror is the work of the daemons here?" Sophie asked.
He grinned. "Daemons and demons are similar, aren't they? Sadly these mortals cannot tell the differences between them. Pity really." Lucifer chuckled at the look in Sophie's eyes, her hands clutching the bow and arrow as she waited for him to continue. "You mustn't raise your bow to me. I am not the one you are supposed to be fighting." At that moment they heard yelling from below, the daemons dashing at the goddesses at lightning speed as the goddesses held up their weapons and with a battle cry ran towards them.
"I don't believe in the words of spit," Sophie huffed as she continued to glare at Lucifer. "Tell me one good reason why I should believe you –"
"I only came here to discuss a matter with you, seeing as you haven't been going down to Hell and speaking to me in person." He took a few steps towards her and she took a few back, a chuckle escaping his throat before he sighed. "Cautious as ever, aren't you Serbus. I won't bother you for long, seeing as you're close to gaining a new insight into the power you hold. Put down your weapon so I can speak with you, being of darkness." Sophie eyed him suspiciously at the title, unstringing her bow as she kept the arrow in her hand. He smiled, taking another step towards her as she glared back. "Now there is a matter of your soul that we have never covered. See, that soul living inside of you left without as much as a note. So I would like to know why and how I should go about planning for your soul –"
"My soul doesn't belong to you Lucifer," she sneered. "I am human. My soul doesn't belong to you unless I'm contracted or I'm cast down into Hell when I die, and trust me I don't plan on doing as stupid as that in my lifetime. So if you're trying to tempt me it won't work. I loathe beings like you who think they can step all over me just because of who I am."
He smirked, a growl escaping her lips as he chuckled. "Can never expect less from you Serbus. Regardless of your thoughts, you will soon be another pawn in my army."
"I do not care for the whims between Heaven and Hell," she huffed. "It's a pitiful fight and I never plan on associating myself with such squabbles."
"Then listen here," Lucifer growled back, narrowing his bright red demonic eyes at her, "like you I seek for balance and with you running around on the surface world is… degrading I should say? To the being you used to be. Besides~ I can never call a being like yourself master~~ until you can prove yourself."
Sophie snorted, "That's fine by me because I don't care for being called a master. Look demon, or whatever you are, I will never, under any circumstances, align myself with a being like you. I may have been taught to see life and existence from every side, but it doesn't mean I will casually place my services in a being's hands. I am a God of Death first, a shinigami and mortician next, and anything else I feel is important in last. For you to have the nerve to appear before me and demand that I help you is ludicrous. I will not stand for your attitude towards me, and to be frank I'm reluctant in helping you just because you suddenly expect I will. Well no sir. Whatever relationship my other soul may have had with you is over. Move on~" she growled at the end, emphasizing her point. "Now if you're done then either fight me or leave. I have no tolerance for inadequate beings."
Lucifer stared deep into her eyes and Sophie stared back, his red eyes swirling around with hatred buried in the glint as Sophie sneered back with anger and frustration of blue, green, and yellow swirling in her own. Then he blinked, suddenly taking a step back once he noticed she meant her words, but not backing down at the challenge before him. "I see… If you will not stand to reason I suppose I will have to take you by force~" he slurred his voice so he was hissing at her, Sophie snarling back as she bared the edge of her teeth. He stood up tall, turning his eyes away as he shook off the feeling of being stared at by the other being. "I am willing to patiently wait till you understand your situation, but do know that I own you –"
"You do not," Sophie snarled, "It is Death who –"
"Death does not," Lucifer huffed back. "He is only a contract. He doesn't fully own you… or perhaps not yet," he chuckled lightly, the grin on his face starting to grow as Sophie glared back and began to set her arrow back into her bow. "Even if he did own you, your soul still belongs to the darkest reaches of the underworld. Trust me young Serbus, I know more about your situation then you think."
"Perhaps if you came here on more friendly terms instead of showing up when your army was attacking my own I wouldn't be as snippy," Sophie shook her shoulders and stood up straighter.
"Well," he chuckled lightly, "I won't keep you. Good day Serbus."
