<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Virgil had caught what Kineas had said and shook his head. It was plausible there was something of an afterlife, but where he was from, it was not Hell or the Abyss. There were several schools of thought on it, some believed in enlightenment, some had conjured a deity which judged the soul (however this was no longer a popular theory, as a combination of magic, science, and the indulgent nature of the rich had determined it neither probable nor desirable).<br/><br/>Virgil knew where his soul was meant to go, straight to the hands of the devils. Just as any other who had made a Faustian pact, he was supposed to become some diabolic soldier or weapon. However, now, while that was still to be his fate, technically, his soul was currently owned, in part, by at least three devils. Not an easy thing to accomplish, as Faustian pacts are supposed to deny that, he had found ways to temporarily waive the ownership of his soul, such as saying that his soul was not owned until a certain event took place (which also encouraged the devil to keep him alive during the event).<br/><br/>He had learned of the nature of souls, at least souls in his world, from devils. They were not malleable and could not be deconstructed. Souls do not lose sentience, and to create weapons or soldiers, the soul is altered, with the sentience still intact. However, the pacts force the sentient being to be completely subservient.<br/><br/>Virgil had no intention to be a part of that, and the diabolic laws regarding multiple ownership of a soul required the devils either release the soul (which almost never happened), fight for it, determine some other challenge by which to earn it, or hide it away until only one of the owners is left alive.<br/><br/>Virgil's intentions had always been to work on a way out of it after the war against the 'upper class', and maybe this would be his chance.<br/><br/>Virgil had been testing the wall and floor along the hallway, and checking rooms for guests or just to see if they were empty. Eventually happened upon an empty room with wood panels along the wall. He closed and locked the door and tried to conjure his blade. He was relieved to find it came to him, possibly because this place wanted him to have his full capabilities, though Virgil didn't think about that. He quickly cut a panel from the wall and hollowed out the area beyond it. <br/><br/>He quickly conjured everything he owned, bullets, a few guns, and some small devices, and hid them beyond the panel. After replacing the panel and heating it a bit to try to expand it and make it look a little less conspicuous, he walked to the door. He removed a few bullets from a pouch on his side, this was one of his hardest abilities to reproduce, but one of the most useful.<br/><br/>He emptied the gunpowder into a capsule (which he kept for circumstances like this, he had used bullets this way before, and he could only use the metal), and placed the bullets against the keyhole. He concentrated and slowly melted the bullet while using his other powers to morph the key into the lock and then hold it that way until it cooled. When he was done, he had a key for the room, which he tested a few times to make sure there was no strange power over the room.<br/><br/>He had exhausted all of his fire and metal energies, and so he sat against the wall to rest a bit. This room was well out of the way, locked, empty, and now had a hidden wall panel, it was unlikely anyone would bother it. He had memorized the path there, and the room, so he could retrieve his belongings easily through conjuration, another power he had exhausted getting all his items here.<br/><br/>He would need food again to use those abilities further.<br/></span>