7 In A Death-Like State

Despite the risk, he darted to catch Connie as she began to fall. The pigs quickly saw an opening and one had charged through his legs within seconds. It wasn't long before he too hit the ground, unable to move or speak.

Both Connie and Hiro began to loose all feeling, the warmth gradually leaving their bodies, oxygen escaping their lungs - but never returning. Their thoughts hazy and their eyesight fading - as their vision began to cloud over in a dark fuzziness.

The mass of pigs were circling around the two in a sort of celebratory ritual, marking the accomplishment of their feast with unified snorting in triumph; a circle of fire began to give off huge amounts of suffocating smoke and the flickers of embers, the last thing the two were able to witness before falling unconscious.

[23:11 P.M.] Connie and Hiro are deemed no longer alive.

Pitch black. An endless void of non-tangible nothingness. No sense of orientation, all senses numbed. It were as if the two were lost in space. There was no sign of them waking from this eternal slumber anytime soon.

***

"Delivery!" Thanatos, God of death, called as he waltzed into the underworld, casually whistling a harmonious tune, then simply dashing Connie and Hiro's corpses on the floor without a care in the world.

"Took you long enough!" Lachesis, the 2nd Moirai, exclaimed.

"Hey now, there wasn't a need for any rush. Besides, I was already halfway to heaven before you made me take a detour. These guys are no sinners, so what do you three want them for down here in hell?" Thanatos questioned.

"Lachesis can't bare the thought of loosing this stupid gamble we did." Clotho, the 3rd Moirai, replied - the disappointment in her tone of voice evident.

"This isn't stupid! I bet a lot of money on this girl! Her luck was completely just depleting so very quickly... I was sure she was gonna go out in the most gruesome of ways! The Book of Fate never lies! But... her thread of life... it just... it just snapped! That's not normal! I didn't even get the chance to throw the dice of divination!"

"What I still don't get is why you throw the dice anyways, if you know what the outcome is then what's the actual point?"

"Because it's fun to see if the dice predicts the same! Duh! And I earn a lot of money from all the gambling! I'm practically rich now!" Lachesis examined Connie's body. "She doesn't even have a scratch on her!"

"Why do you need more money then? You're such a sore loser, my goodness... Just accept the fact you lost!"

"I will not go out in such an unfair way. I need to know who's responsible! If Atropos didn't cut the thread... did the Keres have something to do with this, perhaps!?"

"You full well know that the Keres have been on their grand hiatus since The Great War was put to an end. Plus, if they had anything to do with this girl's death, her body would definitely not still be in tact. There's no way they'd mess with one feeble human, they tend to go for the masses anyways." Thanatos explained.

"Are you all blind? Can you not see this other guy here too?" Atropos, the 1st Moirai, stated. "And look, pee-brains, they have that bond of fate connecting them. They died together at the same time. That string means there's only one person responsible for your loss, Lachesis."

"You can't possibly mean...?"

"Faye!?" Clotho and Thanatos both came to the same realisation as Lachesis.

"That sly bitch! Me and destiny decide when people die! It's written here in my Book of... Fate... WHAT THE HELL!?" Lachesis watched as the words on the page she was currently looking at became jumbled and rearranged themselves.

"You do realise ALL THREE of us play a part in deciding the durations of human existence, right?" Clotho sighed. "It's not all about you, you know, Lachesis."

"W-where?" Connie's faint voice spoke. With all the bickering going on, nobody really noticed her regaining consciousness. "Where... am I? ...Why does everything hurt so much...?" She felt tired from her life essentially being drained from her and couldn't move around too much to get a good look at the place.

There were many winding rivers, that seemed as if they went on for miles, and the only colour visible were a variety of red hues. The area was swamped with different beasts, which Connie had only ever read about in books, and some were unrecognisable creatures.

A strong sense of fear was arising in her and the four still paid her no attention.

"Who are... these people? ...What is this place?" She spotted the glowing red string on her wrist which was tied to Hiro wrist as well. "Hiro...?" Her poor attempt to wake him up wasn't much help since he was still out cold. "W-wake up..."

"She's awake?" Clotho pointed out. Now the group was looking at Connie as her heart pounded in her chest.