"Good day," Sophie responded, keeping her eyes on the other being till it disappeared in a flash of fire and the smell of brimstone nuzzled her nose. Then she sighed, turning her attention back to the battle below as she pulled on the string and aimed for the daemons. "I'll have to tell Death about this," she mumbled under her breath as she let go of the arrow and in a streak of black cleanly shot a daemon in the chest just before it grabbed Naum by surprise. He looked up in shock as Sophie continued, pulling arrows from her back as he took on the remaining army. "Or perhaps Undertaker too… I-I'll figure this out. What a weird request though, to have me join forces by him. What would he want with me anyways? To show off that he has me probably. That scornful sea serpent~, thinking he could show up unannounced and talk to me so casually. A god awful general if he's going to leave his army to the wolves. Have it his way I suppose. I won't go crawling to him anytime soon," she finished with a snarl in her voice, letting out a large breath of air as she collected herself and continued with her slaughter from above. Her blows became more accurate as time went on, stringing two daemons together with only one shot as Naum used Sophie's assistance as a way to get through the crowd and towards the end.
"You must hate that man," Sophie heard from behind, turning her head slightly to see who it was out of the corner of her eye before landing another clean kill through the neck of one daemon and hitting another daemon in the chest with the other.
She shrugged as she lowered her bow, looking over at the other with an uninterested look on her face. "I loathe demons Time, whether they were angels are not. I don't see why he has to come up to me and speak like that, acting as if he has a shred of authority around here."
"Ouch," Time chuckled lightly. "I will make sure I stay on your good side. You look like you are close to killing anything that moves."
"I am," Sophie answered as her arrow went flying through the air and strung three daemons at once in the chest, "and I'm taking it out on these innocent creatures. They just happen to be in my way."
"So vicious!" Time shuddered. "No wonder you're thought to be Darkness, even Chaos. So… wow."
A slight smirk appeared on the corner of Sophie's mouth, letting go of one last arrow before sighing and holding the bow with both hands. "Well I did grow up with a human who trained me to fight, a father who was a great centurion in the Roman army, and a mother who strongly loathed people who thought too highly of themselves. Then of course there's Undertaker too," she chuckled lightly," that actually taught me a few things too. It's all the same really. It's keeping my survival intact I suppose. Now if you'll excuse me I think Naum needs my help down there."
Time nodded as she took a few steps back to give Sophie room, "Be careful Serbus. You're close to falling off the edge of whatever sanity you may have left."
"I know," Sophie chuckled as she stepped off of the cliff and began to plummet down onto the ground, "I lost my sanity years ago!" she yelled back as she landed on the ground.
Time watched as Sophie took off, shaking her head as she turned around, "Not what I meant, but I suppose Sophia will learn that soon enough." Then she vanished in the blink of an eye, loud screeching filling the air as Sophie moved through the mob.
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Naum had finally made his way to the end, where their leader was standing petrified in astonishment and fear. The daemon bared his sharp canine teeth and ran at Naum, his long claws about to tear him apart. In one swift motion Naum landed his sword into the being's stomach, a dry cough escaping the daemon as it began to fall backwards. Naum saw its cinematic record play suddenly in front of his eyes, but took it no heed as the daemon woke up again just as suddenly, flinching as Naum cornered him to the ground with the edge of his sword in his throat. "Now give me a good reason why I shouldn't slay you here, despicable daemon~" he hissed.
"I was only following orders," the daemon hissed back, "and you're one to talk. You've been following orders too –"
"I give the orders, not follow," Naum huffed. "Besides the last time I followed orders I got myself killed… anyways surrender at once or I'll kill you where you lay and let your body disappear never to return –" Naum blinked, looking over to find a flash of black light coming down from the cliff he had been standing on and landing on the ground. Then his eyes widened once he saw who it was, a being dressed in a large black cloak covering its eyes wielding a gigantic black death scythe. As fast as a bolt of lightning the being ran through the crowd, slashing the daemons apart with a simple flick of its wrist as they screamed and fell to the ground. The goddesses fell to the ground stunned, trying to put up their defenses as the being came closer.
