So I'll be a Death Reaper!

Darkness... As I was dying I found myself engulfed in darkness...

You think it would be discomforting but for some reason, it just felt natural. Like this is the true me. Eventually I started to feel the darkness converge upon me. It kind of felt like being born again but being conscious instead. It was so calming, I felt as if I was in the a garden of serenity.

Slowly but surely I sobered up from the feeling after it felt like the darkness finally calmed down. But it... was me? How do I put this... It felt like me and the darkness after it converged up on me. Anyway I started to actually feel things again. Along with my sense of touch feeling the air around me, I heard something, a lot of something.

It was voices! I didn't recognize the language but I could understand it somehow. Did I gain the ability to surpass death or something? Did I not die when I got killed? No, no, that's a rule! Plus I could clearly remember being dead. After the my death I was in darkness but I could still sense my surroundings for around a day. I heard the hospital beeper have a spas and then some crying and moping. It may sound cold of me to say that but it was just the nurses crying from the shock of witnessing a child die. My parents? Well when I was born I was diagnosed with a rare disease and my days where numbered. So they put me up for adoption and ever since I didn't have a real home. I never had any friends, I never did get out of the system and into a loving family. It's not that they didn't want to watch their child die, its just that they didn't want to pay for my medical bills. So yeah, if your wondering, there was a cure for my illness. Though I didn't resent any of the families that checked out my adoption, I did hold a bit of a grudge against my blood family. But it didn't really matter in the end.

Anyway, where was I? Right, I heard the voices and-.

"Happy Birthday Grim!" I immediately was bombarded by the sight of a skeleton wearing a hooded cloak and a scythe on his back. I try to scream but words don't come out. Rather I don't even feel my lungs and my body, what is this?! I looked down to find that I'm nothing but skin and bones! But without the skin!

"Don't worry about that. It's hard to speak at first but you'll learn to do it later on. Anyway, welcome to the world of Fantasia! You look worried, don't worry, we're all friends here. Now, to speak, just try manipulating the air in your rib cage, bring it up to you skull and voila! Sound! Try it."

While I'm still kind of unnerved, the skeleton doesn't seem to have any bad intentions and their aura is giving off a sort of familiar feeling so it should be okay. I try doing as they say, though I probably won't be able to-

"Puh"

Holy Mary Jane! I did it! It might not seem like a lot to you but its an incredible feat if your actually doing it. The difference is like night and day to be honest.

After a few 'puhs' later I manage to be regain the ability to form simple sentences again. "Heeeluoahhhh (Hello)." Okay, maybe its only very deformed words but at least I can reply!

I don't know how I can tell but I can somewhat tell that the skeleton before me has the same opinion. I can sort of sense their open emotions but something tells me that if they didn't want me to know how they felt I wouldn't know.

"Hmm, now that you can do basic replies I think I should give you a rundown of a few things. You a are a dead spirit. However you don't seem to have any sort of attachment to the world and were only hung on with a great affinity for darkness. Because of that you became a lower Death Reaper. A shame really, if you had any sort of attachment in any sort of form you'd be a pretty powerful Reaper. Sigh, well it doesn't matter now, still better than being a mindless dreg. My name is Dusk, soon you'll have to decide on your name as well, so be sure to decide in the next few days. In the meantime you'll just be referred to as Grim or Reaper. It's a nickname that can be applied to all Soul Reapers. The settlements called the Dim Hollow, there are all sorts of races so don't be rude. And when you get 'hungry' please visit Chrysantha (chrysanthemums, look it up!) at the bakery." The skeleton- no, Dusk tells me before leaving.

Finally, a moment to rest. After taking a trying to take a breather and realizing that I no longer need to.

I'm currently in a dark room made of wood which is being lit by a luminous purple light from outside through some windows. I tried to get up on my feet to look outside.

