My Soul card is a Reaper

"Hmm, this is…" Azzy observed the black crystal in his hand as soon as he got control of his body. It was as tiny as a nail.

"No doubt about it, this is definitely related to the Jewel of Darkness," Azzy felt the same vibes from this crystal as the other cosmic jewels, but the fact that it looked very tiny indicated that it was not the real deal. It is either a replica or a fragment. Azzy's bet is on the latter.

It was then he heard a series of whispers in his head, belonging to the cosmic jewels, making his head spin once again.

"Master, throw it away. It is dangerous to touch it directly. Your mind will be corrupted."

"Using it, tracking down the Jewel of Darkness will become easier."

"We can use it to create our own minion to track down the others. All you need is a thought and willpower."

"Okay, thanks for your suggestions but it would be great if only one of you talked. My head hurts when you talk together," said Azzy, this time, as politely as possible.

As the senior of the three, the Jewel of Life took the duty of spokesperson and explained to him, "Master, first, you shouldn't touch cosmic jewels with bare hands. It's probably because you aren't feeling its side effects due to acquiring the physique of the divine beings but it is just temporary. Once certain time passes, it will start corrupting your mind with evil thoughts."

"Oh, is that so?" Azzy at first felt like it was overreacting, but then, he thought, taking its words seriously wouldn't hurt him either way. "Okay, what do you want me to do?" he asked.

The Jewel of Life should have been the one to answer his answer, but instead, he heard a whisper that was very familiar and different from the rest.

In comparison, if the whispers of the cosmic jewels sound like ladies, this one sounded like a guy.

"Don't listen to them, my host. They are just innocent lambs who don't know the ways of the world. I'll tell you what to do," said the Protos energy, indirectly insulting three cosmic jewels.

"How dare you?" "You fiend" "Preposterous"

Naturally, it goes without saying that they got angered by its statement. On the other hand, Azzy's head started hurting once again.

The Protos energy ignored them and continued to whisper, "My Host, use my power and absorb the fragment. A fragment can sense its counterparts better than other cosmic jewels. At the same time, you can also see its memories. You can track down its main body (Jewel of Darkness) through its memories and possibly end its dominance on this world."

"No, it is dangerous, master," The Jewel of Life was quick to react before Azzy got to think about it deeply. It warned him, "Absorbing the fragment might be helpful but the danger that comes with it is even greater. This evil fiend is just trying to influence your mind and take you down the dark path in 'his' absence. Taking a shortcut to achieve one's goal always comes with consequences."

"Quiet, you dumb stone," The Protos energy scolded it in response, "I care more about my host's life than you lot. It was I who saved his life three times and brought him from the brink of his death, not you three. Even now, you answer to Death and only then your master, but I answer only to my host and only him. And who is he to control my host's life?

My host will decide what he wants to do with his life and pave the road for himself."

After thoroughly counterattacking the jewel of life, the Protos energy's attention shifted to Azzy, "My host, Good and evil change with a perception of the second person. You should do what you feel is right and avoid what you feel is wrong. Don't let other people's rules cloud your judgment. You are a free creature and not bound to anyone's rules."

The Protos energy's whisper influenced Azzy's mind so deeply that he didn't even think about arguing it. Suddenly, Azzy felt as if a new door had opened before his eyes.

The fact that he still remembered how the Protos energy kept on coming to his rescue also became a reason to increase its influence.

"What should I do?" He asked in his head.

"No, don't do it," The Jewel of Life warned him once again.

"Yes, I too recommend not proceeding with this" "Yes, I agree with this…"

The cosmic jewels protested but their words never reached his ears and all Azzy could hear some rumblings in his head.

Meanwhile, in the mindscape, the Reaper, who was continuously watching the scene, let out a smirk, "foolish, creature. You are probably thinking that making Azrael into an evil path will let you take over his soul but didn't understand the simple thing that Dark and Evil are not the same. But, without light, dark will indeed turn into evil. So, until I found the light, the Dark shall also sleep.

Go on, the creature of the chaos. Whatever you do will only help him get closer to reaching my goal."

The Reaper then closed his eyes and raised his skeletal hand. The three cosmic jewels instantly returned to his side before receiving orders of cooperation.

Back to the real world;

Azzy was seen sitting on the floor with Protos energy covering his body like a layer of energy. This time, it didn't affect his consciousness and acted like soul energy/natural energy, helping him merge the fragment with his soul orb in order to corrupt him to the core.

While the process went smoothly, the Protos energy discovered that the fragment had no effect on his soul orb.

In the meantime, Azzy was hit by a wave of memories, belonging to the fragment. He went into a dream-like state.

In the first-person view, Azzy saw the face of a middle-aged-looking man with chubby cheeks staring at him.

Azzy then felt as if he was picked up and placed on a flat surface before his vision was blocked by something. It wasn't clear what it was, but Azzy was sure that it was a scientific instrument.

A few seconds later, a ray of purple energy struck him and Azzy saw the oval-shaped dark jewel embedded in a large ring that looked like it could fit a giant (10ft and above humanoids).

"Okay, it is the Jewel of Darkness," thought Azzy as he continued to observe the scene.

For the next 60 seconds, small fragments started falling down from the Jewel. There are a lot of them spread on the table.

"Dammit, even with this highly concentrated plasma beam, I can only scrape a little. To think the most sophisticated equipment of our 361B Fleet can only do this much," The scientist looked frustrated. "I want to break it down into half, not create fragments like these. What to do… what to do… Hmm… yes, I got it.

Let's use these fragments to keep that brat Louis busy while I take this away and hand it over directly to headquarters. By the time he cleans up the mess here, I would probably get far enough to escape his radar."