Ara Jug-eum

Ara was born in the Soul Kingdom. As a small, flickering light in the world, she spent most of her time alone. Her mother was a mortician and her father a florist, working side by side during someone’s passing. She learned to care for plants and the dead, honoring both.

Spending time alone, or simply watching people in their daily lives, she became a curious child. Why did people do this and that? If she did this and that, what would happen? Consequences became of little care to Ara as she adventured around. Friends she made didn’t stay long due to her recklessness. Parents often warning their children not to follow her lead, no matter how tempting.

Ara grew lonely, and soon began to help her parents in their work. She took to taking care of the dead more than to plants. It was quiet work, but her voice filled the silence, speaking to the dead as if still alive. The way Ara treated the dead made her mother happy.

During her time alone with a corpse, while her mother spoke with the family, something odd happened. Something she had felt before and hadn’t thought twice about, but now felt different. She felt hunger. Hunger that was never satiated by food when felt, and the feeling only came when handling the dead.

Staring at the corpse, she could see and feel something within. Slowly, as if controlling it, she dragged this feeling out of the body, holding it in her hand like a small orb of smoke and light. At first, she didn’t know what to do. But something inside said eat.

Eat it.

Opening her mouth, she pushed the orb in, drinking it down. In a matter of seconds, it was gone, along with the feeling of hunger. The filling sensation was new, making her feel complete in a way she had never felt before. But the feeling would not last.

It wasn’t until a year later that she was found out. Witnessed by the daughter of the deceased and her own mother, Ara could only explain herself. But explaining herself was not enough. Her mother understood the hunger, hoping Ara never succumbed to it. Or that if she ever did, she could stop her from continuing. But it was far too late for that.

Ara’s actions were seen as an unforgivable atrocity. She had been eating the souls of the dead. People they had known, lived with, cared for. Treating her like a monster, she couldn’t venture out, forced to remain inside. Children and adults alike mistreated her if she stepped outside. For years she remained trapped in her own home, never allowed to leave. While her parents loved her dearly, their love could not deflect the loneliness she felt as an outsider in her own home and village. The villagers would never forget.

Whether on purpose or not, her home caught fire. While her parents were not home at the time, Ara, of course, was. She had managed to escape the fire, hiding away in fear. From the shadows she watched her family grieve their loss, and the villagers try to comfort them. They thought she had perished in the fire. Seeing the village come together because of this made her feel cold. While she didn’t wish to leave, wishing to stay for her parents, she knew she couldn’t. This couldn’t be her home anymore. It hadn’t been in some time.

Stealing items while the village was busy, she left on her own. To where? She wasn’t sure. She’d read books and seen maps of other places, far beyond the borders of the kingdom. Beyond that border is where she knew she had to go, leaving behind just a ghost of herself.

The journey was long and harsh, often going without food and shelter. She’d pick up odd jobs on the way, helping where she could for food or a place to sleep. She often found herself going to find ingredients for people. It felt like searching for treasure, and those thoughts made it an exciting and joyous task.

Wandering from location to location, searching for something that felt right, she eventually came to Noir Vale. What a gloomy place to be, but it felt right. The dark forests felt so homely, in a way she couldn’t explain. She stayed there the longest, finding her place, until one day she realized a year had passed.

So much had happened in her year in Noir Vale. To be simply known as a stranger was a relief. She started over, using what skills and knowledge she had from the life left behind. She started as a mere assistant to the mortician. It reminded her of her days with her mother. It softened the loneliness and heartache.

The mortician took her under their wing, and even gave them a place to call home. They became like a father to her, her walls breaking down to him eventually. The words of villagers in Soul Kingdom never left, and she still felt a monster. Confessing what she had done, she didn’t wish to deceive the mortician. She didn’t wish to cause them any pain, as she had to her parents.

The mortician was understanding, seeing only a child in pain, full of regret and loneliness. They took her to where the bodies remained to be dealt with. There was a body separated from the rest, alone in its own corner. To her, they offered their soul. Ara refused, not understanding why until they explained. They hated knowing bad people would come back in another life. Some were monsters that didn’t deserve second chances. She was nothing like them. They never wanted her to eat the souls of the innocent, but to those who had done wrong in this world... They deserved to be devoured. In their eyes, that was doing good.

Of course, she couldn’t tell anyone. People simply weren’t understanding of such things, even if it wasn’t wrong. People could create a monster out of anything and anyone if they wished without proof. It was a social norm they were going against. Knowing all this, Ara believed the mortician. She could see why it was looked down upon and he could see the good in it.

And so, only the souls of the departed who had done wrong in their lives did she devour. These villains would satiate the hunger.

While Ara still feared being discovered, she decided to give herself a new name. She wished for the chances to be discovered by someone in her past to be close to none. She felt Onibi fit, and while the Mortician got a laugh from it, he accepted the new name. Moving forward, he’d call her Onibi when around others.

Gaining confidence, and feeling she had to hide less of herself, she began to venture out as she once did as a child. Old feelings began to wash away, finding herself again. The child that had been locked away felt to free itself from the cage. She had hoped things would work out, and they finally felt they had. A feeling that was impactful, bringing her to tears.

With the mortician already old, after a few years, they wished to hand the business off to Ara. They’d be around, helping with people while she handled the bodies. She agreed.

Thankfully it wasn’t a full-time job. Bodies weren’t always dropping on the daily, to both their relief. While being a mortician was her actual job, she still did odd tasks on the side. Mainly going out to gather items, as she had while on the road. At times this would lead her to find a cave or location that seemed too interesting to pass up, leading her on wilder adventures. Some items she found on these adventures were valuable, to her great surprise. To her, they were items to remember the adventure. It wasn’t long before she was deemed a treasure hunter alongside a mortician.

While the memories of the past still haunt Ara, she feels she has finally found her new beginning, and as the years go by, she can only hope her mother and father found their peace.

Likes: Eating, Alcoholic drinks, Dry tastes, Nighttime, Forests, Shrines, Stories/Tales, Lightly spooking people (for fun), Nature sounds, Naps
Dislikes: Silence, Feeling trapped, Bitter tastes, Spicy Foods (that make her sweat), Bright places, Sunburns, Vegetable Juices, Waking up early, Too much fire in one place