A/N:

For those who skipped the prologue check out the Author's Thoughts section and then proceed with the chapter.

***

He could feel it all around him, engulfing anything and everything in it's chilling embrace. It was Darkness, but darkness like a void. Darkness without substance or cause, simply darkness.

It was oddly comforting like a sweet dream, yet consuming like the rage and regret that he harboured in his final moments. He was a wisp of light floating in the infinite expanse of darkness. The endless void.

Despite this, the thing about this place that made him most uncomfortable was the silence.

He was in the void. Void bereft of substance or sound. That was the reality of his situation.

Yet somehow as he drifted, he saw billions of tiny fractured shards. Inside each of these the shards were the images of various lifeforms.

He saw creatures that he'd only ever witnessed in fairy tales and folklore and others he had never even seen or heard about. The only thing that they all had in common, was that they were all infants who had yet to be born.

He also saw other wisps, like him, that drifted past and after what felt like a few moments a portal would open in the void, a blinding white in sharp contrast to the darkness.

Out of the portal, a dark blue and wrinkly, slender hand, adorned with embroidered rings and ancient runic markings would emerge from the portals.

The hand would snatch up one of the wisps, one of the souls, and it would pluck out a light energy in the form of a web of white lines, thickly condensed into a 'ball'.

The hand took the ball of light and brought it into the portal before returning.

Upon it's return the hand would grasp a nearby shard, and infused it with...

The souls would then be tied by a thin white thread to their shards and they would float towards it. The souls would get absorbed by the shards and the shards would become 'whole', taking a spherical shape with the thread tied around it in a knot.

He'd often see a few of the 'whole' shards and some of them would have the threads tied around them loosen and disappear. The shard would vanish and the soul would be ejected, only to resume travelling the infinite void.

A flash of dazzling light popped into existence before his eyes.

Three hands emerged and each got a grip on a side of the portal, pulling it and stretching it like a rubber band. Soon it was big enough for an entity with long silky black hair to emerge. Followed by dark blue yet pale skin, beady black eyes, sharp pointed ears with two golden earrings on the tip of each ear and a mouth full of vicious fangs.

The eyes scrutinised him from top to bottom, unravelling him like a cipher, he felt his soul quiver under the immense pressure.

"You... Are you conscious?"

The entity spoke, but it's mouth didn't move, somehow speaking directly to his mind.

'Who are you? Where am I?'

"I am Death 13... Warden of Spirits and Guardian of the 2nd Afterlife. I govern the flow of reincarnation, and determine which vessel you take on in your next life. This is the realm of void, souls who lived their lives neither good nor bad are gathered here. Your name was Cedrick Cassiel and this is your third reincarnation."

'Where is my family? What did you do with them?'

It's gaze suddenly became fierce and he began to tremble, as it forced his soul into suppression.

"Mortal, you have retained a level of consciousness I didn't think possible in this realm. I believe there maybe something wrong with your so-"

Death 13 was cut off as a ray of golden light hit the Mortal, and entered his soul. A golden thread wrapped around him and wrangled a nearby shard, like a lasso.

Death gazed at the sight with a degree of surprise, but an understanding light passed his eyes after a moment.

It's worth noting that even as Death and the Mortal were interacting, he continued to smoothly send other souls into their next life, as if he'd done it a million times, which was probably the case.

The Mortal pushed this thought aside and focused on his soul, which was now radiating an intense golden glow. The thread was slowly drawing in the shard that was on the other end.

'What is this? Does this usually happen? Why am I different from those other wisps?'

"Mortal, you have been chosen to be a disciple of Link. It is a great honour. Such a thing happens once in a billion years and is as important as the welcoming of the next generation of Death. My era will soon be coming to a close, but I briefly knew the previous Link before he passed, I have... Fond memories of him."

Death seemed to realise it was rambling and suddenly turned to face the Mortal.

"Your current condition may be due to Link's Legacy in you, however this is not something that was mentioned in the Death Record. Regardless there is no need for me to interfere, it seems Link has already picked a suitable reincarnation for you."

The Mortal wanted to ask more questions but was silenced by Death's sharp gaze.

"You will find answers in due time, Mortal. For now take my blessing, and take also the name of Eldris, after the previous Link's last failure. I can see it in your soul. You will not disappoint."

As Death said his final words, the shard was finally drawn in by the golden thread, and it was at this moment Death took the liberty to look at the shard that link had chosen.

For the first time in hundreds of millions of years, Death was at a loss for words.

"St-Stone? Not just that, he's being reincarnated directly into the underworld? If it's like this then this one will end up exactly like the last! I am sorry Link but this time I must interfere."

As the shard began to merge and become whole, Death quickly grabbed it before the thread could fully wrap around it and he changed the image within.

"That was close, as soon as a soul fully embraces life, I have no jurisdiction over it."

Death then grabbed the shard and brought it through the portal for safekeeping. 'I will be watching you closely, disciple of Link.'

Eldris felt his soul get sucked into the shard and the scenery around him changed. He was spawned in a fiery landscape, the ground was dry and lifeless and the air was filled with ash, soot and sulfur.

A path paved with gravel, led directly in front of him, and on the path was a dog.

It was 6 or maybe 7 meters tall, it's fur was black like tar and it's ineffable muscles rippled under it's skin, bulging as if they would burst under too much pressure.

It's eyes had a piercing blue flame in their place that penetrated him with shattering intent, as they snapped towards him. All 6 of them. It's presence alone scrambled his mind and his thoughts fled due to the terror.

'What the f**k!' Eldris screamed in his head.

Behind the monstrous three-headed canine was a gate that was twice as tall as the one guarding it. The most striking feature about this gate was that it was made out of a revolting amalgamation of bones, flesh and skin.

At this point Eldris was frozen with fear and his thoughts went blank from the terrifying pressure he felt from the dog. All of this happened in less than a second.

Luckily, before the guard dog could approach him, he was whisked away by an invisible force and the image in front of him changed once again.

Eldris had nothing but questions right now though.

'What the f**k is going on? What the f**k was that ugly death god? Did I just meet f**king Cerberus?'

Eldris wasn't an overly religious person, but he was a bit disappointed at first when he was met with an ugly blue elf instead of the almighty.

Death 13, who was watching Eldris in his shard winced at the remarks. 'Maybe I should change my appearance?' He thought somberly.

Putting aside his questions for now, Eldris found himself deep in a dense forest and almost immediately after he had spawned in, he was spotted by what looked like a crow.

The only difference is it was a fair bit larger than crows from earth, it flew over to him as soon it saw him and pecked at him curiously.

Eldris tried to move away, which is when he finally discovered that he couldn't move. This led Eldris to what he believed was the biggest question of all, a question that came to him only just now.

'Why am I a f**king pebble!?'

Lost for words, Eldris had only begun to ponder this question when the crow picked him up and swallowed him whole.