There are entities that the human mind just simply could not hope to understand. These entities, some would call gods, were powerful beings that reigned over all things under their jurisdiction. They are the puppeteer, the clockmaker who made sure each piece of reality fit within itself and ticked smoothly. They existed long before humanity and would persist long after humanity killed itself off. These beings have many names, many realms that they rule over and many things they control and maintain within the mortal realm.

One of these powerful entities was one that all of humanity knew and feared. There was no escape for those whom this being came to visit, no chance for negotiations or games. They had many names and identities through the history of humanity. Thanatos, Yama, King Yan, Hades, Hel, but all these many names meant one thing- Death. Humanity had a way to personify Death and try and make it an approachable subject but no matter how they changed the names, no matter how they made up stories, Death remained the same. It was the end to all, absolute destruction. It's unavoidable and comes for all, eventually.

Death does not work alone, however. For even an entity as powerful as Death cannot be in all places at once. Under its control are millions and millions of reapers, psychopomps whose whole purpose is to gather the souls of the deceased and lead them to the after life, whatever after life that they felt suited the soul. Under Death's guidance, the reapers worked diligently and life was in balance. No soul was left to linger longer than they should and things flowed smoothly, until one day, it didn't.

It began as a normal day. Death sat upon their throne, instructing its reapers and casting them out where they would be needed. Its form was an ever fluctuating mass of black magic. Its features were never still, the magic changing its face every few seconds, each new face a new soul in need of reaping. Suddenly, its face flickered through faces so quickly, one couldn't possibly hope to catch a glimpse of the features. Death gave a wave of their hand, sending a reaper off to gather the souls of those who had just perished in the church bombing. The quick flickering finally slowed once more to its usual pace when it felt a harsh pull on its essence.

Death froze a moment, peering down at its form. Light magic was slowly coiling around its being, constricting around it like a winding snake. The face that Death was currently wearing scrunched up in confusion as they felt the strong pull again, this time almost ripping them from their throne. The reapers paused and stared at Death in confusion, unsure of what was happening. The magic continued to crawl up Death's form, encasing them within. Death grasped ahold of their throne as the magic began to engulf them. Death called out in anger and confusion as the world flashed white and they were ripped from their throne.

Death gasped and sat up. He was in some kind of cage or cell. Was he in a basement? There were magical markings that looked to have been burned into the ground around the cage and judging by the scent that still lingered, it must have been blood that was burned. Why was he cold? He looked down at his hands, finding them encased in muscle and flesh. Flesh? No, that didn't make sense. He didn't have flesh. An entity such as himself was too powerful for flesh. No mortal form could contain him.

He attempted to leave and return back to his throne where he belonged but as he activated his magic, he felt a harsh burning all along his body. He looked to his arms and saw runes and magical writing burning into the flesh. The more of his magic he called on to return, the more agony he felt as his whole body felt as if It was ignited. He cried out in pain in one last attempt at an escape, putting as much magic into his return as he could. The magic markings burned along his flesh, slithering up along his chest and up his face until he felt the pain within his very head, the agony causing him to curl up into a fetal position on the floor. He had no choice but to cease his attempt at returning back to his throne or else burn alive. What a thought. An entity such as himself, afraid of burning from the inside out.

“Ha! It worked! I wasn't sure the body would be able to contain you but looks like it's doing the job.”

Death peered out through half opened lids to see a pudgy man stepping up to the bars of the cage. The man was wearing a long jacket, no shirt, and jeans. He was barefoot with his long, greasy hair pulled back in a ponytail. His hands were in his jeans pockets and he crouched in front of the cage. He peered in at Death with a sick grin on his face.

“Release me.” Death choked out before he tried again with a sterner voice. “Release me.”

“No can do, Mr. Grim Reaper. I'm looking for immortality and who better to ask than a reaper themselves, eh?” the man gave a hearty laugh as he straightened to his full height, looking at Death who was still lying on the cold ground of the cage. This stupid fool thought he only had a reaper. He didn't know he had snagged Death itself with his stupid incantation. Surely all he would have to do is tell the man he didn't have a simple reaper but Death and he would see the error of his ways and release him.

“You don't seem to understand. I am no reaper. I am far more than that. I am the one who instructs the reapers and makes sure balance remains in the realms. I am Death itself. You must release me now so I may return to my throne and continue my duties.”

The man passed outside the cage and stared down at Death. He was very quiet for a long while before he finally spoke up, his voice dripping with sickly venom. “Even better.” He then turned from the cage and began to leave, heading towards a set of stairs in the corner of the room.

“No! Stop! You must release me!” Death gathered himself and grabbed a hold of the bars, pulling himself forward as he reached through the bars in a futile attempt to grab a hold of the man's jacket. “I can't stay here! Without me, there will be no death in the world!” The man paused at the base of the stairs and turned to look back at Death, that same sickening grin on his face.

“So everyone in the world is immortal until you make me immortal. I'll just let you think on it for a bit.” Then he turned and walked up the stairs. Death watched him go with despair in his eyes. Then the basement light turned off and cast Death into darkness.

Balance. It is one of the most important things. Across the earth, the universe, the cosmos, it is a law that will always come to be. In a world where magic is attainable by few, there are strict regulations to ensure the safety of its users as well as those unaware. It is a secret that, when betrayed, can sign a death warrant. Being the other side of the coin, those who are blessed by the touch of magic still live amongst those who only dream of it. 

Kaia was one such person. Having known of the secrets in her blood since she was a child, she chose the path of a witch. Knowing of gods and entities with power beyond comprehension, she chose to follow the energy of the universe, often finding herself guided by the Wheel of Fortune. She embraced balance, knowing and understanding that the river will always find a way to flow, even if it requests the aid of a storm to clear a fallen tree. 

