Let the flow of old ways return

Stood at the edge between pebbled beach and road parking, eyes that narrow at the imperfections. They are able to tell where that horizon can seem like it never stops or starts.

The pollution of the ceremony was scattered planks, broken objects, rotten flowers and nature picked bones of animal sacrifices. It all blanketed by the high sea foam and salty mist spray.

Unlike that morning before, the sun was no where to be visible. The carved stone work cliffs not under any direct light had allowed the imperfections to shadow. This has sprung allowance of unwavering energy to flow, stilling the water shore. Erasing the traces of sea foam formation.

These features of chiseled cliffs reveals a camouflage boulder that mimics the cliff and that of a stairway up to the human access point in. Beaten and worn by centuries passing has soft and smoothed surfaces, it could not be easy to spot with human eyes. Only the animals, the spirits and the weather seems to define where this existed.

"The Grey mask and his partner Judge."

Her dress is the marine life of the native waters, skin patched together with coral and barnacles. Sunken eyes is the close to how her true lover would seem. She is pretty in her own horrifyingly torn skin ways. A voice silky smooth as the still waters that she walks on. The voice that siren's dream of having and the horror a great nightmare tries to be, as her myth entails.

She should have been the goddess that closed the gap between the dead becoming alive. Her powers could have allowed vampires, werewolves and undead types to coexist among living.

It is only that her anger and sense of shaming life and death that stops her from so. Being refuged by the knot made by the Elder of enders domain. This was the gate into the many cities of the undead.

"Beloved lady by Death and close freinds of Life;" He bowed his greeting, "I have came to do what I do every few god years. Although early because living folks have requested it. Its not exactly October yet."

She gives a return bow and snatched him from the shore. Her giggles at dancing them across the waters surface. They had allowed no care for any witnesses nearby, platonic in a werid undead siblings way of dancing. It was intimate but with no love, lack of passion at each others gaze nor did it seem friendly if you paid more attention to what she actually was doing to him. A living person would not survive this dive between air and water, cuts by her skin or the environment and the strength she steals.

"You have gotten really good at dancing." Letting him on to the shore of the boulder lower reaches. She gives her blessing and a curse. A kiss at the cheek with scratching his throat out. Gone the second that humans are sensed to be walking out of the ancient gods trials. A small few whom were just midway down the staircase. The waters of the landscapes returned to the furious lashes of stone faces and the creation of foam formations. Blanketing the remains of boats from ancestors offerings.

"No! No to the no! Nope. Nope. Nope." The first person to reach where James stood climbs back to regroup, "Lords and my king, avoid the horror at the end of this path." Hide behind Raven, the bird man in human shape for once. They pause with finding their guide being terrified as uncharacteristic.

"Philip, you realize that your..." The least surprised would have to be the king brother, "Undead as you maybe. There is us living whom need our guts." James shurgs that of shadowing inky goop fills in and hide the nasty wound. He not was repairing it, "At least its easier on the eyes, brother."

"No. No. No. That is not a human. It can not be your brother. Do not be fooled by it. It is evil."

"Seriously we know." Someone else punched the guide in the arm, "Whatever you do, just don't upset the cat." Pushed past and making it to shore, they came right up to stare into James.

"Maybe I should repair the god trails. Last thing we need is fools like you breaking my hard work." James face peels off as the grey mask reformed to hiss at this annoyance, "Why must naive little things like you play dangerously with your thread of life?"

"Oi, don't be rude." Sean swats the mask, "You are a lunatic too." James can only pinch the nose ridge of his skull as show of his thoughts of those two.

"How is being dead treating you?" Raven quick to change subjects with a tilted gaze of inspection. He seem to dance a little in miniture squats, extra sure that he was getting all of the attention. James posed in rolling a hand joint, word seeking for a short time. He fluttered with remembering his throat been cut, no voice for the living to hear.

"The follower of Omens is to lively to be comfortable around." Grey concluded and Sean flats ears and swats the mask again with a paw. The share of broken dialect between cat and mask. The guide whom has been looking after the living humans and the company demoness in leather armor looks for answers with the few humans.

"James, aren't you meant to be teaching a class right now?" Josh bursting among the group.