Naum flinched as the powerful being come towards him, throwing his sword up in defense as he saw this creature a bigger threat than the daemon. He heard the daemon whimpering behind him and yelping as he was slammed into a boulder, crying out as a hand started strangling his neck with enough power to snap him in two, but surprisingly gentle enough to keep him alive. "How does it feel daemon~ to have your army fall before you and Death stare you in the face? Hmmmm~?"
"Oh gods I'm sorry!" he began to pitifully cry. "I won't ever do this again! I will leave you alone if you let me ga –"
"What I most despise are cowards," the being growled, the daemon whimpering in fear and trying to avoid its eyes. "Now tell me," the being suddenly said in a calmer voice, the daemon freezing in terror as a grin began to grow on his captor's face, "who gave you the orders to attack? What is your business with these mortals? Is it terrorize them or simply to devour them?" Naum gulped at the sudden change in tone, quickly noticing that this being was Sophie and realized she was on his side.
The daemon, however, was still whining, knowing full well what his answer was going to be. "I-I… I-it was to –"
"Go on~~" Sophie encouraged him, the daemon crying out as the hand began to grip tighter, "or else I'll find whatever remains of a daemon I can find and leave you to the slaughter."
The daemon gulped, closing his eyes and knowing full well that it he would have to tell her. "W-we were only here to… to devour you…" He waited for an answer, but didn't get one. So he slowly began to open his eyes, letting out a cry of distress as he felt the sharp edge of a blade gently press into his stomach. His eyes shot open as he heard the being laugh, staring in horror at the blood dripping down her cloak and onto his face and the intense shine of blue, green, and yellow coming from the creature's eyes.
"I knew it," Sophie spoke to herself as the daemon began to cry out in pain, "I knew you daemons would only go after the weak, the feeble, the humans. Well know this daemon: where you're~ going isn't back home, isn't back to Ga, but to a place worse than even Death can create. I hope you enjoy the ride. They'll be glad~ to have another soul to feast upon."
"WAIT NO –" The daemon screamed, holding out his hand to Naum as he stared in horror at what Sophie was doing. The daemon's cinematic record flew out of his chest, but was instantly absorbed into Sophie's scythe. She grinned as she dug the blade deeper into the daemon's body, ripping at his heart and stomach as he still used his lungs to breathe in a breath of air. The intense smell caused Naum to gag, the body suddenly bursting into flames as black fire engulfed the body.
Naum stared at Sophie as she lifted her scythe and pulled it away, casually turning away as he whimpered in fear and took a few cautious steps backward. "What's the matter Naum?" Sophie asked as she stared at him, her eyes looking back at him in a calm and content manner. He gulped and she smirked, a frightened shriek suddenly escaping his lips as she gently smiled back at him. "You got what you needed right? The daemon leader is dead and you know he was only after the souls. I think this was a very productive day, don't you~?" she grinned.
"Y-yes master –"
"My goodness not you too," Sophie groaned as she shook her head and took a step forward. "The name is Sophie, Naum, not master. Don't expect our relationship to change just because you saw me kill a few creatures. I still want you to call me Sophie." Then she paused, deciding it was best to let him have some time to himself as she walked around him and towards the rest of the goddesses. Naum stayed at the top staring at Sophie in fear, unable to shake off the blood that had splattered all over his face. And he thought he was terrifying? No, no there was an alarm in his mind when he gazed into Sophie's eyes when she stared at the daemon. It was as if she had lost her mind, consumed with the blood on her hands. Not many daemons ever got to that point, not even the absolute rulers of the realms. Naum shook his head as he made his way back, deciding it was best to discuss this with Eve later. "Oh your comrades here were telling me about your problem," Sophie smiled as Naum came back to join them on the other side of the battlefield.
"Y-you did?" he sighed, the others knowing why his hands were shaking as he ran a hand through his silver-green hair.
"Yes," one of the goddesses nodded, a few of the others looking at Naum with concern. "I was just going to tell her what is going on here –"
"Then go right ahead," Naum sighed wearily. "Sophie you best listen to us."
"Oh I am," Sophie smiled, turning her attention back to the goddess.
