System Administrative Dimension, Lake Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia. Friday, November 1st, what time is it?

The pinion's barbs started to glow like 1000's of LED lights each.

The glowing feather detached from the corpse and dissolved. Energy rushed back into Sara's body.

> "Bloodline Initiator confirmed. Compatibility: 99%. Initiating Bloodline Awakening, guided process," System informed.

Sara felt the power of Abby's Celestial blood resonate with hers. It suffused into every cell of her body and lit it up from the inside. All that torrent of Mana and lifeforce inside the Celestial feather was dragged toward Sara. Her Mana Channels burned with unbridled potency, just like she'd burned back in October seventh when Mana first flowed in the planet. The girl tried to scream as the liquid fire coursed inside her veins, searing her alive. Steam wafted from her skin.

She could taste blood, hear her blood drumming inside her ears.

> "Body Reformation. Awakening Cellular template. Infusing Lifeforce into stem cells," The System continued, though Sara heard it not.

Jets of fire erupted from her shoulder blades. Remaining impurities burned and sizzled as they were forcefully ejected through every pore and orifice in her body. Sweat and blood oozed along with that, but the holy fire purified and sublimated it all. Then the fire fell down and burned all around her. The clothes she wore were the first victim. Goodbye, Ariel.

Her bones creaked as they shattered and reknitted in the span of seconds. Her muscles coiled and stretched like snakes around her new skeleton. Her skin changed colors on a dime. A thought ran through her mind. People had trouble pinpointing her ethnic origins. She was only half-human. That's why her skin changed color so easily. She had always subconsciously set her skin color to whatever tone she thought was right.

The pain was muted. She should be screaming but while she felt the pain of having her body reforged, she also felt the rush of power. It was something one could get addicted to. Sara writhed and twisted as her body was broken down and reforged anew. Her shoulders and back hurt the most. Her sense of touch was giving weird signals and she felt a weight behind her. A drag. In her altered state of consciousness and pain, with every nerve flaring up, she couldn't understand what was happening.

Sara breathed and her lungs burned as they inflated like a newborn baby. She cried and screamed as her body desperately struggled for air. The girl pushed the floor with her hands and raised her torso. With a primal scream, she stretched her arms as she moved to a kneeling position. She sucked in air. Breathing was never so delightful. Even with all the pain she was still feeling, she felt stronger than ever. She felt alive.

The girl stretched her arms and felt movement behind her. A drag and a sudden shift in weight pulling her backward. Her center of mass had shifted, going almost outside her body. Her shoulders tugged her behind like someone had latched to her shoulder blades and pulled.

The excess golden energy inside her slowly faded.

*

*

System Administrative Dimension, Lake Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia. Hold on, is it daytime already?

Sunlight shone on the System Core as she opened her eyes. Confused and dazed, Sara slowly started to remember what happened last night.

> "Bloodline Awakening complete. Personal System Core repairs at 35%. Maximum Skill level temporarily set to 8. See your Status Sheet for the complete report of changes," System warned.

Name:

Sara

Species:

Nephilim (+2 Skill Slots - usage: 10/12)

Bloodline Trait:

Half-Spirit Flesh

Magic Type:

Mage - Enhancer (Exclusive)

Special trait:

Death Sight

(Able to see ethereal entities and sins)

Special trait:

Personal Core

(Treat Core Strength as levels in a main Class).

Main Class:

Click to see Options

Secondary Class:

Click to see Options

System Funds:

$ 265,000

System Debt:

$ 0

Development

System Core Strength (SCS)

25

The System Core becomes stronger and better at generating its own energy.

1 - You can have a maximum of 10 skill points per level of Core Strength.

2 - Active Skills' upkeep can be fractioned.

3 - Increase max MP pool by 50%.

Mana Conductivity (MC)

73%

(98%)

A measure of how clear the body's Mana Channel (Meridian) system is.

1 - Mana conductivity impacts environmental energy absorption and channeling directly.

2 - Your Mana Channels are focused inward, reducing Mana drain or losses in area of low or no Mana.

