“Can you elaborate on that?” Valentina pressed on.

“It’s what Demons do. All Demons are bent on acquiring power, and that can be done easily through obtaining more mana, including mana that’s not theirs, mana they didn’t take the time to create. This is where their unending thirst for mana comes from.”

“And how do they do this? How do they obtain mana that isn’t theirs?” she insisted. Valentina knew that details mattered when it came to Grim Reapers exams.

“Through the souls they torture. When a human soul dies, it gains direct access to all the mana it managed to build during its life on Earth. It keeps all the memories of its past life and utilizes that mana to form into existence whatever it believes must happen. For instance, they don’t realize that when they are free from their mortal shells they no longer bleed. But because they are used to things being that way, if the soul is injured mana creates the illusion of bleeding. Demons know this, and so injure souls and drink the mana they release.

“This is not the only way to force a soul to release mana, there is an even more dangerous way to do this, through emotions. When a Demon scares a soul for instance, they use mana to manifest that feeling. The Demon then links with the soul and shares this feeling, absorbing any mana the soul releases. The downside is that experiencing what that soul feels can be painful and traumatic.

“The biggest problem with this method of gaining mana is that it’s only temporary. Once the Demon uses the excess mana, he cannot regenerate his own mana to those levels again, and so they need to constantly steal mana from souls.”

“Is pain and suffering the only way for a soul to release mana?”

“No, making the soul feel happy can also do that. But making someone feel happy is not that easy, not for Demons anyway. And when a soul is feeling good, the mana is slowly and steadily released, which is better for the soul but not for the mana hungry Demon. A sudden feel of pain is way more intense. But the Demons are so greedy that they constantly suck the souls dry, driving them close to total reset, and then as soon as the soul manages to rebuild the slightest amount of mana the torture starts all over again.”

“You said Demons drive the souls close to total reset, but we know they don’t allow the soul to actually reset. Why is that?”

“If they force a soul to reset, it will be a really long time before it can become a conscious being and begin producing mana once again. The Council’s basic information package, which is implanted in all souls without exception, is what allows the soul to quickly become aware of its existence. This package can only be deleted if the soul is reset.”

“Does a reset soul lose everything?”

“No, there is one thing that can never be deleted and that is memories. Memories can only be blocked or hidden, but never erased. That is why the Council resets every human soul before it is returned to Earth. They make sure the soul cannot access any past memories, but it is well known that the Council’s methods are not perfect. There are recorded cases of human souls recovering memories of their past lives.”

“Bravo Griffin, excellent, I believe you haven’t left anything out. Now finish the revision chapter and we can go for some dinner. Tomorrow we can revise the Grim Reaper’s Code of Conduct,” Valentina went back to reading her own book.

The book Griffin had in front of him was the Grim Reapers Code of Conduct. He began to run his pale bony fingers over the page as his eyes rushed across the words of the book. There was something magical about them and he could see images forming inside his head as he read them repeatedly. He imagined countless situations of him collecting souls and applying the rules he was reading, giving all souls what was known as the Reaper’s Choice.

‘Always wait for the body to die and for the soul to be free of its shell. You must then move closer and make contact with the soul. Once the soul identifies your presence and recognizes who you are, explain what you deem is necessary to calm it down and control it. Never forget the soul still carries the memories of the shell it separated from and the life it had. That is why it keeps a shape similar to the shell it just left behind and some form of substance, instead of returning to its original spherical form.

You can use your Soul-Chain to restrain and imprison the soul if it tries to run and you cannot find an alternative way to collect it. 

The soul’s temperature will tell you what has been decided for it. You cannot, and will not, be able to intervene and alter this decision once the soul is free of its shell. That is why you will never know what the final destination will be before the last bond between the soul and its mortal shell is broken. Once the soul is collected, always take it to its destination just as you must always take the new-born souls for a reset before taking them to their new shells.

If you believe you can foresee what the destination will be and choose to intervene in order to try and change that decision, you can. However, you can only do so in the last remaining minutes of the shell’s life, granting to the soul what is known as the Reaper’s Choice. 

This is always done at your own risk, for you are aware of the danger to your existence when using your abilities too often and for too long. Any intervention on your part will be taken into consideration, but as everything in life, even the afterlife, every action has a reaction, and every choice has a consequence. You will carry that memory with you for the remainder of your life.

Never attempt to remove a soul before it is free of its shell, not before the very last bond between them has broken.’

Griffin closed the book and placed it on the table, gently rubbing the red, soft fabric cover, carefully studying the engraving on it. It was a picture of Gabriel and Michael, the two most famous and successful Grim Reapers ever with their backs turned to each other and leaning, coming together in the middle. Gabriel and Michael were Archangels, but they had served as Grim Reapers as well when the Council demanded it; something that changed when the Grim Reapers replaced the Angels for this specific task. Griffin had never met the Archangels until that day; he had only studied them.

On the right was Michael, kind and gentle to all souls, giving them all a second chance. On the left was Gabriel, harsh and unforgiving to all, never granting a Reaper’s Choice to anyone; two very different Grim Reapers, but both effective and successful at their job. No one has ever lasted as long as they have, maybe Lucifer could have been up there with them if he hadn’t fallen to the corruption of power and deception. Griffin shook his head hard at the thought of Lucifer, as if he were trying to shake the thought out of his head.

He focused on the cover of the book when a question formed, and out of nowhere his head was filled with this one question that echoed in the back of his mind. He grabbed the red string marking the last page he was on and with one quick pull he flipped the book open. The cover banged on the desk and Griffin started looking at the text once again. His eyes ran down to the last sentence and stayed there, staring at it. It looked as if he was searching for something hidden between those last words.

Keeping his voice as low as he could, not more than a whisper, he read the last sentence aloud. “Never attempt to remove a soul before it is free of its shell, not before the very last bond between them has broken.“

The answer did not lie within the words of the last sentence, and the question did not go away. It got so loud in his head he unintentionally repeated it out loud.

“I’m sorry, do you have a question, Griffin?” Valentina asked.

Griffin quickly closed the book and held it in his lap. Cold fear washed over him, and his eyes surveyed the room, searching for something, anything to derail his train of thought, something to put a stop to the deafening sound of the question screaming in his head. A question he knew he should never ask anyone.

“Griffin? Are you ok?” Valentina stood up and moved closer to Griffin.

“Yes, yes I’m fine. I was just imagining how it would feel to collect a soul, granting it a Reaper’s Choice in the process,” Griffin got up and started walking towards the door, “I think all this studying has depleted my mana and I’m getting tired.”

“Well dinner should be ready. We can go and join the rest of the Grim Reapers if you like.”

“That would be nice. I’ll go wash up and join you,” Griffin closed the door and disappeared before Valentina could reply.

Griffin found himself enveloped in darkness as the memory came to an end. Images started flashing before his eyes and time started to move forward, quickly making its way to the next memory Griffin had marked as important; the day he first formed his weapon, Emma.

The story continues in:
Kingdom of the Red Rose
(Episode 20 of 62)
Chapter Eight: Mana Measurements
(Part 1 of 3)

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