Worthy Sacrifice
Hao Xuan tried to sit up but could barely even move.
"What do I...have to do? I don't have...enough strength...to stand...let alone...fight."
Xu Qing gestured towards the sea of consciousness surrounding them, "Then ask for help, you're not alone."
"The souls?" he frowned, "They are already...dead. What could...they do?"
She almost seemed offended at the insinuation that they couldn't be helpful.
"Even the Elder Gods respected and revered the souls of mortals that don't even live for a fraction of their lives. And even in this day and age these new gods and goddesses trade in mortal souls because it is the most powerful currency...that was the problem from the start."
She seemed saddened at the mere mention of it.
"But there were some souls that refused to listen, refused to greet their masters on bended knee. So the Gods punished them, locking them away in worlds where they would be born into endless cycles of misery and torment...unable to escape their fate."