"AHH!" I fell, and screamed. Well that's an improvement from before. Fear was always a great motivator for growth. I tried getting up but I can't however I notice something. While I don't move with muscles I seem to have something in the very center of all my bones, connecting them all. I'll call it a vein for now.

My instinct told me that this was what I needed to move! I try to manipulate it and it works! I moved slowly step by step towards the windows to see a field of grass accompanied by beautiful bioluminescent flowers glowing in a bright yellow radiance. There's a light mist slightly obscuring the scene of the glowing flowers but they manage to shine through. Beyond that is a sea of skinny trees dark trees that stretch towards the towards the night sky. 'It's beautiful...'

I exit the small building to se a pathway leading strait towards another. My guess is that that's the bakery. Walking, waddling and stumbling over I see a few Reapers wearing the classic reaper cloak accompanied by a scythe tied to their back. When they see me the give a small wave and say "Hello newbie! The bakery's just down the path can't miss it! Chrysantha will give you a few lessons about how to go about your daily life."

Entering the bakery I find a Reaper, presumably Chrysantha. "Heelllwooahhh"

"So your the new guy!" She replied, looking at me warmly with her empty lifeless eye-sockets. "I'm Chrysantha. I'm going to be the one to teach you how to reap! But first things first I'll have you clothe yourself lil' skele'."

Oh my God. She's right. I'm completely naked! I cover myself with my arms but there are gaps in the bones!

"Fufu, how cute. Now, please focus on forming some clothing from your inner darkness. Try imagining a shape, some thing. Then visualize it in your cranium."

Strangely enough that sounds easy. I've had plenty of contact with that darkness lately assuming we're talking about the same thing.

I try focusing on my 'inner darkness' into a reaper's cloak but to no avail. It's so complicated! At this time a flash ran across my mind, the veins! What if I make it sort of like a flowing clothing where it flows into the basic shape of a cloak. I'll weave a few veins together here and there to help keep its shape.

"W-wow. Please have a look in the mirror, Grim." She points to a window on the opposite side of the same wall in the corner.

I look in the mirror to find a pint sized reaper staring back at me. A lifeless little child's skeleton wearing a cloak made of pitch black darkness that went down to about halfway down their lower legs or in this case tibia. The cloak started to split for ease of movement at the front around the thighs or femur in this case. The sight was quite earie, especially to an eleven year old. My eyes were hollow and contrary to many novelists belief, there was no strange and mysterious flame glowing behind both of my eye sockets, just empty void.

To other people this would both be surreal and terrifying, however, I feel strangely calm about the situation. Rather than a sense of fear, I feel a sense of kinship and familiarity with the other Reapers. I never felt attachment to being human in my past life but now I feel like if I had the option to change back I think I'd refuse.

My bones are white and healthy looking as well, does this mean I'm cute?

Now the only thing missing for my Reaper loo would be...

"Now we'll get to making your scythe and then we'll get on to actually Reaping."

That's what I was just gonna say!

"So please, follow me, my little Grim Reaper."

She takes me around the back of the bakery and shows me what looks like a dying miscellaneous animal that reminds me of bird because it was covered but if had four legs and had the face of a wolf with sharp fangs.

"Now to form your scythe you'll have to manipulate your soul into shape. If any other creature where to do this it'd be dangerous, but since your a Reaper your soul will have a specific part designed for this."

Eh? Are you saying you want me to kill it? While I'm not too enthused I'm still that much against it. In my past life I was able to sense when things where going to die, and sometimes when they were close and seemed to be suffering I helped them along the way. This got me in trouble many times.

"Since this part may be a little difficult, I'll give you a little help." As she said that I felt a shiver run down my spine. I don't think I'm gonna like this. Her words also felt a little malicious.

She equipped her scythe with both hands and got into a fighting stance. after which, she immediately struck my hands with extreme precision. It felt like an extreme pressure was being released extremely quickly, gushing out into a long pole with a blade at the end. And then, as it was the most natural thing I struck downwards with it at an extreme speed.

