Peter had finished his revenge on those who had killed his wife and nearly him. Stephano may have escaped his clutches, but he was ruined and would never recover in any sense. Now the only thing left to do was return to Lust’s palace and greet his daughter with the hug she sorely needed.
Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he came down on top of Lust’s palace and ran towards where he could sense his daughter. Each step was agony, and his wounds refused to close, but he pressed on. His love for his kids was what kept him going.
Jumping down onto a balcony overlooking the place’s courtyard, he finally spied her. Daisy was with her friends boarding a black carriage. He thanked his lucky stars he had made it in time and hadn’t missed her.
“Daisy…” his voice was almost a whisper with how hard he was wheezing. The injuries he had sustained in the assault on his home were such that even with his newly acquired healing, he would not be able to speak for a while.
“Daisy…” Again, his voice was a wheeze. But he didn’t care even if he wore down his vocal cords. He had to speak with her. But it seemed his voice was too quiet. Unable to hear him crying out to her, Daisy boarded the carriage with her friends and teacher. To his panic, the carriage began to leave the estate grounds. It was now or never.
“DAISY!!!!” His voice finally carried loud and clear. The way it had before he had been injured. To his unrestrained joy, the carriage had stopped. The gates hung open, and it had actually stopped. He could feel his heart beating faster and faster with excitement. Any second now, she would step out.
But no such second came; he waited and waited, yet the carriage did not move. Why didn’t she come out? He could only assume they stopped because they thought they heard him.
“DAISY, MY DARLING DAUGHTER DADDY IS HERE!!!”
Still, no movement came. Looking around, wondering if maybe the palace guards were rushing to his location, it was then he finally saw it. A bird was hanging in the sky unmoving, mid flap of its wings like it was frozen in the sky.
“What is going on?” his voice still carried all around him, but there was no reply. Looking around in a panic, he finally spotted some movement.
A man was relaxing in a chair on the balcony next to the one he was standing in. His entire appearance could be described with one word, ‘plain’. There was nothing that stood out about him in any way whatsoever.
“What have you done to me?!” Peter demanded only for the man to not respond as he turned a page in his book.
“TELL ME OR I WILL KILL YOU!!!”
This threat only elicited a chuckle from the man as he pointed downwards. Looking over the balcony to the floor below Peter could see nothing was there.
“ANSWER ME!!!” Again the man only pointed downwards. Finally looking at his feet Peter finally saw what it was the man had wanted him to see.
It was him, at least what used to be him. Ever since he had woken up in that bed he hadn’t seen a mirror, but now he could see what he looked like. Countless scars and festering wounds all over his body. Looking at his hands, Peter could no longer see any of the scratches he had recently gained.
“Oh…” he said finally realising what had happened.
“Yes,” the man replied, finally speaking up.
“So I’m…?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“I can’t be!!!! I had that new healing power. I was running around just a moment ago!!” Death chuckled at Peter’s words.
“Yes, often the case with mortals. All full of life till you aren’t anymore. Trust me; you have died.”
“But my healing powers…”
“Yes, I flipped close to the end of this,” he explained, holding up the book. “I read that you were told that your wounds were severe and would become infected if you did not rest and let your power do its job.”
“But I…”
“Yes, you ran off the first second you could to hunt down those who had wronged you. You exacerbated your injuries beyond the level your healing could manage. So you died, that final thread holding you severed the moment you saw your daughter.”
“How?!!!”
“It is an odd thing I have seen countless times. A parent will fight me off till the very last second and only relent when they know their offspring is safe. Truly one of the best traits my wife gave her creations.”
“And you are?”
“Death himself.”
“I thought you only came for important beings?” Peter had read countless accounts and stories about death. They all spoke about Death being too important for anyone unimportant.
“But you are important,” Death replied as he flipped the book to the next page. “Every single living being from the smallest amoeba to the mightiest elder-god is important… to me at least.”
“Wh-why?”
“Because you are all gifts. My wife, my other half, Lady Life and I are forever separated till the end of time. She knows I would be lonely so she sends me living beings as gifts. I would be a fool of a husband to discount a single gift she gave me.”
“So what now then?” Death, though, just shrugged in response.
“Don’t you need me to go to the afterlife?”
“Do you want to go?” Peter shook his head; he wasn’t ready.
“Then you don’t need to go… not till you are ready.”
“Isn’t there like a limit of time for this?” Peter asked, gesturing to the world around him.
“Not particularly, you see this is your moment. The very moment you died is frozen in place just for you. Many go off and explore their worlds or go to look upon loved ones one last time. Whatever it is, they need to make peace with their death. It’s not all that uncommon for them to cry and wail for a long time.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“So I can leave here?” Death nodded before turning a page in the book.
“And you won’t chase me?”
“No need, I will remain here till you are ready. When you are, we can go to whatever afterlife is your destined end.”
“But I have done so much wrong…”
“I am not here to judge. Whether the greatest sinner or the most beloved saint all greet me in the end, I care not for the life you lived only that you become mine in the end.”
“Is there anyone else here?” Peter asked assuming there must be other people who had died at the same moment as him even if they are incredibly far away. Death, however, just smiled and shook his head.
“No, this is your moment. Even if someone died at what seemed to be the same moment as you, there would always be an infinitesimally small difference in which your moment will exist. You currently reside between the tick and the tock of a clock. When I say you have all the time in the world, I more mean; you can use this moment as long as you want.”
“So I can’t interact with anyone?” Death shook his head.
“The world of the living is for the living; you are in between and thus cannot interact. However, there are those with strong enough souls to alter the world outside their moment. Such is the existence of ghosts.”
