I do not remember much from my final moments in Sunwalley. There was pain, that much I know. Pain and the unbearable iron taste in my mouth. Breathing felt so much like a chore and it was getting more difficult by the second. Then there was nothing. Darkness, complete lack of anything. I remember floating in it, devoid of breathing, movement, or anything else, yet my consciousness remained. Or perhaps it was my subconsciousness all along. I cannot tell anymore. It was all in vain. My heart was drowning in anger. Everything I did... everything we did, it was all for nothing. The Deaths died and got nothing for it. They wouldn't even know if I had succeeded. And I was so close too. A final trap. Why did I not see it? Why couldn't I just react in time? One final strike and everything would be over. I wasn't sure what would happen now. My world no longer had an afterlife. Would I become a ghost? Would I go back into the Void? Or was this it? Would I just float in darkness for the rest of my days? I didn't care anymore. Everything I did, I messed up. Maybe here, I would finally find some peace.

But something seemed off. Yes, there was this endless darkness, but my eyes were twitching as if they wanted to tell me something. But what was it? I kept thinking about it until a very simple answer finally dawned on me. They were closed. When did I close my eyes? And perhaps a better question: could I open them? I was scared to find what would be on the other side, yet I had to try. My eyelids moved up.

I couldn't believe anything I saw. Lights. So many lights. Each so blurry and blinding. It was cold. A cold wind was slapping my face. What was this? Where was I? I moved my arms and instinctively rubbed my eyes, hoping to see better. Then the sound hit my ears - an engine. A motor vehicle was driving by somewhere beneath me. I squinted and realized I was sitting on the edge of a building, looking down onto a street. Panicked seized my heart and I had to grab the ledge behind me to make sure I wouldn't fall off. This place was familiar. No, that's not the right word. It was home. Home before all the other homes. My end and my beginning. This was where I fell. Where I jumped.

"Was it real? Any of it?" I mumbled to myself, staring at the sky so polluted by the city lights that you could barely see the stars.

"Oh yeah, all of that was real," someone spoke beside me. It didn't scare me. I don't think anyone would at that point, but I didn't recognize that voice. My eyes moved to meet it and spotted a truly unusual apparition. Two large bird-like feet were perched up on the edge of the building. As I scanned the creature from toe to head, I found it stranger and stranger. It seemed to be wearing a long dark robe, not too different from a kimono. Everything from above their knees looked very human, including their hands, slightly-tanned skin, and long brown hair. However, that doesn't mean this stranger would lack other unnatural features. Namely, they were sporting a massive pair of black feathery wings with blue colouration at the tips. And settled over their shoulder was sitting a large scythe.

"You are Death, aren't you?" I spoke as if I had just run into an old friend.

"Indeed. I'm surprised my appearance doesn't scare you. Then again, given all you went through, I suppose it makes sense."

"So none of that was a dream after all?"

"I'm afraid not."

"But... am I even alive?"

"Yeah, sorry for that mate, it got all a bit complicated."

"Complicated?"

"Well, I went here to fetch your soul after you... you know. But hey, no judgment here, I've seen it all before. Life is just not for everyone. But when I went to grab your soul, it just flew off and dove into that pile of scrap over there." The creature nodded towards the pile of books behind us. The flames were nowhere to be found. In fact, it seemed like they never burned in the first place.

"They still exist!" I exclaimed and ran over to see if they were indeed intact. My hands eagerly grasped the first literary piece they could find and rolled through the pages. "What the... what is this?" I asked as my fingers ran across a big dark stain, which only seemed to be growing and swallowing one page after another.

"Yeah... that's the Resident. What you see here is happening to all of your books ever created. Digital too. I am very sorry."

"So I didn't save them after all."

" 'Fraid not."

"There why am I even here?! How come I am alive?!"

"Well, I thought you'd prefer to die at home than in the middle of nowhere. You see, I've been watching your journey. First, I just wanted to scoop you out of there, but I needed the permission of the local reaper and she was not very understanding."

"She?"

"Yeah. Lady in white clothes. I asked her to hand you over. That you don't belong to the world, but she refused. Said only you can help them. So I watched and waited because... well, let me just say that this usually doesn't happen. I mean, I don't get to see a God enter his own world, let alone speak with other colleagues, so that was like Christmas for me. And then it just got interesting. Like watching a great TV show. Even after the reapers died, I just wanted to see how you'd end up. And well, since by the end of your journey there was nobody to stop me anymore, I scooped your soul out so you can die peacefully at home."

"Wow... So she knew. And you... you are going to kill me."

"Reap your soul. Big difference. You kinda already killed yourself when you jumped."

"Okay... well, what are you waiting for then?"

"Well... maybe I kinda... fucked up?"

