BXBX NOVEL Chapter 43: We can do that?
Mom and I didn't even know that he died until after the government agencies notified us. Before I left, dad had all his guns scattered around the house, so I didn't know when he started using warehouses. Turns out he paid for a ten-year rental in advance after I moved out. I supposedly still had five years before the rental ended.
Lilly, who seemed curious about everything continued walking by my side, her eyes betrayed her calm demeanor. She asked where we were going numerous times along the way, and I just told her I needed to some stuff.
As much as I needed a weapon handy, turns out the 1911 was one of the few gifts David gave her, so it had immeasurable sentimental value. So, despite her insistence I could not take it from her.
I gently unlinked our arms and walked towards the admin office. The people there were bustling, I came to the counter and saw that was no one noticed our arrival. A service bell similar to the ones in hotels was nearby. I gave it a quick press to let the office workers know I was present.
Lilly who came with me smirked when even after ringing no one paid attention to me. The woman smiled and then reached for the bell.
"Reapers have dominion over the living dear. Let me show you a cute little trick."
Doing exactly what I did, the phantom rang the bell twice. But I felt souls in the vibrations made by the bell.
Fuck! I felt the hairs on my body all stand up all while my skin got goosebumps. Reapers can do that? As a testament to Lilly's actions the entire office turned silent in the next moment.
Every office worker without exception looked at our direction. Like a giant siren the soul powered dings of the service bell called the attention of everyone present.
More than one person rushed towards the counter. Two men and one woman. Their eyes looked sunken as if they were on drugs. How overworked were these people to look like that? Lilly after seeing the scene she caused quietly stood behind me like a supportive wife.
The woman came to the desk first, while the two men stood by her sides. It was only now I noticed that all three were sweating like they had just ran a marathon. I found it weird, as the short distance should not have made them sweat that badly.
Another surprising thing was that despite Lilly being incredibly eye catching, the office workers all focused their eyes on me. Their body language exposing how nervous they were.
"G…Greetings customer, how may I be of service to you today?" The woman greeted anxiously.
Not sure what the hell was going in I ignored the matter and just told her my concern.
"Hello, I was contacted that I inherited the contents of unit 29 courtesy of Frank Smith. I am his son John, and I am here to get the key and check the unit for myself."
"Please wait a moment… ah yes, Frank Smith the tenant for unit 29 paid for a 10-year lease from 2018-2028. Instructions are to grant the unit to John or Maggie Smith. May I please see some Id?"
"Sure," I pulled out my driver's license to show her. Even if there were a hundred John Smiths. Our birthdays, middle names and addresses would differ. Thus, an id became the quickest way to let people know which John Smith I was.
In Hellsgate however, I needed to find a way on how to be unique as a John Smith. It was annoying growing up, but after two decades of all sorts of bullshit with my name I was no longer bothered by it.
"Thank you. Here is your license back Mr. Smith while it may be late, please accept our condolences for your loss. Here is the key, you may retrieve anything or everything should you choose to do so. The rental has already been paid, so for the next five years you can use unit 29 at your leisure."
"Thanks," I answered curtly.
I left the counters and headed out towards the door. Like a butterfly Lilly suddenly appeared beside me and linked arms once more as we moved.
This woman had the power to beat my ass to the next state, so I just let her do what she wanted. Being close to such a beauty turned my mood for the better so I had no complaints.
"Lilly, what was that thing that you did? I felt souls from the vibrations. Is that unique to you or can I do it too?"
"That was a trick called death resonance. It's an ability usable to all reapers. Basically, when you interact with humans, if you burn a few souls the soul inside the body of every human present would resonate. They would feel an extreme fear and agitation and would be forced to follow the commands of a reaper."
Unable to hold my surprise I blurted out, "Wow! We can do that?"
"All that and more, dear. When you were alive were there moments in your life when you felt yourself doing action that you would not have done normally? What about times were you felt afraid without knowing the reason why? Those would probably be all instances where you crossed paths with a reaper."
"What? Shouldn't we just chalk up the times you didn't know what you were doing to being weird? And the times I felt goosebumps was due to being in scary places so that doesn't count."
"Dear, think about it for a second. What other mythical being comes to mind that can hypnotize its prey into doing its bidding?"
After a few moments I answered with a vampire.
"Correct, now tell me if the ghosts really wanted to hurt you why bother letting you know ahead of time via goosebumps?"
"I…I don't know."
"Correct, it makes no sense. That is because there are no such things as ghosts or apparitions. Only reapers. Hmm, we do have, wraiths, phantoms and specters so I guess you have three types at the very least. And a reaper above wraith rank can even choose if humans could see them at all."
"Then what if it was a demon?"
"Dear, if there was a demon, you would not even have the time to get goosebumps. A human would go insane upon seeing an actual demon," Lilly explained to me.
"Is that so? Then how does the invisibility thing work?"
"I demonstrated earlier did I not? After ringing the bell, none could see me, so they all focused on you. Normally reapers hide in plain sight and use death resonance by instinct thus warding off any humans to stay away.
"However, this is only for humans. Other reapers and demons can still see you. You should try to keep humans away as mingling with them is a danger both to them and us."
"What do you mean?" I couldn't help asking.
"My dear, know that your old life is gone. Fools try to go back but it is already impossible. As a reaper you now have enemies both in Hellsgate and on earth. If you hang around humans too much, Trinity will target them to get to you. IRIS does not care about humans, so they would rather kill the human than let you come to harm."
The hidden truth that came with being a reaper came to light. Even if someone did come back to life, it would be really hard to return to your old life. If one was adamant in doing so, he would place his loved ones at risk. I could guess why IRIS would just rather murder the humans.
"Right, everyone has their own reasons for their regret. If the reason itself is taken by the enemy it would turn that reaper to not only a loose cannon but a puppet or even a traitor," I concluded in frustration.
"Yes dear. That is the case, many come back for their loved ones only for those people to become their weakness. It is an unspoken rule among reapers. Mingle only with the humans you are prepared to lose."
Holy shit this was heavy. If a reaper could not even go back to their loved ones, what point was there to coming back from death? The stress and mental toll of daily combat along with being separated and isolated from the ones they loved most. Such would be enough to break even the hardest of men.
"This was why Descendants became the norm. By staying with reapers this weakness is minimized. That and the funds from Hellsgate would significantly help the next generation. Each continent has its own version of Descendants as everyone came to the same conclusion."
"But wouldn't the economy collapse? If 200 people suddenly became rich overnight and started spending money the system would become saturated with inflation."
"Oh my! How astute! Correct! The economy would suffer, that's why over the years reapers have created numerous ways on how to launder their money. A few decades ago, it was art, then it became real estate, now its crypto currency."
"What? Reapers are the ones who made Crypto?"
"Ah no, reapers copied the concept from others. They hired IT experts to create fake coins, fund in bulk then collapse. Its only purpose was to allow the reaper to gain a believable source for their unexplained wealth. Graveyard offers this service for free. Not leveraging your earnings makes it hard to protect yourself when on earth."