Cleaning up the Afterlife of the Chenrel system had taken Archibald the better part of a minute. Or a lifetime. These things are all relative, and now that Archibald was in charge of every soul from the mightiest of warriors to the wimpiest of amoeba, he was finding it difficult to keep a consistent perspective on things.

The effects of the system being Godless for a few months were already apparent. The great forests that once spread across continents were shrinking. Wildlife that was once abundant had been reduced to near extinction. Some areas had lost all of their higher life forms entirely. The whole thing really was a mess.

Guess that’s why they sent me. Not much of a struggle for power if every food chain falls apart in a year and all life starves.

Now that things had settled back down, life was starting to recover. Winter was beginning on one of the major continents, so progress was slow there, but the others were enjoying exceptionally bountiful springs and summers. Archibald sighed and shook his head.

He picked up the list Tatiya had left him and looked through it for a third time. She wasn’t kidding. I personally sent several of the top ten on her list of ‘notable souls’. He casually checked in on them from time to time.

Each was in their own state of dismay. A woman in her thirties served in the military, her command over the ground used subtly to shift battlefields to her favor. She’d raised three ranks on the magical list since he’d taken over. Still, despite her prowess, her country was losing the war. Corruption robbed troops of supplies and led to starving men swinging swords on the battlefield. Different planet, same old humans, Archibald mused.

The next was a local, as Archibald had begun to call them, someone who’d been born in Chenrel initially. The man was in his twenties and wielded lightning in one hand and a razor sharp sword in the other. He’d grown to power in the slums of a capital and fought through the gladiatorial arenas since he could hold a sword. Now recognized for his strength, he served as the fist of the king, addressing unrest and putting down piracy. The man spent most of his time on the move, patrolling the coast.

Archibald began to create another report for the Board Members. In his last report, he detailed the destruction caused to the system in just a few months without anyone guiding the ship. The recovery effort had taken quite a bit out of him, and he’d expected a thank you at least, but his report had been met with icy silence.

Initially, Archibald thought maybe he’d not been able to get the message through. New jurisdictions did have communication issues from time to time, but his report was tagged as reviewed. Irritated but undeterred, he’d set to managing the rest of the system so that he’d only have to be involved with complicated cases.

This new report detailed the progress of some of the noteworthy souls. The Board said that they’re always watching but they also want me to write these damn things. What a waste of time. He materialized a glass of wine and set to finishing the report.

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As he worked, a form began to materialize in his office. This wasn’t a rare occurrence necessarily, but Archibald thought he’d gotten a good grip on the automation of the system. Sometimes souls slipped through, like the enormous wolf he’d seen the day - or hour? Hard to know anymore - before, but those outliers shouldn’t keep happening so frequently.

Archibald sipped his wine and waited for the soul to finish materializing. Some of them were quicker to accept death than others. He’d seen one rabbit pop through his office three times in quick succession when he’d first arrived. Poor thing died of fright, saw me, passed on again, was born in a cramped zoo, was stepped on, popped back up in my office and nearly passed through again before I could slow it down. He chuckled to himself at the thought.

He finished his report and sent it off to be reviewed as the soul finally decided it was, in fact, dead. The young man looked familiar. Archibald looked back at the list. The name ‘Enzo’ had begun to fade away. One of his, then. The young man reached toward a book on his bookshelf and Archibald remembered the soul. Had to pull him out of the Scandinavian Folklore tome if I remember correctly.

Archibald called out to the young man, and the soul turned to face him. He looked like he was about to say something, when his soul lost form and was pulled back down to the world below.

Well that’s never happened before. Guess his soul really wasn’t ready to move on.

He made a note of it, then returned to the list. Enzo’s name had returned and moved up several spaces. The young man was now in the top ten. This power ranking seems to change so quickly.

Another name caught his eye. A recent addition, just barely making the list, had managed to move up a few spots as well. Last time he’d noticed her, she was in the employ of another on the list. Her employer was a local to the system, trying to take back power. When Archibald had tuned into the man, he seemed unaware of the potential of his subordinate. He focused on the new individual, curious to see what power she’d gained.

Waves crashed against a large, wooden ship. Sea spray filled the air as crewmen fought against the wind and waves. They slowly fought through a storm toward a small island. The woman, tall and beautiful, stood behind the wheel of the ship. She steered them through the worst of the storm, as rain pelted down upon the crew.

A rogue wave rose on their starboard bow. Easily forty feet tall, it dwarfed the ship. The men panicked, and braced against anything nearby. The woman stood her ground. A dark blue glow tinged her eyes and she pulsed with energy. The wave inexplicably doubled back on itself. The shifting momentum of the wall of water caused a great roar as the wave broke apart. The ship rolled over the top of the chaotic patch of water and continued through the storm. The woman exhaled and released the mana under her control.

None of her crew noticed what had happened. They were too busy tying themselves to anything nearby to watch. The woman bellowed out commands, breaking the men free of their fear. They snapped to and redoubled their efforts to steer the ship through the storm.

Archibald was impressed. Such tight control over her Affinity in a short time. Still ruthless as ever too. Sending her sister along was the right decision. He sat back in his chair and relaxed, moving through the rest of the list, watching their progress.