Wavy platinum blonde hair fell in a mess over her shoulder. Kaia sighed as she descended the step ladder, having confirmed her suspicion; she was out of snapdragons. She'd bypass the ingredient, if it wasn't one of the main ones in her preferred protection spell. It had to be done today because, like an idiot, she already got rid of the old one. There was no choice, then, she'd have to go out to restock on a few ingredients. Barely pulling a brush through her hair, she went through a mental list. Deciding it better, she tore a page from the book on her desk, scribbling what she needed down with a nearby pen. She'd have to make a trip to the grocery store, too. Kaia slipped on a white shirt with a pair of dark blue jeans. Tattoos decorated from her hands to her shoulders, each of her own design. She'd spend weeks to months on each, their beautiful appearances incorporated intricate spells. 

The streets were busy, even for a Saturday morning. Her thoughts scattered between her errands and work to the café across the street. She'd have to eat when she returned. Kaia breathed in the morning air, autumn had arrived. What a sight it would bring. Passing by an electronics store, she froze, the TVs ran different news channels. BREAKING NEWS, the banner read. Church bombed during function. 37 confirmed dead with many injured and critical. The footage taken from a helicopter showed a horrific scene of smoke and blood. "No suspects," she read, peeling her sky-blue eyes away from the screens, "How sad for those families." She continued on to her destination. 

Producing the list from her pocket, she knocked. Kaia preferred to keep visits here short, the man always made her feel uncomfortable, but he was the only one who supplied her sometimes obscure ingredients. The chubby man opened the door a moment later, "A! Kaia! My favorite customer." He smoothed back his already flat, buttery hair, "How can I help today?"

"Morning," she quickly responded, almost shoving the list into his hands, "Just in need of a few things I ran out of, if you'd be so kind."

"For you, my dear, anything." His eyes scanned over the writing as he stepped to the side, "I can help with about half of these. For the rest, you might want to check the grocer down the street." He motioned her in.

"Of course. Sorry, should've made two lists." She stepped inside. His home was lined with shelves of boxes and jars containing many an item and ingredient. She's enquired before on where he gets everything, he simply responded with "I know a lot of people". Kaia thought she should make polite conversation before he tried asking personal questions again, "How's business been? I hear people are stocking up early on some things for winter."

"You know how it goes," he grunted, "old traditions die hard. The newer generation insists on getting their ingredients fresh and drying it themselves." He led from shelf to shelf, gathering the items on her list into separate small paper bags. "I suppose I should be grateful, no? I see many businesses on our side of the world closing. They fear being exposed." He opened the next box, "Damn, I forgot to refill this one. Come, follow me downstairs."

Before Kaia could request to wait where she is, the man had already disappeared around the corner. Reluctantly, she followed to the basement. 

Death came to settle into the cage with a deep sigh, resting his back against the cage bars. In this darkness he couldn't see anything. It was as if he was blind. How could mortals live this way? Have a part of their senses cut off simply because the lights went out? It was horrendous! He couldn't even see his hands in front of his face, his fleshy, mortal hands. He dragged his hand along his other hand and forearm, feeling for the burned in runic markings but all he felt was smooth skin. It would seem the burned marking had healed themselves after a short while. Damn magical body!

How did that low life even get his hands on the proper incantation? The last true incantation that was powerful enough to trap him was back in ancient Egyptian times and the magician that developed it was buried with his little spell book. He had hoped that would have been the last time he was ever in this situation again but after thousands of years, perhaps humanity came upon the secret once more?

That was preposterous! Humans buried their dead and held them in high regard! They wouldn't just destroy and loot someone's grave! So he must have made the spell himself but, Death thought back on the image of that chubby man with a sneer, there was no way that man had the brain power to make up such a spell. Someone had to have helped him or created it for him. That had to be it. After all, the likely odds of someone even finding that old magicians tomb in the sands of Egypt, surviving the curses placed within it, AND getting his book of spell were far too unlikely. And yet-

Death groaned as he slammed his head against the cold bars. Again and again, he brought his head down on the bars as he cursed himself and that magician for the situation he found himself in. He didn't even try and fight as hard as he could when the spell got a hold of him. He could have gotten a hold of a reaper or two and used them as a power source to pry the magic of him. He could have done something instead of just letting it take him so easily.

He brought his head down on the bars once more when the lights of the basement clicked on, blinding him for a moment. He blinked fiercely as he saw two people coming down the stairs. One was the magician from earlier but the other was a younger woman with platinum blonde hair and tattoos along her forearm. Death whirled around in the cage, grabbing a hold of the bars and peering out at them as they came down into the basement.

“You!” He called out to the magician again, determined to be released at any cost. “You must release me! If I don't return to my throne, the reapers will not know where to go and what soul to harvest! They may even start taking souls not ready to be taken! You must listen to me! I cannot be here in this mortal flesh any longer! Release me so I may return to my duties!”

The magician looked to Death and gave an exaggerated shake of his head before he looked back at Kaia with a sad look on his face. “A spell went wrong. He thinks he's death now. It'll probably wear off in a day or two. He's in the cage for his own good. Poor bastard.”

Death stared at the man with a look of horror and disgust on his face. Did he just play him off as some kind of mortal man, sick in his head from a magic spell gone wrong? How dare he?! Death had never cast a spell improperly in his life! At least not to the extent that he forgot himself and took on a new persona! Surely this man was jesting! He was Death, harvester of souls, reaper of men, the fourth horsemen! Hello?!

“How dare you!” He stuttered out, the stutter more from the sheer disbelief of it all, “I am Death! An entity more powerful than your feeble mind can hope to comprehend! I wouldn't fumble up a spell so entirely to forget myself! You are out of line! Retract your statement immediately!”

The man waved his hand in Death's general direction with another sad shake of his head. “See, completely lost track of himself. Come on now. Let's get you those ingredients!” The magician led the way further into the basement, into a room off to the side of the cage Death was presently contained in.

“No wait! You need to release me! Without me, no one will die! There will be mass chaos! Sick who long for my cold embrace left to suffer, mortally wounded individuals, still alive and in agony! People without heads, still alive! Do you know what its like to be without a head and still be alive?! It's terrible! Don't do that to those people! Let me go!” He called out to them as they walked into the other room, still calling out to them as they browsed the shelves for the items on her list. After they gathered them all, the magician lead the way back to the stairs. Death watched them go, still pleading to be released with each step up the stairs they took. The light clicked off once more, leaving Death alone in the cage and dark once again.