3 - Due to the shape of your Channels, your Mana signature is 80% fainter.

Purity of Body

Digestive,

Epithelial,

Skeletal,

Muscular,

Circulatory.

Increase the efficiency of all cleansed body systems efficiency by MC.

1 - Skin, Muscle, and Bone: Increase damage resistance by an additional MC/2.

2 - Muscle and Bone: Increase physical strength by an additional MC/2.

3 - Digestive and Circulatory: increase immunity and resistance to external pathogens and toxins by MC/2.

4 - Cleansed body improves MP pool and all recovery rates by MC.

Purity of Spirit

Muladhara

Svadhishthana

Opened Chakra nodes grant enhanced functionality to related systems.

They may grant comprehension, resistance, and sensibility to an element.

1 - Muladhara: (Earth, intestines) Resistance to all harmful effects and emotional stability increased by 50%.

2 - Svadhishthana; Sacral Chakra (water, reproductive organs) - Increase MP pool by 50%.

Half-Spirit Flesh

50% / 50%

A Nephilim's flesh is half-spirit, half-matter.

1 - Reduce all damage by 50%. Reduce all damage to the wings by 90%.

2 - No injury or damage is permanent. You can even regrow lost limbs. Boost recovery rate by 50%.

3 - You can subsist on Mana, if the ambient density is high enough.

4 - Your wings are made of pure spirit, extending into the conceptual dimension. So long they are attached, double your Mana capacity. You can fly and hover at will.

Mage - Enhancer (Exclusive)

25%

Your mana channels greatly enhance internal circulation but suffer at projecting and controlling external mana.

All External Mana Manipulation is 10 times less effective. Cannot cultivate or actively use Qi.

1 - Add a linear 25% to your mana conductivity for internal manipulation purposes (includes Purity of Body).

2 - Multiply MP pool, all Physical and internal manipulation Skills by [internal MC]

3 - Mana Conductivity does not increase your mana signature unless you are actively using MP.

4 - You do not leak at low or zero mana densities.

Cold Affinity (major)

50%

You have a great affinity with the Cold element.

1 - Increase all Cold-related effects and resistances by 50%.

2 - Add 50% to MC when converting Mana into Cold Mana.

MP Pool

4444

(768/day)

Available Energy for Active Skills. Equals to (20*SCS) * MC *[Internal MC]. Recovers (10*MC)% per day under normal mana density.

Skills: Physical (140)

Adroitness

25/8 85%/27%

The Skill of moving one's body with grace and precision.

Increases speed and coordination and reduces reflex delay by Rank%.

Composure

20/8 137%/55%

Staying calm under pressure or pain.

This Skill's effect is capped at 90%. The remainder offsets penalties from magical effects.

When under duress, reduces penalties to mental stability, logical reasoning, and self-control by 2*Rank%.

Prowess

25/8 85%/27%

Making the most of one physique during stressful situations.

Lower reflex delay, increases melee combat damage and physical power by Rank%.

Brawn

25/8 85%/27%

Muscular toughness and physical endurance.

Reduces stamina consumption and damage taken, increases lifting and carrying capacity by Rank%.

Rapid Healing

25/8 171%/55%

Accelerates and optimizes body recovery.

Increases healing rate by 2*Rank%.

Thermostasis

20/8 68F/27F hot

102F/40F cold

Widened temperature comfort range and resistance to detrimental heat exchange.

Increase comfort temperature range by 1F per rank. Modify body conductivity by Rank%.

Skills: Social(32)

Flattery

16/8

69%/35%

Making graceful compliments and answering them appropriately.

Increases reactions during and after intimate interactions by 2*Rank%.

Presence

16/8

69%/35%

Motivating people with the power of your personality.

Increases reactions during and after social interactions by 2*Rank%.

Skills: Mystical(35)

Mana Infusion

17/8

116%/54%

Infuse Mana into tools and melee weapons. Adds 2*Rank% to tool effectiveness, tenacity, hardness, and damage.

Infused objects can interact with incorporeal entities. This is considered an internal manipulation Skill.

