Sacrificial

4

(Chapter 4)
The human soul

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Author POV

When the human soul's eyes finally turned to look at the creature they were blank. Glassy from lack of use, until the first tear slid glistened by the neon lights of the Psyche's minds. Rapid blinking followed, fully formed eyelashes batting like butterflies against the human soul's cheeks.

The human soul reached out a shaking hand, it came slowly from exhaustion. But eventually it rested against its forehead, clutching it as if pain was held there, but the human soul made no sound to confirm this.

The human soul continued to move in slow animated movements, clearly unaware of its surroundings. Becoming reacquainted with the body that had formed once more around its soul. After all this would be the first documentation of a human being gifted life after death, the Psyches were monitoring every movement with critical eyes and neon minds flashing faster than the creature thought was possible.

"Hello" the head Psyche spoke aloud.

The human soul's head snapped to the side the noise came from, clearly despite its exhaustion fight or flight instincts were still ingrained into the foundations of the human soul. The glassy eyes were unseeing, as to be expected, for it took time for all the senses to return to the once lifeless body. Clearly the hearing had returned first, not common amongst other species, but the human soul was a first.

"We mean you no harm" the Psyche came forward. 

The human soul stared with those glassy brown eyes.

"Where am I?" the human soul's voice was scratchy and painful to hear. Licking at cracked lips, the human soul shook his head slightly before the glassy look left its eyes, instead leaving a solid brown colour that seemed to pierce the Psyche like a thousand daggers.

Clearly the senses were catching up quicker, if the curling of the human soul's hands around the edges of table it lay upon was anything. Pushing itself to a sitting position, it turned to face the Psyche completely, legs dangling uselessly from the side of the bed. 

"I am a Psyche, my name is Puxioras. You are on the 7th floor, the floor of the mind" Puxioras introduce themselves. Clearly they had the experience, because their voice twisted to sound like the human soul's language. 

"Why am I here?" the human soul looked around "the last thing I remember- " the human soul never finished the end of their sentence, instead the hand that once clutched the side of the bed rose slowly to hold their throat, where a single gold line was drawn. 

Souls always keep the way they died like a brand upon their body, the human soul had clearly had their throat damaged, probably why it had sounded the way it did when it awoke.

"Because you bare a rare mark, one that we never dreamed we would ever see" Puxioras revealed. 

The rest of the Psyches and the creature watched to see if the mention of the mark would bring up a sort of recognition from the human soul, but it did not.

"I died?" the human soul's eyes became expressive in a way none of the underworld creatures could have expected. 

The tear that once fell came in a more constant stream, the stress, fear and panic coming to a head. Catching up the body all at once, the final emotions the human soul never got to express before its death receiving their release. 

The underworld creatures watched with fascination as the human soul sobbed, curling up into a ball, hands clutching at skin and hair pulling at it. Once hand coming to rest around their throat, like a brand over the small golden line that had been drawn in the last moments of life and the beginning of death. 

The human soul exhausted itself completely, falling into sleep, eyelashes dusted with droplets of water, cheeks stained with their remanences. 

"You must take the soul to the masters" the Psyche guided the creature to the human soul's side once more. 

The human stirred slightly when the creature lifted it once more. It felt strange to the creature, when it had only been a body gifted by the Weaver the soul had felt light, but with the power of a mind and complete life once more the body felt heavy. Not in weight but in life power, something that is rare thing to possess in the underworld.

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The creature walked with purpose, for it was excited to see its masters once more. Very rarely was it permitted to travel above the lower levels, but to the top floor where only the masters walked was nearly unheard of. 

Claws scratched against polished tiles as the creature pushed its way through the light areas, despite how much it wished to curl up into the shadows and scurry back into the depths of the levels. Small eyes adapted to the dark, squeezing shut every time a brighter shaft of light shined over the creature's face.

The final staircase was finally in sight after several hours of walking, it would have taken longer if the other species of the other levels hadn't scurried out of the creatures way. Clearly frightened by the creature, it didn't venture to those levels often so it was an expected reaction.

Floor 4 had been the most difficult to navigate, the floor of sight. The Griyika had their floor brighter than the creature could stand, it had ambled around aimlessly for a while. But eventually a Griyika had taken pity and guided the creature through the light floor to the entrance of the 3rd. 

But now the creature stood at the entrance of the final floor, the human soul hadn't stirred through the whole journey, clearly too exhausted to awaken.

The creature merely had to show the brand covering the human soul's chest to the awe filled guards and it was permitted entrance to the top floor, the floor of the masters. 

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"What is it?" they looked to the butler in disregard.

"The creature is here, it brings the branded once. The life bringer"

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Bye,

Winter