“Damnit.” He cursed.

Kaia couldn't help but glance back at the door, something didn't sit right. The energy that flowed from that man, it was wrong. Even for a spell gone astray, it felt all kinds of... off. Calling himself Death, however, that was just absurd. Death does not have a physical form and they certainly cannot be contained in one. It's almost laughable! Quite the touch to be offended, too. And the level of panic, very amusing. She couldn't bring herself to imagine Death as anything other than morbidly composed. The poor soul's mind really did seem to have left him. "Never thought Death would look so depressingly handsome," she joked. "Really should give the unlucky man a blanket, though. And some water. Lest you intend on leading him to Death."

The grimy man made a dismissive gesture, "Of course, of course. I only hope that he will be willing to accept them in his protest."

With that, Kaia paid and set off on the remainder of her errands. The day passed with the man's eyes haunting her thoughts. The best solution for a spell gone wrong making you think of yourself as a different person was to keep you safe until it wore off. She's heard crazy stories of how minds broke under the pressure of a misspoken word or misplaced rune. Magic's a fiesty mistress and an innocent blunder could leave you without a face. Calmness filled her once more with her protection spell refreshed. She pushed the man from her mind and resumed her work. Kaia had pursued digital design; a career that had offered her freedom as well as decent money. She dissolved herself in work, allowing the outside world to slip by.

A week passed, and night after night, dreams would take her. She'd find herself trapped up to the hip in a thick, black goo. Days would tick by as she watched flames consume unburning trees. Caterpillars would turn to cacoons would turn to butterflies, but they wouldn't die. With wings ablaze, they would fall, but they wouldn't die. Trapped in the goo, they would drown, but they wouldn't die. The sun would not set and night never came. Crows sat atop the trees, eyes unmoving from the frozen sun, consumed by the fire. Each moment that passed, the chaos became worse, but the only thing that would end was her dream when she woke.

"Must be burned out," Kaia tried to convince herself after yet another night of restlessness. "It makes no sense." She moved to her laptop and did something she never does; check the news. She always avoided it. The news was always swamped with negativity. After all, positivity didn't garner enough attention and drama. She frowned as she looked through headlines, selecting a specific one. Critical church bombing victim still alive after 19 heart attacks Shit, that sounded awful. Reading through the article, it referred to the strange global occurences. She jumped from link to link.
Victims of collapsed building still heard screaming beneath rubble - search and rescue still underway
Car crash survivor lives with an impaled heart
Man lives after freak decapitation
Prisoner alive after receiving the injection - sentence served?
The further she read, the more panic and confusion seemed to fill the articles.
"Could it be? No... Impossible. Even the mere thought of is ridiculous!" She announced as the caged man came to mind again. "Yet..." Kaia quickly jotted down some of her obscure ingredients, grabbing her hoodie as she set out into the evening.

Rushing through the streets, she tried to assure herself that such a task is unachievable. Never mind that, it's completely illogical and idiotic! Kaia couldn't put this outlandish thought to the side, she had to confirm. She had to eliminate that possibility. Death couldn't be trapped in a basement. Death couldn't be contained.

It took a couple of minutes for the door to open after her panicked knocking, "I'm so sorry to bother this late. I seem to have run out of a few things I need urgently." She held the list forward.

"It's late, my girl," the man proclaimed through tired eyes, "You can be happy you're my favorite." Again, he stepped to the side for her to enter. His eyes scanned over the list once more, "Oh, these are your strange ones. What are you up to this time?"

"Practicing some family magic," Kaia smiled, "I have a test coming up, you see. It'll decide my position." She tried acting normal. She despised lying.

"Aah, that's quite a thing. These old family traditions can be stressful and demanding. I keep your weird requests downstairs. You're the one who buys most of them. I'll have to dig a bit for this third one, though," he spoke as he started the way down. Kaia eagerly followed this time.

“It's been a WEEK!” Death rattled the bars of the cage violently, the whole cage rocking with the force of his shaking. “Do you have any idea what it's like?! Hundreds of thousands of voices calling out to you, begging for you to free them from their torment!” He shook the cage again, roaring out in anger and frustration. “Let me go!” The runic markings began to burn along his forearms and skin as he called on his magic, attempting to dissolve the very bars he was holding onto. The agony coursed up his arms and began to creep up his chest. He roared out in rage and pain as he released the bars, them being no more damaged than when he initially grabbed them.

The magician was sitting in a chair next to the stairs, scrolling through news articles on his phone and reading out any special ones that caught his interest. “Oh a man was decapitated in a freak accident. Doctors aren't sure how he's still alive and are trying to figure out the next best step. Oh look at this one! A man on death row finally given the injection, survived. Huh, wonder how that is? God's intervention some claim.” Death roared out and shook the cage once more before dropping down on the floor in a heap, slamming the back of his head into the bars behind him.

“This could all end, Death. All you have to do is tell me how to become immortal. That's it. It's as simple as that. What is a single immortal man in this world with billions of people, huh? How badly can I shift the balance, huh? You give that to me and I let you go and you can get back to reaping souls. Hell, I bet the world would be in balance the moment I set you free. All you gotta do, is give me the secret to immortality.”

“I can't,” Death roared out through gritted teeth, locking his eyes on the magician across the way. “You think you'll be the only who wants to be immortal? The only one who's tried this stupid stunt? Every new year I have to go and release my reapers from some stupid spell that a magician, who is just as stupid as the next, casts. They think my reapers know. That they can just snap their fingers and oh, they're immortal now. No. It's not that simple and there's a price to pay with your immortality. There has to always be balance in the world, you sniveling fool! Nothing in your realm is immortal and there's a reason for that, idiot. You won't get immortality from me so you might as well just let me go now before something truly bad happens.”

There has to always be balance in the world. Balance. Balance is necessary for this world to even function correctly and it's not unheard of for a god to notice the unbalance and decide they will do something about it. The only problem is that other gods do not control the realm of Death, they would simply be conquering it and inserting there influence into it. Who knows what would happen if, say, the god of time were to take control. He can view things far in the future that no one else can and deem someone in need of killing even before they had a chance to do anything that may shift the balance of the world. Souls, who were not ready to be reaped and who's clock was not done ticking, suddenly being taken. A balance may be acquired but one highly shifted in the direction and motivation of the god of time's impression of what balance is. It could be disastrous.

