"How many lives will you pay me?" Death asked her and he steps with being visible, "How does this pay with interest?" He crossed arms and stares deeply, the humans all see but can not hear him. There is however the suggestion in how she replies to him that he is indeed speaking at her and that the bird god on Matthew is reactive about it all, "Given what you are. You know my personal life. You know my fate threads."
That put even Omens to hiss of warning death to not speak causally. She flickered a slight break of her human shape but this was only temporary. All bare witness to the flicker of something that didn't belong.
"Let me explain a few things." She seems now to display more hands and more arms, one set looking over the tomes of this world and the next. She holds a personal object from deaths desk. She makes that uneasing smile the breaks to the neck. She steps defending the humans from death, making sure only he looks at her and no one else. No other souls to pay a price. She has a set of hands that is at movement of sign language; a mixed of clothus, undertaker and grim reaper laws. She lays everything honestly for death to understand how dangerous letting her keeps souls is.
"Someone brought or rather someone paid a terrible price bringing our souls here. In doing so introducing things between humans and gods. Sure you had demons and angels by they been stuck in their realms. Until now..." she arms swapping books about and with combination, forces the real ledger of known things, "Now you have new pages and new threats. A more turbulence of how you assumed it all is. For you, you get a gift. So since no longer your the only soul remover, you have been granted a sort of soul banking system, through me. I am a soul name eater, but I do not eat souls. I can eat a name and lock away a soul. I make this pact to you. I make to one other title. Worry not, no other gods." Her spare hand poses the shake, "So as a good will of starting this sort of soul banking. I will keep souls you ask of me, I will prevent them from you and other gods influence. They will be cursed, there is a price to being invisible on the books. It can be protection and it can be punishment." Death in feeling informed properly sees what she causes, "The souls are totally out of bounds. The entity in care of ending soul torture is the only other being to access this soul pot. I have my educational speculation of who and why." He hovers at accepting but held back. He stares in how she hasn't warned everything. She smiles differently, a more glad and human like gesture. Glad that death is smarter then past others. She puts away things and nods.
"They become watch by the nightmares and the abyss. If they loose their shell to a realm, they will be in my care as abyss creatures. Outside of your time and space. This can break rules. To bring a soul back when a soul shouldn't be. This can remove a key soul when one is needed in a local web. The Ender itself become such, a human you will not track or see. Ender is inherited by human souls only." She properly spoke in soul language at death, "I know you understand what I told you." She back to being a mimic of Matthew and poses her right hand posing at death, "For this moment there will be the amount of deaths as there are this ship. All these souls will disappear, but only maybe four will crawl alive. I am including Omens. The silly bird has himself here at the abyss hidden by the ocean, he attracted some lovely..." she postures her left hand to stop.
"I am included in that count." Death noted, "Name those that will survive." She tilts with thinking it over.
"Its not up to me." She smoothed a slight click throat tone, uneven of nerve, "But I will defend you gods, my partner and the few that cling hard to fate. I suspect the mages like Marcus will survive some escape. There is also the few Enders of other tomes at invitation of the current one. There is one Clothus here that isn't me or mine. But I think that clothus is a fishing bait." She nods to herself.
"But not anyone else." Death concluded.
"There chance for more gods to lower a hand. Someone connected to you can net them too." She snickers of how this death isn't aware of his future knot with local goddess, "Tell me who you need to save. Tell me which souls you want prevented your divine blessing." She voiced deeply low with a cold smile. He frowns, "The universe has its laws. If not you, there will be another to net these souls." She huffed in how to cold she became and retracts a little with a frown. Those grim faces, lost hope, "You lot are hilarious to a thing from the abyss. Look at them eyes like you just lost everything. You are so privileged and yet so blind." She tuts and with soon scoops Omens up.
