Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Emotions

"What you all seem to misunderstand is that life itself is a debt. An obligation that, at some point or another, all will have to pay back." - Afterlife, at the Trial of a Goddess.

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Destiny looked at the rare event happening in her friend’s office, but didn’t intervene. This was the domain of Afterlife, after all, and to interfere would be the height of disrespect towards the younger Goddess - not that Afterlife would have cared about that in her current state. Once the Goddess finished, Destiny could see the human stare toward nothing in particular, his eyes going unfocused.

The boy had actually been the reason Destiny was here, as her power had informed her that something unusual would happen here, but if she had known it would turn out like this, she might have tried more to prevent her friend from slipping back into this state; witnessing her father’s side in Afterlife always hurt Destiny, and she was aware of the bad memories it brought up for the Goddess herself.

A few seconds later, Afterlife took hold of one of the human’s arms and guided him to the area in the back of the office. After that, she picked up one of the large spell scrolls and unrolled it on the wooden floor with an uncomfortable amount of efficiency. She didn’t even wait until it had unrolled fully, before positioning the boy in the middle.

Destiny, for her part, quickly grabbed the right hand of the human and pushed her own mana into it. It wouldn’t interrupt the ritual, so Afterlife, thankfully, didn’t notice. It was unlikely she could have done anything serious to Destiny, but in her current state of mind, it was usually best to avoid such risks.

Once the ritual was done and the human had vanished in a blinding light, Afterlife turned to her with the same lifeless eyes the human had before, but Destiny could feel a lot more awareness and intelligence behind her friend’s gaze. It was unfortunate then that at the moment, this intelligence was likely analyzing Destiny, possibly planning how to get rid of her.

“I know I joke about hating your emotional side sometimes, but it’s still better than this,” Destiny muttered more to herself as she made her way to the door. She had done what she came for and her friend would likely stay in this state for at least a week, so it was time for her to leave.

“What do you mean?” Afterlife asked. Even her voice was emotionless and spoken in a monotone cadence. Normally she might have accompanied the question with one of her cute head tilts, but right now she didn’t - she couldn’t even think about doing any inefficient gestures. Destiny didn’t answer and instead returned to her own domain.

---

A few days after Destiny’s surprise visit, the work in Afterlife’s domain went smoother than ever. Without the distractions from the other Gods or her more emotional side, she had finally finished her backlog of paperwork and could focus wholly on the only task that was worth completing again. The Grey Death she had deployed a few centuries ago was still active in the mortal realm, but due to the meddling of the other Gods, its efficiency has shrunken to non-viable levels, it couldn’t even keep up with the increasing birthrates of the last decades, so she needed a new tool - a new operation.

While laying out a new plan of action, however, Afterlife could feel the shift in herself happening. She knew what it meant and also the pain that it brought with it, but she had learned since the last few times not to fight it. Fighting back would only prolong the time wasted, after all. And eventually, the operation would function as intended, one way or another.

Falling back into her father’s way of thinking was actually a surprising comfort for Afterlife’s emotional side. She often called it the ‘broken rational side’ that only the Dead could fully comprehend, but when she was in that mode, the world made a lot more sense and, more importantly, was a lot less painful for her. She was still aware that the other Gods disliked her, most of them outright hating her, but in these moments of emotionlessness, that didn't hurt her. No, more accurately, she simply didn’t care. No pain, no shame nor guilt about what she did, not even pride or accomplishment, just... emptiness, emotional silence. If she didn’t know the horrors she was capable of in that state, she would probably spend a lot more time like that.

But thinking about it these days brought up a slew of memories she would rather drown in alcohol. Sitting in cuffs in front of the Divine Court - in front of her own family - and trying to not only justify her atrocities but even convince others that what she had been doing was necessary - that it was good. The worst part of the trial had been the debate with her own mother about the value of life and she still remembered the look of horror on Life’s face. She thought little about it then, but nowadays it alone could spiral her down into the pits of depression.

That had actually been the last time she saw most of the other Gods. Her mother made it clear, that she wouldn’t want so much as hear her name for the foreseeable future, and the other Gods generally respected her opinion - and for good reason at that. Her father, on the other hand, didn’t care one way or another, and his side of the family had always been a lot more distant. Most of them were also a lot more involved with mortal politics and her impact there would obviously not be forgotten anytime soon.

The only ones who came to visit from time to time were Destiny and her sisters. Fate had always loved rubbing salt into the wounds of others, especially if they were the results of one’s own doing and Choice often accompanied the other two, though she seemed to misunderstand the severity of Afterlife’s situation and was mainly there for the free booze. Thinking about those three brought a small smile to Afterlife’s lips. Sure, Fate hadn’t really been the best of guests, especially when she visited alone, but at least she was a good listener.

The three were also the second biggest reason why she couldn’t let her father’s side stay in control for long. Although it was sometimes easy to forget, not all emotions were bad, after all.