“You want out, you know what you need to do.” The man said as he stood up from the chair and slid his phone into his jacket pocket. “Till then, you're just going to stay right where you are.” He folded the chair up and leaned it against the wall before he began to make his way up the stairs, once more turning the light off and leaving Death in the dark. It remained that way for, what felt like an eternity to Death but had only been a few hours when the lights in the basement came back on and the magician walked down into the basement with that familiar girl in tow. Death watched the two walk down the stairs, his eyes locked on the girl as they came down.

So she came back. Was it for more ingredients like before or was she here to see Death. He leaned back against the far side of the cage and crossed his arms in front of his chest, his mouth forming a solemn line. “So, starting to figure out the stuff I said was true, eh?” He shifted his eyes to the magician was he walked into the back room, leaving them alone in that area, before he turned his eyes back on the girl. “Look, you need to find a way to get me out of here.” He scrambled to the front of the cage and grabbed a hold of the bars. “What do I need to do to prove to you that I'm the real thing? Magic? I can't do that. This body won't let me.” Just to prove a point, he summoned some of his magic and the runic symbols burned along his forearms for a moment before he stopped, the burned symbols slowly fading then healing completely. “I can give you some of my magic, perhaps. But it needs to be quick.” He reached through the bars, his hand extended as if to shake. He looked down at his hand than to the room where the magician had walked off into. He looked back at the woman before giving his hand a small shake, trying to coax her to grab a hold.

He was still here. It was either one hell of a spell gone wrong, or it really was Death. And judging by the countless articles, it made sense to be the latter. Kaia started inspecting the runes around the cage the instant the greasy man was out of sight, the list would keep him occupied at least a few minutes. Blood magic? What the hell? There's no way someone like him knew this kind of magic! Scanning over them, she realized they're a border meant to contain. Unbreakable from the other side. But from this side? Not too difficult. 

She listened as this "death" spoke, she struggled to wrap her head around the concept of Death having a physical body. Then, the symbols burned im jis skin, they clearly caused pain. Those runes, the glimpse she caught... they have no place amongst mortals. They're older than she's ever seen in use. She's only ever seen pieces in her research on fallen civilizations, never entire runes, and certainly not this many. She glanced to the other room, confused and concerned.

The man stepped forward, sticking a hand through the bars. This made Kaia instinctively step back. What? Give her a piece of Death's magic? This was stupid. She was stupid for even considering it. Either this was some crazy man or literal Death. Neither of those options seemed good. The image of her stuck in the dream flashed through her mind. "Shit," she gave a heavy sigh and stepped closer again, her voice quiet, "If this kills me, I will haunt you. Even if you are Death."

Kaia grabbed his hand, her vision immediately black as the man's magic shot through her body. She flooded with feelings of dread and peace, anxiety and acceptance. Inevitability. His magic weaved through her own at a great speed. Such a small amount, so overpowering. It tugged at the corners of her mind, whispered to her soul. Her own tattoos burned in retaliation against this intruder, her body fighting for its balance. Her breath hastened and her eyes fluttered, vision returning, gaze meeting his.

Everything in her now knew without a doubt that this mortal man is Death. 

She scream whispered, "What the fuck?! How'd Death end up in a fucking basement?!" She urgently glanced to the other room, then back again, "You got imprisoned by this second-rate caster? Maybe you belong in that meat suit!" She scolded, filled with disbelief. "Gods, this is a mess..."

The magician spoke from the other room, Kaia stepping back to where she was. She continued before Death could speak again, "I'll get you out as soon as I can. Stay right where you are." She playfully winked, doing her best to steady her shaking hands before the magician returned. 

"I'll have to order these feathers, seems I'm out. Should be about two-" he looked up at her, "You good? You're a little pale."

"Oh, yeah," she awkwardly laughed, "Stressed. And I just realized I haven't eaten yet. I better get home for a meal."

"Of course," he motioned to the stairs, "Let's get you going." The magician glared sceptically at Death as he passed by the cage.

Kaia charged home faster than when she left, Death's magic blending with hers. It felt uncomfortable. Upon returning, she rushed to get precautions in place, attempting to stabilize herself first. Next, she drew up two casting circles. This was an easy thing, something she's been doing since she can remember. One circle was for her, to keep her safe, controlled, balanced. The second to contain the casting. To keep it from lashing out and destroying. She had no idea what would happen if she released even the smallest piece of this magic, but she felt compelled. It had to happen. Kaia took in her place and focused. She released some of Death's magic towards the other circle, too afraid to throw out everything at once.

Balance had to be returned.

Finally. The girl understood just who was actually locked away in this mat suit, finally. As Death watched the two walk back up the stairs, he couldn't help but feel hope. She said she would be back to free him somehow and he hoped that that was true. He desperately needed to get out of that cage, for starters. Once outside of the stupid cage, he could start working on finding that stupid magician's book and find a way out of this body.

He leaned his head against the bars of the cage, closing his eyes as if trying to block out the sounds of the hundreds of thousands of people begging to be released from their torment, calling out for him continuously. It had never been this bad before. Even when the original magician trapped him all those centuries ago, he released him not long after. At least he understood that there had to be balance on the world but this new magician. Dammit he was an idiot! He was willing to let the whole world go to shit so he could get even a chance at immortality. It drove Death nuts! He couldn't even imagine the chaos the reapers were trying to handle on their own. They were probably running about like chickens with their heads cut off.

Death sighed as the magician turned the lights off once more and left Death in the dark. He could only hope that what he gave the girl would kick start something, anything at this point.

Meanwhile, back with the mortal girl, as she drew the circles on the ground, Death's magic crackled through her, deep Primordial magic that thrummed with the very essence of the world. When she released some of it into the circle, the lights in her apartment flickered and dimmed. Her protective circle flashed violently as Death's magic spread within the circle, crashing against the walls of the barrier. The world grew dark and quiet, as if the black magic that swirled within the protective circle was absorbing all the sounds and light from around it. There came a quiet hum from the magic, as if thousands of voices called out from within its abyss. Then the first reaper appeared within her apartment.