Active Skill: Activation time: instantaneous. Cost: 1 MP/6 seconds or 10 MP/attack.

Skill Boost

21/8

70%/27%

143%/54%

Specialized supplemental Mana flow to a Skill.

Boosts effects of a Skill by 2*Rank%. This is considered in the same category as the affected Skill.

Active Skill: Activation time, 1 minute. Cost, 1 MP/6 seconds

Sara barely noticed the changes to her Status, just skimming over it to make sure everything was in order.

With no idea how long it took, she was just glad it was finally over. She found herself naked, lying on a bed of ashes. Sara touched her skin and checked her body, seeing unblemished skin, the same tone her mother had on her photo. Her poisoned arm was hale, working perfectly. Nothing out of the ordinary. No hole, no exposed organs or bones, she could breathe normally. Everything normal. A small part of her was disappointed as she moved her hands over her ribcage to check if Abby's exit wound was healed. It was.

Closing her eyes, the girl paused. Her mind was a mess and she was slowly remembering what happened after her kayak reached the center of the lake. But she was free. No more parasites. No more gaslighting. No more angels and maybe demons taunting and tempting her.

She also sensed her MP pool, the measurement of how much free Mana she could hold inside her body to use, had more than doubled.

Opening her eyes, the girl saw the scythe, head half-buried in Abby's body. To her right, the bisected corpse of the Fourth Living Being. Oops. What would be of the Apocalypse now? She had no idea. Golden blood everywhere. Perhaps she should...

"System, demote Verachiel and locate him."

> "Demotion successful. User Verachiel not found in this planet."

As it should be. "Ban user Verachiel. Block him from all System functions. Set an alert to warn me if he ever appears anywhere within detection range."

> "Acknowledged."

"Set an alert if any Celestial or Infernal creature ever appears anywhere within detection range."

> "Acknowledged. 17 Infernal and 8 Celestial creatures detected. See map?"

"No," that was a problem for future Sara. "Wait. Who's the closest Celestial to my location?"

> "You are," the System replied matter-of-factly without a hint of sarcasm.

Smartass. "System, next time one of my location queries include me, the proper language is something like, 7 Celestial creatures plus you. Just informing me I am included is enough, I shouldn't be listed when detailing the information. Now, give me the next closest Celestial."

> "Instructions acknowledged. Nearest Celestial, ignoring administrator Sara: Designation: Chloe the Pale Horse. Bonded mount of administrator Sara."

She spun around and saw it. The pale horse who looked like a creature straight out of hell. "Chloe? You, a Celestial?"

Chloe whinnied out of sheer pride. She clopped closer. Sara reached and touched her muzzle. It was cold as snow. "Good horse. Never judge a book by its cover, Sara!"

Her horse. Death's horse. It would take a long time before Sara was fully comfortable with her new reality.

She assessed her surroundings. Naked girl, System Core, Chloe, a charred wreckage that might be the kayak she rode in. Two dead Celestials, a slew of shiny medieval weapons, thick golden blood, severed wings, tons of feathers, a bunch of bones forming a portal. Wait, wasn't the Core damaged?

"Status on the System Core health?" Sara asked.

> "Repairs underway. System Core Integrity: 92%. Estimate time to finish repairs, 10 days."

"And what about my personal System Core?"

> "Partial repairs were enacted during your Bloodline Awakening. Estimated time to finish repairs, 38 days."

Sara remembered something horrible and looked down. She wiped the pool of golden blood aside and saw a crater. A small puddle of water, a couple of miles beneath her was being slowly fed from trickles coming down the sides. But the crater...

She traced her sight west and found... a ruined cityscape. No Sky Pencil.

"Mary!" She shouted in despair. "Brutus, Bella, mom's..."

Her gaze shifted to the bones and the portal. Charon the boatman, she remembered. "Fucking Bastard."

"System, Locate user Mary Hernandez."

> "User was initiated but has not yet accepted the EULA. Location: unknown."

Blood fled her extremities. No, that couldn't be. Charon...

Took everything to Hades. Greek Hades, which apparently was the same as Biblical Hades.