As Afterlife was lost in the past for a few minutes, her thoughts shifted to what had caused her to go into her emotionless state in the first place. One of her new psychopomps, a bird-kin named Peloa, had said something about finding an anomaly when checking one of the waiting areas. It wasn’t too uncommon for one of the more adaptable races to regain senses relatively quickly, but according to Peloa, the boy had been human and seemed aware enough, if a bit confused.

Remembering the human’s anomalous status page, Afterlife started digging through the drawer of her desk, where the more interesting cases were stored. Most of them could be traced back to either Derius or Tira; two young Deities who may have been a bit obsessed with their research even before their ascension. So, flipping through one new species or sentient mana construct after another, Afterlife finally found what she was looking for.

CRITICAL ERROR.

Afterlife hadn’t even been aware that such an outcome was possible. The chances of a normal error were about one in twenty and usually fixed by a second scan, but for whatever reason, she hadn’t even thought about doing that with the boy. Looking back, she actually seemed to have behaved in a rather abnormal way in general. Most anomalies could be handled just fine by one of her more senior employees, but something inside her had insisted she took the case herself.

Then there was Destiny, being there at that exact moment. She had said she just wanted to check in with Afterlife, and it had indeed been a while since the two talked in person, but it was rare for her to visit without another reason. Destiny’s powers had a lot more demand than her own, after all, and her time was a lot more precious as a result.

And then, as a cherry on top, she had actually performed that ritual. Afterlife obviously remembered what spell she had used, but she went over to the cabinet, anyway, just to check if she had really done what she thought she did. Most spells in her arsenal were related to preparing the deceased for their eventual crossing into the land of the Dead, but the spell she had used this time was different. Other Gods could request that one of their followers’ passing be handled by them or in exceedingly rare circumstances, that the mortal was allowed to reincarnate. It wouldn’t be cheap for the other party though, as reincarnation was an expensive procedure and in recent times no God wanted to be put in a situation, where they owed Afterlife, so the scroll had been collecting dust at the back of her drawers.

Afterlife closed her eyes and, for a moment, focused inward. Her mana reserves had shrunk a bit, of that much was she was certain, but not by as much as she would have expected. The soul had most likely been weaker than average, or the human had a strong affinity for her power. In the second case, it might be beneficial to recruit them. But that would require that they could identify the soul once it returned to her domain.

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Afterlife put the scroll away again and pulled out the only thing that could give some insights into who the boy had been. The identifier, as always with its creator a horribly unimaginative name, but it did exactly what the name implied: it identified. Unfortunately, the machine had to be reduced in its accuracy, for it to handle a God’s mana output, if only for a moment, so only surface-level information would be available, but it had a nifty little feature. It could store the last few scans’ mana signatures and reanalyze the sample. The bad news was that Afterlife had used the machine right after, and possibly corrupted the sample that would be stored inside. Nevertheless, it would be better than nothing.

NAME: A̴̹̘͇̻̍̅̅̿ļ̴̗̇́͝͠i̴̙̖̒̊n̷̯̦͖̈ä̸̡̩́̃͝ḻ̶̢̰͝i̸͍͂̾͘f̸͉̀̎̕e̸̠̊̾

SPECIES: D̴̰͕̻́̊͛͘i̸̛̯̓̾̌v̸̤͙͔͎͋i̵̺̼̩̽̊n̷̡̛̬͉̉ę̶̜̻̻̍̆͋ ̷͍͒̓̓͜H̷̺̙̏̋͒̈́ù̶̮͝͝m̷̨̭͇̯̀a̶̢̩͓̜͑͆̚n̷̘̄̏͋͂ͅȃ̵͈͚̪̯͝k̶̛̻̅̌ḭ̶̧̛̝͋̒̎ň̵̤̤

PARENTS: W̷̌͑̑̊Ȃ̶̖̉̋B̷͚̝̺̘̉̓̚K̴̜̲̊̓̚͠Y̶̹͂͒̊̀O̸̢̪̼̰̿̂Ṳ̸̡͇͈̀̎̄S̸̪̗̠̗̀F̴͙̱̾͊S̸͓̠̍̓͆ͅJ̴̟̓̒̾ͅḄ̵̄ͅĢ̶̼̥̣̒͛͠P̵̡̗̠̉ͅĽ̵̜̱̗̚͘͝H̵̟͓̄͋̆Ṵ̵̯̈̎͋