She nodded and looked into Sophie's eyes, quickly looking away as she felt the woman's eyes pierce deep into her soul. "We have plot out the daemons who have gathered their own communities and the daemons that are only here to devour us. We need to go into a few of the nearby communities and establish an alliance to combat the other daemons, but so far they don't want to talk to us –"
"I'll go in then," Sophie nodded, "and I'll have Naum come with me as an interpreter. Whatever is going on here must have made you weary, so go back to Ponta and recharge your batteries till Naum calls you back. We will handle matters from here."
"B-but going alone would –" the goddess paused, gulping as Sophie stared back in an uninterested way.
"It is easier to create peaceful alliances when you're not armed tooth and nail banging down their doors. Besides~" she grinned, "it seems to me that many daemons here aren't truly daemons. It's just what your society has portrayed them as. Now go back and Naum will accompany me, right Naum?"
"Y-es?" Naum looked at her confused, his mind back in gear once he heard her question.
"It will take you at least a day –"
"Never mind that," Sophie held up her hand, "just go home." Looking at her wearingly they left, leaving Naum and Sophie standing at the edge of a wasteland filled with the bodies of daemons. "Well let's get going then," Sophie said, "you must have horses somewhere –"
"When we meant a day we meant by foot," Naum interrupted her, finally snapping out of his gaze and following Sophie as she began to walk back into their camp. "There is no such thing as a h… hh-or-se here –"
"How bothersome." Sophie sighed, "I guess I'll have to do things myself –" They turned to hear a loud neigh, Naum cringing as a large black horse ran over to them and instinctively galloped to Sophie. She giggled as the horse nibbled at her ear, Sophie gently running a hand over his nose and looking into its bright blue eyes. "I'll get you some food when we get there alright?" she told the horse sweetly, the horse neighing and scraping a hoof at the ground as Sophie smiled back. "Come Naum," she said as she put one foot in the stirrup and in a swift motion had her rear sitting in the saddle as she held onto the cantle with one hand. "Well come on," she rolled her eyes and held out her hand, Naum staring blankly at the creature and wondering if it was demonic. "He won't hurt you unless you piss him off. This poor little horsy hates to wait and so do I."
Naum sighed as he held out his hand and grabbed hold of her own, yelping as he was lifted into the air and set in front of her. He blushed as her hands wrapped around him, having to grab hold of the reins she gathered them up in her left hand. "T-this is the strangest thing I have seen," Naum commented.
Sophie chuckled lightly, "Well you get used to strange stuff you don't understand by now. So where are we going?"
"O-over that way," Naum pointed, "and when we get there I hope you don't go wandering around and spooking the others. The daemons will despise us if you do that."
"Yes sir!" Sophie grinned patting her feet against the horse's stomach as he went off in a gallop. Sophie laughed as Naum yelled in fright, trying to grab hold of the saddle as they took off through the sulfur-filled landscape.
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Sophie sighed as they finally made it to a camp, the camp reinforced with a skull-constructed wall and large broken bones used as spikes. The horse slowly walked inside, Sophie pulling on the reins as she noticed no one was guarding the entrance. "What do we do Naum?" Sophie decided to ask, seeing as she didn't know the customs of this world.
Naum sighed as he let go of the cantle, exhausted from the ride that actually took an hour or two to get here instead of a day. "Necrosnare?" Naum called into the camp, "Necrosnare of Graveshroud?" He grumbled under his breath scratching his head. "Darn that daemon! He never wants to show up –"
"You called~?" they heard from behind, Naum letting out a frightened squeak as Sophie snickered with amusement. "Oh what is this? I don't believe I've seen you before miss."
Sophie chuckled lightly, throwing Naum off to the side as he slid off the saddle of the horse gasping for air. "The name is Sophia Serbus," she told him as she held out her hand, "but you can call me Sophie."
He eyed her suspiciously, confused why she was holding her hand out to him. "Ummm… Sophie that's not how we operate around here," Naum responded as Sophie frowned and set her hand down.
"Then what then?" Sophie sighed. "Ugh! You guys are confusing me."
Necrosnare smiled, "How about the two of you come inside. You can leave your big… ummm… beast here if you'd like."
"It's a horse," Sophie chuckled as she tied the reins up on the saddle and gently pet the black horse's nose. "I use him to ride around in the deserts."
"Deserts?" he raised an eyebrow before grinning amused.