Spinning around, she saw white feathers following her from behind, like that stupid game of tail kids played in the orphanage. No matter how fast she spun... Feeling stupid, Sara reached behind her. Tracing down from her shoulder, she touched... soft down. She caressed it and felt tickles in a spot she never felt before. She followed the trail of feathers, feeling her hand ruffle them and also feeling herself being ruffled, and then pulled to the side and forward. She felt muscles stretch and a pure white wing came into view. No golden barbs, only white. After some mental experimentation and physical manipulation, she found the muscles that made it move. It was like a second set of arms.

What was she expecting? She really was a Nephilim. A half-Celestial. She wouldn't have turned but it was either that or death.

She flexed her new limbs. Limbs, because she had two wings. Feeling a bit stupid, Sara spent some time experimenting and taking measures. She had more than eight and a half yards of wingspan, five times her height, which she found rather ridiculous.

The wings started at the bottom her shoulder blades, which had doubled in volume and grew a lot of muscle, broadening her shoulders by a couple of inches. The muscles wrapped around her sides, filling those couple of inches. When folded, the first articulation of the wings, the equivalent of the elbow joint, was below her butt. Then they went all the way up, two feet above the crown of her head, where it folded again, the equivalent of the wrist joint, then back down. Her longest pinions reached back below her knees. She could easily tickle the backside of her knees with them. Or her ankles. She could also flex them at the elbow and make those hip wings she saw in several anime.

"I can make my own pillows now. One plume at a time. No. I'm getting distracted."

The girl looked around. The System dimension was a mess. "System, can you store liquids? Blood?"

> "Affirmative."

"Will it mix with the other articles in storage?"

> "Negative. Each stored item is held in its own containment sub-space and do not interact with any other stored items. Stored items are also immune to the passage of time and keep all properties from when they were stored."

"Scoop all the Celestial blood into storage. All the weapons except my scythe and also all the Celestial remains."

> "Acknowledged."

Her scythe clattered on the dimensional floor as everything else underneath blurred and vanished.

She went to the charred remains of the kayak. She had no clothes. Her swimsuit had burned and the ashes scattered during her bloodline apotheosis. The idea of staying in her birthday suit didn't appease her tastes. She would very much like to have clothes that could resist her post-apocalyptic lifestyle. Nothing she could do on that front right now. Her other sets of spare clothes were basically sent to another dimension. Speaking of dimensions...

She approached the ring of bones that once was Charon, the boatman of Hades. "System, what is this swirling thing? Is this a gate?"

> "Dimensional Dungeon gate. Destination: A layer of Hades."

"What's inside?"

> "The souls claimed by either Death or Charon after Armageddon. Those awaiting the day of Judgment."

"Population?"

> "Unknown. Complete a delve to obtain this information."

"Danger level?"

> "None. With Charon unavailable, you are currently the Master of this Dungeon Dimension."

"Can I come and go as I please?"

> "Affirmative. You can ingress and egress at will. To ingress, walk through the portal. Egress is enacted by thinking of coming back here."

If the souls claimed by Charon were inside, it meant she could find Mary. And maybe bring her back. Greek heroes did that all the time, she faintly remembered. Hoped.

She only had the issue of no clothes. Sara flexed her wings and sandwiched herself like Lady Godiva would if she had wings. One covering her front, the other her butt.

"Let's go, Chloe," She called her horse. Holding her scythe and nothing else, Sara walked through the gate.

*

*

Hades. Time and date: unknown.

The girl had her eyes closed shut. Recalling what Abby said, a Dungeon was shaped by the first group to successfully delve. That meant she would get to play creator. She imagined all the area around the lake that was sucked in and the lake itself. She imagined Panthersville, Gresham Park, the farms, and surrounding areas stuck together.

A place where food didn't go bad.

Hades obeyed Death's commands and shaped a layer as she willed it. A bubble belonging only to her and hers.

For some subconscious reason, it all appeared in her mind's eye in the shape of a circular island, the lake stretching far into the horizon with small islands in the distance. Once the image was clear in her mind, she opened her eyes.

