《A Reaper's Philosophy》


 Chapter 1: They Have To Pay

    ***


    "What is free will, and what is purpose? Are we all doomed to live according to the script that has been designed by The¨®s, or do some of us truly have a choice to shape our own destiny?" An ancient evil asked his servant.


    "I do not know the answers to your questions, master, but what I do know is this: if it is not within The¨®s'' plan, then it cannot be done!" The servant replied.


    "I feel that I am at the end of my script. The¨®s is done with me; another shall take my place." The ancient evil said with a look of longing.


    ***


    "Grayson, I have already told you to stop playing with that dog! Get over here and help me unload these groceries out of the car!" a tall brown woman said, struggling to hold four bags of groceries between her hands.


    This currently irritated woman is none other than my mother. The Saturday evening sun complemented her perfectly smooth, brown skin as she blew her dark woven hair away from her face.


    You could tell from the sound of her voice just how irritated she was, but her gentle, light brown eyes gave away the warm and compassionate woman she was, they always have.


    ''The same eyes that will bear witness to the enlightenment.'' I thought to myself.


    "Coming mom!" I shouted, trying to get Nala to stop licking me.


    With how fluttery she was, one wouldn''t even notice that the stupid mutt was pregnant.


    Nala is a 68cm-tall greyhound with clear white fur, excluding the one grey patch surrounding her left eye. Her eyes are gifted with a pure, light shade of amber, you can feel the joy and excitement radiating off of them when they look at you.


    ''If you weren''t pregnant I would have killed you already.'' I thought to myself.


    She went missing for one day and got herself knocked up. Must have been getting desperate I guess. She is getting pretty old, and it''s not like she''s going to get any from us.


    "Hurry up please, I need to finish making dinner before your father gets back.... I got these four bags. You get the rest from the car, then bring them over to the kitchen," she said, trying to quickly get the bags inside.


    "Here are the last ones," I said as I put two bags on the kitchen counter.


    Our family has been moving around a great deal. Normally, we wouldn''t stay in one place for too long. We''re not rich per se, but we''re a lot better off than the average middle class.


    Recently, we moved into a two-story house that was simply too big for just the three of us. Although it was unnecessary, I enjoyed the space.


    "Mom, why do we buy groceries from the store even though we have fields full of them?" I asked, irritated by this weekly routine.


    "Well, your father said we can''t eat our own supply. Sometimes I feel like he only says that just to sound like some drug lord. I really don''t mind, it gives me a reason to go out. Don''t worry though, it''s not like we can''t afford it," she replied with a smile.


    ''Foolish man, he keeps giving me even more reasons to kill him.'' I thought to myself.


    My father is a tall white man with a perfectly built, toned body for his age. Out in the field he would always tie his semi-long, dirty blond hair into a ponytail.


    His face looked like it was carefully sculpted, having sharp edges and deep blue eyes that seemed to see through everything. He had always been wary around me, having his guard up like he was expecting me to try something sinister. He never failed to remind me that there was something wrong with me.


    ''Can''t really blame him though, with all the surrounding animals that have met a most unfortunate end, hehe,'' I thought with a chuckle.


    He''s been especially cautious since we moved all the way out here this summer, in the middle of nowhere, where no one could ever hear them scream.


    ''I just see no reason for him to be so paranoid.'' I thought to myself, knowing full well he had every right to be.


    The closest town out here in Sherwood was two miles away, a ghost town really. The isolation gave my mother the much-needed time and space to think and get creative with her writing.


    She is quite an accomplished writer. Selling out each of her works, from historical novels to philosophical books.


    Her most famous work, ''Purpose'', a philosophical book, broke so many records that I even had to give it a read. I may despise her, but one fact remains undeniably true...the woman is brilliant. She viewed life in such a quirky and broad way, it''s quite easy to admire that brain of hers.


    ''Really makes me want to crack open her skull and see it for myself.'' I gleefully thought.


    When my father decided to move all the way out here, my mother was completely on board with it. This was the perfect environment for her to be alone with her thoughts and away from the city noise.


    On the bright side, this location was perfect for my parents to meet their demise, but my father''s constant vigilance and obvious superior strength has proven to be a problem.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.His childhood spent working for hours in the fields, combined with his service in the army, is likely what gave him his strong build. Since I can''t possibly overpower him, I''ll have to resort to either an indirect approach or a surprise attack, perhaps while he''s sleeping.


    The only shame is that his end will have to be swift. I would love to at least impart a few words of wisdom to him before he goes. I want to see the look on his face as I tell him exactly what he did to me, just before he takes his last breath.


    I''ve been waiting for months for everything to fall into place and take them all out in one fell swoop. My parents and the dog included. Because let''s be real, it''s the suspense one gets throughout the hunt that really makes the kill worthwhile.


    Circumstances like these cannot be rushed, it wouldn''t be wise. If all there was to lose was time, for the sake of validating every single detail of the situation, I can afford to lose it. Everything has to fall into place, or else, this won''t be worth it. Knowing this, it doesn''t feel all that bad to wait.


    ''Just like my good old hunting days...'' I thought as I began to reminisce about my enlightenment.


    ''They have to pay!'' I continued to think.


    If everything goes well, tonight should be the perfect opportunity to take my first human life. I''ve been starving Nala these past two days, and she seems to be showing signs of giving birth. With all the moaning she''s been making the past hour, she should be due later tonight.


    She must be feeling hungry and weak, even now. She will either die from giving birth or end up eating one of her young. Whoever is left breathing will have their head severed by the end of the night.


    "...Grayson...! Grayson...! Get out of your head and go check on Nala! Make sure to go with some food for her. She seems to be getting a little thinner lately....


    You as well, actually. I can practically see your bones. As soon as you''ve fed Nala, I want you to come right back and eat. Dinner is almost ready. I don''t want my handsome young man to grow up all bones and no meat.


    I might end up missing out on having grandchildren if all the ladies run away from you, hahaha..." She said, laughing, clearly proud of her little mom joke.


    "Alright mom," I responded, ignoring her joke.


    ''She''s so cheerful. What gives her the right? This oblivious charade from both of them is what has been refueling my anger all these years!'' I thought to myself.


    "Can''t argue with her though, I am quite handsome," I said, looking at the living room mirror.


    Mother always says I have the most beautiful turquoise eyes she has ever seen. I got my dark hair from her except for the few blonde strands here and there. That I most definitely inherited from my father. I''m only 17, but I must say I''m quite the looker.


    "Grayson, I understand why you would want to admire yourself, but please go check on Nala. If she gets any louder, my eardrums might burst!" Mom said to me, her worry only increased.


    As I walked towards the barn, with food in my hands, Nala''s annoying moans kept getting louder and louder. I found the barn door open and looked through it with disgust.


    Beyond the door were three puppies on the floor with some disgusting liquid and a bit of blood all around them. One of them seemed to be completely silent and wasn''t moving.


    "Ha-ha, the bastard actually went on and died before I could get to him," I said out loud.


    ''It seems there are still more of them coming. This might take a while,'' I thought to myself.


    I closed the barn door, then immediately threw away the food to the side.


    ''You won''t ever need to eat after tonight,'' I thought.


    As I walked back to the house, I ran into my father, who had just come back from working in the field.


    He walked towards me, as he used the shirt he was supposed to be wearing, to wipe off the sweat on his face.


    "Grayson, what are you doing out here?" he asked, a little more than curious.


    "I was just checking on Nala, she should be giving birth soon," I replied without hesitation.


    "Have you been feeding her? I''ve noticed that she''s been losing weight...I don''t want her to end up like the others. Unlike you, she is actually capable of showing empathy," he said to me sternly.


    "Of course I have. I actually just came from giving her food right now," I replied, ignoring his last comment.


    "Didn''t you say you only went to check on her?" he asked as his deep blue eyes stared at me intensely. It''s like he could see right through me.


    "I, I just forgot to mention that before," I replied hesitantly.


    "Is that so...? Anyway, I can smell something good being prepared in the house. Let''s go and eat," he said, dropping the topic, but not without taking a few curious glances at the barn.

 Chapter 2: The Basement

    "Michael, Grayson, you''ve come back just in time! Dinner is already on the table, you guys just go ahead and start eating. I''ll be joining you as soon as I''m done with these dishes," my mother said, giving us one glance, then continuing to wash.


    "Hello Clara," Michael said, turning his wife around and pulling her waist closer to him.


    He gave her a deep kiss, which ended up being longer than it should have in front of their son. He swiftly lifted her up, then gleefully placed her around his waist.


    He then began pressing his lips on her neck, feeling her pulse rise with each peck as he listened to her breathing get heavier. However, just as his hands began going lower....


    "Michael, you stink...go and wash up," she said, breathing heavily.


    "I will, after you go and eat. Allow me to finish the rest of the dishes," he replied with a victorious grin on his face, then proceeded to take over the dishes.


    "*sigh*


    "Sure, that would be a big help," she said defeatedly as she dropped from his waist.


    My mother was currently wearing black tights and a tight yellow t-shirt. With each of them hugging her body firmly, leaving little to the imagination. As she walked away, my father did not miss the opportunity to slap her round, plump ass, causing them to wiggle like a collision of two water balloons.


    "Michael!" She said, startled.


    "We will finish this later," he said expectantly, his grin growing even wider.


    "I think I have lost my appetite; I will eat my dinner another time," I said as I got up to walk away.


    "Bring those piles of bones back here, young man!" she shouted, surprisingly, with a serious tone.


    "You need to start eating properly. Don''t you want to grow up to be handsome and strong like your father?" she added.


    "HAHAHA, listen to your mother boy, even though that could never happen," my father added a comment of his own.


    "No, thanks, being able to hold a woman around my waist isn''t really a priority for me at the moment," I said, walking away....


    "There is something seriously wrong with that boy," Michael said, putting away the last dish.


    "Well, there''s going to be if you keep agitating him like that. He can obviously still hear you!" Clara replied with much concern.


    Just like my mother said, I could still hear them speaking as I was going up the stairs. My father may have already given up on me, but he''s right.


    Anyone with two eyes and a functioning brain can easily deduce that there is something wrong with me. My mother appears to be blinded by what others may perceive as love, but love is subjective.


    Some parents beat their child and call it discipline, out of love, whilst others turn a blind eye and allow their children to learn from their mistakes. Some may discipline them in an entirely different way. All these people may consider their actions to be acts of love.


    However, love is neither of these things. To love is to be perfect, and nobody is perfect in this world. Thus, there is no such thing as love on Earth; just people making excuses for their self-interests.


    The fact is that humans, by nature, are selfish beings who only show compassion for selfish reasons. The concept of good and evil are two sides of the same coin. One might think they are choosing one over the other, but ultimately it is still the same coin and motive determines the side.


    Acts of good will, like evil deeds, are driven by self-interest. There is simply no good or evil, only self-interest, and that is human nature.


    ''What better way to bring out this human nature than to threaten her life!'' I began to think.


    Once she is in a situation where what she values the most is being threatened, her self-interest will completely overcome any morals or compassion she might think she has.


    ''Tonight, I will show her the enlightenment!'' I thought as I walked into my room.


    As I lay on my bed, I began to remember a time when I didn''t know true human nature. Although it was so long ago, I remember the lessons imparted upon me like it was yesterday. This is who I am now, what I am truly meant to be...but I wasn''t always like this....


    ***


    When I was five years old, my mother decided to continue her studies. She went to pursue her Master''s degree.


    As for my father, he wasn''t always a farmer like his parents. My father used to be a pilot. He flew multiple missions for the US air force and was required to serve for eight years.


    With both my parents'' consistent absence, my father decided it would be best to leave me with his parents at their farm. My mother wasn''t coming back for another 2 years, and two years were all my grandparents needed to get through to me.


    Throughout the first month on the farm, I lived with the old bastards just fine. They seemed to be good people. They would occasionally give me treats, and made me feel special. The old hag even sang me lullabies to fall asleep. Her voice was old and dry, but back then, it was the thought that counted. Her lullabies quickly became something I looked forward to.


    However, one fateful day, as if possessed, they burst into my room and dragged me out of my bed by the hand. It was the middle of the night. Naturally, I was still processing what was happening as they threw me in their basement.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. It was dark there, and I was all alone. As soon as the reality of my situation sank in, I blaringly began to cry. I cried so loudly and for so long. Even after my head began to ache, I never stopped.


    It was simply the only thing I knew how to do in such a situation. For the rest of the night i went on like this. I cried and slept, repeating this routine. My tears eventually ran dry. I was now just making loud, irritating noises.


    The next day, in the afternoon, the old man finally came down to the basement and told me, "If you want to eat, you will have to stop crying."


    He quickly left after saying this. I begged through the door for them to let me go, then helplessly opened the handle.


    Surprisingly, it wasn''t locked. I found them both standing five feet from me. The old man was holding a belt.


    "I was wondering how long it would take you to open that door," he said.


    With rejuvenated tears in my eyes, and mucus coming out of my nose, I ran towards my grandmother. However, just when I was within arm''s reach, she kicked me in the stomach. I lay on the floor lamenting the pain, but I couldn''t even do that.


    Immediately after, the old man began beating me with his belt. In between his beatings, he would switch it up, so the belt buckle would strike me. This gave me bone fractures and some minor internal bleeding around my arms as I tried to protect my head. I quickly ran back to the basement and hid in the bathroom. Fortunately, they never came after me.


    I cried for another 2 hours in that bathroom, as blood drooled out of my wounds and dried. I eventually lost the energy to cry any longer and finally fell asleep. I woke up not sure of the time nor how long I had slept.


    As I peaked through the slightly open bathroom door, I surveyed the basement.


    ''It wasn''t a dream,'' I thought to myself.


    Nothing had changed, except for the plate of food and a glass of water that had been placed by the door.


    I quickly got on my knees and started to devour the meal before me. As I was eating, I heard the basement door open and the old man slowly came down the stairs.


    "This is the last time that we will be feeding you. From now on, if you want to eat, you will kill!" he said, dropping a live rat on the floor.


    The rat quickly ran into a crack in a dark corner and disappeared.


    "What do you mean, kill?" I asked, hoping he didn''t mean what I thought he meant.


    "You kill, we''ll cook." He replied with a grin.


    I began to cry again, but then he quickly slapped my face. Clearly, he disliked the noise.


    "This is life: You cannot depend on anyone else but yourself. Everyone is in this life for themselves. This is a lesson we have tried so hard to instill in Michael, but we''ve come to realize that we were too soft on him. By letting him make his own decisions, he went on a different path.


    Only when you have felt the sweet, liberating embrace that is pain can you then decide how you will live. We should have forced this lesson on Michael. People are always out to look after no one but themselves. Remember that! I know it, my wife knows it, and soon, you''ll come to know it as well. Embrace all that pain has to offer.


    It may be too late for Michael, but we won''t make the same mistake with you," he said with a powerful, but soar voice.


    He had the most unusual, spine-chilling smile forming on his face as he said this.


    "Now get yourself cleaned up, you stink. I will be bringing you a change of clothes every week," he said, walking up the stairs and shutting the door.


    After that day, the old man would drop a live rat each day, alongside 2 glasses of water. I didn''t want to kill a rat, in fact, I was afraid of them. For three days I was reluctant about it, but then my hunger got the best of me.


    At my breaking point, I finally decided, for the first time, to hunt for my food. It''s already difficult to catch a rat as it is, but in this basement, where the only entry for light was a tiny basement window, it was darn next to impossible. I had to wait and listen carefully to where the rats were.


    For hours, I found myself running around in circles as my hunger grew even more painful. I quickly began to lose the little energy I had left to chase them down.


    I lay on the floor feeling defeated. Tears began rolling down my face as I tried to think of what to do. It was still hard to believe the situation I was in and that my next meal would be a rat. I lay on the cold floor unable to see a way out of this.


    After another long crying session, I finally sat on the cold floor and listened motionlessly.


    In this basement there are multiple cracks where a rat could easily slip into. Occasionally, they would come out, but when they did, it was often too dark for me to even follow their movements. I''m not fast enough to catch them, so, my only option was to wait for them to come to me.


    For a full hour, I waited for the perfect moment; for the perfect chance where I knew my next move would not go to waste. I was physically tired and mentally drained. I couldn''t afford to be running around aimlessly.

 Chapter 3: Everything-Will-Cease

    After a long and frustrating wait, just when I was beginning to lose hope, one of the rats finally came close. I could hear it sniffing around me. It drew closer and closer, still keeping an eye out for danger. My heart began to race little by little as I tried to keep my breathing in check.


    The moment I felt its warm breath on my toes, I knew this was the moment I was waiting for. Without hesitating, I quickly snatched the rat off the ground. The rat bit me, but I refused to let it go so easily. I then struggled to get on my feet. They felt numb from sitting so long.


    I looked at the struggling rat between my hands sympathetically. I knew what I had to do, but felt too disgusted by even the thought of it. Eventually, I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. I slowly tightened my grip around the rat, and hesitantly stepped on the rat''s head, crushing its skull instantly. Its blood and brain matter formed the shape of a crimson star around my heel.


    With tears in my eyes, I climbed up the stairs and opened the door slightly. Scarred by my last experience coming out that door, I felt scared to even peak outside. I then stretched my arm slightly through the partially opened door, dropped the rat, then ran straight back down. Two hours later, the old woman came down with a plate of food.


    On the plate I could see a perfectly fried rat. I''m not sure whether it was just the hunger, or the old hag''s beautiful cooking, but that rat smelled like something you would serve to a king. The aroma that came from it felt divine to my nostrils.


    ''I can finally eat.'' I thought to myself.


    I began to run towards her with my arms stretched forward, attempting to grab the plate from her. To my surprise, I suddenly received a slap to the face in return.


    "Control yourself! No matter how much your urges grow, you must never succumb to them. We won''t have you acting like an animal," she said.


    "Don''t you understand? We''ve been given a second chance with you, Grayson. This is a good thing. We couldn''t properly enjoy-... I mean educate Michael, but with you...? It will be different." She added with a serious tone, which was in contrast to her facial expression. There it was again. She also had that same frightening, spine-chilling smile, similar to the old man''s.


    After sitting through a 5-minute lecture about controlling my emotions, she finally placed the plate down and went back upstairs.


    "I will be bringing you water occasionally. Make sure you keep those urges of yours in check when I''m back or else, next time, I won''t be so nice," she said as she was closing the door.


    I slowly began to start eating, not believing that this was my life now. Eating rats in my grandparents'' basement. On this day, I did not cry. It felt like my tears had completely dried out. From then on, the only thing that mattered to me was my next meal.


    For a while, this had been the trend, hunting down rats and crushing their heads. After two months passed, I became very sensitive to sound and even started to notice a pattern in the rats'' movements. Eventually, I no longer had to wait for them to come to me and took the hunt to them.


    It was still quite difficult to catch them, but not like before. I remember hearing their squeaks and scratches through the walls every day. I could now tell which paths they took and what crack they would come out of. The key was still patience.


    Unfortunately, they were also learning, and eventually no longer came out of their usual cracks in the walls. They straight out avoided them. I had to scratch openings in the wall to catch the rats in their tracks. This caused my fingers to bleed and my nails to fall off, but it was all for the sake of survival; it was all for my next meal.


    The week after, I realized I had been wasting meat by crashing their heads, and the cleaning wasn''t all that fun either. So I began to break their necks instead. Throughout the final months of staying in the basement, they would occasionally bring me bigger prey like cats or a dog.


