The Life Invasion Pt. 1

“Boss! You took forever. My cigar is almost finished,” a hoarse voice scolded me. “One of these days I'm going to beat you up!”

It took us a little longer than I thought to find some clothes similar to the ones that caught fire. Tadashi was pissed, but I said, I just borrowed them indefinitely.

“Yo Grayer, glad you asked! I'm great, how about you?” I replied as if he had been pleasant, ignoring him. “From the smell, that fake cigar must have a lot of poisonous chemicals in it.”

“Let me enjoy it, I don't have a goddamn lung!”

“Yeah... fair enough. Well, I finally brought the soul. Have you talked to your guys yet?”

“First, let me see the soul. I've always wanted to see a working one. I bust my butt in that place and never see any results."

I opened a hole in my belly, revealing Tadashi's soul.

“Wow, the design team did a good job. I had seen the blueprint, but never in a real one. It's a shame that souls are trapped inside human shells”

Apparently Tadashi enjoyed the break. Thank God, I couldn't stand being in that dark, stuffy place! Hey, who's the bubble? Wow, he’s so COOL!

“The stylish bubble is my partner Grayer. He's the one who will take us to our next body.”

Grayer was a translucent gray sphere, somewhat like a dirty lamp.

Hey, are you going to describe him like that? Are you crazy, the guy is much more than that.

Shut up, we have few words to work with and...

Grayer was a ghostly translucent sphere. Like a child's drawing of a ghost with two dots and a line for a face... Oh, he wore a red trucker hat... And he also had a straight scar that ran from his right eye across his face... or body, I don't know, he's a ball, so I don't know if he can be defined as a body or... He was strange, but, like, awesome too!

Damn, what a great text…Is it meant to be read by chance?

Maybe it's not that easy to describe.

Okay, stay quiet and let the professional do his job. The important thing is not what he looks like, but who he was:

"Grayer is one of the engineers behind the version your soul is running now."

“Hahaha, you had to see it. The first living beings that inhabited Earth let their souls escape when they sneezed. It was a long journey to get here.”

Nice to meet you, Mr. Grayer. Thank goodness, I thought I was going to have to rely on Shii-nii. It's good to finally be in the hands of an expert.

“Hehehe... That's right, soul-bro! Give me five.” Grayer reached out with his fingerless hand toward the flame-shaped soul, which went out for a few seconds, coming back stronger.

“Hey, don't put your hand inside me! That's weird,” I complained to Grayer, pushing him away.

Huff huff... My God, I felt like I was drowning. I almost died! Huff Huff...

“Oops, sorry. I think I got too excited seeing the soul,” said Grayer.

"No, he's just exaggerating. You can stop with that deep breathing onomatopoeia. Souls don't breathe."

Oh, okay.

“Anyway, Grayer may look like a nice guy, but deep down he's a double agent. I pass on to him the little energy I recycle from the souls.”

Purely spiritual beings like Grayer depend on a constant flow of energy. Basically, humans are batteries, while my grumpy friend is like an appliance that only works with a very specific outlet.

“Yes, his sister only provides us with energy at work. Without Death Boss, I wouldn't be able to enjoy my cigars while watching the scenery.”

Hmm... I don't understand. But that’s okay. Just answer me one thing: What are you, Mr. Grayer? Like... you're not an entity, so are you a spirit?

“I'm an angel.”

ANGEL. I'M SORRY FOR BEING SO DISRESPECTFUL, MR. ANGEL!

Tadashi's flame dimmed and changed from bright blue to a weak, ugly yellow. How come he's so respectful to an angel, but the first time he spoke to me, he just yelled? I'm almost as important as an angel...

“Not that kind. My sister calls them angels. She loves to pick up on these human concepts... Anyway, she just split herself into small parts, which gained consciousness. They're just her minions!”

“And I'm her little sister's favorite part HAHAHAHA,” said Grayer with his harsh smoker's laugh. “Humans are made of the energy of the greater force, we are made of the lesser force — of entities. I'm nice, but your soul is much more sophisticated than mine… of course, after a few adjustments on my part.

“Talk less about yourself and more about the plan. And another thing, saying you’re my favorite is a little over the top. You’re the only one I tolerate… for now

It was pretty obvious that Death was trying to act tough.

Hey! No comments! Let me tell the story in peace.

It was pretty obvious that Death didn’t succeed in acting tough.

“Huh... why do I even try? Just tell us the plan, Grayer.”

Okay! Introductions done. How are we going to get in? I'M EXCITED!

— — —

This is beyond humiliating…

Tadashi was right. Stuffed inside a box, Grayer pushed us along in a cart.

“Grayer, you'll never see another ounce of my energy,” I whispered inside the box.

“Shut up or they'll catch us.”

The place was located in a rupture between time and space, with multiple entrances all over the planet. My sister had always been the extravagant type. And of course, everything was irregular, but management turned a blind eye to my sister.

Grayer knew all the portals that led us to the place, which made getting in easy, but getting around was a challenge. My partner's great idea: to take us as a package. Yes, walking into the mystical and legendary soul factory inside a Styrofoam box.

At the service entrance, an angel blocked our way:

“Hewwo, fwendie! What’s in dat wittle box?” asked the security spirit. I knew it would be difficult to get through, because even though angels are friendly little balls of positive energy, they are also pure bureaucrats.

