Afterlife Department

Middle Heaven.

Yi Bing slowly climbed up the stairs towards the doors of Shen Sheng's open palace. Even though it was night in the mortal world, but the darkness never stepped even an inch in the Middle Heaven. It was always day in Shen Sheng's home.

Yi Bing lost count of the steps he climbed as he suddenly found himself in front of the large doors guarded by Xiao Hun, the doorkeeper. There is no archangels around since Shen Sheng dispatched them to the other worlds. Not even Ling Shiyi, whom Shen Sheng still refused to treat from the Foul that poisoned him in the Normal World 2828.

"Oh! Lord 0001! It is rare for you to visit His Highness." Xiao Hun spoke as he opened the doors.

But, Yi Bing remained standing outside. "You won't announce my arrival, and even open the doors wide? What if I want to attack him?" he asked. The 'him' he is referring to is obviously Shen Sheng. His address is rude, but Xiao Hun just laughed.

"His Highness has been expecting you." Xiao Hun respectfully bowed and moved to the side to let Yi Bing in.

"Tch." Yi Bing clicked his tongue in annoyance before he entered the roofless and wall-less hall. Behind him is the doors while ahead of him is Shen Sheng lazily lying on his throne.

"You finally arrived." Shen Sheng spoke without looking at him. He sounded bored. "I thought you would immediately go straight to the Middle Heaven. I wouldn't expect it would take for a day… so, you learned how to hold in your patience?" he asked and turned to grin at Yi Bing.

A vein appeared in Yi Bing's forehead. "You already know the matter." He said as he looked at Shen Sheng.

"Indeed. Huo Ling has been to Normal World 112." Shen Sheng nodded as an affirmation.

Yi Bing sharply inhaled. Although he had already expected it, he still can't help but react. "He… saved people, thus violating the rules. Was that the reason he was demoted as a grim reaper and never appeared again until recently, as an Abnormal Soul?" he directly asked.

But, Shen Sheng suddenly became silent. Yi Bing looked at him.

Finally, Shen Sheng spoke. "'rules'…" he muttered before he sarcastically laughed.

Yi Bing can't help but feel a chill in his bones. He immediately suppressed the irritation he felt earlier. Sure, Shen Sheng has let him act arrogant towards him. But, that is because Shen Sheng is bored. Thus, his pastime is to banter with him.

But, right now, Yi Bing could feel Shen Sheng's anger. He could hear Xiao Hun turned into a puff of cloud outside due to fear. The sea of clouds surrounding them even rumbled, feeling Shen Sheng's turbulent emotions.

"'rules'…" Shen Sheng chuckled. Finally, he managed to calm his emotions. "Yi Bing. Do you know where the rules of the Afterlife Department came from?" he asked.

Yi Bing fell silent for a moment. "… from the mistake of the first grim reaper?" he asked.

"Wouldn't this make me, your creator, then, the one who made the rules?" Shen Sheng asked, smiling, but his eyes are filled with suppressed anger.

Yi Bing shut up.

Shen Sheng laughed again. "'Grim reapers can't fall in love or feel any other emotions as to not save any humans or the like.' This is a rule sanctioned by the Upper Heaven." He told him.

Yi Bing's pupils shook.

"What? You think that I am lying?" Shen Sheng asked him.

"You don't have any reason to lie to me." Yi Bing answered.

Shen Sheng just smiled.

"Why?" Yi Bing asked. "To restrain the Afterlife Department?" he said.

"That is one of their excuses." Shen Sheng answered.

Yi Bing didn't speak. Shen Sheng really said 'excuses' and not 'reasons', for 'reasons' are based on the truth while 'excuses' are based on lies. The Upper Heaven really finds them an eyesore.

"The competition is another reason." Shen Sheng spoke in a soft voice. "You already know about the world energies, right?" he asked.

Yi Bing nodded as an answer.

"Then, do you know of the Source?" Shen Sheng asked.

"The source of the energies flowing in each and every world…" Yi Bing muttered. "… is you." He looked at Shen Sheng in the eyes. "For you are the god of life." He added.