"Universe has rules. Souls have laws. It wouldn't be a universe if there wasn't enough souls to collectively believe in whatever. You could say it about many a thing. And yet there is also things that can't be changed and altered. Facts that are, will and have always been." She holds Omens with returning a smile of human feelings, "There is souls of a set number here. There is a set number to disappear but not for how long they disappear or the duration it does. There is always hope. There is always some set fact that even I am eater of soul names can not alter. I don't eat souls, thus the number of who is taken and not doesn't change because of me. No. I am not the threat here." She steps to the ships side and poses a hand downwards about the water, "You have this massive rip of time and space here. Souls that needs to feed it closed. At least I can talk to its keeper and exchange to exact price of how many souls pay. I can't exactly allow god of death or several others to be gone. That upsets universe." She pets Omens that has now hyperventilating in her grasp, "so tell me death, how many souls will it be to bargain with. I can bargain to save some strong ones for ourselves. Keep the order of so called peace and chaos at balance." She tossed Omens to deaths hands and postures waiting for death to fathom whatever he needs, "Death is your duty. Death is the title. Toll for no man. Cheated by nobody." She curls slightly with her lips as soon he gasps too with some sense, "Good man."
She offered her hand this point to death. He slowly with Omens help shakes her to her offer. She nods gently and imparts fragments of her soul dust over the ones she tracking. She marked the tomes and made the count as according to the price. With having a last final mathematics set in releasing his hand. She faces the gate keeper of the ocean trench and it nods understanding the deal made here. It gave her more souls then what death was parting with. It and her seal this gate properly. Manipulation of the gate closure attracted other gods for sure, as she predicted the ship is overturned and everyone that was aboard is sinking with the ship. Marina life took its share of eating some unable to defend themselves. The gods are unaffected by the turbulence. Matthew saves whomever possible by shoving them through a temporary granted gate of Omens creation. Marcus Glader took the shadows route. Then there was those souls left with the sinking ship... including Joshua. He was meant to die here but fate had plans. Fate cheats by using Eliza. Who else cheated... the Ender titles. They also used her shadow and powers of abyss to evade danger. Be it the abyss from swallowing them whole or from this universes enforced rules that they aren't meant to act within as ghost visitors. For Joshua, she altered the type of curse. Granting him abilities to see the hidden shadows and some darkness. He will see demons. This is the price to pay for fate using Eliza.
"I told you not to pet me like one of your god eaters." Omens making it to the safe side. He is quick to dolt over Matthew and his condition. She flicks through the accesses of tomes. She sees that even if she did managed to reduce souls payment, the ocean still claimed in price too. A cargo ship of so many sea men, drowned with their ship. Innocent people but yet it was the fate or their soul wish. Some souls can't be stopped from wanting what they want.
"Where are we?" Spluttered water from the many sprawling the floor, some spat sand and fish. Among few were frozen as the sand colours around them. The cavern a dance of shades and alive crawling of sea bugs. People peeling these creatures off and short bursts of squeaks of finding more monsters around them.
"And where is my tribute?" Demands the living carpet of coral that pulled from the sea walls into a brittle but strong woman. She barely makes steps when her gaze stops at the handsome cloaked bit of bones. Eliza smiles softly while she finished time checks a last time. She pen marks this water based life goddess with death matching seal. Just as she did of her and Matthew. Matthew is totally aware of her imprint, has glared at her for it. She did sweeten the deal with borrowing Omen's influence to imprint a divine protection through the tattoo marking. Omens will have to approve of it.
"Abyss keeper. What exactly have you allowed?" The goddess stammers looking over Eliza for answers, "What have you done?" Ignoring death to snarl, "What is the meaning of your meddling in these affairs of gods?"
"You got it wrong miss." Eliza makes good effort to human shape herself. Since no one here trusts her for human pleasant assumptions. Not even Matthew looks at her as a person. The negativity was sunk through many hearts, sand dulls without any hue of happiness. Eliza take pause of how many are injured and the barely scrap it alive from this event. Eliza has time to finally take grasp of the people near death injuries. She had to snap back forwards, there is no ignoring the goddess of life and her domain of laws. It is still very dangerous for everyone. Its not safe yet.
"Well you can't be to mad at us." Eliza snakes about and trying smooth the goddess's rage at best she can, being the attention of everyone for human sake, "This is the city of the dead. I came to bring not only two new residents but entire flow of oath hunters, court members and as I last counted four undertaker crest kingdoms." She wafted this like it is no big deal. Of course it is. Putting an authority within the city is going to change the status and measures of souls in this land.