*

*

Lake Stonecrest Promenade, Hades. Time and date: Inconsequential. Apparently, morning, if you care about that so much.

Sara leaned on her scythe to keep her balance, metal striking stone. Chloe pushed her up with her chilly nose. Sara checked if her wings were still covering her lady bits.

She stood on the boardwalk, looking at the water. The late autumn sun shone on the lake from the East, casting a glare upon her eyes. She saw the reflection of a blue sky and fluffy clouds idly lazing in the wind. A cool and refreshing Autumn breeze blew around. Sara looked to the sides and didn't see the crescent shape of the promenade. instead, it arched backward, going around the edge of the water. The abandoned boats still floated on the water. Some of them had people inside.

Everything seemed inverted in some way. Mirrored. She could tell that the area around the lake now became a circular island instead of a ring around the lake. The water extended as far as the eye could see.

Then she turned around, startled as she heard voices.

A lot of people strolled along the promenade, enjoying the morning sun. Sara knew all of them were dead, and most of them were brought here by her when she entered the portal. She could tell they were dead people and even see their sins. A few noticed her but went on with their day after exchanging just nods or the wave of a hand. She checked that her wings still covered her modesty, then looked north. The boat club was right next to her. With any luck, her backpack was still there, along with her clothes.

Chloe followed in perfect cadence right next to Sara, shielding the still-naked girl from inquisitive eyes, glowering protectively at the passersby.

She entered the boat club, which had a few people trying the boats or just enjoying the sunny morning on the pier. They paid the naked girl and the pale green horse with blue flames no mind and actually seemed to be actively ignoring her. Sara didn't care. She found the locker room and retrieved her backpack.

The girl let out a sigh of relief as she checked her items. She then took the spare clothes she didn't dare wear during the mission out of fear of ruining them and put them on. Panties, yoga pants (because jeans occupy too much space), flip-flops, then she had a little problem at the top.

Those huge ass wings wouldn't fit with neither the sports bra nor the blouse she had. She would need one of those who had a Y-shaped back from now on. Or someone who could sew the clothes and make holes and openings for them.

Without a choice, she went back to the boat club shop and took a bikini top. Her nightmare of one day roaming the world in a metal-plated bikini armor like a barbarian princess was coming closer and closer to becoming reality. But at least she didn't look like a flasher anymore.

Another problem she found was that she could no longer carry a backpack in its proper place. She loosened the straps and slung it in front of her stomach.

Yoga pants, boots, and a black bikini top, with a worn backpack in front. And the scythe in her hand, comfortable, as if the tool belonged there. Truly the pinnacle of apocalypse fashion, Sara bitterly remarked. At least the backpack covered her non-existent boobs.

Getting out of the boat club, she ran home, Chloe right next to her. Sara didn't even think of asking the horse to carry her stuff. She felt protected with the backpack covering the bikini top.

The Sky Pencil was there. Worried about her friend and her cute hunting puppies, Sara forgot about Chloe and ran. The horse understood her feelings and didn't complain, content in just galloping next to her. The drag of the wind on her wings was exhilarating.

She could swear she glimpsed Christine Appleby taking a stroll on the promenade with Mrs. Wilson. The girl was in a single-minded mood and didn't stop to check that figment of her imagination. She needed to find Mary.

Reaching the front lobby, the doors opened automatically for her, sending a wave of chilly conditioned air. The lobby was full of visitors, guests, and hotel employees. Nobody so far minded the black ominous scythe in her hand. Chloe clopped after her.

Someone rushed to greet her.

"Miss Sara, welcome back home," A man wearing the hotel uniform with the words "manager" on his nametag greeted her. He too was dead as was everyone in the lobby.

"Heitor?" She read the name, pronouncing it like "Hey-tohr".

"Yes, Miss? How may I help you? If you don't mind, it's pronounced "eytor", the E as in electric and not as in eye. The H in my name is mute, I'm afraid."

"Oh, sorry, Heitor. 'Eytor'," Sara tittered. "It's going to take some practice, Heitor. Sorry. Again."

