To Judge A Soul

Chapter 1

 Arbiters are beings who judge the dead. They determine if a person will be sent to the Void, or back for reincarnation. They are to always judge, for it is the reason they were created. Arbiters are able to carry out their job, by receiving the memories of the people they must judge in order to have a skeletal understanding of the victims. The victims have no memory of dying, because the impact of death is too much for them to comprehend. Because of this, the arbiter then asks the victims to participate in a "Death Game" in order to judge them. Arbiters create harsh conditions to reveal the darkness in someone. This is the arbiter's job. That is what Decim had to do, but Decim was created differently.

The world the arbiters live in is governed by a set of rules. The following three vital rules are as follows:

Rule number one: Arbiters cannot stop making judgments, for this task is more than their jobs. It is the entire reason for their existence.

Rule number two: Arbiters cannot experience death, for that would taint their judgements. It would make them too close to being human.

Rule number three: Arbiters cannot feel emotions, for doing so is not in their natures. It is impossible for a dummy to have feelings.

However, Oculus, the alleged God and next in line to be God, recently decided upon another rule; a fourth rule that will oppose any interaction with humans and arbiters.

Rule number four: Arbiters may not work hand and hand with life, for doing so would ruin them. It is an unacceptable collaboration.

Arbiters are only created to judge the living. They are made from the souls of the damned. The damned's soul is filled inside a dummy(a mannequin of sorts) and that gives life to the arbiter. An arbiter's soul purpose is to judge, but in what manor may be best? Do they create intense situations by forcing their guests' hand, or is there another way?

Nona, the overseer of a tower in the arbiter world, believed that arbiters should suffer from what they do, because they can fully understand the extent of life and what it means to live. Nona created Decim specifically with emotions to show arbiters that things needed to change. However, other arbiters who lived within the world had a different view. They wished to stay where they were to avoid any punishment they might have received.

One day, like any other, a human woman appeared within Quindecim for her unsuspecting judgment. Her name, was Chiyuki. She knew she was dead when she arrived, so Decim could not persuade her to play a Death Game. Due to that, she assisted him with other judgments. Chiyuki showed Decim that the way they judged people now, only created darkness within a person. She was appalled by the system and thought it inhumane. She showed Decim that by judging the light in someone and bringing out the good in them was the better way to judge. Decim realized this, and then decided that he wanted all of his guests to feel as though life was worth living. Chiyuki helped him realize that.

The ripples of change Chiyuki started in the arbiter world, began when Nona and Oculus looked down and watched Decim and Chiyuki as they held each other as they sobbed right after Chiyuki's judgment trial. Back then, Decim had fallen apart. He was forced to judge Chiyuki. She offered her life in the place of a total stranger's, but she decided against it. She decided that her life held no higher value than another's, even when she saw how much her mother missed her. She chose to let them live, in place of her own life. This broke Decim. He felt shame and guilt and this overwhelmed him. He sobbed with her. Nona's violet eyes that were adorned with the arbiter cross were glued to screen that showed Decim, Chiyuki, and the swirling force that is the universe. Nona and Oculus usually would play galactic pool on this table, but that time, they watched as things tripped out of their usual settings. She mumbled, "Decim." and felt concern for him. However, Oculus just looked on Decim in a puzzled way. He spoke to Nona and said, "You've destroyed that poor boy, Nona." The flower attached to his chin wobbled as he spoke. Nona watched Decim and Chiyuki cling to one another in sorrow. She replied, "I just had him conduct a judgment together with a human."

"Things change as arbiters come closer to being human. Judgment becomes more difficult to pass, and it is accompanied by suffering." Nona turned to Oculus with defiance. She steadied her eyes as she said, "One thing's clear: humans can't judge humans." Oculus squared himself to her and asked, "If you know that, then what was the point of this doomed experiment?"

"Judging humans is difficult, true, but that doesn't make it right to assign any random judgment to them. There needs to be a change. That is the point of what I did." She spat out the last few words with a darker expression. She knew things were going to change, whether she made them happen or not.

Oculus turned back to the pool table screen. "So your goal is to make arbiters suffer? Care to explain the reasoning behind that?" His expression was hard and unchanging as he gazed at the screen. Nona's tone tightened as she spoke through controlled anger.

"Judgment ought to be accompanied by suffering, or what's it purpose?"

"Its purpose?" Oculus asked with slight confusion. Nona spoke with determination and her resolve strengthened. "To suffer, yet stand firm." She turned to Oculus and spoke desperately, but affirmatively. "That's what it means to live. It's what gives life meaning." Oculus turned toward her once again and asked in puzzlement, "The meaning of life?...That's what this is about? It's a concept." His expression turned into that of amusement and yet irritation. He placed his hand on the screen. "It is only relevant for those who are able...to die." His cat like pupils narrowed as though he was looking at his prey. He leaned forward and shadows were cast over his face that made it appear even darker. He started speaking rapidly. Nona stood firm with an unchanging expression. Oculus continued and said, "The funny thing about dying, you can't do it unless you're alive. Even if the arbiters become more human it doesn't matter. It doesn't change the fact that they're just dummies." His tone changed from scolding a small child, to correcting the wrong with a forceful tone.

However, Nona looked up at Oculus with a clear expression. "You're wrong. It is relevant. We live in the present." Nona gave a lingering glare at Oculus as she turned her back to him. Her aqua blue hair pulled back in her usual combined curl swayed behind her. She walked away with an intense expression, and Oculus cocked his head to the side. Her large circular earrings made a slight jingle as she walked with harsh steps. Oculus watched her leave with an eerie expression that was haunting.

That was the turning point for the system. Nona led the rebellion and Oculus apposed of the uproar. There was chaos brewing and it was not going to be stopped with mere peace. A storm was in the overcast, and the death tole would be a down pour. Decim and Chiyuki were unsuspecting of this as they walked away, and Decim even more unsuspecting due to the fact he would have to say goodbye to Chiyuki.

After Chiyuki departed and her soul was sent back for reincarnation, all the pieces of the board of life were being placed. The game had begun, and every move from there on out would be vital and pushed them closer to either victory, or death. One misplaced piece or frivolous mistake would cause the scales to tip and lives to be lost. The blood lust would grow, and then a shadow of uncertainty would shroud the arbiter world as it fell.