James took to sign language with explaining about the letter from the king and how the whole class was acting up if he didn't go sort things out. That his class was being covered by the head if the languages department. He smoothing out to giving a little added warning about entering the cities of undead.

"The ex-human of us is right to warn you lot." Grey jumped into speaking, "This realm gate is disconnected to your ways of perceptive. Time is after all reliant of relativity."

"Stop making them confused." Sean huffs.

'Please don't make the book interfere.' James reminds them, they settle with agreeing that be a bad thing.

"Which or what book?" The guide is nosy.

"Oh, we have ourselves a outsider, we might have to have that one tested for any law breaking shenanigans." Sean stares at the guide with agreeing with Grey on this concern. The ear flicking at the rhythm of his tail clicking. James flustered a hand in a nonsensical notion and moved.them away. He gives the big boulder a good long hard stare.

"Oh my darling beloved gate. What a fabulous day of seeing your still as beautiful as the day you were created!" Grey was in a long speech of showering the large rock with compliments and admiring at a atomic structure.

"See, the mask has lost its sanity a long time ago. His aware of time that been forgotten and its caused a few screws to go missing." James actually flicked Sean for that, "Oi, not you too."

'Do not insult your mother.' James very softly gestures. The entire cliff broke and morphic change of snaking all around them, it snatching Sean with showing love and joy.

"You're so secretive!" Sean hissed.

"No, its that you weren't around when Death had a fight with his sister-in- law about souled objects. Its thanks to the hidden goddess around here that we exist peaceful with Grim Reapers. Idiot child." The large stone snake recoiled at giving the sass needed to be steamed out for a while, "I have a lot to thank for you partner, that book and oh... your the soul they were looking for." James is also snatched up. Some bones had snapped in the process, "Oh such a good little soul you are." Smothered, "No wonder Mask been looking for a such a good heart. We need that little undying hope in the dire of days." Kissed and put down finally, "Now you care for yourselves, you hear me. Them humans are always to blind from danger."

"And to you my ageless wonder of souled beauty. Your many children should be at awe and bow to you." The mask snickers at the pity both James and Sean were in, "Oh come on. Seeing freinds and family is always heart warming." Forced James back up and the extra click of pushing parts back where they belonged.

'I am so thankful to be dead right now.' James states with the living folks, 'Best head in before she turns back ontop of us.'

Going in right through the welcome entry, the massive eye looking in blocked the living world light behind them. Most of the walking through made constant adjustments as they step in.

"I feel like I have way to many questions." the guide speaks.

"To be fair, no one but Grey, James and Judgement know whats happening and how." Raven jitters with way to much energy, "Say how long has the city existed and why is it time sealed?" He was rushed right up to James with bending around and twisting his neck at odd discomforting angles. Only an eye at a time studying all over James with the other paying mind about where to walk.

"There has to be something really wrong with you to trust a thing like them." The guide continues to talk about James behind his back.

"I was reading in the Hunters of oath section about why none seem to push past the top three ranks. Because it not just about having bloodline ties to mages or being cursed or being well adapt of many worlds. There is a entire section about timelines, space fabric and concepts like string theory or black holes. Many universes."

"That has to be the most out of place chapter to exist in a guide to walk other worlds." A normal human comments in listening.

"Is it though?" A counter speaker gives a little speech. Soon its a lot of voices then they had brought with them speaking. They turned silent with James snapping fingers.

"Back to what I was saying," the demoness in leathers sighed, "The top 100 ranks are above myth ranking and all but few even higher rankings have a dead status." The guide posed in thinking about this information, "What rank are you, Mr James Grey?" She knew that he was listening any chatter around is quietly stopped. The king and Josh were both about to correct about his name.

"Does it matter which rank is higher then another when it comes to the top 100 oath makers?" A Demon Ender, a Ender whom choose a demons soul as host. They have a higher ranking friend whom is a Ender that took a angelic host. These two Enders have a unalive status, among the ten that are of the 100 not dead.

"When you said that you can take us to the Elder. Did you mean like the highest ranking?" Clothus walking among the humans inspecting all of the mix grouping.

