Realm of the dead. Angelica walked across the ghostly plains towards the settlement she saw not too far away. She could see souls that had been turned into monsters roaming around far off in the distance as well, much further away from the settlement. Just seeing the size of them made Angelica frown because they seemed to be as big as mountains. "My first task is to try to find a ferryman."
She wanted to test her luck in finding a ferryman first. If she could, she would be able to easily cross the river of reincarnation and make her way to the second part of the trial to become the Ghost Empress. Otherwise, she would need to build or somehow acquire a boat for herself. She would rather not have to try to navigate the river of reincarnation by herself since her chances of dying and being sucked in would rise by almost ninety percent.
Angelica sighed at this thought as she continued walking towards the settlement. When she got closer, she finally got to see that it was a walled-off town with a large gate that she would need to pass through to enter. There was a long line of different kinds of souls. Some were just wisps, some were half bodied floating in the air, while others were like her and full bodied.
Angelica lined up with the rest and waited her turn. It seemed the guards were there to register everyone. What interested her was that the guard seemed to be able to tell what the wisps were saying even though they were only bobbing up and down and swaying back and forth. Since she had not seen many wisps, this was very intriguing for her as someone who wanted to learn everything she could about souls.
When it was Angelica's turn to be registered, the guard looked at the smiling girl in a bit of disbelief. Since most who came through this line were still confused as to what happened to them. This town was one of the first spots that new souls would go to upon entering the realm of the dead. "Name?"
"Angelica. Hey, can you tell me how you were able to understand the wisps?" Angelica asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"The wisps?" The guard question. He was surprised someone would even ask him such a thing. But when he saw the girl's eyes full of anticipation, he chuckled and said: "It's a mental skill. You can learn it in town if you go to the library of souls branch in town here. It's free to enter and you can read…. hello!?"
As the guard was explaining, he noticed the space in front of him was suddenly empty and did not know if he should laugh or cry! His only thought was: 'Did that girl really want to talk to wisps that badly!?' He sighed as he looked down at the tablet in front of him. "Damn it! I didn't finish the registration!" The guard could only lower his head in defeat. Luckily the last of the questions were sex and age. He filled them out on his own and estimated Angelica's age to be around nineteen.
Angelica ran at full speed as soon as she heard about the library. She ran around until she finally spotted a building with a sign that said library of souls on it. She walked over and entered the building. The sight before her made her mouth salivate, and began to drool. Shelves upon shelves of books filled her eyes.
"Can I help you?" A voice came from the side.
Angelica looked over to see a half bodied soul floating behind one of the desks. It was a young human girl with glasses. Normally when one becomes a soul, the clothes they had on when they died would follow with them as well, leaving an empty shell in the world of the living. "Yes, umm, is it fine if I sit here a while and read?"
The young human girl nodded and said: "Feel free to sit anywhere you wish and read for as long as you want. This library is hardly ever visited as most of the new souls just continue on once they see there is nothing here in the town for them to do."
Angelica smiled brightly as she said, "Thanks! Just remember you said I can read as long as I wish!" as she ran off to the first bookshelf and pulled out a ghostly book. The young human girl looked at her strangely, but soon she would understand why the girl said what she did.
The hours ticked by, and as soon as Angelica finished one book, she went and got another. The young human girl looked at Angelica and was a bit surprised. She had never seen anyone who loved to read as much as she did. But this girl who just came was clearing whole shelves of books as she continued to read. Some books she even read twice or three times!
"Oh? A newcomer?" A voice came from behind the young human girl.
"Mmm, she seems to be more obsessed with reading than myself." The young human girl replied.
"Let's see how long she lasts. If she gets to that book, then maybe I will offer my services to her." The voice stated as it drifted off. The young human girl had a look of surprise and wondered if this new girl was looking to take on that trial. "Ever since the first Ghost Empress, no one has acted as this girl has. Let's hope she will be the one..."
Angelica had no idea she was being talked about and watched already. She would not care even if she did since the books in front of her were much more important. To her these books were treasures that could not be replaced as they were giving her a lot of information she had no knowledge of before. And for Angelica, knowledge was power.