"Before Creation...the six primordials ruled the universe, each in their own realm...Nyx, the mother of night. She rules over the in between also called the realm of dreams. Chronos, the Lord of time, he ruled the chronoscape...keeper of cycles, memories and time. Aither, the sky eternal. He ruled the heavens, light and the upper realms. Thanaros..."
Hesitating a bit Kyle continued "....the first reaper, he ruled over the underrealm, judging the dead...and preserving the barrier between the living and the dead. Ereba, he ruled the Erebic labyrinth also known as the abyss, the place of forgotten souls and Ananke, the goddess of fate. She governed the loom of fate, controlling the thread of fate...."
"What happened to them" Ashley interrupted
Not appreciating the interruption, he replied curtly "Died, sealed, missing..."
"And what happened to the seven realms?" She asked, more engrossed in the story like it was some old folktale
"Same with their rulers... except the underrealm, a new primordial was chosen to rule over it as the reaper" Kyle said, emotionlessly like he wasn't just talking about himself
"So what does all this have to do with the Bride?" Ashley asked, still following closely behind him.
Kyle stopped walking, almost making Ashley hit his back "I was getting there before you interrupted" he replied, annoyed by her constant questions and interruptions.
"Sorry..." Ashley muttered, finally deciding to stay silent
After a short pause, Kyle resumed walking while Ashley followed "the absence of the six primordials became a burden to the reaper because he was charged to rule over the realms and keep the balance all by himself, Centuries passed and he slowly started to loose his essence and was on the verge of the destroying all seven realms...just before that could happen a fragment of Ananke that still existed chose a bride, to keep the reaper from destroying the realms, help him balance the veil between the living and the dead and absorb the overflow of energy from the reaper in case he starts to become destructive again"
Ashley was quiet, trying to take in all the information that was just given to her. The hardest part was registering the fact that she was the bride he spoke of, all this responsibilities fell on her
"And I am the bride you speak of" Ashley said slowly, like she was still trying to convince herself, it was her
"Yes" Kyle responded
"But..." he continued "the bride of the reaper is supposed to be a soul...detached from the mortal realm not alive"
Ashley looked up at him, finally realizing why he was surprised that she wasn't dead "....so i am supposed to be dead" she said, finding it hard to believe
"Yes" Kyle replied
"What happens if I choose not to die" Ashley says, feeling unsettled she wasn't ready to die...this was too sudden and too unbelievable for her to take in just like that
"We are about to find out" Kyle responded coldly, he knew there was no option to keep her alive. If he was to take her to the underrealm she had to be detached from her mortal body
"but if you do not come with me to the underrealm, the veil between the human realm and underrealm will weaken and creatures that are not meant for this world will leak in and start to wreak havoc".
"Like the creature that attacked me yesterday" she responded, her voice somber as she began to understand
"Yes" he replied bluntly
The journey through the forest soon ended and they both stood at the entrance of her shop, quiet, Ashley with her thoughts
Seeing that the girl needed more time to think and take in everything she just heard, he decided to give her more time to bid farewell to her mortal life "I will return"
With those words he vanished, leaving Ashley standing alone at the front door.
After awhile of staring at her door, she finally decided to walk into her shop
"Ashley where have you been" Leora's voice rang desperately as she saw Ashley walk in, half covered in mud, staggering into the shop . Rushing to her, she examined her body for any scratches or wounds
"I've been worried sick, since last night...where did you go" Leora said, assisting Ashley to the stool for her to sit down
Ashley wanted to reply, but she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, the thought of loosing everything she held dear weighed down on her
"I told you to stay indoors Ash...why don't you ever listen" Leora continued scolding her, pacing back and forth. She hadn't noticed the downcast look on Ashley was not because she got hurt
"I'm fine Leora...I'm sorry I didn't listen to you" Ashley said softly, her voice filled with sadness that didn't come from physical pain
Hearing the apology Leora stopped pacing, taking a sit by her side "when I saw you weren't in your shop by noon yesterday I searched everywhere for you...I was soo scared, some creatures attacked the town yesterday and I thought" she paused, flinching at the thought of loosing her best friend " I thought you were taken"
Hearing about the attack, Ashley turned to look at Leora "describe the creatures" she asked, half expecting it to be the one that attacked her
Leora described the creature, exactly as the one that attacked Ashley
Not knowing how to respond, the realization shook her...that she might have to abandon her life for the sake of the human realm.