The Bad Ending

I looked at her, my expression pained, as she shook her head.

"It won't be worth it in the long run. You'll find your life unbearable and eventually crave my embrace," she said, her voice heavy with sorrow.

"Your embrace? You mean your cold touch?"

She smiled faintly, her eyes glistening as if on the verge of tears.

"My touch may be cold, but death is warm. And as you know, I am not just death."

She bore the name Lady Death, but she was so much more. She was the final endpoint, the beginning, the journey itself.

Yes, she was the miracle of life, the cold embrace of death, and the end of all things.

When everything in this world ceases to exist time and space, causality and duality, life and death when all fades to nothing, only then will she look back at the world, smile, and vanish along with it.

"You're kind," I said, glancing down at the book, "but I really do need to survive."

She sighed. "Then I suggest you ponder in the Astral Sea."

Chuckling, I erased my name from the page and rewrote it. "Fine. I'll find another way to escape my fate."

Her smile returned, soft and bittersweet. "Good. Now, I can send you off with a hug to shield you from the horrors, or you can choose to have your soul erased along with your life."

Against my will, my arms opened, and she practically leaped into my embrace.

Her arms were as light as wilting flowers—soft and fragile.

Despite myself, I felt her chest press against mine, her heart beating with a cold, deliberate thump, like a slow, distant bass drum.

Her warmth mingled with an icy chill, a paradox that enveloped me entirely. As she pulled away, she whispered chilling words.

"Upon your death, my little one, the world will sing, but the children will cry."

With a sigh, the world began to fade, slipping into the void.

The familiar, now haunting sensation of being pulled upward from water washed over me. My limbs felt heavy, sluggish against the weight of nothingness.

I struggled to lift my head, my hands trembling uncontrollably as I tried to grasp something solid anything to ground myself in reality.

As I collapsed onto the cold, hard ground, the waters dripped slowly from my fingers.

Blood trickled from my mouth, mingling with the sorrow that filled the air.

I turned weakly, my vision blurred, to see Rosaline.

Her sword had only just been pulled free from the stone statue, but her expression shattered any sense of victory she held moments ago.

"Ah, my student," I rasped, my voice barely above a whisper.

Her face, bright with triumph, quickly faded into horror as she dropped the sword and rushed toward me.

"Master, what happened? I was only—" Her voice cracked as she faltered, unable to complete her thought.

She paused, her eyes widening as she took in the vast, empty space around us. It dawned on her then. She understood.

Time had passed differently. In the real world, they fought for an entire year.

"Impossible," she whispered, lifting me by the neck with trembling hands, tears threatening to fall.

Her fingers shook violently, and her breath hitched as she fought to keep her composure.

"Nothing is impossible. I am a visionary, after all."

"Stupid," she said softly, leaning in close, my breath shallow. "When did you take my burden?"

"Ah, does it matter?" I whispered, a faint smile ghosting my lips. "For now, you are not my pupil. You are my—"

"Daughter," she said firmly, pulling me into her embrace.

Her heart beat rapidly, racing as though it were in a desperate struggle with the universe itself.

"Don't worry," I said, raising my hand with gentle strength, my fingers brushing away her tears. "My vision will see through to the end."

"You were a fool," she said, hugging me tighter, her voice trembling with both fury and sorrow. "You could have just left me wandering on that street."

"How could I leave my daughter?" I murmured softly, a weak chuckle escaping my lips as she squeezed me tighter. "I would be a really bad parent."

She laughed, squeezing me even tighter, but it was a hollow sound, laced with heartache.

"Why... why did you do all this? Do you truly see a future in which this is needed, your death for my growth?"

I lifted my hand, brushing a stray strand of hair from her tear-streaked face, lifting her chin gently as snot and tears continued to fall from her.

"I give you a gift, my child."

She nodded eagerly, her breath hitching as I reached down and pressed my hands against my left eye.

"Wait, you don't mean... no, I can't," she stammered, pulling against my grip desperately.

"My power is yours," I said quietly, my voice a mere rasp, "as your master, I must give my all to you. As your father, I must give my body to you."

With a slow, deliberate motion, I plunged my hands into my eye socket and ripped it out, placing it over hers.

"Ah, don't worry," I said softly, smiling faintly as the eye hovered over hers. "It will be like gaining more mana. I shall give you my humble gift."

A swirling vortex of blue and black mist surged, merging into one as my eye merged with hers. The energy flowed freely, and she absorbed my gift.

Her left eye's pupil shattered, breaking away like fragile glass, leaving her gaze stark and infinite. She cried louder, and my arm fell lifeless to the ground.

Constantly, I poured my mana into her, fueling her with everything I had.

"You should become a Saint," I whispered hoarsely, "lead this world to its knees and shape it into one worth living."

I let out a weak laugh, a shadow of my former strength. "Give my visions meaning. As per our blood pact, we share blood."

Though I suppose I didn't fully realize just how much we shared.

She cried into my chest, her sobs racking her body as my own slowly slumped over. Then, I died.

Yes, death was such a bizarre thing. I mean, I was dead.

"Please," she whispered, her voice a fragile, desperate plea, "don't leave me. Not yet. Not like this."

Her hands trembled against my chest as she held on, refusing to let go. "Stay with me, even if only for a little while longer."

But I couldn't answer her, my breath fading with every beat of my heart. "Don't leave me!" she cried again, her voice breaking with the weight of her sorrow.

The world went dark, and I could feel death's cold hands holding my face.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying in her lap, her eyes looking down onto me.

She smiled. "Only this once, I will grant you a resurrection. Though normally it requires more potent terms, I suppose I'll make an exception for my little one."

I could only reach out my hands. The world shifted and contorted, the darkness growing heavier as I realized it.

I was in the ground, and as I gripped onto something, the dirt was heavy on my chest. I dug myself out with each movement of my hands gripping the earth.

Finally, I broke through to sunlight, and in my hands was my entire plan fully accomplished.

A black bell with a blue casing it had a small slit and a low hue like the sound of clashing swords mixed with waves of ocean water.

This was my, Syntari, in its physical form.

The requirements for obtaining such an item, well, it was dying or at least coming close to it, normally.

I looked around to see ash far beyond my vision. I smiled, holding the bell close to my chest.

"I do love a bad ending."