"So the weapon that was made had an unanticipated side effect," Cain translated. He eyed the sword suspiciously. Part of him said he could reach out and touch it, test what it might do in the face of one with a soul that could apparently repel death. That part was easily under control, but his impulse was still there and he found himself watching it with distinct interest for what it supposedly could do.

He nodded slowly at her information, eventually looked away to regard her with the same interest as the sword. Admitting she was a disruption was interesting. From what he was gathering, correcting that disruption was nowhere near as simple as killing the one creating the imbalance. "There are creatures in my world with a similar role to that," he said eventually. "Reapers that collect human souls once their bodies have failed according to the time allotted by fate. Those Reapers, however, only escort the souls on to the afterlife where the energy continues in the cycle. That's the balance. How does your kind determine what souls to collect?"