Sarah knew she was dead from the start.
She was in the same void place as before. The same strange non-existence, without a body or sensation, with minimal sensory input. Except that this time, instead of the peaceful knowledge that her suffering was over, she was absolutely hysterical.
She had died.
Again.
In her lack of form, she sobbed. She didn’t have tears or eyes, but she felt as if her soul herself was crying. She had the straight thought that, if she had lungs, they would have been hyperventilating. She was so distressed at first; it took her a moment to realised that someone was in front of her.
Dusk. He was talking to her. It was hard to make sense of his words, when her hysteria and grief were so overwhelming.
“ …. that’s normal. You will be fine. Everything will be alright-”
She interrupted him with a mouthless, frustrated scream “I am DEAD! I DIED again!!!” She sobbed even more.
The boy seemed to hesitate. His expression was hard to read, with his oversized eyes, but there was clearly an uneasiness there, maybe regrets?
“I know. I’m sorry. But it’s going to be fine. You will come back to life again.”
Her sobs calmed a bit at that, replaced by a terrible confusion. “What? But… I just died. I can’t come back.”
“Sure you can.” Easily said the Moth, now looking more at ease since she calmed down a bit. “The first time you died, in your world, you came back in mine. And in my world, our world, you always come back from dying.”
There was a moment of confused silence. What? How did that make any sense?!
Sensing her confusion, Dusk sat at her side, and gave a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. “I know it’s…. Odd. It wasn’t always like this. But since Ira disappeared, no one has been able to enter the afterlife. And as such… When people die, they just. Come back.”
The weight of the words seemed to hung in the air, as Sarah’s understanding of, well, everything, seemed to be put in perspective.
“But… Isn’t that a good thing? That means people are pretty much immortal, no?” She had to ask. This seemed to anger the boy, who turned sharply toward her.
“Not at all. In fact, things have been getting worse ever since. The world… Is not made for people to come back. And that’s why I need your help. To find Ira, to restore the afterlife.” He said, so earnestly.
A cold dread actually started to grow inside Sarah, at those words. “But if she comes back… Does that mean that I will die??”
Dusk scoffed at her words. “No, not unless a Crow find you. Ira doesn’t make people die.” As he said those words, a familiar light started to grow, the same one that she had seen before… The first time that she had been resurrected by Dusk. The boy continued to talk, rushing now that their time was running out. “I will be with you, in my material form. I will try to help you as best as I can. But you have to also trust me, okay?”
She light enveloped her, before she could answer.
---
Sarah came through, on the front step of the temple.
She gasped for air, greedily taking it. She was alive. She was…. Resurrected.
Again.
Once more, she was laying nude on cold stones. Above her, flying lazily, was what she now knew for certain to be Dusk. The sun was also a bit lower in the sky, and she realised that soon, it would be sundown.
And she would be naked, in a temple, with for sole company skeletons and a moth. She shivered in horror at the idea.
Still, she couldn’t quite believe that she was alive. That everything she had just experienced, the agony that she had felt with being poisoned, was out of the way. She simply had to find new clothes, and a corner to spend the night. Then, she would be able to fully regroup, knew her next move, and…
…. There was something, at the edge of the clearing. A grey lump, resting under a tree, on a bed of moss.
Her throat closed up, as her eyes became so, so wide. She got on her feet hurriedly and stumbled toward the form, almost as if she was in a dream. It was… It was…
It was herself.
Laying on the moss was her body. Her dead body. Her lips were turning blue, and her pale skin grey. Her eyes were closed, a small mercy, but she was so, so clearly… Dead.
She had never seen a dead body. The skeleton from the temple didn’t count, they resembled props more than anything. But here it was. Herself. Dead.
It was so odd. It wasn’t like watching a mirror at all. Any second, she expected the body to move, to mimic her movement, but no. She- herself- she stayed there.
Just meat. Condemn to slowly rot.
She saw a fly start to walk on her body’s cheek, and she shooed it away, accidentally touching her own skin.
It was cold.
She snatched her hand away, suddenly hit by intense nausea and terror. She didn’t want to be there. She didn’t want to be looking at her own dead body, in a strange land, nude-
Dusk fluttered in her field of vision. Landed on her body’s shoulder, wriggled his antenna.
Somehow, she immediately caught what he wanted. “You- think I should wear that robe again?!” She cried out, taking a step back.
Dusk flew up and down. Yes. She felt tears well up in her eyes. No no no NO. She didn’t want to touch herself, her own cadaver!!
