Morvina’s oath had many vague promises. His needed to be concrete and binding, but not restraining enough to subconsciously reject. The words burned in his mind, his thoughts loud enough for the world to hear. He recited them to the spirit, and with a bitter tone, he followed along.
“I, Xaviar Steelford, pledge my soul to Daniel, the reaper of souls. With unwavering dedication, I vow to uphold his sacred words.
I shall harbour no ill intent towards any soul within Daniel's realm, treating all with compassion and fairness.
I shall protect the domain of reincarnation at all costs, ensuring the smooth flow and balance of souls' journey.
I shall never break my oath, honouring the solemn words that bind me to the underworld.”
A calling like none other resonated through Daniel’s soul, the world around him fading before he could utter the words to his skill. In his domain, he sensed something just beyond the void, begging to be under his rule, like a loyal subject kneeling in front of a king.
Daniel stood near the gate of reincarnation, the locus of his authority. The red river surged around him, a tidal wave threatening to sweep away the other souls. Boundless power engulfed his soul as he pulled on the intimate connection between their souls. Still, it was not enough. His might wasn’t absolute enough to shatter realms.
His mind was gripped by a mindless haze, a fervour like none before. His soul drank from the river, now fearless and arrogant, drunk on power bordering the divine. Daniel cackled, his emotions urging him to act now. Like lightning, a mad thought streaked through his mind, bold beyond belief.
“Morvina, I pledge my soul to you. Come get me if you can!”
The river was completely uprooted, swirling around him like a whirlwind. His imagination crafted it into an image of a python, which coiled around his body and bared its fangs toward the outside. Not a moment later, the underworld began to tremble, miniature fissures cracking the void.
His arrogance faltered as a line ran through the realm like a boundless horizon. It split open down the middle, revealing the infinite cosmos beyond - an all-consuming horror littered with shattered stars and carcasses of gods. Before his sanity could yield, he pulled with all of his might, hoping it was enough.
Suddenly, a visage like no other peered in, the perfect mix of beauty and compassion, her infinite wisdom apparent from just a glance. Daniel wished he could immortalise the moment forever, but his gaze was drawn toward her eyes. They transfixed him, black as the night’s sky.
Every second, his consciousness slipped further and further into the depths of the darkness. It beckoned to him like a lover he never knew, like the soft embrace of his parents, promising warmth and safety. The river around him shattered, raining down on the stone platform like shards of glass.
THE NIGHT. THE NIGHT. THE NIGHT. It called. He had to answer.
He had to get closer, or his life would never be complete. Madness echoed through his mind as he floated above the ground, rushing towards the tear in the void. The colours of his soul became muted, the darkness spreading through him like a tumour, infecting his every thought.
“Ah, what the hell have I gotten myself into,” an ancient but powerful voice resounded through the void. If anyone were to listen closely, beneath the voiced protest was a tinge of excitement.
There was nothing but the night sky in Daniel’s mind - it dominated his every thought and emotion. Just a moment longer and he would become a part of it, forever joined together in a symphony of emotions.
His eyes didn’t register the falling cinder all around him, nor did he notice a weary spirit cloaked in fiery energy, flames dancing around him in destructive joy, burning away the very fabric of his realm.
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“It’s been so long since I’ve seen fire. Makes me feel like I was just a boy, shouting skills to make tiny embers,” a halberd soared across the sky like a fiery dragon, a figure following along wreathed in billowing flame. The beautiful face turned cold, waves of darkness dripping from her eyes like tears.
“Cinderfall.”
A firestorm raged in the air as pieces of cinder ignited, raining down hellfire. The darkness recoiled, evaporating upon contact, shrieking as it did. Daniel screamed in horror as a halberd descended on the boundless eye, and even though a mortal couldn’t hurt a god, the flame did the unthinkable. It made Morvina blink.
Like a puppet cut from its strings, Daniel stopped mid-air, a horrible agony spreading across his soul. The river in his heart washed over his soul, driving the darkness deep inside of him. He let out a gut-wrenching scream, dropping to his knees, his mind struggling to comprehend what he had just seen.
Next to him, a battle was concluding. The rift in the void was mending now that Daniel had regained control, though that didn’t stop Xaviar from launching one attack after another. A dozen different skills flashed through the air, each more destructive than the last one. However, none could touch a god.
The shaking receded, the tear in the sky now a scar upon his realm that would remain there as a mark of his hubris. Daniel clutched his head, his shattered mind screaming in truths that broke apart his psyche.
“Get a grip, you bumbling fool. I’m bound to this realm now, so that means it should have grace and dignity! Not... whatever this is,” Xaviar said, clapping him on his back.
A soft ember glowing with faint orange light settled in the middle of his soul, and like a drowning man, Daniel clung to the comfort it brought him, kindling it with his torrential emotions. He struggled to forget what he had seen, but at least the horrid memories weren't raging in his mind, emerging every chance they had.
“Although, if I’m to be living here, having an insane person to entertain me wouldn’t be the worst of ideas. Ah, to be young again.”
Daniel glanced at the figure speaking next to him. No longer was he blazing with righteous flame, though cinders still burned across his body. He gazed at the face worn with age, each scar a different story. Xaviar’s once golden locks had faded to mere silver, a thick and well-groomed white beard hiding his jaw.
Despite his age, his stature had gotten no less impressive, filled with strength and resilience. He had shed his armour for regal orange clothes, adorned with twin wyverns. All of that was but a backdrop to his eyes, which burned with such a fire that it was impossible to meet his gaze. Fierce but gentle, destructive yet calming, they embodied every aspect of fire,
“What an introduction. Almost made me forget about having to eternally forsake Ashkarn and be bound to some boy not yet twenty,” he said, poking Daniel in his side.
“Could’ve left you there. This was all for you,” Daniel said with painful gasps, gesturing at the new horizon.
“You could have gone outside and found my descendants,” he bellowed. “Who am I kidding, they’re all beyond useless.” He huffed and puffed, spit flying everything.
“Now, why don’t you tell me who you are, boy? Why were you fighting with Morvina, that old hag? Can’t believe she hasn’t died out yet,” he said, flipping off the sky. “Who would believe in such a frail god?”
The pain was constant, and every time he looked outwards, he saw traces of the night sky. The void, which was once a place of comfort, now made him tremble in fear. He snapped back to the conversation as Xaviar poked him once again, though he struggled to form coherent thoughts.
“I’m a... soul reaper. I collect souls and bring them here,” he beckoned to the gate, which Xaviar observed with noticeable distaste.
“That’s the gate of reincarnation. You go in and forget all your worries, being born again in a different world.” Those were only his assumptions, but if the System had said so, who was he to doubt it?
“I’ll guide you through as soon as I finish catching my breath,” he finished his thought, lying down on the ground, breathing heavily.
“Absolutely not! You expect me to go through some dodgy ancient relic and just trust that I’ll be fine? Do you think I was born yesterday? Boy! I was 142 when I died, and I didn’t live to be that age by being stupid.”
Somehow, the scolding distracted him from the pain. It reminded him of his grandma, who would berate him any time he did something wrong. People weren’t so different even across different worlds.
“Look at you. You’re way too soft to be fighting gods. Back in my days, I would be running across battlefields with injuries that would kill a regular man, and I wouldn’t even flinch. If you can’t cauterise a wound with a smile on your face, you’re not an adult!”
Daniel chuckled, which turned into a full-on belly laugh as he continued listening to Xaviar. Here he was, having barely survived a god’s attack. Although drunk off power, he had still risked his life for this old man, who was now speaking like he owned the place, regaling Daniel with stories of his heroics.
He didn’t regret it.