Death. The final step before ascending to the world beyond. Death comes in many forms. Starvation, disease, old age, murder, etc. Death comes for all living things, like local fauna, plants, animals, and humans. In this world, death is more than a process; it's an entity that guides lost souls to the next world. Death, AKA, the guiding reaper, was the first to experience death.
Long ago, at the dawn of humanity. The first set of humans began to roam the earth. They shared the world with different predators and faced many challenges. They faced starvation, survival against predators, climate conditions, etc. The early humans began to adapt, causing their chances of survival to increase. However, not all humans adapted. The first among them; was murdered over food. He received two brutal blows to the head, and the attacker fractured his skull, killing him.
The early human woke up in a dark place. Everywhere he looked, darkness lurked. The abyss stretched infinitely. The early human became frightened and started to run. They ran across the void, hoping to escape and see the light again. Their breath only became shallower, and the abyss only seemed to grow with each step. The early human tried to catch their breath, but each one became more challenging than the last. The early human passed out. When they awoke, the darkness still surrounded him. He didn't feel like he hardly slept at all. The early human stood back up and continued to walk. He had no destination or goal, but walking was all the early human could do, so he did. The early human wandered, hoping to one day find an exit.
Along his journey, he met another lost soul. It was a weeping little girl. The early human was confused by her appearance. He believed he was the only one trapped in the void. That wasn't the only thing that perplexed the early human. The child wasn't naked like his group was. She wore the hide of a boar. He concluded that he was in the void long enough that other humans adapted to starting clothing themselves. The early human went to comfort the little girl, and she was frightened by the early human. She spoke a tongue unknown to the early human while crawling away. He caught up to the girl and held her tight, comforting her. The girl resisted but eventually gave up and started crying in his arms. The early human asked her to join him on his journey. At first, she was hesitant, and she couldn't fully understand him, but deep down, she could. The girl trusted that he wouldn't harm her. She agreed and joined the early human. They both continued to wander the void, searching endlessly for an exit.
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As they walked, the early human started to gather more lost souls, all following him. The early human gathered more followers as he moved along his journey. The void didn't seem as empty as it was before. He assembled over 20 followers in his time walking. With each new person he met, a light started to shine brighter on his group, allowing the goddess of life and creation, Zoi, to find them. The goddess transported the lost souls to her realm. Blinded by the initial light, the lost souls couldn't see anything around them.
When their vision adjusted, They all started sobbing uncontrollably, the loudest of them being the early human. Because he could not see in the void, he didn't realize the changes his body went through. The early human was only a fraction of his former self. All of his skin and muscles had faded from his body. Only his skeleton had remained. He could see, yet he had no eyes. He could feel, though he had no nerves. He could cry, yet he had no tears. The goddess explained that though he had no body remaining, his spirit was still intact. It allowed the early human to express and feel how he did before. The goddess apologized profusely for not being able to save them sooner. She explained that after everyone in the group had passed on, the goddess couldn't locate their souls, for they had fallen into the void, a realm between earth and Zoi's realm. After she noticed the missing souls went missing, she created a place where her creations could live after their passing. Heaven, Zoi called it. The goddess turned to the early human and thanked him for guiding them through the void.
The early human expressed his gratitude for saving him and the others. His only goal was to help everyone find the light again. The goddess had an idea. She offered the early human a role as a guide for lost souls who lost their way to heaven. She would grant him everything that he needed. The early human took a moment to think the proposition over. All he had known was the darkness of the void. He had never had a role before. Even in his previous life, was fend for himself or hunted for others in his group. The early human agreed to the goddess's proposition. From that day forward, the early human became Death, the Guiding Reaper.