Souls of the Fallen

Fear My Cooking Utensils!

Dominus, da mihi virtutem contra vires impendere filiis tuis.

Omnipotens Deus, voluntatem tuam fac fidem.

Pater omnes, quia sum humilis aquæductum.

Ego enim sum angelus mortis.

(Rough Translation:

Lord, grant me the strength to fight the forces that threaten thy children.

God almighty, grant me the faith to do thy will.

Great father of all, I am your humble conduit.

For I am your angel of death.)

                                                         ~Prayer and Oath of the Soul Reapers

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TWO MONTHS LATER...

"It's quite simple really." The woman tripped towards the group of frightened humans that huddled together in the center on the clearing, stepping on the head of a man's corpse on the way. One girl started to squeal hysterically when her bare foot sunk into the corpse's head, crushing it.  "We will chase. You will run. When you are caught, you will die. Any questions?"

One man slowly stepped away from the group, and despite his family's pleas and weak grasps. "Please, we didn't do anything wrong. Just let us go!" The woman quirked a nonexistent eyebrow, unconvinced. "What about the kids? You can at least let them go. .

The woman leaned against a nearby tree. "Hm... no. My friends and I are famished." She snapped a well-manicured finger, and a 10 foot, hulking shillouette came out of the shadows carrying all sorts of items including clubs, baseball bats, knives, rocks, a couple of belts, and even a slingshot. "But of course, it would not be fun if we didn't have the chance to play with our food."

The giant dropped the items and plopped down beside the woman, his yellow eye trained intensely on the humans. "Hungry..." he groaned as he reached out to the humans.

"Not yet, Rongu! Let the Chimaris select their bodies first." The woman snapped her fingers again and a hazy purple fog rolled into the clearing and circled the humans. "Go ahead, find the one you see fit."

The fog rose a few feet above the humans and separated into small balls. The balls of smoke came down and seeped into the mouths of three children. Their bodies jerked, their eyes rolling to the backs of their heads. The parents screamed, grabbing onto their children and screaming their names while the rest of the humans inched away, holding their trembling children close.

The woman's laugh rang throughout the clearing. "This is more fun than I imagined." She turned to the thick forest behind her, her arms raised in welcoming. "Good night, dear friends. I'm glad you could all make it to this marvelous feast! Please help yourself. I have collected a wide array of souls for you to taste tonight."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then slowly, ever so slowly, creatures of all shapes and sizes came stalking, crawling, trudging, and shuffling out of the forest.

The woman beamed at her guests and sighed wistfully, "Ah, this will truly be a night worth remembering."

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"Lux! What took you so long to get here?" Pheonix scolded as the rest of the group came into view. All the mentors and the reaper trainees were already there. Great.