    The cats weren''t a problem, but I was a little hesitant about killing a dog. They used to be one of the only things I still had love for. So, naturally, I failed to kill the first dog they brought to me and decided to keep it. I then began hunting for two.


    I was only 5 years old, and wasn''t the most creative child. So, I decided to name my new friend ''Woof''.


    At first, we lived off the cats they brought down, then we relied on the rats to replenish our energy. However, for some unknown reason, they never brought down another dog.


    I didn''t pay it any mind as it was good for me. I then began to leave two rats by the door instead of one. Each time the old man would come down to drop another rat, I would hide in the bathroom with Woof.


    Woof made this whole experience so much more bearable, he gave me the much-needed love that I longed for. We ate together, hunted together, and he would always sleep by my side each night and that gave me comfort.


    Sometimes I would find myself crying in my sleep and Woof would lick the tears off my face and sleep even closer to me. This went on for 6 weeks, but the old man surely must have noticed by then that I had never brought the dog back up.


    Perhaps he always knew. In fact, I now believe he was counting on it. There''s no way he would have just let me keep Woof for so long without noticing and without a purpose. Not to forget the barking and howling that he did often.


    As predicted, one day, the old man came down the stairs with a belt in his hand and the old hag following behind. Thinking that it was just another day when he would drop off a rat then leave, I hid in the bathroom with Woof as usual.


    However, this day was different. Without warning, he opened the bathroom door, grabbed me by the neck, then pulled me out. He threw me towards a wall and began to beat me senseless with his belt. All the while, I never cried once. This seemed to bother him and motivated him to beat me even harder.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Woof was growling and barking at the old pair the entire time. Then, he foolishly attempted to attack the old man. The old hag, however, got in the way and started to beat Woof with what seemed to be a metallic rod.


    Once the old man had gotten tired of beating me, he then said the life-changing words that stick with me to this day:


    "There is no joy in this world that lasts forever, there are only fleeting moments of it. The only true constant is pain. This is something that everybody feels without end, even in their fleeting moments of happiness. Pain is not selfish, it does not choose one and leave the other. Pain is for all and all is pain," the old man said with that same spine-chilling smile on his face.


    "Burn these words into your mind, child, and make them your philosophy." The hag then pointed at Woof. "Now kill it!"


    She then handed me the metallic rod. Without hesitating, I took it and tried to attack her with it. However, the old man was quick to react and caught the rod, snatching it from my hands. He beat me a few more times, with the rod this time, then said, "You had your chance, now you will do it with your bare hands!"


    I immediately got on my knees, crying and begging for forgiveness, but my plea went on deaf ears.


    The only response I got from him was, "Kill it! The only person you can rely on is yourself. Remember that boy... kill it!"


    "Please, don''t make me do this. He is my only friend. I''ll do something else. I''ll kill anything else you want me to kill. Just don''t make me kill Woof!" I pleaded with tears now finally rolling down my cheeks and snot began to drip from my nose.


    The old man looked at me with a smile. Clearly amused by the sight of me finally crying.


    "Do you still not get it, boy? It''s either you or the dog!" the old man shouted all the while, beating me with the metallic rod and never losing his smile.


    "STOOP STOP! I''ll do it; I''LL DO IT!" I said defeated.


    I then walked up to Woof with a limp. He looked at me with pitiable eyes. Each of his legs was now broken or fractured. All he could do was whimper in pain. Seeing me come closer, he tried to get up, but failed to do so with his injured legs.


    I then wrapped my bruised hands around his neck and slowly tightened my grip. He did not resist in the slightest. I was unsure whether it was from his lack of strength to do so, or his reluctance to attack me.


    "I can''t!" I said to the old couple before receiving another strike to the back from the old man''s belt.


    Gritting my teeth, I finally pressed down on his neck with the intention of killing him.


    After a while, I could feel his pulse slowing down. His eyes widened and looked like they were about to bulge out. Tears came out of his eyes, but all the while he never resisted. His body wiggled and twitched uncontrollably, until he was finally dead.


    Tears ran down my face, like a river, as I held Woof''s now lifeless body in my hands.


    On that frightful afternoon, I strangled the life out of the only friend I ever had. I looked up at the old couple with teary eyes and saw the most frightening, satisfied smiles on their faces. They then picked up Woof and headed up the stairs.


    "I''ll be back with your lunch," the old hag said, patting the dead dog in her hands.


    Although I felt pain all around me from the beating I had just received, there was a different kind of pain this time, growing within me. This pain caused me to cry all day and all night without eating or drinking. The pain of losing the last thing my emotions held on to.


    This pain was different from the physical abuse I had gotten accustomed to. It was consuming, suffocating, and made me feel like just giving up on everything...but I didn''t¡­I couldn''t. Not after all I had been through. Ending it now would have made everything I went through meaningless.


    Still wiping tears from my eyes, I began to think about the reason I was kept down here. There had to be a meaning as to why all this was happening to me. It was at that moment that something within me broke. Suddenly, my tears stopped flowing, and I finally realized everything the old man had been saying was true.


    The only true constant is pain. It was the only thing I felt that never ended. I will probably carry this pain till the day I die. This pain is the only thing that will always be with me, everything else will cease.


    ''It''s good that I killed that mutt myself; it would have died anyway...at least it died on my terms. That''s right, I probably did it a favor.... Everything-Will-Cease!'' These thoughts went through my head at that time.


    By the end of those two years, I came to realize the only person I needed to rely on was myself. My parents weren''t coming to help me. They were the ones who left me there, and for what? Nothing but personal gain. One wanted knowledge and success, and the other wanted glory. As for me, I wanted what everybody wanted. I just wanted to live, and that''s all I could do.


    Two years had passed, and my mother finally came back. She stayed with us for about five months before leaving again to get her PhD. Seeing her for the first time after enduring this hell for so long....


    I felt¡­nothing!


    Nothing but hatred towards her. Hatred for leaving me there; hatred for her inability to save me from this hell; hatred for coming back to me with such a bright smile on her face.


    Although I was feeling all these negative emotions towards her, I was calm and never acted towards them.

 Chapter 4: Pain Is For All…

    I remained calm, as I held in my anger.


    "How has my strong little boy been doing? Come give mommy a hug," she said with her arms wide open.


    Her eyes became moist, but she had the brightest smile on her face. I walked out of the house feeling the sun''s direct rays on me for the first time in a long while.


    I couldn''t even focus on the woman shouting at me in the distance. All I wanted to do was bask in the sun and appreciate it a little longer, but that would have to wait.


    I walked up to my mother, and she quickly embraced me with a deep hug. This was something that I hadn''t experienced in a long time. At that moment, I remembered how I used to hug Woof to sleep, which made me resent my mother even more.


    "You''ve grown so much, let me see those beautiful turquoise eyes," she said with a little worry on her face.


    It was only then that she noticed how the glow in my eyes was no longer there. The old couple did make sure to clean me up well, weeks before my mother''s arrival. I guess they couldn''t cover up everything.


    For five months, I was able to pretend like nothing had happened, which was probably why the old couple was willing to let me freely wonder around the house, despite my mother being there. They could tell that I had seen the enlightenment. It was quite the gamble that they took.


    Five months passed quickly, and my mother left me with the old couple once again. Only this time, things were a little different. I went back to the basement as usual, without having anyone tell me to do so. To my surprise, there was a butcher knife on the floor.


    An hour later the old man came down with not a rat, nor a cat, nor a dog this time. This time, he came down with a pig.


    "If you want to eat, kill it," he said to me, then walked back up the stairs.


    ''Is this supposed to be some sort of reward for keeping my mouth shut?'' I thought to myself.


    The pig, although young, was quite big. Worst of all, it was covered in mud and feces. It then began to squeal loudly as I approached with the knife in hand. The squeals were deafening and became painfully annoying, so I quickly slit its throat open and gutted its stomach repeatedly. Its screams were deafening, but all I could think about was pork.


    For the whole week, that''s all I ate. Since I couldn''t finish that much meat in one day. On the second week, they brought me a goat. On the third, he brought a lamb. On the fourth week, however, all he did was open the basement door, but never came down.


    I then went up the stairs, out of curiosity, and stood before the open door. There, I found the old couple standing five feet from me. I quickly remembered the beating I received last time I tried to get out and instinctively took a step back.


    "Don''t worry." the old hag said. "From now on, you will not only hunt, but also cook your own meals. You can also have your old room back, so be grateful." the old man added.


    They both walked away after, leaving me standing at the door. I was still hesitant, but I still took a step forward and was officially out of the basement. Despite my anxiety then, nothing had happened. From that day onwards, everything changed for me in that house.


    I would always rise early in the morning to go hunt for my food. Beyond the fields was a small forest rich with life. Every day was a hunting day for me, which I grew quite fond of. My hearing had significantly become more sensitive, which gave me an advantage during my hunts.


    Education, for some reason, was still a necessity. Even after all that had happened. I reluctantly started home-schooling during the day. During this time, I read various books, teaching each subject, especially history. From the history books, I took notice of a repetitive pattern of self-interest in human nature. It easily became my favorite subject.


    This was my daily life. However, I would normally find myself going back down to the basement every night. When I was there, I felt like I was home.


    Quickly, four years had passed, and my mother was finally done with her PhD. Her frequent visits in between had fueled my hatred till the day she finally came to get me.


    Although I was put through hell, I left the old couple''s place without any resentment towards them. In fact, I thanked them for my time there. I was grateful to them. I saw the world in a whole new shade; it''s true shade.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. As I expressed my gratitude before leaving, they gave me their all-too-familiar spine-chilling smile and said to me, "Pain is for all..." I smiled back and replied, "...and all is pain!"


    ''Still can''t get used to those smiles though,'' I thought to myself.


    For the next two years, I was constantly on the road with my mother. With our RV, we moved from state to state, looking for inspiration and legitimate sources for her book. Two years passed, and she finally published her first book, making millions from it.


    Soon after, my father came back from serving in the air force. My mother was overwhelmed with emotions after 8 years without her husband. He looked different, bigger and more toned. Because of this, she got a little more than just excited....


    They were loud...


    Day in, and day out...


    For a whole week...


    Quickly, a month had passed with us still on the road. That was until we decided to settle in New York. This was where my mother founded her own journalism company and began her rise in the business industry. It was also where I had my typical, teenage, high school life.


    During my school days I mostly kept to myself, never starting a conversation and only spoke when addressed. It all felt pointless to me.


    However, with my looks and my mother''s fame, I couldn''t help but attract attention all round. Especially from the females of that school. I even ended up dating one of them. My peers eventually convinced me that it was an essential part of high school.


    Being in a relationship wasn''t all that hard, all I had to do was go with whatever she wanted to do, and she wasn''t too much of a bother. I was quite well off financially, so providing for any of her needs wasn''t difficult in the slightest.


    She was in love with me, she said. The lessons I wanted to impart to that fool each time she said those words raced through my mind. However, all I could do then was say it back and keep up the image of a normal teenager. I already had too much heat on me to do anything drastic.


    Being in the city, there were no animals for me to hunt and satisfy my urges. I had to resort to pets and strays.


    After hunting on a daily basis for so long, it was hard for me to just stop. I began going after our neighbors'' pets. Eventually, I ran out of those. So, I began to frequently ask for pets of my own. After a while, I would cut them down and blame it on a random misfortune, which was basically true. Their deaths were random, and what a misfortune that was.


    However, no matter how composed I would seem, each time there was a new report on an animal being cut down, my father would always give me a side eye. It''s like he could see through my oblivious act.


    The man grew up living with the old bastards. He may not have gone through what I went through, but he surely must have picked up a few tricks and lessons over the years.


    A few years passed living in the Big Apple, every day going by like a routine. However, one day out of the blue, my father decided he wanted to move out of the city and become a farmer. The city life was truly not for him. I wasn''t too surprised though, seeing how he grew up on a farm. This was how we ended up all the way in Sherwood back in 2017.


    Throughout the years, my mother has published two philosophical books and three novels. The following books didn''t make as much of a profit as the first one, ''Purpose,'' but she would be more than well off if she were to decide to retire at the present date.


    ''Seems to me like they both lived long, successful lives. Everybody''s happy,'' I thought to myself.


    "Well, it''s about time I kill those ignoramus bastards," I said to myself as I got up from my bed.


    I stepped out of my room and saw a long hallway with a slightly open door at the end of it. I then heard noises that I had yet to make, coming from the room.


    "Isn''t that the guest room?" I asked myself. ''Not that we ever have any guests though,'' I thought.


    I started to walk through the hall, towards the slightly open door. I passed the stairs beside me as the noises became louder.


    As I stood 3 meters from the door, I shockingly figured out exactly what kind of noises I was hearing.


    ''Horny bastards,'' I thought to myself.


    Moans, loud but subtle moans filled the hallway. I see my mother naked and riding on top of my father as if her life depended on it. The moonlight coming from the skylight highlighted the sweat on her back as my father rubbed one hand across it and fiercely grabbed her round, plump ass with his other hand, unable to contain all of it.


    His face was buried deep in her breasts. As he occasionally sucked on her dark, erect nipples, she moaned slightly louder. He suddenly hugged her back tightly and began to thrust back like an animal. She moaned even louder, unable to hold back her voice any longer.


    "Keep it down¡­Grayson might hear us," he said between breathes.


    "Fuck...fuck you Michael...shut up and keep fucking me," she said with a hint of desperation in her voice.


    He then lifted her up, and threw her on her back. He was now on top of her. He used his left hand to pin both her arms on the mattress and used two fingers from his right hand to arc inside her. This seemed to cause her to moan louder than before. He then quickly kissed her passionately in an attempt to keep her quiet.


    She tried to playfully break free, and felt as though the man''s muscular arms could pin down a lion. He let her arms go and shifted his focus between her legs. He made it seem like he was about to insert it in her again, but was playfully using his tip to rub against her soft, wet lips.


    "Fuck, stop teasing and just put it in already!" she said desperately.


    "Say please," he replied with a huge grin on his face.


    Frustrated by her husband, she then grabbed his shaft tightly and pulled him closer. She looked at him straight in his deep blue eyes and commanded, "Put-it-in...!"


    ''I''ll just go kill the dog for now, ending them like this would be too awkward even for me,'' I thought to myself.


    ¡­

 Chapter 5: Massacre

    ...


    Deep in a dark abyss, an ancient evil continued to observe Grayson through the shadows.


    "This boy has potential, but I wonder if he can truly go through with it. Killing is one thing, but doing so without feeling any empathy¡­regret¡­or pity whatsoever? That is something you do not just learn, it must be accompanied by the complete belief that what you are doing is absolutely right," an old skeletal figure, surrounded by dark clouds, said depressingly as he sat on a throne of bones.


    Skulls could be seen all around this throne, and each somehow had a look of fear¡­the type of fear one would have right before a gruesome death.


    "If I may speak freely," a tall and brown, nude woman with skin as smooth as jade and the body of what could only be described as a goddess walked out of the shadows and revealed herself. This was the ancient evil''s helper.


    Her perfect, enormous bust and seductive, plump butt would leave any man or woman in a daze. However, what stood out the most about her was the 6-foot black, furry tail extending from her tail bone.


    "The boy had multiple opportunities to kill his parents, but has yet to do so till date. He blames his lack of action against his parents on building suspense, but I believe he still harbors feelings for them, especially the mother. Boys tend to be more attached to their mothers. Personally, I don''t see him fit to inherit your philosophy," the woman said.


    "Lilith, do you truly believe that him adopting this philosophy is just on a whim?" the old skeleton asked.


    "Yes," Lilith replied without hesitation.


    "Over the millennia, we have met multiple candidates, better candidates, that far surpass this boy''s potential. So why him? Why now? We have accomplished great things. From numerous massacres; to pandemics; to ending entire civilizations.


    We had once even brought the human race all the way back to the Stone Age before. So why would you want to leave all behind now?" she asked, obviously unwilling to accept the boy or the skeleton''s decision.


    "Simple..." the old skeleton replied depressingly. "I am tired. My bones grow weary, but most importantly, I feel The¨®s is against me. My eyes do not deceive me; The¨®s wants this boy. He is about to adopt this philosophy for eternity. An ordinary human would go mad by the uncountable deaths the boy will soon witness. The¨®s wouldn''t choose him if he were just another ordinary human being," the old skeleton added.


    He then gazed into a dark, 8-foot, spherical cloud. His blazing, golden eyes remained unmoving, as he observed me through the cloud. Lilith then stood next to him and did the same.


    ¡­


    ''I need to go kill that mutt and her pups quickly before those two are finished up there,'' I thought as I went to grab a knife from the kitchen. As I walked out of the house and towards the barn, I had but only one thought, ''kill!''


    Recently, I have been suppressing my urges, knowing now that I''m about to quench them, I couldn''t help but feel excited.


    I then opened the barn door and was greeted by a foul smell. Ten puppies were in a corner of the barn. Two of the bodies were lifeless and had been kept slightly to the side. Eight of them, however, were still alive, but looked very fragile.


    Blood could be seen all around them, accompanied by feces. Their tiny irritating moans filled the barn, which made me want to end them immediately, just to shut them up.


    "How revolting, a corpse is a much better sight than this," I said in disgust. I slowly walked up to Nala with a knife in my hand, then she immediately started barking at me.


    "''Man''s best friend'' they say. Just a bunch of bull, spread by lonely bastards. I gave you food and in return you showed me what many mistakenly assume to be love. As soon as my actions don''t fall in line with your self-interests, you immediately retaliate. But it''s fine, what I''m about to do is within my self-interests as well.


    I gripped the knife even tighter and slowly approached Nala. All the while, she never stopped barking at me. I grabbed her by her ears, then forcefully pulled back on them. She furiously barked at me even louder, clearly unable to resist due to her obvious fatigue. I then proceeded to pull on her ears even harder, enough to expose her neck.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    She continued to bark, but suddenly, her barks turned into moans. It was as if she knew exactly what her fate was going to be. She looked at her pups, as if begging me to spare them.


    "I''ve always hated these annoying barks of yours," I said as I swiftly slit her throat open.


    Her blood spread everywhere, drenching the pups even more. Their tiny moans seemed to get louder. I dropped the knife and picked up a shovel, attempting to bash their tiny heads in, but then thought for a minute and refrained from doing so.


    Instead, I dug a hole 3 feet deep and 3 feet wide. I then dumped all the pups into the hole as well as their mother. Even after I covered it up, I could still slightly hear their screams through the soil as they slowly started to fade.


    "I''m glad that''s over with," I said with a victorious grin on my face as I walked back to the house. Before going in, I left the shovel right outside, in preparation for the next target.


    ¡­


    Back upstairs, Grayson''s parents lay, cuddling naked on a bed after making love to each other.


    "Michael, I''m worried about Nala. She had been barking so loudly, but now, I don''t hear anything. Please go check on her," she said worriedly.


    "I''ll check on her in the morning, just lay with me for now," he said sluggishly as he kissed her neck, clearly too lazy to get up.


    "Fine, I''ll go myself!" she said sternly as she got up to put on her white robe, then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.


    Michael became aware of his mistake after seeing her storm off as she did, but didn''t pay her any mind. He knew she would be wanting another round when she got back and felt in control.


    As she approached the stairs, she saw me coming up and asked in a voice full of worry, "Grayson, have you checked on Nala?"


    "Yes." I replied nonchalantly. "Two of the pups have died, but there are still eight that have survived...for now." I said calmly as I kept walking.


