Return of the King

People say that when you die, you are finally at peace, that you can see it on the faces of the dying as they finally slip into that eternal sleep. But that was just a lie. Maybe it was true once upon a time, when the majority of people would die from old age without a care in the world left. That time, however, was long past. 

Now, a peaceful death was a blessing. A miracle. Now, you would die scared and in pain, the only hope would be that you wouldn't be alone when it happened, but Seth had failed to give his teacher even that. 

He could see it in his teacher's eyes, which were still widened in horror and overflowing with despair. Seth knew what had been going through his head when he finally slipped away, because he had been on the verge of doing so himself.