'Are they going to hurt me? Are they here to save me? What should I do? Can I even stand right now? I can't feel much... except this awful pain...' So many thoughts raced through her mind in an instant.

"Marvellous! Absolutely splendid! This girl truly is something - I can clearly see why you put down so much money on this one, Lachesis. Awake even without her soul... extraordinary! Definitely not your average mortal, I'll say!" Thanatos cried out, blissfully.

"It is unusual... though, not too surprising as this particular girl has had a special connection to the dead her whole life thanks to her ability passed through her family's unique gene." Atropos said.

"You've been keeping an eye on this one too!?" Lachesis gasped.

"Her family tree is very interesting. The Ortiz household have a pretty big reputation, you know." Clotho added.

"You as well!? ...I really thought I was the only one, who noticed this little hidden gem."

"Just because you have that book, doesn't mean the rest of us are completely oblivious to people's lives, you know." Clotho retorted.

"My, my! If you all keep yapping with your loud mouths, Hades will be sure to wake up." A female's voice echoed. "Then who will explain how these two, good mortals, ended up in a place where all the sinners go? I'm sure you'll all be in a lot of trouble..."

Connie jumped in astonishment. 'Where's this voice coming from?'

"Oh, do shut up, Faye. The only one in trouble here is you. Your sisters won't take a liking to your tampering with destiny." Atropos grunted.

"Yeah! So-so get lost, you mischievous devil! And I want my money back!" Lachesis shouted out.

"What would I need any money for? I do not waste time on such ridiculous isms, such as betting and when do they ever take a liking to anything I do anyways. What trouble I get into with them doesn't bother me one bit." Faye's voice responded.

"What do you want with these two humans? Offering another one of your messed up deals? Promising a better future? Dishing out nothing but false hope again?" Atropos scowled.

"It is none of your concern; however, I will be taking my possessions now. I thank you dearly for keeping watch for me."

"Typical. I wouldn't expect an answer from you anyways."

"Then there was no need to ask in the first place." Faye giggled. "Ta ta, my not so sweet counterparts~"

Straight away Connie and Hiro were teleported to a new realm.

The light was so intense that Connie had to continuously hold her eyes in a squint, which stopped her from seeing everything clearly.

"Oh, yes, your little human eyes are still light sensitive. It's been a while since I've invited anyone here... just let me..." Connie recognised Faye's voice from before. Suddenly the light was less blinding and she could get a better look at her surroundings. "There we go! How's that? Just right?"

Everything was so bright and illuminated. Either that or it was completely struck with gold. It was the most glorious place Connie had ever seen and she didn't feel drowsy or lifeless anymore. In fact, she felt as if she were the strongest woman on the planet!

"Woah..." Her jaw dropped, taking in everything she saw. Eventually, she noticed the gigantic eyeball looking directly at her and screamed. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?"

"Oh! Sorry! I forgot you're such a teeny tiny being. I must look horrifying right now. Just a second..." Faye adjusted her size to be around the same as Connie's. "Is this any better?"

Faye's sparkling hair trailed behind her as she descended, floating down from the sky. Her landing was dainty and extremely elegant and she gave Connie a sweet smile.

"You look like a goddess... Am I in heaven? Wait! Doesn't that mean I'm dead!?"

"No, Sweetie, I am no goddess and yes, you are dead... for the time being." Faye lifted Hiro's, still sleeping, body upright with a wave of her hand. "Wakey wakey~" She hummed as he began to open his eyes.

"WHAT HAPPENED!? WHERE'S CONNIE!?" Hiro yelled as if they were still back with those impish pigs. Connie waved to him when he noticed that she was right by his side. "Oh... hey, Connie..." Then his eyes wandered around the place and he realised that he doesn't know where he is. "DID WE DIE!? IS THIS HEAVEN!? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?"

"You mortals are so easily scared... I can see why I've stopped doing this so often. It's exhausting." Faye sighed, hopelessly. "No, Sweetie, this isn't heaven; however, you are dead... for the time being."

"Then are you a god here to judge us?" Hiro raised his eyebrow, in suspicion.

"Not at all." Faye shook her head. "I am Faye, the Embodiment of Fate, and I am here to offer you a second chance to live again."