"You aren't welcome here." The goddess hissed but not at Eliza. Some grudges are duty bound, thus is to Death. His to in a daze to registered it. His staring breathless for this woman, fate is knitting bond. The deep feeling of being tied to this coral carpet creature. This goddess isn't beautiful, repulsive to many humans that look. A corpse fashioned by ocean life, almost alien. Eliza has plenty of years of knowing love is not the cover of any book but rather small things for grander pictures. That love is team work on a busy road of obstacles. That love is sometimes hate for one but blinding for the other. She blindly loves and he hates her meddling. Or, rather the goddess hates and it is death blinded by love.
"You could say that the god of death isn't here. If we want to talk technically, this is a spirit reflection of what should be a god of death." Eliza smooths right to the coral goddess side and plays this game, "His just man of duty as you are a woman guarding the abyss of the ocean depths. There common grounds even, guiding wayward lost souls back to safety." She wrinkles her nose in being playful and the goddess snarls getting Eliza off. This goddess snarls yet is capture into a waltz, as death had completely gave in to his own feelings.
The two macabre parallels of opposition but are both a Gothic horror of its own beautiful sight. Eliza pulled all out of the way to let the god and goddess dance. Eliza further helps bandage wounds and shuffle the humans out of this hidden cavern. Guiding them to the surface, she tied them to her shadows cloth and forced them all to walk regardless of condition to; reaching to the main catacomb that is the city of the dead. She wiggles brow with Matthew when his gasping astonished of true location. She pulls all those she can to make it out of the passages. Releasing them to the area from her shadows grapple.
"Welcome to the city of the dead where souls may never leave without permissions of the mage owner. A land bent and blended by human logic that allows them dead to seem like among the living in this location." She explains with pulling the last living human to the main entry, "The owner is whomever is the white mage Glader bloodline." She postures some basic oath hunters laws, "Equally those of shadow can leave as they please. No lost one lingers unwanted." She nods sure of herself.
She made one twisted stare over the work force whom waited her command, and with a sharp hissing whistle. There crept out all these bodies to set up the guild counters on the behalf of dark sigil. The kings and queens coffin was soon lifted from her shadow and taken to their resting place. At the end of her pitch, the counter was set. She softly soon purrs and the creatures bow, lowing back to darkness. None of the locals want to approach the guild counters and the guild members at these counter are scout about being here. Eliza snorts about this strange stand off and known it will take time or a right sort of situation.
"Are you sure moving Nocturm here was worth it?" The pane of black crystal in white writing asks with a slight voice echo. She pats the surface and it fade back to hidden. She faces Matthew with a warm welcomed smile and then postures in having remember something else. She turned away and lifts her arms and hands. Spilling over all those she rescued secretly, plenty crawl without voice. One or two rolled and stayed laying on the floor curled up. The only one stood and unfazed was Joshua, he in fact looked right at her.
"Josh! A good soul has purpose and fate. Off you serve your life's purpose." She playful bap the man's back to push him away from darkness and into the light. Once safe within light, he couldn't see her anymore. Looking back to Matthew's perplexed expressions. Matthew soon follows Josh into some sunlight which marked the boundaries; out of the dim coral bioluminescent that the spirits use. It is a soft unseen crossing that only human are unaffected and pass unknowingly.
Eliza just hovers at the edge, appearing human enough in the dim and smiles glad they are out of danger. Unlike the other souls that are chained to her hands. She fished out some the fallen from the cargo ship, put a soul in and has them signed up as dead city residence. Folks assumed dead to the rest of the world, defied fate by still being alive and shunned for being in her mark. There be plenty of souls like this, this she had to establish the Sigil path guild counters here. Make a market and inflexible of goods to keep these people sane and living among the dead. They are locked here otherwise.
