System Notice: Character Creation In Progress... Initializing Reaper Protocol...

  The blade glinted in the darkness.

  Amara Chen reacted without thinking, throwing herself between the intruder and her sister's bedroom door. "Lily, lock it!" she screamed, as white hot pain tore through her abdomen.

  The knife withdrew, warm blood cascading down her stomach and soaking into her pajama pants. She braced herself against the hallway wall, refusing to fall even as her vision dimmed around the edges. Behind her, the sound of her sixteen-year-old sister fumbling with the lock was the only thing that mattered.

  "Bitch," the masked figure snarled, lunging forward again.

  Amara summoned her last reserves of strength, grabbing a nearby lamp and swinging it wildly. It connected with a satisfying crack, but the victory was short-lived. The second knife, the one she hadn't seen, slid between her ribs with surgical precision.

  This time, there was no fighting back. Her legs gave out, and she slid down the wall, a crimson smear marking her descent. The intruder stepped over her, focused on the bedroom door, but her fading attention caught the blue and red lights flashing through the windows. The neighbors must have called the police.

  "Lily," she whispered, as darkness claimed her. Her final thought wasn't of fear or regret, only relief that her sister might be safe.

  At least I did something right.

  System Notice: Death Event Confirmed Self-Sacrifice Protocol Activated Initializing Soul Transition... Beginning Character Conversion: Mortal → Reaper

  Amara opened her eyes.

  This simple act was so unexpected that she remained motionless, staring at the familiar ceiling of her apartment hallway. She remembered dying, the sensation unmistakable, final, yet here she was.

  She sat up, noticing her bloodied clothes but feeling no pain. The apartment was eerily silent, no police radios, no paramedics, no signs of the break-in. Everything stood in perfect order, except for the peculiar grayscale quality to the world around her. All color had been leached away, leaving only shades of black, white, and ash.

  "Am I a ghost?" she wondered aloud, her voice oddly muted, as if the air itself swallowed sound.

  "Not quite," came a reply from behind her.

  Amara spun around. A tall figure leaned against the wall where her attacker had been. But this wasn't her killer. This man wore a charcoal gray coat that seemed to absorb what little light existed. His face was angular, his eyes so dark they appeared as empty sockets from certain angles.

  "Who are you?" Amara demanded, surprised by her lack of fear. "What happened to me? Where's Lily?"

  The man straightened, adjusting cuffs that seemed fashioned from shadow. "One question at a time. I'm Cyrus. What happened is rather obvious. You died." The words fell from his lips without emotion, clinical and detached. "As for your sister..." he gestured toward the bedroom door, "she survived. The police arrived in time."

  System Notice: Tutorial Initiated Instructor Detected: Cyrus (Collector Rank) Core Knowledge Transfer: 0.2% Complete

  Amara moved to the door, hand passing through the knob. The sensation was disconcerting, like dipping her fingers into cold gelatin.

  "You can't interact with the Mortal Realm anymore," Cyrus explained. "Not yet, anyway."

  "Mortal Realm?" Amara turned back to him. "So this is... what? Heaven? Hell?"

  Cyrus laughed, the sound brittle. "Nothing so straightforward. You're in The Veil, the realm between realms. It mirrors your world but exists... adjacent to it."

  He walked down the hallway, gesturing for her to follow. Amara hesitated, looking at the bedroom door one last time before complying.

  System Notice: The Veil Realm Detected Character Type: Reaper (Uninitialized) Stability: 83% and Declining Warning: Essence Depletion Imminent

  "I don't understand," she said, following him into her living room. Like the hallway, it was perfectly intact but rendered in monochrome. "If I'm dead, shouldn't I have moved on, seen a light, something?"

  "Most do," Cyrus agreed, seating himself on her couch uninvited. "But some souls have... potential. You're one of those. Instead of moving on, you've been selected for recruitment."

  "Recruitment for what?"

  "To become a Reaper."

  The word hung in the air between them, heavy with implications Amara couldn't yet grasp.

  "Like... the Grim Reaper? With a scythe and everything?" She attempted humor to mask her growing unease.

  Cyrus's expression remained impassive. "The mythology got some details right. We harvest souls, yes. But the reality is more complex than folklore suggests. There's an entire economy built around the collection and processing of souls."

