Death's Gambit

Till death do us part.

That was the final sentence Griffon heard before the steel knife slid its way into his temple. The sheer shock that melted his once cheerful gaze might've been what amused the bride. Her beautiful smile was twisted and her green eyes reflected nothing but a walking corpse.

A dead man.

"Leni-"

Before Griffon could croak out her name, searing pain bloomed in his throat. A towering shadow knocked him over, and Griffon's body ragdolled against the wedding altar. Blood dyed the fresh white roses red. He tried to turn to see the perpetrator through the miracle of not having instantly died yet, but he was met with a blur and eternal darkness quickly claimed his vision.

A large man, oddly agile for his size, gripped the end of the knife that was lodged in Griffon's throat and whipped it to the side, successfully snapping his neck and sending him to his death. Such arm strength was near superhuman, yet there was no surprise from this display within any of the guests.

Including the bride and the man, there were only ten attendees anyhow. A row of men and women, young and old, were sat in formal attire within the cathedral. The light discolored by the stained glass wasn't enough to paint the silent hall in a better, less gloomy mood.

In the quietude, an old woman stood from her seat, gave everyone a bow, and left. Following her was a middle aged woman.

It wasn't until they left did everyone speak.

"Well, now that that's over, I have a flight to catch. I'll leave the report up to you lot." A young man with gold framed glasses spoke first. His tone was lighthearted. He stood up and left before anyone could say anything.

Next, the bride spoke up. "Have a safe trip! I should have the report finished by tonight." She waved the young man off, then looked at the corpse.

Wide, lifeless eyes greeted her back. She tapped her chin and sighed in pity.

"He really loved you, you know?" The man beside her added. She undid the pin holding her hair up and sighed once again. Long red hair draped down her back in bouncy curls.

"I know." She replied. "Made the mission all the more easier. The organization should compensate me for the years spent on this."

The man pressed his heavy boot on the body's head, holding it down as he removed the knives from the skull and throat. More blood gushed onto the dead man's expensive white suit.

"I'm curious, though. His research was something he put a lot of effort into, despite losing academic support." The man looked at the bride, now widow.

"What exactly was in it? For the organization to order a hit on him?" He narrowed his eyes.

The woman held her silence. This was something even she didn't have much knowledge on, given even infiltrating the place Griffon Rosser worked at was near impossible. Keeping him alive to gain security access was a far easier bet, even if it took a few years to accomplish.

Leni, the bride, was originally an allied researcher in during the first phases of his research. The organization used her to monitor Griffon and so she did. It wasn't until he made groundbreaking results did he both lose support from the Academia, and offered more support from her organization, Nexus, in exchange for his research.

He declined, and Leni was used to convince him. That didn't work. Over time, her plan changed to gaining his trust in order to access his research. Now successful, it was fine to eliminate him.

He devoted so much time and effort into his work that he lost those around him. It was even more of a reason for him to place his faith in Leni. It was also a reason to be suspicious of her, but she managed around that.

Leni lifted the edges of her wedding gown and stepped down from the altar.

"Transcending death. Reanimating corpses." She answered.

"What?"

"Stop joking."

"How's that even possible?"

Immediately were her words met with denial from those sitting around. The man even turned to look at her.

"That's absurd. Did the Godmother tell you to keep quiet?" He raised a brow.

Leni's smooth gait towards the end of the aisle didn't stop. She didn't look back at the others, and only spoke before she opened the door to leave.

"I wish the Godmother hadn't allowed me to see it all to begin with." She answered.

Her white gloves hand tightly gripped her dress, wrinkling the soft fabric away from their eyes. Death was something she was used to; ending a life didn't cause her to lose any sleep, but still...

She peered back at the group. "You'll believe it when you see it."

And with that, she left. The soft echo of her heels faded away behind the aged wooden door.

The group sat in silence, some sharing glances before slowly shaking their heads. This left a pit in the stomach of these well trained assassins.

And all this was seen from a screen.

In endless darkness, there stood a whisp of a soul. Illuminated by faint blue smoke, it softly glowed before the screen.