"Now, now," Naum huffed as he grabbed hold of Sophie's hand and pulled her close so he could whisper. "Hold your tongue. We're treading on light waters here –"
"Yeah I got that," Sophie rolled her eyes, Naum yelping as the horse nipped his hair till he let go of her. "So your name is Necrosnare?"
The man chuckled, scratching his head as he led the three creatures into the camp. "You're a peculiar one, aren't you?"
"So I've been told," she sighed and shook her head.
"Can't really tell who you are…" he stared down at her, Sophie turning and staring right back at him. Naum let out a tired sigh, letting the other being hold the curtain for them as they walked into a temporary dwelling place that was made out of skins. What type of skins, Sophie didn't want to know. She raised an eyebrow as he ushered them to sit down on a blanket, reminding her of her time back with the Native Americans. "As for my name young one," he smirked once Sophie raised an eyebrow and Naum sighed as he sat down, "The name is Xaskesiel, Xaskesiel Necrosnare, but I like to go by Necrosnare of Graveshroud or Necrosnare for short. I am the leader of our little refugee camp, the Helvilo of Graveshroud we call ourselves." He took out a bottle of red wine, or what Sophie presumed was wine, and began to pour it out into glasses.
"Thank you," Naum held up his hand, "but we don't need any beverages –"
"Is that red wine or blood?" Sophie decided to ask, Naum giving her a shocked look as Xaskesiel smiled before chuckling lightly. "Because a being I know makes wine out of the blood of the sinful souls at point of death. Thought I should ask," she shrugged.
"How correct you are," Xaskesiel grinned. "My~ my~, who is this intriguing being you brought along with you Kaoboros?"
"As I said I am Sophia Serbus, but I prefer to be called Sophie," she nodded as she sat back against a wooden chest and began to take her water skin from her bag, "and I am also a servant of darkness and a God of Death."
"Oh you're one of us?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" Sophie raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'one of us'?"
Xaskesiel looked at her cautiously as he set the bottle in his hand down, slowly drinking down the wine in his cup as he tried to figure out who she is. "Let me explain," Naum said as he broke the tension. "The Helvilo are a branch off of the daemons, living here in Ga when the humans kicked them away from Ponta many years ago. As time went on some have lost their true identities, becoming daemons and savoring the taste of mortal flesh. Helvilos, before this all began, were supposed to reap souls, but the Goddesses of Life took over their job and now they have nothing else to do except eat." Sophie looked over at Xaskesiel before looking back at Naum, starting to understand his point. "Actually Xaskesiel's camp is one of the only groups of Helvilo in the entire world that still reap souls. They keep a bucket list of scrolls and tablets of humans that have passed through Ponta and moved to either Ga or Ura. We work frequently with them, but you can see why tensions are tight considering we had to help the humans kick even the Helvilo out of their homes."
"Are there other species that have this problem?" Sophie decided to ask, "I mean… have been kicked out even though they did no wrong to the mortals?"
"Yes," Xaskesiel answered for Naum as he casually sipped more of his wine, "a great number. We are a refugee camp from the daemons, for daemons want to devour or wipe clean our existence. We have been fighting back for centuries now, but many have seen our fight as worthless and joined the daemons. Terrible really."
Sophie nodded, a grin forming on her face. "Can I state an observation?"
"Of course," Xaskesiel offered, flinching back as she scooted across the blanket and stared into his eyes, gently pulling back his light baby blue hair and staring into his eyes.
"… He has eyes exactly like shinigamis," Sophie explained, Xaskesiel looking at her shocked as Naum gulped. Xaskesiel reached over for a weapon, but Naum held his hand to the handle of his sword and shook his head sternly. Xaskesiel turned his eyes back to Sophie's and staring into her own eyes. He gulped as he felt her staring deep into his soul, a smile on her face spreading as his heart started to beat faster and faster. "You have double-iris and eyes like a grim reaper. Were you a human once?"
"H-how did you know –"
"Just like I suspected," Sophie chuckled as she continued to stare. "This only happens when a human is transformed into a shinigami. So are you telling me the Helvilo is my equivalent to shinigamis?" she turned her gaze to Naum, much to Xaskesiel's relief.