"The 99 are equals... whom look up to the highest one. The elder. Rank are meaningless. Its just a facades to keep the lower ranks at peace of thier assuming." The angelic Ender chimes in with wing blocking clothus from doing stupid with the humans.

The groups of different parties stop walking to properly introduce each other. Without name exchanges. It was of how each Hunter was giving their greeting that made everyone awe. Movements of hand and posed arms at relation with where it would end at the face. It were almost dancing with their arms. James is the only one whom hadn't gave any indication of notice. He didn't even gesture as a oath hunter should.

"You have actually reminded me of something important." Grey was twirled off of James completely, leaving the stack of misshapen bone in human clothing to put up with a metal cat digging into shoulder joint. The mask disappeared act itself out of any sight totally.

"What was it that the freak mask forget?"

'Universe creation and destruction tools that belong to these twos time place.' Hand signed several tries for everyone to understand. Sean finally just spoke this translation, a paw inspected as he was getting to the meaning. This very empty lack of greeting makes many move on, just how he prefers it being. The still curious set were having to make do with letting it be pinned for a moment.

"Right so whose got the current layout of this corridor mapped for the shortest route to the real gate." The demon Ender leans on any random possible person, this happens to be one the MAC agents that came with the current king.

"We get there when we do." The angelic one is aware of whom James is and why it seem endless walking for everyone. The corridors flexed as if pulsing and eyes follow how it lifted as a slop. A false angle that was actually leading them all down slowly. Sean seemed to disappear too as less attention was given around James.

The topic was moved to whom are expecting to met at the undead city and from how it was assumed; betting money on who was going to leave the cities to be reborn or not. The number they were all counting was for how many accidentally lost souls were here. The Enders were talking big numbers as the king and few had more modest counting.

"Whats your bet?" The demons both were sudden right on James whom waved a broken hand at disagreeing to bet.

"Why are you asking the official for the answers? Thats cheating." The angelic waved a wing blocking a clothus from doing something. It had lead to the sudden scream of terror from the one whom guided living that makes everyone stop. The fool false shape removed, grasped with cold intensity by James. What wasn't seen was just how close this guide is at playing their chances, being to handy around Raven and the king for long enough.

"You cross the line, 76. I am a gentle type normally but since having a headache over the murders you caused in the Mage island last week. You have out worn my patience. I will have to ask the tome of what punishment should be given... in the the meantime." They are poured as ashes and sealed in a wine bottle. The claw hand making adjustment runes, "Your lucky to not be a type of poison or biologically produce any." The wine bottle was put into the rib cage, "One less headache and less for the souls to stop complaining about."

"Total atomic melting isn't a punishment enough... wow that is actually terrifying." The demon ender is last to the party in realization. Everyone else has moved out of grasp and thrown each other into protective stances. That did exclude four. The king, raven and the angel one... not forgetting demon ender whom is slow. Josh stood protecting the king with being meat shield.

"You have so many people whom would rather protect you from me then try anything that normally happens. I am almost but not at all caring." James can speak now, "Hey door man, whats the fruit you want to try this time? I think we have officially ran out of genetics modified Kiwi berries." James speaking to the invisible spirit, "Old school. OK." from the rib cage removes a apple. This apple floats about as it was inspected, "Would you believe one my students had never once failed to make sure I have a apple on my desk every morning? They get really expensive or exotic species too. They leave me a short little explanation of homework about the apple of the days origins." He chuckled, "Clearly a admirer or pet type." He tilts, "Well you tell me how a dead guy like me explains that to a perfectly healthy living student?" That apple is nearly dropped, "Yeah, no joke. I teach the living for a living. One of many strange hobbies I am doing." pats air, "Yeah. yeah. You try not to upset both the stone door or the lady siren. They will ate you, soul and all."

James kicked a rune off a wood door and smashed it into splinters everywhere. The rest are quick to run through following. The cloth body is stepped into by James, being whole again. The Grey's face hung with focus on the tome. Sean in blade shape of a knights longsword was hovering about slicing air, he was actually showing off and trying to look amazing to the crowds of undead. Whom clap amazed and cheer at joy.

