"Nice and warm… As if living it isn't such a bad thing after all. I know your thoughts, Felidae... and I know how dark it can be. So it's good to hear some positivity from you," finished Sander, smiling.
"I don't have a very happy look on the world right now. Starting with the reason why you are here, sitting in front of me having tea instead of doing your job of getting souls to the afterlife."
"And besides, I have an urge to drag a few people down to hell every day so I'm not exactly one to be with if you want positive vibes or that kinda stuff... If I could, I would want violence as an option..."
"It's not my fault that I can't do so right now... Hell, I am supposed to see when I should collect your souls but I can't with this form I have. I've got my fighting abilities and a bit of supernatural abilities but not the ones that I used for work..."
Teemo eyed the defeated Ankou as he chuckled, earning a glare from the supernatural being.
"Now that's a first; the Grim Reaper is frustrated. Do you need the coffee instead?"
"No, but thanks for the offer. However, I do have a request. Have you got the brain juice to discuss it with me now?"
Teemo paused before standing up to pour himself the freshly brewed coffee and then heading back to the table.
"I do now. What do you need to discuss with me?" asked the Felidae, taking a huge gulp of coffee.
The Grim Reaper raised an eyebrow as he brushed his hair away from his eyes.
"Why do you think I'm stuck here?"
Teemo paused before shrugging his shoulders.
"An almighty being is now sitting before me asking me questions? Who do you think I am?"
"I am not as powerful as you think. Yes, I can wipe you three on the floor when it comes down to it but not for motives. And as for trying to remember or retrieve memories from the beings that anchored me, I am still hitting a brick wall…"
"Hang on… What do you mean?"
"I've been limited to what I can do in this form… Otherwise, I won't be asking you questions. Speaking of which, I was asking your opinion of it and what you've known. It doesn't have to be correct."
The Felidae sighed as he glanced at the fireplace before standing up to rummage through a drawer. He then came back to the table with a map, the same one as the previous night, and unraveled it.
"The black ones are deaths… The red ones are sightings of creatures that have appeared that aren't in the current ecosystem. And there is a giant cluster right here, where the Dragoon said it was called the Periclum Zone…"
"Yes, I am aware of the Zone. That place is ridden with lost souls and whenever a major riot breaks out, I'm forced to work overtime on it. What of it?" asked the Ankou, whose face seemed to sour at the sight of that foul place.
"That place… Was it the area that you've been summoned from? Because I have a nagging feeling of dread about my own assumption..."
"With your course of thinking, I'd reckon that you think that the deaths marked here are sacrifices to summon me? That's kind of a backward thing to decide on..."
The Felidae slammed his palm on the table where Valokia was drawn on the map.
"You are the bridge between the afterlife and the living. Summoning you was supposed to be impossible because you aren't a creature. And even more so with the fact that you can pass through the dead and living."
"And with you, so being associated with death, it's only common sense for me to think that you'd need deaths to summon the likes of you..."
"Good point... But that's still a myth. You need a false body with Elemental Cores, an opening to the rift between the realms plus the chains that are binding me. And from what I can take, this body of mine is stronger than usual."
"All the more souls should be used! They surpass normality and power... Plus that's the fastest and most cost-effective way to bring something into this realm. And of course, it has to be... It's housing you, for crying out loud!"
"Yes, this body is better compared to what the others have to deal with but it still doesn't mean that people have died just to get me out of my job..."
"Believe me... People nowadays are willing to do anything to play God."
"I don't think that you get the difference between souls and Elemental Cores. I thought someone as smart as you would've known. Either that or you're just confused."