Chapter 1: The Library on the Threshold of Worlds
I wake up to the sound of a drop falling into the water and find myself in the dark. So, this is it, I'm dead. Maybe this is all life had for me. As Neil Gaiman would say, "You lived what everyone lives… A life. No more. No less. The time of a life." But damn it, screw you, Neil, I never lived, it wasn't enough, I don't accept this, damn, damn, damn.
In the dark, Dante gives a deep sigh, and he had already lost count of how many of these sighs he had given just today. Dante screams into the much darker real absence of everything in front of him, the Nothing.
Hello, is anyone here? Death? God? Some mystical entity? Random human here waiting for divine explanations. ….
...…
In the silence and absence of everything, not knowing for sure whether one or a thousand seconds, years, or millennia have passed, always walking through nothing, Dante comes across an armchair in the distance, it was his armchair that inhabited his mental library right in front of him as if it had sprung from nowhere or as if it had always been there his desk appears old and solid as if made of a wood that ignored time almost a mix of wood and stone as resistant and elegant as the trunk of a millennial tree and when he touches it all the emptiness around him is replaced by his mental library now much larger than he remembered, in reality much larger than human conception could conceive or imagine its vast shelves seemed like an endless forest with new and old covers stacked and grouped like leaves of infinite trees. Dante felt like when he tried to imagine the vastness of a star or the size of a galaxy, looking around his head hurt as if a burning ember was being pushed into his brain, now on his knees and disoriented Dante notices a beautiful woman sitting in his armchair watching him. She was sometimes pale but at other times black and at times everything in between, her hair was curly and pleasant, and her smile, what a smile it was, it was like the smile of a friend who was happy to find someone very dear, in her smile there was hope and sorrow, the joy of reunion and the pain of loss, it was a smile of love so deep that Dante cried like a lost and scared child who finally found his mother, father, grandmother, or sister; it was a cry of relief from pain, joy, and fear, Dante never imagined that so many feelings could be piled up and squeezed, not knowing for sure how many hours had passed, without the woman in front of him ever hiding her smile Dante finally composes himself, looking embarrassed at the incredibly beautiful woman in her simplicity, Dante apologizes. I'm sorry… I don't know what happened to me, your look I had never seen before. Dante stops to analyze the young woman in front of him dressed only in black and with a gothic young appearance with eyes overflowing with kindness and above all eyes full of compassion.
Dante starts to laugh and says "you know you must be the fruit of my dying mind, I spent most of my life among books and stories, of course the recapitulation of my life in my final moments would be in a library, and if I'm not mistaken you must be the death of the Perpetuals from Sandman I'm honored".
The girl in front of him started to laugh a sweet and joyful laugh, "ah I'm sorry your mind is so quick and bouncy that I didn't even have time to introduce myself, I am as you said the death of the Perpetuals, it may be that I really only exist in your mind, or then be real as real as you or anyone, you humans think that the universe is made of atoms or energy, but in my view in reality at its core the universe is made of stories."
you see I was just walking through the void between worlds I do this every now and then once or twice every millennium to relax you know, when I saw you somehow you a human are lost in the void, you seemed sad and lonely so I decided to stop to talk, come sit with me, I searched your memories and created this library for you I admit I was surprised when it started to grow like something alive, but the food in your memory is really good so who cares.
Dante still confused accepts the young woman's request and sits next to her, he didn't remember there being two armchairs there, but as the woman herself had just said who cared. Dante looked at the death in front of him as an old friend, in reality he didn't know how to act she should be his first friend, and he had just met her a few minutes ago or maybe a few years ago his perception of time was confused starting to give him a slight headache. At that moment the young woman held his hands and her simple touch calmed him down in the background he could hear the sounds of the beating of wings as soft as feathers made of nothing should be.
So is this it? Am I dead? Where to now, I always believed that faith had value but religion was just an attempt to control and shape the faith of others, so although I have known many religions I never chose one.
Again looking up I am greeted by that smile, that face, that old friend, then she starts to talk still holding my hands. Well we can assume that you are dead, or as dead as human conception can understand, understand mortal bodies cannot exist here, here is nothing the space between worlds between stories between dimensions, your mind must actively have called me because here is infinite, I don't expect you to understand but the nothing where we are or well were is so vast that probability doesn't matter even "immortal" beings never cross here without wanting to, chance and probabilities do not exist in the void, zero is zero…
Dante felt that even being a genius that conversation was giving him a headache, he had already lost hours trying to understand the physical concepts but everything seemed so untouchable so theoretical, that he opted for chemistry, biology, and medicine. it was all more palpable and testable, not to mention that medicine gave him a lot more money to buy his books games, movies, comics, and manga.
The death in front of him noticing that his focus was not on her cleared her throat and put her finger on his face reprimanding him as a friend would. hey you should lose this habit of wandering while others talk that's rude, going back to your question I don't know how you said "where to now". A slight silence took over the room as Dante panicked; wait you don't know what do you mean? hey you should be death have all the answers or something like that. Don't look at me, I'm not your death, but I'll try to help you.
