Part Twenty-Nine: Truly Alone

Calliope rubbed her eyes. She felt like she had been asleep for an eternity. When she opened her eyes, she became worried that maybe she had slept for an eternity, drawing her scythe out of instinct and slowly turning her head, analyzing the barren white wasteland that she had found herself in. Upon realization there was nothing hostile near her, she sighed and put her scythe back behind her. She marched forwards cautiously, looking for anything that stood out. And, in due time, she came across… her house in the Underworld. Puzzled, she went up to the door and twisted the knob. Much to her surprise, the door was open.

Huh? I always lock my door… she thought to herself, slowly turning the doorknob. Opening the door and peeking through the door frame, she noticed no dangers. Because of this, she began to enter her home. It was exactly the same as she left it; wine glasses scattered across her table, her collection of rap CDs lining a shelf above her fireplace, and two small framed photos on said fireplace, one with herself, Gura, Amelia, Kiara, and Ina, while the other was a larger group photo with herself, Death, Shin, J-chad, Kiara, Ina, Moona, Enma, Jenma, YAGOO, and A-chan. She glanced over at them and grinned. She then ran up the stairs and opened the door to her room, checking to see if everything was in its place there. Upon confirmation that everything was where they needed to be, she sat down on her bed.

I… need to be somewhere… she thought to herself, But I can't remember where…

"God f-wording damn it, why can't I remember?!" Calliope shouted in frustration. She rose to her feet quickly and headed outside. But what greeted her wasn't the white void she used to be in, but rather the massive sprawling Underworld. Surprised, she took out her scythe and began glancing around. Nobody was there, which was odd considering her street was usually quite busy. Still carrying her scythe, she slowly strutted through the street, the only sounds being her own feet pattering away at the gray sands below her. Coming to the end of her street, she found the small ferry station that would take her across the river Styx. It seemed to be manned by an Underworld dweller she didn't recognize, wearing a massive cloak that covered his face and holding a large staff. She went up to him with a card of sorts in hand that she pulled out of her pocket.

"Sir, I'd like a ferry to Rengoku, please," Calliope said, holding out her card, "Mind telling me who you are?

"Ah, you must have always ferried with Steve or Stella, my students. I am Charon, the first ferryman in the Underworld," he greeted himself, staring intently at the card, "Still, it's been quite a while since I've seen a card of that kind. I thought the reapers died out."

"There are two of us left. I'm Mori Calliope, Death's first apprentice, and the other is Watanabe Shin, the Scythe King," she explained to the ferryman, "The rest of us unfortunately lost our lives in the War of Heart."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that," Charon nodded, turning his back on the reaper, "Hop in. Rengoku is a ways away."

"Understood," she nodded, going into the small canoe Charon was sitting in. A strange light emanated from his staff and the boat began to move on its own, traversing the pitch-black river. Charon and Calliope sat there in silence, the only feeling being that of the boat's sway. Calliope closed her eyes, enveloped by the feeling. After about 20 minutes or so, the boat docked on a nearby plank of wood.

"Thank you for the lift." Calliope smirked, getting off the boat and onto the dock, putting her scythe over her shoulder.

"No, thank you, Miss Mori," Charon bowed, "I'm ecstatic that my final ferry was for Master Death's first pupil."

"Wait, huh?" Calliope dropped her smirk, "Final ferry?"

"Indeed. It was an honor serving everyone here, and I only hope I get a chance like this in the next life. Farewell, Miss Mori. Good luck out there," Charon closed his eyes as he was enveloped in white light. Before Calliope could react, the white light had disappeared and the ferryman with it. Confused by this, she turned and began roaming the streets of Rengoku.

This was even stranger. Not a single person was out there in Rengoku. Rengoku, the capital of the Underworld, was completely barren. It unsettled her, seeing the once lively streets utterly abandoned like this, chills running down her spine. Sighing, she came up to a gaudy looking mansion. She gulped and opened the door, finding herself in a large foyer decked in velvet. Taking in the scenery, Calliope noticed a golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling, a small table that had a paper with the words "SOULS HERE" taped onto it, and a variety of photos lining twin staircases that went up either wall. Taking the right staircase, she found many photos of various smiling faces holding daggers, scythes, swords, and axes. Reapers from the past. She winced at them. If only she was able to save them. After some walking up the stairs, she came across another door, with the word "DEATH" engraved onto a golden nameplate on it. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

There, she found Death clutching his chest, hunched over his desk where he would normally be signing paperwork. Her face went pale.

"D-Death-sensei! What's going on?!" she panicked, sprinting towards the cloaked skeleton.

"Ngh, Mori, I'm glad you're here," Death chuckled weakly, "I'm afraid my time has come to an end."

"What the hell do you mean?!" she shouted, slumping Death onto his chair as pained grunts came from his mouth, "You're Death! You can't die!"

"You didn't hear, Mori?" Death asked, mildly surprised, "All things that can die have. Even some things that can't die have. Charon was the last to go. I'm afraid, without anything that can die in this world, I cease to exist."

"Wh-what are you talking about? Everything is dead?!" Calliope's face contorted, "And what do you mean 'even some things that can't die have'?"

