And Peace Be With You-The Daemonic Rebirth #3

Chapter Two: Closure

Hel had agreed to Sammy's request, on the condition that only Sammy, Calum entered, along with herself. After some persuading she had also agreed to allow me in there as well, given that I was Sammy's Sworn-Blood. So we arrived on the dock and Hel summoned the far the largest of the Basilica Inferno, as tall as mount Everest and just as many floor below the Demon remains, this prison complex played host to those of the Abrahamic religions who were, in their faiths mind, worthy of damnation after death. Every hundred or so floors devoted to a different branch of said faiths, with the lower levels reserved exclusively for those who turned into Wraiths but had yet to be tamed. 

Although in appearance the place was identical to the Basilacu Lestutiae, with the same Barrier Spells on the outside, unlike that place there were no guards. There was in fact no need of them, it was true that the Barrier Spells inside the place kept the souls in their cells, however said Barriers were cast in such a way that when the souls trapped inside forgave themselves they were let free, as such their doors were not locked, although given they had no psychical form that was hardly relevant anyway. The only Barrier they could not pass through was the final one, which they could only pass through once they gained an new psychical form via a Key, which could some times take decades for anyone to do so, unless they made a deal with an Underworld citizen, in which case upon them earning 'redemption' so to speak their new master was instantly informed by a Watcher. Hel walked up to a book mounted on a pedestal, she opened it up looked through it then found the cell number that Richard Steinovitch was in taking us to that cell.

"I'm not sure I can do this," Calum spoke hesitantly before opening the door.

"Calum sweet boy, we don't have too. I only suggested this because I thought it was a good idea but if you can't that's fine too." Sammy spoke softly, placing a soothing hand on the small of his back, between where his wings sat.

He paused to think for a moment, not saying a word, but I could tell what he was thinking before he even decided. I saw the mix of fear and anger filling his face, before he finally decided not to let the man defeat him and he opened the door.  Steinovitch was not as we remembered him, for when a Soul entered the after life, no matter their faith, their appearance mirrored what their soul was like in life. In the case of those who were being 'punished' their soul slowly became more like themselves again, as they forgave themselves. 

With Steinovitch having just arrived he was displayed in all his sinful glory.  Eyes as black and empty as his heart, his skin looking like a patchwork quilt of different skin tones, his nails were sharp and shaped like scalpels and needles, even his smile was stitched shut in a Glasgow scream. His lab coat was littered in different letters and numbers, each set in their own separate place, as if it were a list of his victims to wear for the rest of his days, and the worst part was how low some of those numbers seemed. Everything about him screamed cruel scientists, but the thing that made him truly terrifying was the gaping chest wound showing his heart in a cross shaped window, a set of three nails peircing it like a bad mockery of the accursed tarot card. He opens his lips to scream, only for a full set of teeth, baby teeth, to fall out, forcing him to seal his maw shut once more. As the door opened he reached out for us, only for the Barrier Spell to keep him trapped inside his cell, taking the appearance of an ethereal chain around his throat which yanked him back inside.

"So in death you have become a true monster." Calum spoke coldly, barely holding back his emotions. 

"Says the boy who became a damned Demon! After all my glorious work!"  he growled with a mocking tone

To say Steinovitch spoke wasn't entirely accurate, in truth most people who had committed the 'sin' of lying who ended up here manifested with their mouths sown shut, but we did sometimes need to integrate them for what ever reason, so a spell was placed above every chamber which allowed their words to be heard even with such a fate.

"Glorious work!" Calum yelled out, resisting the erg to punch him, knowing it would do nothing except cover him in ectoplasm. "You adopted not only me, but many other children, kidnapped others, then sent us all to a fucking reeducation camp!" 

"My work was vital boy, humans needed an edge! Wielding Heavenly-Blades was that edge!" 

"We trusted you, all of us!" Calum spoke starting to cry, as years of pain and regret started to pour out from him. "Then you took us to the labs, the lucky ones went mad or died within the hour! Those that didn't, they suffered for days sometimes even weeks before dying, their bodies literally rotting away while they still breathed air." 

"Ahh yes I'll admit I am sorry for that," He spoke and for a moment we thought there was hope for him, but then his body started to change, the scalpels and needles begun to rust. "I was foolish for using the long dead to try and power you."

Calum shot up, his tears drops of pale yellow liquid dripping down his face, the stench of sulfur now being all we could smell. He then snapped, anger and fear filling his voice. "P...power me what the hell does that mean?" 

A spectral laugh filled the air, almost mockingly before his spoke. "My dear child, the reason those you kill are absorbed into your soul instead of moving on, my work was perfect it was merely the souls I was using that were of poor stock. Your body you see now absorbs the souls of the dead, the reason you can wield magical items no matter the level is because when you do so it's not just your soul that wields them. I must thank you, it was you who made me realize this."

Calum staggered back, now looking up at him, fear growing deep in his soul, his body shaking he fell to the floor, guilt hitting him like a freight train, all color draining from his skin, the tears now becoming an ocean of pain.

"You dare try to shift the blame for your atrocities onto one of your victims you monster?" Sammy growled, her eyes glowing brightly.

"I would never let a damned child claim my work as his, no, I merely meant his actions led me to the realization. You see about a few days before my traitor daughter sent the massage  of my work to the Custodies Veritas, and a night after going through the first procedure himself, which allowed the body to absorb souls,  the young boy there used a pillow to put his best friend out of his pain. I as a Magia saw that instead of the soul go inside him and get Reaped."

"I remember that night... the next day instead of taking only one of us to experiment done... you took ten and out of them only Irina came back out." Calum spoke horrid realization coming to him.

"Yes and the very next day the fucking idiots which were my former brethren sent word that they would be sending the investigation team."

Calum cared not to hear any more from the man so closed the door behind him, not caring to hear any more of the words coming out of the monsters mouth, he then begun to walk out of the prison. 

"Calum..."

"Don't Sammy," Calum replied snapping a little. "He told me what I needed to know, and I know that it's not my fault. But the night he 'shut down' the project me and Irina absorbed the souls of those he had slaughtered. I will live for them, I will beat him having a long and happy life, and when I finally die not only would I have won, but those inside me will gain the rest they so deserve."

"Calum do me a favor," I asked having a theory, "It sounds strange but I need to know, with High-Warden Lokison's permission of course, draw both your blades and activate the spells."

Hel nodded that he was allowed to do so. As he did, the souls which were until now screaming in pain every time he used the tainted gift, were now smiling faces. Having accepted what had happened to him, Calum was no longer torturing them without realizing it, by forcing them to relive that hell as he had done every day since.  Now he had to decided to move on, they were no longer stuck in those memories, they could peacefully co-exist and live as happier as they could. Sammy saw it too, truth be told humans were the only creatures not able to see the dead, and she nodded somberly realizing it as I had.