Prologue
Marcus' eyes slowly opened and then closed again. He wasn't ready to get up so he rolled on his side and that's when he realized that he was on the ground causing him to jerk awake and jump up. He looked around nervously to try and get his bearings.This place is cold and dark, very, very dark and as far as he can tell he's on a stone platform that 's roughly 20 feet by 20 feet. He walked to the edge of the platform then he looked down only to see endless dark gray smoke and what sounded like a river flowing.
" Ok what the hell is going on and why am i here ", Marcus mumbled
" This is above the River Styx ", said the raspy voice.
Marcus hearing this nearly jumps out of his skin. He looks up and sees what can only be described as death and that's not meant metaphorically. It really is the Grim Reaper with its ancient and tattered black cloak with its skeletal body made of ivory white bones. Its weapon is its iconic scythe with an extremely scary and sharp looking dark blade with a silver edge. Its snath is made of an unknown ancient white bone. Seeing this he gulps and starts to lose his cool. Shaking his head he curses his bad luck a thousand times over. Steading his nerves he takes a deep breath.
" Why am I here? What happened to me? Who are you and Who am i? ", Marus asked.
" Your name is Marcus Mortem as for how you died it was during a robbery. I chose you based on your extraordinary affinity for death mana. I am the aspect of death. There are 7 Aspects that make up the multiverse. The 7 aspects are Life, Death, Order, Chaos, Wisdom, Faith and Element ", Said the raspy voice.
When he heard his name, memories flashed before his eyes. That's right my name is Marcus Mortem I am an orphan or I was anyway. I had lots of friends and my only family was a younger girl I looked after. All in all, I was really happy with my life. I dated off and on but never found the girl for me.
" I know who I am now but you still didn't tell me why I'm here ", Marcus asked.
" You previously asked what our current location is, this is a separate space next to the soul transfer station. Normally souls are transferred to The Paradise Realm or The Infernal Realm. Some souls such as yourself are given a second chance to start over somewhere but this depends on certain unique qualities of that certain soul. For instance your soul is perfect for becoming a Reaper because of your absolute affinity for death mana. That brings us back to a major opportunity I have for you. I want you to become a reaper ", explained Death.
" What does it mean to have absolute affinity and how do you know I have affinity for what you consider death mana and what is this major opportunity? ", asked Marcus.
" Marcus, you have a former Grim Reaper's heritage within your bloodline. Your last name Mortem means death in an ancient language of your old world. Your last name's a reminder of your legacy. As for the opportunity I mentioned in the world of Agartha it's unbalanced because there was an error in its formation that resulted in there being no Grim Reaper. The balance of any world requires all 7 aspects to be present. Each aspect has its own domain :
1. LIFE- is birth, reincarnation and nature.
2. DEATH- is the end of life and the transition of souls either to their reward, punishment or next life.
3. ORDER- is good and those that protect life and destroy evil.
4. CHAOS- is evil and destruction.
5. WISDOM- is unique in that it gives intelligence to all sentient races and gives them the ability to evolve.
6. FAITH- is where individuals get their power by worshiping the aspects.
7. ELEMENT- is the most self explanatory aspect in which it gives the ability to use the elements.
There are scattered death clans but no leader with pure death mana to protect and elevate them. I want you to go to Agartha to unite the clans to enable the evolution of various death creatures and stop the oppression of my people so balance can be restored. The other civilizations consider them evil. Nothing is inherently evil no matter the world. I want you to clear up this misunderstanding. As for mana affinity there are percentage levels to determine how much an individual can use of a certain type. These levels are:
Minor Affinity - can use roughly between 1-15% of that type of mana meaning the ability to conjure a single spell with great difficulty or none at all.
Lesser Affinity - can use roughly between 20-45% of that type of mana meaning the ability to conjure a few basic spells.
Greater Affinity - can use roughly 50-65% of that type of mana meaning the ability to conjure most basic and advanced with some difficulty.
Peak Affinity - can roughly use 70-85% of that type of mana meaning the ability to conjure most spells of that type.
Absolute Affinity - can use 100% of that type of mana meaning the ability to conjure all spells of that type ", explained Death.
" How could you make such a colossal mistake? ", asked Marcus.
" We are not omnipotent and multiple worlds are formed at the same time so we can only take care of one at a time. Each world has its own unique needs so we need to put out fires so to speak in each world ", explained Death.
" Are there guidelines I need to follow to accomplish my task? ", asked Marcus
" Marcus you are free to go about accomplishing your task anyway you want as long as my people are not seen as evil ", explained Death.
" What is your choice Marcus? time is running out ", asked Death.
" Will I be able to use magic? ", asked Marcus.
" You will be able to use all death magics and you will have special bloodline traits and skills.You will be a monarch of death so people with death mana will always look favorably upon you", explained Death.
" What about my body? ", asked Marcus.
" Marcus you will have the same basic body structure only vastly more durable and with an increased life span. Your body will also be able to absorb unlimited death mana and be poison resistant.There will be some unfavorable changes such as lower body temperature, less emotional and you will need to evolve to gain some bloodline traits ", explained Death.
" What do you mean I'll need to evolve? What race will I be? and what does less emotional mean? " , Asked Marcus.
" You will start out as a Lesser Ghost , I know it sounds unreasonable but unless you want to go through birth again and possibly changing genders you'll choose this path in which you will be given expedited evolutions to make up for this issue. About your emotions you will just be less excitable meaning you'll stay calm easier but you will still feel all your emotions " , explained Death.
" Time is almost up, Marcus what is your answer? " , asked Death.
Hmm that is a lot to take in. Having a second chance at life is a good thing but the downside is being a ghost. He did however say that i would evolve so that is less worrying than i originally thought . I should ask for something to make the odds more in my favor. Ah Screw it he needs my help more than i need his. I'll just ask it couldn't hurt.
" I'll only accept on 2 conditions 1. I want the ability to tame monsters and 2. I want a companion to help me survive " , asked Marcus.
Death just stares at me so I started to sweat. Oh shit he so mad he'll throw me into hell and my greatest fear will come true i'll be raped by clowns ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
" Ahem ", Death coughs to get my attention
" hmhmhm human you're funny. It has been a longtime since I last laughed " ,Death said amused.
" Wait, did death just chuckle at me? That means he can read my thoughts " , said Marcus freaking out.
" Marcus I will grant your 2 requests and no I cannot read your mind. You are a soul so you are incapable of intangible thoughts because you are using soul energy to speak and think making me capable of hearing it. " , explained Death.
" Farewell Marcus. I'll send you somewhere rich in death mana. Oh and i can't just bring you a companion so i located one who will of help to you. You have to save her first but don't worry I've given you something to help free her and the Soul Chain skill to tame monsters. I almost forgot you need to check your stats, magic, and skills. You'll receive the Soul Guide. You will see it when you arrive just say or think guide and it will pop up " , explained Death.
He felt a powerful force pulling him from behind so he turned his head and saw a green portal had opened up. " Oh shit " then boom and then the lights went out.