The usual cigarette morning after a bad night and Gray went off to campus once again.
Some time later..
The sun dipped below the horizon, casting an orange glow over the quiet campus.Gray went back to his apartment.His mind was full with confusion and fear.But now, as he opened the door to his apartment and saw James sitting on the couch, everything felt wrong.
James wasn't supposed to be here.
Gray had sensed something off for days now. His roommate didn't have a lifespan. No numbers. No countdown. The weird silence around him, the way James moved without any sense of time... it had been eating at Gray since he'd become aware of it. And now, he had to confront the truth.
Gray threw his bag onto the floor, running a hand through his dishevelled hair. "James... we need to talk."
James looked up from the TV, his usual grin faltering slightly. "What's up? You've been weird lately, man."
Gray's heart pounded in his chest. How could he even explain this? How could he tell his best friend that he had been dead for months? He sat down on the couch, trying to steady his breath. "It's about... you. And something I've been noticing."
James raised an eyebrow, his smile fading into concern. "What do you mean?"
Gray swallowed hard. "You don't have a lifespan."
The room fell silent. For a moment, James didn't react. He just stared at Gray, his face blank, as if the weight of the words hadn't fully sunk in yet.
Gray continued, his voice shaky. "Everyone has one. Numbers above their heads, counting down until... until they die. But you... you don't. I've been trying to figure it out, but now I think I know why."
James' face darkened, and he stood up slowly, his expression unreadable. "Gray, what are you talking about?"
"You're dead," Gray blurted out. "You've been dead for months. You died in a car crash, didn't you?"
James froze, his hands trembling slightly. The playful light that always danced in his eyes was gone, replaced by something far more serious, far more real. He turned away, pacing the room as the truth hung in the air like a dark clloud.
"You weren't supposed to notice," James muttered, his voice barely audible.
Gray's heart sank. "So it's true?"
James nodded, his back still turned. "Yeah. I died…One moment I was driving, the next... nothing. I didn't even feel it. I woke up here, and no one could see me. No one but you."
Gray leaned back, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing. How long had he been talking to a ghost? He had become a Reaper, a being tasked with taking souls, yet he couldn't even recognize that his best friend was already gone. But before Gray could respond, the air in the room grew thick, colder than before.
Suddenly, a strange sensation gripped him. His vision blurred, and everything around him seemed to fade. The walls of his apartment distorted, and in an instant, Gray felt himself pulled into a different reality, a realm unlike anything he had ever seen.
….
[Somewhere Far Away…]
The place was stretched infinitely and the air was thick with power, filled with a power far beyond mortal comprehension. It was a place that transcended the laws of the physical world, a realm that belonged to the Reapers alone.The Land Of Order.
Massive, obsidian spires pierced the sky, spiralling upward into the dark clouds. And standing there on top of a large black cube…a young man, his long brown hair covering his left eye. He stood tall, about six feet, his lean physique wrapped in a black coat..
His neck was covered in thick, bloodstained bandages that covered the mark beneath. Yet even hidden, the energy of the mark pulsed through the air around him, warping reality itself. His eyes are dark and inverted symbols filling the eye.
As said,the young man stood at the edge of a black cube.His gaze was distant. He was one of the new Reapers, like Gray. But unlike Gray, this Reaper had been through more ,seen more.Whatever the bandages were covering,omitted a strange feeling…as though there were secrets no one should ever know.
He reached up, adjusting the bandages slightly, the edges glowing faintly. He stared into the endless sky, his lips barely moving as he whispered, "Three more... are coming."
A shadow immersed behind him, a figure draped in black, silent. The young Reaper didn't turn to face the figure. He simply nodded and the figure,disappeared instantly.
"Should I pay a visit to the mortal realm" He said as he stood up..
…
Gray's vision snapped back into place, his surroundings going back to normal. The suffocating air remained, but now, standing in the room with him and James, was another figure.His breath caught in his throat.
A Reaper.
This one was tall and slender,wearing a suit just like a lawyer or a charming businessman.His eyes glowing crimson red. Unlike the other Reaper from the vision, this one's mark was visible a twisted, complete shape resembling a flame.
James slowly turned to face the Reaper, his face pale and his eyes wide with terror. "Gray... what's happening?"
The Reaper took a step forward, his voice cold, emotionless. "Your time is up."
