NOVEL NEXT Chapter 61 Domain of Death Conclusion
It was a rather dreary place the atmosphere felt like you would be battling for breath in a world inhabited by shadows and monsters. It was barren of hope dimly lit and desolate with a temple on a hill. The minor fallen temple gave a sinister feel as it was a black building covered in ash so some areas looked gray.
As they entered the temple they found it lit by torches allowing you to see empty shelves, 2 thrones in the middle of the room, and further ahead were two paths. When they took the left path, it led past a few rooms and soon they came across a big black metal door with an engraving of a winged woman kneeling and praying. They entered a large area and found a comfortable bed and winged skeletons on the walls holding torches that glowed red.
When they returned to the throne room and took the right path, it led past a few identical rooms and soon they came across a big red metal door with an engraving of a winged woman holding a scale. They entered a large area and found a coffin at the center of the room and winged skeletons on the walls holding torches that glowed black.
“Do you 2 even need to sleep? Also why the coffin?” asked Zero
“We do need sleep currently but when we become demigods we will most likely not need to. The coffin is just my own personal taste.” answered Azalea
“I think it’s cool. Big sis will you let Nova come and help you decorate?” asked Nova
“Of course, little one you’re always welcome in our realm” answered Dahlia
“We’ll look forward to it.” added Azalea
On the way back to the throne room they pass the various doors and decide to open one. Behind the first door was a basic hellscape with a generic river of lava and ground that looked like needles. Behind another door was an empty black void that seemed to go on forever. Another led to a paradise-looking place filled with flowers and looked peaceful.
“So are these the different afterlives you’ll be providing to the soul you collect?” asked Zero
“Yes these are the basics we’ll change them around a bit and add some more when we get used to this duty.” answered Dahlia and Azalea
“I have a question but before that can you do me a favor?” asked Zero
“What is it?” asked Dahlia and Azalea
“Can you stop talking at the same time I find it a little creepy.” said Zero
“Very well.” said Dahlia
“Does this work for you?” asked Azalea
“Yup that's so much better.” said Zero
“Then ask your question.” said Dahlia
“So how does this whole afterlife thing work? My necroscience skill tells me all souls are reincarnated but they need to go to an afterlife first. Why is that?” asked Zero
“Ah, you also have the skill. It’s one that normally belongs to reapers and psychopomps. Well, the afterlife works to cleanse a soul of its memories and sins before reincarnating the individual. Think of the soul as a cloth with a stain and the afterlife as a washing machine.” explained Dahlia
“The stain in the metaphor would be the memories gathered and sins committed by the souls in their lifetime. Some souls need a light washing like that paradise we saw before and some require an intense washing such as hellscapes before being reincarnated. When the stain is removed our domain will turn that into power.” continued Azalea
“This power will be will go to us or to whatever deity that rules the underworld that soul is in. With that power, we can choose to reincarnate the individual and have them live another life and commit more sin, and the cycle repeats.” said Dahlia
“So, mortals are caught in this endless cycle that sucks.” said Zero
“Well, not exactly we can choose some of the souls with light sins to elevate into our servants. Alternatively, if we feel that a soul does not deserve a reincarnation cycle we can choose to terminate the soul turning it into power directly.” answered Azalea
“Oh looks like Yoko and Valna have gotten started. Nova can you go wait in the temple for a bit while we finish up here.” said Zero
“No, I wanna stay here with Papa.” whined Nova
“Why are you making here leave?” asked Dahlia
“Well I don’t think it’s good for a child's development if they see corpses.” said Zero
“I think she’ll be fine.” said Dahlia
“Nova has already seen dead bodies.” protested Nova
“Really where?” asked Zero
“When Papa took me to that castle I felt all the dead bodies in the ground.” explained Nova
Dahlia and Azalea turned to look at Zero and he responded “Okay how was I supposed to know that she can do that?”
“I think you have to take some time to talk to her and figure out the true scope of her abilities.” said Azalea
“Well since she’s seen corpses before I don’t think there’s any point in keeping her in the dark. Besides, something tells me she’ll be visiting our realm a lot so she’ll have to get used to it at some point.” said Dahlia
Zero sighed and responded, “Very well.” He then snapped his fingers and 80 corpses and souls of succubi, witches, and curlys appeared.
“These will work and there isn’t too much damage to the body so we won’t need to waste any extra power.” said Dahlia as she examined the corpses
“Do you also need the souls?” asked Zero
“Yes, it makes it easier if I don’t have to create souls from scratch.” answered Dahlia
“You can create souls too?” asked Zero
“Yes but that power lies with Dahlia while the power to judge soul lies with me.” answered Azalea as she walked towards the mountain of corpses.
Standing next to her sister Azalea slit her wrist along with Dahlia. As the blood fell on the ground it began to move like a snake as it slithered to the corpses and formed a pool of blood underneath. The corpses and souls then sunk into the pool of blood. and the blood began to glow orange. Within minutes 80 individuals began to rise out of the pool of blood.
There were 4 types of beings with 1 type that looked similar to Zack the vampire Zero killed at the beginning of his journey. The vampires all had different looks and were both men and women dressed differently but they all shared similar characteristics. They all had pointed ears, pale skin, and fangs.
The next type the reapers were also men and women who looked just like humans. They all had black hair and eyes and were carrying scythes of different designs. They all had black tattoos somewhere on their bodies which Zero recognized some as symbols that represented death in some religions on Earth like an ankh and an omega symbol.
The last 2 types consisted solely of women. The first type was a beautiful black-haired woman wearing a thorn crown made of a white rose and a black dress that accentuated the curves of their body nicely. The second type was amber blond women with amber eyes wearing a crown made of black roses with thorns and an equally sensational white dress that accentuated the curves of their bodies.
Race Explanation:
Hecate Lampad: Due to the effect of Nova’s blood in the creation of Dahlia and Azalea they gained the power to create Lampads. Lampads are nymphs who are associated with the underworld and its environment. Hecate Lampads are beautiful black-haired women created by Dahlia and charged with the duty of guiding the souls to their appropriate place in the afterlife and the reincarnation of the soul.
Styx Lampad: Due to the effect of Nova’s blood in the creation of Dahlia and Azalea they gained the power to create Lampads. Lampads are nymphs who are associated with the underworld and its environment. Styx Lampads are beautiful amber-blonde hair women created by Azalea and charged with the duty of judging souls based on their actions in life and if need be eliminating them from existence.
Hades Vampire: Due to the effect of Zero’s blood in the creation of Dahlia and Azalea they gained the power to create Hades Vampires. Hades Vampires are similar to regular vampires with the main difference being that they hold powers that would normally belong to reapers. They have the ability to travel to underworlds without losing their power, unlike most mortal creatures. Hades vampires are vampires created by Azalea and charged with the duty of taking care of the souls in their respective afterlife. This means in heavenly afterlives they help and take care of the souls but in hellish afterlives, they torture the souls to remove their sins. They are also charged with the duty of protecting the domain of death in the unlikely case of an invasion.
Hades Reaper: Due to the effect of Death's soul and Zero’s blood in the creation of Dahlia and Azalea they gained the power to create Hades Reapers. Hades Reapers are similar to regular reapers with the main difference being that are much weaker than most reapers who are demigods. Although they are mortal they still have the ability to travel to underworlds without losing their power, unlike most mortal creatures. They have a powerful regenerative ability similar to vampires due to Zero’s blood. Hades Reapers are created by Dahlia and charged with the duty of collecting the souls of the deceased and in very special cases the bodies too. They are also given the duty to assassinate targets given to them by Dahlia and Azalea.