And beside it stood a lanky figure. Its appearance could just barely be discerned but it seemed to have melted from the darkness and risen to become its own being. Two hollow eye sockets had small smoky orbs, similar to the floating soul beside it.

It stood there watching the screen, waiting for the soul's verdict.

Silence pervaded the void. It was already used to such a spectacle. The dead would either erupt into emotional pain or hold their bitter silence. Either way, the being hadn't expected the upcoming reaction.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" The soul blurted out calmly.

"No." The being quickly responded.

"So I can't just revive, no?"

"No, you cannot." The being shook its head.

"I'll go elsewhere, anywhere... but back?" The soul questioned.

"You cannot go back, no." And the being confirmed.

"Then what's the point of showing me this? A little farewell gift?"

The soul, Griffon, at least both appreciated and absolutely hated his end. No, if he could, he would go back and grind everyone to dust. Anger seeped into his very whispy form, yet he remained as 'calm' as ever.

"Yes and no. I have other plans for you actually... are you finished viewing? This is the forty-seventh replay." The being smoothly turned to face the soul.

It was ready to play all the scenes again, from the moment Griffon met Leni, to the moment he died before her. Understandably, the aftermath of his death was his most viewed scene.

"Other plans?" Griffon asked. He presumed he'd go to the sought after afterlife, and even more, he'd likely land himself in hell of all places just from the work he had done. The being's next words practically confirmed it.

"Your work trespassed on the realm of death. Though just barely, you managed to comprehend and reverse the death of the physical form." The being spoke.

Yet its next words brought a bit of a confused glow to Griffon's soul.

"I commend you. I've kept a close eye on you throughout your research. I believe you would've recieved the highest accolades had it not been for the amount of sacrifices you've made."

And on the screen showed a man dissecting a corpse, among a room filled with many more corpses incubated and suspended in strange fluids. A matrix of circuits and wires surrounded each incubator pods.

Griffon's disheveled appearance coupled with the face of a madman who seemed like he discovered an oasis in a desert, it humored the being.

"The ethics of the academic world is what's keeping us from accomplishing so much more... but I'm confused. Are you with or against my behavior?" Griffon had reached the point where regardless of praise or damnation, he continued his research.

After all, he believed no good man would approve of his work, yet a smart one would. One who recognized the importance of defeating death itself.

Yet this being... it transcended space and time. It introduced itself as a fragment of death upon their first meet. It had no name, for there was no one who needed to speak of it. It will remain a concept to humanity, a word to explain the end.

Yet this concept was speaking to him. It seemed to be its own being. Griffon was only more confused the more he tried to dissect it.

Which was why he was confused about why it would praise him exactly... for being smart?

"Both. I genuinely wished for your research to continue, but I'm aware that the ends would be catastrophic to your race." The being paused for a moment.

"Do you seek retribution?" It asked.

And to that Griffon immediately responded.

"No."

The being nodded.

"Are you accepting of your death, then?" It tossed him another question.

This time, Griffon paused. He hesitated. If it were any other death, like death by old age, his only problem would've been whether his work would've gone in the right hands.

But here?

Fucking here? Where he realized his love was nothing but a farce, where he realized his research was going to be capitalized upon by an atrocious organization seeking profit? Where his lovely wife to be was... after his creation?

"Fuck no." He answered honestly. He put his soul into it, because that was all he was.

A soul. He was dead. Everything was over.

"Then how about I give you a chance?" Then the being began its offer.

"...You told me I couldn't go back?" Griffon questioned.

The being waved its hand and the show on the screen was replaced with something else. A vast expanse of green, little villages and towering castles. Large creatures made of bone howled at the moon, and serpents that could seemingly wrap around the earth dove into the depths of murky waters.

All in all...

"You can't. I'm sending you here." The being spoke, eyes gauging Griffon's reaction.

If Griffon were in his human body, his eyes would've popped out of their sockets. Something like this was a concept straight out of movies. The amount of CGI needed to render those scenes would've been astronomical.

And he didn't question it... he was speaking to death. It had no reason to pull up a movie.

And he could go... here?

"Why?" He had to ask. Why was he getting a second chance?

"I need you to do something for me."

