The Court of Souls? - Volume 1

by Andur

  “Yes! There is no point in any of this. I didn't do anything outside my rights. All I did was maximizing the profit. I didn't use any slave collars, so calling it forced labour is really far fetched!” The man wriggles against his shackles.

  I raise both eyebrows. “So if you intimidate a low to the point that he or she is too afraid to seek the help of the authorities, you don't call it forced? Aswang, you seem to be involved in this case, what's your judgement?”

  Aswang shrugs. “There isn't much to judge. The case is clear to me. The lows in his care weren't treated any better than robots. It's a disgrace for those of us who wield power. Especially since the lower immortals don't have any chance of fighting back. Bringing him here was only a formality.”

  I massage my temple and smile at the shackled man. “This is truly without precedent. You are the first higher immortal who was stupid enough to do something like this in our bright new world. What drove you to such extremes?”

  “I just protected what's mine! Did you really think that I would be glad about losing my harem? When they heard of their new rights, they immediately ran off without even looking back! You are...” The man continues his tirade with a stream of insults.

  I force myself to keep smiling. This guy clearly has nothing to say for himself, he only insisted on his rights to postpone the inevitable. Maybe we should take away the right of an audience from criminals? There will always be dark elements in every society. I have no illusions about it. But what if there is a case which is truly debatable? No, we should stick to the current rule.

  Finally I decide to interrupt his tirade. “If Aswang is right, then it's quite clear to me that your crimes can only result in execution. Of course that's only if your actions really resulted in the death of our subjects. But if Aswang found proof, then that's a moot point. I trust my staff completely.”

  At last Galhard realizes his situation. “You can't! Aren't you guys the ones who are trying to build a bright, new society? Death sentences are something for undeveloped nations!”

  I shrug. “Maybe. But this is a harsh world, and the simple act of feeding a bastard like you seems like a waste to me. Your soul will come back to haunt us soon enough. Maybe you will even be a better person if we reset your slate. But how about letting my daughter decide? Aside from her brother she is the only, truly innocent person in this palace. Seria, what to you think about death sentences for people who dirty our image?”

  Galhard's eyes widen and his expression shows hope. Then his pleading eyes concentrate on the cute angel who is sitting on my lap. There is no way that a little girl like her would sentence someone to death.

  Unfortunately Seria already had her ritual and is far from being a simple, little girl. She studies him for a long time. In the end she frowns and snorts.

  “Impale him in front of the palace. Then make a live stream of his struggle and publish the evidence of his misdeeds. Everyone should know that even higher immortals have to answer to justice. We have to build a society and deal with the fact that a few of us hold the power to extinguish many. There can't be the slightest doubt that we would punish those abusing their power. Otherwise this whole society experiment will fall apart soon enough.”

  I pat Seria's head. “You are so smart. But impaling in front of the palace? That will be messy and stink. Are you sure that it isn't Angrod who is speaking there?”

  Seria's voice brightens. “Oh, you are right. Maybe a simple beheading would suffice. We can save the truly cruel stuff for people like Moonray. Can we go to the kitchen now? I think you promised to teach me hearth magic!”

  “Of course.” I stand up and guide Seria out of the throne room. In the meantime the gaping imbecile who interrupted my time with my daughter is dragged to his feet and escorted away. We really have to find a better way to deal with people like him. But as long as we keep integrating the other clans, we will always get a set of foul apples along with the good ones.

  70. ~Patience until the end.~

  “Death and resurrection gods form the background to the emergence in the Near East of mystery religions, so-called because only initiates knew their secrets. These extended the chance of a better hereafter beyond a close circle of special people, such as the pharaohs and nobles in Ancient Egypt afforded a kind of immortality by mummification; Greek heroes taken to the happy Isles of the Blest instead of gloomy Hades; and Norse warriors carried off the battlefield by Odin's battle-maidens, the valkyries, to the everlasting feast in his mead-hall Vallhalla, whereas those who died in their beds were consigned to the dismal realm of the goddess Hel.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Mana Storm

  Shade

  I reach for the pathway and let my mana spread along it. There is definitely some kind of strange pull to this one. It definitely doesn't lead to another location on this plane, but rather to another dimension. I try to probe the connection with my mana, rather reluctant to use it blindly.

  The old pathways simply snatched my entire essence and transferred me from here to there. Maybe it is a result of the storm's chaos magic, but the new pathways are literally trying to tear the user apart. I have to use my entire power to stay in one piece. Well, I really hope that the effects will lessen once the network has grown. Otherwise we have to work out a way to decrease the storm's effects.

  Completely erasing the mana storm would be preferable, but since the storm is caused by the overlapping of two different dimensions that won't happen any time soon.

  The fact that the new pathways are harder to use than the old ones will most likely remain, but maybe that isn't a bad thing. It simply means that not every random asshole will be able to use them, even if they find a way to crack our security.

  Right now we have to send a unique energy wave along the pathway to align it with the user's energy. This acts like a pass-code, but I have no doubts that we need better security measures once the seed has grown enough to interact with it. Right now it is still installing its basic functions.

  Holding onto the pathway, I feel myself being torn apart and pulled into the storm. Moments before I reach my destination I feel myself being snatched backwards. Pain spreads through my entire being. It feels like I bound myself with steel wire and ran full speed until I reached the end of its length, resulting in the wire digging into my skin.

  One moment later I find myself back where I started my little experiment. In the distance is the diminished mana storm, still slowly twisting around itself. Since the seed is using it as an energy source, using magic in its proximity became a lot safer. But blindly trusting the peace would be stupid. It is still chaos magic and many things can go wrong where chaos is involved.