But she would be nide, exposed to the elements. She already knew that there were no more suitable clothes in the temple. With a small sobs and trembling hands, she started to slowly strip her own dead body.
It was oddly difficult.
Turns out, the expression dead weight didn’t come out of nowhere. Moving her own corpse was difficult, her limbs would just flop down and roll as she tried to push them around. The head, unsupported, was especially disturbing. She had to actually stop yo dry heave in the grass, when she saw the head of her own corpse bounce on the ground.
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She was well beyond traumatized, once she was done and wearing the grey robe again. Shaking like a leaf, she starred at her own corpse, seeing herself in such an… open and disturbing way.
She had been small, or was she supposed, small and thin. A lifetime of privation had never put any fat on her bones. Her skin was pale, and disturbingly grey once dead. She wasn’t especially curvy, or pretty, in her personal opinion. She had mostly looked constantly tired and scarred, which was not getting any better. Her eyes had been a simple brown, and the only part of herself she ever found truly pretty, her long and luxurious black curly black hair, looked like spilled ink under her limp head. Or maybe like a pool of blood.
She tore her gaze away, taking a few step further from her nude corpse. It felt wrong, and violating, to leave her own dead body like this in the open, but she wasn’t sure if she would be able to move her body. And where anyway? Inside the temple? It made her shudder.
She needed to get away.
Once more, Dusk flew in front of her. He had been carefully avoidant of her since she came back to life once more, but now he was being quite insistent. And oddly enough… An irrational feeling of anger was boiling inside of herself.
“You did this to me.” She started. The Moth seemed surprised at her words, and actually flew on a low branch to peer at her better, as if listening. “You… You took me away from me home. You dragged me there, for something that I have nothing to do with! I don’t believe in your stupid goddess!” Her words made the moth twitch “I never asked for any of this shit. I don’t want to do this!” She started to walk away, and Dusk flew toward her, fluttering around her head, as if trying to catch her attention.
Aggressively, she slapped at the air, almost hitting the moth boy. That seemed to spook him, and he gave her a wide breath. “Leave me alone! Don’t follow me! She yelled at the moth, before turning toward the forest and starting her long walk into the unknown.
She didn’t want anything to do with the boy, and she would figure this out without him.
---
She walked for a long moment in the forest, wincing when occasional branch painfully poked at her feet.
It was… Dark. And it was getting darker by the minute, as the sun was slowly setting.
It was also noticeably colder now, and she was feeling fear slowly creep into her. She had already died of freaking poisoned berries, what would get her next?! A broken leg, starvation, a pack of wolves?!
She was also scarred of going in a circle. She needed to find a relatively safe space to spend the night without freezing, and she would continue her exploration tomorrow. Not only that, but she was also quite hungry, and simply parched for water.
She should have drank at the brook behind the temple before going on her own.
As she was wondering if a cave would be safe or potentially populated by wildlife, something caught her eye.
A light, in the distance. Flickering.
A flood of relief so hard went trough her, she could have cried. She started stumbling toward the area, wincing as she stepped on a sharp twig in the dark. It looked like… A campfire? Yes! Whoever had lighted it would be able to help her!
“Hello?” She called out, as the light became more clear. “Anyone here? I’m lost!” She was almost at the circle of warm light that the fire was casting, she could even see a pot of something smelling absolutely divine bubbling, suspended atop the fire.
And just as she was about to step into the light, things went to hell.
A strong force yanked her by the middle, as she felt something quite sharp touch her side, just under her ribs. A gloved hand covered her mouth, muffling her scream of surprise at the sudden touch. As panic exploded in her, a gentle muffled voice whispered against her ear.
“My knife is long enough to pierce your liver fully. That’s a painful death. I can also aim higher and shred one of your lung. If you really struggle, I can go even higher, aim directly for your heart.” The voice was oddly genderless, and didn’t seem aggressive at all, in spite of its terrifying warning.
“Now, will you stay calm, not make a sound and sit perfectly still by the fire, if I let you go? Nod yes if you agree.” She felt the brush of something solid against her head, and she nodded yes, trembling.
She was let free as fast as she had been held by her attacked, and she stumbled forward, sitting by the fire as comfortably as she could, trying not to move.
As silently as a shadow, the form moved in front of her, and the person was… Intimidating. Like nothing she had ever seen.
