Thud! Eris jumped out of the window, leaving the dead man lying on his bed. She landed in the back alleyways and walked to the main streets with an empty face.
^Let's see if you're as powerful as you seem. ^ She walked toward the market. ^But I still have some work to do.^
After just a few minutes, she stood before a large building and smiled. [The purple worm's Funeral Parlour]
She pushed the door and walked in with a smile, seeing a bunch of men lined up. "Hoho? There are a lot of people here."
The moment they heard her voice, they gasped and stared back. "It's the director."
"Yes, it's me! Did Jame finally kick the bucket? I told the bastard to pay in advance." Eris walked between them, pushing them aside with a smile. She approached the large bag and looked inside. Jame's corpse was there.
"Stabbed to death? I expected him to get pummeled to death with a club." she looked back at his friends, smiling.
"You find that funny?" One of them growled, glaring at her.
"Of course, it's funny." Eris laughed, "Isn't death a natural thing? Only idiots don't count for their demise."
"No one walks around expecting to die." Another man growled.
"If you lived on the surface, I might understand your foolishness. But you're living in Rita, of all places." Eris smiled, "You're walking corpses. I've seen so much like you in the past year, and I'm not confident you will survive till the next year." She opened a small cabinet.
Everyone in the room gasped. They could see empty ash jars with their names written on them, "See, I'm ready for you at any time. Just don't forget to pay."
"You bitch!" One of the men pulled his sword and swung at her.
SWOSH! Eris pulled a spear out of nowhere, pointing at the man's neck, "I need another customer. Want to get cremated or embalmed for burying?"
"Hoi! Stop it, don't anger her." Another man grabbed his friend.
"I'm not angry. I'm just stating a fact. It doesn't matter if I kill him or a random thug. It will all end with his naked corpse over there like Jame." She swung her spear, and it disappeared in a puff of fire.
CREEK! The door opened up, and one of the healers looked at Eris while panting. "Edary died," He gasped.
"I see. Edary didn't look well when I was with him." Eris said with a blank face.
"Sorry, he was your disciple...we tried everything but couldn't bring him back." The healer looked down.
"It isn't your fault. His time ended, that's all." Eris approached the healer, "Forget about Edary and focus on those still living. Bring him to me later, and I will cremate him." Eris patted the healer's shoulder.
Thud! BAM! The man who spoke with Eris earlier rushed at her, swinging his blade at her back.
BOM! With a gust of flames, Eris's spear emerged from her palm and pierced the man's chest before he could close. She didn't even look at him.
VROOOOOOOOO! Flames rushed from the spear and to the man's chest, burning him from the inside out till fire spilled from his eyes.
CRACKLE! In the blink of an eye. The man's whole body incinerated, and his bones fell to the ground. Eris slowly turned and looked at the others, "I billing you for his cremation as well,"
"Of...of course," One of the men nodded, "We're sorry for his actions."
Eris bent down and picked one of the man's bones. "I will make sure they are turned to ash."
"Please do so." The men quickly left after paying her, and she smiled, looking at the two women working for her in the back.
"Was that okay? Those people are from the necromancer guild." The two girls asked.
"They have the choice. I can cremate or arrange for their corpses to be buried on the surface." Eris smiled, "And if I don't do any of those two, the corpses will be taken by their guild and turned into necromantic testing subjects."
The two girls looked at each other.
"I'm doing them a favor, making sure their friends rest peacefully. And they better pay for my service."
Eris approached Jame's corpse and stood beside it smiling. "Let's see...Jame's wish is to cremate him." CLAP! She clapped her palms and kept them closed for a while. "Let's do it quickly."
CRACKLE! The moment she started parting her palms, a blue lightning arc jumped from between her fingers, followed by a burst of flame. The whole room flashed, and her two helpers closed their eyes and turned to look at the wall.
Eris closed her eyes.
^Mix lightning and fire to increase the heat. And the result is an arc of absolute power.^ She opened her eyes. They have shifted to look like those of cats, and from brown to a bright amethyst purple.
CRACKLE! The fire and lightning in her palms mixed and twirled, turning into a blinding flash of purple light.
Thud! Eris touched the corpse with her palm. SIZZLE! A gust of white smoke exploded from the corpse, and it turned into ask in the blink of an eye.
"I finished." Eris looked back at her helpers, "Please fill his ashes in a jar and give it to them after they pay."
The two helpers turned and looked at the ashes. They could feel the heat in the room.
"Amazing, corpses are mostly water and are hard to burn." One of them gasped, "How hot are her flames to incinerate a corpse ?" The other one gasped.
Eris walked toward her desk in the back room. She looked at her helpers. "Sila, it's your turn."
Sila bowed, "As you order." She followed her. "Sali, please take care of the ashes." She told the other helper.
The two walked into the back room, and Eris turned toward Sila.
Sila walked toward the desk and took a small piece of clothes, wiping her neck clean. Eris approached her and took a bite.
"You rarely drink blood. Is there a big fight coming?" Sila asked as she flinched, feeling Eris's teeth on her neck.
"AH!" Eris finished drinking and sighed, "I found someone interesting. I wanted to stock up on blood for healing." She said with a smile, red blood dripping from her lips.