"What have you done to him?" Marcus collar snatched Josh to be brought back close to her. Rag doll shook dazed as Marcus hisses and snarls. She stares blankly without that smile, as the rude remarks meets air. It has a point when she had to stop him insulting those he doesn't mean. Her claws hand crunched Marcus lips, both human and shadow ones. She draws a long deep sigh to not flare it out on the soul. There a silent eye to eye stare. She lets go. Marcus drops Josh. Josh was pulled away by Matthew watching the unfiltered images of what she appears to be.
"You should say thank you." She managed barely human. She stares darkly as Marcus gets his sense of self back together.
"Sorry. Thank you." He stuttered, pulled out of shadows. Away from her reach as he assmes. He glares proud that she can't reach him and he attempts to continue being a tyrant over Josh. She shook unbothered of knowing the soul nature of a twisted energy.
"Stop brother before you have us all erased." The late king spirit finally, not far behind is the spirit of the ex-queen wife that looks displeased. Plenty of the servants alive and dead peer pressuring Marcus to live up to his noble image. Which worked, he has a reputation to keep - a horrible one at that but still some humanity. In the flicker of what is divine made shadow, whisper of abyss sand sprays in collided powers. The two brothers glare to each other and then slow a gaze over at Eliza. She unfazed but the attempt to be intimidating. There shimmers powers of other gods around these souls. Erebus pulled the King from some hell. The spirit of the queen is gifted Gia's love. Divine clashes into Eliza abyss abnormality, each passing moment fills this floor of abnormal rainbow sand. The meeting of one universes' laws to mirror another's will result with this ash sand. The mage Island is built upon the foundation of such abnormal sand grains. This cavern too, a wedge forced into the cliff's of English channel.
"Guildmaster!" Eliza huffed of how there had to be some teething issue to not be ignored, "Thank the abyss's gaze, you are here." kneeling to her, "Please handle the god of death before we have a wider problem with patheons."
"You can't have me handle a true title like a lost little boy." she tuts, "Sheesh, I remeber why i left this universe." She huffed.
"Excuse you!" Omen's hissed, "And who do you think you are?"
"Oh, boy." she huffed, "THis place is the same mess I left it." she stared blankly at the air of no one or anything. She purred a little in recalling and began to break off her current face. She takes a while in digging her shadow cloth and her clothus materials. claws scrapping and dripping blood. She soon soothed and mushed her appearance back to proper order.
"Teacher?" Omen wavered confused.
"Broken time does strange things." Eliza giggled, "My introduce myself with a sort of nickname." She pulled out from the shadow and turned clay portioned. Her hollow body chimes like bells and at being the ground among humans, she is a god vessel of her own making. A bone carved body she has on hand for such crossing occasions. While Matthew doesn't need to bother, he has Omens for such rules. He can be human for as long as there Omen's a bird god among the pantheons. She turly befits a clothus becoming a god. Bending the rules to allow her as she wills. But she held back breaking most rules, as this universe is to stable for her to make any haevier infulence. They will not remember her, that is the turth of this, but they will remeber a lie. A loop hole.
"No need. You are the founding goddess that taught the gods how to be thier titles. You have quiet the following of faith among mages." The ex-king bows slightly, "It is you we have to thank for the city of the dead."
"Oh." She hummed, "But all I did was divide the twins from killing each other." she nods, "Happy accident." She wafted left hand, "And thus this place had to break the rules. A place of not death or life. Stopped time." Matthew soon pulled her about and was checking her out in all sorts of strange ways, "Easy there." She puts his hat back on his head, that fedora never gets old. She softly let's him explore her and wasn't really expecting that he soon grasps a hug around her tightly. That some fear from himself was let go quickly the moment he meets this face of hers. His relief was so deep that he was unconscious over her, having her holding him up. His soul was just as relaxed as he was, rested in her arms. She had to pick him up, carried across her arms. She walked steadily among the crowd.
"What did you do to him?" Omens lands at her shoulder looking over Matthew.
