REAPER: The Young God

Chapter Nine

Simz was overwhelmed by the size of the Citadel and its buildings. Moreover, he was amazed by the number of reapers, but it made sense that a place this massive would have a high population of them. He was not dressed in a royal cloak and instead blended in with the rest of his colleagues."Hey there, newbie," a reaper just shorter than Simz appeared. Notably, by the number of stripes on their cloak shoulder, Simz imagined they'd be in the third division.
"Hello, I'm looking for the Fifth division. I'm-" Simz began.
"Simz Tykonion, I know who you are," the reaper scanned him from head to toe, "I'm your senior, call me Heimer."Heimer was a man with unruly hair, and his scythe was oddly shaped, like the scythes used for gardening. As he walked towards the division, Simz questioned the three stripes.
"It shows the order within our division. The captain has black embroidery on the edge of his cloak, and acolyte Robyn has embroidery on her cuffs. As for me, just three stripes," Heimer answered.
"So you're the third-highest rank?" Simz said, and Heimer turned and saluted. Arriving at the division barracks, Simz was not surprised by the style - given everything he's researched about Trent. As Heimer walked to Simz's room, the royal noticed another bed on the other half of the room. "Oh, right," Heimer said and walked to the bed, "This is mine."
Trying to hide his thoughts, Simz asked, "So... we're roommates?"
"Yep."
With one nod, Simz moved to his side and weaved the same design of his room from the palace. Heimer whistled in amazement.
"Right, let me give you a proper tour of the Citadel, whilst the captain and Robyn are still in meetings."

The most important sections of the Citadel were pointed out to Simz. As he and Heimer walked, there were even trains that took you from many different districts of the Citadel to different divisions. From barracks and restaurants to markets and bizarre, and open free land where some lost souls wandered. Lost souls were those that didn't have fully built cores. However, they had instinct but no conscience, so though they might appear a threat, they knew not to go near populated areas. As for how the Council allowed them to live, Heimer explained they're souls that have died either in battle or cannot withstand the pressure felt by the captains' auras.

The last place to visit was the Grand Library. It floated just outside of the Citadel walls. Beneath the library was a void. Heimer warned that falling would be an endless fall with no easy means to get back to the top unless you commit suicide by destroying your core or can fly. To access the library, you'd need a pass that'll teleport you to the front door, which was only granted to higher officials within the Citadel. Which Heimer was not. "So they just gatekeep information?" Simz asked as both he and Heimer stood on the Citadel wall looking at the library.

"There's information in there that was scribed by the very primordial gods. There's stuff in there that if we all knew what it was, there'd be no more structure. The smart lead the dumb, as it's the only way to control the masses."
"You speak as if you don't like this process," Simz could detect it in Heimer's tone.
"The captain chose you for a reason. He made you bunk with me for a reason. But what is your reason for choosing us specifically?"
"I want to become a god and change the Underworld for the good of the people. Royals and Councils... the realms should belong to the souls." Simz said with confidence which was followed by silence.
Heimer then laughed deeply, "Oh man, I haven't laughed like that in years." He placed his hand on Simz's shoulders, "To do that, you'd have to ascend to god tier. This would mean being stronger than master rank reapers, which, to put it into perspective, the captains stand at grandmaster rank of reapers. They're the closest to god."
"And you think I can't achieve that?" Heimer shrugged and jumped off the wall back into the Citadel. A two thousand-foot drop, gravity didn't exist in the reaping realms so Heimer landed on his feet without damage. Simz moved in a flash and reached the ground before Heimer landed, persistent to hear Heimer's answer. "Do you think I can become a god by being in this division?" Simz asked adamantly. Heimer raised his power level, and Simz could feel a crushing pressure, almost to the level of Trent's handshake. At that time, he was unable to move under this pressure.
"You have a lot to learn, your highness."
"He does," said Trent who sat atop a building. Both Simz and Heimer were surprised.
"Simz," the captain called out, "It's time for your induction."

Amoli stood on her terrace from the first division barracks as she looked over the entire Citadel. She recalled the meeting with the captains and ran through each point made by her colleagues in her head. When she had asked for feedback on the major issues plaguing the reaping realms, it was clear that she should've returned sooner. Captain Mattheus of the second division was in charge of ensuring that the relations between citizens within each realm were peaceful. He would often visit every town in existence and take on the people's requests. For matters that were of no interest to him, he would create a quest, which would be a parchment that he'd duplicate and send out to guilds across the realms. Guilds would take on the quest, and upon completion, would be paid out by Mattheus. Guilds that were allied with the Council would have the first pick at the quest. It was forbidden for captains to be away from their post for too long, so the very quests that would require Mattheus to be gone for a while would fall to the guilds. Captain Mela of the third division was in charge of ensuring colonization. Wherever there were corrupted souls or ghouls in certain areas, they had to be kept there and not wander to civilization. If the expansion of civilization was needed, her division would head out to clear the area of dark souls and help in expanding a settlement. The same goes for royal families who wanted to expand or claim land; the third division would vacate souls in the area if it was by order of the royal family. Now the last two divisions presented ongoing issues, which led to Amoli pondering on her terrace. Captain Zaul of the fourth division was in charge of providing royals with protection. Whenever royals would travel or perhaps face a dispute that needed security, the fourth division would send reapers for that exact cause. In the event royal families would be in fights against each other, it was to the highest payer that Zaul would lend his division. That being said, the royal family of the eighth division was reported by Trent to be missing as they had not attended the summit, and suspicions arose that he may have been killed. This was the highest crime any soul could commit as Grim made it a rule for the captains to kill the accused with immediate effect. However, there was no request for guards or protection, nor was there any indication that they were ever in danger. This comes as a failure on Zaul for not checking in with the royal families as often as he should've. He had no excuse for why there was no guard stationed. As such, there was a danger afoot. For only a person as powerful as a royal or captain could kill a royal. Thus, Captain Trent of the fifth division has been given a task by Amoli to seek out the killer. The fifth division served as both the warden of the citadel prison and the execution unit. Trent would be tasked with imprisoning criminals who were granted a trial. The rest of his division would be sent out to find wanted criminals with a bounty and bring them back dead or alive. The division had both hunters and rogues, using stealth and precision, as well as blending into society and going undercover. Thanks to Mattheus, the Bludniv guild was affiliated with the Citadel. With the information that guild master Royce first gave to Trent in secrecy and even Simz, all Trent said to Amoli was that he had a lead on what may have happened to the eighth realm's royal family. The killer needed to be found and brought to justice. Back at Trent and Simz as they walked through the Citadel, the royal prince was asked by his captain as to what Royce had mentioned to him. Heimer was sent off on a bounty.
"He mentioned that the phoenix is in danger," Simz replied. Trent's face, which usually was plastered with a smile, was rifled with concern. The two of them reached the centre of the Citadel by the portals where Robyn waited.

"Is it wise to bring him with a royal killer on the loose?" she asked Trent.
"If whom I suspect is the killer, having Simz with us will prove useful," he said as the three of them stepped through the portal to the eighth realm.