A dark figure without a face stepped out from within the shadows. Its head swiveled back and forth as if searching for someone.Then a second reaper stepped out from the shadows, then a third. The reapers continued to come into her apartment, one by one, as if she had called them to her, each looking around as if confused by their surroundings or perhaps company. Soon, the room was jam packed with reapers and others began to spawn in the other rooms of her home and even out into the sidewalk and street around it. They said nothing, did nothing except look around. It wasn’t until the first reaper that had appeared stepped forward towards the circle that Kaia was in. Its face quivered and rippled, like a stone dropped into a puddle, before a face formed and familiar, calm eyes peered out at Kaia. A deceased relative’s face now stared at her, confusion creasing its brow.

“You are not Death,” the reaper proclaimed with that familiar voice, “And yet you have our Lord’s magic.” There came a shuffling from all the reapers as if an uneasiness had settled upon them all. They all looked to her within her little circle, all featureless faces staring into her very soul. “If you have our Lord’s magic then you know where our Lord is. We require you to bring us to them so we may finally learn of our duties and retrieve the souls that have lingered for too long.” There came another shiver through the crowd. Some reapers shifted from one foot to the next rather uneasily, while others remained completely still. All, waiting for her answer. They needed to find their master and if they had to harvest her soul to do it, they wouldn’t hesitate. "We bid your assistance. Tell us now or we shall seek the truth from your soul."

A mere fragment of Death's magic, yet the circle was barely able to contain it. Shit...she didn't think this through. Kaia felt better though, like her body was now able to move as her own. Death's magic still ebbed and flowed through her magic, but now lined her like veins instead of muscles. She was able to think again. Then a figure appeared. No, it was an energy resembling a figure. Made of the darkest shadow, moving weightlessly across the room. Its energy was similar to that of Death, but nowhere near as intense. It was a pail of sand compared to all the beaches at once. A reaper. It had to be.

The reaper was clearly searching for Death. It appeared calm in its panic. Strange, here she stood in a room with the very essence that will one day take her from this world, but she didn't feel fear. She wasn't sure if it was her circle making her feel safe, or simply the fact that she knew and accepted that her end will one day come. She sensed no malice from the reaper. Kaia felt a strange honor to be able to see one before her time.

But then a second reaper appeared and she frowned. Why did two come? Why did three come?! Her eyes grew wide as the shadows around her multiplied, completely taking over every room in her home. Their energy even filled the street outside! How many were here? She stood unmoving, uncertain, realizing she just lit the largest bonfire during a moonless night.

Then one approached her. A deep sadness filled her as she now stared into the face of her mother. She had forgotten those eyes like hers. The sweet voice filled her ears, saying words she never has. Kaia feels her sorrow for a second, allowing it to pass through. All the reapers had their attention towards her, waiting for her.

"No, no. There's no need to take my soul to find out," she quickly started. These beings didn't seem the type to harbor a lot of patience. "I can lead you to Death. He's been imprisoned by a magician."

Kaia felt a shift in the room as confusion sifted through the reapers. Her gaze fell to the circle at her feet. She knew it wouldn't keep her safe against reapers for long. Much less this many. "So, I'll take you there. But no appearing as a bloody shadow stampede through the streets, got that? You'll freak out the people. Plus, I don't want to be seen as some obscene leader of reapers and death. Aside from that, I'll be executed for exposure. And executions aren't really going all that well at the moment, either. That means only one of you. I'll sneak into where Death is and free him, but he won't be able to join you just yet. He's trapped in a different way, too." She braced herself and stepped over the circle, once more looking at the face of her mother before continuing to the door.

The reapers did not understand how their master was taken and contained but this woman had their master's magic, the first hint of it they had sensed in a week's time, so there had to be some truth to her words. And if someone were to really examine reapers for what they truly were, they would find that a reaper is not the brightest light bulb in the bunch. They were designed that way. Death needed his own army of workers who could go out and retrieve souls but he couldn't have them going out and harvesting whatever souls they felt needed to be harvested. They needed Death's instructions to be sure to acquire the proper souls and only those who were due; though that had changed to a degree upon Death's disappearance. The reapers were actively seeking out souls that were obviously in need of reaping but the process was a slow one, far too slow to make up for all the souls in die need of reaping. Without Death's guidance, the poor things were like lost puppies just trying to find their way back home from being hopelessly lost in the big city while their family lives in the country.

It was a very confusing time for the reapers, to say the least. So when she said she would take them to Death, it was like a jolt of electricity shocked the reapers to life. There was visible excitement from them, most in the ways they moved and they all seemed to step closer to Kaia and her protective circle. However, when she started to shoot out orders, the reapers looked at each other. The previous reaper, who was currently wearing the face of Kaia's mother, peered back at its fellow reapers before turning once more to Kaia and addressing her.

“You've no reason to fear. Those who are not close to death cannot see us, that is unless they wield Death magic, such as yourself. Only those who were meant to die can see us.” That was the only way any souls were being reaped at all. The reapers were walking the streets, looking for any that showed signs of reacting to their presence. It was a solid plan except that they were mostly just walking through the city. Surrounded by the masses, it was easy for someone to ignore the fact that they were pretty sure they had just seen a faceless shadow person strolling aimlessly through the populace. If they were just a little smarter, they would take their strolls through medical hospitals and senior citizen homes. It would be far more effective that way but the reapers were not known for their problem solving skills.

As Kaia stepped over the circle, the reapers enclosed around her, as if the pull of Death's magic called to them. Some of them even got to work on draining the life of the protective spell containing the pushing black magic and soon it faded away to nothing, releasing the magic into the room. It washed along the floor like a wave before it was diligently absorbed by the reapers, leaving not even a drop of it behind. When the magic was once more absorbed, the reapers followed her out into the streets, the small entourage quickly growing into a large following of at least 100 reapers, if not more. It was as if Kaia lit a beacon by releasing Death's energy and all the reapers in the surrounding area ran to get it like moths to a flame.