They were wearing a thick black cape, while their clothes under were a surprising white. They were old-fashioned and hide all of the person’s skin. As for their face… They were wearing a mask. Similar to the ones she had seen in history books for Plague Doctors, but in an odd black-and-white pattern, giving them an almost birdlike look. Their eye holes were covered by what seemed to be thick colored glass, reflecting the light of the fire in an uncanny way. They observed Sarah for a long moment, tilting their head side to side with even more confusion.
“No weapon.” They started speaking again, their voice still oddly gentle and calm, almost melodious. “No provision. No one else around you. Barely any clothes, and not even any shoes. What are you even doing so far out of the cities?” Was their curious question.
She hesitated for a moment, before answering. “I… am not from here. I don’t- I don’t even know what here is!” She felt tears rise up to her eyes. “I didn’t want this, but this…. Guy, moth, person thing dragged me in this world after I died, and I already died once more here, and I can’t, I can’t do that again, I don’t want to die again…” She started to sob, unable to continue, the weight of the day finally settling on her. It was so much, too much for one mind to handle!
The person continued to stare at her, before having a sigh. They grabbed a bag that Sarah hadn’t spotted before and fetched a bowl and a spoon from it. Silently, they poured what looked to be a thick stew into the bowl, before handling it to the woman.
“If you came back today, then you must be starving. Have a bowl.” They sounded so casual, as they said so.
Sarah hesitated only for a second, the smell too good to pass up. She was so hungry… She took a careful sip, and almost moaned at how good the stew was. It was meaty, and earthy, with delicious piece of vegetable and lard floating in it. Greedily, she ate the bowl, barely paying attention to her new companion. She devoured the whole bowl in minutes, burning her mouth and not caring for a moment about it.
“Thank you. You are incredibly kind.” She said, fully sincere and ready to put the murder threat behind her. “My name is Sarah Bate, who are you?”
The plague doctor fetched the bowl and spoon, and hummed as they poured their own bowl of soup. “Eldwin of Greatplaine, order of Noum.” They then starred at Sarah, squaring their shoulder. “Turn around, and don’t look at me. If you do, I will have to steal your eyes.” Commented the person with a totally casual tone.
Of course, this made Sarah uneasy, but she did turn around without waiting. “… Can I ask why? Or will I lose my tongue for that?” She said aloud, wincing. Oddly, this seemed to make Eldwin chuckle, and Sarah could hear how they shuffled with something solid. The next time they spoke, their voice was clearer, as if… the mask was off.
“You weren’t lying when you said that you weren’t from here.” Their voice was so odd. Very soft and gentle, and yet Sarah could not figure out if it was from a man or a woman. “I am a follower of Noum. The Unkindness. By following them, I vow that none shall ever see my human skin again.” The explained as the ate, visible also appreciating the stew. “Everyone know this. Literally everyone. Children are told from a young age to not wander far from the cities, as the undertakers of Noum roam the wilderness. They all know to avert their eyes from our masked face.” They continued, sounding so casual about it.
While all those information were troubling, and a bit scarry, Sarah still pressed on, facing the dark forest. “Well… Aside form the whole threatening to kill me, you really aren’t that bad. You fed me and have yet to actually steal my eyes, no?” She joked, a bit lamely.
This made her companion laugh, bright and true. “I won’t! Or your tongue, for the matter.” There was the sound of more shuffling, and then the voice was muffled once more. “You can turn around.”
She did and found that the mask was back on their face fully. “You probably have a lot of questions. But, you are trembling, visibly exhausted, and on your last nerve.” Continued Eldwin. They reached for their pack, and extracted a cape similar to the one they were wearing, except this one was white like their clothes. “Wrap yourself in this, and try to sleep. You need some rest, and so do I. We can talk some more tomorrow.”
Sarah nodded, finally allowing herself to feel the exhaustion as she took the cape and wrapped herself in it. “Do you need me to face away from you, so that you can remove your mask for the night?” She asked, wanting to be gracious to her savior.
Eldwin tilted their head like a bird once more, before answering. “I sleep with the mask on, it’s alright. Rest, Sarah. Morning will bring clarity.”
She nodded gratefully, laying on the dry dirt by the campfire, her eyes slowly growing heavy. She had a straight thought that, at any moment, Eldwin could decide to kill her in her sleep, and she would never know. Yet, she decided to take her chance, with the strange person.
Sarah Bate fell asleep on the forest floor, watched over by her new companion. She dreamed of moth, car crashes, and sweet berries.
She did not die that night.