    "For now? What''s wrong with them? Did something happen?" she asked even more worried. "I''m going to go check on them." she added as she trotted to the barn.


    ''Perfect,'' I thought to myself.


    "Alright then," I said as I walked into my room.


    I then grabbed an extremely thin garrote, barely visible to the human eye. I had kept it hidden in one of my drawers for the longest time, and tonight, I finally get to use it. I then quickly walked out of the room.


    I strode across the long hallway then looked towards the stairs to make sure my mother wasn''t coming back up. I proceeded to walk towards the guest room''s door to position the garrote.


    ''Father is 6''2 feet, so I should position the garrote around 5''8 feet from the ground. That should be somewhere around the length of his neck,'' I thought to myself.


    I then quickly placed the garrote on each end of the doorpost and headed down the stairs.


    I suddenly heard a scream coming from outside, obviously coming from my mother. I took a quick glance towards the kitchen, and thought to myself, ''a knife...? No, not yet.''


    I ran out the front door, grabbed the shovel I had left outside earlier, then sprinted to the source of the scream.


    I then found my mother, sitting on the ground, shaking all over with a horrified look on her face. Her eyes remained fixed on the pile of blood spreading across the barn floor with a knife in the center.


    "Gray-son¡­that''s, that''s too much blood¡­did you¡­? Where''s Nala¡­? Where are the¡­?" she said, struggling to find the words.


    "They''re gone." I interrupted as I pointed at a recently dug-in area on the ground. "¡­and you''re next¡­."


    "MICHAEL!!...MICHAEL!!!" she desperately shouted.


    "Oh, him¡­he is probably bleeding out as we speak. I can vividly see him rushing out of his room the moment he heard you scream, not knowing I placed a garrote on the door to slice his neck open. I see it clearly, as if I were right there with him.


    How deep is the slice? It all depends on how much force he used to get out that door. Knowing him, he probably came out rushing like some savior. So, in a way, I guess you sort of contributed to his demise as well. The fact that he isn''t here until now just proves that my plan went flawlessly," I said with the most victorious grin that my mouth could make.


    "How, how could you¡­?" She said with tears running down her face. "What kind of monster¡­?"


    "Monster?" I interrupted. "Don''t you mean your son?" I said with a warm smile as I held the shovel over my right shoulder.


    She then quickly crawled towards the barn, attempting to grab the knife in the puddle of blood.


    "This too, was expected," I said as I struck one of her knees with the shovel, breaking it in the process. She screamed as tears kept rolling down her face.


    "You left me with those old bastards; now you call me a monster? I didn''t act accordingly, and now you want to kill me? You are the architect of this situation. This would never have happened if you hadn''t left me there¡­but I suppose I should thank you," I said with a forgiving smile as I watched her crawl away desperately.


    "I would have lived the rest of my life oblivious to true human nature, if you didn''t leave me in that house to suffer," I said as I recalled the traumatic experiences. I then continued to slowly approach her with the shovel over my shoulders.


    "I did consider locking you up in a basement, but I''ll do this quickly enough for you. For your contribution to me seeing the enlightenment, you won''t suffer too much.


    You want to live, don''t you? I bet that''s the only thing on your mind right now. You''re not thinking about your son or your husband. You''re only thinking about yourself. How can I survive? Where did I go wrong? Is this how I am going to die¡­?


    In the end, you don''t really care about anyone but yourself and that, my dear mother, is humanity," I preached to her, then repeatedly smashed her head in with the shovel.


    "You have no one to blame for your demise other than yourself," I said as I wiped her splattered blood off of my face.


    "I better go check on my father," I said to myself as I dragged the shovel behind me, leaving a trail of blood.

 Chapter 6: Successor

    "I better go check on my father," I said, walking back towards the house feeling quite satisfied with myself.


    I opened the front door and surprisingly found my father with one hand pressing on his bloody neck as he helplessly crawled down the stairs.


    "Quit your struggle, your wife is already dead," I said to him casually.


    His face twisted with shock and anger as he tried to get himself up, but then helplessly collapsed down the stairs. He knew not to doubt my words.


    "Why do you still have your hand on your neck? Did you not hear when I said your wife was dead?" I asked as I walked towards the kitchen to grab a set of knives.


    "Do you perhaps believe that you still have a chance to survive this? You''re quite optimistic, old man," I said, laughing as I walked towards him with the set of knives in hand.


    "Pain is for all, and I intend on distributing it equally," I said to him, then proceeded to stab him on his foot with one of the knives.


    "You are even worse than your wife. You knew your parents better than anyone else. I know, to some extent, you knew what could have happened to me when you left me there," I said to him, then picked up another knife and stabbed him in his other foot.


    "No wonder you were always suspicious of me," I said to him as I stabbed him in his right thigh.


    "Was all that honor and glory worth it? Was it worth a five-year-old boy being beaten till his bones fractured, spending sleepless nights being frequently awoken by the pain? Was it worth the nails on his bleeding fingers falling off in search of his food? Was it worth the numerous nights spent starving as a result of not being able to catch his prey? Was it worth him going an entire year without seeing the sky or basking in the light of day? Was It Worth Woof!" I shouted at him as he began to lose consciousness.


    I then stabbed him in his left thigh, which slightly woke him up again, then said, "You can''t go just yet, not until I''m done talking¡­"


    I looked at him with a warm, comforting smile and said as I watched the light in his eyes become dimmer, "Thank you, because what I learned was worth it all."


    ¡­


    "I''ve seen enough," the old skeleton said, then immediately disappeared into a dark, cloud-like void, leaving a dazed Lilith still gazing at Grayson through the cloud.


    "That...was beautiful¡­" she said, still dazed. It was only after a few more seconds did she wake from her stupor and follow the old skeleton through the cloud.


    ...


    Back in the living, I was still looking down at my father''s now dead body.


    "Damn it, I''ve got blood all over me. I should go bury the bodies, but first things first, I need a shower. I''ve got nothing but time anyway," I said to myself, deciding to go to the upstairs bathroom. I took off my clothes and left them on the floor, right behind the bathroom door.


    Whilst inside, I felt a chill coming from the bathroom, which was odd because there was no window open here. This chill was different, yet familiar, like something I had felt before. However, it was much more concentrated; much more intense. It felt like billions of corpses were in the room, making it difficult to even breathe.


    ''I can''t breathe, I-¡­ I need to get out of here!'' I thought in a panic.


    I then immediately turned around to rush out, only to see an 8-foot, skeletal-like figure blocking the only exit. It had a dark cloud moving all around it as if it were a cloak in the wind. Its eyes were blazing gold and had a deep darkness about them that could not be described.


    ''I- I can''t breathe,'' I thought as I tried my hardest to gasp for air.


    My back was drenched in sweat, and I was rendered frozen. The air felt like acid to my lungs.


    "Wha- th- the furk are you?!" I struggled to say.


    "Oh! You can still speak?" the skeletal figure said with what I would imagine being a grin on its skeletal face.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    "What does death mean to you, boy?" the skeletal figure said.


    "F-F-uck o-off!" I struggled to say, looking at its piercing eyes. However, the more I looked into the skeleton''s eyes, the more I felt my eyes burn.


    ''Am I going to die here?'' I thought to myself unwillingly.


    "Interesting¡­let''s get this over with," the skeletal figure said.


    A thick dark cloud then began to violently rush out of its mouth and eye sockets, and raged towards me. The dark cloud then mercilessly burned off my skin as it invaded my body through my mouth, nose and ears. I tried to scream out in pain as I felt my body melt from within, but the cloud prevented me from producing any sound.


    At that moment, my entire world was nothing but pain. Slowly, I began to give in and slip out of consciousness. Before I passed out, I could see my life flash before my eyes; a series of painful events; so much that had been left unaccomplished.


    ''So this is the end!'' I thought to myself as I finally passed out from the pain, unaware of the changes to my body taking place.


    "Lilith, I will not survive this, and do not have much time left. I''m aware that you have yet to approve of this boy, but The¨®s has chosen him¡­after so long, The¨®s has finally chosen my successor; after so long¡­ I can finally rest.


    I am grateful for your much-needed services throughout these past centuries. You truly made this curse bearable. I only ask that you to do the same for this boy," the skeletal figure began to say in a rush.


    "For centuries, I was forced to serve because of this curse. For centuries, I had to endure the screaming in my head. For centuries, I had to experience excruciating pain... Lilith, it finally stopped¡­the noise¡­the pain. Brother... I am coming," the skeletal figure added faintly as the last of the smoke exited his body. Immediately after, his bones began to wither away.


    "As you command, it has truly been an honor to serve by your side..." Lilith replied with a straight face as a tear rolled down her cheeks. "Cain." she added in a whisper.


    A bright turquoise light filled the bathroom as I opened my eyes. I began to look at the familiar surroundings and noticed a brown-skinned, naked woman with a rather long, black, furry tail next to me. She was crouching down, picking up a pile of sand and putting it in a black vase.


    "Who are yo-¡­?" I tried to ask.


    To my surprise, I found it hard to even speak due to the pain I felt all around my body. I looked at my hands and saw what looked like thick smoke rising out of them. What was even more weird was that my flesh rose with the smoke, continually burning off, and withering into the air.


    I quickly got up to look at myself in the bathroom mirror. Each movement I made multiplied the pain all over my body. I tried to forget about the pain and looked into the mirror. As expected, it was the same situation on my face. My flesh was continuously burning off. The only parts of my body that didn''t burn were my turquoise eyes, but they seemed to be brighter, as if they had been set ablaze.


    "What happened to me? Who are you? What''s wrong with my body?" I asked, turning to the only other person in the room.


    The pile of sand and the black vase were nowhere to be seen. However, that was the least of my problems.


    "I''ll answer your questions later. There''s a much more urgent matter to deal with right now. Quickly, you see that dark cloud around your body? You need to cover the earth with it. Focus and begin to feel every life and every death on this planet!" she said with urgency.


    "Are you mantle? What the heck are you talking about?" I asked, annoyed by this tailed woman. "How do you even have a tail?" I added.


    "I said I''ll answer your questions later, just do it; The¨®s will guide you," she said impatiently.


    "Who is The¨®¡­." I tried to ask another question, but suddenly got whipped in the face by a black, furry, 6-foot tail.


    "DO IT, NOW!" the tailed woman commanded.


    I gave her a deep glare and said in a low voice, "I am going to kill you!"


    Everything around me then began to decay as the house began to tremble. The tailed woman seemed unaffected and kept her impatient appearance. However, her black, furry tail curled up and trembled in fear.


    I decided to put the matter aside for now, as I knew nothing about the situation and this actually sounded urgent. I then thought about what she had just told me. Soon, after a simple thought, the thick, dark cloud around my body began to spread to all the corners of the world.


    I began to feel each and every human being. I could feel their life forces and see their lifespans. Other than this, their mental state, and images of what each person is most likely to die from became visibly clear to me. I could also see different methods of reducing one''s lifespan. I could only observe one human at a time, but it was at such an incredible pace that it seemed like I was seeing them all at once.


    The moment I felt a person''s life force, a part of the dark cloud, separated from me and formed a 6-foot, shadow-like, humanoid figure. The humanoid shadow tied itself to the person''s soul. For some unknown reason, there were a few million exceptions, in which the shadows only followed closely behind and didn''t dare get closer.


    "There seem to be some other beings dressed in white that are not human. The humans don''t seem to notice the shadow-like figures, but these beings in white are looking straight at them. What are they?" I asked as I kept observing them.


    "I will answer you. For now, just focus on getting to every human being. The world has stayed nearly 5 minutes without death. There have been a couple of hundred undead that cannot be explained. Souls have been leaving and returning to their bodies in a loop, not knowing where to go," she said, a lot more calmly now.


    I then continued the process. This took around 2 minutes. Within that time, I observed the situation around the world.


    "There are quite a lot of people in need of enlightenment¡­ I don''t know what''s happening to me, but I can use this to my advantage," I said to myself, then turned in pain to face the tailed woman.


    "Now, how about some answers," I said to her.

 Chapter 7: Answers

    "Now, how about some answers?" I asked.


    "I will answer any question you have as soon as we-," she tried to say before I cut her off.


    "Keep in mind, the only reason you are still alive is because of the information I assume you have. I already don''t like you. So, if I have no use for you, then I will immediately dispose of you! Choose your next words carefully-...


    ¡­wait, those dark creatures, where are they going?" I interrupted her, ending with yet another question.


    "What do you see?" the tailed woman quickly asked.


    "I see some humanoid shadows. They seem to be dragging souls along a wide road. There are hundreds of them. They seem afraid. I can feel their fear! There doesn''t seem to be anything but a dark abyss at the end of the road. Well, I wouldn''t want to fall into that either. What is in there¡­?" I asked.


    ...


    "WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT!" I replied in shock and fear after feeling something wicked within the abyss. The feeling couldn''t be described in words and felt beyond my understanding.


    "I see, so the process has begun. I can answer your questions now," the tailed woman said, as if this was all within her expectations.


    "What the flip happened to me? Why does my body feel like it is being torn apart? Who are you? Why are you naked, what''s the deal with that unusually long tail, and what the hell is that thing down there?" I asked a series of questions, trying to be composed despite the excruciating pain.


    "Our tale is a long and complicated one. My old master was given the role of death after committing the first murder in human history. Since then, he has been walking this earth fulfilling these duties. Reaping souls and leading them to the afterlife.


    You have been chosen to be his successor. Your body will no longer succumb to death, as the dark cloud has embodied death itself.


    "You can''t be serious," I said, unwilling to believe what she said.


    However, after recalling everything that just happened, it actually didn''t seem that unbelievable.


    "What is this dark cloud exactly?" I asked her.


    "The cloud is an extension of your power; a manifestation that represents your very being. Within the dark cloud is a combination of every disease that is known and unknown to man; every virus; every bacterium that has ever existed on this planet. Because of this, your flesh is constantly decaying and regenerating at an incredible speed since your body was originally human.


    As an extension of your power, you are free to control it however you wish. It learns and adapts to your needs. It may take some time, but don''t worry though, you''ll get used to it.


    "Am I supposed to live with this pain forever? Isn''t there a way to heal my body or at least get rid of the pain?" I asked.


    "Well, your brain works differently now. My previous master split his thoughts in two on a sentient level. Having a different consciousness to endure the pain.


    He would still occasionally feel pain, but to a minimum. It took him a century to figure this out. You don''t deserve to have it so easy. Nonetheless, it takes a strong amount of mental willpower in order to achieve this. Thus, it may still take some time," the tailed woman said with resentment in her tone.


    "I see," I said, trying to digest everything she just said.


    I then began to focus on the feeling of regeneration. Separating it with the pain of my decaying flesh. After a while, it really did feel like I was splitting my thoughts in two.


    ''This tailed woman is right. My brain is different now. I surely couldn''t have done this before. My mental capacity has greatly improved,'' I thought to myself.


    "It''s a little difficult to maintain this focus, but I can now move somewhat with a little effort," I said, clenching and relaxing my fist.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "Well, you obviously won''t get it on the first try. This isn''t just any ordinary wound where the pain just goes away after some time; this is constant pain. You must eventually split your consciousness in two," the tailed woman advised.


    "Should be simple enough," I said as I began to feel my consciousness.


    After connecting with it, I felt as though I had been transported into a dark abyss. Within the abyss was a thick and dark, luminous, shallow pool of blood all around. This pool stretched as far as I could see and most likely even further. Dark smoke could be seen continually rising from within the blood. The smoke felt solid to the touch, but it was unlike anything I had ever felt.


    ''Is this my consciousness?'' I asked myself, trying to figure out how I got into this harrowing place.


    I joyously took note that within this place, I could no longer feel the pain around my body.


    "Haha, the pain is gone. Did I manage to do it?" I said excitedly.


    As I dwelt on the freeing release of the pain, half of the smoke rising began to illuminate a blazing turquoise color in the distance. I then began to walk towards the turquoise smoke, but the closer I came to it, the more I could feel the pain returning to my body. In the distance, I could hear minor groans of suffering from within the turquoise smoke. It didn''t take much space within my consciousness, only about 15 meters of it.


    ''Have I already split my consciousness?'' I thought as I watched the turquoise smoke rise violently.


    The smoke didn''t look as solid as the dark smoke rising from everywhere else. I then turned around to walk further away. I noticed that the further I walked from the turquoise smoke, the less pain I felt.


    The moment the pain had completely subsided, I noticed something else. There were two lights deep beneath the pool of blood. They seemed to be much deeper than the shallow pool of blood. I tried to focus and see what the source of these lights were. Suddenly, I saw a pair of golden eyes staring back at me. They quickly began to excrete a golden blazing smoke as they rushed towards me.


    In my shock, I woke up from my daze and found myself back in the bathroom with the tailed woman still having the same expression as if no time had passed. I clenched my fist and no longer felt any pain from doing so.


    "I believe I was able to split my consciousness. I can now move freely," I said to the tailed woman.


    "Hmph, impossible, trying to act tough will get you nowhere," she said with a slight chuckle.


    "Believe what you want," I immediately responded to her comment and went into thought.


    ''It would be foolish to immediately believe everything this tailed woman has told me, but the events that have happened thus far do align with what she has been saying. The only thing that doesn''t add up quite yet is¡­.'' I began to think to myself.


    "Who is this The¨®s that thinks he can do whatever he wants?" I asked, trying to fill a few holes from what I know so far.


    "That one is a little more complicated to answer and would be much easier to just show you later. I do believe you have asked me before why I have a tail," she replied, changing the topic.


    "Not to forget who you are and why you are still naked," I added.


    "My name is Lilith. I do not know what I am or where I came from. All I know is that I live to serve death. I believe this was all within The¨®s'' plans," she said, bowing her head down with her right hand placed on her exposed breasts.


    "As for why I have a tail, it isn''t really something I chose. My first memory was of me appearing before my old master as nothing but a tail. I did not know where I came from, all I knew was the full knowledge of my purpose. To serve death.


    My tail is the only physical part of my true self, the rest is just a facade I keep for myself to have some sort of form to move from one place to another. I can take any form so long as it is a living being, but the thing that never changes is my tail.


    "Sounds like a pathetic existence. Doesn''t explain why you are naked though," I said to her.


    "I am naked because I am not capable of feeling hot or cold. Thus, I have never seen the need to wear any clothes. If this form does not please you, I can take any other form that you desire," she added with a serious expression, all whilst still bowing her head. Unfortunately, her eyes gave away the resentment in her heart.


    "Understandable, you can do whatever you want, but if you can take any form¡­is there a reason why you made yourself so small?" I said, following up with another question.


    "I am actually quite tall by human standards, 6''2 feet to be exact. It seems you have yet to notice that you yourself have increased to a height of 8 feet," she replied in a most humble tone.


    I then looked around and noticed everything else looked smaller as well. I pushed Lilith to the side and tried to step out of the bathroom, but the door was too small for me to pass through.


    "Is there a way for me to decrease my size? Perhaps like how you change your form?" I asked the tailed Lilith.


    "Yes, there is, but 6 feet should be your limit. However, even then, it will still keep a strain on your bones, making it harder to suppress the pain. I doubt you will be able to maintain that size for long. A good height for you would be 7 feet I guess," she answered.


    "So, how do I do it?" I asked.


    "The same way you control the dark clouds around you, simply with a thought," she humbly replied.


    "This humble attitude you''re putting on will not save you¡­I am still going to kill you the moment I no longer have a use for you," I told her, looking her straight in her dark scarlet eyes, then faced the bathroom door after.