They all followed her like a horde and they washed over that part of the city like a tidal wave. As they processed through the streets, they harvested any souls that were obviously due. A poor raccoon, ran over by some careless driver nights ago, finally released from its agony as multiple reapers swarmed around it, each eager to touch it and release its poor soul to the afterlife. They dug through trash, finding rodents that had been thrown there by the restaurant owners after they were caught in snap traps or poisoned by the flavorful smelling rat poison they stuck behind the fridge, finally blissful release from their agonizing existence.

Death swept through that small part of the city and the balance in that area had finally been restored. Once the scales were aligned, it was like the dark shadow that had been lingering over the city lessened. People could breathe easier now, the instinctual fear that had been tightening everyone's chest finally loosening its grip.

When they arrived at the magician's house, the reapers fanned out, some even going into the home ahead of her. They couldn't fully sense Death in the area but there was a lingering sensation of his magic that called out to them. The reaper that seemed to be taking charge of the whole event stepped up to Kaia and started up at the building. “Is this where he is located?” It asked with a deeply embedded frown on its face. Were they finally going to see their master? Were they going to have a purpose again?

The reapers made short work of her circle, gobbling up Death's magic within. It shouldn't have bothered her, she knows Death and its reapers are powerful, but dismantling it with such ease? It was unsettling. She'd have to work on improving them, then. Part of her wished that people could see reapers. Then they might've followed her request and not tagged along. But now, having a black mass of finality floating behind you through the streets? It sent a shiver down her spine, filling her with an anxiety. Unnatural. All of it. At least they got the raccoon, poor thing. Kaia kept fighting the urge to look back over her shoulder at the reapers. They took back the energy within that circle with such haste. Will they dismantle her for what remains within her, too?

They reached the house. She's never been here so regularly before. Kaia almost visibly startled when the reaper spoke again, she'd been thinking of how to get Death free without the magician becoming aware. She nodded, "That's where he is. Follow me."

She led the way around to the small basement window, it was blacked out, painted over. She scratched off a piece of the paint with a nail, checking for magic before peering in. It was dark, she could barely make anything out. Death was still in the cage. She could feel his familiar magic. The reapers surrounded the house, making Kaia feel like this was some kind of ridiculous skit or prank. She channelled the smallest amount of magic though her hand, drawing runes on the wooden window frame. It started rotting and crumbling away. Fuck... I'll have to move after this. I'll never get my ingredients so easily again. She quietly pulled the frame back and laid the window on the grass. Death was staring at her. She felt his eyes burning holes through her.

Kaia popped her head in, lights from outside barely illuminating enough to make out rough features. Death looked impatient. Well, he was going to have to wait. She was too short to drop down to the floor without either hurting herself, or making a noise. Then she saw it; a chair against the wall. She brought herself back up, turning into the face of her mother. "Shit... some space, please." The reaper backed away a full inch. She exhaled loudly, pointing into the basement, "See that chair? Please set it up just beneath the window here. Think you can do that?"

Still locked in the stupid cage, Death pondered on what the girl would be able to do with his magic. He wondered what kind of things it would summon from the dark, most likely his reapers for one. Perhaps a god or two that were looking for some kind of answer for where Death had went and why he was not doing his job. He hoped it wasn't another god that appeared before Kaia. That could be disastrous. Perhaps, he thought quietly to himself, he should have thought giving her his magic through just a bit more. There were so many ways it could have gone wrong. He only hopes his reapers found her first. At least they could hold back any wrath of a god that may decide to pay her a visit.

As the horde of reapers began to approach the building, Death took notice and sat up in his cage. He could feel the wave of death that came along with them and when the scales were balanced in that area, he was able to take the first deep breath in a long while. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of his reapers doing exactly what needed to be done. Once he was out of this cage, he was going to spread his little worker bees far and wide to help loosen this discomfort he felt within his very being.

When the reapers arrived, he could feel it within his very bones. Their magic called to him and he tried so desperately to respond but when he did, the runic markings burned along his flesh, bringing his attempts to an end with a curse. He was going to truly punish this magician for doing this to him. There would be no mercy or forgiveness for this fool. He would be sure to make his punishment just as miserable as this situation was for him now.

When the first reaper slipped out from within the shadows, Death felt a grin form on his face. He never thought he would be so thankful to see one of his reapers before. Slowly, more and more reapers slipped out of the shadows, each coming to move in front of the cage and peer in at Death. Death stood up in the cage, peering from one featureless face to another. The reapers seemed to buzz when in his presence. His magic may be locked away, but just feeling his presence seemed to be enough to make the reapers quiver. Death felt the same. It was as if a part of him had just been returned. Then he felt a sprinkle of his own magic interlaced with another's and he peered up to see Kaia rotting away the frame of the window. He watched as she pulled the last of the window away, watching her intently. It didn't look like she was damaged in any way. That was a good sign. So perhaps she didn't get an unwelcome visit from some unhappy deity looking for answers.

When she popped her head in, he allowed an eyebrow to raise before he pointed to her then pointed to the floor of the basement. What was taking this woman so long? She had an opening already. Get in here.

When she pulled her head back out of the window, Death's mouth puckered as if he had just swallowed something insanely sour. When she addressed the reaper, bent at the waist and peered into the basement. It's eyes scanned the basement, lingered for a long while on Death, before it spotted the chair. It straightened and looked back at her with a stern nod. “I believe I can be of assistance.” It slipped into the window, landing silently on the ground of the basement. It turned to Death before giving him a deep bow at the waist. “My Lord,” it said before is straightened and turned to grab the chair from its place against the wall. It opened it with a flick of its wrists before setting it securely just under the window. Once that was done, it walked over to the cage to join the other reapers that lingered just outside of it. “It would seem the woman spoke truth. We are here to assist in your rescue.”