"Yes I suppose," Naum shrugged. "I never gave it much thought before."
"J-just who are you?" Xaskesiel asked as Sophie smiled and let go of his face, scooting backward till her back fell against the chest.
"Wahoooo~" Sophie let out an exasperated sigh, closing her eyes for a moment as she grabbed her skin and began to drink from the refreshing cool water. "Just tell me Mr. Necrosnare," Sophie continued to ask, "when you say leader, do you mean leader of everyone or just leader of your small community?"
"Leader of all Helvilo," Xaskesiel continued, "but the other divisions have a hard time cooperating and it's hard to even hold meetings and collaborate on our situation. Now I have given up," he sighed as he stared over at the flap of his tent and thought to himself.
Sophie nodded, "Yes it's hard to find common ground for so many beings," she chuckled, "but don't be discouraged. You'll figure out a way to speak to them." Xaskesiel eyed her as she opened her eyes and set her water down, placing it back into her bag before continuing. "I… I have been called many things," Sophie began, "but I suppose here you would call me an intruder. You see Xaskesiel Necrosnare, I am not part of this world. I come from a different world, leagues away where none of your kind could possibly reach… well I suppose Naum can, but that's beside the point," she shrugged. "Anyways my full name is Sophia Maurus Ioreta Serbus, but I also go by Athena if I don't want to reveal my real name. Seeing as you're the leader, I trust you won't give that information away."
"Y-yes… Sophie…" Xaskesiel thought to himself, Naum raising an eyebrow when she spoke of her other name before she continued.
"I have heard that Athena is a sacred name around here so I go by my real name, but still I am wondering why…" Sophie thought before she shook her head, chuckling lightly to herself. "Anyways~ in my world we have many different realms. The main realms are called Heaven, Hell, and Earth. Supernatural beings live in heaven and hell and humans live on earth, but there are many beings that live on earth and there have been accounts of humans going to hell or heaven in supernatural experiences. Evil souls, demons, live in hell. Good souls and messenger of God, angels, live in heaven. I live on earth and work as a shinigami. Shinigami go around the world reaping human souls, recording their souls, which we call cinematic records, in scrolls with bindings we call books. Most shinigamis are the souls of humans that have been changed to reap other humans, but there are different species that call themselves shinigami. For example I know many half-breeds consisting of shinigamis with demons and shinigamis with humans. There have been breeds with demons and humans, but I usually don't count those since they tend to go to hell. Even angels with other species, and the list goes on and on," she grinned and chuckled lightly. "Now I may work as a shinigami, but my true job is a God of Death. A God of Death was assigned a job by Death, or they have their own set of skills and made a deal with Death. Either way that is my main job, but being a shingiami is next. I'm guessing that's how it is with Goddess of Life, right Naum?"
"That's right," he nodded.
"We have been able to get… vaguely along over the centuries, but I can't quite understand why your world has all these problems," Sophie commented. "Sure my own world has our own flaws, but your world is a disaster. Perhaps it's because you don't have a rule to leave humans alone? That's how we've been able to stay stable for centuries. The humans don't really know of us and thus we can go about without any problems. Besides there is a purpose to all these groups being created. Shinigami reap souls, demons devour souls that have been left behind and forgotten by shingiamis so they don't roam the world as ghosts, and angels keep the peace and are messengers from God. Just by looking at your group I can tell there are angels, demons, and even humans among you Naum. They are all Goddesses of Life because they were chosen with a purpose to keep the peace, be leaders and all that. That was the true purpose, but I suppose it will take a few more centuries for your world to either work or destroy itself in the end."
"How could you possibly know all this?" Xaskesiel asked.
Sophie looked over at him, giving him a crooked smile. "Shinigamis have a tendency to store information and I've read through practically every book in our possession. Plus I go looking for the knowledge, expecting that no one would be able to understand everything if they don't go looking for the information themselves. Also most of the knowledge I have gained is from experience, self-gained knowledge and coming up with my own ideas. Yes, maybe they don't hold completely true for you, but it does for me."
Xaskesiel smiled, drinking down the rest of his wine and letting out a tired sigh. "Thank you for all of this," he responded, "Everything is coming together now."