CHILDREN: G̵̣͋Ņ̷͈͍̎̀̌͐V̸̛̲̯̜̗̄͒̚B̶̢̰͓̗͂͌͠͝Q̷̢̿̔Ẁ̶̧̛̥̝̆E̵̠̩̎̑V̴̛͍̻̿͊B̷̦̦̈́̈́̀͒Y̶͕̘̪͔̋O̴̪̝̠̓͛̽Ủ̷̺̜͚͓͑͘b̶̥͛͠K̴̩̑̾͆̀J̷͙̉̇͋̏

TITLES: Ĉ̸̴̠̱͕͈̰̒ͦ̔́͘ḩ̵̸͉͈̉̑ͩ̓̕i̴̸͚̝̥̬ͬ̄͝l̴̴̻̯̖̺̪̔́ͫ͆̎͝d̸̴̫̝̼̜̻̻̓͆̈́ͤ͒̓͠ ̸̱͗̎ͅo̸͖̍̇f̶̣̦̑ ̴̼̮̊͝S̷̝̩͙͛̊̓G̸̛̣̔̐͜T̷̶̙̲̬͈͋̈́ͨ̾͊E̶̷̺̻̙̋ͥ̓̑̽͜F̸̵̧̟̤̩̘͌ͨ͆͝G̶̵̥̣̥̅͊ͨ͋̒͜V̷̷̼̖͙̯͂̀ͯ͐̚͘̚O̷̸̧͇̟̬̣̝͌̆ͧ͋͂X̶͚́̀̏҉̸̤̳̑̀,̸̲̀̈́́ ̵̵̖̝͉̂ͯ̂͜D̴̤͈̹̀̍̅é̴̴̶̴͇͖̩̪̲ͨ̐̂̏ͩ̀ͥ̏̾a̵̶̛̺̼͓̖ͮ̈́̈́t̸̡̠̝̒h̷̺̬͆̏d̴̴̡̹̳̭͉͛ͭ̑ȩ̸̰͓̀f̴̷̛͖̗̜̑͌ͪ̊͂͜i̵̶̷̛͈̝͖͎͕͐͐̉ͩ̄͛̎ͥ҉̶̙͗a̷̠͘ņ̸̴͙̻̜͂́ͬ̽͒̾͠ţ̴̢͑̏͛

PATRON: G̸̨͚̝͆̾̓ͅò̴͙̱̲̈́̆͘d̶͇̜̹̄̉̌̆ḑ̷͓̰͊̈͗͠ȅ̷̙̘̺s̸̺̺̭̠̒͌̓͐s̶̨̟̕ ̸̢̖̎o̵̹͇̦͇̊̈́̀̋f̵͖̲͙̀̀ ̷̨̺̮̈́͒̀̕t̶̫́̀̓h̷̺̦̙̺̓̚͝ë̷̘͉́͆͑ ̸͓̰̼̫̾̾S̷̪̦̒ͅG̴̥͙̓Ṭ̴̹͎̖͗̈́͒É̴̮̩͈̮͆F̸͈͓̯̘̉͋̐G̵̞̦̊̊͠V̷̡̥͖̭̓̒̑Q̸͈̯̊X̵͚̮͂͗̐̄

D.O.B.: -̵̳͗̓̈3̴͙͚̎̄2̵̛̣̤̻8̴͚̺͔̚5̶̭̻͕̔̉̾̃ ̖̯̲͛́͘ỹ̴̝̺͆͛e̴̡̯̻͊̽͝͝a̷̫̘͚̾̌ŗ̵̤̫̱̊͋̅͑s̵͙͑̾ ̶̭̭͗̓̃ą̴̜̙̤̔́̏͘g̵̤̤͍͖̔o̷̺̭̎̂̄͜

D.O.D.:  ̵̙̻͎͔̈́̚4̵̖̓̓8̴̲̟͚̕ ̷͎̱̓̄ͅŷ̵̟ͅe̷̜̜͕̘̋͠a̷̮̤̓̃ͅŕ̶̡͎̣̦̀̂ṣ̵̟̑ ̷̧͖̠̱́̏ȃ̸̛̯̬g̷͙͕̓̚o̵̪͛̕

CONFIDENCE:  ̸͙͕̲̆0̷͙̄̽͝.̸̰̕̚6̷̛̲̻̖ͅ%̶̭͠

Putting the machine into raw data mode prevented it from defaulting to its error display. The paper it printed out was still a mess, but it would be a start. The early entries were rather useless and definitely corrupted, but the rest might still offer some insights. After deciphering it for a while, Afterlife looked at the new information:

NAME: Alinalife (probably corrupted)

SPECIES: Divine Humanakin (corrupted)

PARENTS: [Unintelligible]

CHILDREN: [Unintelligible]

TITLES: Child of [Unintelligible], Deathdefiant

PATRON: Goddess of [Unintelligible]

D.O.B.: -3285 years ago (corrupted)

D.O.D.:  -48 years ago (corrupted)

CONFIDENCE:  0.6%

The fact that the mortal seemed to have a divine patron came as a bit of a surprise, but it wasn’t unheard of for weaker followers of a God to be chosen, so that couldn’t be used to accurately identify him. For Afterlife, the bigger curiosity was the unknown title. Its name suggested that the boy had been at least tangentially related to one of her parents and Afterlife actually felt a bit of excitement at the prospect of learning more about this new situation and how he had gained the title in the first place. It had been a boring couple of centuries for Afterlife, after all.