I woke up in the middle of slowly thickening fog next to a dead fire the next day, my armor had somehow kept me warm, but the thing was starting to get soaked. I climbed up the branches and went out from there, jumping across the thick canopy would keep me somewhat warm enough for me to keep moving.

Then, another problem popped up and I needed to stop moving due to rain.

After twisting and bending a few leafy branches here there; I constructed a decent shelter as fast I could. And exempting a few leaks, the shelter was pretty effective at keeping me dry.

It soon got boring instead of threatening so I practiced a manipulating my Life-Force, or the soul maybe? The Death God had called it that, so I guess it would be more of an accurate term. I placed my hand on a nearby branch and tried to feel the tree's life, and once I got a hold; I tried to tug, just like how I did with my own. It was far easier to do and with enough pulling- I was able to drain the tree's Life Force till the leaves on the branch had wilted, I was then told to stop by the Guardian after that.

Feeling confident with the that whole tree fiasco earlier, I tried tugging on my own Life-Force; but it simply didn't work so I went ahead and attempted to block their path instead- I did my best to re-direct them into a specific part of my body, in of which I was able to accumulate quite a bit on my chest and my heart had suddenly felt warm, the heat spread throughout my body heating it up and I thought I was finally able to keep myself from freezing. Apparently not.

I gave it another go but nothing, my chest accepted the Life-Force way more easily this time though. So I guess I opened up some sort of pathway inside my body? Well, now that I think about it- this whole Life-Force thing is literally just Qi isn't it? Maybe I can cultivate it?

Nope, no you can't. Apparently opening "Meridians" is a one time chance and just let's the Life-Force flow through you more easily, I still cant control them, but I can feel their presence. Hell, I can even tell where they're going.

Dusk had broken and the sun has risen before I was finally able to leave my make-shift shelter and run through the now dissipating mist. It was, thankfully, no longer cold so I was able to move without ever stopping. And only did so when the resulting water vapor from the evaporating mist had become extremely painful inhale.

Still, once the path had gotten clear again, I went down the canopies and continued.

"FINALLY!" I yelled as I turn my jog into a full on sprint. There was smoke, and if you look closely, even a bunch of tents could be seen lining up the horizon. And I speak with all my heart when I say that- I am extremely ecstatic.

Dissapointingly though, I didn't find humans, but rather; goblins. Well, they're still humanoids but their barbaric nature and the state of their camp already says enough.

The quality just wasn't there! Hell! I think I'm seeing male goblin forcing a female to bend over by hitting her with sticks!

Also, I really wanna say that's it's only the women that's getting this treatment but I'm pretty sure I'm seeing a dangling green silhouette on the "female" goblin's crotch.

They aren't worth it. Just, go to the swamps and help the lizard folk there; you are of kin to them are you not? Said the female voice inside my head,

I contemptemplated as to it was really worth it to follow through the guardian's advice that I shouldn't run around near the greenskins and just go to the bipedal gators' territory but I ultimately decided not to. I really have a bad feeling that I'll have to save those water geckos from getting terrorized by some powerful monster, and to hell with that. I'm not some exterminator, nor am I some hero, I'm here to collect souls for my God! Not save your people!

The greenskins were certainly weird, but seeing that they have torn leather stuff littering their camp, with a few actually resembling the gloss and shimmer of silk; it's safe to say that they know where the humans are. "Or atleast, what kind of path they usually use when they deliver cargo." I thought out loud as I looked at the broken down merchant caravan at the side of their camp.

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Without a plan in mind, I stood up from the bushes and started walking to the camp's direction. I took hold of my spear just in case something goes wrong, which, let's be honest here, they're goblins. Shit will most likely hit the fan even if no one tries to fling it around. I let out a sigh, the chances of me dying whilst looking like a porcupine is quite high, and the chances of my corpse being used as a sex toy by all of them is definitely up there. But, you'll never know if you tried.

Surprisingly, when I arrived, the greenskins were all pretty calm. Or I think so atleast, there's no doubt that what they're saying isn't exactly a welcome but who's to say that the goblins are sputtering out insults either? Clearly, spitting at the ground is sometimes done by animals to show dominance, maybe they're telling me that's where their territory starts? Who's to say?

