Aly’s POV

Who was on the other side of that— I don’t know what to call it, she just put her hand to her ear and started talking… she formed her hand into the shape of a phone, so I guess that was a phone call?

She said the name, “Liam,” and she called herself, “Dani.” Does that mean all of the D9 (Divine 9) have names they go by? I’ll have to ask her once we get back out of the rift. 

It sounded serious by the tone of it, like she really didn’t want to reach out for help. To think being alive in the ‘after-life’ is more trouble than anything for her. Just what was the deal that my birth parents cut with her?

When her call ended she said we were gonna move to a different territory. And she explained that because I was with her we’d have to go down to the Deep-6 floor. She opened the Dimensional Rift again so we could travel down to it but hasn’t spoken since, and we’ve been walking in this colorful swirling vortex for a while.

Deep-6? 

Wasn’t that what Jessica was telling me about? How one of the recruit commanders, Dave, takes newbies down to go see the Grim’s worst day. It sounds so cryptic. How bad of a day could it have been for a bunch of dead people?

***

We head out of the rift and into a long hallway corridor with a ceiling so high that I can’t even see it. Grand chandeliers burning with a white flame hang low from the ceiling. Several paintings of armored knights and warriors from different kingdoms and time periods line the walls in intervals throughout the hall. They pose with swords and various weaponry.

 One of the portraits has armor and a sword of what I believe was called a bushi warrior, like those from the Fortuna Kingdom, with baggy pants, straw sandals, and a sword I remember as a katana. All the warriors are unmistakably from a former era. As we walk the hall I swivel my head from left to right and recognize some of them as knights, magi, myriads, centurions, marauders, and even a pirate. To make things more impressive, each of their eyes follow me as we walk pass them. 

I recall the waiting room I was in. The paintings were moving and seemed alive there too. I even felt the breeze coming out from one of them. I’m already convinced these guys can jump out at any given moment.

When we’re halfway through the hallway we come across a set of 4 stone statues of heavily armored knights that seem to be guarding a huge vault on our left side. Two sets of knights are on each side of the hall, both the left and the right, with the large vault door in between the ones on my left; meanwhile, on my right there’s a leaning standing mirror on the floor propped up against the wall that rests between the other two set of knights. 

I lag behind Death to marvel at the vault for a moment, but then I remember that this floor was supposed to remind the Grim of their worst day. 

I look down the hall but there doesn’t seem to be any other turns or corridors, only two doors on either end of the hall and 4 statues that stare directly at me from their pedestals. It’s only when I look behind me that I found “The Reason to Remember.” The mirror that sits against the wall reflects something on its glass surface but it isn’t me. It reflects what’s on the inside of the vault. It’s being ransacked. 

Inside the vault is a white square room of marble with two sets of cascading tables sitting diagonally across from each other. Perches rest on the table as they hold decorative items like bracelets and necklaces. Next to the perches are a dozen of beautifully crafted boxes with gold, silver, and jewels laying in them. Sets of swords, medallions, and armor line the very tops of the walls while below them two and a half of the walls are filled with shelves for scrolls and books. 

Within minutes the room goes from being full of lavish riches to being desecrated by the hands of less than a dozen thieves who leave almost nothing. The thieves either empty tables or flip them over as items join their haul. They strip the upper-walls of the precious armors and weapons as well as the hooks that hold them in place. The thieves leave the bookshelves with only scraps of paper and dust, completely barren of the weight of knowledge that used to rest upon them. Some more thieves kick crushed boxes and stands into the corner without the heft of their treasures. 

I am pulled by a thirst. A craving for the feast in front of me flares my emotions. Like a knife twisting through my insides, my heart lurches and breaks open like a dam breaching. Feelings, passions, ideas and ambitions pour out of my very soul. 

