I’ve had enough of this.

I have been trying to break through to the 10th level for who knows how long now.

No matter what I do or how long I do it for I just can’t seem to make any progress. And since I can’t seem to progress any more than this, I have made a decision.

It’s time to find Death.

I don’t know what he has been doing all this time, but I have had enough waiting for him.

How dare he leave me alone in this place!?

And although I don’t have a means of tracking Death I do have a means of find where he will go. If I can find that mud like liquid again then I should be able to find its centre based on the consistency of the mud. If I can find the centre then I should either find a newly deceased person or I’ll find Death after he’s finished with the soul.

As such, I have been searching for the mud for a while now. All the while I kept trying to make progress towards level 10 but to no avail.

Eventually I found the mud again. I didn’t even realise I was close until I suddenly plummeted into it after emerging from the wall of darkness.

It was surprising… but welcomed.

I can finally hunt Death.

It’s honestly like one of those times when the hunter becomes the hunted or when the turns have tabled… hehe.

Swimming at a leisurely pace I head towards the centre of the mud. I am in no particular rush this time since I’m not being chased. It isn’t hard to know if I’m heading in the right direction. The grey world starts to have more shape as I get closer.

After a significant amount of time swimming, I can finally see my destination ahead. On top of what looks like a small mound is the soul of a child curled in a ball.

Poor thing.

Closing in on the mound the child I reactive [Spark] so that I have that normal soul like hue around me that I had when I got here. As I get really close I call out to the kid. “Hello! Can you hear me”.

The kid jolted at my voice and quickly jumped up. “H-h-he-hell-o”, the kid stuttered.

Once I arrive at the mound, I climb up to get closer. This was actually quite difficult cause the ground was still somewhat mud-like right up until I stood next to the boy. Or over him. He was really small. Poor thing. Couldn’t be any older than 4 at best.

Kneeling down so that I am the same height as him I say “hello. My name is Rey. What is your name”.

The kid stayed silent with wide, terrified eyes, clearly still trying to register the situation. Eventually the kid managed to calm down a bit after they realised I wasn’t going to do anything to them as I continued to kneel and smile lightly. “Art-hur” replied the kid, “m-my p-arents c-call me Art”.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Well Art, you have nothing to be scared of”, ok. Nothing is going to hurt you here”, I say as I reach out to pat the kid’s head. Whilst I did this, I thought inwardly that this kid is a boy. Strangely, I can barely distinguish the kids’ facial features. He has eyes, a nose, a mouth and all but I can’t really make them out. They are there but also look like there not? It’s hard to explain.

“How long have you been here”, I asked.

“I- I don’t know”, he replied with his head down a bit, accepting my head pats.

“Well then, why don’t we wait here together? How does that sound?”

“mm”

So together the kid and I sat down and I pulled him close to me, using my arm as a shield around his small body. The kid just silently remained there and together we waited for Death.

However,…

Even after what felt like 20 minutes perhaps, Death still hadn’t arrived. It didn’t take this long for me. I looked to the kid, about to ask him a question when… I noticed the kids body had faded! And I don’t mean faded a little either! I could see through him!

Pulling the kid from his comfortable position I quickly asked “HEY, are you ok? Can you hear me”.

“…”

The kid didn’t even flinch from my concern. He just remained still with his head down a bit. Giving him a light shake I ask him again thinking he might’ve fallen asleep. “Art! Can you hear me!”

“…”

Again nothing.

I lift the kids head slightly, noticing how he’s becoming more transparent than before. Lifting his head I go to look at him to see if he’s conscious when…

The entire left side of his face was missing!?!?!?!?

“AAAHHH!”

Shook to my core I jump to my feet staggering back away from the kid, nearly falling off the mound. The kids soul just fell limp onto the ground, becoming more and more difficult to see with each passing second. Stuck still in horror I just watch with my eyes wide. The boy’s soul slowly disappeared until there was nothing left.

“I was too late huh”.

Suddenly I heard a voice coming from behind me and I quickly swivelled to see where the voice came from. However, no one could be seen

“No matter. I was only a little late so it shouldn’t be difficult to fix things”, said the unknown voice.

As the figure came into view I realised it was Death riding his wooden boat like before… however… it didn’t sound like Death. Death’s voice is cold, but also smooth. Like ice over a lake. This voice, however, is more rugged and beaten. Like an old man who’s lived a hard life.

“Ohh? There are two of you” said the unknown reaper. “You must have died together. Wait a moment as I save that child first”. As the new reaper said this they reached into their cloak and retrieved a familiar and identical watch as Death has. Checking the watch the reaper, clearly satisfied placed it back in their cloak and retrieved a short pole that was only a few feet long.

‘Death’s scythe’ I thought inwardly as I narrowed my eyes.

Extending the scythe to it’s full glory the reaper held it above its head in a relaxed manner. “Come to me, lost soul”, they said and the scythe began to glow a bit brighter than usual. Little specks of blue glow could be seen moving towards and entering the scythe as the reaper moved it around a little, seemingly trying to collect it all. Unsatisfied, the reaper stepped off their boat and onto the mound, moving around as they repeated the process.

After a short time, seemingly satisfied the reaper lowered its scythe and turned to me. I stood there contemplating what just happened as it casually reached into its cloak again to retrieve the watch.

Staring at it as it does, I snap back into my sensing, realising I don’t have time to remain in a daze.

Checking the watch, the reaper flinches slightly, ever so slightly lifting its head to me before quickly correcting its mistake. Seemingly unbothered it continues to casually put the watch back into its cloak.

I noticed that reaction. I prepare myself to fight just like I planned. A different reaper or not doesn’t matter. I came here for this.

“Child…”, said the reaper in their normal tone as they lifted their head to look see me better. “Do you understand how…!”

Suddenly they swung their scythe at me without warning! The tip of the blade directly on course with my head!