The Court of Souls?

“Level II: Universes with different physical constants

In the chaotic inflation theory, a variant of the cosmic inflation theory, the multiverse as a whole is stretching and will continue doing so forever, but some regions of space stop stretching and form distinct bubbles. Such bubbles are embryonic level I multiverses.

Different bubbles may experience different spontaneous symmetry breaking, which results in different properties, such as different physical constants.

Level II also includes John Archibald Wheeler's oscillatory universe theory and Lee Smolin's fecund universes theory.”

- The Journey to the Afterlife

***Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Semper Fidelis***

***Elona***

We hurry through the night. The darkness and rain obstruct my vision, but Shade knows exactly where we have to go. The call for help came from Shastra. If I remember correctly she is an Apsara. They are not the best fighters, so we have to hurry.

Further towards the centre of the city the streets are filled with light, but out here I can make out only a few occasional windows with lighted rooms behind them. The population of the city is stretched thin, but hopefully that will change with the arrival of my clan.

Suddenly an ear splitting scream tears the night apart, forcing me to wince. Shade covers his ears, but continues onwards. “Holy hell. If that girl ever screams next to me, I will shove something big and nasty down her throat to shut her up.”

I decide not to comment on his choice of words and increase my speed instead. Shade has extraordinary hearing, so someone who commands sound is like a natural enemy to him. I have to tell Shastra to stop that high pitched scream of hers.

Finally I arrive at a dark side street where Shastra is barely holding off three humanoid creatures. Her scream actually repels the monsters from coming any closer. But although it seems to keep them at bay, it doesn't do much more.

All I can make out are dark figures, but I can see that they aren't human. Their limbs are just a little too much out of proportion to be acceptable. They are actually closer to an ape than a human.

I waste no time and drop down on the shape in the centre.

My sudden attack catches the monster off guard and I feel fur under my fist as the creature is battered into the ground, creating a sizeable dent in the street.

Mud and dirt spray outwards, temporarily blinding the other opponents.

I tried to hold back. We want to avoid causing too much damage to the city. But the rakshasa immediately teaches me that holding back against his kind is not a very bright idea. The creature strikes out and a clawed hand almost takes me off my feet. Thankfully I already moved a protective layer of mana to my skin, increasing my defence. The strength of the blow wasn't enough to injure me, but it wasn't weak either.

If I want to avoid injury, I can't allow them to hit me.

I stabilize myself by ramming my left wing into the ground, then I use the clawed tip of the other to stab down at the creature. Originally I aimed at the chest, but all I score is stabbing the shoulder. The thing moved aside with inhuman speed once it realized the danger.

Shastra stops her scream and calls out to me. “Careful! There are two more in the house!”

“Retreat and guide the others to this location!” I call out and retrieve my wing before the monster is able to grab it.

Then the other two furry creatures decide to take me from both sides. They bare their teeth and open their elongated snouts to howl at me. But as they lunge forward, one of them is hit by a blue bolt of lightning. The rakshasa is thrown backwards and through the wall of the house behind it.

Shade falls from the sky and impacts on the other creature with an equally animalistic roar. Then they grapple with each other, blue surges of mana flickering between them.

But I have no time to watch the fight. We have to reduce the number of opponents quickly if there are really five of them. Three are bad enough, but if the other two decide to join the fray... better not to let it come that far.

I hurl myself at my wounded opponent, ignoring the creature which is already emerging from the hole in the wall.

My opponent strikes at me, but I duck in a boxer's stance and gather mana in my right fist. It's jaw unhinges and I get a really good look at its bloody fangs. Seems like it already had a meal this evening.

My fist impacts its chest in a perfect uppercut and I release all the stored energy upwards, away from the city and towards the sky. It's the same technique which I already used to blow apart an opponent. The monster takes it surprisingly well. Instead of disintegrating completely, the thing is just lifted upwards two metres.

Though not without damage. The chest dents inwards and the monster coughs up a good part of its innards.

I follow up by striking my flat palm at the creature, sending another wave of mana at it. This time its defences don't hold. The body twists and shreds, its broken form is flung skyward and the pressure wave of my attack diverts the raindrops sideways.

Then the third monster rams into me and this time I am taken off my feet. My arm comes up just in time to stop its jaw from closing around my throat. Something else bites my left leg, teeth piercing skin, and I increase the power of my protective layer, preventing further injury. Then I realize that I am being swarmed by them. Another one of them grabs my wing and starts pulling. I try to use my ability to suck out their strength, but they seem to be immune! Or worse, they are female. My mana reserves dwindle as their teeth try to break through.

A roar startles the creatures and something hits the opponent on top of me. It is blasted away like a broken doll, almost taking me with it. The monster is flung into a house, flattening it and more buildings beyond it. Then Shade is above me and kicks the creature which is holding my wings. A sickening crunch signifies that something broke and the monster lets go.