An empowering vigor resonates in me as a bastard sword gleams in between the black gloves of one of the robbers. Desire. My own decadent beauty reflects out of the diamond jewel of the tiara that another thief stacks upon their head. I want it. Rage breaks out in my mind as I see another raider take a cloth tapestry that I know is supposed to be mine. My fingernails dug into my hands as I dream of wringing the life out of—

Cold hands cover my eyes before I fall any deeper. I haven’t even noticed I stopped breathing.

“You humans have a knack for craving things bigger than your appetite can handle.”

My mind slows its pace as I’m able to slow my stream of thoughts and raw emotions that abruptly leak out of my heart. I filter out all the dross that has never even crossed my mind before but I can’t shake the feeling of disgust I suddenly feel. Like I had done something terrible even though I knew full and well how terrible it was; and yet, I couldn’t help myself. Death removes her hands from my eyes as she turns my head. 

 “What was that?”

“A curse. Anyone who doesn’t know how to curb their desires and use proper authority is susceptible to them. These items are not what they seem. And yet, a group of you humans thought it was a bright idea to take them out and play with them. All of them. They’ll promise delight, fulfillment, and strength but they’ll only take you for a joy ride. In the end, it’ll only lead you to the gates of your sentencing faster. Though the mirror shows only a reflection of the items, because it’s a collection of them their power still comes through. Ryan… I mean, the Host of Passions and Nightmares made it with the Host of Ashes to display this to everyone who walks through here so that no one ever forgets what’s at stake because of our greatest failure.

“Oh, and to make matters worse, we are still looking for them. We haven’t caught a single one of them at all yet.”

“What's at stake? Failure? How could something like this even happen? And why haven’t you caught them yet? Those items…” The mirror pulls my gaze, “they—” I turn slightly to look back at the mirror but Death grabs my chin just before I’m able to fully look at it. 

She comes close to my face. “Firstly, resist your urges towards them. Secondly, you don’t need to know. Nor do you need to worry about that, right now. You should only be focused on getting back to your body.”

She lets go and continues her walk to the door at the end of the hall. 

I want to look back at the mirror, but I resist the urge to turn around. Feeling my grip slip, I fight the urge with a train of thought. How could such a thing even happen? When could this have happened? Hosts are as powerful as entire armies or a nation-- they are literal Divinity. Just a single one would be capable of wiping half of Harmonia off the map. How could mere humans fight, let alone steal from them?

The clicks from Death’s heels brings me back to my present situation and I’m able to focus. She calls from ahead, “Come on, Aly. We’re off to see my brother in PURGATORY. He’ll get you back to your body.”

She continues walking but I ask her, “Why?”

She stops and sighs in annoyance then turns around, “Why what?”

“If humans… if we did this, then why would you still help me?”

She smiles gently before replying, “Because unlike you humans, we Hosts keep our end of the deal regardless of the consequences.”

I don’t know why, but something in me latched on to that, awakening a fire that wasn’t there before. 

Using this chance to dig for some answers, I ask, “And what exactly is the deal between you and me?”

She walks towards me and puts a single finger to my forehead, “To keep you safe.” 

A cold pulse spills from her finger onto my forehead and then spreads throughout my entire body like a tidal wave. This time I don’t feel any fear or the need to retreat like the other times. Instead I feel a cold tickle run down my back and for some reason it’s something familiar that comforts me. 

“Now stop prying and let’s go.” 

Death starts her march over to the door once again. I slowly follow her as I ponder.

My birth mother…

If my birth mother really did make a deal with Death before they disappeared, then the real question might not be why did she leave; it would actually be what was she running from? 

//Both of them had the look of guilt so heavy that it could have squashed them.

And what exactly made them both look at me with such guilt before they went away?

Something shimmers in the corner of my eye from the mirror. A shining pale glove sits on a stand on one of the cascading tables for a moment. Something about it repulses me before it vanishes the next instant with its crushed stand laying on the floor. Before any cravings could set in, the vault appears empty again. I look away from the mirror before it has a chance to reset itself.

// Hosts keep our end of the deal regardless of the consequences.

Did my parents have something to do with the robbery?