Chapter 555: The Path To Becoming The Ghost Empress Part 2

As Angelica walked along the path that all souls took to the river of reincarnation, she was surprised to see so many who were willing to make this long trek. She wondered if it was because the idea of reincarnation was just too much of a temptation to pass up. Sadly these souls did not know their chances of actually reincarnating were very slim.  They were more likely to be used as fuel for the river.

Angelica continued her journey. Jeana faithfully followed three steps behind her. She saw herself as nothing more than a servant for the new Ghost Empress. They walked for four days without incident, but on this day, things were not as peaceful as they were before. The ground shook underfoot as one of the massive monsters suddenly appeared ahead of Angelica. It was grabbing the souls on the path and consuming them one after the other. 

"Jeana, let's go." Angelica had already decided to stop the massacre as she had decided before to clean up the realm of the dead.

"Yes!" Jeana was happy to see Angelica being so proactive even though she had not yet been crowned. This showed just how good of an empress she would make.

Angelica did not waste time as she made her way through the crowd of souls, most of which was trying to run away. She stopped short right in front of the monstrosity that was more than one hundred Kana tall. It was so tall that even as it hunched over to grab souls, it looked like a small mountain. 

*Roar!*

The monstrous soul swiped down again to grab more souls, but as it did, a small voice entered its ghostly ears. "Halt!" This single word caused the monstrous soul to stop its actions, unable to move its arm even a centimeter. It looked down at the soul of a young woman standing there with cold eyes and a small smile on her lips. Behind her was an elegant woman staring at the young woman with starry eyes. Just the sight of the two angered the monster beyond belief. Its only meaning in life was to consume all souls and grow stronger. But now, this woman made it so it could no longer move!

*Ro...!*

"Enough!" Angelica yelled out, causing the roar to get stuck in the monster's throat. Angelica walked over to the large monster and placed her hand on it. "Hmmm… So the souls are already merged with it. But they only seem to be in a suspended state, acting as a source of power for the monster. I see… Then if I were to do this…." Angelica smiled as she pressed hard on the monster and softly spoke: "Split..."

*Boom!*

An explosion of souls burst out all at the same time as the monster's body suddenly exploded. Souls of all kinds, even the ones that were just consumed, rained down from the sky, filling the lands below. Millions of souls had merged into this monster, but now they had all split apart from it and were finally free. Since these souls were in a kind of suspended state, they were confused as to what had happened to them. 

Angelica looked at all the souls and smiled. The soul who had started this mess lay on the ground at her feet, staring up at her. It was a young girl around seven years of age. She was looking at Angelica as if she had found her savior. After a short time, the young girl finally said: "Thank you..."

"Mmm..." Angelica smiled and knelt and patted the top of the girl's head. "You should take your chances and make your way to the river of reincarnation. You just may be able to reincarnate." 

"Yes, I will." The young girl nodded obediently and stood to get into the line that was forming. The souls that had been freed all seemed to have the same idea. 

Jeana walked over to Angelica and whispered: "Empress, you are very kind."

Angelica smiled brightly and looked up at the sky as she said: "Because I was raised by a loving mother and father." She then turned to Jeana and placed her finger on the spot between her brow. "Copy and install." A faint light shot out of her finger and into Jeana's head. 

"This is!?" Jeana was stunned by the mass of information she was receiving.

"These are all the books in the library. While I can not return the originals. I can at least copy the collection and give them to you. So now you can access all the information with just a thought." Angelica explained. She felt bad for stealing all the books and decided to give them back the only way she could.

"Thank you!" Jeana was happy because there were some of her favorite books in the library. But now all she had to do was close her eyes, and she could read them all she wanted! She was very happy now.

Angelica continued her journey, stopping here and there to get rid of the monstrous souls and freeing the souls within. As time went by, a month had passed, and Angelica had finally arrived at the Reincarnation City, the massive city that was many thousands of kilometers big that sat along the banks of the river of reincarnation. The final stop for all souls who are either looking to live in the realm of the dead or are those who are still undecided on what they want to do. It was also a place where those who wished to take on the Ghost Empress trial would gather. It was a city, unlike anything you would expect in a land of souls. It is also the place where Angelica would soon become a legend amongst legends.

"Empress, we will need to get registered with the city before entering." Jeana, who was at Angelica's, said softly.

"Yes I figured as much. They will also ask if I will be taking on the trial so they can keep track of that as well. It is not a bad system. At least they were trying to keep some kind of order. If and when I pass the trial, I will have to work on creating a safe place for all souls. For this is a place where the dead should be allowed to roam without worry." Angelica wanted the realm of the dead to be a place of peace.