  "This is insane," Amara muttered, pacing the grayscale approximation of her living room. She tried touching a lamp, her fingers again passing through solid matter. "I can't be dead. This has to be a dream or a hallucination, my mind creating scenarios as I bleed out."

  "Your body is already being prepared for cremation," Cyrus said bluntly. "No family except your sister means no funeral. City services will handle it."

  The words hit Amara like physical blows. "I want to see Lily."

  "Not possible yet." Cyrus stood, moving to the apartment window. "Look outside."

  Amara approached the window. Outside, her familiar street had transformed into something unrecognizable. The buildings remained the same, but strange, shadowy figures moved between them. The sky bore no sun or moon, only a perpetual twilight glow. In the distance, structures twisted into impossible shapes, defying physics.

  "What is all this?" she whispered.

  "The Veil reflects the Mortal Realm but is shaped by collective human emotion and memory," Cyrus explained. "Those areas," he pointed to the distorted architecture in the distance, "are where strong emotional imprints have warped reality. Fear, grief, joy, they all leave marks here."

  Amara turned away from the window. "Why am I here? Why didn't I just... move on?"

  "Because you died protecting someone else," Cyrus said. "Self-sacrifice creates a unique soul resonance. That makes you suitable for Reaper work."

  System Notice: Self-Sacrifice Confirmed Soul Resonance: Protection Affinity Detected Reaper Suitability: High Core Attributes Generated

  "And if I refuse this 'opportunity'?"

  Cyrus's expression darkened. "There is no refusing. You either adapt to your new existence or fade into nothingness. Even now, your essence diminishes."

  Amara looked down at her hands, noticing for the first time a subtle transparency to them. "I'm disappearing?"

  "All new Reapers must consume soul essence to stabilize their form," Cyrus explained. "Without it, you'll dissolve into raw essence and be processed like any other soul."

  "Processed?" The word sent a chill through her that had nothing to do with her incorporeal state.

  System Notice: Essence Stability Critical Dissolution Risk: Increasing Time Remaining: Approximately 36 Hours Soul Essence Required: Minimum 1 Unit

  "The soul economy is vast and complex," Cyrus said, moving toward the apartment door. "I don't have time for a complete orientation. The basics will have to suffice: souls are harvested by Reapers like us, refined in the Soulforge, and eventually reach the Evernight Citadel where the Archreapers reside."

  "And what happens there?"

  Cyrus paused, hand on the doorknob. "No one knows for certain. But the system has existed since the first human deaths."

  He opened the door, revealing not the apartment hallway but a swirling gray mist. "Now, it's time for your first lesson. The longer you wait, the more essence you'll lose."

  Amara remained rooted in place. "This is too much. I can't just accept that I'm dead and now have to become some soul harvester."

  "You have precisely two choices," Cyrus said, impatience edging into his voice. "Become a Reaper and survive, or fade away entirely. There is no third option."

  "But Lily—"

  "Is alive thanks to you. Honor that sacrifice by surviving yourself." His expression softened marginally. "Death isn't the end, Amara. But what you do next determines what your existence becomes."

  Amara looked around the grayscale apartment one last time. Everything familiar yet fundamentally changed, just like her.

  "Will I see my sister again?"

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "Perhaps," Cyrus said. "Higher-ranked Reapers can sometimes manifest in the Mortal Realm. But that privilege must be earned."

  Amara took a deep breath out of habit, though her lungs no longer required air. "Fine. Teach me."

  System Notice: Reaper Protocol Accepted Initializing Core Statistics... Soul Properties Being Calibrated...

  "Good." Cyrus gestured to the mist beyond the door. "Your first lesson awaits. Learn quickly, Amara. All new Reapers have quotas to meet."

  "Quotas?"

  Cyrus's smile held no warmth. "Did you think death would free you from obligations? The soul economy has targets like any other. Meet them, or face dissolution."

  He stepped into the mist, becoming a silhouette that beckoned her forward.

  The mist cleared, revealing a vast expanse of what appeared to be an underground cavern, though its ceiling rose so high it vanished into darkness. The space hummed with energy, filled with swirling currents of ethereal light that coalesced and dispersed like schools of luminescent fish.

  "Welcome to the Orientation Chamber," Cyrus said, his voice echoing slightly. "All new Reapers begin their existence here."

  Amara gazed around in wonder. The cavern walls were carved with intricate symbols that pulsed with inner light, and floating platforms of various sizes drifted through the space, each bearing different structures.

