Rei jumped back and panicked, she couldn't feel any movement before she heard the girl's voice.
"Whoa. Fuck. Fuck." Rei stuttered in panic. "How the fuck did you get here?"
Rei who had claimed himself that he wouldn't be afraid of jump scares, felt a little embarrassment.
"Relax, I'm not here..." the girl looked Rei from head to toe and giggled. Then continued, "Not here to hurt you. Look! I just saved you."
"When?" Rei asked in confusion.
"Hey, this shield is not ordinary shield. Ok! " the girl scolded Rei, " Other elements won't be affected by the shield's passive. But it can be deadly for spirit arts."
Rei confusingly scratched his head and just kept staring at the girl.
"How can you even...!@@#@!Sigh....." The girl yelled and then calmed herself, "this shield is called Death Boundary. Ever heard of it? Huh?"
Rei remembered something similar in her last timeline. That's when she went to take an artifact called "Locket of Everlife" which has rumors that it could revive someone from dead.
But Rei experience herself that rumor was just rumor. She had to pass through the Nullity Entrance , the entrance to the void where time isn't flowing. Past, Present and Future become same factor. That's how Rei thought but no specific answer for how the time works in the void.
It's also filled with a shield called "Death Boundary", at that time, Rei had no knowledge of that shield but fortunately she used a different Spatial Moving art. Rei found out later about that shield years after that.
Her heart was blazed with the hope that the artifact could save Merlin. When she reached where the artifact should be, she saw a girl running on the floating island.
"Hey," Rei shouted "What are you doing in a place like this?"
The girl didn't answer. She just keep running in circle.
Rei went closer to the girl. The closer she got, the clearer the circle that the girl running.
Three skeletons in the middle of the circle, two seem to be human but the other one had bones of the wings.
They all seemed to fail to take the locket, Rei felt chills running on her body.
"This is do or die..." Rei determined to put her hand onto the stone piller in the middle of the three skeletons.
Rei turned around and looked for the girl, she was sitting on a rock at the back of Rei.
"Hey, Do it. I can't wait." The girl shouted at Rei.
Rei closed her eyes and put her right hand on the piller without hesitation. Rei could feel surges of unknown feeling crawling into her hand.
She could also feel the locket pulling her into it. She used every ounce of strength she had not to get sucked.
After around a minute, she couldn't even felt her legs or even her whole body. She fall down on the ground.
"Hey. Why are you looking for the locket?" The girl come, stand over Rei's head and asked.
"To... save... M..r... Mer... Lin" Rei tried to speak word by word.
"Humm... I don't remember making this locket to be able to save lifes." The girl murmured, "Well, you didn't die. So that's mean you deserve this. I'll spare you some of my life force. Take me to the Entrance in return."
After they return to the Entrance, the girl disappeared after telling Rei "We'll meet again, Darling". Then Rei found out the locket just worked as an identity card for becoming a Reaper.
"Hello! Moshi Moshi!" The girl with the dark gawn waved her hand in front of Rei's face, "Are you dead? Wait, No, I didn't take you yet."
"Ugh, sorry. I just lost in thoughts." Rei shook her face and prepared her Lightning skill to pass into the shield. "I don't know who you are but thanks for your help."
Swing!
"You said you're not here to fight." Rei asked as she looked at the scythe that the girl put on her neck, "And if I'm not mistaken, this is a Reaper weapon."
"No. I said I'm not here to hurt you." the girl smiled and answered, "And yes, this is a Reaper weapon, but no, fyi, I'm not a Reaper."
Rei's consciousness' telling her not to fight her. She seem to to be stalling Rei for some reason.
"What business do I have with you?" Rei played her eyes as she asked.
"No." the girl raised her eyes at the school. "But with them."
The anger in Rei's inner burst out in a blink of an eye, the Nightfall the scythe she gain from her last life came out of her left palm from a blood like liquid.
"Whoa, I don't know you." The girl asked in confusion. "But how are you a reaper?"
"I don't give 2 fuck about that." Rei spoked in anger, "The question is what business do you have with them."
When Rei said that, the girl looked in the sky and seemed to realized something.
"Oh Yeah. That business." The girl sticking out her tongue and answered, "don't be mad at me. Things happen when it should be. I usually don't do this kind of work myself but I had a feeling that this event is important and some disturbance would show up. Btw I'm Celeste. Oh it's about time. Nice to meet you. Bye."
Celeste disappeared into nowhere. Rei carefully looked around to confirm if she really leave or not. The Death Boundary became loose.
Then she speedily ran to the school training ground.
She immediately realized she was late. All she can see was full of death bodies with Skarr standing in the middle.
"Hahaha, hahaha x6" Skarr laughed wildly. "This is all because of you. This won't happen if you didn't put ashamed on me. You..."
Skarr couldn't finished his sentence. He fall on the ground in half.
"Shut your filthy mouth. I should have kill you sooner." Rei shouted angrily and swung her scythe with all her strength.
After a few minutes, Rei became tired. The academy and all the bodies had gone due to the heavy swings of Rei's Scythe. Rei just laid where she was and closed her eyes.
She met Celeste in her unconscious mind. Celeste got closer to Rei's ear and whispered, "Don't blame on me. Blame on them."
Celeste pointed at a crowd of seven. They were seven Highest Gods of Nethoria.
Rei caught Celeste's hand and said, " I know. It's always because of them. But you. You're something I haven't met yet. I've to take care of you first."
Then she woke up. She was surrounded by the Shadow Legion. Rei looked around.
Ateta come out from the back. "Ease your mind. We have met our Captain. And we will follow until you die."
"What have I ever done for you to follow my command," Rei complained.
"Nothing,... Yet.... Maybe nothing at all. But our former founder won't make a stone letter without a good reason for us to follow." Ateta continued, "Even if there's no certain reason, this stone letter give us a reason to live. A reason that make us don't lose the way of our living."
Rei stopped complaining, just turned around and continued sleeping.