'Who's there?'
'Hmm? What… '
'My thoughts, GET OUT! '
'H-Hey… Where are we?!'
'What the hell are you all chattering about?'
I't's so… cold.'
"QUIET" I yelled, drowning out my own thoughts."You all must be transferred souls… welcome to my mind, I suppose. "
'What…? How is that possible…?'
"That doesn't matter right now." I replied.
'Are… we dead?'
'"Yes, likely… I know this might seem weird, but just give me a moment. I'll figure everything out."' My vision was blurry, I couldn't see anything of my surroundings.
It was an empty abyss, one surrounding what seemed to be my mind. I figured that this is likely some sort of metaphorical space, or whatever the kids call it these days. I saw flickers of color at the sides of my vision.
They seemed like small balls of flame, burning with different colors. They resembled a Soul, but that fire was something different. I've never seen a Soul like this, one so in tune with their trait that they… seem to remain conscious separate from their body?
'What… Are you?'
'Yeah! How can we trust you?'
"My name is Avery Hall. I am the Great Dragon of Calamity, the God of Monsters." I replied to my own thoughts.
'A... Dragon?! I've… oh no… I've become...'
'A Dragon? Hell yeah! Just like my books!'
'Are ya' a good Dragon, or an Evil one?'
"I fight alongside Humanity."
These thoughts seem to be originating from the burning souls, which constantly swirl around my vision. I notice as I look downwards, I am of a very similar structure as they are… burning fire surrounds me, and I only seem to be a small core of material. One that is cracked, and falling apart. In fact, it seems most of me is already dust.
'Are you hurt or something? You seem to be falling apart...'
'Oh my, he is falling apart!'
'It must be because of us! His body can't handle 7 Souls!'
"I don't know what's going on, but I think this was happening before you arrived… it's not your fault." I half-heartedly replied, knowing this is probably a very bad thing.
My soul is practically gone at this point… for a monster, that usually means death. I'm far beyond that point of fracture. I'm practically already dead at this point, but… something inside me is… burning. Like my body refuses to die.
'He won't survive, his soul is breaking apart at the seams. A death sentence for a monster.'
'Is there anything we can do?'
'We can… try and fill the gaps…? Maybe?'
"Not a bad idea."
'Then, Let's give it a shot!'
'All together?'
'Yeah! Don't worry, Mr. Dragon! We'll save you!'
I have so many questions…
But, I can't die… not yet.
'On my mark!'
It… feels weird, their souls pushing against mine and trying to fill the gaps. It's better than falling apart I suppose, because what little remains of my soul seems to be held up by the other souls. It's beating full of energy, and I feel them circling around me and filling me with power.
I wonder what this looks like from the outside.
--------------------
Avery convulsed in the chamber, his body shaking as power seeped in and out of it… the tubes that pushed the souls into his body now snapped off, revealing beautiful feathered wings of multiple colors. His horns grew, and the light of a rainbow poured out of his eyes… flashing out and showing a deep power from within, the halo above him flickered as the light began destroying everything around him.
Scarab and Arch backed away from the chamber, watching in prayer that their experiment would work… and that it would fix Avery.
His body was… not accepting of the Souls, so it seemed.
It rejected the energy being poured into it by the Souls, as Monsters should only really be capable of holding 1 or 2 human souls at once.
They prayed that Avery was a special case, and that his body and mind could withstand their experimentation. Without the original body to host Avery's soul, this artificial one would have to do… and, if it didn't work…
Avery would be gone forever.
"Scarab… are you sure this will work?" Arch asked, scared of the consequences of such an action as resurrection.
There had been many tales about the horrors of reviving someone, Arch was familiar with the stories… too familiar.
"I'm s-sure everything will be fine!" Scarab reassured him. "Avery's Soul is very powerful… despite the fact he is a monster. It will find difficulty overpowering the other souls, but the Greater Souls are all from dead heros from other universes. They'll surely help Avery, knowing that he's fighting against the Angels and Demons!"
"And… if they don't…?" Arch frowned.
"T-that won't happen!"
Avery's body then stopped moving. No light emitted from his body anymore. His wings fell to his side, and his eyes drew to a close. He fell limp within the container.
"S-shit! Check his vitals!" Arch yelled, slamming open a small box and taking out a large syringe.
"T-This shouldn't be happening! W-What's happening?!" Scarab screamed as she saw that all his vital signs were showing negative results. His heart rate rested at 0, no messages between brain cells detected… and his soul, along with the injected ones, seem to have disappeared.
"I'm injecting liquid Karma now! Remove the machinery!" Arch looked through the glass, pushing the syringe through a small opening and injecting red liquid into the green that contained Avery's body.
"O-on it!" Scarab replied, releasing his body from the rest of the machinery.
The red liquid passed into the green, and flew into his corpse like an animal rushing for a meal. It slid in through his nose and mouth, and small changes began within his body. Avery's heart began beating again, slowly.
"We need more liquid Karma!" Arch yelled at Scarab, who then rushed down the laboratory to gather more from storage.
Arch stood there, pushing his hand against the glass… waiting to see a response.
But, nothing came.