Chapter 40 - 36 Candles show

The open-air bazaar is full of humaniods from all the many mid realms. Purgatory is full of secerts and offshoots. There wasn't a judgemental way assuming race here. They are what they are. Trade for food, medical, and items like everyone else. It's what she liked about setting her shadow stall here. Being able to see the hidden and dream creatures attached to these crowds. Able to study behaviour at a safe distance while being a contribution to the grand scheme of existence. Her arm hurts where the god eater she nicknamed Loki has love tapped her. So it hinds the normal way of things. Her regular crowd of trade was uncaring as always. She packed little cloth sacks in exchange for them giving her meat or trade goods. She always got wood, rare ore, or stone slabs from this trade. She uses this stuff for tome appeasement or fixing soul names. How that works is a trade secret.

This measure of time is set by the candle she lit at her side. It helps her customers see her hands and mask shape changed expressions better. Not all are gifted sight sorts. They don't give her metal or money for this reason. Not trusting her to use it for worse things, no better the feeding a drug habit to the homeless. But any oath hunter with the system prompt will know to only trade her money for her hunting service. She is the only no court or society attached above God rank hunter they use for special purposes. Well but no one has no need for her type of status and rank issues. Even then, reputation for being such a rank without backing society laws puts her in a lower trust in trades. Hunting requests are even rarely possible when they are offered to her. There are plenty of other hunters out here in purgatory, and she is a waste of time.

This lack of her writing things because of her busted arm meant she used her time to carve figures from bone or wood. Her awareness of gods beyond this universe was plenty of inspiration. She takes pleasure in the slow process and just trusted to art to make itself as she went. Mistakes are happy accidents or just a learning curve to improve the next one. She even placed finished ones to her display for sale. Otherwise was just another gloomy cloaked merchant among stalls of other cloak covered gloomy merchants. This place was nothing keen for those that window searched. It's those that know what they are looking for that trade at all.

"What this?" She perked in a voice at another's stall. A local speaker with a demon accent. She would like to assume its the merchant regulation officer, this realm has an airport like security. Keeping trade legal and safe. She has harmless items on display. Unless you in the know as a fellow oath keeper, she will not trade harmful items. Caution was always better.

"Charter regulation 9. No sale of herbal remedies unless approval stamp on item is authorisation and authentication." Yup, the regulator is here. She makes double sure of her own stall and goes back to carving in not caring about the other merchants around her. So many were covering or packing. One out right ran from his table instead of hiding anything. She softens her knife shaving as the regulator and his men stomp and break down illegal tables around here.

"Merchant ID." The stall next to her. They brought up the crystal prompt from sigil, the floating window proved plenty. Scan of the stall. Clear. She is next. But they didn't even speak at her. She ignored them as they for her. One look at her, they knew to avoid a hunter of oath. Still hovered about the stall. Notes made and moved to the next table.

"Rank." So the regulator was working with a Sigil local guild. This guy is asking for the id prompt. She scales the demon hunter before her, measuring worth and hassle it would be. He shows his prompt since she looked at him. She sighed and waved a low rank ID she has for this. But it clearly has some marks that didn't suit a normal low ranker, meaning she was above his rank and was hiding her information for law sake. This wasn't abnormal to average case, "How many ranks above are you?"

"I am not recorded in the tome of afterliving. My rank has no retain to my status. Rather my status is blocked for law purposes. You must seek shadow or death oath of high enough clarance for further prompt." She continues in ignoring them in carving the wood before her. She makes her form take a stronger presence to make them disinterested.

"I seek to hire a spy to be an informant about odd set of humans. You are a shadow of damned. You make a good candidate." Her ID states she is damned. She puts the knife away and the wood placed at the table. She pulled the cloth material that was the table cover, making her stock disappear. She plucked fake or items that didn't belong to her. A spy charm crushed over the surface remaining.

"Declined." She stands and held the candle which is all that was left visible, "If I was a real damned. This candle will have burned me." She puts it out and pocket its. She stood towered over the hunter now and she wasn't appearing human. The hunter stumbles a little backwards looking up to her eyes. Pale skin hues over. She makes adjustments of her armour. She leaves swiftly for some other spot. Exiting this purgatory realm by access of tome pages lifted into a gateway.

She reached the other side of these pages and set her table as this spot. This wall covered in chalk doodles. She been here already and was recongined by the passing crowd. Welcomed her to a small extent and walls queuing for purchases of her stall. She made a quick turn around of money profit as this place was a trail walk between death domain and undertaker kingdoms. They trade money regulated by their societies. She offers exclusive benefits that she knew from her time fixing other worlds. Like sharpening death god blades and pouch remedies for undertakers use against angels and demons.

As the crowd was done with her trade and passing people ignored her stall. She pulled a stool and reclined in carving the wood log from before. She doesn't really know what this will be but she carves certain of it being interesting when she is done.

She occasionally gaze about the Undertakers passing, the duty and matching uniforms. The way paired partners are scynonized walking. The kingdoms had crests patched that were often a design drapped over shoulder or chest. It seems they like majestic aminal themes. Lions, eagles, hawks, ravens, horses and mythical hybrids of them. Unicorns are the most common here. Each undertaker kingdom monarch as a twisted the main purpose of what makes then undertakers but the basic duties and ground umbrella laws around all kingdoms of undertakers are universal.