The hotel manager smiled warmly, "So long it is in good faith, I take no offense. My thanks for accommodating my request."

"No, I should be the one... " Sara sighed awkwardly, "Heitor (said the right way), I need to go to the penthouse." She showed him her key card.

"Absolutely. this way, miss. I have my own key card."

Sara noticed the control buttons were on the wrong side of the doors. Everything was mirrored but the text.

"I have my card with me..." she stuttered. "And Chloe, she won't fit in the elevator."

"Allow me," He entered the elevator with her, swiped the card. "I'll make sure Chloe is well-treated, Miss. We might even hire someone with experience with horses."

"Thank you, 'Eytor'," She nailed the pronunciation, drawing a smile from the hotel manager.

The doors closed and she rode it all the way up.

*

*

Penthouse, Sky Pencil. Hades. Time to reunite. Hopefully.

The doors opened. Sara struck the top of the elevator door with her wings when they unfolded as she ran out.

"Mary! Bella! Brutus!"

She also dropped her scythe by the elevator.

Her eyes watered, Sara squealed as happy barks reached her hears. Bella and Brutus ran down the stairs. Sara knelt to hug them. She kissed her puppies and felt they were still warm. They were unlike everyone else she saw so far in Hades... they were alive!

"Mary!" Sara called, desperate. "Mary! Where are you!"

"Up here! Sara! What's happening?" Mary's voice indicated she was coming her way. The other girl rushed down the stairs. "I was talking to Kelly on the phone and then I felt sick, next I know I wake up and everything is in the wrong place! What happened? What the hell are you wearing? Is that your Halloween costume? Really? Sexy yoga angel?"

"OUCH!" Mary complained as Sara rushed at her top speed to tackle and hug the bountiful Latina.

Sara puffed her cheeks, then sputtered as she broke into a fit of relieved laughter and started to cry at the same time. "Mary, you are alive!" And alive she was. Somehow, Charon transported her bodily across dimensions along with everything else. She sobbed and sniffled, "Alive!"

Mary became weirded out, tried to wrestle herself out of Sara's arms, found the girl's arms unmoving. Even with a damaged Core, Sara was still ridiculously strong.

"Why wouldn't I be? Back off, you're creeping me out. I can't even look at you wearing that! Clothes first. Then, we can talk."

They went to Sara's master bedroom. Mary also examined her wings and confirmed that they were real, were alive, and firmly attached to Sara's body, as a limb ought to be.

"So, what about the wings?" Mary inquired.

Sara was picking clothes.

"It's my bloodline, I'm a Nephilim, a half-breed of human and Celestial," Sara sighed. "My dad died in the day of Armageddon, when everything went to shit."

"Can you fly?"

"Never tried," Sara replied, amused. She finished changing. "How do I look?" Sara asked, spinning around.

"You are lucky your wings are pure white. Or you'd look like a half-chicken," Mary teased. "Oh, I remembered what I told you in my dream!" She stood, setting her arms akimbo. "Who's the mutant now, bitch?"

Sara giggled and bopped Mary on the nose, then hugged her despite the other girl's protests.

"Don't care if I'm a mutant, bitch! Mary, I need to tell you everything! A ton of things happened."

Mary rubbed her nose. "So, not a Halloween costume."

Sara lowered her eyes, "You should've gone to the party."

Mary sighed and also looked away, "After the gunfight downstairs, I wasn't in the mood."

To change subjects slightly into something lighter, Sara asked, "If you went, what costume would you wear?"

"I would go as one of the Lord of the Rings elves," Mary said. "Next year, maybe?"

"That's a date!" Sara vowed.

She finally settled into a sports bra that was open around the shoulder blades, with a X along the back and a denim overalls dress. She had to cross the straps around the back like suspenders because they went right over the wings if she didn't.

"Ready to go?"

"Ready, but where?"

"I need to get you out of here."

"Why?"

"Because we're not in Kansas... I mean, Georgia anymore."