Death walked sometimes danced through the bookshelves around her until she found and picked up a book at random, as soon as she opened it a strong wind took over the whole library and With a loud sound of wings, Dante saw himself above the accident flying next to death. well here must be your original world if I'm not mistaken, look at you there on the ground the captain seems to be trying to rescue you.
Another sound of beating wings and they were standing on the ground next to Dante's body, the captain was trying to stop a bleeding in his chest but at that time Dante knew he was already dead, he crouched over his own body and looking at the wound said; it's no use the heart was all lacerated not even a team of surgeons could save me now.
Dante sighs; You know, I don't even remember the captain's name, I've always had trouble making friends or remembering people, I regret that a bit, at least I played the hero before I died. Why did you do that?
Death asked, neither judging nor praising him, just out of pure and innocent curiosity. You know, for me promises have value, they have weight, when I became a doctor I swore to use my knowledge to save lives, I made a promise not to a board or God or to a judge, I made it to myself an unbreakable vow and I hate breaking promises and I hate those who break them, words and agreements are sacred to me.
Death just looked at Dante, at no point did her smile waver or disappear; Well, I can say as death that at least 32 of these people are only alive now because of your intervention, however, you killed one who should not have died.
Dante was startled by Death's words and tried to pull in his mind everyone he had rescued and whether he had made any mistakes or failed, the events of that accident seemed like they had happened centuries ago but were still happening in front of him.
Death, seeing his confusion, began to laugh, and noticing Dante's indignant look, she said; The only person you killed was yourself, the only mistake you made was not following the first rule of first aid, make sure you're safe, but considering the conditions I believe no one judges you for that. At that moment, the rescue had just arrived at the accident and in another flap of wings Dante found himself on a busy street, apparently hours had passed, the accident occurred in the early morning and now it was late at night, on a giant screen at the top of a building everyone stopped to watch the news, the plane that had disappeared in a storm had been found and among its victims was the brilliant researcher and doctor Dante, survivors' accounts and footage from some cell phones showed Dante leading the survivors in the rescue and performing first aid on the victims, the news anchor speaks in the background. In unbelievable scenes, the young man rescues about 70 passengers before falling from exhaustion, the medical team that arrived at the scene reports that throughout the procedure a metallic artifact is embedded in his ribs and heart causing him probably excruciating pain, and if he had stayed still he would have survived without major complications, experts say that the acts performed were superhuman the pain should have incapacitated him and the loss of blood should have made the young man faint in seconds, but by survivors' accounts the young doctor worked for hours before the rescue arrived, an orphan and a brilliant researcher Dante was only 25 years old and his death was an abrupt end to a promising career.
It was a beautiful speech, don't you think? Death asks Beautiful my foot, I didn't leave anyone who will miss me, didn't you notice that at no point did the reporter say "will leave family and friends." or then put a loved one to speak, I tell you why there was no one, I don't regret dying I regret never really living, well that's it for me I can't take it anymore there's nothing in this world for me, can you please take me as Dumbledore would say To a well-structured mind, death is but the next great adventure.
Death once again began to laugh, this time uncontrollably, even bending over as if she had a stomach ache. You know, you accepted and did not accept death in a way that I have never seen in my long existence, you are funny Dante completely broken and lost but human and funny. I'm not here to take you, I'm sorry but it's not my job, you're not from my universe, and apparently you don't belong to that old one anymore, your universe is apparently this library, it was formed by me but from your memories and imagination, let's say it has become as real as you and me, I have a proposal to make you friend, choose a book enter it live a full life one that makes you feel satisfied and come back to talk to me, here in this library on the threshold of your mind are portals to variations of every world you read saw or knew in life.
She said this while running her hand over all the books on a shelf, at that moment Dante laughed. You know, I've always wanted my own Isekai, and if I'm going to be reborn in a world how about this one…
From the shelf Dante took out a copy of Harry Potter and handed it to Death, who smiled and said to him: It's a beautiful choice, remember to come back here from time to time in dreams to talk, call me and I'll come for a visit, I'll make some changes to the story and reincarnate you in a suitable body, don't worry, do you have any requests before you go? Just one, come visit me from time to time, you're the first friend I've ever had in life.
For a second Death was speechless, never before had a human treated her with such naturalness, neither wise men nor tyrants, had called her a friend, well not without ulterior motives, but the sincere gratitude of that human was only overshadowed by the pain and loneliness of his soul, Death smiled and nodded her head before showing her majestic wings and surrounding the human in front of her with a hug. Dante's last thought before the darkness of those wings enveloped him was: Magnificent, I want wings as beautiful as these to fly free, I want to be free, I want to be happy, I want to feel this hug from someone I love.
Dante's eyes close and the beating of her wings is the last sound he hears.