"It took you lot long enough to come visit us. We been holding all the straws to guess whom is king or queen." All of the royals hidden among the group had managed forwards with greeting loved parents. Even James in the confusion got in there with hugs and blending among.

"Wait, one of them is the elder?" Now the demon ender puts it together.

"You're not playing any joke saying that right?" the demoness goes pale and looks around paranoid. She got so scared that she shrunk to a child height and hide around the Angel, "I would rather be burnt by holy aura then be in the cross path of the being all gods across timelines fear most."

"You can say that four times and still be shocked that he pretends to be a living young teacher in a school of lost mage children." The angel has his own shock to get over, "How does someone so broken managed that?"

"It feels like they that those three said something but... no one heard them." Raven is poking at these three stuck in mind loops, "Are they OK?" He askes.

"They clearly know somethings we are privy to." His God in a large as a eagle, but still was a crow. The eyes was off too, not bird like in the slightest if you were bothered to try to check them. The talons holding Raven's shoulder were so gentle but could easily rip a bone or organ in a sudden motion.

There walk in showed the true extent of this cavern, a natural fissure of stone clean cut. The visitor area are more then simple and accommodating with seats. Stalls of Hunters selling trade goods. A few walls around were lined of glowing flickered light in bottles. There was a open fountain at the centre with tossed coins, all the tradesman were throwing money into this fountain. Someone was bumping by the bucket loads into the pond, freezing up. Lively turned onto revence, most to their knees bowing. Some gave a head bow. Eyes were looking at all the royal ones, living or dead. The turn of fear lingers softly among.

"Just here for a basic count. None of that nasty work. You're all law following so, no need for any tears or blood."

The whole place listens and then completely ignored that everything that happened. Merchants back to bargaining. A new bucket being poured in, so sick of tipping coins that they were dropped the buckets in. The treatment was just suddenly causal and busy like there wasn't anytime left for them until now.

A cheery establishment with safe food and drinks for living is where next the party has settled down with. It seems that few folks were still starving feeling inspite of knowing they are in a tomb. It would be disrespectful if the dead had minded. But all sorts of undead around here just enjoy any sort of new faces coming around for a visit.

Drinks are poured out as a celebration of sorts to be able to see each other after tragic events. The main points of this was happening at all was due to two reasons. The first was that the current royals of living wanted to know the turth of how things kicked off a week after it was discovered they been missing. The second reason which wasn't mentioned was that James was here to deal with any unnecessary extra locked souls in this realm. A more correct way of seeing it would be that the reaper came to collect any outstanding soul debts.

"In all seriousness what exactly happened?" Drinks half down and the causal subjects have been asked already.

"I had a huge argument with your father about what he been up to. On top of my aggressive of him not ordering to have anyone of you found. The only ones left had been either murdered or..." The late Queen was brave to start first, cutting off any sort of words from their late father, "I had asked a spirit to watch over and protect the only eldest there at the time. Little did a know of the truth behind such being and what a nasty secrets it held for centuries."

"I can't blame her for thinking of me that way. I was very single minded in my goals and at being close with my longest waiting game yet." They turn of staring each how split apart the Grey ghost, the remains of James and Sean whom was currently knocking stones of the table. Stones being placed by laughing young children. Amusement for a cat mind and the children.

"You... You're the one whom gave me that spell." The late king narrows in realization. The mask grins in a blushed matter, "And it wasnt as harmless as you claimed it being. What is wrong with you?"

"The mask was a being whom held nothing human nor any sense of connection to anything of this universe. The madness of insanity is only but a simple passing thought for it. I have spent my many lifetimes preventing this shadow of a soul from completely wipe out of known existence." Sean swept tail instead of pawing stones this time, "We call it a idiot because it has the least bearing of what anything should be. Even in social situations between other god figures before humanity was a concept for life's games."

"I had been looking for a soul with the right sort of properties and in a fragile situation."

"What was your original intention, father?" James interrupted one conversation to track back to the matters the others wanted. The drink he was sipping was gone, he refused a refill but in preventing the refill. He smashed the glass with little touch of his visible hands.