  "What is this place?" she asked.

  "A pocket realm within The Veil," Cyrus replied. "Protected from the normal flux of essence currents. Here, new Shades like yourself learn the fundamentals without risking immediate dissolution."

  Several other figures materialized from wisps of mist around them, each appearing as confused as Amara felt. Some still bore the marks of their deaths, bloodied clothing or visible injuries that didn't seem to cause them pain.

  "Your fellow initiates," Cyrus explained. "Though you'll rarely work together. Reapers typically operate independently."

  A tall, thin figure approached them, its form more stable and defined than either Amara or the other new arrivals. Unlike Cyrus's professional demeanor, this entity projected a cold, bureaucratic presence.

  "Orientation Group Seven," it intoned in a voice that seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere. "I am Instructor Vellum. You will now receive your initial parameters and quota assignment."

  The being raised spindly arms, and the air before each new Reaper shimmered, forming translucent panels of information.

  System Notice: Reaper Initialization Complete Shade Status Confirmed Core Statistics Generated

  "These are your baseline attributes," Vellum explained. "The four Core Statistics define your capabilities as a Reaper. Reaping Efficiency determines how effectively you harvest souls. Soul Capacity limits how many you can store before submission. Manifestation governs your ability to interact with both The Veil and eventually the Mortal Realm. Essence Mastery controls your manipulation of harvested energy."

  Amara studied the glowing panel before her:

  Name: Amara Chen

  Rank: Shade (Level 0)

  Core Statistics:

  Reaping Efficiency: 10

  Soul Capacity: 5

  Manifestation: 3

  Essence Mastery: 7

  Secondary Statistics:

  Harvest Rating: 42

  Essence Pool: 25

  Corruption Resistance: 10

  Perceptive Range: 12

  Soul Inventory: Empty

  Abilities: None

  Quota Status: Not Assigned

  "The Secondary Statistics are derived from your core attributes," Vellum continued. "They will fluctuate based on your actions and advancement. Now, for your initial assignment."

  The panels before them shifted, displaying new information.

  Initial Quota Assignment Requirement: 5 Souls (Any Type)

  Deadline: 72 Hours

  Failure Consequence: Dissolution Review Reward: Stabilized Essence Form, Potential Ability Unlock

  "You have three days to collect five souls," Vellum stated dispassionately. "This is a minimal requirement. Failure indicates fundamental incompatibility with Reaper existence and will result in review for potential dissolution."

  A murmur of alarm spread through the group of new Shades.

  "What happens during dissolution?" someone asked.

  "Your essence is broken down and processed through the Soulforge," Vellum replied matter-of-factly. "The energy is then redistributed through the soul economy. It is not painful, merely... final."

  Amara felt a surge of determination. Dissolution was not an option, not if she ever wanted to see Lily again.

  "How do we begin?" she asked.

  Vellum nodded approvingly at her question. "Each of you will be assigned a mentor who will provide basic guidance. However, the actual harvesting must be performed independently. This is your first test."

  The instructor gestured to Cyrus and several other solid-formed Reapers who had appeared at the edges of the chamber. "These Collectors will serve as your initial mentors. They will show you to your assigned territories within The Veil."

  Cyrus approached Amara, his expression unreadable. "Ready for your first harvest?"

  "I don't have much choice, do I?" she replied.

  "Choice is a luxury few Reapers enjoy," he said quietly. "The sooner you accept that, the easier your existence will become."

  Amara thought of Lily, alone in the world now. "I'm choosing to survive. To find a way back to my sister."

  Cyrus studied her for a moment. "That's not impossible. Higher-ranked Reapers can maintain limited presence in the Mortal Realm. But the path is long, and few Shades advance beyond their initial rank."

  "I'm not most Shades."

  A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "We'll see."

  He extended his hand, and a swirling portal formed beside them. "Your assigned territory is a section of Gateway Hospital. A good starting point, as many souls transition there naturally."

  System Notice: Territory Assignment Confirmed Gateway Hospital, Eastern Wing Soul Transition Frequency: Moderate Territory Difficulty: Suitable for New Shade

  Amara hesitated at the threshold of the portal. "How exactly do I... harvest a soul?"

  "You'll know when the time comes," Cyrus assured her. "The knowledge is instinctive to all Reapers. But remember this: not all souls go willingly. The ones that resist can be... problematic."