The best type of employee is one who doesn't even know that there is any other possibility than the one indicated in their manuals. In the Angel's mind, to do is to follow.

Grayer just grabbed the angel with his chubby arms and threw him as far away as possible. The spiritual little ball screamed cutely, his voice fading away until he was sucked into the rupture through which we had entered.

Damn, I feel sorry for the angel. 

Yeah, even I was a little scared.

“Don't worry, he knows the way back. I do this every week when I bring a new box of cigars inside.”

Soon after entering, we got into a glass elevator. Looking through a hole in the box, I saw only the polished shoe of a human who entered the elevator.

A human in this place? Shi-nii, who is this guy?

It was the dark side of the contracts I omitted from Tadashi. Entities have to follow several rules. Too much power accumulated for too few ways to use it, but with a good frontman, anything is possible. Humans have the gift of free will, so all entities deceive humans with promises, placing them as representatives. The most grotesque and torturous deaths I've ever seen were those of these representatives.

I-AM I ONE OF THEM?

No, you're my partner, buddy! 

I don't see much difference....

The contract we made is just a simple service-and-payment deal; you could say these guys are franchisees. Drowned in my sister's energy, they start depending not only on the promised powers, but on living itself. They're disposable — a necessary part of my sister's actions.

Looking through the glass walls of the elevator, I noticed the large control room, several well-dressed men and women working — a Life's task force. What they did there was dirty work: murder, disappearances, erasing information. All of it aimed at ensuring the continuity of life.

I think they were formed shortly after the invention of nuclear warheads. I am the only entity totally opposed to the control of humans on a global scale. My sister is in favor of it, but, at least she gets her hands dirty for the “good” (For her own good, ultimately, but still somewhat good).

The man got off at his floor, giving way to several angels who were talking loudly and excitedly:

"Fwiend, I’m scared… The cweative angels were saying the demons are coming to get us and tuwn us into fawwen angels…"

“Ahhh, fwend, it’s not wike that. Demons don’t exist, the naughty people fwom Cweative are just pwaying a twick on you. Come hewe~” at the end of the sentence, all the white spheres hugged their frightened friend.

“The bad guys from cweative departament, right?” sighed Grayer, who was one of the “creative.” What I realized was that my sister had made the people with creative jobs more malicious.

“Awe you offended, wittle fwend? Sowwy!” the angel came over and gave Grayer a hug. Everyone followed their friend's lead, hugging and piling on top of Grayer.

“Grayer, control yourself. They're going to catch us!”

“I-I... I-I... AHHHHH!” Grayer lost control.

The elevator opened, and all the angels were thrown out in a burst of anger. We were in the main hall — a large statue of a woman with delicate features and long hair. The statue was “dressed” in water, which flowed in a gravity-defying stream, forming a cascading dress.

Is this statue of your sister? I think she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen...

No, the figure you use as hers is that of the goddess Athena. And it's not a statue:

It's her!

The statue, which stood with her right hand raised to the sky holding a globe, walked slowly. The globe was knocked over, several angels dodging so as not to be crushed. With each step, she shrank, leaving a trail of water behind her.

The elevator door was about to close when her hand reached us. The door opened, and I felt Grayer's physical... or rather, spiritual pain as he wiped the scowl off his face and smiled like the other angels.

“What's all the commotion about?” my sister asked, her melodious voice breaking at the end, indicating her masked irritation.

“Hewwo, wittle fwend… I mean, boss! How awe you? I’m dewivewing this package and… I think it might have caused this wittle mini-explosion. But it’s nuffing, entity packages awe weird anyway~”

“Entities... We're not expecting anything from any entities.”

Well, I knew something like this was going to happen. I needed Grayer just to get in, I didn't expect his plan to sneak past everyone to work. My sister and I are opposites, and strangely enough, we really attract each other. It was only a matter of time before she found us.

Without batting an eye, I emerged from the box, stepping onto the floor

“Hey sis, how's it going?”

“You... What are you doing on sacred ground?”

“Ha... Isn't it obvious?”

Shi-nii! Stop, please! I don't want to get involved in a fight like this! Let's run away!

I received no response from him, not even in thought. The eyes of the two entities were fixed on each other.

They were practically two gods. A clash of extraordinary forces of nature. It wasn't worth such a big fight just to satisfy my desire for adventure.

“I came here to destroy this ugly place you made! HAHAHAHAHAH!” Shi-nii let out an evil laugh that echoed throughout the place. Angels and humans, everyone turned back to us.

It was a lie... but why would he do that? The skeleton kept a poker face.

Life gritted its teeth and said tremblingly:

“I-I... I KNEW IT! I'M GOING TO TELL DADDY EVERYTHING! ALL OF YOU, HOLD HIM BACK.”

Life turned and ran away... WHAT?

That's right! She’s always been a coward — all bark, no bite. I bought us a few minutes... but we'll have to deal with some obstacles.

Thousands of angels stared at us, their smiles wiped away. Before I could react, I heard the elevator doors shutting.

“I'll meet you guys in the control room!” said Grayer, as thousands of beings ran towards us.

“Tadashi, be happy! Your adventure begins now!” I said, getting into a fighting stance

A wave of thousands of angels crowded together, creating a huge shadow that covered us.