    With a thought, I quickly shrank to a height of 6 feet and felt an unbelievable strain on my bones. I then walked through the door and, with another thought, increased to a height of 7 feet and slowly began to feel relief.


    "Told you so," the tailed Lilith commented with a smirk.


    "Yes, you did...now how do I kill you?" I asked, no longer able to tolerate the woman.

 Chapter 8: The Work of Theós

    "...how do I kill you?" I asked impatiently.


    "You can''t. If it is not within The¨®s'' plan then it cannot be done. Even if there was a way, do you expect me to tell you?" she said confidently, but her tail slightly trembled.


    "Is that so?" I said walking closer to her.


    I glared at her as I wrapped my dark cloud around her neck and asked, "Then why are you so scared?"


    She stayed silent, but her tail increased to tremble uncontrollably¡­


    "AAAHH!" The tailed Lilith screamed, then collapsed on the floor.


    "What are you doing?" I asked apathetically, no longer glaring at her.


    "I cannot disobey you. Doing so eats away at my soul and causes me immense pain," she replied, catching her breath.


    "I''m surprised you''re still so stubborn," I said out loud, observing her reaction.


    "My name is Lilith¡­ just Lilith," she tried to say, still feeling the effect of the pressure from before.


    "It would be a waste not to give my respect to such a distinctive part of you; consider it an honorific. Now, get up; we''re leaving," I said, offering her a hand.


    Now that there was allegedly a way to keep her in check, killing her was no longer a priority. I was still unsure whether or not she was a threat, but knowing what I know now helps.


    ''She could still prove to be useful. There are still many things I don''t know and threats I am unaware of. Having such information could be life-saving,'' I thought to myself.


    She looked at me, confused by the switch in my character, but then took my skeletal hand anyway.


    "Thank you," she said with a slight smug.


    "If I cannot kill you and I''m truly stuck with you for eternity, having a good relationship with you is only inevitable. Any bad blood between us will only waste time and get in the way of my objective. So, if you have any problems with me, you tell me," I said nonchalantly.


    "<Sigh> So, what is this objective of yours? Your only job is to collect souls, so what else could you possibly have in mind?" the tailed Lilith asked, feeling defeated.


    "First, I need more information. Show me this, The¨®s," I said, heading towards the stairs.


    "Where are you going?" The tailed Lilith asked. "Outside, you mentioned before you had to show me The¨®s. I have a lot to say to whoever he or she is. Never have I heard of a being so imposing of their self-interest," I said sternly.


    "In that case, follow me, then," the tailed Lilith said, making a dark cloud appear beneath her.


    She immediately dropped into it. I walked towards the dark cloud on the floor and observed it for a while. A deathly aura came from the cloud. It looked like a pitch-black hole on the floor, with no bottom. The clouds that formed it rose into the air and dissipated like smoke. I finally stepped into the cloud hesitantly.


    For a moment, there was nothing but darkness everywhere. Then, immediately after, I found myself before two antithetical roads diverging. Lilith was already standing next to me.


    On the left was a rough, broad road stretching far and wide. At the end of this road was a dark pit radiating the aura of an evil existence. The aura felt old and ancient. Just looking at this road gave one the feeling of helplessness. If one were to step on this road, one would immediately be plunged into complete despair. Surprisingly, this road felt somewhat inviting to me, like a part of me that had been missing was calling to me.


    However, on the right side was a narrow road paved to perfection with diamonds and jewels. A bright, blinding light could be seen at the end of the road, which made it difficult to even look at. Just looking at this road gave me a feeling of peace. The light gave off powerful life energy that repelled the aura of death radiating all around my body. It was like the light was against my very existence.


    This was no ordinary light, it felt as though it were alive. If any living human being were to look at this light, even for a second, they would most likely be reduced to ash.


    The roads weren''t the only things in this place that were in contrast, though. On the road to the left, I could see hundreds of my shadows going back and forth, dumping numerous frightened souls into a huge, dark pit at the end of the wide road.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    However, on the right road were two beings dressed in full white, escorting two slightly bright souls through the narrow road.


    The brightness of their souls differed. They weren''t as bright as the light at the end of the narrow road, but I could feel them emitting a similar presence. Their souls felt utterly different. They weren''t frightened; they were at peace.


    "How did we even get here?" I asked in confusion.


    "You can appear anywhere that your shadows have been. By connecting two points in space, you and your shadow, you can instantly go anywhere on this planet. All you have to do is think about where to go, and the dark cloud will open a gate to the said destination," the tailed Lilith replied in a well-behaved manner.


    "So, where on earth are we now?" I asked her.


    "I''m not quite sure myself; I believe it is a separate dimension. I know that this is where all souls end up," the tailed Lilith answered humbly.


    "And where is The¨®s?" I asked.


    "I believe The¨®s is at the end of the narrow road. Through that light, that is where The¨®s should be," she answered.


    ''Should?'' I thought to myself.


    Without wasting any more time, I began to walk towards the narrow road. When I stepped on the perfectly paved road, I could feel a slight pressure on my skeletal body. The pressure was barely noticeable, so I disregarded it and kept moving¡­.


    First step,


    Second step,


    Third step¡­


    The closer I got to the light, the more pressure fell on me. I looked back and saw the tailed Lilith still standing where I had left her.


    ''I see why she didn''t come along. The pressure keeps getting more intense.'' I thought as I kept pushing forward, each step becoming more challenging.


    Thirtieth step¡­


    Fortieth step¡­


    Fiftieth step¡­


    It was only upon reaching the fiftieth step that the pressure finally became unbearable. No matter how hard I tried, I could not move another step forward. It felt like some force was restricting me from doing so.


    It wasn''t about the pressure anymore; something else kept me in place. It was like I couldn''t decide to move on my own. The longer I stayed there, the more suffocating it felt.


    ''Is this as far as I can go¡­? I''m not even halfway there yet,'' I thought to myself in despair.


    I looked on towards the light in the distance, squinting with great longing. From where I stood, I could only vaguely see an outline of a massive golden gate within the blinding light. I quickly retreated my gaze.


    Apart from the gate, I also noticed one of the white beings coming back from the golden gate and towards me.


    "So, Cain is no more¡­.What is your name, new Reaper?" the being in white asked.


    ''Reaper!'' I thought to myself in shock. I then took three steps back to gain some relief.


    "My name is Grayson¡­who are you? How are you able to go through the gate?" I asked.


    "I am but a simple guardian, here to guide a soul to eternal peace. My name is Daniel¡­. Did you were able to see a gate?" he replied, raising a question of his own.


    "I could barely see it," I answered the guardian, then went into deep thought.


    ''Does this path lead to what humans know as heaven?''I began to think.


    "Heaven is real?" I asked with a hint of doubt.


    "It has many names, but yes, this is what you would call heaven. Look at where you are; look at what you are. Should it be hard to believe there is a heaven, angels, and hell?" Daniel replied sympathetically. "No one could have ever foreseen the cursed role of a reaper would have come to befall another human being. I wonder whose blood you spilled to accomplish that?"


    ''Hell! Could that be what was beneath the dark pit at the end of the wide road?'' I thought.


    Grayson looked at the guardian in silence.


    "What are you trying to accomplish here?" Daniel asked, breaking the silence.


    I replied, "I need to speak with someone or something called The¨®s. "


    "HAHAHA, some things never change! Cain tried to do the same thing for thousands of years and only got this far. However, he was never capable of seeing the gate¡­. That is a first, but I suggest you do what you are meant to do. If it is not within The¨®s'' plan, then it cannot be done," he said, smiling, and then proceeded to walk away.


    ''Hm, that tailed Lilith said the same thing¡­but why does it seem so familiar to me now, as if I had known of it my whole life.'' I thought.


    I then proceeded to walk back as well. The pressure began to decrease considerably with each step back.


    I thought, ''The more I know about The¨®s, the more questions I have. Why was I chosen to be a reaper? Why can''t I go beyond fifty steps? What is beyond that gate? How do I get past that light?'' I finally approached the tailed Lilith, still standing in the same spot I had left her.


    "Tailed Lilith, how do I get past that gate?" I ask impatiently. "I told you, it''s just Lilith. What gate are you talking about?" she responded with a question of her own.


    "So, Cain never saw it," I stated out loud.


    "Coming here still hasn''t given me any answers regarding The¨®s. In fact, it has only raised even more questions," I added in frustration.


    "The¨®s tends to have that effect. I don''t have the answers either. I can, however, tell you what my old master and I have learned over many years. As you already know, you cannot get to the light at the end of the narrow road because, at some point, a pressure seems to stop you from moving further.


    I''m sure you have also noticed how the light around the souls in the narrow path and the light at the end of the path are similar, other than just being bright¡­" The tailed Lilith began to summarize the events that had just taken place.


    "Yes, the light seems to be alive. It gives a feeling of consciousness, as though it has a mind of its own," I thought out loud.


    "Well, that light and that pressure is what we know as The¨®s. Beyond that light, no one has ever really seen The¨®s. My old master said he had heard The¨®s'' voice and even spoken to The¨®s. That was before this curse had fallen upon him. However, he never saw The¨®s.


    Nowadays, The¨®s is but a force that one feels. It guides and enforces the laws it has placed on us. You can also feel it within a few particular humans. Everything that you see, everything that you know, is the work of The¨®s. If it is not within The¨®s'' plan, then it cannot be done," the tailed Lilith tried to clarify.


    ''That familiar saying again! What on earth is going on here?'' I asked myself as I went deep into thought.

 Chapter 9: Theós Is In Control

    ''What on earth is going on here?'' I thought.


    "Tailed Lilith, how did you come to name this force The¨®s? Did someone inform you of its name before?" I quickly asked.


    "No, no one informed me. This is a name that I and my previous master came up with. It seemed fitting," the tailed Lilith replied.


    "What of the guardians, are you the one who let them know of its name?" I followed up with another question.


    "Whenever we talked to the guardians, they seemed to know already to whom we were referring to when we mentioned The¨®s. We had even heard some of them use the same name in conversations," the tailed Lilith answered confidently.


    "What about that saying about The¨®s'' plan you keep mentioning? Is that something you made up as well?" I asked with an answer already in mind, but I awaited the tailed Lilith to speak anyway, just to be sure.


    "Yes, my previous master and I came up with the saying after observing the futility of going against The¨®s'' plans¡­it also seemed fitting. I have also heard an angel say the same thing before, but we said it so many times, in so many places. He probably just overheard us at some point. What are you getting at?" the tailed Lilith said impatiently.


    ''This cannot be a coincidence; how much control does this The¨®s have? I need to get through that gate. That is where I can truly find answers,'' I thought.


    "Too many coincidences lining up. Tell me, how far did Cain reach trying to get to the end of the narrow road?" I asked.


    "It has been over 9,000 years, and he could only go up to forty-five steps the last time he tried. In the beginning, five steps was his limit, but we eventually found a way to get past that limit.


    Each human is born with a lifespan that can change depending on certain decisions they make. If you were to influence these decisions and end up changing a fixed point in time, then that influence would lead to their death before their time. Their remaining lifespan would strengthen your soul and increase resistance to The¨®s'' laws.


    The more years you take from a human, your resistance to the light strengthens. Only this way will you have sufficient strength to go farther down the narrow path.


    This may seem barbaric to the likes of you, but children are the best option to go after. However, most of them are protected by The¨®s from birth. That is, till they''re old enough to understand the decisions that they make fully.


    The years that you steal from these humans add to the number of shadows you can create and improve certain effects of your dark cloud as well. So, what do you plan on doing now?" the tailed Lilith said with expectations in her eyes, though still looking down on me with her tone.


    "Isn''t it obvious? I will get stronger and then get through that gate at the end of the narrow road. Anyone with irrefutable control over their self-interests cannot be allowed to live. The¨®s cannot be allowed to live, especially if he keeps enforcing his self-interests on me.


    I didn''t ask for any of this. I will find this The¨®s, end its reign, and then enforce my own philosophy on anything that breathes. No mere light will be able to stop me¡­not for long," I said to the tailed Lilith, then opened a gate in front of me using the dark cloud.


    "Let''s go. I know the perfect place to start," I said, then walked through the cloud.


    "Yes, master!" the tailed Lilith said excitedly as she followed close behind.


    Back on earth, and it was still nighttime. Music could be heard in the distance, accompanied by singing and shouting.


    "Where are we?" she asked still trying to recall the familiar surroundings.


    "This? It''s New Orleans¡­I hope. In front of us should be the famous Club Rumors, one of New Orleans'' most notorious night clubs," I said contemplating my next move as I noticed someone pass right through my body as though it were an actual cloud.


    ''No one can see me¡­, so that will be a problem,'' I thought before asking¡­. "Is there a way I can interact with humans?" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Yes, but it is not pleasant," she said.


    "Whatever it takes, I need to be seen for this to work," I immediately replied without hesitation.


    "Very well, listen carefully. That dark cloud surrounding you? Take it into your body then focus it on one area. This will allow your Reaper body to heal and revert to its human form. The area you choose will not heal like the rest of your body, so choose wisely.


    Although you will look human, be sure to keep your presence to a minimum. You are still the Reaper, so the aura of death burns strong within you.


    The¨®s disapproves of humans seeing you in your reaper form or your shadows. In your human form, you will not be able to use large amounts of your dark cloud unless you are ready to revert to your reaper form.


    You should also know that concentrating the dark cloud on a single spot will amplify the pain. Thus, your other consciousness will not be able to handle it for too long. If you''re not careful, the pain will overwhelm you, and the other consciousness will completely take over," the tailed Lilith said.


    "That sounds like a chore, but I understand," I replied.


    With a quick thought, I began to take the dark cloud into my body. The dark cloud rushed into me through my mouth and nostrils. The entire process lasted thirty seconds, but the burning pain made it feel longer. It felt like my insides were melting.


    I then began to try to focus the cloud on a single area.


    ''The back seems like a convenient place to store the cloud,'' I thought to myself as I began to focus the cloud within my body towards my back. The pain soon began to subside.


    As the cloud began to gather on my back, right between my shoulder blades, I finally saw the flesh around my body begin to heal. I could see muscles begin to grow on my skeletal body, and layers of skin clothed them afterward.


    Every part of my body looked precisely how it did before I became the Reaper, but it was much skinnier.


    The area on my body, where the dark cloud was concentrated, looked like a corpse. My spine could slightly be seen through the decayed flesh. I could feel boils grow and burst continuously. Luckily, the pain was minuscule.


    "Let''s go inside," I said, walking forward, but suddenly, I was grabbed by the arm with a black, furry tail.


    "What is it?" I asked, feeling impatient.


    "You''re a 7ft naked man. You''re attracting too much attention," she said in criticism.


    I looked down at myself and saw my old friend hanging between my legs. I smiled from ear to ear, satisfied with my appearance. I looked around and noticed people staring at me, some lustfully, but most with shock and disgust.


    ''Good, they can see me. Their night just became much better after seeing this view,'' I smirked.


    "Tailed Lilith, take me to the nearest haberdashery you know of," I commanded. "Yes, master, and stop that, it''s just Lilith," she said, creating a dark cloud before us and allowing me to walk through first.


    I walked through and appeared in front of a store with a glass door. On the door were a few words, but the bolded words "JEFF''S" stood out the most.


    I then broke the glass door and heard a deafening alarm go off.


    "How annoying," I said out loud as I walked inside, stepping on the broken glass now all around me. To my surprise, my feet were unharmed by the numerous pieces of glass that now decorated the entrance floor. The glass shattered beneath my feet as I browsed around the room for a suit my size. I suddenly realized it would be difficult to find my size as every cloth around the store looked miniature.


    I then proceeded to decrease the size of my body, with great effort, to a height of 6''2". My body slowly shrunk, and muscles grew on my skinny body.


    ''The strain from this height can be managed,'' I thought. I looked around again and saw a manikin of my size dressed in a black tuxedo.


    "Perfect," I said out loud as I proceeded to undress the manikin. I swiftly put on the tuxedo and looked at myself in the mirror. I could once again see the white in my eyes and hair on the top of my head. I continued my gaze, going down, and saw a man in a dashing tuxedo.


    ''I look much older than before,'' I thought to myself.


    I turned to the tailed Lilith with arms spread out and said with a smirk, "Quite dashing, am I right?"


    "Yes, master, quite dashing," the tailed Lilith replied respectfully. As I kept looking at myself I could hear sirens in the distance.


    "Time to go, tailed Lilith. Back to the club," I said retreating my gaze from the mirror and turning my attention to the tailed Lilith.


    "I keep telling you, it''s just Lilith," she said as she opened a gateway with the dark cloud. I ignored what she said and walked through the gateway with the tailed Lilith following closely behind.


    I then appeared again in front of Club Rumors alongside the tailed Lilith. I immediately noticed a man vomiting close by like his life depended on it. One of my shadows stood closely behind him. I then quickly observed the man''s lifespan.


    ''Three years left, most likely to die from alcohol intoxication,'' I thought to myself as I kept seeing different ways that the man could die.


    I then approached the man. "Need some help there, buddy?" I said to him as I placed my hand on his back.


    He then quickly pushed my hand away and said, "Fuck off mate¡­I''m a man¡­ *GARP*...I can take care of myself," he tried to say in between vomiting.


    "That''s quite the arrogant self-image you got there," I said, stretching out my hand to grab him by the neck. I wanted him to choke on his vomit, but before my hand could reach the man''s neck, it stopped midway. I was completely frozen.


    ''This feels exactly like when I was in the fiftieth step on the narrow path,'' I thought to myself as I tried to resist the pressure.


    "AAAHH!" I screamed out in pain, pressing my hands against the sides of my head.


    It felt like I was having a migraine, but much more than that. It was like my entire existence was going against the universe itself.

 Chapter 10: Beast

    "Alright alright, I get it," I screamed in frustration, finally kneeling on the ground, unable to deal with the pain.


    The tailed Lilith then walked over and placed her hands on my head. The moment she held me, the pain began to subside. I looked into her eyes and noticed the white in them turning pitch-black. She suddenly began to cry out what looked like black blood.


    Her eyes never left mine throughout the entire process. Only until the white in her eyes returned did she retreat her gaze.


    "You can take away the pain!" I said to her with shock, feeling relieved.


    "Only the pain inflicted by The¨®s," she replied as she wiped the black blood from her cheeks.


    "What are you crazy¡­who the fuck are you talking to?" The drunk man asked still catching his breath. Clearly, he could not see the tailed Lilith. I then stood up to clean the dust off my trousers then turned around and faced the drunk man once more.


    "The night is still young, don''t you agree? How about we head back inside. Drinks on me," I said pretending like the previous events never happened.


    "Well, now you''re speaking my language," he said wiping his mouth with his sleeves then proceeded to lead the way back into the club he came from.


    "Make sure to let everyone in there know that the next round will be taken care of," I assured him, following closely behind.


    "How generous, you seem quite confident flaunting your money like that, giving where you are¡­did the boss send you?" He asked with a little bit of caution in his voice. After mentioning this "boss", he almost seemed to stiffen and even sober up slightly.


    "Well, I wouldn''t be here if he didn''t," I replied confidently.


    "I see¡­what be your good name?" he asked politely, but seemed to act even more cautious.


    "Call me Gray," I replied with a smile.


    "And you are?" I asked.


    "Everybody here calls me Joey," he replied.


