The gatekeeper
As soon as Leon emerged from a teleportation array he saw a magnificent scene.
A huge white gate was placed at the center of a sturdy and flat transparent surface. Only grey fog could be seen beyond it, which further added mystery to it. Two Giants equipped with full plated armor were standing guard right next to it.
This was the first time Leon saw such huge creatures, and no legend he might have heard before showed them enough respect while describing them. The hidden face behind the helmet, the metalic armor decorated with gold engravings to provide defence for the whole body and a massive axe and shield that would put any Norse God to shame.
'I hope I never have to face them in combat' was the first thought that came to his mind.
Right below them, and in front of the gate, there stood a green mantled figure behind a small office desk, most likely in charge of the proceedings. Leon assumed that it was the previously mentioned gatekeeper.
In front of the Giants and the green mantled figure, a group of a few hundred human souls gathered waiting for something to happen. Apparently they stood there for quite some time, and frowns could be seen on their transparent faces, followed by an occasional annoyed grunt here and there.
Only then did Leon notice two human guards, who, unlike those souls, had physical bodies. They were guarding the teleportation array he came from. Before he could ask anything, one of the guards then urged him to join the group of souls in front and be quiet. The other one went to the green mantled figure and whispered something so only he could hear. Few moments later the green mantled figure started his speech.
"Alright, now that today's group is completed I can explain to you a few rules regarding the Soul war. The first thing you need to know, is that Soul war is not only an individual battle for karmic points. It is also a realm war. Every realm is at war with the other ones. This is important because the better Earth realm, or basically, human souls do as a whole compared to a different realm beings, the better and stronger your realm perk gets, and let me tell you, those realm perks can be really beneficial to your cause. The second important thing I want to mention is that every realm has its own fortified settlement. Killing your fellow human souls there, even though not prohibited, won't grant you any karmic points. This was created in order to discourage an all-out civil war. It is a completely different thing on an open battlefield. There are no rules there."
The green mantled figure took a small pause, in order to determine if his words were properly received, and when he was satisfied, continued with the introduction speech.
"Once you pass through this gate, you will once again receive a physical body, its shape determined by your soul's peek physical potential. You will also receive a system with which you can track your stats, skills, talents, karmic points and access the store, as well as other things. That would be all for now, you will understand more once you pass through the gate" The short speech ended there.
Everyone looked around themselves. You could still see some confused faces but more or less they grasped the situation. What Leon noticed was that there were many different souls around him, young and old, male and female, but what intrigued him the most was the fact that everyone had the same bluish ethereal glow around them, which made it harder to distinguish ethnicity.
The guards soon told them to form a line and orderly walk through the gate.
Leon kept to himself while walking but he could still hear other people striking up conversations with each other.
"Damn that cleansing was excruciating, and it lasted for 80 years! As soon as I enter the Soul war plane I am wiping my memories of that clean no matter the cost. I don't want to remember even a second of it." One of the younger looking souls murmured.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I heard from someone that was terminated in a Soul war before, that every karmic point matters in there, and should not be wasted. Her soul was then tortured once again during the cleansing process. It was not a pretty sight." A female soul responded.
"You won't be able to wipe your memories that easily even if you wanted to. All the karmic points you had were removed by the cleansing remember. You will start from scratch in there." Some other person joined in the conversation.
"I don't know about you people, but I am getting to that higher plane for sure, I had it with those hellish conditions they so cutely call "cleansing". It is Hell, pure and simple and I am finally out of there" Another disgruntled person shouted.
"True, everything is better than that. But unlike you my feet are kept firmly on the ground. I am aware of the difficulty of moving to a higher plane through this. Gathering karmic points on Earth is far less difficult and since I miss the joys of a mortal life, I wish to buy myself some luxuries in my next rebirth and hope for the best." An older looking male soul retorted.
"That is a cowardly way of doing things old man, we are going to war, not a geriatric home for you to reminisce about your past. Get a grip on the situation or you won't last that long. Actually I don't think that Earth realm even needs someone like you." An obviously annoyed female soul yelled at him.
"That is enough, let's not start the fighting before you even get there. Everyone has a reason for going through this ordeal. Keep your strength for the battlefield" One of the human guards mediated the situation.
What amazed Leon wasn't only the information he picked up, but the fact that regardless of who talked, he could understand everyone perfectly, as if everyone was equipped with some kind of a universal translator.
The rest of the walk was spent in silence. Everyone had to go through the gate one by one so it took some time. Buzzing and squirming could be heard here or there, but nothing major happened.
Soon it was Leon's turn as he slowly approached the red mantled gatekeeper. He noticed him and immediately stopped the whole gruop from moving. It was similar to how Leon couldn't move in the Assistant Overseer's office.
"Mr. Swain, can you wait a moment, there seems to be some error with your ..." But before the Gatekeeper could explain the problem, a notification appeared on the screen on his desk.
"What seems to be the problem sir?" Leon asked as politely as possible. He didn't want to anger the gatekeeper and ruin his chances of seeing Irene.
After the gatekeeper read the message, he frowned but still grudgingly responded:
"Apparently nothing at all, you may proceed"
Leon was puzzled but he didn't let it bother him too much, and once the ability to move returned to him, he continued towards the grey fog beyond the gate.
Watching Leon's back disappear through the gate the gatekeeper whispered to himself 'I hope the Assistant Overseer knows what he is doing' and proceeded on to the next soul in line.