"I'm not saving the world." Griffon blurted out.

"I'm not asking you to. Whether you seek to save or destroy the world, it doesn't matter." The being shook its head.

"What am I, a human, capable of doing that you cannot?" Griffon had another question. He wasn't concerned about the new world leading him to another death, but he was more concerned over death's request instead.

He couldn't make any guarantees. And besides, the concept of entering another world sounded... interesting. Tempting.

The being decided to be truthful on the matter. It was at least happy Griffon wasn't running in blind and enthusiastic.

"I cannot intervene in this realm." It began.

"Oh?" Griffon hummed.

"As you are aware, I'm merely a fragment of death. As a fragment, I preside over the realm you came from. Many more fragments of death have their respective realms to take care of. Think of it as a network of some sorts." The being stopped to allow Griffon to digest the information.

It was information that would've been astonishing to know to any human. It gave insights as to how death operated... and gave the concept of multiple realms serious ground. Multiple worlds, dimensions even.

The being continued.

"The fragment of death in this realm is unresponsive. I am tethered to this realm so neither I nor any other fragment of death can go to awaken it. If it does not connect to us soon, that realm will face heavy instability."

"And you need me to wake it up?" Griffon looked at the being. Being offered 360 degree vision was interesting.

"Precisely." The being nodded its head.

"Wouldn't that mean I'd need to die again for that to happen?" Griffon wouldn't have been able to meet the current fragment of death otherwise.

The being shook its head. "Yes and no."

"Ah?"

It began to clarify facing Griffon's confusion. "You'll become the one closest to death. Within that realm, there are pillars used to contact that fragment. You'll need to locate said pillars to send it messages."

"I see. How many pillars are there exactly?" Griffon asked.

"Unfortunately, I am unaware about the exact number, as I do not preside over that realm. There shouldn't be an overwhelming amount, nor do I assume you'd need to activate every pillar to recieve a response." The being waved its hand and on the screen, within the darkness of some unknown cave, there sat a towering stone pillar.

Worn by time, with crystals diffusing an unusual purple energy inlaid at its base, the pillar stood tall.

"You'll be given an artifact that'll connect you and me and also locate the towers. While we won't be able to immediately contact one another, I should be able to guide you when necessary." The being turned its head to look at Griffon, the orbs in its eye sockets burning with intrigue.

"Anything else to ask?" It added.

Griffon sat in silence for a moment.

"Send me in." Right after, he answered quickly.

"Decisive I see." It was humored by the response.

"As I've said, you'll be the one closest to death, Griffon." It raised a finger and pointed it towards Griffon.

A cube materialized from the black void. Dark in color with geometric runes glowing in purple, it entered Griffon before he could say anything. A ripple spread across the surface of his soul once the cube entered.

"The artifact?" He asked.

"Yes." The being answered. "It'll be tied to your soul, you'll be able to manifest it at will. The body you'll inhabit is one I've personally chosen, as I cannot let your original body pass into a new realm. Please use it wisely, as it'll be your only vessel."

Griffon would've nodded if he could. "Okay. Hopefully I won't be on a time crunch."

"Don't worry about time, but I do recommend not dilly dallying with your objective. The sooner the fragment responds, the better." The being waved a hand and the screen closed.

"Be careful on the other side. I cannot directly help you, so I'll only be able to guide you through communication. A bit of my power has been sealed inside the artifact in the event of emergencies. Be careful not to use it up, but you may be able to charge it if you collect death power." It added.

"And... how do I do that?" Griffon couldn't help but ask.

"You'll see. The cube has all the information you need to know, from the blessings you'll receive to the information about that world. Any other questions, you can contact me and I'll answer within reasonable time."

It sounded like it was blowing Griffon's questions off with an email. He just accepted it at there.

"Ready to go?" It asked.

Griffon immediately responded. "Yes."

"Good luck and farewell."

"Uh, thank you."

Their good byes were short. It gave an objective and answered questions, and sent him off to another realm.

A vortex appeared below Griffon, sucking his soul out of the void and through a tunnel of pure white light. Once it closed, silence returned to the void.

"Yes, good luck." The being murmured.