“So me becoming whole again wasn’t me being given a chance?”
“No, that is your soul. When you died, it severed all connections to your physical form. The physical doesn’t always match the spiritual form.”
“Thinking about it, I am surprised by your appearance.”
“Yes, I get that a lot. Many expect a hooded skeleton with a scythe. I personally think a friendly face is the best way to welcome the dead. Dying is scary enough, so I would rather be able to welcome my gifts with a hug and comfort.”
“I’m kind of surprised my life didn’t flash before my eyes, though.”
“Oh it probably would have but I got ahold of this the very moment you did die,” Death replied holding up a book. Looking closer at it, on the front cover was an image of a baby, and on the back was a skull.
“Is that?”
“Yes, this is you; every thought and feeling, every word and everything you have ever done is in this book here. When people's lives flash before their eyes, their book is flipping through the pages.”
“What about my wife?!” Peter asked, feeling a spark of hope. “Will I see her on the other side?” Death though just shrugged.
“Not my department; afterlife and reincarnation are other fields.”
“Reincarnation?” Peter had read about accounts of it happening but had never put stock in it.
“Oh yes, many get bored of their afterlife after a while and choose to be reincarnated. Return to the world of the living to go around again. I am aware of one couple that does it every time to enjoy countless lifetimes with their soulmate. Romantic when you think about it.” Peter looked at Death and could see how wistful the man appeared.
Looking down at the carriage, Peter decided to get a closer look. Jumping from the balcony, he landed in what would’ve been a rough manner, only not to feel a thing. He walked up to the carriage and peered in through the window. Daisy was smiling and joking with her friends.
He couldn’t help but feel guilty as he recognised that face. She so resembled her mother that it hurt. But what hurt most was he knew she was putting on a brave face. He had run off and left her and Jacob behind.
“She’s always been like this,” Peter said conversationally as he gestured to the carriage. “Putting on a smile for everyone.”
“Yes, she did seem rather considerate when I met her.”
“You met her?” Peter asked in shock as he swung back round to face Death, who was still seated on the balcony.
“Yes, it was a little meeting. I saw some mages having fun and thought why not step in and see? That lot of children are very entertaining, I must say.”
“Oh, thank the gods,” Peter muttered as he gripped his chest, only not to feel a heartbeat.
“Your son, though, is even more intriguing.”
“You’ve met Jakey?”
“Yes, for other reasons. I will say that group of small mortals has earned the fear they instil in others. I can only imagine how many gifts they will send my way in the future.”
“I only wish I could say goodbye.”
“A common wish held by many and very few ever achieve. I have existed since this reality formed, and trust me, every mortal has wished for something similar.”
“Is there really nothing I can do?” Death just shook his head. “I don’t want to leave them.”
“I understand from what my sister Fate has told me your crimes will bar them from the bite of vampirism. So you need only wait a century or so barring outside interference.”
Peter paled upon hearing this. Vampires were all but functionally immortal, and hearing his selfishness had cost his kids their ticket to such an existence stung more than the blades that had pierced his flesh that night.
“Guess I will need to go find my son then,” Peter said after a long moment's silence where the only sound was the turning of pages.
“Fair enough, Jacob is in the Dragon Nest mountain range in the Valley of the Sleeping Horse.”
“WHAT IS HE DOING THERE?!!!”
“Your wife said the very same thing,” Death replied with a chuckle.
“They have been taken on a ‘nature walk’ by some of their teachers. You needn’t worry; they are, if anything, the safest people on this world right now.”
“Oh…” Peter let out a quiet groan as he slowly began to walk southwest towards the range.
It was a strange sensation walking like this. He never got tired, and the day did not change. It was a lovely summer morning, so it was pleasant all over. It still took him some time despite the static nature of this existence to reach the valley.
Throughout his journey, he was ever happy he no longer had a heart beating, as he would’ve suffered countless heart attacks the sheer number of monsters he saw on his way to his son. But he had finally made it.
The valley itself was idyllic, almost what writers described Elysium as. Smooth-rolling hills and a quaint little village in the middle. Not a single part of the terrain was an eyesore. But there he was, sitting with his young friends all mid-giggle.
Peter reached out to his son to stroke his cheek. He couldn’t do this with Daisy as she was behind a closed door that he couldn’t open. With a gentle stroke, he said his final goodbyes.
“Son… I’m sorry you had such a foolish father. I’m sorry I am spoiling this fun summer you are enjoying. Look after your sister for me; I couldn’t say goodbye to her properly, so I hope you can help her when she needs it.” With a final step away, Peter looked up to the sky.
“I’m ready!” Death appeared before him, still on the seat and considerably further into the book than he had been when Peter had left him behind. With a gentle hand, he closed the book and rose from his seat.
“You sure? There is no rush.”
“No, I think I would only be suffering, drawing this out further.”
“Very well,” Death said with a comforting nod as he wrapped a warm arm around Peter’s shoulder.
“We shall go to the next world,” Death said as he guided Peter towards a blinding light.
“Will it be pleasant?” Peter asked, worried for all his sins if he was destined for the ninth circle.
“It is up to your pantheon; whatever may happen, I will be there by your side till the very last moment.”
“You’re rather kind; you know that?”
“Yes, I’ve heard,” Death replied with a smirk as they vanished from the mortal plane.
—-------------------------------------
“You ok, Jake?” Zaparis asked as she paused her game of cats-cradle.
“Yeah… I just felt something, is all,” Jacob replied, touching his cheek and wondering why a tear had started rolling down his cheek.