Sara led Mary outside into the rooftop patio, then climbed up onto the true rooftop with the solar panels. "Look around."

From up there, they could see the whole island. It was about ten or twelve miles across, and it was as round as a soap bubble. In the distance, more islands could be seen. The water felt like an ocean, endless and vanishing on the horizon. Just how big was this place?

Panthersville occupied a fifth of the island's shores, then they had the town buildings and some of the houses of the suburbs in the back, then the farms and forests that used to be along the shores of Lake Stonecrest behind them to the west, in the direction Atlanta should be. More than a hundred square miles of land. She could sense the life forces of livestock and farm animals as well as some wildlife that got transported along. Even some birds that were stuck in the time bubble and didn't die or migrate.

"Why is the town inverted? Also... Is this an island now? How?"

Sara took her to the railing facing the promenade, "Look down. There's people, a lot of people down there."

Mary gasped as she leaned over the railing and saw a crowded promenade. "I see, but what's going on? Where these people came from?"

"Mary. Everyone I either killed as a ghoul, guided as a ghost, or gave a funeral is here. The bodies we burned in that pyre. We're not in Georgia, we are in Hades. I need to get you out of here."

Mary's eyes widened with fear, "We're in Hell? HELL?"

Sara squeezed Mary's hands to reassure her and shook her head. She also moved the other girl a bit away from the railing. They were more than thirty floors above ground.

"No. Not Hell, Hell no longer exists. it became part of Earth if you look from a certain angle. But then so did Heaven. No, Mary. We are in Hades. As far as I understood, it is a staging place for the dead so they can wait until the Day of Judgment. Which should be a thousand years from now unless things went terribly wrong. Spoiler alert, things did go terribly wrong."

Mary frowned. Her eyes darted to and fro in utter confusion. Sara wasn't that good at explaining things and was just blurting out exposition.

"That's how you got your wings? By having things go terribly wrong?"

"Welcome to Sara's life," Sara spread her arms and wings. They caught the wind and she was tempted to try and flap them. Sara sucked in a huge breath as she tried to contain that impulse. Caution spoke higher than wanderlust and she decided to wait until Mary was safe.

Mary paused for a long while to digest the information dump. Her eyes gleamed, "Everyone you gave a funeral too?"

"Yeah. The hotel staff is all here, and I burned them at the pyre on the promenade," Sara continued cluelessly.

An excited Mary grabbed her shoulders and shook. "Does that include my family? ¿Mi madre, mi hermanito, mi padre y abuela?" Mary's eyes started to water.

Afraid the very alive other girl would jump down the building to hasten the meeting, Sara firmly grabbed Mary's hand. "I guess? Yeah, probably! Let's go find them, okay?"

"Yes!" Mary's smile was so shiny and hopeful the scene was forever engraved in Sara's mind.

They ran to the elevator as the foxhounds followed the two girls. Mary stopped at the landing, staring at the ground. "Sara, what's that?" She pointed at the scythe.

"Oh, it's mine, I dropped it," Sara picked the weapon up.

"That scythe gives me the creeps," Mary shuddered.

"Sorry. I kind of need to carry it around now. It's kind of, dunno, a job they tried to push on me. Did you miss the part where I told you I now bring dead people to Hades?" She wiggled her eyebrows and made a tiny swinging motion with the scythe while making "swish, swish," cutting sounds with her mouth.

"You could kill someone with that."

"That's kind of the point," Sara tittered nervously. "But don't worry, I don't intend to use it on anyone. It's just a bother to carry it around."

"Yeah, the blade is almost as wide as your ass," Mary teased.

Sara's hips weren't wide. Confusion took over the girl's face for a moment. Oh, she understood what Mary meant.

"Where did you learn those things, woman?" Sara deadpanned and raised an eyebrow. Mary was still a social remora.

"From you, whoever else?" Mary scoffed and poked the tip of her tongue out. The two girls giggled. Mary dragged Sara into the elevator, "Come on!"

Sara remembered another thing, "Oh, this job also comes with a new pet. She's downstairs. Let's go, you'll love to meet Chloe."

