Death.

Humans felt the need to personify what they were especially afraid of. We even gave names to hurricanes, for gods sake. Whether it was a terrifying creature that saw you as an insect or a gentle woman who helped you cross over like a mother, the same was true of Death.

The creature before me now fit the first example, but was very different from the depictions I had read about or seen in my world.

But no matter. Gently or mercifully, it was here to take me to the other side. So it didn't matter. This thing was “The End”.

Even if I gave it everything I had, I couldn't stop it, but maybe I could escape if I got my soul back before it could erase me from this world.

I had to believe it was possible. Otherwise, I could only accept that I had already lost. If I accepted my defeat, I wouldn't even be able to lift a finger in the presence of this creature. In fact, it was already difficult for me to breathe.

Thinking that I had to calm down or it would be the end, I took a deep breath. When had that ever worked? Telling yourself to calm down?

“Oh, you're here,” the vampire said. Sometime after he'd finished laughing, while I'd been distracted, his head had snapped back into place just like that. Had he been expecting this? Really, another lunatic who wanted to call Death for some reason? I knew I was unlucky, but this was on another level.

Well, even if he hadn't been Edmond's target, I supposed it made sense that he had been expecting this. He was murdering hundreds of people before their time, wasn't he? Or at least stealing their souls, interfering with the cycle just as he had done with me.

“I thought you weren't going to show up. Then this whole performance would have been for nothing.

Oh, forget it, the fucking retard had done it all for this after all. Fuck.

“And you showed up just in time.

The black robe twitched. Before its invisible claws could reach him, the vampire melted into his shadow. He moved instantly to the other end of the rooftop. Close to Lucia.

The bleeding had slowed down quite a bit, and the wound didn't seem so terrible. She must have done something. But that didn't mean she was even halfway to okay. Her face was covered in sweat, but even with that there wasn't a hint of color in her cheeks. Pale as a corpse.

The vampire had no interest in her anymore. He had given her up for defeated, for dead. He also seemed to have lost interest in both of us. His target had finally appeared, after all.

But he hadn't even been able to take us so far. Edmond hadn't been losing, but he hadn't been definitely winning either. What made him think he could take on a creature like that? What the hell was he thinking?

We'd soon find out.

“You were just in time. If you'd taken a little less time, I might have been in trouble. But this is already the climax.” Edmond laughed with his whole body, from the pit of his stomach. As if he'd never heard anything so funny, even though it had come from his own lips. “How many years have I been waiting for this? I'd like to say I don't even remember. But that's a lie. I remember every second of these one hundred and fifty-seven years. Every second!”

If the fact that his plan was to lure Death himself wasn't proof enough, it was clear now. He was mad. Unlike Plague, his heart and mind should at least resemble that of a human being. But somewhere along the line he had gone completely mad.

What had caused it, what had motivated him to fight for one hundred and fifty-seven years just for this moment?

“Stop,” Lucia said in a weak voice, her eyes clouded over. Even if he had heard her, the vampire would simply ignore her.

“This chance. I've been crawling around like a living corpse for so many years, clinging to this chance like a lifeline.”

The black robe seemed to be watching him silently. I wondered what emotion his face would reflect, if it were visible in the first place. Curiosity? Would he be mocking him? Though that seemed, shall we say, all too human. Or perhaps it might have been pity?

But then, one way or another, Death got to work.

Sheer madness. Edmond face contorted as if it had no bones to hold its shape. Grinning from ear to ear, baring his fangs, he shouted.... No, he declared what we were about to behold.

“Today is the day Death dies!”

What? Impossible. He couldn't defeat that monster. And even if he could, what would that achieve? No one ever dying?

You could say it was humanity's dream, to defeat death. But it didn't take a genius to realize the problems such a thing would bring. As he had said, he was crazy. Even if he realized it, what would a lunatic like that care?

The barrier had been invisible all this time. Now it appeared, bursting with energy. And pink, for some reason.

The barrier had been draining the souls of the humans trapped here, turning them into something like zombies. Now all that energy began to flow towards the vampire. A torrent of energy the same color as the barrier.

Could it really be enough “ the energy of just the guests of a hotel, even if there weren't hundreds, but over a thousand? Could it really be that easy to take out Death?

Assuming he had time to absorb all the energy before Death caught him, which was a lot. Far too fast. In the blink of an eye, he was on top of Edmond. But he avoided the attack like the last one. Melting into his shadow, moving swiftly across the ground.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

He dodged the attack, but not the movement that followed. Movement was the key word because Death simply grabbed the shadow. I couldn't see his claws, but it was obvious when Edmond's shadow suddenly stopped. It wasn't going to do that for no reason.

The energy was still getting through to the vampire, but now he was trapped.

Not only that. Somehow, Death was forcing him back to his original form. I should get closer before it killed him and took my soul from him, but I couldn't take another step. I swallowed hard.

He had brought this on himself. I didn't care what happened to him or Death. This wasn't even my world.

I stepped back towards Lucia. I crouched down to make sure she heard me, if she could still hear anyone. Her eyes were clouded over. In other words, she had survived, but I wasn't sure how much of her was left here.

“What do I do? What can I do?

She turned her head to look at me. It was amazing what power a gaze could have with a light that was almost gone. It was as if I was set on fire wherever her eyes touched me.

“I don't know. “That was the only thing she said, the only thing she could say. Her head dropped to the ground.... I should have seen it coming. I had simply been looking for comfort in the wrong place.

Hard truths and cruel reality. I couldn't hide from those things anywhere. I stood up again. I didn't feel strong, but I had to be.