"Oh?" Sophie asked, watching as the man stood up and walked over to the chest she was leaning against. He opened the chest and rustled through the contents, pulling out a small scythe that Sophie quickly realized to be the standard death scythe the students at the academy were given.
Xaskesiel smiled as he gently ran a finger over the blade, Naum eyeing him suspiciously as he handed it over to Sophie and sat back down. "Many years ago, before the humans drove us away, a being gave this to me. She called herself Athena, just Athena, and helped resolve our problems." He sighed as he sat back and let Sophie examine the old scythe in her hand, careful not to break it accidently and make the man mad. "She appointed me as head of the Helvilo and we lived in peace, but that was until a different power came through and swept us away. It happened many years after she left, and we thought she would come back and save us since she said she would return when she could… but she never did. You may know her as the First Empress. That's what the humans tend to call her, but she was even more of a goddess then the gods they worship. It's strange really… I never thought much about it till you told me the other name you use, Athena. Do you know anything about this?"
"Sadly I do not," Sophie sighed, "but don't worry about it. If she ever plans on coming back she will, but it is I who is here to help you, not her."
Xaskesiel nodded as the smile was still on his face as he continued. "I can see you're here to help and I am grateful. Sadly I do not know what use you can be around here. Almost everything is in chaos and there's not much I can do about it anymore. I will supply you with men and supplies, but that is all I can really do."
"That's alright," Sophie smiled. "I'm only here as a negotiator. It is Naum over there that needs your help. I am only here on a… temporary business."
"Temporary?" Xaskesiel frowned. "Just why are you here?"
"There is an item here that is controlling me and I'd rather get to the bottom of all of this before it takes me over again," she explained, "and besides the dagger told me to help. So I'm here to help. I don't think I can stay here any longer then I have been, but if I can form the foundation blocks your world can construct the rest. Alright?"
"Sounds like a plan," Xaskesiel chuckled. "Thank you Serbus –"
"Please call me Sophie," she smiled, "and you're welcome." Sophie stood up and brushed the dust from her clothes, helping Naum up as he groaned and scratched his head. "We will send you news if we need help. Naum can go over the rest of the details later. There are a few different camps we have to get to before nightfall and I would like to actually sleep for once."
"Alright," Xaskesiel grinned at the easiness in her tone. "I will speak with you later Kaoboros."
"Yes Necrosnare," Naum nodded as Sophie walked towards the door deciding to leave, "have a pleasant night," he said as he left the tent after Sophie.
"Have a pleasant night," he smiled, grabbing the scythe and setting it back into the chest.
)(*&^%$# !
A/N: … And that's where we stop. Well there you go! I don't know what more to say here… Uhh… sorry again for posting this chapter VERY late. I've just been getting busy. Well see you later! I have a few more chapters up that I may get around to reviewing… though I don't know how much longer I'll keep with this story. I may just move on to working on one fanfic for a while till I run into a writer's block before moving back to this one. Just so you know ^^ It's not like I'll stop this for good, but I'm just busy. I need to get good grades in my classes. Even though there's only two of them it's still hard work DX Well… SEE YOU LATER!
Lucifer – name that in English generally refers to the Devil or Satan, especially in reference to his status as a fallen angel. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer". It was the name given to the Morning Star, i.e. the planet Venus when seen at dawn. Use of the name "Lucifer" for the Devil stems from applying to the Devil what Isaiah 14:3–20 says of a king of Babylon whom it calls Helel (Shining One), a Hebrew word that refers to the Day Star or Morning Star. This association developed in Early Christianity, in the 2nd or 3rd century. In 2 Peter 1:19 and elsewhere, the same Latin word lucifer is used to refer to the Morning Star, with no relation to the Devil. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus himself is called the Morning Star but not "Lucifer", even in Latin (Vulgata stella splendida matutina). "Lucifer", began to be applied to Satan, but it was certainly used in this way by 3rd-century Origen, and some scholars claim that the identification of "Lucifer" with the Devil was first made by Origen, Tertullian and Augustine of Hippo
Helvíti – Old Norse – "hell"; compounded word of Hel, "goddess of the realm of the dead", and víti, "punishment"