"He was so stressed out that the second he found trust to relax. He completely shut down. If your afraid, worry not. I know where his dreaming." She postures Matthew neck to lean his head to her heart, "There isn't anywhere in the land of dream that he can hide from me." She takes them around to her office. The catacombs has a living world entry to the outside at the so called front of the city. Around there is newly built huts that each act as a service for oath hunters. One these huts is hers. It's the most unassuming of the twenty. But when she makes herself at home inside this hut, it changes to be the most attractive for all the dangerous reasons. From the hung skulls along the front on hooks and a unknown barrel of sand at the door. The only window in shows a store glass display layout like some luxurious gemstone store. In true the surfaces are all crystals panes, sealing dangerous items and abnormal egg things.
She come around to her main counter and sits down, adjusting Matthew on her lap to be more comfortable. She purposely ignores all who followered her or anyone that shouldn't have business with her. She cracked on with urgent papers, rankings and some potential issues that her sight forsees. She cleans up any past things she left behind from the last time she was in this universe. Taking care of any human affairs left untied that she couldn't resolve back then. Since now she staying here for however long Matthew is, she might as well taken better ties with loose ends. Even here of this space time, those that see like is few and lesser often. More are godly protected, blindfolded and sealed. The god followers being the worse blinded ones.
"Gah, ok. Not what I wanted to walk into." She shook of the fool.
"His unconscious, sheesh. I wouldn't do anything when his sleeping." She continues scribbling down on the court paperwork.
"Do you know what his dreaming?" The king asked.
"Thats personal for even me. Why do we explain ourselves to you? I know you were a mage king, the owner of the island. But you have never owned this graveyard. To that was your wife's property and on her passing it gone to one the children." She looked at his stuck expression and the manner of defeat his brother beside feels, "But when there is will, there will be a way. If you think you can make it out alive, there is a way." She lowered back to paperwork shuffles. Some where altered into birds and sent off. Some sank the desk to appear on other counters.
"I took the two of you before the collapse of your worlds. Given you have so much use, I was willing to take a terrible price. Beside this tome needed spice." She took a stop instantly of the mask being before her. She hold Matthew closer, scales protectively to meet eyes with this Ender. This is the host before Philip or Daniel inherited it. Given they are blood, this a darkwood that stayed out of royal limelight. Someone that kept to himself and the jobs. She stands defensive but at ready to listen to the request given. It smiles that this was a suited reaction it wanted. Someone that know the extent of Ender but is softly judgmental and isnt dismissive of working at his side.
"You brought us here and paided a price. A price carried to the next host." She spoke matching his language and softer spoken tone, "The boys soul is broken into five objects. You want us to protect them?"
"Dont protect. Just watch over. Even if in the hands of his uncle." She nods of this and the ender smirks, "Keep the tomes clean, restore the pages that gods break." She frowns of such events. Yet still, this was what he brought them for, "Undertakers keep turning to ashes in this place. You may what to invest into why." The ender leaves swiftly, it snatched Marcus by the hem of his shirt and dragged the man out of there. The late king follows this that ender. She softly sits back down, holding Matthew closer in a little fear.
"My names." Matthew stirring awake and holding his head. He ached and was quiet thirsty. She provided safe drinking water and helped him sit up. Hugging him with worry.
"Are you going to chase after them as the queen asked or are you intending to skulk about as an undertaker?" She voiced and he leaned into her hug. Processing his fearing feelings and her as a whole.
"She has been looking after you since you collapsed in the city of the dead. I suspect some soul history I am not aware of is at cause." Omens walking about her desk. The bird and his follow match eye to eye stare. She smirks glad things don't change with omens and Matthew.
"I will run things on the Mage tower side. However life takes me." Matthew slips out her hands and although she was a little sad. She let's him be free and watched as he takes Omens with.
"I will always be at your shadow, watching from the abyss." She replies serious and smooth, "I will protect you." He just nods at her, but his gone just like that. She pulled a newspaper and soon she wrote plenty reporting to the kingdoms of undertakers. Particularly to Pride, the current queen of the Phoenix. Yes, his sister. She feels it best with the siblings complex. Through this relationship, Queen Pride has hired Trixie to be the private brother spy. Signing a silent unspoken contract between the city of the dead guild and the phoenix kingdom in order to integrated lost humans and undertakers smoothly into this new tome space.