Last Rites System

Nine years after every bell on Earth rang at once and the Vaults opened under the cities, Jonah Crane is a sweeper: a Mute with no power, paid to carry the dead out of Brackwater's Vault after the licensed raiders are done. On a Tuesday on the Third Movement, raid leader Brandt Kessler throws him to a monster as bait and seals the door. Bleeding out among eleven bodies, Jonah hears a calm voice offer him wages. The Cantor's terms are simple: close the eyes of the dead and say their name, and you inherit one of their skills, along with their Debt. Pay it, and the skill is yours for good. Don't, and the dead begin to speak through you. Officially dead, hunted by the guild that buried him, and carrying the last words of his brother who vanished three years ago, Jonah starts collecting wages from the dead. The Dead Level Me Up. This story is entirely fictional. Contains violence, corpses, possession-like horror and a teenager in danger (16+, mature themes).