They took the elevator, two girls and two dogs. And a big ass scythe.

*

*

Lobby, Regal Lakeshore Hotel and Convention Center (what?), Panthersville, Hades.

The elevator doors opened, and Eric Whitaker, AKA the architect, son of the mayor, the guy who designed and built this hotel was waiting for them.

"Sara! I wanted to talk to you!" Eric said, all smiles.

Sara walked out, scythe on her shoulder. Bella and Brutus fanned out and appeared interested on the people but remained dutifully next to Sara, while Mary stepped around bending out of the way, wary of the scythe blade.

"What is the matter? How is the afterlife treating you?" Sara grinned. "I'm pretty sure have thermal lava baths in the underground, if you want to take a dip?"

She could see sins. And Eric had lived like a playboy in his penthouse. At least she didn't see rape in his divine rap sheet.

"No, I think I'll pass," Eric scrunched his nose and winced.

"What's the matter, then? I am busy."

"First, your horse is trying to enter the hotel. Second, I would like to know if I could go back to my old apartment."

"You got a horse?" Mary gawked, then squealed. "Is it as white as your wings?"

Sara ignored Eric.

"Dream on, it's Death's horse, the genuine pale horse from the scriptures, goes by the name Chloe," Sara replied, then flagged the manager. "Oi, Heitor, could you be a sweetheart and get Chloe here, 'kay? Thanks!"

"About my penthouse?" Eric insisted.

Mary went after Heitor to see Sara's horse. The girl waited to hear the other girl scream in fright.

Meanwhile, she laid down the law.

"No can do, Eric. You gave the whole building to me, it's mine. You should go and build something else for you. I intend to keep using it. Think about this, you have the whole afterlife to design and build a building that will be a hundred times better than this one. And you don't have to worry about building code or regulations or even builder casualties. Everyone here save for Mary and me - and my pets - are already dead anyway."

She was about to go away when Mary screamed, as expected. Sara paused and made a concession. "You can have Timmy's apartment if you clean the gore yourself. Don't bother me, the lava bath is currently empty and eager for the first guest. Now, I have a family to reunite. Ciao!"

Sara went to the front, where Chloe was causing a commotion. She also noticed Chloe now sported two large saddlebags wrapped around her back.

Even for dead people, the pale horse was odd. Even more so for Mary, who seemed frightened by the emaciated deathly burning. Bella and Brutus approached to sniff Chloe but didn't get anywhere near the flaming hooves. Which didn't burn the floor but left patches of frost if Chloe remained still for some time.

"Sara!" Mary chided. "Your horse is all skin and bones. And why are his hooves and mane on fire?"

Sara frowned. How hard it is to tell a horse's sex when all you need to do is to check the huge dangling... never mind.

"Her, it's a girl. But that's kind of the point," Sara shrugged. Mary still hadn't realized what was going on or was struggling to accept reality. "Mary, here's a riddle for you. It's the Apocalypse. Carries a scythe. Rides a pale horse, all skin and bones. Guides the dead to the afterlife. Who am I?"

"Death, but... you... you... What the hell, Sara! It's not funny! is this all a prank?"

"I wish it was," Sara extended her arms, carefully as to not swing the scythe around and re-kill someone if that was even a thing. "Mary, my friend. You are a unique existence. You see, Death has personally come for you." Sara approached and whispered in Mary's ear, making sure her breath was chilly. "But she wants to take you back to the land of the living."

"Goodness!" Mary shivered and jumped away. "Get away from me."

"No, Mary. You are going to..." Sara brandished the scythe just a little, grinned and cackled manically, and widened her eyes as much as she could. "Live!"

Mary flinched, "Eek! Wait, what?"

People on the hotel lobby gave them a round of applause. Sara bowed at the waist. "Thank you, thank you. Heitor, you're on. Take good care of my hotel, and remind rowdy guests staying here is a privilege, not a right. Especially because they aren't paying."

"As you command, Miss!" Heitor (mute H, E like in 'electricity') waved.

"And keep Eric away from my penthouse. My. Penthouse!"

*

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