With everything decided, Jenny sat alone in the snow, poking the fmes with her hatchet. She loved the way the flickering orange light caught on the obsidian edge, and sometimes, when she stared closely, she thought she could see the fme turn blue. Or was that just a trick of the light?

  She sucked in a deep breath, holding it, cold and refreshing inside her lungs. The conversation with Yeshua and Iblis, what she'd said loudly to everyone else, bounced around her head like a tennis match. And she kept thinking of Azra'il, the Angel of Death, the enormous angel with an evil grin and snakes for hair. Yeshua had told her that the loin cloth he wore was cut from the skin of tarnished angels. She shuddered and rustled the fmes again, sending up a spray of sparks. She was lost in her thoughts.

  She was preparing to open another passageway, to get to the World of Souls. Neither Yeshua nor Iblis could tell her what to expect. Only that the World of Souls was known as the Garden, where souls went after death - the memory of each living thing - to contempte on their lives. And once they were ready, once they'd made peace with themselves, they would set out on a journey that would reunite the souls with their deaths. Yeshua wouldn't crify what would happen next, but she got the sense he didn't quite understand. And it was evident that whatever was supposed to happen naturally had been corrupted.

  The pilrs were prisons that siphoned Energy from the Deaths, turning them into infinite batteries somehow. And neither of them knew what was happening to the Souls, but Iblis seemed adamant that the souls were trapped in the garden world, forced to work for the angel's great pn. That that they'd been rounded up and collected and ensved, that that was how the angels had gone around subjugating the worlds. Ensvement. Punishment.

  "What about you and the demons here?" she'd asked.

  Our punishment was helplessness. Abandoned here to waste away in eternity.

  Jenny had nodded. She'd felt that pain. She'd known it long before all of this, stuck in her home wondering if she would ever amount to anything. Everyone had always said ‘you could do anything if you put your mind to it,’ but she'd put her mind to everything and anything, writing, music, sports, math's, sciences - and she'd always struggled. In the end, the only thing she seemed to be good at was letting people down. And now Yeshua and Iblis were looking to her as though she'd done something important. That she was someone important.

  But all she'd done was give birth to some ancient being. Then free Yeshua from the cross. And the only reason she had this world traversing power was cause she'd killed her best friend and –ahhhh!

  She wanted to scream, but the deaths had taken a liking to her. The demons stood by, rows of ice statues with fire in their eyes. She didn’t want them to know anything was wrong. That she was deathly afraid of what they’d find in the garden world, and what would happen once she found Susan, and what might be happening to Susan... and the list of things she dreaded went on and on.

  Possessed deaths - who now read as Death (Vessel) marched into the valescent bridge alongside groups of possessed ghouls. A short while ter, they returned with even more ghouls and even more deaths, sobbing and weeping. Yeshua greeted them as they arrived, offering his arms and creating for them purple robes. If it was still storming blood on the other side, Jenny couldn't tell. None of the blood came with them.

  Once she felt rested, once she felt prepared, Jenny stood and brushed the snow off her hair and armor. Yeshua and Iblis stepped toward her.

  "I'm ready," she said, trying to sound confident. She slung her hatchet through a loop on her waist line and pulled on her helmet, covering her hair and most of her face.

  I am prepared to leaves as well, said Iblis.

  Jenny nodded. She was gd the demon would be tagging along; she didn’t really want to go alone, even though they were concerned about avoiding detection. They wanted to be quick. The mission was to collect information, find Susan, and get out. Reconnaissance and rescue. With Iblis by her side, she didn’t worry too much about the fights that might be ahead. Not even the desecrated angel that had nearly killed her in the high school would stand a chance against her and the demon teamed up.

  "Remember,” said Yeshua. “You are only looking for your friend. Do not fight Azra’il alone. And come back right away if there's any trouble.” He looked at Iblis, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening. It was a look of warning, and Jenny almost smiled. She trusted Yeshua. She trusted Iblis. It was nice having them both on her side, being part of a team.

  The fmes went out in the ghoul’s head. Its empty eye sockets stared at Yeshua than at Jenny, and a sound escaped its throat as if it was about to say something. But then the cold overtook its body, and within a few seconds, the creature was frozen, its open mouth making it seem like a strange snowman. The blue sparks shot toward her, and she welcomed it with ease this time, as though she was taking a breath.

  Light and warmth shivered through her face, and then Iblis’ mind pressed against hers, and he was inside. Steam curled away from her lips. Fmes didn’t sprout from her eyes, and she blinked at Yeshua as Iblis expined.

  I will remain dormant until necessary to avoid any harm to your body. This will also help us remain undetected by Azra’il and his forces.

  That made sense, she thought. She smiled what she hoped was an encouraging smile at Yeshua who nodded slowly in return, then she turned away and reached for Severed Spirit. Should she touch the ground? Some point in the air? There was no storm of blood this time, no ghouls trying to tear her apart, but she also didn’t know what would be waiting on the other side.

  Breathe. Concentrate. Severed Spirit hurt to use, but again, she wasn't using it on herself. She wasn't cutting some connection with herself. It was external. The worlds. Feel the worlds. She licked her lips and straightened her shoulders. Cold air blew in through the gap in her helmet. She concentrated on the tip of her fingers, pretending they were cws - like when she had her exoskeleton out and she could cut through anything. Severed spirit.

  It felt like she was cutting through a sheet of cloth, like she was parting the auditorium curtains, anxious in elementary school before the start of the school py, peeking out at the crowd, hoping she wouldn’t spot her mother’s face.

