22 Godfather Death
Death.
I was staring at Death.
And he was staring right back at me, right into my soul.
Death had on a pale tan cloak that completely covered his head and face; it also covered most of his body. His human feet were barefoot and covered with dirt and grim, but even with him sitting in the water, the filth didn't seem like it would clean off. His feet looked worn and tired, like he had walked across the world and back. But they weren't the only things visible from his cloak...his arms were.
But he didn't have just two, four, six, or even eight like most gods and spirits I've seen in pictures...
No...
Death had an infinite number of arms and hands, forming, decaying, and sprouting from his cloaked shoulders.
When one arm or hand decays and rot into ash in the air, another arm or hand forms and takes its place.
He was the living proof of death and life.
He takes one of his hands and lifts his hood so I can see his mouth.
Death was smiling.
And it scared the shit it of me.
"So you CAN look at me without looking away. You ARE interesting, haha." Death chuckles.
I gulp and try to formulate words.
"Why are you talking with me?" I asked; it was the only words my brain could make my mouth say.
Death's smile vanishes into a straight line.
"Why don't you answer my question I asked first. Does your family not have a surname? I thought your beings in the living realm did. Was I mistaken?" Death asks calmly.
**HOW CAN HE BE SO CALM WHEN I'M FREAKING MY SHIT RIGHT NOW?!?!?!** I yell in my brain.
"No. I-i-i don't. M-my kind uses our status on our birthplace as our surname." I say in a shaky tone.
Death goes quiet as if telling me to explain.
"I am Prince Darien of The Withergate Empire; that is my name. My father's name is Emperor Hyde of The Withergate Empire, and my mother's full name is Empress Nix of The Withergate Empire. My kind doesn't use surnames. Human creatures usually do that, but only if they have power." I explain, sweating terror down my neck.
**Now that I think of it...Alanna. She has a last name and is human, hmm... A-anyhow, not important right now!** I think to myself before shaking my head to get back to facing Death.
"So you say Living Realm souls only had surnames when they have some power within them?" Death asks.
I jolt but nod my head.
Death goes quiet.
Then after what feels like an eternity, he laughs a hearty laugh.
"Man," he says after a good laugh. "And here I thought Aurona didn't give you her surname because she thought you were weak."
I was looking at the water at Death's feet when he was laughing, but when he said that, my gaze when back to his mouth.
"Huh?" was all I could say. I was too confused.
Death went back to smiling, but one smile made me relax a bit more.
"Even a spiritual being like Aurona can give someone like you her surname. But that only happens when those two bind their souls as she and you did." Death explains.
I relaxed more and more as he talked.
**Maybe he's not as terrifying as my gut thinks he is.** I state in my head as a HUGE red flag plopped up out of nowhere.
"And just how I will be doing to you, Prince Darien of The Withergate Empire, and I'm not someone who knows how to deal with the word 'no' for an answer." Death says with a smile that makes my blood drain.
**NEVER MIND!!!!!!**
"I-i-i...s-s-s-ee....." I was able to say finally.
Death laughs and stands up, BUT OBLY TO BE STANDING ON AS MANY FEET AS HE HAD ARMS AND HANDS(?!)
"Also, I'll allow you to make conditions for this. Because what I will bless you isn't like what Aurona gave you." Death says.
"What do you mean?" I ask in terror.
Death in silence for a couple of seconds before bending down to whisper into my ear.
"She gave you life in this world and immortality to keep living in it," Death starts to say into my eardrum. "And while that is a nice gift, 'I' am going to give you the gift of being able to know EVERYTHING about this world, including the Spiritual Realms. And I'm giving you the power of chaos."
I stiffen, and it makes Death grin.
"That's right, Prince Darien of The Withergate Empire; I'm giving you my power. You'll be able to create and destroy what you want when you want; sound good?"
I looked at him from the corner of my eye because he was still in my ear.
"...and why would you do that?" I finally ask.
Death leans back to peer into my face, causing me to see his emotionless frown.
"Because I'm bored, and I want to. Though, as I said, there will be conditions and will be from both parties. Three from you, three from me." He says, shrugging.
My jaw dropped.
Was he serious? Was he doing this because he was BORED?! HUH?!?!?!?!
"But I'm also doing this because you'll be Aurona's lover." Death said like he knew what I was thinking. "And I won't lie, Prince Darien of the Withergate Empire. You were able to do something that almost no one can do, not even my kind."
"What was that?" I ask.
"Look me in the eye in my proper form while I was filling your mind with nothing but your death." Death confesses.
I closed my mouth and looked at the water surrounding us.
...
He's right. From the moment I got here, he's been trying to make me beg for my death. When he spoke, the feeling of my death grew. When I got to see what he looked like, that same feeling intensified by thirty. Then as we talked, it would rise even more.
He wanted me to crave my death.
...
"Here are my conditions. One, you can't kill me. Two, you'll give me whatever power I need for the required task. Three, you have to promise not to scare the shit out of my folks when you visit because I know you'll be visiting my castle when you feel like it from now on." I tell Death with confidence.
Death is silent, too silent.
But after ten minutes, he smiles in approval.
"Then here are my conditions. One, after you use my power, you will feel nothing. Two, you WILL come to the Spiritual Realms once a week. And this condition is mandatory; three, you will use my surname." Death states.
I pause before I ask this.
"What is it?"
"Thaos," Death "My name is Godfather Death Thaos."
...
...
...
"Then I accept your conditions, Godfather Death Thaos," I said.
Death smiled.
"And I accept yours, Prince Darien Thaos of The Withergate Empire."