This is often meaning that warring undertaker kingdoms have duels to trade names. Thus spies are common place. It's interesting that the kingdom of spiders is a kingdom made of just spies from other undertaker rulers. There some so deep into the spider kingdom that it made its own guild and territory on accident.

Just sitting here trading brings such information to be common place, when otherwise around humans it be indifference. It didn't matter what creatures stand your crest. Undertakers are at war against humans, just like everyone else is. War that isn't to kill humans off but to contorl and contain. The gifted humans are proven to make this hard. She exactly proof of mingling problems undertakers face. It's why she hid her living status. Especially here.

"Hey! An oath hunter for hire!" She stands softly up and the prompt sigil window showed hiring details. These undertakers were unicorn kingdom associated. But who really knows with the ash on their clothes. A tell for execution of undertakers, "Neat." They brought out a death bird, one used to record tome changes when a death god isn't around. They carry messages between grim reapers and death gods; since their ranks and race different. This bird hissed and then spat a paper. Living human names. She stares at the paper a long while in being daze to see her mothers name in this situation. She takes a moment to hold back her tongue and striaghtes. By her right hand, she lifted and felt the sinner chains of these two undertakers. She tugs at them, weighing their resolve. Her heart weight judgemental accusations and these chains react to the judgment of this sin. The two fell from undertakers status, a portal of hell drops them both below her. She lets the chains free. Watched the portal close. She cast wave over her stall, putting it away. The death raven staring intensity of her.

"For a meat, tell me who gave this name." It bows in her request and a letter it provided. She knew this stamp, Seer. She doesn't need to even open it, "I give you a candle and coin. You keep the coin. Deleiver the candle to the tome keeper of the index. The abyss took interest in this scheme." She gave exactly these items and the bird was gone. She settles her heart, feeling her human side unstable for a moment. She relaxed slightly. She began to edit the chalk drawings along this wall. The art brought her peace and took her thoughts away from over exaggeration.

"There nothing outside the abyss." The match strike and held over the candle. The flame was black then blue and turned white. Something of an air pocket popped and the flame engulfed the whole candle leaving burn ash pattern around the table surface.

"What candle is that?" The demon servant rushed over, "What is that?" The demon finds itself snatched and devoured whole from the lure this candle made. The demon made have disappeared and in his place was an unassuming light. Confused of many others suddenly missing too, snatched by the candles doing.

"I haven't seen one them used in a long time. I wonder..." Her human side was so young but grown since last was seen her shadow. She steps right up to the soot and smells. She smirked at knowing and left it there. Her father blinked confused of three facts. One, the girl can talk. Two she aware of things. Three the candle didn't take her. He went to put it out with water. It made the soot lines larger. He turned choking the flame with glass and it still burns. But now the glass will be harder to put the flame out. He tried his hand and that only burnt both his human and shadow ways. He rolled around the floor as the pain of the flame was growing across is damned shadow side.

"Why are you trying to kill mom?" She dumped a unknown bucket of liquid over him. He stopped burning. She stands over him looking at him. He cursed and pushed her away. Goes to have his burns dealt with. Left her with the unchanged candle. She sighs of how much of an idiot he is. Leaving a candle like that around some very delightful soul contained books. She pushed up a chair to beside the table and watched more demons become allureed and ate by the candle. There was finally some common sense enough to stop having flies fall in this Web. Another human adult attempting to put the candle out in other methods. She watched bemused of it.

"Why are you trying to hire spirit people to kill a living human?" She asked this adult.

"We aren't." She took out the letter and the hissed at it. She waved it and made it disappear, "Whomever is been ordered to be killed broke a rule."

"Mom doesn't break rules. She only had me and I break rules. So why she being killed for my rule breaking?" She asked and that narrows eyes at her from all over. The tension of expressions and the look of shivering body language. Yup. She knew.

"Get rid of the candle!" Snapping attention of what more pressing.

"Ragnor, have you ate enough?" She drove her hands into the soot and past the table surface. She lifted up a snake of black flat scales. It's red tongue leaves acid burns on all surfaces touched. It licks her and she unfazed of it. It doesn't affect her. It coils around her and sit there happy for attention and existence. It snaps at anyone approaching them. She plucked more snake bodies from the table hole. She set them loose around the place. Screams of other sold souls being devoured. Even the walls were full of terror and fear. She took more and more snakes out. She pets them all the same.

"Eliza!" A demon king hissed in half approach, "Stop this!" She studies the man of his human host and the demon behind the eyes. She knew this guy and isn't impressed.

"Mr headmaster. You look sick. You must be starving. I heard their been a

food shortage around the mid tiers. You should have traded with the damned." She tossed one the snakes over to something at the shelf, "Ragnar, is that book a tome?" She asked. The snakes move and bring it to her. Putting it to the table, "Oh. It's just the necromancy educational soul guide." She felt the cover, "You want to eat it?" She offered. It shook and pats many tummies, "Very good. You can go back now. You keep watching the boundaries." They all slide back through the table. Some carried stuff it stole through to. She smirked in the amusement why it stolen all this stuff. The last tip tap left and the table broke apart now. She wasn't sitting on a chair at all, nothing was under her. She got down and wipes off the slobber.

