Shovels In Spades

"You brought her?" Daz asked Ellie as soon as he and Edward had arrived at the small corner of Fort Skip that housed Ger, Sarah, and Jorden's graves.

Nodding, Ellie waved her hand and said, "Telekinetic Rift: Open."

A coffin that looked brand-spanking new suddenly appeared as the air in front of Ellie shimmered and flickered. "I paid the system to restore her body and fix her coffin. She wasn't embalmed, and, uh, I didn't want to look at her like that..."

"I can imagine," Daz replied. 'Telekinetic Rift, huh? That's new. Seems like a handy skill.'

Turning to the man with a clockwork arm, the reaper asked, "Do you need a coffin for Jenna?"

"Do we need to bury her?" Edward asked. "If you can bring her back to life, then what's the point in putting her 6-feet under if we'll just have to dig her back up again?"

Daz shrugged. "It could be a long time before I'm able to actually put someone's soul into a body and bring them back. If you'd rather keep her in whatever skill you're using to store her, then that's fine."

Edward nodded. "I'll do that. Do you need to see her corpse first, or what?"

"I need to talk to the system before anything else. If we're lucky, I can buy a skill that can bring the dead back to life but don't get your hopes up. I don't think it'll be that easy," Daz said then glanced at Ellie, "Even if your patron god is the God of Luck."

Edward wasn't stupid. "I know. I'm prepared to have her spirit bound to me at first like that 'Reika' spirit of yours."

Ellie cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Spirit? Reika?"

Daz smiled. "People can't normally see her, but I have a lazy demoness princess treating my halo like an innertube. Whenever Hamson glows crimson red, that's her boosting him with her power. She can also earn her own merit points, and she gets stronger by eating souls."

'We are not lazy!' the indignant incorporeal girl shouted from her bed - Daz's halo.

"Eating souls?" Edward had a concerned look on his face. "Will Jenna need to do that too? Will she become a demon?"

Daz shook his head. "I don't know if she'll need to eat souls, but Reika was born a demon. She was from another world when she was alive. Anyway, why don't you two get to know each other while I ask the system some questions, y'know, find out what skill options I have, then we'll go from there."

The 44-year-old man looked at the 23-year-old woman and frowned. "I doubt we have anything in common."

"I agree. I have very little to say to a former raider who tried to destroy a town full of innocent people," Ellie remarked sarcastically.

Daz had an impassive look on his face as he said, "Ellie used to be deaf, you only have one real arm, those are disabilities, yes? Both of you have a dead relative that you want me to resurrect as well. There. That's two things in common. Get to know each other, or stand in silence. I don't really care which, but I might take some time."

Ellie shrugged. "Fine. Wanna tell me about 'Jenna'? I'll tell you about my family too."

"... Okay. There's nothing else better to do, I guess, and I've already talked about her to Crusher, so it's hardly a secret," Edward replied.

Daz tuned himself out when they began opening up to each other about their deceased loved ones. 'System, are there any skills that can bring the dead back to life?'