"Yes, I'm afraid everything mortal in this world has departed," Death groaned, "Even all of the non-mortal things have died, except you of course. The last phoenix, the priestess to the ancient ones, the Underworld's liaison, the Scythe King, the moon's child… even those such as the the holders of the Tomes of Sacrifice and the twin End Children have perished."

"N-no…" Calliope felt like she was about to throw up, "Y-you're messin' with me…"

"I wish I was, Mori. I wish I was…" Death said, pain slowly taking control of his body, "I'm so sorry, Mori… you're the only one left in this world."

"You're lying… there's no way…" Calliope closed her eyes and shook her head, "Everyone…? J-chad, Shin, Ina… even Kusotori…?"

"Ngh," Death grunted, "I'm losing my grip on this world. Take my hand and all my power will be transferred to you."

"Death-sensei, please…" Calliope's voice broke, "I don't want you to leave… I won't let you leave…"

"Heheh…" Death snickered, attempting to hide his pain, "You always were a stubborn one, Mori. Farewell, my little reaper. May we meet again in the next life."

"No, please…!" Calliope's pleas became more and more desperate, clutching Death's hands, "I don't want to be alone! Not again! So please! Don't go!"

"You'll be alright, Mori… You're a fighter, you always have been…" Death reassured her, "I love you, Mori."4

Death's breathing became less and less steady, and in time the breathing stopped entirely. His skeletal body began to feel lighter, and, just like that, he had disappeared, leaving behind his black tattered cloak.

"DEATH-SENSEI!" Calliope shouted, holding the empty cloak as her words echoed through the now empty world.

...

Calliope stared out into the empty city from above the Cover Corporation offices.

"The only way to kill a reaper…" she remembered Death saying, "Is by making them kill themselves. They are takers of lives after all, are they not? The only way to bring their end is by making them take their own life."

She looked below at the street eight stories below. She recalled all of the interactions she had with her friends, closing her eyes.

"Death-sensei, I'll never understand why you chose me of all people to be your first reaper, but I'll always love you for it. Thank you.

"J-chad, thanks for being my first friend in this hellhole known as the world. You were a partner I could always count on."

"Ina, you were always so kind, despite always hurting inside. I really admired that about you."

"Enma, I loved your personality. So passionate, yet able to hide that passion inside. It takes a lot, I know from experience."

"A-chan and YAGOO… you two suffered so much, yet you still had the strength to show a smile. That takes guts."

"Shin, you were a rowdy one… but I adored you. You were like a brother to me."

"Gura, I wish I was able to spend more time with you. You were a beacon of light in this horrible world we live in."

"Amelia, you played the card of the funny guy, but you really were a deep thinker… and who knew you held so much emotional baggage inside?"

"Moona, I never got to know you too well, but you were an outstanding fighter, I know that much."

"Jenma, I also didn't get to know you too well, but I'll always appreciate the sacrifice you made. You made Kusotori really happy."

"Ngh, Kusotori. I'm sorry. I love you."

Just as Calliope was about to let go and be free, she recalled a conversation.

...

"F-wording hell, Shin, do you not care about whether or not you die?!" Calliope shouted, irritated. Shin simply laughed boisterously, putting his scythe dripping with blood on his back.

"Hahah! Not really, to be honest!" Shin smirked, "As long as it's dying for the right thing, I've always been okay with death."

"God, Shin, that mindset's gonna get you killed for something stupid," she shook her head, also putting her scythe onto her back, "Do you not fear for your life? Not ever?"

"Haha, fear is for chumps," Shin snickered, glancing at the bodies of the dead demons below him, "If everyone in the world had too much fear, we'd probably still be monkeys right now."

"That's not true," Calliope shook her head, "Fear is necessary for human life."

"Maybe, maybe not, I've never been the philosophical type," Shin shook his head and shrugged, "But even so, I've always been the type of person to believe in the small glimmer of hope than the type to succumb to the massive cloud of despair. I'm done being a coward, I did that enough when I was mortal."

"I guess you're right there," Calliope nodded reluctantly, "Still though, stay safe out there. It would be a damn shame if Mr. Scythe King himself perished, would it not?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," Shin agreed, taking a rectangular wooden chunk from the corpse of a fallen demon, "Come on, let's report back to Old Man Death. He'll want to hear about this."

...

Calliope opened her eyes and stumbled backwards. She couldn't help but draw parallels to her current situation.

"Do I believe in the glimmer of hope…?" Calliope asked herself, "Or the cloud of despair…?"

She sat down for quite a while in deep thought, contemplating what her next steps she could be.

"He's right," she looked forward, "As long as there's hope, I'll keep on. I don't share his mindset completely, but if we just gave up when the going got rough, we probably would still be monkeys."

She gazed towards the city, looking longingly at the barren landscape with a fierce expression. She had found her new resolve. She was fearless. And this horrible world of nightmares couldn't affect her any longer. Suddenly, a flood of memories came back to her as she recalled everything that happened in the Mirror, including her confrontation with 002.

"So this was just a bunch of fear magic, huh?" Calliope scoffed, "I guess my biggest fear… was being truly alone again."

Her body began to envelop in a white light and she promptly disappeared, leaving behind the empty world.