"Kill her!" The order from her own family but no servant was able to move. They all fear her or there being another hungry monster around her. She turns away and plucked a book from the shelving. She opens it. She felt up and down the page. She picked a name. Her hand sinks into the book and took hold of the name. She brought it out and now it was crystal. She tossed the crystal into her mouth. She flicked about the book for other interesting feeling names. Repeating this taking and chewing of stones. She tossed the book and it float in the air confused of names disappearing. Another book is plucked and she plucked through it too. She giggles at the occasional shape or something of the flavours. Someone with a sword or a death blade approached. At the swing the blade didn't cut her. She throws a book and the book ate them and the blade. It taking its frustration out in the attacker. She plucked another copy from a higher shelving. To everyone else shock, the book was opened and treated like the rest. A book of demon gods.

"Eliza Stop!" She removed a demon god soul and was about to eat it. Well, take a taste of its name, "Stop this please. Don't do it." The headmaster begging in sobbing tears.

"You think it be cursed or spicy?" She offered the soul towards him. He stops and when to take it. She devours it like the rest. She mull over the other names in this book and plucked another turned away and ate that too. The humans went to approach her but they seem to be attacked by the floating books that can't work out what's going on. She tossed this book and this book turned into a reptile and attacked people. She moved around to some other shelving unit and took stop of the death god towered over her.

The god can't stop her, she walked through them. She plucked a book and felt the pages. She mulled about what name look good but doesn't take a soul from this book. No. She took an empty jar and spat souls out. She moved back around and gave death to the jar. She pats his arm in thanks. Back to nosing about the book collection. Death god or reaper

of the Death's order stares confused of the jar of souls in his hands. She repaired them. Broken souls he seen before... repaired. Unorthodox methodology that doesn't feel right. That was assuming her as a human. But the jar of souls and the lack of dying around here. Even the ate demons aren't missing.

"You!" Grapple of her arm. She picked up a book and slaps them. The book attacks which released from grapple. She wonders softly without fear to other shelving. She takes a book she felt attracted to, opens and ate the stones. She tossed the book and spat the soul back onto the pages when she finishes. Meanwhile the entire Seer house is uprooted and full of terror. Confused and escaping slave contracts. The chaos was left to the humans to figure out.

"Eliza, there you are. Someone said a god slayer was eating demon servants." Her brother here and at her rescue.

"Well the family has ordered to have mom killed." She gave him the paper and he froze up at seeing this before. He watched it being written and knew its contain. He looked at his sister like she grow a third eye for a moment. She never talks. Here the first thing of a conversation they having and its about how the families are trying to kill each other. He torn the letter, breaking the slavery curse bind and now reads the mail as Intended. She was right. They were poaching strangers from sigil to murder humans. Enslaving them to the deed.

"We have to get out of here. We're on here too." He takes her hand and tries to evade the chaos. She tugs him and pulled table to reval a secert passage. This house is built with these and the corpses in the walls. He freaks out about the corpses around here.

"There is a car garage this way." She guides them in the dark, as the door closed behind them, "Use your spirit eyes." All that attacks from Ragnar affected here too. The once slave chain prisoners along these walls were huddled in fear of snakes. She noticed that many were left alive around here by Ragnar and she ponders why. She took a turn around a corner where there team up slaves back to back in defence from snakes. The snakes are gone but the fear is real. She Evaded them but they noticed both her and her brother. He very scared and hold her hand tightly.

"Hey wait! Stop children." An undertaker rushed and she paused, "Are you meant to be sacrifices to the tomes?"

"Stay away from us, fake. I will have you in ashes if you dare approach us closer." She threatened and they back away with open surrendered hands. She sees no weapons on him but his partner keeping up does, "May the light and darkness steady in guiding your way." She tugs her brother as they continued and she take pause, "Crap I forgot what left is." They heard someone opening another passage and she picked a direction in rush. It the direction she intended. She got past a candle light being shined. The holder moved away. The light fades. She checks once more. She opens the passage doorway and striaght into the car park garage. But there no parked cars. Her brother runs over to a tarp and a motor bike was under there.

"Seriously?" She asked and he looked at the way closed behind them. He runs about looking for the key and gas. He fills the tank and she passed him a helmet. She puts one on too. He waved about the key missing. She slaps the key area and it worked like the key was in. He just big enough to drive them and she hugs tight as he drove them out of there.

Now they were on the road, she take moment of thinking about her human age and the purpose of why they were tricked into the Seer house. She looked at her shirt that has a birthday ribbon. She looked back of there being so much mayhem left behind.

The motor bike can't take them far. They were soon at a road side ice cream place. Hot from the sun and out of fuel. Also there was police in the area and there was no point causing them to be arrested. She reconginzes this ice cream place. The general store across the road. The graveyard over the ivy fence. Even the lad that served them cups of water to cool off. She looked at her brother with unfiltered expression about the trouble this all was.