Haruka carried Taro into a room she had never seen before. Haruka looked around, trying to find clues as to where she was. However, she was quickly confronted with the cruel truth that all the corridors looked the same, and she was surprised that Thanatos knew exactly where to go. He just glanced in the direction he wanted to go and then decided without a second thought.
"This is the reception room. Every guest is received here, and now Isaiah is waiting here.
Haruka was about to enter the room when Taro put his hand on Haruka's shoulder. Haruka was taken aback by this sudden action of his. She noticed how Taro needed time to organize his thoughts and waited for him. She couldn't care less if Isaiah had to wait any longer. Her dog was more important to her than this man, whom she had never even met before.
"Haruka, you can go in there. But please let me talk on my own. I want to settle this by myself.
Taro saw how Haruka hesitated. He knew her better than anyone else. He anticipated that she would not like this idea. But he could do nothing but do it himself. It was his business and no one else's.
Taro signaled Thanatos to open the door, and the moment the door opened, Taro jumped out of Haruka's arms and landed ungently on the floor.
He trotted and limped forward with his unsemetrical hind paws. It took him much longer as he dragged his left hind leg behind him. He positioned himself directly in front of a creature that looked as if a dog had merged with a human.
The creature was 200 cm tall and possessed the head and fur of a husky, while its upper body resembled that of a human draped in husky fur. Its hands and feet were equipped with dog claws, yet its limbs exhibited a human-like range of motion. The feet, however, retained their canine paw structure. Facing this entity stood a man boasting impressive muscles that evoked envy in every other man. An unmistakable aura surrounded him, indicating his affiliation with a superior league of beings.
The creature with the name Isaiah did nothing else but stand there. Making Taro's dog instincts scream, they shouted at him that this creature in front of him was the alpha male and that offending him would be the most stupid thing that happened in the history of this century, and there were many stupid things that happened during this long period of time.
The creature, at first, said nothing. The only thing he did was move his limps in all kinds of directions. It looked as if he was doing some kind of stretching, but Taro liked what he saw. He could now see how the anatomy of his body would look when the transformation was done.
"What is your name? And so Isaiah started his questions, which would now come one by one to Taro.
"Taro." Taro was ready to answer the questions Isaiah gave him, but he decided that whatever these answers were,
"I never heard of a grim reaper with that name. Where have you lived before?
"I lived in Cimmrat with this young woman over there. Cimmrat was one of the most remote and uninhabited areas in all of Memento.
Taro pointed his index finger in a certain direction. Isaiah's attention shifted to Haruka, who stood at the wall, confirming the information with a nod. The moment Isaiah saw that his focus had switched back to Taro again
Taro got used to having hands. The first time he saw that his paws were supposed to be hands, it made him only a little unsure about what to do with them. But after practicing how to use them, he found them practical and no longer complained about them.
Isaiah looked at Taros huge leg and continued with his questioning.
"You are right now in your puberty transformation; then how old are you? 100, 120?"
"No, I am 177 years old.
"What really, and are you alright? Do you have a problem with your body? Isaiah, for some reason, didn't show his uninterested expression as he did before. In addition, he showed concern and said that he was worried.
Cought
Haruka pretentiously coughed in order to get Isaiah's attention, which didn't work. It looked as if Isaiah couldn't see or hear her. He slowly approached Taro to take a closer look at his body.
"Sir Isaiah, would you please listen to me? I can tell you why he looked like this. Marlary, do I have to say more?
Markary was a sickness that every supernatural being knew about. It was a disease that somehow only affected supernatural beings. The individual would only be sick for three days; the symptoms were similar to a cold. But the after-effects were severe.
The aftereffects caused the individual's development to be delayed or even cease altogether. The disease was largely extinguished in Memento, but it still existed in some areas of Cimmrat.
Haruka went even further and said that she never knew her own parents, and Taro lost his parents at 110. It was shortly before he became ill and therefore could not really develop until now.
Geim reapers were not immortal beings. Like any other mortal race, they could die, suffer, or break through a variety of factors.
Reapers die just like vampires, angels, or other races that cannot die of old age. That they are just as mortal and can be taken to heaven or hell at any time by one of their colleagues.
"A few weeks ago, we arrived here in the capital of Memento. We found out that Taros father and Thanatos father knew each other, and so they helped us and let us live here. Haruka worked on this lie with Thanatos and Taro before, just in case somebody asked this very exact question.
"A few days ago, the after-effects of the disease somehow vanished, and now I am transforming. But I've never met someone like me, and so I don't know if the transformation is getting smoother or not. Do you know if there is something wrong with me?"
This was not part of the lie. This was a concern Taro had for himself.
"Can I come closer to you and look at your leg? Only to make sure that nothing is wrong with it." Isaiah asked. He waited until Taro told him that it was fine. Taro did so, and Isaiah walked towards Taro and touched his left hindleg. He felt it, and Taro clearly felt how Isaiah searched around his bones, joints, and muscles in his leg. He felt how Isaiah was especially focused on the joints and bones.
"The strong growth of your left hind leg is not normal. Actually, they should grow in sync, and you still did not make your evolution to only walk on two legs."
"And what does that mean?" Taro had no idea what that meant.
"Let me explain. Your joints still have to change like those of a grim reaper, and the most unpleasant is your entire spine. No, your whole body has yet to change; don't forget, you are just in the process of changing from a four-legged to a two-legged. You are going through a process in a few years that takes millennia for other races."
"I understand and respect that you want to be with your friend, but I would still recommend you go to my clan. You don't need to do that forever, but at least until your transformation is finished."
Taro looked at the floor and took his time before answering.
"I will think about it." Taro still looked at the floor, but for some reason he couldn't look the man in front of him in the eyes.
"Good, I can stay here for a maximum of three days. Take your time, and if you want to come with me, do it; if you don't, want it. I won't be angry at you. In the end, it's your decision."
Isaiah waited and answered with patient eyes.
"Good."