"Given my awareness of my brother's seeking to be the inheritance to great powers and hold the throne as the direct king. I knew he would have only a matter of time to murder each of you. I had helped you all in secret, supporting your escape and continued missing status. Buying time for other plans in motion such as dealing with my brother, asking around with a few more normal spirits to continue helping your journeys of evading capture and my last plan for worse case was to happen. With a spirt I also used to trust, but in now knowing my own queen had already made a deal. I am not sure the outcome of the chooses I made were proper." The late king throws a item at Grey, the religious symbol doing nothing nothing to them.

"Not the weirdest thing to be hit with." Noted softly, "But indeed both of you unaware of each others deals had indeed change the results. To be exact, what they asked of me were hardly any different to what your three grandfathers had asked me before to do." Grey snickered in how there is pale expression from the current king, "It would be considered worse but... the situation called for drastically changing my intent."

"But what exactly happened?" Someone trying to follow along in note making had needed clarity. Most agree as this extra stuff about their youngest hadn't been a matter right now.

"I was arguing about what your father had been up to with Philip. I was uncomfortable enough with everything happening. As it would turn out, I was beheaded first. I had blacked out from much else, I had no reactions to stop it. Only when I became aware was when the grim reaper removed my soul from myself... how things became clear of what I had condemned my only known living son to be with for the rest of his life. How such a harmless shadow was nothing short worse then any demon, monster or nightmare." She spoke with additional exaggerated hand gestures. Softly and gentle as she did, not at the least any way annoying unlike most that do this.

"I told you it was rude to punch the guy doing his job." Sean remembered back, "You idiot."

Drinks were being refilled for those whom wanted them, more apparent was how James was acting strangely at this point of time. He was very fidgety and had hands disappearing into the cloak skin of Grey. He were very intently looking for something.

"My brother had acted quicker and with a change of plan I wasn't privy to. The way your mother fell to the floor had prevented Philip being next to loosing his head. Little did I imagine my brother finding out that I had casted strange magic on Philip. He used my split moment to cast something to stop something to instead behead me. I also had blacken out for a little moment before I woke over my corpse as my damned form. I were about to act on my original plan but was stopped by a grim reaper whom removed my full soul from my corpse. From there as a spirit like your mother, watched on with what had happened next."

"So... then..." They turned to James and he froze up with having so much attention that instant. Grey hands over what James was looking for. A deer in the road, facing lights from the distant.

"I was there too... I came as at a little late thanks to being hissed by my partner. Annoyed at me for dropping a conversation with Erebus, the nosey god of darkness whom told Mark of my deals. I was nearly to late even, given how he was still death cursed from a syth slice him to early. The young apprentice had no patience to wait, so rude of a grim. As you may have gathered, I did knock the grim off their feet with wanting to collect Philip myself." Grey spoke next, to his surprise was how they would now accept him adding to the tale. It made Grey cautious of what he was saying to them

"A promise is a promise, at my skill I had indeed managed to spilt the soul in two. One whom died and the other barely alive. You have Mark to thank for using a god slayers tooth fashioned as a knife for stabbing through the kids heart." Grey was seeing why James was in search for something, causally flexing clothy nub ends to continued searching. James could almost make out the car model and shape from the headlights ahead, shivering.

"The weapon is normally deadly to gods and it renowned of soul alteration. It is one the most painful ways to be dead and reborn several times while holding lifetimes of memories. It is not immortality; being unlucky to cure the wound and deal with the poisons... you face a fate of being slow changed into a god slayer. We forbid any idiots from using slayer poison on anyone not ranked enough to handle this. Its a forbidden practice that lead to why hunters of oath existing." Grey paused here to inspect what he found as something useful in this situation, frowned in how it had to be done this moment.

"Preventing the wrong materials of such worse then death affects from beholding into the stupidity of humans." Sean adds. Flat ears of looking at them two. James stuck in a awkward pose and Grey perplexed with a invisible bottle. This bottle became visible, a green glass boxy shape with cut runes instead of a label. Once in James hand, the bottle was semi-invisble.

