Granting a Last Request

 It's been a while since I've been to a destroyed research facility. I encounter these once in a while and most of the time it's an accident of one kind or another, but there are also the more morally objectionable cases(humans will truly do anything in the name of their research). Not that it matters much in the end, when every mortal defines morality differently (and it's my duty to collect all souls anyway).

 This one is an example of one of the more morally questionable cases. Or at least I’m judging from the somewhat small angry soul inside(it's rare for one to feel such a strong singular emotion that it influences the soul this much). Children tend to be the ones with the strongest emotions(at least in the more extreme situations), but adults with strong enough rage and/or regret can be that way too.

 The opening into the facility is hidden in the large cliff side facing the forest. The nearest village is quite far from here, so this place is pretty isolated away from prying eyes(something they always seem to prefer). Getting through more intricate barriers used to be a pain a lot of the time, but my mana is enough to disrupt most of the simpler ones(Mother made sure death could reach anyone, anywhere), and studying anti-barrier magic in my free time has paid off as well(especially when only the more primitive ones survived to present day).

The facility itself seemed to be one of the older ones(one of the few surviving ones). I suppose they picked the place because some lost technology still works here(the usual reason to resettle in older abandoned facilities). The glowing red crystals just support that notion even more(haven't seen that design in a long while). The long stone stairway walls were lined with glowing red crystals leading all the way down. The red is usually a warning light(or a power outage).

 As I made my way down, I passed through a couple of corpses wearing grey robes, with golden half circles getting progressively smaller and what seems like a small tree branch above them, all embedded on the chest (might be one of the cults then, they tend to have a preference for the strange robes). I stopped to release their terror filled souls(a blackish gray with some blue spots for the lingering regret). It's always interesting to encounter these types, since you never know what color you’ll get with them, but there's also a certain amount of contemp I hold for the ones responsible for cutting someone's life short(not that it really matters anymore, when everyone’s life is coming to an end in slightly less than a year anyway).

I eventually reach the bottom and enter a hallway with even more corpses, all wearing those same grey robes. One person is still holding on, but he doesn't have long. I bend down near him, but his eyes aren't opening. Apart from the pained breaths, he’s not reacting at all really. And after a couple more breaths, he stops.

His soul is a bright blue with a couple of black spots(more regret than fear this time, wonder if he was one of the few with a conscience). I guess he realized he wanted change a little too late. The other souls are similar to the first two, the same blackish gray with blue spots.

There were quite a few people here, if the amount of souls is anything to go by. After I’ve collected a few more, I eventually find the little red one. She's still alive, barely, but alive. She was sitting with her back to the stone wall with that same symbol the cultists have on their robes painted on it. A young girl covered in bruises and strange spell marks on one side of her neck and that same symbol on the other. Her short brown hair was just above her shoulders, covered in blood(most of her was really). She wore a tattered grey dress(if you can call it that). Her bright violet eyes(they probably took her for whatever rare mana she might possess then, those are always the ones with the unique eye color) glared at me as I squatted in front of her.

So much rage from such a small body. She kept glaring at me, but the scowl disappeared when I turned my hand to bone and smiled. “I’m Death, I came here to collect the souls. Yours included.” She just kept staring.”So I…can't get out? Even after all of them are gone I still can't…?” Her voice quivered.
“You're dying, but there is still time for a last request if you have one.”
She kept staring at me, then seemed to consider. With a shaky voice she said.“Outside…I want… to go outside.”
“Alright then.” With that I got up and took the child gently into my arms(asking if she could walk seemed redundant). She seemed a bit uncomfortable with the idea at first, but probably wasn't able to move much on her own anymore to protest.

As we made our way back towards the stairs, she kept staring at me and occasionally at the corpses we passed by. “You went pretty wild on them, huh.”
“They deserve it. Especially after everything they did to the village.” She said with voice full of spite.After a long quiet while, she said ”will I …will I be punished for it?”
“No, you won't. The whole idea that everyone’s souls get divided depending on if they were good or bad is something mortals made up by themselves. I collect all souls and simply send them on their way.”  
She looked down as we walked up the stairs.” So…they won't get punished for it? None of them? That…isn't fair.”
“No, I suppose it isn't, but if it's any consolation, most of the souls I’ve collected so far were filled with fear and regret for the most part, so you did at least manage to get back at them in some small way. And those emotions will certainly have an impact on their next life as well. They might even fear the smallest things for the entirety of it.” I smiled at her. She looked down a little flustered. “ I hope so.”

As we made our way towards the top of the stairs, I asked “ do you have a name, little one?” She looked at me.” They called me 01.”
“They did, but what were you called before you came here?” I looked at her. She took a longer while before she answered ”Meissa”. “Well, Meissa, we’re almost there, just a bit more and we'll be outside.” She seemed happy about it, or at least the rage seemed to lessen slightly.

We eventually left the lab and came outside to a star lit sky. Meissa lifted her head up and kept staring at it.”Do you like the stars?” I asked and she tilted her head back down to look at me. “ Yes, dad always took me with him to watch them. I wanted to see them again…no matter what.”

I walked a bit farther and settled her by the cliff side, careful not to provoke any wounds needlessly(not that it makes much of a difference when the cause of death is a damaged mana core more than anything else). I sat next to her as she continued to look at the stars. Always thought that maybe I could get to go there someday, together with Life and the others. That maybe we could join our mother, but…that never happened.

As I was lost in my thoughts, Meissa seemed to feel comfortable enough to rest her head on my arm. She blushed slightly and asked. “ Could you…pat my head? My dad used to do that.” Well, I certainly wasn't expecting a request like that from one, who seemed to be so guarded, but it's a welcome one. I patted her head with my other hand as she leaned slightly on my arm. She closed her eyes and seemed to calm down a little.

 I could feel the last of her life force leaving her body as her life barrier completely cracked. Her body slumped in my arms and I released her soul. A bright red  one with a tiny gold spec in the middle. I smiled at that. ”So I managed to ease at least some of her suffering after all.” She might reincarnate as a bit of a hothead, but at least it shouldn't be a life with nothing, but rage.

After sitting there for a little while longer, I got up. Still need to finish collecting the rest of the souls after all. As I made my way back to the entrance, one of Life's  tree’s roots started to wrap itself around the small body. Better for it to return to the Mother Tree, then be used by whatever might remain of that cult.