CHAPTER 27: UNDEAD SOULS

Emerius responded before Charon even had a chance.

"We don’t belong to any; we just arrived here."

Liam laughed at that, a fully body laugh. He rocked back and forth on his feet, one hand holding his axe to the side as he cradled his stomach.

"You expect us to believe that, idiot? There isn’t an entry point for fifty miles in any direction! The two of you would be dead long before you even made it ten."

Charon chose that moment to interject.

"It’s true! We came in on the beach and were chased by some dogs into the jungle. We saw the tree and hoped it was a God Marked, so we ran over here."

Darius and Annie exchanged a look before turning to Red.

Without turning her head, she nodded.

Darius’ eyes went wide, and Annie’s narrowed, the former walking over to speak with Red directly.

Their conversation was hushed and frantic, Darius’ movements growing increasingly wild as they discussed something.

Annie, for her part, looked at the two with renewed interest.

"You came in from the beach?"

Both of them nodded, Liam looking just a bit more tense with the action.

"We ain’t just going to trust that, are we? At least let me rough them up a bit first! We could learn all sorts of secrets, like they are spies or something!"

Darius returned at that moment, addressing Liam with intensity.

"We will do no such thing. Red has confirmed it, they speak the truth. The River Acheron has chosen to deposit them on the shore rather than in any of the shrines."

Annie turned to her friends, saying:

"We will need to take them to the High Elders. If a new shrine has been unlocked, they will want to be the first to claim it."

She then faced the duo again.

"Where exactly did you arrive? Was there a building? A marking, perhaps?"

Emerius shook his head with a frown.

"No, nothing. We landed on the sand."

Charon opened his mouth to contribute, but closed it immediately afterwards, considering the value of information.

’I don’t want to share too much. Who knows what beliefs this group holds, and how I could be on the wrong side of them!’

His eyes snapped to Red, suddenly terrified that she might share his thoughts, but the strange girl made no attempts to do so, wordlessly staring upwards at the artwork.

"That’s odd. We’ve never heard of someone coming here without it being in a shrine."

Annie looked to Darius, who looked back, offering his own idea.

"It’s possible it has happened before. If they were dropped on the beach, then the others could have been dropped anywhere. It would explain the recent change in the beasts activities."

He then turned to Emerius, somewhat ignoring Charon.

"If you truly have just arrived here, this must be a bit disconcerting. You have no memories of your past life, correct?"

It was a wild question, and not one Charon expected.

What was even stranger was how Emerius went along with it, nodding in agreement.

’No memories? Past life? What the gods could that-’

He paused as it clicked.

’They died! These are dead souls, the strongest souls in the galaxy! They must have died and been sent here, without memories!’

It should’ve occurred to him sooner that important humans would have gone to the River Acheron, and would be creating their own civilizations.

’I never expected that you would lose your memories when you died, nor that you would be... alive! They are walking and talking like normal people!’

The Underworld was usually described as an orderly place, where you would either suffer or be rewarded.

Nowhere was it explained as the Overworld, but more dangerous.

’Unless it’s unique to the River Acheron. Maybe it’s a reward for being strong? You get to live a second life?’

It was a lot of new questions, but Charon felt like he would be getting the answers shortly.

’If we act like normal souls who just died and were sent here, they should fill us in.’

Darius clicked his tongue.

"It is usually the job of a greeter to break you into things, but I’ll have to do for now. As far as we know, everyone in this realm died someplace else, and was sent here. We have no memories of our past life, nor do we retain any of our strength."

Liam flexed.

"Good thing too, if I had my old strength, I’d be king already!"

Darius gave Liam a withering glare before continuing.

"We are part of a colony here, one of many. Since you are new, we can take you there and have you be tested for your elements and talents. You will be assigned a job, like how the four of us are currently scouts. After that, your task leader will explain things to you."

Annie smiled sheepishly at Darius, who rolled his eyes. The act was positively adorable to Charon, who couldn’t stop looking at her face.

’She is the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.’

"Go ahead. This is a bit of a project of hers."

She smiled widely, but the look softened drastically when she turned to face Charon.

’Ouch.’

"Are you both sure you don’t remember anything about your past lives? Anything at all? Even just a hint of what came before would help a lot."

The moment she asked, Charon wanted to tell her, hoping that it could be impressive, but he held himself back.

’There are larger things at stake than my hormones!’

Instead of coming clean, he opted for a different answer, one Emerius mirrored.

"Nothing at all. It’s like I was just born on the sand, with nothing before."

Annie sighed and shook her head.

"I figured. No one ever remembers anything."

Darius nodded his agreement.

"That’s right. The only thing close to memories of the other world is knowledge."

Emerius tilted his head.

"Knowledge?"

Darius raised an eyebrow, clearly still at odds with the teenager for some inexplicable reason, but still explained further.

"It can be difficult to explain, but we know things we shouldn’t. Liam is an easy example; his lack of shirtwear exposes his mark for all to see."

The brute grinned, turning around and jerking a thumb to his back over his shoulder.

On his skin was a ring made of dripping blood, two crossed war axes in the middle. A mountain of skulls was behind them, leading off into the horizon.

The marking was so real it looked to be a video, with the blood seemingly dripping along the circle’s rim.

Emerius muttered as he studied it.

"A blood marking... A Blood Reaver?"

Darius gave them a stunned expression.

"You can recognize it on sight?"

Emerius nodded, his eyes never leaving the marking.

"That’s impressive. Only a handful of the High Elders could identify it. Most of us here have similar markings, and not everyone knows what each one means, apart from the user. We have interpreted it as knowledge from our past life, information with no context, only understanding."

It made sense in a strange, roundabout way to Charon.

’So if I gave them something they knew in their old life, they would know it here. Are there any limits to that, though? Do they remember all their own fighting skills or spells?’

He was leaning towards the negative on that.

’If they were strong souls, they would have many powerful spells at their disposal. They wouldn’t have threatened us with basic weapons.’

The image of the shining sword flashed in his mind.

’Okay, maybe not basic weapons, but they still should’ve had more options!’

It was a confusing mess, with unclear rules or restrictions, and it made Charon’s head hurt, especially because Emerius seemed to want them to fit in.

Darius looked from Annie, to Liam, and then to Red, his eyes lingering on the last one just a second longer than the others.

"Given that we have no cause to distrust you so far, we will allow you to move where you like. If you want to leave, that is your choice, just know that the River Acheron is a dangerous place. Otherwise, you can remain with us, and we will take you to one of the few civilized locations in this realm."

The man sheathed his sword.

"We will allow you to discuss your options."

He and Annie then turned and left, Liam following behind a moment later, flashing Charon a sneer as he went.

Once they were out of earshot, Emerius grabbed Charon and pulled him close, whispering under his breath.

"This is both very good and very bad. We need to fit in with these people so they don’t view us as unique, which will give us strings. Play along, and do what I do. As it stands, we are in great jeopardy."

Charon nodded along to show he was listening, only to raise his eyebrows at the last sentence.

"Jeopardy? I thought they just freed us? We should be safe if we play along."

Emerius shook his head, but only enough for Charon to see.

"That man is a Blood Reaver. They serve the High Priest of Blood and even confer with the God of Blood directly. They are monsters in human flesh, happy to butcher thousands just to satiate their blades."

Emerius shuddered, his gaze hardening as he looked Charon in the eye.

"If the others are like him, we will never be safe, not until we leave this place."