Gray's heart pounded in his chest. "Wait,you can't just take him!"
The Reaper ignored him, his attention fixed solely on James. "You have stayed here too long."
James backed away, his voice shaking. "I didn't mean to... I didn't know what to do!"
The Reaper raised a hand covered in blue flames, reaching out toward James, his fingers curling like claws. "You were not meant to remain in this realm."
Gray's fists clenched, panic rising in his throat. "No! You can't take him!Can't he just become like me?"
The Reaper's glowing eyes flicked to Gray for a brief moment, his expression unreadable. "You are new to this, Gray. You do not yet understand the weight of your role. His fate is not yours to change."
James looked at Gray, his face a mix of terror and pleading. "Gray... help me..."
Gray took a step forward, his mind racing, desperation clawing at him. He couldn't lose James. Not like this. But before he could speak, the Reaper moved, faster than Gray could react. His hand closed around James' wrist, and in an instant, both James and the Reaper began to fade into the shadows.
"NO!" Gray shouted, reaching out toward them, but his hand grasped only air.
James felt his body growing weak. His strength had abandoned him, leaving only fear as he was facing his end. He tried to scream, but the words caught in his throat. Faded, his loyal dog, whined softly, nudging James as if urging him to stay strong.
The air around them changed..A wave of malice filled the room.The once silent night was now filled with a tense presence, one that made the other Reaper freeze in place.
"Taking what isn't yours… That's sloppy work."
The voice was soft but serious, dripping with menace.
The Reaper standing over James snapped his head around, his hollow eyes narrowing. A figure floating in the ceiling,tall, covered in a black cloak.His hood covered most of his face, but the sharp of crystal blue eyes pierced through the darkness like a predator's gaze.His scythe was larger, darker, and carved with strange symbols.
His mere presence was suffocating, and his killing intent flooded the room in an instant. The weight of it pressed down like a thousand tons of pressure, causing the air to tremble. The Reaper who had James recoiled, his hands shaking.
"Who... who are you?" the Reaper stammered, stepping back.
The Unidentified Reaper smirked, a chilling curve of his lips barely visible beneath his hood. His voice, calm yet dangerous, filled the room again. "Names aren't important for the dead."
His eyes started glowing and the pupil changed shape for a brief moment, and the Unidentified Reaper staggered.
James gasped as the oppressive feeling in the air increased. The ground seemed to tremble beneath the weight of this new arrival's power. He could barely breathe, let alone move, as the tension in the room grew unbearable.
The unidentified Reaper stepped closer.
"You've been sloppy, scavenging what you can in territories that aren't yours. That ends tonight." His voice dropped to a low growl, the killing intent now a overwhelming force, suffocating.
The Reaper fell to his knees, shadows slowly covering him as he struggled to maintain his form. "I didn't know!" he gasped, "I didn't know he was.."
"Of course, you didn't." The newcomer was now directly in front of the trembling Reaper. He lowered his scythe.. "But I'm here now, and you know what happens to Reapers who don't follow the rules."
A twisted smirk appeared on the other Reaper's face, though fear still lingered in his hollow eyes. "I can leave. I won't touch him again. You can have him!"
"I'm not negotiating." The newcomer raised his hand, and in an instant, a dark force revealed itself from his palm, slamming into the weakened Reaper. His body shattered like glass, disintegrating into oblivion,complete erasure with a final, anguished scream.
Silence followed.
James lay on the ground, his chest heaving as the weight of the killing intent finally lifted. Faded whined, nudging closer to him.
Gray grabbed him.
The Unidentified Reaper turned his gaze toward James. His blue eyes glowed, and he seemed to study him for a moment before stepping forward. His movements were slow, purposeful, but no longer menacing. The weight of his presence still filled the room, but it no longer felt like it was crushing James.
"You've been spared for now," the Unidentified Reaper said coolly. "Don't take that for granted."
James blinked, still unsure if he was even alive. "Who... who are you?"
The Unidentified Reaper paused, tilting his head slightly as if considering whether to answer. Then, with a faint smirk, he said, "Call me Kyukan..I'm not really an official reaper."After saying that he turned away looking at Gray for a bit.."You are a strange one".
Before completely vanishing, he added one last line, his voice cold.
"Remember my help,you owe me one now.."
With that, Kyukan disappeared…leaving James and Gray…