  Jenny split the air, and darkness blossomed, unfurling with countless tentacles before golden light shone bright and clear. It hadn't hurt this time; all her fears and anguish didn't come spilling out, and she'd used Valescent Light in tandem.

  It was becoming easier. It was becoming instinct. Sever the space and then use valescent light. She wanted to experiment more with this, wanted to learn everything about it. Like why did the darkness transform angels into tarnished angels? Why couldn't she pass through the darkness? Why couldn't the demons or the deaths? But once it was golden and shining and rainbows of colors reached out, Jenny didn't hesitate. She didn't look back. She took the next step and slipped into the light and dove into the ocean of radiant light.

  Once again, she felt the push and pull of the currents around her. The push as she left the world of demons. The massive pull toward the material world, but then there was that new pull. The pull toward the world of souls. Greens and blues swirled in that direction, and she willed her body toward it, swimming, kicking gently. Bracing herself for what she would find. Iblis mind thrummed somewhere beneath her own – his thoughts and feelings just out of reach.

  Breath bubbled away from her lips as the light opened. She emerged headfirst, and something wet - she thought it might be water but it was too thick, too familiar - rushed into her mouth and up her nose and she sputtered and coughed and choked as she climbed out of the light and spshed into what felt like a thick, viscous river.

  It was blood, and for a second she panicked. All around her was moaning and crying and reaching limbs - had she waded into the wrong world? Was she back in the world of the dead with the blood rain and the ghouls? But then the notifications surfaced in her thoughts as she tried to find footing.

  Soul (level 3)

  Soul (level 4)

  Soul (level 7)

  Soul (level 2)

  "Gah!" Tearing off her helmet and rubbing her face, spitting, trying not to throw up, Jenny snorted to clear her nose and looked around, breathing hard, blood dripping off her, and froze. People were rising from the red waves onto a grassy shore, crawling up the bank, spitting and coughing and crying. Jenny stood amidst them; they didn't even notice her.

  The souls were naked. Their hair wet and matted. Their skin glistening as blood dripped all over the bdes of grass. They were all crawling out of the river as though they were in great pain, none of them looking up until they climbed out of the blood and got onto shore to colpse, breathing hard. Some clutched their chests. Others wailed loudly. Jenny felt Iblis stir with disgust and pity. He didn’t say anything, but it was clear: this was unnatural.

  Beyond the grassy bank was a dense forest, trees towering over everything. Some souls were wandering into it, but she couldn’t see clearly from where she was standing. She would have to climb up the river bank. Behind Jenny was nothing but the dark red waves of the river. She wasn’t sure how wide it was, but she couldn’t see anything on the far side.

  Jenny waded up onto the bank, trying not to step on any of the naked, blood covered bodies crawling around her. They were crying softly. Not the desperate crying of happiness that she was used to after saving deaths, but this was quiet, muffled sobs - like they'd been hurt so badly they were afraid to make a sound and be hurt again.

  Once the souls got onto the grass, they got to their feet, gncing nervously at one another. Some of them covered their chests and their groins. Some of them didn't seem to care. Some of them fell to their knees, grasping their heads, eyes wide with fear, hyperventiting.

  A few of them muttered. Jenny caught the English speaking ones.

  I'm dead – Why?

  It was a truck - I didn't see it – why did this happen to me?

  An angel? An angel killed me?

  God sent an angel to take me - I didn't want to die - I want to go back. I messed up – Please!

  Please, someone help me - I don't know what to do - where am I? Hello?

  But it was an incoherent mess. Everyone was rambling. But a few Souls in the lead had begun moving, gathering in small groups and marching together, and after a few more bodies got out of the way, Jenny saw why. There was a sign.

  PROCEED THIS WAY FOR JUDGEMENT.

  It pointed toward a path, and Jenny gnced around as the other souls noticed the sign, as they wordlessly followed the souls already walking in that direction. Some looked at her with curious eyes, but each expression was frightened, anxious. They bumped her with their elbows and apologized. And she was worried her armor might hurt their exposed skin.

  She didn't know what to say. Or how to respond. But they felt cold. Ice cold. Cold enough that she could feel them through her armor. Where the deaths had been burning hot, the souls felt like they'd been trapped in the ice with the demons, and Jenny had to suppress a shudder.

  But she realized she could camoufge with them. She could follow along and find out what this Judgement thing was, even though just looking at the pointed sign gave her anxiety. Even though the souls followed along as though they had no will of their own.

  I’m going to undress, she thought to Iblis.

  The demon didn’t respond, and she felt a silly moment of shyness, undressing while possessed, but then she figured it didn’t matter. The demon had seen the entirety of her life, he was literally inside her mind. And nakedness didn’t seem to mean anything when all these other souls were naked as well.

  She willed her armor away. Golden light enveloped her, shimmering gently across her silhouette, and then the dark scales disintegrated. Her helmet vanished, leaving her standing in the moving sea of bodies, her pale skin shining a little too much. She resisted the urge to cover herself. The st to go was her hatchet.

  Just to be sure, she willed it back, and it appeared with a fsh of light in her hand. At least it was instantaneous. Satisfied, she turned back and stepped into the river, avoiding the hands and heads of newly surfacing souls, and covered herself in blood.

  Then Jenny made her way up the path with the other souls, grimacing each time her body bumped another, each time their coldness felt like a spsh of ice water, and now that it was direct skin to skin contact, the souls winced too. Some of them even gasped. Did her body feel too warm for them?

  She apologized. They apologized too. Nobody really looked at her. Nobody cared that she or anyone else was naked. She knew what was on their mind. The only thing that could be on their mind. They were dead. And they were headed for judgement. And now so was she.