"Yes." Shen Sheng nodded as he rose from his throne. His long, golden hair along with his silk, while robes lined with golden patterns slipped down the throne and fell to the 'floor'. "The energies are feeding all the beings in every world, including the worlds themselves, life. The richer the energy in their world, the longer will their lives be. The world would also develop its own consciousness." He explained. "And thus, it would create rules for itself." He added.

Yi Bing recalled Shou Ji's world, as well as the supernatural world that they have gone to recently. Shou Ji's world self-healed thus the cause of the 'rebirth'. Meanwhile, they were overpowered in the supernatural world thus they aren't able to find You Ri and Lin Weng was because of its rules.

"Order. Peace." Shen Sheng spoke the two words that flashed in Yi Bing's mind. "If there will be no order, then peace can't be achieved. Everything will then fall into chaos and unrest." He explained.

Yi Bing remained neither speaking nor reacting since he knows Shen Sheng has more to say. As expected, he heard him continue.

"All lives should be equal." Shen Sheng said. "But, how did it became unfair?" he asked as he stopped right in front of Yi Bing. "Opportunities, resources… everything should have been equally given to all individuals. So, where did it go unfair?" he said.

"Emotions." Yi Bing finally spoke as he answered. Without emotions, the humans wouldn't feel desires like greed, which makes things chaotic.

"En." Shen Sheng nodded, satisfied with his answer. He turned and faced the sun in the horizon that made his whole figure radiate with light, figuratively and literally. "But, it isn't just the humans who have emotions." He spoke as he walked towards the edge. His figure teetering as if he is about to fall anytime in the sea of clouds. "I have emotions. You, grim reapers, also developed emotions. The angels and archangels also have emotions. The gods also have emotions… we, who should look indifferently at the life of the mortals and everything related with it have developed emotions, the things that can never be controlled, nor be killed, since it exists even if you thought you got rid of it." He explained.

Yi Bing lowered gaze. He already noticed this fact, which they all have ignored all along and continued muddle-headedly in the afterlife. Would they be punished for breaking the rules?

"You aren't listening to me." Shen Sheng spoke.

Yi Bing looked at him. Then, he recalled the other's words. "The Upper Heaven… also desired something?" he asked.

"En." Shen Sheng nodded. "They desire for control." He answered.

Yi Bing's brows knit. "So, they sanctioned rules for us?" he spoke.

"Yes." Shen Sheng answered as he looked at him, feeling pleased of how smart Yi Bing is.

Yi Bing ignored Shen Sheng's gaze that of a father being proud of his son. "So, they punished Huo Ling for breaking the rule of saving the lives of Fang Bo and Lin Jin's grandfather?" he asked.

"Mn." Shen Sheng muttered. "But, it isn't just their desire for control that made them sanction rules for the Lower Heaven – the Afterlife Department and the other departments… the grim reapers." He spoke.

"There's more?" Yi Bing frowned.

"What have I told you earlier?" Shen Sheng asked. "The world falls into chaos because of emotions. One of them is desire." He said as he turned and walked back to his throne. "The Upper Heaven doesn't lack desire. In fact, they are full of it." He told him.

Yi Bing looked at him.

"Think. If a human that is dying would be saved instead, what do you think will happen?" Shen Sheng asked.

"The human will continue to live…" Yi Bing answered when his voice stopped. He looked at Shen Sheng. "'life'… 'energy'…" he muttered as his eyes narrowed.

Shen Sheng's lips curled up. "If a human continues to live, he will continue to take the resource called 'energy' instead of stop using it after he died." He spoke. "If this happens, there will be a change in the distribution of energy. Thus, the Upper Heaven hates change the most, since everything goes out of their control if something changed." he explained.

"So, they don't want us to feel emotions that can make us change." Yi Bing concluded.

Shen Sheng nodded.

"I understand now. But, I still don't know what happened to Huo Ling after he was punished." Yi Bing spoke. "Shouldn't a grim reaper disappear be imprisoned in the Rainbow Tower for punishment? Worse, he dies. So – " he raised his head and looked at Shen Sheng who is looking down at him. " – how did Huo Ling return as a human?" he asked him.

There is no reincarnation for grim reapers, for either they continue to 'live' in the afterlife, or forever disappear.