HADES (Death Is A Man)

The Book Of Souls

"As my first son and the only one in possession of my powers, I hereby give you authority to govern the affairs of the universe. You, Azreal are my eyes and ears. I bestow upon you, the book of souls. From today henceforth, you will be in charge of the mortal souls. Let it be known in the whole of the Universe that you have taken my place."

My Father, the Great King announced. Everyone sang my praises. The whole of the Immortal realm was filled with festivity.

"Come forward, son," my father called.

I walked majestically to him and knelt on one knee. He placed the book of all souls in my hands. The books that will determine the fate of mankind ( The mortals) are in my hands.

I bowed my head in respect, and he placed a golden crown on my head, sealing my fate.

"From today henceforth, you are Azreal, "THE ANGEL OF HADES."

The trumpets and beautiful voices of the Seraps graced the air.

"Thank you, Father, I make a vow to you, that from this moment on, I Azrael shall carry out my duties and responsibilities obediently," I made my vows to my Father with all sincerity.

"I know you will, Azreal. You have never let me down before, and I know you never would."

I happily took with me, the book of souls my father handed to me, and walked away from the throne room. Just as I was about to leave the Hall, Black cornered me.

"Well, well, well, I should be saying congratulations to you, for finally taking over the universe as you always wanted to, brother."

I smiled brightly at my brother.

"Thank you, brother, seeing you congratulate me, gladdens my heart."

"Oh, it does? Then I'm delighted to know that you are glad. Look around you, everyone is so happy for you. I'm sure you are extremely happy to be taking over this position, right?"

Today was my day, and the last thing I wanted was to have another banter with my brother.

"If that's what you wish to know, brother, then I will gladly tell you that I'm so happy about it," I turned around to the throne where our father sat, preparing for my brother.

"Look, the father is about announcing you, so why don't you go and receive yours?"

"Hahaha, does mine matter right now? I mean you have been given a sumptuous share, what's left for me?"

"Don't say such, brother, you know our father always judges with fairness. He had never for once hurt you. Why will you think so badly about our father?"

"That's okay brother Azreal, I believe time shall tell what will happen next. For now, let's go with the tide," Black stated with a sly smile on his face.

I know my brother too well. In as much as he was smiling at me, I cannot be fooled. I can tell that his heart is bitter toward me. This is not the first time, Black has shown how much he felt was being partial.

Since we were young, he had always thought my father favored him more than he did him. What he had refused to see and understand, is the fact that my father sees himself in me since I was the only one who acquired his powers, down to the least.

I have always been given tougher taxes, compared to Black. His treatment towards me wasn't because he was partial, it was rather because I had a huge responsibility to the universe since I alone had his powers.

Black didn't inherit Father's powers and the reason why he was bitter. Since I have more responsibilities than him I had to train harder, and I had to do more than he did. I see no reason why my responsibilities were something to be jealous about.

"See you brother, I guess father will be calling on me soon to grace me the remnant of responsibilities," Black winked at him before turning around and walking up to the throne.

Azreal shook his head sadly. He wished he could make his brother understand anything. But from the look of things, it seemed he would be wasting his time trying to make his brother understand their father.

He had refused to accept that he was loved when they were little, was it now that they had grown, his brother would listen to him?

Azreal walked away from the hall to a quiet place, with the book of souls in hand. Looking at the book, it seemed like an ordinary book. Azreal smiled, he knew the book was special, even though it was looking too ordinary.

He remembered when he was little and was being taught about the universe by his father, he was made to understand that all things were made bright and beautiful, including the mortal world.

He only had a little memory of the mortal world, and that was when he was still little. His father took him to the mortal realms personally and showed him the beauty of it. He remembered how excited he was back then.

"Azreal, I want you to remember that in the time coming, you will be responsible for collecting the soul of these mortal beings."

"I can't wait to grow up and officially carry out my duties and serve you, father."

Azreal smiled inwardly. He did not believe the day has finally arrived for him to serve the cause of his father. He had always promised himself that he would serve his father for all eternity.

He took his gaze back to the book, curious about what he would find inside. He slowly unwrapped the scarlet thread, binding the big white book. He slowly opened the book and to his shock, a bright light shone from the book, m blinding his vision. He quickly closed the book and wrapped it back to its original form.

Phew! He wondered why the book shone so brightly that it almost blurred his vision.

"Azreal, it's not time yet. The book will open on its own when there's a task for you to attend to," his father spoke from within him. He smiled and kept the book safely by his side.

He had been waiting for that day to come for a long time now. There's no hurry to perform his duties. He was just too excited about his duties.

Speaking of which, his father had always made him realize that his duties were more difficult than he had imagined. He was also made to understand that a time will come when he would be made to choose a difficult task. The only way to survive is true to his self-discipline and how dedicated he is to his job.