    We then stepped into the night club, walking into a very spacious room. All eyes in the room suddenly turned my way the moment I stepped in. The music got dimmed down and the tension got heavier. Men and women alike all looked at me as if I didn''t belong there.


    Seeing how there weren''t that many people at such a famous club, it was clear that this wasn''t the average night at Club Rumors. The tension that arose as I walked in made even more evident.


    "I suppose I am a little too overdressed for the occasion?" I said out loud trying to ease the tention.


    Suddenly, a tall, chubby man wearing a white vest, a black biker jacket, and some ripped jeans walked up to me and asked, "Who the fuck are you?"


    "He''s with the boss," Joey answered whilst stretching out his arm to stop his approach. Joey then proceeds to shout, "Next round of drinks are on my buddy Gray here!"


    The silence was then broken by the cheers of everyone shouting and banging on the tables as the music began to play once more.


    "HAHA, you are my kind of people," the tall chubby man shouted then led me to his table.


    Joey then walked off to the bartender to whisper something in his ear. Right after he whispered, the bartender rushed out through a door at the back.


    "So Gray, those are some fancy clothes you have there. What exactly is your relationship with the boss?" The chubby man asked then joyously jug a bottle of ram.


    "I am somewhat of an executioner for him," I reply nonchalantly.


    "Him!" the chubby man said with shock. He then put down the bottle he was just drinking and looked at me suspiciously.


    "I wasn''t sure at first, but this confirms it. There is no way you work for the boss if you don''t even know of the monstrous woman that she is," Joey said after walking up behind me and pulling out a knife, pressing it against my back.


    "Would you believe me if I told you it was an honest mistake?" I asked with a smile as I looked at the chubby man.


    "Anyone who has made that mistake, has paid for it dearly. Since the boss isn''t around, we will just have to help her out. First, we will break your hands, then, your legs. How does that sound?" the chubby man said smiling, clearly excited for what''s to come.


    "Sounds like it would be better just to die. Are you prepared for that?" I asked him.


    "What do you mean?" the chubby man asked annoyed.


    "I mean, when you threaten someone, you should also be prepared to be threatened. So let me ask you this, how long do you wish to live?" I said to him.


    The chubby man was taken aback as he looked into my eyes. Although I was smiling, he could see no hesitation in them.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ''5 years left to live; most likely to get shot,'' I thought to myself as I looked at the chubby man. I could somehow tell how long he had left to live and what would naturally kill him.


    I then looked around and saw everyone else''s lifespan: ''11 years, 22 years, 8 years, 19 years, etc. Seems like everyone here doesn''t really have long to live,'' I began to think.


    "Hahahaa...wow. You''re funny, but it''s time to start answering some questions. Who are you?" Joey asked.


    "Hehe, you wouldn''t believe me if I told you," I replied with a smirk.


    "I''m going to wipe that smug look off your face if you don''t start giving us answers," the chubby man cried out, banging his fist on the table.


    "Well, the truth is¡­your mother sent me, she''s been worried about your diet lately," I told the chubby man.


    "You son of a bitch...you obviously don''t understand your situation right now. Not only did you disrespect the boss, but you even had the gall to lie and keep yourself on the levels of Moonlight. Not to mention you''re pissing me off..." the chubby man said, in his anger, he forcibly stood me up.


    "You''re not leaving here alive!" he added as I allowed him to punch me in the face.


    My head turned slightly to the side upon impact. The punch may have seemed quick and heavy to the others, but to me, it appeared extremely slow and felt like nothing.


    I could have easily evaded it. However, I had yet to know the limits of this new body of mine. Thus, I allowed it to happen.


    "HAHAHA, I actually didn''t feel that in the slightest," I said out loud with a victorious grin.


    "Well, come on then. Is that all you got?" I added, trying to incite him to punch me some more.


    To my surprise, the chubby man was now wailing on the floor; holding his hand. His fingers were now crooked. Joey looked at the chubby man''s hand, flabbergasted.


    "Well, that was unexpected, even for me," I said walking over to the bar. I jumped over the counter and proceeded to grab one of the most expensive bottles.


    "You see ladies and gentlemen, you all seem to not realize just how much you glorify your self-interests. But no worries, tonight, I will show you," I said to the people looking at me with murderous glares.


    I then casually threw the bottle of Macallan Lalique Scotch towards a random corner in the room. Everyone in the room gasped in horror. They all knew what the bottle was worth.


    "What the fuck do you think you''re doing?" Joey asked with a voice full of anger.


    "Oh, don''t worry about me. You should be more concerned about your friend there with the broken hand," I said grabbing another expensive bottle and throwing it to another corner.


    "I am just a man offering you all a free drink. So be the good dogs that you are and lick it off the floor," I added.


    "You''re dead!" Joey said signaling two bouncers, even larger than the chubby man, to get me.


    "No no, you are going to die here tonight, and it will be because of your undoing¡­.


    Tailed Lilith, lock all the entrances," I said taking two bottles of vodka and throwing them in different directions.


    The two bouncers then picked me up and vigorously threw me towards a wall. My back then crashed hard into a wooden wall, causing a light bulb on the wall to burst. Sparks flew and landed on the spilled alcohol on the floor. The floor then caught fire and the flames began to spread rapidly.


    "Haha damn, this happened much sooner than I thought it would," I said sitting on the floor and watching the people try to desperately escape. However, they quickly found out that all the doors were now locked.


    ''Good work tailed Lilith,'' I thought to myself as I continued to observe the panicking humans, soon to be charcoaled, in the room.


    ''So, anything I do before their death is acceptable. So long as I do not directly affect their death, I won''t be punished by The¨®s,'' I thought as I observed their lifespans.


    ''11 years, 22 years, 3 years, etc. Seems like their lifespans remain fixed even though they are clearly about to die. Could it be because I am influencing their deaths, or might they actually survive this?'' I pondered in my mind.


    Seeing them slowly succumb to the flames, I figured it was the former rather than the latter. The flames grew stronger and half the people in the room were already set ablaze, including myself.


    Surprisingly, I didn''t notice the flames around my body. I finally got up and saw my entire body was on fire and my new tuxedo had burnt off long ago. Only tatters of it remained clinging to my body.


    ''Great, I''m naked again,'' I thought to myself then felt an intense pain coming from my back. I then began to walk towards the exit, groaning throughout. Half of the people were still trying to escape, as the other half were burning on the floor. There were very few spaces that hadn''t caught fire yet, one of them being the entrance.


    "I see I''m at my limit. I need to get to the tailed Lilith," I said to myself as I walked through the flames to get to the entrance.


    "Let me through," I said to the crowd at the door. Desperately, they tried their hardest to force their way through, but the door just wouldn''t budge.


    "What the fuck are you!" a man in the crowd exclaimed. A natural reaction to have after seeing my body still on fire, yet did not burn.


    "If you want to live, let me through," I replied, still groaning from the pain that only increased by the second.


    "Fuck off, this is all your fault to begin with," a woman said to me then kicked me back.


    I took a knee no longer able to handle the pain in my back.


    "Every decision you made up until now has been your own. Don''t blame me for your demise," I said as my vision blurred. I slowly began to lose consciousness.


    After a while, I stood back up. A dark cloud, outlined with turquoise flames, then rushed out of my grossly decayed back.


    The cloud covered my entire body like a cloak and began to burn my flesh. My height slowly grew to 8 feet as I subconsciously conjured a long, curvacious, 7 foot, black scythe. The scythe loooked quite menacing, like it was conjured for the sole purpose of mutilation.


    I was no longer in control of myself, I felt my consciousness slowly fade away to the back of my mind. It felt like something was taking over me.


    ''The other consciousness is taking over, I need to try and suppress it,'' I thought to myself feeling like that was the last thought I could make of my own. The woman in front of me suddenly let out a deafening scream, alerting everyone else who was trying to get the door open.


    "What the fuck is that!" someone in the crowd screamed out.


    "A monster; a beast suddenly appeared!" the woman in front of me cried out.


    I could see everything taking place around me but had no control over my actions. The beast then raised its scythe and attempted to decapitate the woman in front of it. But then suddenly, it stopped right before reaching the woman''s neck. Her face was full of tears as she collapsed on the floor.


    The beast began to scratch its head as if trying to get something out. It was clearly in pain. It then let out a deathly scream that echoed around the blazing room. The¨®s was trying to stop it.


    It gripped on its scythe once more, with both its hands this time, then sliced the woman on the floor using all of its strength. A gusty wind suddenly filled the room after it swung its scythe. He then let out another deathly scream. It sounded satisfied. Right after doing so, I noticed the lifespans of the remaining humans changing.


    3 seconds


    5 seconds


    1 second


    Each one of them only had seconds left to live. Cause of death:¡­? Death¡­just, Death!

 Chapter 11: Azrael

    The air in the room suddenly changed and got heavy, rendering any living being unable to breathe. The people in the room were desperately gasping for air, unsure whether it was the smoke or the fear of an impending death that caught hold of their pharynxes.


    The beast, being the source of their desperate situation, effortlessly continued to slice apart every single human alive in the room. It was a bloody massacre that had no signs of stopping so long as there was a living human in the vicinity.


    After gallons of blood were spilled and numerous body parts sent flying, there was finally only one human left alive.


    The beast then slowly approached the last human. An indescribable fear struck the man as he watched the beast approach him.


    Its dark cloud began to absorb the blood spilled around the floor, walls, and ceiling as it approached. The beast then grabbed the trembling man, by the neck, and lifted him.


    Unable to contain his fear, with tears in his eyes, the man finally found release in the form of urine dripping down his legs.


    "I''m sorry, please¡­let me live," the man pitifully begged as a paddle of urine slowly began to form beneath him.


    The beast threw the man and sent him flying through the shut door as if disgusted. He landed outside with a thump, sprinkles of urine trailing behind him. He skidded right in front of the tailed Lilith, where she had been waiting.


    The man quickly got up and limped away for his life. The throw was so powerful, that the pitiful man ended up breaking his hip and foot upon landing. But that didn''t stop him from trying to get away.


    The tailed Lilith finally walked up to the beast as it stepped out of the burning building. She looked it up and down with a puzzled face, since the dark cloud that usually surrounded my body, was now outlined with a blazing, turquoise flame.


    The beast then attempted to slice the tailed Lilith, but the scythe went right through her body as though it were a mirage. The scythe could deal no damage to her. She suddenly grew to a size of 7 feet then grabbed the beast''s face.


    The white in her eyes began to turn pitch black and black blood now dripped out from her dark scarlet eyes and down her cheeks.


    She groaned in pain throughout the whole process as the beast let out a loud, deathly screech before reverting back to the size of 7 feet. The turquoise flames outlining the dark cloud began to subside and fade away as I slowly felt my consciousness take control.


    "Thank you, tailed Lilith. You are much more useful than I gave you credit for," I said in gratitude.


    After hearing this, she whipped me on the arm with her furry tail, giving me a look of resentment. Dark blood could still be seen flowing out of her eyes. She almost looked pitiable.


    "Be more careful! You were never meant to reach such a point. Doing this to you injures my soul, and the soul doesn''t repair easily. It hurts more each time I do this, and you made me do it twice today!" the tailed Lilith exclaimed her displeasure.


    "I understand, it was my own fault that it got this far. Nonetheless, this was ultimately quite educative," I said not losing my composure.


    ''While I do not fancy being whipped, it was simply the result of my undoing. I will not challenge correction.'' I thought.


    "I acquired 89 years from the remaining lifespans of the humans that burned inside the club. I can feel their lifespans have strengthened me somehow, but it''s to such a minuscule degree. I need more, much more. From what I have learned, in the long run¡­it will never be enough," I said depressingly.


    "There has to be a way for me to increase my resistance to The¨®s'' control faster than this. At this rate, it will take me many millennia to take another 50 steps down the narrow path. Tailed Lilith, what did your previous master do to get as far as he did?" I asked anxiously.


    "Cain was a true reaper. When he figured out that he was given power over death, he became ecstatic. Eager to redeem himself, he believed he could start over and build a new world where no one''s self-interests were above anyone else''s. A fair world with no favoritism. With him as the ruler and an arsenal of thousands of shadows, no one would have stepped out of line. It would have been simple, ''Obey or die!''


    However, he soon realized that he could not harm the humans, but only guide their souls to the afterlife. He became bitter and enraged by this! The power he was given was nothing short of a curse if this was the case. Forever doomed to walk the earth and watch others move on. Unable to die; unable to kill; unable to change anything. He wanted more!


    He believed The¨®s was playing some sort of twisted game. This was the curse for committing the first murder in human history. Since he could not kill humans, he took out his anger on another one of The¨®s'' creations, the dinosaurs.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He killed off every last one of them in an attempt to get back at The¨®s. In doing this, he realized that with each dinosaur that he killed, he became stronger and could slightly resist The¨®s'' control. Eventually, he figured out that he could also create more shadows because of it.


    The only problem was that animals made such an insignificant increase to his strength that it was only worth killing them if he were to wipe out an entire species to extinction.


    He began experimenting and eventually found a way to kill humans indirectly. The plan was a huge success and gave him the results he wanted.


    He found out that a single human''s lifespan was worth that of a thousand animals. This led to various schemes being made against humanity. Such as plagues, bombings, and saving people like Hitler from death," she said with admiration.


    "He was a reaper, what do you mean by saving people?" I asked.


    "When Cain saved someone who was at the end of their lifespan, he found out that each death that person was responsible for from the moment they were saved, would then be on him," she replied.


    "I see, this at least broadens my options," I said still in deep thought.


    "So, what do you plan on doing now?" The tailed Lilith asked expectantly.


    I took a long pause to think about my next course of action. I noticed the sun coming up then finally said with confidence, "I am going to write a book."


    The tailed Lilith looked at me with vivid disappointment. She had expected something more grand.


    "What good will that do?" she asked emotionlessly.


    "Well, for starters, I refuse to keep breaking into stores just to get a day''s worth of clothing. I need to be able to support myself. My parent''s money won''t last long. Eventually, people will find out they are dead. By then, I would like to make a name for myself and have enough resources to take on whatever comes next.


    As for the grand plan you are probably expecting of me, you''ll just have to wait and see for yourself. Now, let''s go," I said then opened a gateway in front of me using the dark cloud.


    I went through the gate alongside the tailed Lilith then reappeared back in the bathroom of my house in Sherwood.


    ''I need to clean up the mess I made,'' I thought to myself.


    I then walked out of the bathroom and went down the stairs. Below the steps, I could see a corpse in a puddle of slightly dried blood.


    "What a mess," I said to myself.


    I then controlled the dark cloud to completely cover the corpse and the blood. The dark cloud then began to accelerate the decaying process on the corpse and absorb the puddle of blood as well, or so it seemed. In almost an instant, nothing was left.


    "How many more shadows can I create at the moment?" I asked the tailed Lilith as I approached the door.


    "10,000 is your current maximum," she replied.


    I then stepped outside and began to walk towards the barn. As I stood at the entrance, I looked down at my mother''s bloody corpse. I then proceeded to do the same as I did with my father''s corpse and started to clean the area.


    After getting rid of the body, I walked out of the barn and created a shadow having a task in mind for it. It then immediately took to the sky at a tremendous speed.


    It seemed to be in search of something. I then called it back and tried to give it a direct order.


    "Drive that tractor," I said pointing at the tractor in the distance. However, it just stood there, lifeless.


    "You won''t be able to make them do anything other than collect souls. They are not intelligent beings and only have a wisp of a human''s soul. There is but a single purpose built into them from the moment they are created. Find a human; collect their soul," the tailed Lilith clarified.


    ''If that is all they are good for then they aren''t much use to me,'' I thought to myself.


    "Can I increase their intelligence?" I asked the tailed Lilith.


    "No matter how much stronger you get, you can only increase the number of shadows you create. Their intelligence always remains the same," she replied still curious about what I''m planning to do.


    ''People are born every day, but people die every day as well. There shouldn''t be a need for me to have this many excess shadows. There has to be a purpose for this.'' I thought to myself.


    "Have you ever tried merging them?" I asked then immediately created 100 shadows, not waiting for a reply.


    ''I''ve played enough video games to recognize a system when I see one. When there are excess resources you can either trade or combine them. The shadows aren''t a currency so...,'' I thought.


    I then commanded each shadow to combine with the next until only one was left. By the time they finished merging, the final one had changed. It had a dark cloud around its body, much like mine, only this shadow''s cloud was less thick and more gascious. However, what made it truly different from the other shadows was that it had no face. The other shadows had skulls for faces, but only dark clouds moved about where this shadow''s face was supposed to be.


    "Can you speak?" I asked the merged shadow.


    It stood there absent-minded for a while then slowly shook its head.


    "So, what can you do?" I asked a follow-up question.


    The merged shadow stood there for a short moment then flew into the sky in search of a human, just like the other shadow. So, I quickly called it back.


    ''Although this one is more responsive with direct orders, I still need to create a shadow with far more intelligence. A shadow that goes beyond its instinctive duty of collecting souls. I guess I should just merge more shadows.'' I then proceeded to create 5,000 more shadows and merged them.


    The shadows twisted together and formed a massive tornado that looked much like a whirlpool from above. The dark whirlpool completely blanket the sky, stopping any sunlight from passing through.


    After a while, it began to shrink. A humanoid figure could be vaguely seen kneeling in the middle of it, taking the whirlpool of shadows within its body.


    After a few more minutes, the whirlpool disappeared and the morning sky was visible once more. A 7ft shadow arose from the center of where the tornado used to be.


    It looked identical to myself, with the exception of the dark cloud continually coming out of its skull. This made it difficult to even see its features. Its shoulders were decorated with a pair of 1ft horns, giving it a menacing look.


    "Can you speak?" I asked the newly merged shadow.


    "Yes, master," he said slightly bowing towards me. He stood with elegance, his right hand placed on his chest.


    "And what can you do?" I asked him.


    "I, Azrael, will do anything my master asks of me," he said with a respectful tone.

 Chapter 12: The Fools Gang

    "You have a name!" I said surprised.


    The tailed Lilith was also shocked by this. She had never seen Cain create a shadow the way I had.


    "Yes master, I am my own being. A collection of different soul fragments. Born to serve you alone," Azrael said still refusing to lift his head.


    "Good," I said to him then proceeded to create more merged shadows, making 40 of them in total.


    ''Each of the new shadows has the strength and learning capacity of 100 shadows merged within it. They are no geniuses, but they should be able to accomplish tasks more flexibly than the normal shadows.'' I began to think...


    ''For now, a majority of my shadows are of a low grade. They each have a built-in command, to only collect the souls of the deceased, just robotic pawns.


    The 40 recently merged shadows are still of a low grade due to their limited intelligence, but can of course be more useful than the bots. I might have to merge about 1,000 shadows to create a shadow of the middle grade, but I cannot afford that right now.


    Luckily, I just acquired Azrael. Having fluent speech and the potential to learn and grow, he clearly falls under the category of ''high-grade shadow''...


    Is that the extent, however? If I were to merge 10,000 shadows, couldn''t I create a shadow even more powerful than Azrael? And if so, would it not exceed even my abilities?'' I went into a chain of thought.


    "Azrael, I have an important task for you¡­"


    ¡­


    Back in New Orleans, a man limped toward an abandoned-looking building. His left leg was visibly injured. He also had a few fractured ribs. This made it more difficult to take each step. Nonetheless, he kept limping onward.


    He arrived at the entrance of the abandoned building and was greeted by two muscular men who stopped his approach.