Death gave a small chuckle before he crossed his arms in front of his chest, a sort of pride swelling in his chest at the sight of his reapers. “I can see that. Thank you.” He peered past them to the chair as Kaia began to make her way through the window and using the chair as a stepping stool to get down silently and painlessly. A look of disapproval was planted firmly on his face as he watched her come up to the cage. “About time you decided to come and get me. Do you understand just how out of balance the world is? If we don't start working quickly, another god is going to step in.” A harsh shiver ran along his spine at the thought of it. He shook it off with a deep grunt. “Release me now.” It probably would have gone over better if he wasn't so demanding but Death was not exactly someone who was used to dealing with situations like this. He didn't speak to humans and manners weren't exactly something he was very familiar with.

"Maybe I should let you stew in that thought for a while." Kaia walked around the cage, more closely examining the blood magic. "I'm getting you out of this cage now, but you're still trapped in that body." She felt a shift from Death after she said this, even Death's magic within her rippled. Her body trembled in reaction. "I'll try to help with that, too. Getting worked up will only make things more difficult."

A gray cat jumped through the window, landing gracefully with a chirp. Kaia turned her head towards it. "Quite the time for a visitor, don't you think, Death?" The cat stared at her a moment, then at Death, then at the hoard of reapers. "Is it different with animals? Or just cats?" An orange cat plopped in next, followed by a tuxedo. Kaia now frowned, confused as to the appearance of these cats. Her confusion grows as more jump into the basement, chirping and purring. Gods, it's the reapers all over again. Death seemed to be bothered by this, but she couldn't tell if it was concern or annoyance.

Kaia moved her attention back to the runes when the voice of a man sounded behind her, "Now this is golden!" She spun around as a hearty laugh came from the man. He stood at the centre of the cats, dressed in an old British hunting suit. A belted jacket with large pockets hung open to show the cream-coloured shirt beneath. The loose pants brought in at the knee by darker boots. The man had a fitting hat, a rifle over his shoulder. He wore a walrus moustache over a brilliant smile, eyes a deep brown.

Almost instinctively, Kaia activated the runes in her tattoos, her arm crackling with electricity. "Who are you?" She demanded, but was met with a chortle. "What are you?"

"Now that, my dear, is quite a question!" He takes a stance with the rifle as if posing, its stock against the floor, hand wrapped around the barrel. Cats rub against his legs as he nobly stares into the distance, "I have been called by many a name! Arnakuagsak by the courageous Inuit. Mixcoatl by the fierce Aztec. Artemis by the curious Greeks. I am the god of the hunt! Nature, the plants and animals. Tracking and hunting is the name of the game! Exhilarating! Don't you think?"

The lightning subsides as Kaia turns back to the runes, "I mean you no disrespect, but I need to focus on this. And I do bid you to please keep it down."

A frown furrows Artemis' brow, "You see, I have come out of curiosity. The gods are at each other's throats, each claiming the right to Death's throne."

"Only Death has the right to his throne. The balance would be screwed if another god took over the duties." She produced a multi-tool from her pocket, flicking open the small knife, "You wouldn't like if Loki now decided to pick up that rifle of yours."

He cats hissed at her as the god clutched his rifle tightly with both hands, "Don't be ridiculous. Loki wouldn't know a hare from a rabbit!"

Kaia cut the tip of a finger, drawing additions to the runes. She stood back as smoke started rising from them. A small section of the cage bars then started heating, glowing red-hot before losing their shape to a puddle on the floor.

A cat had just hopped into the basement. Death eyed it with intense curiosity. His lips were pulled into a thin line on his face and his brows were crushed together as he tried to determine if it was a normal cat or the follower of some kind of a god. Another appeared, then another. Death let out a groan as more and more cats made their way into the basement. The one thing he didn't want happen was happening directly in front of him- while he was stuck in a cage. He frantically scratched at his scalp in anxiety as he felt the magic of his fellow god manifest just behind Kaia. He tried not to rip his hair out of his head as he let out a guttural groan. Artemis. Why did it have to be Artemis?

When Artemis made comments about hunting and tracking, Death let out a snort as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah? How's that going for you? Any good kills lately?” Artemis shot Death a glare before he turned his attention back to the young woman. When she said that only Death could take his throne, Death himself enthusiastically nodded. See even this mortal girl understood the politics of it, though he wasn't surprised to hear that the gods were trying to take control of it. A lesser god could really enhance their status if they got control of the throne. It only made getting him out of this mess all the more urgent.

“Look Artemis, I'm glad you paid little ole me a visit but if you don't mind,” Death stepped through the melted bars and by Kaia's side, “I've got a very important duty to uphold.” The moment he was freed from the cage, his reapers closed in around him and Kaia. There was an excited jitter that swept through all of them as they finally had their master back. Then the dim-witted reapers did something that Death really should have expected but hadn't even thought about. Some of the reapers merged with him. When a reaper is out in the world for a long while, they begin to lose their connection with Death and his magic and need to merge with him to renew that connection. Usually, this was a natural thing that didn't even require Death's attention. Typically, they would merge with him for a short while before running off once more to do their duties. However, Death was currently locked within a mortal body that did not like him using his magic. So when the few reapers reached out and merged with him, his whole body lit up with the fire of a thousand suns. The reapers failed to merge and only pushed harder against his restraints until they finally accomplished the merger and disappeared within Death's temporary form.

Death dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms tightly around himself as the pain engulfed every nerve in his body. The runic markings lit up along every inch of his skin, burning their markings into his flesh. He quivered there on the floor, trying to take deep breaths through the pain. Eventually the pain subsided as the reapers were fully absorbed into his magic. He finally was able to take a deep breath before he locked burning red eyes on Artemis across the way. The god of the hunt was squatting just in front of Death now, having somehow closed the distance between them when Death dropped to his knees.

“That looks awfully painful. I haven't seen runes like those for a good thousand years. This magician of yours really did his research.” He straightened to his full height with a groan. “I'll go report to Life now. She's been looking for you, ya know. She's the main advocate to keep your throne free for your return.”

That caught Death by surprise. His head shot up as he locked his eyes on the other god. “They are? Why? What's their motive?”

