"Well, how are you enjoying heaven?" God asks casually. Not bothering to turn around, to acknowledge me, or anything of the sort.

"Heaven isn't the problem. The problem is why you haven't done anything. Even now you don't look at me, or heaven, or anything!" I respond.

"I am looking at something. Something important. Come here." God states and waits for me to approach. When I do, God motions out to the abyss beyond. With a wave creation occurs. Reaching out into the abyss new creation occurs. Life, rock, stars, space. Everything.

Only to be taken. To be consumed. The creation that God made is gone. More and more God creates, and more and more is vanishes into the void.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"It's a creation of mine. I had made it to want more. So it would seem out new solutions, create, and build. Instead, all it does is consume, take, and destroy. You may have heard of it."

"How would I have heard of it?" I ask.

"My early creations are recorded aren't they? And passed down." God stated. "I described it's creation in great detail."

"I don't follow." I respond.

"Adam"

"It's nice to see you again. It's been to long, what would you say? 65 years?"

"I'm 72." I respond irritated.

"Oh my, my how time flies. Though time is... How do you say it? A human construction?" The grim reaper says with a grin and a smirk. It's amazing how much pleasure this thing seems to take in the death of others.

As I stand before the grim reaper memories surface coming to me like a flood from my soul. Memories of my other lives. Lives my soul experienced, and memories of my soul mate. I had never met my soulmate. However, we are inexplicably linked, and I can fele the connection, and the memories of who that soul has been.

It's something I, we, everyone has gone through time and time again. Every time they die the soil experiences this. Though it's all wiped away in each new life. Perhaps it's a small mercy, it's just to painful.

"You were so close this time you know?" The grim reaper says. "Tantalizingly close!" You would think something so old as the keeper of the realms between life and death would be less cheeky. Instead, the grim reaper seemed to reveal in mocking me.

My most recent memories surface, of the life I just lived. It was a good life. Then I see my soul mates.

My soulmate was the soul in my neighbors dog. A feisty thing that seemed to hate everyone except my neighbor, and inexplicably me. Though, I suppose that can be explained now can't it?

"Aww at last you two lived so close to eachother but it just wasn't meant to be. Didn't get to be the same species and you didn't even get that connection of having your soulmate as your pet." The grim reaper mocks me.

"You really take to much pleasure in this." I respond but I don't give in to the bait, the prodding. I have lifetimes of experience for now. At least until my next life.

The grim reaper just grind. "Well you are soul mates. Maybe your souls can find one another next time? Better luck in your next life!"

The grim reaper motions behind him to a door to a new life, to another rebirth.

"Go ahead. We both know there is no other option for your soul. Not unless you want to keep all your memories. Every mistake, every life digging into you as you relive everything all at once. Constantly, forever.

There is no other option. That is, unless you want to be me."

I read the ritual again just to confirm it really said that it needed 100 sacrifices. It didn't specify what kind, but with the proper ingredients this ritual will give me what I need.

A weapon of immense power. The kingdom is under threat and the capital must be defended. In desperation the king called on me to help.

I dug through my books for days as the army approached us. People would have evacuated, they would have ran, if they could have.

There was nowhere else to go. If this didn't work we would all die. Yet,

I couldn't bring myself to demand sacrifices. I couldn't ask someone to die so others may live. May being a slim chance, as I had no idea if this would really work.

It dawned on me that I could use bacteria as my sacrifice.

I set to work and created the ritual. I gave it everything it needed.

And I was rewarded with an ultimate weapon. Right as the invaders came to our doorsteps.

I was rewarded but the world was punished.

The ritual spawned a bioweapon. It spread quickly and easily, devastating the army outside our walls, and the refugees within them.

It spread from the refugees to the citizens and the wealth of the city no matter how hard they tried to stay clean.

The army outside collapsed quickly and fled. That only carried it further and further.

Through some arcane horror I was immune to my creation and thus I was forced to watch everything collapse from it.

Nobody knew just how fragile the world we built was. How susceptible to disease and decay it is.

Nobody understood how quickly everything fell to "them verse me" as supplies dwindled, and aid couldn't come.

Until everyone was overwhelmed with fear of disease.

Nobody knew how easily the world could fall.

Until it did.

Civil forfeiture