    "I need to see the boss, tell her Arnold from Club Rumors is here," he said desperately to the two guards.


    One of the guards then sent someone inside to relay the message. A few minutes later, the messenger returned, signaling Arnold to come inside.


    He then led him to the top floor and into a slightly dark room, where a huge round table was at the dead center. A few people were seated around it, all having anxious faces.


    A dark-skinned woman stood out amongst the seated crowd, as she was seated in the largest chair in the room. Next to her, was a familiar face.


    ''The bartender, he is one of the boss''s spies!'' Arnold thought to himself.


    "Report, how the fuck did Club Rumors burn to the ground!" The woman seated, on what could be considered a throne, commanded. With her position, it was no surprise that she already knew about Club Rumors burning down.


    "If he is here, then you must already know about the suspicious man that came to Club Rumors last night..." Arnold hypothesized. His face quickly turned solemn from just mentioning the suspicious man.


    "That''s all I do know. Joey sent him back to me. According to him, this suspicious man gave Joey a sense of danger. The man may be a drunk, but his instincts are always on the mark. I respect him for that. So, did Joey deal with him?" The boss asked.


    "Joey is dead, along with everyone else that was at Club Rumors last night. Only I managed to just barely survive," Arnold said with horror on his face as he recalled the events that happened last night.


    "Explain yourself!" the boss demanded.


    "At first, he seemed like a decent guy. He offered to buy a round of drinks for everyone in the club. He claimed to be working under you, but Joey saw through his lie.


    From there, he began causing a scene. He started throwing expensive bottles all around the room. At first, no one understood why he was doing what he did. That was until the place caught fire.


    We tried to escape, but all the entrances were surprisingly locked. He had an accomplice with him. I couldn''t see her, but he spoke as if she was with us in the room. Someone called Lilith I believe, she''s the one that locked the doors," Arnold began to explain until he was interrupted.


    "So the man burned down along with everyone else¡­? Was he from the Taliban gang?" The boss interrupted.


    "No, that thing that came after us was not from that gang, nor was he a man... I- I struggled to get out, but the doors were sealed shut. I began to believe I was going to die there.


    Suddenly, I heard screaming coming from behind me. I assumed they were the screams of people succumbing to the flames. However, when I turned around, I saw a monster cut someone in half with a scythe.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Pieces of clothing were still burning off around its body, and that''s when I recognized that monster as the same suspicious man from earlier. One by one, he sliced our comrades apart till I was the only one left.


    As it approached, I- I felt like death itself was coming towards me. It grabbed me by the neck and then threw me through the shut door. The impact broke my leg. I struggled to get up and run away, all the while thinking I wasn''t going to make it.


    But then suddenly, as if possessed, it began striking at the air. It looked like it was trying to cut something down. I quickly hid in a corner and watched it swing its scythe like a maniac. It then went on its knees and turned back to¡­." Arnold tried to explain further but then got cut off mid-sentence.


    "Stop, just stop¡­. Are you expecting me to really believe this bullshit? Who the fuck do you think you''re talking to? Do you think you could just crawl up in here with this absurd story? Tell me that my club got burned down by an unnamed man and everyone who was in it is now dead, including Joey! AND YOU, a nobody, are the only survivor? You''re not very smart, are you?


    If you are going to lie, you should at least make it believable. A monster? I''ll show you one. I don''t tolerate traitors!" The boss said with a deathly stare.


    "Boss please, I swear I''m telling you the truth. Everything I said is the truth," Arnold said with tears in his eyes, knowing exactly what was in store for him.


    A couple of bouncers began to approach him.


    "Boss! Boss! Think about it...why would I lie?" Arnold shouted desperately. Tears covered his face and his wounds were still untreated. It was a pitiable sight.


    "Okay, humor me then. How did you escape this monster?" The boss asked.


    "I didn''t, it just shrunk a little and then disappeared," Arnold replied still terrified. He knew that explanation would not be enough to save his life.


    "Moonlight, did you get a good look at the man''s face?" the boss asked the bartender standing next to her.


    "Yes boss," the bartender replied.


    "So you can identify him?" She asked a follow-up question just to be sure.


    "Yes boss," Moonlight replied once again.


    <sighs> Hearing this, the boss let out a heavy sigh.


    The boss then turned to Arnold and said, "There is no way to confirm any truths to your claims, but if you are a rat, I can''t let you get away with this."


    "Boss-," Arnold tried to say, but the boss suddenly stood up. She walked towards Arnold and placed her hand on his shoulder.


    "For the sake of the years you stood as our brother...it will be quick," the boss said then turned back.


    Arnold lost his will to keep fighting after he heard this. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks as his life flashed before his eyes. He realized he had so much regret over the choices he had made.


    After what happened in the club he was going to leave the gang and pursue a career as a physician. He had an MBA and MPH! Unfortunately, Arnold failed to think about the position he was in as he reported. Unfortunately, the conversation couldn''t even reach the stage where he could ask to leave the gang.


    As he thought about it now, even this would have had him killed. It was crazy how everything he had done in his life led up to this moment.


    "Kill him!" the boss signaled to a guard at the door who immediately shot Arnold in the head.


    "Moonlight, find this man and bring him to me alive. If he resists, break his legs. Nobody messes with the Fools Gang¡­.and someone clean this up please," the boss said disappointedly.


    ¡­


    "Azrael, I have an important task for you and your new shadows. However, before that, you must learn of my philosophy. I will not tell you what it is, you should see it for yourself.


    Study human behavior. Study their science, religions, ambitions, wants, needs, and all that they have to offer. When you are finished, tell me what you have observed. Take the low-grade shadows with you. I''m hoping they will learn a thing or two as well.


    They will be under your command, so do with them as you see fit. However, you are in no circumstances allowed to interfere with the work of the pawns am I understood?" I commanded.


    "Yes master, I understand. I will be sure to fulfill your every command with the utmost haste," Azrael replied finally raising his head.


    "As for the forty of you, you are to listen to every single command Azrael gives to you. His word is law and only second to mine," I said to the low-grade shadows.


    As soon as I finished speaking they all immediately bowed slightly towards me with their right hand on their chest, then turned to face Azrael. Azrael only gave them a look that lasted about 5 seconds then they all flew to the sky.


    Azrael went to the east along with 10 of the low-grade shadows. 10 went to the north, 10 to the west, and another 10 to the south. They all seemed to have been given orders to separate for some reason. Luckily I could still keep track of each one of them through their eyes, even Azrael.


    "Now, I believe I have a book to write," I said out loud as I began to walk towards the house. I turned around and saw the tailed Lilith still frozen in shock.


    "Well, are you just going to stand there all day?" I asked her, waking her from her stupor. She then quickly caught up with me and we both walked to the house.


    Within the house, Mother had a hidden room built behind a wall in the library. I was never able to figure out how to open that room, but now I don''t need to open it.


    I walked into the library and noted an all too familiar wall stacked with books. I then turned into a dark cloud and managed to pass through a thin vertical gap on the wall.


    On the other side was a dark and spacious room. The room was so silent that simply dropping a needle there would be heard like it was next to your ear. I then took the dark cloud into my body and regained my 7ft human form.


    Even though it was dark in there, there was no need for me to switch on the lights. Surprisingly, I could see everything as though the room was already lit.


    The room was mostly empty, except for a chair and a desk at the center. On top of the desk was nothing but a plastic cup and a typewriter.


    There was also a mini fridge on one corner of the room and on another, was a bucket that I''m hoping she used for keeping trash.


    "Why isolate herself like this?" I asked aloud, taking a seat on the chair.


    "Yeah, it''s quite depressing in here," the tailed Lilith said as she entered the room as well.


    "Don''t forget to revert back to your reaper form this time," the tailed Lilith added sounding annoyed.


    Not bothering to reply, I began to view the lives of each human being through the eyes of my shadows whilst typing at an incredible speed. I studied their reactions and responses to different circumstances, experiences, and questions.


    I observed and deciphered almost every emotion known and unknown to man as I continued to type away until¡­.


    "Well, aren''t you an enigma!" I said to myself¡­.

 Chapter 13: The Flaws In Humanity

    "Well, aren''t you an enigma!" I said in shock as I watched a human that one of my pawns couldn''t approach.


    This human looked like any other ordinary woman, except she shone as bright as the sun. Her light was so blinding that it was only second to the gate at the end of the narrow path.


    I could see similar people all over the world, shining brightly. My shadows never dared to approach these people. It was important to note that none of them shone half as bright as this woman.


    My shadow pawn continued to observe the woman but from a mile away. If it got any closer, it would begin to tremble.


    "Who are you?" I asked myself still observing the strange human.


    "A question for another day," I said to myself, continuing to type. The entire writing process took only 1 hour. In that 1 hour, I was able to completely type down an entire book on the flaws in humanity.


    I got up from the chair with sheets of paper in hand and then walked towards the wall. However, before I left, I took one last look at the mini fridge in the corner of the room. I then stared at the bucket in the left corner and thought, ''Disgusting!''


    On the side, of the wall before me, was a retinal scanner that I assumed was what opened the wall. ''I can''t just walk through it when I''m not in my reaper form. In that case¡­'' I thought to myself then gave the wall a light punch.


    It sounded like a bomb went off within the once-so-silent room as the wall crumbled and flew.


    ''I need to find Mother''s phone!'' I suddenly thought.


    I arrived at the door of the guest room and stepped inside. As I looked around, I could still smell the sweat coming from the sheets, announcing the deed that took place in the room last night.


    I finally found my mother''s phone on a stool, next to the bed. I unlocked it as she surprisingly had no password on her phone. I quickly scrolled through her contacts and spotted a familiar name, "Anna".


    Anna was my mother''s personal and trusted secretary. Whilst my mother was out here in Sherwood, Anna was back in New York looking after the company.


    A text message suddenly popped up as I was about to tap on her contact. It was from Anna. There had been numerous unread messages from her over the past few days.


    I then texted what I intended to, ignoring the above text messages like they weren''t there.


    "Grayson will be coming later today to have his book published. You will provide for anything that he needs!" I typed.


    ''Wait, mother wouldn''t be so demanding,'' I thought.


    "Grayson will be coming later today to have his book published. Please provide for anything that he might need?" * send *


    I smiled, satisfied with the text, then got ready to leave. I browsed through the closet and found a few of my father''s clothes inside. I picked out a long-sleeved, white shirt and black sweatshirt, as it is cold in New York this time of the year.


    I finally put on a random pair of jeans and turned to the mirror.


    "I look ridiculous," I said as I saw how tiny the clothes were on me.


    "I don''t disagree," the tailed Lilith added.


    The clothes were too small for me as I was 7ft tall and skinny. I then shrunk down to 6''2 feet, increasing my muscles and fitting into my clothes. I kept on a pair of socks and rubbers then faced the mirror once more.


    "Perfect," I said to myself then walked out of the room.


    "Aren''t we going to go to New York?" The tailed Lilith asked as I kept walking toward the stairs.


    "Soon, we have something waiting for us outside," I said stepping down the stairs.


    The tailed Lilith looked at me in confusion as she followed. I opened the front door and saw Azrael outside with one knee on the floor, bowing respectfully. 40 shadows were behind him doing the same.


    "Master, I have completed my objective," Azrael said still kneeling.


    "Yeah yeah, get up," I said to them. They all immediately rose, awaiting further instruction.


    "Tell me, what have you learned?"


    "Humans¡­ humans are unique creatures, unlike any other living beings. Most of them operate, not on instinct, but through the wills of others. Without knowing it, their lives are predetermined by those around them. They seem to always look for ways to pleasure themselves in everything that they do. They seek physical, emotional, and social comfort due to a lack of purpose.


    A majority of them are emotionally in pain and they know it. The rest just haven''t accepted the reality of their pain. They have diverse cultures, laws, views, and opinions, which has affected each of them differently.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    This often has created conflict amongst themselves. However, one particular thing that has remained a constant, despite their culture or upbringing, is their selfishness.


    In everything they do, they are always in it for themselves in some way or another. Every word they speak; every rock they pick; every step they take is for inevitably satisfying their self-interest in the long run. They take from each other and take from this world¡­


    Respectfully, for the sake of all other life on this planet, humans would be better off dead," Azrael said expressionless in one breath.


    "However¡­," Azrael added with a look of seriousness.


    "There are certain individuals that seemed like were on fire, yet did not burn. They were difficult to approach¡­," he tried to say before I stopped him.


    "I am aware of these individuals and will personally investigate them. You have done well thus far; your thoughts are aligned with mine," I said pleased.


    "Thank you, master, but I am bound to you. My beliefs are your beliefs," Azrael said slightly bowing down with his hand on his chest.


    "I am aware, but I feel better knowing you came to terms with it yourself. Which is why I can trust your opinion on this. Read it, then tell me what you think," I said to him, handing over the sheets of paper I had in hand.


    Azrael accepted the papers and quickly flipped through 400 pages in just a few seconds. "Master, this book is equivalent to my journey around the world and more. From what I have just seen, humans may not be ready to read this," Azrael said with concern.


    "Good, I''m counting on it. A book this diverse is sure to arouse conflicts of opinion. Not only with other individuals but also within themselves. Differences in opinions stir up debates. I do not care what they believe, in the end, this is for the profit and a little something extra," I said smiling at Azrael.


    In that case, might I advise you to delve deeper into the subject of love," Azrael suggested.


    "Oh! What do you have in mind?" I asked Azrel.


    "The love that humanity practices is ultimately self-seeking. Love in its purest, original form is sacrifice. It is being genuinely ready to give your whole to another. It is difficult to even comprehend there being a human capable of this.


    Despite these facts, most humans could never accept the reality of their self-seeking nature. Never taking into account that none of them could ever allegedly love without some sort of gain in return. I think this should be the very core of the message in this book," Azrael explained.


    "Hmm, you''re definitely onto something. Humans can never do anything if there is no gain from it," I said out loud.


    We went inside and then began to discuss the new changes to be made in the book. Without realizing it, 2 hours had passed with us just exchanging views and ideas. 5 minutes later, all the necessary changes to the book were made.


    "Okay, this should be it. Good job Azrael!" I said feeling satisfied by his work ethic.


    I then signaled to the tailed Lilith to open a gateway to New York.


    "Wait for me here. This took longer than expected and I have some business to take care of," I said then quickly walked through the gateway alongside the tailed Lilith.


    We then appeared in Midtown Manhattan, right in front of 450 Park Avenue. I masked my presence as people would get shocked seeing someone appear out of thin air.


    ''Mother had rented the top 3 floors, of the building before me, for her company. The top floor being my destination,'' I thought to myself as I approached the building.


    I walked into the building alongside the tailed Lilith and headed straight for the elevator, where I finally revealed my presence. I got to the top floor and found a busy office space with people walking left and right, each having a task of their own.


    I moved around the floor and spotted a dashing brunette inside an office, speaking to numerous people. I recognized the brunette to be Anna, the person I was here to see. Anna wore a luxurious-looking black and red dress that fit her curvaceous body perfectly. From where I stood, her dress did not match her demeanor. I stepped into her office and all eyes turned to me. Anna was angrily shouting something but suddenly stopped upon my entry.


    "Busy as always," I said as I closed the door behind me.


    "Who- who are you?" She asked looking me up and down like I didn''t belong here. A hint of interest could be seen in her eyes but she quickly brushed it off.


    "Anna, has it been so long that you do not recognize me anymore? Did Mother not inform you I will be coming soon?" I said amused by her confused state.


    "Gray? Is that you?" she said refusing to believe it.


    Anna and I always had a good relationship as far as I was concerned. Whenever I needed a pet, back when we still lived in NY, it was she who would gift one to me each time. Despite my parent''s reluctance to do so, she still got me some.


    She truly helped me through my cravings throughout high school. I guess I should be grateful to her, even though she only did it to get on my good side.


    Anna is a critical thinker who always seemed to live 10 years ahead of everyone around her. She knew that being the only child, I would eventually inherit my mother''s fortune. All in all, I''ll make sure she had made a good investment.


    "The one and only," I answered her with a smile.


    "Give us a moment," she said to the rest of the people in the room. They all immediately got up and left the room, each giving me a look of disapproval on their way out.


    "Gray, you have grown so much. I almost didn''t recognize you! How old are you now?" she said using her fingers to remove the few strands of hair from her face.


    "That''s not important right now. I can''t stay for long. I only came to give you this," I told her as I placed the sheets of paper on top of the table.


    "One more thing, I need access to all of my mother''s bank accounts and you to create another account for me personally to keep the profits of this book," I said in a serious tone.


    "Grayson, I can''t get you that information without your mother present. There are procedures we need to go through. That aside, your book hasn''t even gone through our editors yet. I don''t know if it will even be approved for publishing," she said shocked by my request.


    "Anna, I understand your worry, but that book will be published whether your editors approve of it or not. My mother will not be available for a long time as she has gone on a retreat with my father.


    I do not know when they will be back. I believe you were informed to provide me with anything I need. I need those accounts," I said to her then turned to leave.


    "Also, get me a phone?" I added feeling slightly embarrassed.


    "Wait...," she tried to say but was rendered speechless as she didn''t know what to address first.


    "Yeah?" I asked stopping halfway through the door.


    <sighs>


    "Listen, I could get you those accounts, I already have her details. Your book, however, may need some time.


    "You can get 20% of the profit if you get this done by tomorrow," I said to her.


    "Hmm, I''ll see what I can do. I still need to go through it," Anna replied.


    "You should be fine. Have a good day Anna. It was nice seeing you again, you look good in red," I said to her then finally walked out of the office.

 Chapter 14: Moonlights Mission

    "¡­You look good in red," I said leaving the office.


    I then rushed straight to the elevator as I was dangerously approaching my limit. I repeatedly pressed the button to take me to the ground floor, but just as the doors began to close¡­.


    "Hold the elevator!" a man shouted running towards me.


    He kept his right hand between the doors, right before they shut, making it just in time.


    "Get out!" I said to the man letting out some pressure.


    "Listen, buddy, there is more than enough¡­" the man tried to say but then stopped midsentence. He was suddenly rendered incapable of breathing!


    The atmosphere got heavy and sweat could vividly be seen all around his body. Fear took over the man as he desperately tried to reopen the elevator door.


    The doors finally opened and he immediately raced out and fell to the floor gasping for air. As the doors closed once again I watched the man drown in despair as he began to cry.


    I finally took off my shirt and screamed in pain as Lilith opened a gateway beneath us. I landed back at home in front of Azrael and released the dark cloud within my body.


    The cloud rushed out of my mouth and eyes then completely covered the rest of my body. The cloud continuously burnt off my flesh, revealing the bones beneath it. I stood up in my complete 7ft reaper form and faced Azrael and his shadows as they knelt before me.


    "Welcome back master," Azrael said still kneeling on the floor. I nodded in response, still feeling the after-effects of the pain from before.


    "Have there been any improvements with the shadows from your previous journey?" I asked expectantly.


    "Yes master, they have become more responsive and flexible to commands," Azrael replied immediately.


    ''So, even they are capable of learning,'' I thought to myself.


    "Good, I have another task for you," I said as I looked up to the sky.


    "Do you know who The¨®s is?" I asked.


    "Yes master, The¨®s is the architect of the system we see before us. From life, death, and everything in between was designed by The¨®s. Thus, everything happens within The¨®s'' plan. If it is not within The¨®s'' plan then it cannot be done!" Azrael said with absolute certainty.