I returned my eyes to the scene of the fight.

Only scene wasn't the right word. It was more like a massacre. The vampire, back to its original form, was snapped in two as if it were a toy that creature had grown bored of. He had recovered when I decapitated him, but he shouldn't recover so easily from this.

Perhaps he would never recover. The confidence, Edmond Dantes' plan, had ended this way? I supposed it was a fitting end for a lunatic with strange aspirations, but now I was in deep shit. The vampire had already been a tough enough opponent.

How was I going to get my soul back with that thing in my way?

Fuck.

As scared as I was, there was nothing to be gained by standing still. Yes, I had to... Run towards Death.

I started running.

I could run much faster now, for the simple reason that my legs were longer. Plague ran with me. It spoke volumes that she had waited until I did something to attack. She was scared too. Hungrier than scared, maybe, but it didn't matter.

We were literally running to our deaths. I could be so stupid because I had a human brain? Or would it help me to be practically an animal like Plague? In any case, I was doing it anyway, so there was no point in wondering such things.

The vampire might have been split in half, but it wasn't dead yet. Its upper half was crawling on the ground. He didn't seem to have a plan, though. More like he was just desperately trying to get away from his end.

We reached them. The rooftop wasn't that big, in width or length, but it was still too fast for my liking.

Plague threw herself on top of Death. She fell to the ground along with the black robe. I wished they would just kill each other and get out of my way.

I approached the vampire. I had no idea what a soul looked like, but if it was something visible it hadn't fallen off when he was ripped in half. He should still have it. Once I got the soul back, I would be taken back home and this madness could end.

The barrier's power was still flowing directly to the vampire.

So what? Still, he'd ended up in this miserable state. I had been stupid to place so much importance on my ability to absorb souls. Clearly not even hundreds of souls were enough to stand up to Death.

I stepped into the vampire's path, cutting him off. He raised his head to look at me, with gritted teeth and the expression of a rabid dog.

“Give it back.

He spat on my shoes in response. Well, it was more blood than spit. But I stomped on his hand hard anyway, until I heard his wrist crack.

“Listen to me, you son of a bitch. I don't care what happens to you or what you do. I'm not even of this world. Give it back to me and then....

“Stop barking. I told you; Death came just in time. It's already... over.

“The only thing that's over is you. I'm sorry for your hundred and fifty year quest or whatever, but it's over. But I've only just begun. I have to protect my sister.

The vampire frowned.

“Do you think you're the only one who has someone to protect?

I couldn't help but laugh. What a childish question.

“Of course not, but why would I care about the others? None of them would care about me.

“Exactly. All my efforts are for the good of one person. The rest of the world can go to hell. “The flow of energy suddenly stopped. The barrier became invisible again, if it hadn't disappeared directly as the energy drained away. “I don't need them!

Death had defeated Plague. He had shaken her off and torn her to shreds. She was in so many pieces that even knowing how tough she was, it was hard to believe she wasn't dead. Now it was coming for us. Both of us equally.

A circle of the same color as the barrier appeared on the black cloak. Then... Chaos broke out. A great amount of energy rained down from the skies, it was like a bombardment fired from a satellite.

The circle was to target Death, I assumed, but it didn't matter.

The explosive energy engulfed the rooftop as well. The roof collapsed.... No, the explosion split a sizable chunk of the building in two, and the whole thing came crashing down as a result. We went down through the cloud of dust and debris.

I ended up buried under a mountain of rubble. The pressure on my chest was such that I couldn't even breathe. And every time, when I did, the resulting pain left me feeling as if I had not been able to breathe at all.

I tried to become intangible. Buried in darkness, buried in a prison I couldn't even see.

Of course this time I couldn't do what needed to be done either. I was surprised that so much pain hadn't made me lose consciousness.

Although I should only be worried about myself, my soul fell to my feet when I realized that there was no way Lucia could have survived the collapse. Not in her condition.

I had too much on my mind. Seconds later, one more thing came in. The voice of another being in my own head, accompanied by a pain as sharp as if I were getting an autopsy while I was still alive.

I only understood a few of them.

It was like static. Like a wasp's nest buzzing in my head. But I was getting the message. He wanted me to let him in. I knew this voice, yes. It was Death and it wanted me to let him in.

I understood the situation instantly without having to listen to every word he was throwing at me.

Edmond Dantes' plan had worked. Somewhere in the mountain of rubble, darkness and dust, that thing must be in as pitiful a state as mine. Or even more so, since it had taken that energy shot full on.

It needed me. And I needed him. The shot had only grazed me, but I was still broken. I had a feeling that I would only be able to crawl, even if someone were to pull the debris off me and carry me into the light.

“You have to...

The static suddenly went out. I guessed that somehow it sensed that I had made a decision.

Why would I let him in?

It could be that I could really only crawl. So what, did I need something else? That blast of energy had struck the entire rooftop. In other words, the vampire hadn't been spared. Not even from the fall.

Plague was in pieces, probably dead. And it was unlikely that Edmond would have survived all that after being ripped in half by Death itself. Maybe he'd get what he wanted, to kill Death, but too late to save himself. I just had to find his body in the pile of rubble and take my soul.

Which yes, was easier said than done. But letting Death in... That was instant defeat. It wasn't like it was going to let me go after it did what it wanted and needed to do with my body.

So it went without saying.

“Fuck you.”

But I did say it.

This whole trip had been about defying death, anyway. What would be the point of me giving in now? What would I have come this far for then? Fuck it. Fuck it all.