  Then the backlash from my little experiment kicks in. I bend over and vomit my breakfast onto the ground, together with a frightening amount of blood. Placing a hand on my chest, I channel my mana to the damaged areas in my body. Yeah, too soon. It will take a lot more time until the pathways connect to the other realms. The process is slow, but steady. Probably it's not worth the effort meddling with the process.

  There is a high risk of doing more damage than speeding it up. The different realms will connect to the pathway network one by one. It will give us time to build some relationships with every realm. The old multiverse had different physical laws in every dimension. This resulted in most dimensions being uninhabited by intelligent lifeforms. I wonder if it will be the same with this multiverse.

  The endless plane of Dedessia is certainly strange. It's like an entire universe was taken up by one, endless landscape. Maybe the other dimensions will have stars and planets? My eyes wander to Dedessia's empty sky.

  Will the other planes have magic? Dedessia certainly has an abundance of magical energies. In turn, it is lacking resources. But if my theory about the mana storm being a zone where two dimensions overlap each other is true, then the pathways will connect us first to dimensions which have physical similarities with Dedessia. The exist
ence of magic has to be one of them.

  Closing my eyes, I concentrate on my study which is located in Crystal City. The correct pathway lights up and I let my mana hold onto it. I embrace the feeling of being torn apart and reassembled in a moment. Then I find myself back home. After checking myself I sigh in relief. Nothing is missing or attached the wrong way.

  I can't wait until the interference of the mana storm subsides. Using these pathways is unpleasant as hell.

  With nothing else on my list I decide to search for Elona and Seria. The little maggot was really mad when I left her behind. My only hope is that she wasn't mad enough to spill my secrets to Elona. No, she is unreasonable at times, but she recognizes when I want to protect her from danger.

  I find Elona alone on the balcony. “Elona! I am back. Where is the little maggot?”

  “Flight training,” Elona answers and takes a look over the balustrade. One second later she vanishes and reappears with Seria under her arm.

  “Dad! Help! Mom is-” Elona throws Seria over the edge and my daughter disappears from my sight. “Aeeiiiiii!” Her shrill shriek quickly fades as she falls down the tower.

  I rush over to the balustrade and teleport upon seeing Seria. Grabbing her in mid-air, I teleport again and reappear next to Elona.

  “You caught her much too early. This way she doesn't feel the thrill of the ground closing in and she will never unlock her potential.” Elona comments without a hint of pity in her voice. “As I understand it, regaining our power has a lot to do with near death experiences. It's probably a psychological thing since I don't find any biological reasons for it.”

  “You are so cruel, Mom! Tisha said that most people don't unlock their demon form until they reach adulthood!” Seria complains from my arms.

  “And? I was just a little older than you when I unlocked mine. I want to know how you turned out. With all that mana which we had to pump into your creation, it must be something cool. So why not speed up the process?” Elona tilts her head, then her attention turns towards me. “And how did it go with your investigations?”

  I draw a deep breath to keep my cool. There is no point in getting in between Seria and Elona. They will grind me to dust like two millstones crushing a grain of corn. “They are still growing and dangerous to use. It will take a few years until they connect to the closest dimension, but then the process should speed up a lot since the network will be able to draw energy from two mana storms. It's highly likely that the other side has their own mana storm.”

  I pause for a moment to gather my thoughts. What I have to say next is a problematic topic. “I only have qualms about whom to send. The first scouting mission into another dimension will be dangerous and we have no certainty that there is a way back. In addition we will have to send a higher immortal who is proficient at using the pathways. It would probably be best I go myself-”

  “No!” Elona answers with finality in her voice. “If there is the slightest possibility that returning could be problematic, then you stay here.”

  “I'll go!” Seria proclaims proudly.

  “You can't, you are a child!” I sputter.

  “Never! We just got you back!” Elona cries out and wrings Seria from my arms.

  “Why not? I am the only logical choice. Since I am a member of the royal family, I can negotiate with whoever inhabits the other realms. We will have to create ties with them if Moonray's words about the spirit-realm are true. The spirit attacks lessened, but they are still finding their way through the storm from time to time. And which guarantee do we have that nobody else opens a big portal?

  “And even if I can't return, once there is no hope left, all I have to do is to die and my soul will naturally return to you two. Our soulbond has proven countless times that it transcends dimensions and even multiverses.” Seria answers without a hint of emotion, then she shrugs. “And didn't you say that the pathways will need some time until they are usable? We will wait until I am an adult and have regained all my powers.”

  Elona grabs Seria at her collar and lifts her into the air. “If you are that eager to die, then don't expect me to rush to your side and save you.” Without a word she throws Seria one final time over the balustrade. But our daughter doesn't scream this time. Counting the seconds, I ready myself to teleport and catch her, but just before I decide to take action a delighted scream erupts from beyond the balcony and Seria glides into view.

  She flies in a circle, using the wind to gain altitude. Then she lands in front of us and spreads her hands. “Ha! How is that? Am I not magnificent! A genius! Not only do I have most of my memories right from the start, I even discovered my transformation earlier than both of you.”

  Elona places both hands on her cheeks. “So cute! I want to cuddle you!”

  Pursing my lips, I take in her new appearance and decide on the only possible reaction. “Stash all your old nicknames. From now on you are Little Butterfly.”

  “I don't like that nickname!”

  Credits

  Author Andur

  Book designer Armaell