    "That''s right! I want to be able to resist the system that The¨®s has placed on us. To do that, I need to become stronger. The humans on this earth are not enough for me to meet that goal. So, I need you to search elsewhere," I said to Azrael then pointed to the sky.


    "Master¡­I will complete this task and rush back to your side," Azrael said with enthusiasm.


    "Good, I have no particular direction I can send you to, but use what you have learned on this planet. It should give you an idea of where to start.


    Unless I allow it, you can''t interact with the physical realm, so I doubt you will be in any danger. Once you have located a planet with living beings, hold your position! I shall come to you," I said then signaled them to leave with a brush of my hand.


    Azrael then got up alongside 40 low-grade shadows. He turned to them and glared at each of them deeply as if to communicate something.


    After a few moments, they began to pair up in twos. Each pair received different instructions and shot to the sky right after. This went on until it was Azrael alone that was left with two low-grade shadows.


    "Until we meet again master," he said to me as he bowed respectfully in my direction. He knew this new task wasn''t like the previous and would take much longer.


    He then flew to the sky, alongside the two shadows. They were so fast that to an ordinary person, it would have looked like they suddenly disappeared. I watched them fly away till they were completely out of sight.


    "Hey tailed Lilith¡­" I spoke up.


    "Yes, master¡­?" The tailed Lilith replied.


    "How come I can''t fly?" I asked curiously.


    "Of course you can. You''re just an idiot," the tailed Lilith replied respectfully as if to mock me.


    I ignored her little comment and asked, "How?"


    "We can manipulate the fabric of space and create gateways that can take us anywhere in an instant. What''s the point of flying?" she said.


    "Teach me," I said to her.


    I didn''t care if I could get somewhere almost instantly. Flying seemed fun. I''m not all about the work. I may be dead, but I''m still alive.


    ¡­


    "This is an active crime scene please step back!" A young police officer warned as he stopped the approach of a slim-looking man with his hand.


    "Get your hand off of me before I break it!" the slim man commanded.


    Feeling threatened by the slim man''s words, the young officer attempted to reach for his gun but was stopped by a detective before he could pull it out.


    "Do you have any idea who you almost pointed that gun at? That''s Moonlight! Engrave this name in your pea-sized brain you oaf," the detective said in a harsh tone, then turned to face the slim man.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "I am truly sorry if this underling offended you. He is still new and doesn''t know how things work around here yet. Please forgive him," the detective said with haste not daring to look Moonlight in the eyes.


    The Fool''s Gang are known for their extreme brutality. Crossing one of them would keep you in danger and everyone you have contacted may be at risk too. However, crossing Moonlight means certain death!


    "Forget it, I have more important matters to deal with," he said then walked towards what used to be Club Rumors. The detective, feeling relieved, immediately followed behind him.


    Moonlight stepped inside the burnt-down building and was met with a horrific sight. Burnt bodies still lay at the entrance. Individual hands and legs, separated from their bodies, could be seen all around the room. Too scorched to even be identified with the naked eye.


    "I shouldn''t have left you here Joey," Moonlight silently whispered to himself in regret as he kept searching around the room.


    "Do you have any leads on the person that did this?" Moonlight asked.


    "Not yet. The fire was put out late, and we haven''t found evidence of the man we were told about being here. If he was here, are you sure he didn''t burn in there as well?" the detective asked.


    Moonlight then walked out of the burnt room and examined the doors lying on the ground outside. The detective noted Moonlight''s interest in the doors and said, "The doors were blown off their hinges, most likely from the gas explosion inside."


    Moonlight then remembered the guy who told them that absurd story had said he was thrown through the doors. A dent could be seen on the doors. He then noticed a piece of a price tag sticking out from beneath one of the doors. Half of it had already succumbed to the flames. On the tag was written, JEFF''s.


    Moonlight then also remembered how Arnold said the man had pieces of clothing burning off around his body. However, what stood out about this price tag was that its edges were not burnt like everything else. It looked aged, old, and wrinkled.


    ''None of my guys buy from JEFF''s, it''s not their style. This must have belonged to him! He came with the price tag?'' Moonlight went into thought.


    "Detective, have there been any reports of a theft at JEFF''s?" Moonlight asked.


    "Yes actually. Just last night, someone broke into the store and stole a tuxedo. We were able to get the man''s face on camera, but are still working on identifying him," the detective said.


    "Show me that footage!" Moonlight said with a serious tone.


    The detective then ran with great haste to get the footage. As he waited, Moonlight made preparations to have the dead bodies cleared out from the crime scene. They were all members of the gang, and he wanted to make sure they all got a proper burial. Half an hour later, the detective finally showed up with the security tape on hand.


    "You made me wait. A minute more and I would have actually been upset," Moonlight said as they walked towards a police van to view the tape.


    "Sorry for the delay, the department isn''t exactly close and I had to personally be there to retrieve something like that," the man said carefully.


    Moonlight didn''t say anything to him and just kept walking. They finally arrived at the back of the police van. The detective set everything up for them to view the tape. The contents of the tape showed a man walking naked into the store, but there was no accomplice with him as Arnold had mentioned.


    "What the...! Is the time shown on this tape accurate?" Moonlight asks in shock. "Yes, I retrieved this myself. No one has tampered with it," the detective answered with confidence.


    "This can''t be right. This is around the same time he walked into the club. JEFF''s is all the way in Severn Ave, which is 13 miles away. How could anyone cover such a distance in just a span of a few minutes?" Moonlight asked himself with a look of disbelief.


    "Could they be different people?" The detective asked trying to make sense of it as well.


    "No, there''s no doubt about it. This is the same man I saw in the club. With the same suit!


    Maybe he tampered with the footage beforehand to have an alibi? That''s the only reasonable explanation. He must have gone to the club last night to stir things up. I don''t think he accounted for anyone surviving. He even has an alibi for the police and the gang! Which opposing gang sent him though?


    The bastard is quite careful, but not careful enough. I have seen his face, and now, he is a dead man!" Moonlight said with an unwavering confidence in himself.


    "Find out who this man is and where he came from?" Moonlight ordered the detective.


    ¡­


    *1 week later*


    (Achoo!)


    "This took longer than expected, but I finally got the hang of it," I said to the Tailed Lilith after a hearty sneeze. We were both levitating 10 feet from the ground.


    "You''ve been sneezing a lot this past week. That''s not normal," the tailed Lilith said.


    "It''s fine. That just means there''s a beautiful lady out there who can''t get me out of her mind," I said with my chest out and my nose held up high.


    I then controlled the dark cloud within me, to fly even higher. Looking at the world beneath me go smaller and smaller as I flew higher and higher was an exhilarating experience.


    The dark cloud seemed to be the source of all my newfound abilities. Even when it came to flying. In my reaper form, all I had to do was control the cloud around my body with a thought and I would move whichever direction I chose.


    In my human form, however, I had to manipulate the dark cloud within my body as a force of energy to lift me toward whatever direction I commanded it to.


    Flying felt unnatural in this form. It required me to use more force and reduced my already limited time as a human. However, I couldn''t feel the wind on my skin in my reaper form.


    A light smoke arose from my body during flight, as the dark cloud was basically burning me from within. Luckily, it happened ever so slowly. It was for this reason that I would train in my reaper form.


    "I managed to learn how to fly!" I said with obvious excitement.


    Apart from flying I had also been experimenting and learning more about the dark cloud. The cloud decomposed anything it touched. It was strange how even something like water would be broken down into its elements - hydrogen and oxygen, and even they were split further into their respective single atoms.


    A phenomenon like this can only be found within extreme conditions such as the sun''s core or nuclear reactions. The cloud didn''t just decompose things, it brought them to their end, their final form.


    These discoveries helped me maintain my human form even longer, but it was also mostly thanks to the tailed Lilith. When she took my pain away, a foreign power entered within me. This power took the pain but was also in opposition to my own.


    I felt the power the first time but disregarded it. However, the second time, I decided to feel how the power circulated within me and somehow make it my own. I took a portion of that power and continued to circulate it just as the tailed Lilith had done.


    The power still opposed my own, but if I could find a balance, I could possibly stay as a human indefinitely!`


    Within my consciousness, this power looked like a warm ball of light. This light would circulate throughout my body, at my command, whilst in my human form. I couldn''t break down this light like other things and seemed like it had no end.


    "We''ve given Anna enough time to meet my demands. Time to pay her another visit," I said expectantly.


    I then flew back down to the ground, alongside the tailed Lilith, then went into the house. I took the dark cloud within my body and concentrated it on my back.


    I quickly picked out some black jeans and a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt from my father''s closet to clothe myself. Lastly, I wore a white pair of rubbers and was finally ready to set off.


    ''I can''t keep losing clothes every time I change back to my reaper form. I need to be more careful,'' I thought to myself.


    "Tailed Lilith, open a gateway back to New York, it''s time to collect," I said with a huge grin on my face.

 Chapter 15: It’s Time To Collect

    "It''s time to collect," I said to the tailed Lilith.


    A dark cloud, summoned by the tailed Lilith, appeared in front of us. We then walked through it and almost immediately reappeared in front of 450 Park Avenue, just like before.


    The street was even more crowded this time around. Luckily, like before, I could easily mask my presence and walk into the building unnoticed. I headed straight for a vacant elevator, where I revealed my presence.


    "Tailed Lilith, how come you never reveal yourself? Are you shy or just incapable of doing so?" I asked her in a mocking tone as the elevator doors closed.


    "Revealing myself would just bring complications in the future. Our existence should remain unknown. I suggest you don''t do it so often, either. Even if you do, at least do it right," she said seriously.


    "What do you mean do it right?" I asked with curiosity.


    "Maybe I''ll tell you...If you stop referring to me as "tailed" all the time. How would you feel if I kept pointing out a specific body part of yours as an honorific? How would you feel if I called you Dicked Grayson?" She said, irritated.


    "Ha-ha, go ahead if you like it that much. It seems like that body part really ''stood'' out for you. It''s okay if you''ve fallen for me. I can''t blame you," I teased.


    "Absolutely not! I wouldn''t let a worm like you touch me," she quickly replied, then looked away, feeling even more irritated.


    I then noticed her tail swaying left and right. Suddenly, a thought came to mind.


    "You said before that your tail is the only part of you that is real. Does your tail also function as your reproductive organ?" I asked her as I leaned closer to examine her tail.


    "What¡­I...!" She stuttered with a sudden step backward.


    "Oh, we''re here," I interrupted her, then walked out of the elevator. No one else could see her tail.


    I was then met with the same busy office I saw a week ago. Only this time, all eyes seemed to be glued on me more than usual as I walked towards Anna''s office. Lustful gazes from men and women alike turned my way.


    ''Perhaps I''m glowing today?'' I thought to myself as I stepped into Anna''s office.


    "Ah, Grayson, good timing. I was just wondering how to contact you. You weren''t kidding when you said you needed a phone, huh? haha. Anyways, I have some documents for you to¡­" she said to me, then suddenly dropped the documents she was holding.


    She then looked at me in utter shock and disbelief, leading me to think, ''Wow, this is some glow I''m having today!''


    Suddenly, Anna slowly raised her hand to point to something that was actually behind me. I looked back and only saw the tailed Lilith standing there naked. A sight I had grown used to seeing. I then looked around to see if there was anything out of the ordinary and asked Anna, "Is something wrong?"


    "What do you mean is something wrong? How can you just casually walk in here with a naked woman!" she asked, looking at me in disgust.


    "Wait, you can see her?" I asked in a panicked tone. "Of course, I can see her. Did you assume I was blind? What is this, some sort of sick game you play with your whores?" she asked infuriated.


    "Hello, my name is Lilith and I am his daughter," the tailed Lilith finally spoke, acting like she wasn''t butt naked.


    I swiftly slapped the back of her head in annoyance.


    ''Who the fuck is going to believe that!'' I thought as I began to think of a way out of this situation.


    "Yo- your DAUGHTER!?" Anna struggled to exclaim as this new piece of information struck her like thunder.


    Nothing had yet to make sense to her.


    "So, you just let your daughter walk in here like this? Has she been naked this entire time?" she asked, sounding more concerned than shocked.


    ''This is not how I expected today to go¡­but the unexpected should always be expected,'' I thought then calmed myself down with a huge sigh.


    (Sigh)


    "This is a distant cousin of mine. Her parents have passed away for some time now. With my parents always traveling, she has been left under my care. We are the only family she has left.


    She may look mature, but she is a mischievous and rebellious little child that I have recently learned I cannot let out of my sight.


    She is only acting out now because she has been grounded all week. I thought bringing her to the office would lighten her mood, but it seems I just made things worse. I apologize for this inconvenience. She''s special, you see.


    She must have done this before coming out of the elevator. I will be sure to keep a closer watch over her next time. May I please borrow your coat to cover up this troublemaker?" I said with sincere disappointment.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Oh, I am so sorry. I didn''t realize your situation was so complicated¡­here," Anna said to us apologetically as she handed over her coat. Her concern now only increased, but at least she knew she was safe.


    ''Oh¡­you''re good,'' the tailed Lilith sent me a mental note.


    ''You will pay for this little stunt,'' I replied sternly.


    Aside from learning how to fly, I discovered another useful ability. I could send my thoughts to any of my shadows, as well as any living being, including the tailed Lilith. This built a temporary link between me and the recipient, allowing them to send their thoughts back. It was basically a phone call you couldn''t ignore. I noticed Azrael use this same method to communicate and give orders to the low-grade shadows.


    I awkwardly gave Anna an apologetic smile and received the coat.


    "Thanks, Daddy," the tailed Lilith said playfully as I covered her.


    I swiftly slapped the back of her head again and said to Anna, "Anyways, you were saying something about some documents?"


    "Um, yes! The documents..." she said as she began to pick the documents up from the floor.


    Without realizing it, Anna had been captivated by the tailed Lilith''s body for some time now. As she picked up the documents, she found herself taking quick side glances at the tailed Lilith''s thick brown thighs.


    ''Well, I can''t blame her for staring,'' I thought.


    "Honestly, it''s like your family''s genes are on steroids. You''re both built like you''re not even human. It''s not even fair," she said, feeling defeated.


    "Alright, I was able to pull some strings to get you access to all your mother''s bank accounts. Just sign on the designated areas and you will have full access to them in the next 24h," she said as she laid the documents on the table.


    She then got on a call. She sounded like she was making arrangements for something. I then started to sign all the documents. Before long, Anna and the tailed Lilith began chatting away. Which worried me to no end.


    "If that is all, I would like to leave soon," I said to Anna.


    "Not yet. Take this ID. The photo in it is a picture of you from 2 years ago, but I doubt it will create too much trouble," she said, looking at how different I was now.


    "Also, here is the phone you asked for. My contact is already in there, so feel free to contact me at any time. We don''t always have to meet in the office, you know. I can meet you anywhere you would like," she said to me, moving closer and closer to my face.


    "Ahem," the tailed Lilith coughed, causing Anna to seize her approach. She then went to her seat and gave me a surprisingly serious gaze.


    "Grayson, there is something about your book that has been bothering me. Forgive me, but I must ask as this company has a reputation to keep. This book gives the feel that the author has lived a long life, traveled all around the world, and amassed great wisdom and knowledge. It is difficult to believe that such wisdom and knowledge have come from someone as young as yourself.


    I need you to be honest with me. Did you really write this book? Because from what I know, you have been in Texas for the past few years, and your mother has never mentioned anything about you writing a book until a week ago," Anna asked with suspicion.


    "Trust me, Anna, I am the sole author of that book. No one will be coming to claim ownership so you do not need to worry about that. That book contains understanding that only my mind can match," I said with confidence.


    "Alright, you''re the boss. By the way, you never really gave me a title for your book. I had no way of contacting you, so I took the initiative of giving it a title myself. How do you like "The Flaws In Humanity"? she asked.


    "It''s much better than what I had in mind, that''s for sure. I was going to go with ''A Reaper''s Philosophy'' haha," I replied with a chuckle.


    "A little on the nose, don''t you think?" The tailed Lilith commented.


    "I''m glad I thought of a title then," Anna said, feeling relieved.


    ''Can''t be that bad!'' I thought to myself as I began walking towards the door.


    "One more thing, Gray. We need to take a photo of you for your book cover. I know you''re in a hurry, but it won''t take long. Just go over to the next room; there''s someone already there waiting," Anna quickly added as I stepped out.


    "It''s fine, I can spare some more time," I said to Anna.


    I then turned to the tailed Lilith and said to her, "Don''t move, and wait for me here!"


    I finally went to the next room and saw a photographer seated, waiting for me. The room had already been set up for my photo to be taken. A high chair was placed in front of a long book rack, with lights surrounding the scene.


    "You must be Grayson. Please take a seat on that chair," the photographer said.


    I then took a seat as the photographer requested. Soon after, he began to take pictures of me from different angles. I had to keep switching positions, which felt like a tiresome task.


    The whole process took about 20 minutes, but I was already eager to leave as though I had been there for hours.


    "These are good," the photographer said. I finally got off the chair, as I was now free to leave the room.


    ''Wow, this guy has no bad angles!'' The cameraman thought to himself as he browsed through the photos he took.


    As I stepped out, I immediately noticed a commotion happening in the middle of the office. A group of men and women alike were crowding around the tailed Lilith.


    "Hey there, I''m Ben. You had me completely mesmerized by your beauty as you walked in. If you''re free, I''d love to buy you dinner tonight," A handsome young man spoke to the tailed Lilith with his eyes only fixed on her cleavage.


    "No, wait, go out with me!"


    "I saw her first!"


    "Can I please touch your hair?"


    "I know we just met, but I feel a connection between us!"


    "I love you even more!"


    "Please just hold my hand, that''s all I need!"


    The group of people started going crazy, each wanting a piece of the tailed Lilith.


    I then rushed through the crowd and grabbed the tailed Lilith''s hand.


    "It''s you!" Ben exclaimed, then dropped to the floor.


    A traumatizing memory began to play back in his mind. How he was left before, feeling defeated and gasping for air in an elevator.


    His body stiffened as he watched the familiar man steal away the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.


    "Fuck off you lot, she''s a child!" I said, then raced towards the elevator, still holding on to the tailed Lilith.


    "I thought I told you to wait!" I said sternly as I stepped into the elevator with her.


    "Yeah, I did! What''s it to you where I wait or if I talk to a few people?" she said, crossing her arms.


    Feel free to seek attention from anyone you want, but when I tell you to wait, you will wait. Best believe you will pay dearly for the little stunt you pulled today. You''re lucky you didn''t reveal your tail. I don''t know how I would have explained that," I said, infuriated.


    "Whatever, let''s just go," she turned around, almost looking pitiful. She abruptly let go of my hand and attempted to open a gateway.


    "No, not yet. I still have time. You said before that if I''m going to do this, I should do it right. There are cameras in this building. If someone notices us in the feed in the building but never sees us going in or out of it, it would be difficult to explain. If we''re going to do business here, we have to avoid suspicion towards us. Isn''t that right, tailed Lilith?" I said to her, emphasizing her honorific.


    "You actually caught on! I was being very vague on purpose, too <sigh> Where to now?" The tailed Lilith asked, rolling her eyes.


    "You''ll see," I said to her, then stepped out of the elevator.

 Chapter 16: An Enigma

    "You''ll see," I said to the tailed Lilith, stepping out of the elevator as she followed closely behind.


    We walked through a crowded lobby receiving the occasional stares from people around us.


