Alev strolled along the trail in this dark and dense forest without the help of a single light, but even so, he felt that he could still see a little clear behind the darkness.
But the Death seemed still behind him, walking at the same pace following him.
Alev glanced back to confirm if he was still following him. Alevsuddenly stopped his steps and turned his head around to face him.
He frowned, "Are you seriously waiting for me to die?" Alev asked the Death and made him stop his steps.
"You've died 15 times, but you're still questioning that? Isn't that my job? It would be troublesome if I came back to the underworld and found out you were dead and then came back to pick you up again." Said the Death while shrugging his shoulders.
"Common people who see this will get a heart attack when they see an injured child being followed by the Death, like you!" Said Alev while shaking his head in disbelief.
Then Alev turned back and continued his journey, following the trail in the forest where he believed it would lead him to a city.
Actually, in this body, his parent brought him to the city once, but he can't pay much attention to the road because he didn't do much while being carried on by his parent as a toddler.
"I'm not surprised that I feel tired even though I haven't walked for too long. My body feels burdened with these injuries." Alev said, complaining while looking at his bruise.
He glances at the Death sideways, "but at least it's better than being a baby and not being able to do anything at all." Said Alev as He mumbled, looking at his bruise again.
The Death just watched Alev in silence while seeing him complaining more.
"Hey, Death! Do you think those who have died will become reincarnated like me?" Said Alev, occasionally glancing at him as he walked.
"If reincarnated like you?" The Death said while glancing back at him and seeing him nodding as he asked.
The Death scratched its head silently, thinking about the question, "Hmm, I don't think so. The god of death doesn't like it if humans have memories of their previous life, so their buried souls will only return to the underworld to wait and stay there for years until the cycle of life is finally back into them."
Alev frowned when he heard it, then turned his head towards him, "buried? Then what happens to them if they don't get buried?" Alev asked with curiosity while rubbing his chin.
"Their souls will stay there for a few days if not buried." The Death said while he looked upon a sky with a moon covered in night clouds.
"Then what happened? Don't tell me they're going to be undead." Asked Alev again, glancing with a silly stare and putting a joking smile at him.
He soon paused as he heard and squinted his eyes, looking back to him, "yeah, that's right. How did you know about it?" The Death said curiously.
Alev stopped in his tracks as he looked at him and stood frozen, "What? Are you serious?"
The death stares at him with the same eyes and then pouts his lips as he shows earnestness about what he said.
"Yeah, perhaps you've never known that no one prays to the god of death and by turning unburied humans into undead. Well, that's how the gods express his anger at humans who never pray to him." The Death explains, waving his hands around.
Alev scratched his chin with pouty lips showing on his face. "I didn't expect that a god was also that complex, let alone to show his anger because no one give attention to him. Isn't he too childish?" Alev holds his giggle
Hearing Alev saying his thought out loud made the Death rush his hands to him and cover Alev's mouth as he gave a "pssst." sound to silence him.
"Don't say a thing about my boss. Do you want to offend him? Think carefully about my position, too! I don't want him to make me a punching bag for himself later." The Death said while seeming to tremble in fear.
Alev looked him up and down, realizing he looked seriously terrified, then Alev pushed the hand, uncovering his mouth.
"I just said what I thought, that's all. But is it scary as you fear?" Alev said while now looking at him with a stern look.
"You don't want to meet him, believe me!" Said the Death, opening his eyes so wide, looking at him.
Then Alev set the Death away from blocking his path and resumed his journey as he spoke.
"I knew that the Gods wouldn't be able to come down to this world. That's why they have messengers like you to come down here or someone like me to do the work for them," Alev said as he walked past him.
The Death's eyes were fixed on Alev, watching him stroll while he said it, but what he said had some point that made death look silent and couldn't reply to that argument.
"That's true, but how do you know for sure?" The Death asked him in astonishment.
Alev glanced at him sideways as he walked, and with his left hand, he invited the Death to follow him. The Death understood and immediately rushed. He walked until he was beside him.
Seeing the Death beside him with such a curious look made Alev scratch his head so that he bowed slightly, then sighed, "sigh."
"You seriously want to know it?" Alev said while looking at him.
The Death repeatedly nodded his head in approval of the question.
"Then hear this! I know that because I'm a mercenary, and it's been too many times for me to solve other people's business. I don't think anyone with power in any world, even a god itself wants to get their hands dirty with their problems or rules."
"I mean, this is just the politics of the Gods if they say they can't come down to this world. My ass! They only maintain their neutrality in the eyes of other Gods, they say that humans should take care of human matters themselves, but don't they already know that someone has been acting up." Said Alev while shrugging his shoulder.
The Death scratched his head as he turned to the sky and let out a "hmm" long sound from his mouth as he thought about what Alev had said.
"That's an interesting thought, so you're saying that we are the ones who clean up what they did, as I am now watching over you because since they reincarnated you and did the job. I wouldn't bother doing something this troublesome if you weren't around then?" The Death said while nodding its head in agreement.
"More or less. But that's how we work." Alev said while shrugging his shoulders.
They comfortably walked together to continue their journey, but something was missing, and the Death was aware of it and looked confused at the surroundings. He only sees a forest with no traces of the road seemed to have on the ground.
"By the way, are you sure you are walking in the right direction towards the city?" The Death rebuked him.
For a moment Alev stopped his steps and looked around, which were only big trees as far as his eyes could see. Alev looked to the ground, not finding traces of the road he had previously walked. A moment Alev looked back. He even could not know where the horse wagon was before.
Although Alev felt that he had walked quite a distance, Alev didn't feel like he had seen the end of this forest at all. The darkness in the middle of the forest that felt silent made him feel unsure of the direction he was going.