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"Why do I feel like I'm not going to like it?"

"Oh, no worries, it's not a big fuckup. I just kinda... resurrected you when I pulled you back? It was hard to reach your soul without an afterlife in those worlds of yours, so I used your body as an anchor to lure your soul back in here."

"I literally understand none of that except the resurrected part."

"Yeah yeah, I know, it's all reaper stuff, don't worry about it, mate. Basically, I had to shove your soul back into your body. We can resolve this quite easily. You just have to do it again."

"Again?"

"Yeah. You know, just a little hop over the edge. I have my scythe prepped, will just reap your soul, and off to the afterlife we go."

"Right..."

"Hmm? Something wrong? I can give you a push if you want."

"No! It's just that... I don't want to die."

"Huh?! Hold on, you can't do me dirty like that mate! You can't just get resurrected by a reaper!"

"Why not?"

"Because... I am Death. It's literally in the name. Otherwise, I'd be called Life."

"Look, I just made a mistake, you know? I can see it now."

"Yeah, many did. That doesn't change a thing!"

"Well, why not just kill me then? Seems like the weapon is sharp," I pointed to the scythe.

"I can't kill you. That's against the rules. Besides, this only reaps souls. Wouldn't kill you physically."

"So you're Death but can't cause death yourself?"

The creature frowned at me. "You are a pain in the ass, you know that? Like on a multi-cosmic level."

"Not the first one to tell me that."

"Ugh! Fine! Have your life then! But I don't want to see your face again until you're old and shrivelled up, you understand?"

"Don't worry, I don't plan on dying any time soon unless fate will interfere."

"Yeah, can be a real bitch. Well, I guess I'll be off then. Can't really slack off, you know."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"The books."

"What about them?"

"Can you... kill the Resident somehow?"

"No. But you can.

"How?"

The creature didn't respond. Instead, they reached into their kimono and pulled out a small metal lighter.

"No! No way! I can't do it again!"

"It's the only way. Kill the host, kill the parasite."

"But... what would be the difference then?!"

"They wouldn't suffer. Look," he flicked the lighter open and ignited a small flame. It was blue and much less bright than a normal one. "Soul flame. One touch against anything living and they are goners." He extended the tool to me and I carefully grabbed it.

"So... I just need to throw it onto the pile?"

"Yup. Toss it in there and it all dies. Everyone will disappear peacefully, like falling asleep."

My hands were shaking as they extended over the books. Tears were forming in the corners of my eyes when I thought about all the people I was about to kill. A genocide of several universes.

"It's not a bad thing to do, you know? Either you will let them suffer, or end their suffering. I know it's not easy, but I can't do it myself. This is something you have to do. And it has to be done willingly. Now, do you have the will to do it?"

It was as if I could hear Shade in my head again, his voice telling me what I was about to do. My fingers trembled at the thought. Then I remembered everything that happened. Jack, Ifrit, the Resident. My right arm grabbed my wrist and steadied my hand and with a few blinks, I shook the tears out of my eyes. "I do."

The flames created an entire bonfire of blue. I could see the pages burning away into white ash and letting the wind carry them away.

"Is everything gone?" I asked the reaper.

"Everything?"

"Yeah. Like... there are millions of copies of my works out in the world."

"Oh, don't worry about those. The flames will burn the contents. They will turn blank."

"Years of my work. All for nothing." Tears slid down my face.

"I think it is good for you," the reaper replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you got literally resurrected and your life's work, which brought you to end your life in the first place, is now all gone. You can start anew. Any path is open for you now."

"I am too old to start a new path."

"Bullshit! I saw older people than you achieve so much. Trust me, you still have time. Do what you love. What makes you whole."

"Yeah... maybe I will do that."

"That's the spirit. Or... not really. That's the mortal," they poked me in the shoulder and winked. "Well, I think I missed a lot of deaths during my time here, so I suppose I will leave now. Just don't touch the fire, okay? Let it burn out naturally. And don't worry, it won't destroy the whole building or anything, okay?"

We bid each other farewell and they flew off into the night. I carried my tired and cold body back downstairs and into my office. It was completely ransacked as if somebody robbed me. All of my most prized possessions were now being erased several meters above my head.

With a great deal of pain, I reached into the pocket of my trousers. My phone was still there. Upon unlocking it, I noticed the number of the fire department was still dialled in but not called. With a few quick taps, I deleted the number and scrolled through my contacts, not stopping until I found one labelled: "Sunshine". With a great deal of pain, I pressed my fingers against the display and then pushed the phone against my ear.

"Hey honey, it's me. I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier. No, I'm alright. There's just been a robbery at my office while I was gone. No, they only took the books. Don't worry, I didn't lose anything valuable."