"Unaware at the time, Mark had asked me to get mother and father together. In some great wisdom only a child has, I told mother about one the escape plans and what of the strange things I had been seeing lately. You see, I hadn't the cursed sight that I do now. I wasnt aware of the damned crowding out home and of Mark or fathers stuff. Ot would be ironic to say I had watched it all without knowing what it was." James sits still and with holding the green neck unsteadily, "I wanted mother to not argue... right up to her dress at plead. Watched her head fly and be placed on her throne chair. Fathers strange actions, his head float to the chair. The knife through the heart, the cold on my neck... being sort of lost with how the world was fading new colours and changing what I seen of people around me."

James removed a Cork and throw it to Grey whom ate it. Take a few sips straight from the invisible lower end of the bottle. The fluid that came out was sticky and follows in sizzling the neck bones and any contact. Given how ja.es was just bones and no organs and skin, it was easy to track where anything he drank went.

The chemical reaction were giving off a misty gas. A spell casted to prevent it from doing harm of letting the living breath that. The honey combing of internal bone structure was visible. The goop was gone once it reacted and became a gas, leaving melted portions of clean sliced bones. At least now, James stopped jittering about like a addict.

"I dont think that was all of it." Raven notes in thinking. He was half writting some statements of the conversation and were at a sort realization of remembering things too.

"Ah, yes. I throw the living body of what was left of Philip at you, ordered you both to follow a route. You little bird man took him out the country as I had asked. But no human laws or traditions of a king was broken. The dead half of the soul was put in my care as I stayed in the country to protect the only potential king for worse cases. James was always well prepared months in advance to have his fragments of the other half his soul scattered in king trials. As was the deal the late king had ask of me. It was of my joy that the late queen wanted to make the lad my apprentice of sorts. Someone to approve of our actions outside of timeline. Not that she understood that. A supportive mother."

"Yeah, totally ignoring the whom ate Mark and spat him across the floor thing... a sort of important detail to be pointing out." James adds in remembering that very well. He was pouring this scary sticky liquid on clawed hands and other rib areas. Removing bones that aren't human.

"That wasn't what I did. I took over his body, tested him as his soul requested and then throw him away proving my disappointment of his lack of quality I was seeking." Grey snatched the bottle and ate it. It also inhaled the gases in the air and filled a 90 liter canister. The result of the cleaning those gases into harmless forms. This canister was wheels off by a passing Hunter of oath, whom throw money into the fountain at the centre.

Grey will continue providing medical equipment, holding things or bandage wrapping James. Melty as James's remains are, he looked human at least then before. James wasn't shivering or looking less paranoid around himself.

"So Philip escape from the murder scene and not at if going with the broken in two people stuff. Grey did some horrifying stuff to Mark which gives us reason why he stopped trusting all. How the late king and queen died... and no need to find Mark for his word." Among one the royal siblings concludes with mixed actions.

"Oh, you still should find Mark... he has a reason for his actions. His goal to take over gods was replaced with seeking a power to prevent something he claims to be a worse fear. His new life is dedicated to this fear."

Grey has scorched marks lining a stomach track had been. Molten glass is embedded through and a sort of new smell clings to the air. Like a old book was removed from being contained in a pressure lock. This smell was also added scent of fresh ink on print paper and the meaty cooked of aged pressed leather. A printing press factory next door a leather tanner smoke house.

"Strange... and why would we need to know from Mark and not you?" Raven tilts. A eye gazing about the strange inflected wounds, pose with writing things down and at twist of watching James tightly wrapping his hands with expert like skill. Making more notes and twisting with seeking a answer.

"Its not believed or easy to bare when looking to closely. If you were to step back from the point and change you angle... maybe you would work it out."

This is one of those times as it was litteral and figurative. The area around them was mostlh empty of anyone else but them. This area is considered among the most businesses heavy and should be full traffic of shoppers.

Those folks were in a right enough distances from Grey and James. The two shapes were just paper illusion puppets for giant inky finger pulling the magic to make them appear genuine. What was helpful was that folks are too drunk enough to notice how one dimensioned they are.

It was wiser for these seeker's of truth take it from someone whom knew the stuff and could interpret the languages enough to explain some things wrong about Grey and now James too. There is more hidden to the story in the past then what were passed on by any kings memories or writings.

As for the metal cat, Sean isn't aware of the illusion and is totally a suckered for it. It was for his own good, according to the tome and the other two.