When interpreted by the [[Regret Demon]] a full depiction of the device caused instant near-lethal damage to [[Danny]], which was only undone by threatening the [[Regret Demon]] with activation of the device. This depiction was then reinterpreted by [[Cristina Thompson]] while inebriated to create a crude sketch of a mechanical device which appears to consist of a large number of sharp serrated blades, cogs and pipes.
When activated, the device creates an interface between the user and a target soul, whether its physical form is alive or dead. Apparently considered to be a monstrous creation by an extinguished [[Sentient Flame]] which was interrogated by [[Cristina Thompson]], the device apparently can cause significant pain to the soul being interrogated, and will force the soul to divulge information whether it wants to or not. Human Normal human souls do not appear to experience any discomfort when read interrogated by the device.
The Soul Reader may have originated from, or passed through the universe containing the [[Dreamer On High]] prior to being found by [[Cristina Thompson]] in the [[Darkness Entity]] universe. A half-wild, crazy individual who was speaking gibberish (potentially due to damage from the Soul Reader or Dreamer) hurled what appeared to be a journal book through the portal being generated by the [[Dreamer On High]] and some enslaved [[Brownshirt]]s immediately prior to the Dreamer's demise, however this has not yet been confirmed, and the movements and origin of the Soul Reader largely remain a mystery.
The Soul Reader has since been passed on by [[Danny]] to [[Conn Thompson]], who has used it to read the story of [[Vasiliev Blaku]], and plans . [[Conn Thompson]]'s plan to use it to extract the truth from [[The Sword]] regarding [[The Crushing Fist]]however resulted in unusual behavior of both the device and [[The Sword]] himself, with the Soul Reader displaying jumbled text followed by 'CRITICAL FAILURE'. Further manipulation of the Soul Reader resulted in a powerful multispatial discharge from the device, along with emergence of a powerful malicious entity within [[The Sword]]. Deactivation of the Soul Reader allowed [[The Sword]]'s normal personality to reassert itself.