  With that ominous warning, he gestured for her to enter the portal. Amara squared her shoulders and stepped through, leaving the Orientation Chamber behind.

  The sensation of transition was disorienting, like falling through layers of cold silk. The portal deposited her in what appeared to be a hospital corridor, rendered in the same monochrome palette as her apartment had been. The walls occasionally rippled as if viewed through water, and distant sounds echoed strangely, both too close and impossibly far away.

  Amara noticed her form was becoming increasingly transparent, the edges of her fingers beginning to blur into the air around them. Cyrus's warnings about dissolution took on new urgency. She needed to find a soul, and quickly.

  As if responding to that thought, she felt a strange new awareness unfold within her consciousness. It was like suddenly developing a sixth sense, an ability to perceive energy patterns that had always been there but remained invisible until now.

  She turned slowly, orienting herself to this new perception. Down the corridor to her left, she sensed something, a gentle pulsing that called to her on an instinctual level.

  A soul nearing transition.

  Amara moved toward it, drawn by an imperative she couldn't explain and couldn't resist. The pulse grew stronger as she approached a room near the end of the hall. Inside, she found an elderly man, his physical form connected to various machines while his essence, visible to her Reaper senses as a softly glowing aura, floated partially detached above his body.

  She knew, without being told, that he was dying. The final connections between his soul and physical form were weakening by the moment.

  System Notice: Soul Detected Type: Neutral Transition Status: Imminent Resistance Level: Minimal Harvest Difficulty: Low

  Amara approached the bedside, suddenly uncertain. Was she really about to take this man's soul? What right did she have?

  But then she looked at her hands, now so transparent she could see the floor through them, and remembered Lily. If she didn't survive this, she would never find a way to see her sister again.

  "I'm sorry," she whispered to the dying man, though she knew he couldn't hear her. "But I need to continue existing."

  She reached out, not with her physical hand but with her consciousness, feeling for the gossamer connections that still bound soul to body. They were delicate, like spiderwebs glinting with morning dew, and with the gentlest of mental efforts, she severed them one by one.

  The soul separated completely, hovering above the now still body as a luminous sphere of soft white light with gray swirls. Instinctively, Amara cupped her hands beneath it, and to her surprise, the soul settled into her palms, warm and unexpectedly substantial.

  System Notice: Soul Harvested Type: Neutral Quality: Standard Action: Store or Consume? Essence Value: 8 units

  Amara hesitated, uncertain what the notification meant. Store or consume? Cyrus hadn't explained this choice.

  Something told her that consuming would provide immediate benefits but waste the soul's potential value within the larger economy. Storage would preserve it for later submission, the proper procedure for a diligent Reaper.

  She chose to store it, and to her amazement, a pocket in reality itself seemed to open within her essence. The soul slipped inside, and immediately Amara felt a surge of energy through her being. Her form solidified slightly, the transparency receding from her extremities.

  Soul Inventory: 1/5 Essence Stability: Improved (47%) Dissolution Risk: Temporarily Reduced Reaping Efficiency Experience: +2

  One down, four to go.

  As Amara left the room, a new awareness of the hospital took shape in her mind. She could sense other souls throughout the building, their varying stages of connection to the physical world appearing as different intensities of light to her developing Reaper senses.

  She had taken her first step into the soul economy. The thought should have horrified her, but instead she felt only determination. Whatever it took, she would master this strange new existence, climb through the ranks, and find her way back to Lily.

  Even if it meant harvesting souls.

  Amara moved deeper into the hospital, her purpose clear. This was not the afterlife she would have chosen, but it was the one she had. And she would bend it to her will, or fade trying.

  Shade Status:

  Name: Amara Chen

  Rank: Shade (Level 0)

  Core Statistics:

  Reaping Efficiency: 10 (+0)

  Soul Capacity: 5 (+0)

  Manifestation: 3 (+0)

  Essence Mastery: 7 (+0)

  Secondary Statistics:

  Harvest Rating: 42 (+0)

  Essence Pool: 25 (+0)

  Corruption Resistance: 10 (+0)

  Perceptive Range: 12 (+0)

  Soul Inventory: 1/5 (Neutral Soul)

  Abilities: None

  Quota Status: 1/5 souls collected Next Goal: Locate additional transitioning souls