Before I can ask questions or protest, the clouds begin to whirlwind around, forcing me to close my eyes. When the wind stops, I find myself in the middle of a thick forest. The sun is still bright in the sky, but the trees restrict the light. Only speckles of sunlight cut through the darkness. It’s completely silent and something about the atmosphere gives me goosebumps. I’m not easily scared. After ninety nine years of doing this job, you become desensitised to everything. The air is moist, and the ground is wet, which means it rained recently

  The silence is broken by a sharp scream, far off in the distance. Quickly, I start running, following the sound. There is no time to waste! As I sprint through the forest, I can tell that this is cursed land. With every step I take, I can sense dead bodies and bones buried under the ground. Multiple souls are roaming this area, and they’re angry. I can sense their energy. Anger, hate, regret, sadness, and fear. Many horrible things happened here, and something horrible is happening right now.

  I clamber over a steep heel, and right in front of me is a scene I’ll never forget. On the ground there's three bodies completely covered in blood, and horrifically disfigured. One of the bodies is smaller than the others... a child perhaps. I do see dead bodies often. In many different ways. But this is different. Not because of the way they look. Not because of the way they have been disfigured. But because I have seen this before. Before I died. Flashes of memories cascade in my mind. A father and his children. Murdered ruthlessly. I shake my head. Now is not the time. I couldn’t save them. And nothing will bring them back.

  It still terrifies me that human hands are capable of this. Because human hands did the same to me and my family. After ninety nine years of doing this job, the cruel things humans do still shock me.

  There’s a girl kneeling in front of a man. She’s barely clothed, and there’s a deep cut running all the way down her back. Blood is flowing from a dent on the side of her head. She’s encrusted with a thick layer of dirt, and tears are streaming down her face. “Please, please don’t! I’ll do anything!”

  A twig snaps under my feet as I move closer, and both the man and the girl turn sharply to look at me. I make eye contact with him, and my blood runs cold. He has no soul. Where his soul should be, lies a mass of dark and evil energy. There’s likely over a hundred different entities in his body, and none of them mean well. “It’s the Higher Beings’ puppet!” hisses one of the entities. “You do not belong here,” I utter in response. I need to move fast, the girl is losing too much blood.

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  I have no choice. I must kill him. As quickly as possible, I draw my sword. It’s a gift from Juno and Aarav. I don’t need to lug it around. The same way I can move between dimensions, it does too. One hit that’s all I need. Either the heart or the head, and then I use the sword’s light to destroy the entities. Or at least send them back to where they came from.

  I dart towards the man, and he dodges. He’s inhumanely fast. Before I can comprehend his movements, he hits me over the head with a metal object, and I go sprawling across the floor. This isn’t going to be easy. I jump back up and dodge his attacks. He swings, jabs, and spins around in an attempt to hit me again. I stand still and wait for him to swing again. He flies toward me with full force. I duck and slash him across the abdomen. The man howls in pain and staggers backwards. I take the opportunity and send the blade deep into his chest.

  I can feel it burrow into his heart. The sword becomes hot and shines bright. It is almost as if I hold the sun itself in my hands. I am unable to even look at it. I plunge the sword deeper and hear the screams of dozens of evil spirits. As sick as it is, the sound is satisfying.

  When the last of the spirits is gone, I draw back my sword, and cautiously walk to the girl. Her eyes are as wide as saucers and she’s shaking. “Don’t be scared. I’m here to save you. My name is Kahira, and you are?” Still trembling, she takes my hand and holds it tight. “Thank you, thank you so much! You’re an angel! My name is Diana. Diana Vine. I’m so grateful!” I smile gently and place my hand on top of her head. “Don’t let the angels hear that. Now, you won’t remember everything. Just what’s important. It’s time to rest. You’ve been through a lot.” In a few seconds, she’s knocked out. She looks so peaceful in this deep sleep. Putting people into a heavy slumber is one of the gifts I got from Aarav. He said he used it often on Ketura because she had trouble sleeping. I wish I could use it on myself. I am… exhausted.

  “Kahira?!” Oh no, I know that voice. I spin around and see Detective Genfi. He has a dumbfounded look on his face, and a crew of officers behind him looking on in shock and horror. Well... this is going to be fun to explain.