The fascinating first moments of humanity are all being closely watched by Ben. His gaze lingers on the groups of people forming throughout the realm, and he finds it surprising how well they work together.
The wolf population dominates the majority of the world. This is causing problems for all the human groups. The wolves' behavior has changed unexpectedly with their large numbers; The once cautious predators are hunting for sport and taking unnecessary risk.
Ben observes four humans in a small group in the deep forest. The four met up faster than other humans, but they are threatened by wolf packs on all sides. Ben watches with great interest as a wolf pack closes in on the human group.
"Oh wow. Is he going to die?"
There's a rather lithe human named Zen standing between a snarling wolf and a young woman named Nim. Ben feels conflicted; He wants to interfere and aid the humans, but that wouldn't really be fair to the wolves or the other human groups.
Screams erupt when the wolves pounce upon Zen, and Nim is dragged away by Cain. Cain is a human Ben had expected to become a villain, yet here he is leading the group away from danger in a tense situation. It impresses Ben somewhat.
Ben is brought back to reality when he sees the mutilated corpse of Zen the human. Ben's divine identity can only separate him so much from his creations, and the visceral sight of a fellow human being eaten alive sends waves of emotion through Ben's mind.
"He's dead."
The bedrock above Ben trembles ever so slightly before he gets a handle on his emotions. He cannot let his power leak out like that again, lest he destroy his realm in a fit of wrath.
Ben hadn't truly considered how real the beings inhabiting his realm were before now; Rabbits and fish feel much less intimate than a person you created and named yourself. The reality of death brings with it a new perspective for Ben.
"I need an afterlife!"
Ben's realization sparks inspiration; He needs to create a proper system for life and death in his universe. What proper deity doesn't have a heaven or hell of some kind?
Several concepts for a system of life and death come to mind, but Ben knows exactly which one he wants to try and create. His afterlife will revolve around the presence of souls, and manipulating souls in different ways.
Ben pushes his power into reality's fabric, and within moments a new divine law has been weaved into the world. The realm's inhabitants don't notice, but souls are forming in each and every living thing.
The divine law governing these souls ensures that the size of the soul is proportional to the size of the organism while the density of the soul correlates with the the intelligence of the organism. Additionally, souls carry the memories and traits of their organism even after separation. When an organism dies, it leaves behind its soul.
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"I'll need a grim reaper of sorts."
Ben doesn't want to spend all his time tidying up loose souls, therefore he needs a glorified janitor to do the job for him!
Divine power is condensed into ethereal bone; The soulless figure of a skeleton floats beneath the realm. The creature is made of a substance akin to souls, yet it has no soul of its own. The thing's eye sockets are ablaze with supernatural blue flames which allow it to perceive all souls regardless of distance.
"Perfect! Now for someplace to put the souls."
Ben carves a monolithic stone fortress beneath the bedrock. Void crystal mixed with dense dark stone create an imposing stronghold; The entire structure is also suspended above the voice like an artificial stalactite.
The innermost sanctum of the fortress is populated by hordes of soul seekers, the freshly named skeletal reapers. They are covered with black ethereal cloaks which give them a truly eerie appearance; The garb is made of soul fragments not too dissimilar to the specter's themselves.
To complete this underworld stronghold Ben creates a truly abominable being. He calls it the soul keeper, and lets his divine power shape the many legged skeleton in the center of the innermost sanctum. The boney legs are actually human arms, yet they function as the monstrosity's legs. The creature is given three jawless human skulls for an eyes wherein a bright blue flame allows it to perceive every living and dead soul.
"You'll be very important. I'll need you to destroy and create soul seekers, but not too many, nor too few." Ben's divine voice echoes throughout the sanctum.
Cracks form on some of the walls as Ben speaks; He promptly mends them before reconsidering his speaking volume. Thankfully his soulless creations are unaffected by the physical destruction, albeit the soul keeper looks mildly startled.
"Understood, your greatness." The soul keeper replies using supernatural power to speak.
Ben congratulates himself on making the soul keeper so formal before observing the army of Soul Seekers. The skeletal creatures float throughout the fortress to equip themselves with ethereal cages; They carry these cages with them into the realm in search of souls. The soul keeper monitors how many souls are brought to the fortress, and alters the number of soul seekers appropriately.
"Listen carefully, soul keeper; I want you to take good care of any sentient souls you collect. Do not use those ones for food. Is that understood?" Ben speaks in a rather haughty tone.
"Yes, your greatness. I understand completely." The soul keeper bows its length body slightly as it replies to Ben.
Ben's ego feels a little inflated after being addressed so formally by what is essentially a godling. He's well aware he is literally omnipotent, but being acknowledged as such gives him an exceptionally pleasant feeling.
"Maybe I went a little overboard with the whole 'your greatness' thing."
~
While the realm's creator contemplates trivial things, a horde of soul seekers is descending upon the realm. Their eerie appearance goes unnoticed by the realm's inhabitants as they exist on the same plane as souls. Discarded souls are rounded up into ethereal cages, and promptly delivered to the Soul Citadel.
The many legged soul keeper moves throughout the stronghold with its flame unblinking. It peruses the collection of souls while gulping down large quantities of miniscule souls. The creature lets out soft hisses as it moves about; It's dissatisfied.
"Why did that pompous cretin order me not to touch the good ones?!"
Vile thoughts and curses beyond unthinkable run through the soul keeper's head as it gorges itself on tasteless souls. The creature was not made the way Ben intended; The process was too rushed, and with Ben's carelessness an insidious being is born into the world with power second only to Ben himself.