บท 23: Death Sinner’s Truth (3)

Trinity clutches her head harder and in a frenzy, digging her nails in until she bleeds. "No! I can't believe that! It can't be true! My mother would never give up so easily. She was strong!"

"Your mother was strong as a warrior, but she was weak at heart. She never had the resolve to do what was required for her own wellbeing. She trusted others too easily and wore her heart on her sleeve. She believed all souls had the right to be redeemed, even ones like your father. She gave him the role as Domain Master in good faith of that belief. Domain Masters have authority to judge Sinner's souls and decide their fate. They can deem them worthy of redemption and rebirth or even ascension to heaven if they prefer eternal rest. If they are not worthy or able for such opportunities, such as in the case of damned Transient Souls like himself, they do have a choice to be migrated to a lower circle of Hell. They will remain damned but enjoy better conditions."

"Judge?" She thinks about her father's profession. "Judge…you mean he was actually a judge of souls? When he left for 'work' he was actually carrying out his role as domain master each day?"

"That's right. Once your mother was gone, he was left in sole control, as you were not of age to inherit the title of Queen just yet. He thrived off the power and developed a terrible superiority complex. He thought himself a god, judging souls as he willed it. When your mother was alive she kept him in check more or less, but she made her own poor choices that ultimately cost her everything, including her life. She made the ultimate gamble and sacrifice with the heavens, because she believed in you so deeply. She trusted that you would break free of his control and make him pay for his sins. She believed you'd stop his tyranny and then save the lost sinners."

"Why would she think so much of my abilities? Clearly I didn't have what it took. I was just a child! I didn't understand anything. I knew my father was a creep and wasn't very nice to us. I remember how he'd torment my mother and make her cry. He'd use me as leverage to get what he wanted. He said if she refused his demands he would take me far away from her. She always yielded, so I guess his threats must've had some weight. But things changed when she got pregnant with Shiori. She seemed to become more defiant with him and refused to let him push her around the same. He began to yield, as though he was restricted by something. It was weird."

"Wow, I'm impressed you noticed all of that. Indeed, Shiori was the turning point of it all. She was the gamble your mother took. Making a deal with the heavens is never so simple, but they do deliver what they say they will once a deal is made. Shiori was the key to saving you from that nightmare, but she was also the reason for your prolonged suffering. Her existence cost your mother her life and gave that man the freedom to do as he pleased with you as a consequence. I know you love your sister dearly, but your mother would still be alive if she was never born."

Trinity can feel the unrest of a tiny soul within her chest, and she becomes aware of her pain. "Miss Amlith…." Trinity speaks lowly and with a restrained tone. "Please don't say such a thing about my sister. Even if it's true, even if it's fact, please keep it to yourself. I ask respectfully."

Amlith immediately understands that she's offended her, not that she's surprised. "I apologize, I said something insensitive. I struggle with that at times. Please forgive me." She pauses for a moment and then attempts to refocus their conversation. "In any case, Shiori did save you in the end. It was her that motivated you to fight, when you'd all but given up. As it stands, even if your mother hadn't made that choice and was still alive, the fact remains that she would've been stuck. Unless she chose to abandon you, she could never leave him. You both would be trapped."

"So, Shiori was the key to break free, but from what exactly? Why do I feel like I have disjointed memories? I realized it when I was fighting that dog man. I felt like I couldn't properly recall the events of my life despite living them. It felt like they were hollow memories, and how did my world literally crumble? When I left that house, it was like I was seeing the real world for the first time in so long. When I was fighting and when Shi and I killed him, it felt nostalgic."

"Yes, which brings us back to the question of your age." She squeezes her hand. "Trinity, the world you 'escaped' from was not your father's world. You escaped his world long ago all on your own, before you could even awaken Shiori. However, how you escaped was a taboo. You were a twenty-one year old college student who refused to accept your fate. Despite hearing the call of your heart and those of Shi, you blocked them out. You accepted your fate as that evil man's tool to remain in power. As long as you were alive and didn't claim your title as Queen, he could remain the Domain Master and rule over the sinners in your stead. In return, he allowed you the freedom you craved, and you took it. You partied hard, often enjoying scotch like this, and a multitude of lovers. However, you had a dark habit. You lived for the thrill of the kill."

"I what? I lived for…I killed people?" She leans back, feeling suddenly light-headed over it.

"Oh yes, you were quite the violent one. I was honestly impressed, and it's what got you my full attention. I was mildly aware of you before, but lost interest after a while. But when talk of a murderous tyrant plaguing the streets of Limbo reached my ears, I needed to see for myself. So, I began to watch you more closely. It was then that I came to realize that you were in fact the 'new breed' those masters were looking for through your mother. Prior to you, not even your mother as Death Sinner Queen could kill Sinners. She could judge them and determine their fate for the afterlife, but she couldn't erase their existence all together. However, you could and often did."

"How so? Why couldn't my mother kill them too? What made me so special from her exactly?"

"It took me a long time, but I finally realized it in time. Sinners who find themselves in Limbo are granted certain protections from heaven as lost souls who have not been fully determined within the afterlife. Because of this, they have an immunity until they are duly judged and migrated to a lower circle or directly to hell and become Hellions. Hence why your mother couldn't kill them, only judge, and guide them. Only Angels could do such a thing at that time. However, you managed to kill them, even without having Shiori as your divine weapon."

"Divine weapon? That's what Shiori is? She's a weapon gifted to my mother by the heavens?"

"I wouldn't say gifted, as she paid the price, but yes, Shiori is a divine weapon. She can kill Sinners with ease, even at her own discretion as you earlier experienced. She lead you then, but in the past, you killed Sinners all on your own. Because you were an anomaly even greater than your mother was. You who was born of a Transient Soul and the first Living Soul. You were the true bridge between life and death. You were what I have since defined as, a Death Reaper."

"I'm a Death Reaper?" She can hardly believe any of this. "So, why can't I remember that now?"

"Well, it seems even anomalies are bound by rules. You became overwhelmed by your grief from your abuse, the death of your mother, Shiori, Sophia and your baby. Even the killing took a toll on you after a while, and it became too much. You jumped from an overpass one night. You no longer wanted to live with yourself. But doing so damned even your soul, and you entered your self-made purgatory. Where you would re-live your trauma on loop for almost 100 years."