    Even though the tailed Lilith now wore a coat to cover herself, her curvaceous body could not be hidden so easily. Our height didn''t help us stand out any less either.


    We finally left the building, only to be met by the busy streets of New York.


    "We need to find someplace that isn''t crowded to open a gateway, my time is almost running out," I said to the tailed Lilith.


    As my human form was reaching its limit, an aura of death leaked out of my body. This caused the people walking past me to feel cold and faint.


    Of all the life surrounding me, I felt most drawn to the souls of humans. I could feel a familiar force repelling me from them, like two magnets of the same poles coming together.


    "Master, through there. There''s an abandoned alleyway across the street," the tailed Lilith said.


    I snapped out of my daze and immediately crossed the street without thinking twice. Pain slowly started to spread from my back to the rest of my body with each step I took.


    The moment I stepped onto the street, a bike courier suddenly knocked my body. Despite the collision, I stood upright. The bike, on the other hand, had its front wheel bent.


    I looked at the man, who was now on the floor, and noticed he was different from other humans. His entire body was glowing and emitting a similar presence to the golden gate at the end of the narrow path.


    "I''m sorry sir, I didn''t see you crossing. Are you okay? I should have been more observant, haha," the bike courier said with a slight chuckle. It was strange seeing him pay no attention to the bruise on his knee or the damage to his bike.


    "I''m in a little rush right now, but here. Contact me if any medical bills need to be paid," he said as he wrote his contact details on a piece of paper and then handed it over to me. He then picked up his twisted bike and ran off.


    "Does he have a screw loose or something?" I asked myself out loud.


    I then looked at the paper in my hand and crushed it, no longer having time to think about it. I threw away the paper, disregarding this whole encounter.


    Finally arriving in the alleyway, I handed my belongings to the tailed Lilith. Lest they get destroyed when I turn. The tailed Lilith received my items and opened a gateway beneath our feat.


    We then dropped in the middle of a field as I finally reverted to my 7ft reaper form. All the plant life around us began to decay as the aura of death spread around the area.


    "It''s getting exhausting maintaining my human form, even now I can still feel some fatigue," I said out loud then stood up.


    "You!" I said looking down at the tailed Lilith as my turquoise eyes burned with a raging flame.


    "Stand upright on your hands!" I commanded. The tailed Lilith then proceeded to do as she was told.


    "Now on one finger," I added. Without retaliating, the tailed Lilith followed my command yet again.


    "Now stay like that and do not disturb me!" I said to the tailed Lilith then flew back to the house.


    *3 months later*


    "Master¡­ Master¡­ GRAYSON!!" The tailed Lilith shouted in an attempt to wake me up. I immediately raised my head from the bed in a rush and sat upright.


    "What is it? I thought I told you not to disturb me," I said to the tailed Lilith, clearly annoyed by her intrusion into my nap.


    "Whatever, this crazy woman won''t stop calling you. It seems important," the tailed Lilith responded sounding even more annoyed. She handed me my phone and it immediately started ringing again. I looked at the caller ID and saw the name Anna with a heart emoji. I accepted the phone call, not paying any mind to how she saved her contact.


    "Hello Anna," I said holding my phone to my ear.


    "Grayson! Wh- where the heck have you been? It''s like you live under a rock!" she said in frustration.


    "I''ve been asleep. Did something happen?" I asked casually.


    "OH REALLY? YOU''VE BEEN ASLEEP!" she shouted over the phone. "I don''t care about what you''ve been doing. Just come to the office, NOW!" She added.


    "Alright, I''ll be there in a few minutes," I said to her then hung up. I checked my call history and¡­


    "75 missed calls!" I exclaimed, then looked towards the tailed Lilith.


    "She''s been calling almost every day, it was getting annoying," she said defensively.


    "How long was I asleep for?" I asked.


    "Almost 3 months," she answered.


    "How the heck have I been sleeping for 3 months? Why didn''t you wake me up¡­?" I asked out loud. Suddenly I remembered the punishment I gave her and how I said I did not want to be disturbed.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "Never mind," I quickly said awkwardly.


    The tailed Lilith smirked and then said, "Your reaper form doesn''t need rest. You can be up for centuries without sleep, no problem. Your human form, on the other hand, is fragile.


    The cloud refines your body and strengthens it. Enough for you to barely contain it. However, the human body was not created to contain the dark cloud''s immense power, and that will keep a strain on you. Eventually, you''ll just shut down till you recover.


    Every time you take the dark cloud into your body to maintain your flesh, it uses your soul like a battery. If you do it so frequently, like you have been doing, you will need time to regain that energy.


    The fastest way to do that is through sleep. How long you sleep depends on how frequently you change to your human form. Once a month should be fine, but you have done it 3 times in 1 week. Your weak body can''t handle it."


    "So I probably can''t reach a level where my body is compatible with this power right?" I asked.


    "Now you get it. Your body is too impure to contain the dark cloud. That''s why it keeps breaking it down and reconstructing it-," the tailed Lilith answered with a look of superiority, but suddenly stopped talking.


    ''If it''s the cloud reconstructing and refining my body, doesn''t that mean I will eventually become compatible with it. What kind of body will I have then?'' I thought to myself.


    "I''ll just have to be more careful now," I said, getting up from my bed. I then changed into my human form, and put on some clothes.


    "Go put some clothes on. I''m not taking chances with you again," I rushed her.


    The tailed Lilith then rolled her eyes and proceeded to wear my mother''s clothes. She put on my mother''s iconic black, skintight leggings and a bright green t-shirt that did little to contain the melons that were her breasts. As soon as she was finished, she opened a gate before us.


    "Let''s go," I said to her before walking through the gate.


    We then appeared in a familiar alleyway and started walking towards 450 Park Avenue. This was the first time I walked into the building without masking my presence. I never paid any mind to the security procedures everyone had to go through before getting to the elevators.


    Fortunately, as soon as I showed my ID, I was escorted to the elevator by a receptionist who called me by name.


    "I hate coming here," I said to the tailed Lilith on the way up. Surprisingly she was silent throughout the whole way¡­just the way I liked it.


    We then stepped out of the elevator and walked towards Anna''s office, receiving the occasional stares, smiles, and "congratulations."


    ''What the hell happened these past 3 months?'' I asked myself.


    I walked into Anna''s office alongside the tailed Lilith who still hadn''t said a word.


    "Grayson! Good, you''re finally here. I''ll get straight to the point. Your book is doing pretty good with sales. It has become a major topic of discussion amongst philosophers and average individuals alike.


    Some professors are even using it as a reference in universities. We have never received such ratings from our books before, not since your mother''s book "Purpose".


    With the way these ratings keep rising, it will eventually surpass it!" she said with surprisingly no emotion, clearly still holding back some piece of information.


    "I believe that''s a good thing, but that''s not why you called me here. So, what''s wrong?" I asked. Anna breathed out a long sigh and then walked behind her desk to take a seat.


    "Although your book has become quite popular, it has also initiated some disturbing results to a significant amount of people," she said disappointedly.


    "What do you mean disturbing results?" I asked, understanding what she meant, but didn''t show it.


    "Ever since the book was published, there has been a spike in suicides and suicide attempts in different corners of the world.


    There still isn''t enough proof to tie the suicides to your book. However, from what I have gathered, most of the suicide notes left behind by these people have one thing in common. The phrase...


    "Humanity is a mistake"!


    People are starting to talk and are blaming your book for the loss of their loved ones," she said, depressingly.


    "I never told anyone to take their life in that book. Any decision that they made after reading it is their own," I said to Anna, trying to feign ignorance.


    ''This was too easy,'' I thought to myself.


    Humans are so weak-hearted. Of course, I knew about this. How could I not? I could feel the lifespans of these sheep strengthening me. This was all part of the plan,'' I continued my chain of thought, letting a smile slip.


    I began to view the victims all around the world through the eyes of my shadows. Many of them are still debating or in the process of ending their lives. They truly believed their lives lives were worthless. Here I am, getting rich and stronger from all of it¡­.


    ''Wait¡­No, not you!'' I thought to myself in panic as I watched someone, I never expected to, try and end their life.


    "What is with that smile on your face? Does this amuse you?" Anna asked me with a disgusted look.


    "Of course not. I never wanted anyone to lose their life in my attempt to show people the truth. This is serious and I need to get on top of this!" I said with a serious tone as I tried to feign empathy.


    Pretending to be completely taken by the news that Anna had delivered, I quickly stormed out of her office.


    "I must say, this was quite brilliant," the tailed Lilith said to me with a smirk.


    I paid no attention to her and rushed towards the elevator. Anna was a little worried about the families threatening to sue, but in the end, she was a little devil. What truly mattered to her were the dollars, and this book was bringing them in by the boatload.


    ''I didn''t consider her to be affected by this. She shouldn''t have been!'' I thought to myself. I pressed the elevator button pointing down and waited for the elevator to come up.


    "As soon as we are inside, open a gate to the top of the Empire State Building immedi-," I said, turning back, thinking the tailed Lilith would be behind me. I looked back and saw a familiar man talking to the tailed Lilith, a short distance away.


    "Hey, you''re Lilith, right? I don''t know if you remember me, we talked a little last time you were here. Well, I did most of the talking, haha. I''m Ben. I was wondering if maybe we could¡­" he tried to finish saying until I cut him off.


    "We need to go!" I said to her, not paying the man any mind.


    "Hey, what''s your deal?" He asked angrily.


    "Get in my way again and it will be the last time!" I said to him, putting pressure on him before turning to leave.


    We then left the man on the floor, wetting his pants. I couldn''t help but smile at the sight of it.


    "Open a gate to the top of the Empire State Building," I said to the tailed Lilith after we were safely in the elevator. She raised her hand in an attempt to open a gate, but nothing happened.


    "What are you waiting for?" I asked her.


    "I can''t," she replied.


    "What do you mean you can''t? Stop being stubborn and open a gate," I said impatiently.


    "I''m not being stubborn, I really can''t. There must be someone there greatly protected by The¨®s. The light won''t allow me to open a gate within her vicinity," she said.


    "Damn it, just get me as close as possible," I commanded.


    The tailed Lilith then opened a gate beneath us and we suddenly dropped a few hundred meters from the Empire State Building.


    I hid my presence and quickly ran into the tall building faster than the naked eye could see. I ran through all the flights of stairs at a blistering speed. Finally, I was at the top of the Empire State Building, grabbing the hand of the woman who was just about to fall off.


    I looked at her lifespan and realized something.


    "You were surprisingly meant to die today. Just not like this...even now, you''re still an enigma," I said smiling.

 Chapter 17: Control

    "You''re still an enigma," I said out loud.


    I looked into her soul and information on her ran through my head.


    Name: Elaine


    Lifespan: Null


    Race: Human


    "Let me go¡­. Who are you?" She asked with tears in her bright blue eyes.


    Beautiful as they might have been, they now seemed dim, swollen, and lifeless. She looked like she had lost much and was ready to give up.


    "It doesn''t matter who I am. What matters is that I need you," I said to her, pulling her away from the edge. The girl was taken aback by what I said.


    "I don''t know you, why would you need me?" She wiped away her tears.


    "I have my reasons," I said to her. "Now, explain to me why someone like you would want to kill yourself," I demanded.


    "I-I have nothing else to lose," she said as if each word weighed heavy on her.


    "You have yourself," I assured her.


    "THAT''S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! My brother was the only family I had left. He was sick, but I was close. I was going to cure him. I was going to cure many like him. Knowing the last of my family had fallen victim to some book.... I- I can''t believe life can be so fragile; can be so cruel," she shouted at me, then went back to her sulking mood.


    It was at that moment I noticed the once blinding light around her getting dim.


    ''Shit!'' I thought.


    "Then live for me¡­ I''m not asking you not to kill yourself. Just to postpone doing so until I''m done with you. You''re right, life is that fragile. But there''s no reason for you not to put some worth to it before you go," I said to her.


    "Ha-haha-hahahaha," she laughed hysterically as if a good joke was what she was waiting for.


    "Why are you laughing?" I asked, puzzled.


    "You''re quite arrogant. I just met you. Why would you tell someone who wants to kill themselves to live for you when they don''t even know you...?


    <sighs>


    Doesn''t matter, I guess. It worked, and you''ve convinced me to live just a little longer, so thank you. If I can be of some use to someone before I go, then I can go with no regrets.


    That aside, I''m curious to know what a stranger like yourself could possibly want from me, or was all that just hot air to stop me from jumping?" She said with a smile on her face as the light around her shone slightly brighter.


    "I''ll let you know soon enough. Just don''t kill yourself when I''m not around. Go ahead to the ground floor, there will be a tall brown woman waiting for you. You can''t miss her," I said to her, then signaled with my hand for her to leave.


    "After all this, you''re just going to leave me? Where will you be?" She asked.


    "I have some other business up here," I said to her.


    "If I find a bunch of police down there waiting for me, I''m going to kill myself just to spite you," she said annoyed as she took the lift down.


    "You, you just stood there and watched. Why didn''t you do anything?" I asked the guardian, who was present the entire time.


    "I cannot interfere with the lifespans of humans. It was her time, there is nothing I could have done to change that. No matter how much I wanted to¡­I could not go against Theos. Nonetheless, I''m glad you showed up. She doesn''t deserve a death like that. Your book changed her fate, but Theos will always try to find ways to keep the balance.


    However, I never expected a Reaper to save a life the way you did. Has the new Reaper finally abandoned his philosophy and taken a liking to this human?" The guardian asked genuinely.


    I slowly reverted back to my 8ft reaper form. An aura of death hung in the air. However, the guardian seemed unaffected by it.


    ''Is he mocking me?'' I assumed.


    I looked into his soul and allowed information about him to flash through my brain.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Name: Uriel


    Lifespan: ¡Þ (infinite)


    Race: (-)


    ''Lifespan infinite? He''s probably stronger than I, then. Is that why I can''t see his race, or is it something else?'' I began to think. ''If I manage to kill a guardian, just how much stronger would I become?'' I thought in anticipation.


    "You can''t kill me, Reaper. If it is not within¡­" he tried to say before interrupting him


    "Stop! I am well aware of that stupid saying of yours. I assure you, it won''t be long till it no longer applies to me," I said to him.


    "So enthusiastic; so full of ambition! You remind me of Cain throughout the first few hundred years after becoming a reaper. He also had ambitions.


    Now, my time as Elaine''s guardian has ended. Even though she is still alive, I will soon be assigned to another human. I have no choice but to leave her in your care.


    I don''t know what plans you have for her, but I ask you to allow her to die peacefully once you''ve accomplished them," he said to me.


    "I have no obligations to do that unless you are willing to take her place?" I said, conjuring my scythe. Uriel smiled and then suddenly disappeared in a whirlwind of papers before I could make a move.


    "Tailed Lilith," I said out loud.


    The tailed Lilith then appeared behind me, coming out of a dark cloud.


    "I believe you''ve already heard everything. I''ll need you to take care of that woman until I can safely revert to my human form," I said to her.


    "Why should I have to take care of some human?" She said unwillingly.


    "Because I said so," I replied, then opened a gate and walked through it.


    "Bastard¡­" she said.


    ...


    "Boss, boss..." a skinny, short-looking man called out.


    "What is it?" Moonlight answered as he skillfully played with the knife in his hand, moving it between his fingers as if it were one of them.


    "We found him," the skinny man said, raising a book. On the cover was a tall, dashing man sitting on a chair. The same man who burned down Club Rumors.


    Moonlight then immediately stopped playing with his favorite knife and got up from his chair. He walked up to the skinny man, who held the book, and grabbed it out of his hands.


    "That shit stain had time to write a book?" Moonlight rhetorically asked out loud.


    He then signaled for everyone to leave the room with a swish of his hand as he walked back to his chair. By the time he sat, he was utterly alone. He opened the book and started reading till he finished the next day.


    "Holy fuck-" Moonlight said to himself in disbelief.


    "Who the hell is this guy? Anyone who can think like this is not normal. It''s like he has always been next to me. Looking at every flaw within me. I must find this man. I have to know!" Moonlight said to himself.


    He then shook his head as if coming out of a trance.


    "Thomas!" he shouted. A few seconds later, a tall, well-built Asian man in a suit rushed into the room.


    "Get the car ready, we''re going to the airport," Moonlight commanded.


    ***


    A 7ft skeletal figure could be seen hovering above what used to be a vast cornfield, brimming with life. Unfortunately, all the plants were now dead, making the once beautiful scenery a wasteland.


    The skeletal figure manipulated the dark cloud around him and conjured all manner of objects between his hands. From weapons to furniture, and even gadgets. If he understood the makeup of it, he could construct it.


    With all the knowledge he had acquired around the world before writing his book, there was little that he did not understand to construct. However, no matter how much in-depth knowledge he had in a field, he could not construct a living thing. Be it a plant or an animal.


    The skeletal figure then stared intensely at his hands. The cloud seemed to retreat from them, going up to his elbows. This caused his skeletal hands to heal and be surrounded by flesh once more.


    ''It''s getting easier to manipulate the cloud. I can last longer in my flesh form if I transform only parts of my body instead of the whole,'' I thought to myself.


    "Alright, time to see how the rest of the world is fairing," I said to myself.


    Images of human beings, all over the world, began to flash through my mind. Through the eyes of my shadows, I could see each of them at an incredible pace. They flashed so fast it felt like I was seeing them all at the same time. I then narrowed my focus to the humans who were closer to death.


    ''I see the deaths I have caused are still piling up.'' I thought to myself with a grin on my face. ''However, this will not last. I must initiate the second phase,'' I contemplated as my grin was replaced by a serious look.


    "Tailed Lilith," I called out. A few seconds later, she flew out of a dark cloud from behind me. "What do you want?" She asked, annoyed.


    "What is the situation with Elaine?" I asked her regardless of her mood.


    "I have rented a suit for her in some Equinox Hotel, I think. She has been in her room the entire time and has yet to come out," she said in one breath.


    "Alright, tell her to get ready, then take her to her workplace. I''ll be meeting her there shortly," I said to her.


    "What are your intentions with her? Have you perhaps fallen in love with this woman? I wouldn''t be surprised you were once human after all, so it''s only natural to fall for such a beauty, Mr. Reaper," she asked, looking down on me.


    I slowly flew closer to her, to the point where I was right in front of her face. "Have you known me to do anything out of love?" I said to her in a cold tone.


    "My mistake," she quickly said, then disappeared into a dark cloud.


    I then flew back to the house and pulled back the dark cloud from my right hand to open the door. I couldn''t help but slip out a victorious grin from the smoothness of this process. I was becoming more proficient with the cloud.


    I stepped into the house and went straight to the kitchen in search of an air-tight container. I eventually found a glass tube, similar to the ones one would see in a chemistry lab, and then kept a small portion of the dark cloud within it. The dark cloud hovered within the glass tube, constantly changing without form.


    ''This much will do,'' I thought to myself, then covered the tube with a cork. I went upstairs, soon after, then put on one of my father''s suits, keeping the dark cloud away from my face and hands.


    Beneath my clothes, the dark cloud still raged on. The suit did not decay, however, as I had control over the properties of the dark cloud.


    ''Phase one has worked better than I expected. The lifespans I have taken into myself are helping with my control of the cloud and increasing my resistance to Theos. Soon, it will be like controlling any other muscle in my body,'' I thought to myself as I held the glass tube in the air.


    "With this, phase two shall begin!" I said out loud.