Krriticlllllllit!

Afterwards she skillfully managed to disarm me and pin me to the ground in a quick and fluid motion with their scythe to my neck before retracting it a few seconds after.

"Good job Grim! She said giving me a helping hand up to my feet.

"You didn't stand stock still! I was in shock when I first manifested my scythe. Ya got good instincts Grim. There's hope for you yet!"

"Now can you guess what you have to do next?" She questioned.

In response I point to the creature and then my scythe and then look at her for confirmation.

"Correct. As a Death Reaper you'll have to Reap Death essence in order to gain sustenance. It can also help you restore yourself in battle if you get hurt as well as strengthen you. The blade of your scythe is a sort of organ allows you to eat death. Some reapers can eat life, others can even eat souls! But anyway, use your scythe on the dying mespoh and absorb its death essence."

I do as told and ready myself in position. Speaking of which, how do I know how to do this? She mentioned something about instincts before, could it be related to that?

I swing downwards smoothly at the mespoh's wound making give a shrill wail in reply. It's strange, I could feel the scythe. It's reminiscent of a tooth. Through it I could feel something flowing through it and into the core of my being.

It was so invigorating, like a rush or a high. I also felt... better, no, stronger! I wanted more, I needed more! I looked at Chrysantha and she just laughed. "Fufu, quite energetic are we? That's how it is to be youthful. Don't worry you'll have the chance Reap more death soon."

She then takes me away from the bakery and into the forest.

"Now I'll teach some hunting techniques to you."

"Firstly, I'll teach you how to stick to things. You'll do this with magic! Okay? Since we're basically just masses of darkness and death, there won't be anyone better at these techniques than us Reapers." She proudly spoke while puffing their non-existent chest.

"You say something?"

"Nuo"

"Good. Anyway, You'll use dark magic to create a suction force on the surface of your bones."

I try to do as they taught me and manage to succeed in creating a suction force. For climbing she told me to confine the spell to finger tips in order to strengthen the force. It was quite hard since I had to focus on ten fingers at once but Chrysantha told me a secret where you would cast the spell on on hand at a time then activate on the next hand as your using it helps but requires a bit of skill.

Using this we scaled some of the trees that were a bit further out. Once we got far enough she taught me how to hide my presence which was pretty simple since we're undead spirits though that's just what she said, I don't really get it myself.

Crritch clinrinkle.

We heard the sound of an animal's foot steps creeping closer.

It looked like a bear but was skinny. It was like a fluffy dog when their fur gets trimmed. It's tail was long and split into two. Now that I think about it, maybe you could call it a buff tiger? It's fur was grey as well.

Before we got here Chrysantha taught me how to strike from above on a practice dummy. You think I'd be nervous but instead I'm excited. For the first time ever I felt bloodthirst overwhelm me. It pushed me past and hesitation I may have had, any worries of failure, of fear. Now the only thing to do was...

Shink shrllkkt

'Shit.' I didn't manage to kill it. I stabbed quite deep though and managed to swipe a good bit of death essence from the damage dealt. 'With my new strength taken directly from you I'll reap your life!' I thought to encourage myself.

I stab and slash the creature many times before it bucks me off. 'Still not dead?'

I landed on my feet, again, I don't know how I do these things. The bear starts to charge at me (he bucked them a few meters away) and readies themselves for a lung. I ran towards them, slide and then slash their bloody throat! "Uoah!"

The perfect victory...

Wrong! After killing the bear I realized my mistake. I was still under it! Uwa, help me Chrysantha! I look up at them with pleading eyes (Sockets).

She jumped down and landed silently without a sound. 'I don't think I could do that.'

Afterwards she gives me a helping hand out. "Fufufu, I really should've step in there at the end, but it was worth it, fufu." She p-rattled like a jester who laughs at their own jokes.

So concludes my first day in another world.

THE END