"Ah, forgive the rudeness of my tribe-mates oh great collector! Such vulgar words should not be directed towards someone like you," a robe wearing goblin said, I can surprisingly understand what he was saying; and the explanation as to why did come by-

- "my measly mana is already getting empty just so I could talk to you, we don't have much time! Come! Come! The risen are all here." He said through pacing breaths.

So apparently you can use mana to talk to others without ever needing to learn their language, choosing this place over those scaley bastards is already proving fruitful! How neat.

I followed behind the affore mentioned shaman as I walked around the goblin tribe, and the scene around the place was exactly I expected it to be; cannibalism, rape, and just things most drug addicts would usually do when they're desperate for their shit. Though this place doesn't really have nor need drugs.

At one point, I saw a few people that clearly didn't belong here as well, some of them were humans but eh, they'll die soon enough, pretty sure some of them already were.

After a few more minutes of walking, we finally reached what I assumed was a graveyard. Pillars of wood stood in between it, and the village; probably for a good reason as well, if the growling from the other side of the wall is anything to go by.

A balcony was built on our side of the wall, going up there using ladders let me know why for, and where the growling came from-

-Zombies, a lot of them. Some were already rotten and unable to move, deciding that the maggot filled ground was their final and most likely second resting place, while others were still fresh, most likely killed yesterday of the week before that.

Still though, their current decayed state doesn't change the fact that they are all getting shot by arrows whenever they get close to the wall. Most of them were dead by the first arrow, but there are still those that are definitely suspicious; these zombies looked like they've been through hell, arrows and spears were just jutting out of their flesh like they were some sort of porcupine. "The hell are those?" I saif pointing at one of them, though I didn't know how to use this multiversal language skill yet so the shaman didn't really understand me. But understanding what I was trying to say seemed easy enough.

"Ah, those,.. well, it is our mistake for not properly burying the dead oh great messenger, when the risen die, then they get back to life by clinging unto those who were still fresh; they become stronger, faster, more durable, and possess twice the grudge they had started with. But please do not falter as all of the Risen here belong to the bodies of deceased goblins, and the goblins alone, there are no such thing as demons within this graveyard."

No demons my ass, I can feel their presence from here, the presence is a new one; but I'll go to hell if I don't say that they aren't that different from monsters. The presence is pretty far as well, yet I can still feel it. Maybe I can feel my fellow demons? But eh, that's pretty unlikely, that means they can feel me standing here too. And given that I can feel them from this distance, who's to say they can't do the same?

Still, did these guys never consider the fact that some disease ridden bird would just plop out of the sky mid-flight?

'Well, it's better for me to let them know,' I thought as a growl came out of my mouth: causing the shaman to shrink,

"W-we did not know! As far as we can tell only goblins have been buried here!" The guy, for some reason, pleaded. 'Must be a religious bunch,' I concluded.

Well, I guess I know what I have to do.

I jumped down to the graveyard, spear in hand and asked the ever so silent death god at the back of my head- "say, what's up with zombies? You need to send the dead off properly or something?"

Indeed, that is the reason why most of the intelligent races here practice funerals for the dead.

"So why don't their dead just you know? Turn into monsters. Oh and also, this is a relatively fucked up place if the life and death cycle doesn't even spin properly doesn't it?"

Well, for the first question- it is because emotions and intellect that has led them this way; they did not wish to die upon their death and was thus granted a second life.

As for monsters, well, they aren't dragged down by something so foreign to them as, emotions. Simply put, when an animal dies, some of them wish they were more powerful, different- this results in monsters that gradually change the more powerful they become.

Whilst for more intelligent races, like, let's say; humans, then they aren't dragged down here because of power; they are here because of regrets, grudges. So they come back, not as some shape-shifting beast, but as themselves. Even if that self has gotten rotten physically.

Anyways, they are already rotten for wishing that they have a second chance, so I might say- nothing has change except for their appearance finally catching up to as what they truly are: A rotten, delapidating corpse that only serve as food for the worms and fertilizer for the plants.

As for the cycle of life and death, then, simply put- we gods haven't really gotten a proper hold of this newly birthed world, yet.

I stayed silent as I stabbed another zombie in the head, wondering where the hell did the demons come in to all of this. Or perhaps I'm just thinking way too much, maybe demons were just more powerful monsters due to two different souls possesing a single corpse? Like the evolved zombies here.

But, if that's the case, then,.. did I merge with a god to create a demon?