I use my regained freedom to get a hold on the thing which is gnawing on my leg. Twisting around, I avoid the arm, which is striking out at me, and place my knee on its neck. Following up on gaining the high ground, I grab its upper jaw with both hands and pull its head backwards. It budges a little, but the strong muscles make it impossible to break its neck. I don't even manage to pry the jaw apart. At least it can't get its arms to me in a meaningful way as long as I stay in this position.

God, it stinks! That's wet ape, dog, death and something else.

The opponent who was blasted away re-emerges from the rubble, but finally our reinforcement arrives. Doreen plummets from the sky in full fury mode and draws her fingernails over the creature's chest, creating five deep claw marks.

Shade is busy with the monster which he pulled off my wing, but he is slowly taking it apart. His hands are wrapped in blue energies as he is hacking and stabbing at his opponent. The rakshasa already learned the hard way that evading this spell is better than running into it. One arm was already taken off cleanly and there are a few deep cuts on the remaining one.

I give up on breaking my opponent's neck. Bending a rod of steel is easier.

Instead I force mana into my fingertip and draw a small rune above its right eye. My index and middle finger form a claw and I ram it through the rune into the monster's eye. It's attempts at biting through my leg intensify, but I push the spell formation deeper, right through to the brain where it ignites.

Spasms shake the creature as sparks and ash are blown out through the wound channel. The raging miniature inferno increases the pressure as I pour more mana into the spell. Normally it is almost impossible to bypass the magical defence of a living being to cast a spell inside its body. But one of my former personas found out about this little trick.

The building up pressure inside the skull pops out the second eye with a 'plop' and a moment later the sparks flare out of the creature's nostrils. Finally it decides that this world holds no more joy and it stops moving.

I free myself just in time to watch Shade splitting his opponent in half, leaving the lower body standing while the upper body flaps around helplessly. Shade stops the spell and the flaring energies around his hands subside.

Doreen is busy with battering her opponent into submission. Somehow she managed to break the creature's legs and arms, immobilizing it. Despite that she is still kicking it as if the monster was still able to put up an actual fight.

Kick!

“Who sent you!”

Kick!

“Tell me!”

Kick!

“I can go on for hours like this!”

Kick!

“I wonder what you look like when you are just a sack of broken bones!”

Kick!

I wince every time she pulls back her leg for another kick. Each impact is accompanied with the crunching of bones. So I hobble closer, my leg hurts a little, but it isn't serious. Most likely just a contusion from the jaw's pressure. “Grandma, you are overdoing it. Why don't you simply end it? It's not like it can answer.”

Shade hurries to my side and kneels down to take a look at my leg. Seconds later I feel the warmth of a healing spell spreading through it. “Any other injuries?”

I shake my head. “No, thanks.”

But suddenly he hugs me with his ear to my belly. “The baby is also fine? I had a heart attack when you simply jumped into the fight! Learn to count the enemies. We were outnumbered!”

I push him away. “It's fine! Just a few bruises and scratches. The opponents weren't too strong. I tried to limit the damage to the city. Unlike you.” I gesture at the seven blocks of houses which were flattened by Shade's attack... and the huge hole in the city wall.

The rain has intensified, but some of the debris still caught fire. The light of the flames lets me guess at the destruction which was caused by that single spell.

“I held back!” He protests. “I even checked for any signs of life before I unleashed the spell. Though I am of the opinion that civilians who didn't have the sense to flee up until that point didn't deserve to live anyway.”

Sighing, I massage my temple. He is right. If higher immortals are fighting and a low lacks the instinct to turn the other way and run for his life, then there is something wrong with him.

I return my attention to Doreen who is still cursing and kicking the spirit. “Grandma, I really think you can stop now.”

“No. I have experience with human-type spirits. You have to work really hard if you want them to answer. The trick is not stopping. Even if their eyes beg for mercy.”

The growling and snarling creature on the ground doesn't look like it wants mercy though. Yet it looks pitiful, covered in the mud and dirt of the wet street. Only the streets further towards the palace are paved.

Please stop it, Grandma. I am against torturing animals.

But then the unexpected happens. The creature stops any resistance and amidst the growls and snarls I can hear words.

“The... Storrrrrmm... the... storrrm... makesss... uss... takesss... uss... arrrway...”

Doreen leans forward, but the creature already took its last breath, exhaling deeply before lying still. “I know that it is raining you damned critter! Use your last breath to say something useful!”

Shade rubs his forehead in thought. “How interesting, I didn't expect that. Thank you, Doreen.”

Both of us turn to him while the battle scene is slowly filled with people. Some are our allies who try to create order, but most of the people are scavengers who search for something useful amidst the ruins.

Shade shrugs his shoulders upon noticing our attention. “What? I don't think he meant the bad weather. I think he meant the mana storms.”

.