Artemis gave out a hearty laugh as he slung his gun over his shoulder. “They're your partner, Death. They did stay by your side for a few millennia, didn't they? Maybe there's still some feelings there.” The god gave a shrug of his shoulders before he continued. “Or maybe they just don't want to deal with the mess of getting reacquainted with whoever gets your throne. Most likely the second one.” He laughed for a moment before he snapped his fingers and was gone, leaving Death alone with Kaia and his reapers. Death stood there, silent as he thought of the news he just got. Life was advocating for him. That was a surprise all in itself. They hadn't exactly separated on good terms. He would have to find a way to thank them.

Kaia sucked the tip of her finger until the flow of blood from it lessened. She was following Death's movements when the reapers had joined with him, causing his human body to go through agony. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Death. All they wanted was to return to their duties, but was now forced to walk the earth and experience things they were never meant to. She assumed Death would despise thinking a mortal pitied them, a force so great and powerful, so she tried to hide it. Her eyes lingered on the burning symbols until they faded and disappeared again.

It may have been a good thing that it was Artemis who found them. He seemed to only want to find Death to report back to Life and the other gods. There seemed to be a decent amount of politics and unrest amongst the gods, especially since Death's disappearance. Regardless, the news of Life seemed to have breathed new life into Death. Kaia chuckled at her own thought, glancing over at Death. "So, Life and Death, hey? I guess it's settled, then. Opposites do attract."

Her eyes moved back to his arms where the symbols burned, they seemed to start from his wrists every time, she wondered if that was relevant somehow, "I believe Artemis confirmed my suspicions. Magic like that is no longer known in today's times. It'll be a bitch to figure out and translate, and that means keeping you from your duties for an extended time. You didn't perhaps see him with a tomb or even a notebook? Anything could help speed up the process." She looked to the window, the cool night air whispering by, "Before we leave. We might not have an opportunity like this a second time. He'll be on guard and possibly on the hunt once he discovers you've escaped."

Death peered up at her from under his lashes, growling just lightly from her “joke”. He grumbled under his breath as he slowly got to his feet. A reaper reached out to assist him but Death twisted away from his grip. “No! No,” he said as he held up a finger. “I appreciate the assistance but let's limit the touching for a while longer.” The reaper stepped back from Death as he straightened to his full height before turning his eyes on Kaia. He sighed lightly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“It wasn't so much that opposites attract. It was more of a lack of selection. When you're the only two deities around, you kind of just take what you can get.” He huffed quietly as he finally took a moment to evaluate himself outside of the cage. The magician was nice enough to at least give him a pair of pants but that was all he gave Death. Thankfully, he doesn't feel cold. After all, there is nothing more chilling than the touch of Death but as he stood there looking at himself then peering at Kaia's getup, he realized he may be very much under-dressed. He frowned lightly at the sight. He would need to get some kind of clothes but not the magician's clothes. He didn't think he could bring himself to actually wear anything that magician owned. That greasy slime-ball probably oozes disgusting muck on a daily basis. No way he was going to put anything that man owned on his body.

Thankfully, his thoughts of what that man had to wear and if he even groomed himself on a daily basis were broken by Kaia asking if Death had ever seen the magician with a tome or notebook. Death took a moment to think, stroking his chin as he thought. He peered up at nothing in particular as he tried to recall seeing the Magician with anyone other than his phone. “I don't recall anything like that. Honestly, I would be surprised if that man could even read. He did carry around his phone with him the whole time. He was on it almost constantly. Perhaps he has it on that somehow?”

Death peered back at Kaia, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a shrug. He didn't know the ways of magicians in that day and age. He, personally, hadn't come to earth for a good few centuries and humans progressed so quickly with their technology, it was just hard to keep up at times. When she said that they probably wouldn't have another chance like this, Death allowed an eyebrow to rise high on his head.

“Are you suggesting we steal from him? I'm not saying you're wrong, it's just that we don't know what he's done to his house. It could have traps set up and frankly, I just got out of the cage. I don't want to go back in.” He peered to the open window before looking to the stairs. She did have a point. They probably wouldn't get another chance to see if they could find anything the magician might have used to trap him. He chewed the inside of his cheek as he pondered before he gave a mighty sigh and threw his hands up in the air in surrender.

“You're right, you're right. Let's go have a look around. Maybe we'll get lucky.”

Making her way up the steps and to the door, Kaia reached out for the handle but stopped short. She activated one of her spells with a short phrase, "Show me the threads of magic beneath." With this, a faint glow started from a magnifying glass tattoo close to her wrist. Two wheels of interlocking spells appeared on the door. She examined them, "I may not have given this man enough credit..." She span both wheels until two pieces overlapped to form a solid circle, "But I can't give him too much." She opened the door and stepped through, Death and the reapers following.

She spoke over her shoulder, "Please don't let your reapers just go too far. I don't know if there might be spells to trap, attack or even drain energy. It'd be a disaster if he got his hands on your pure death magic." Walking into the main room, her eyes scanned about. Kaia wasn't even sure what to look out for. This was a desperate man who got his hands on old magic. Old magic was lost and no longer permitted for very specific reasons. Who knew where he got it from and what else he might have. He could have a spell that, should she touch the wrong thing, could peel the skin from her body. If she glimpsed what he didn't want seen, could melt her eyes in her skull. He could drown her with the water in her own body. Turn her bones to dust. Drain her- no, she stopped her thoughts. This was not the time to recount old family tales of old magic. Maybe she could...

Just then, a reaper passed Kaia, moving across the carpet in the center of the room, clashing against an unseen barrier. It turned back, but there was another barrier. It went in a circle, around and around and around, pushing against the unseen force, clearly confused. Kaia swore under her breath, carefully approaching the carpet. Activating the same spell with the same phrase, nothing seemed to happen. Slowly, she lifted the corner of the carpet. As she feared, the trap was at the bottom. Not beneath on the floor, no, on the underside of the carpet. She could not see the complete spell this way. It glowed with a shimmer, something that only happens when a lot of energy has been poured into it combined with a true understanding of where to focus that energy. A perfect spell, if you will. Since Death can't use his magic to break the spell, Kaia will have to free the reaper herself. The problem was that this one won't be as simple as altering a few things, this will need time. Time they cannot spend here. Just as she looked up, a second reaper entered the circle, joining in the confusion of the first. She gave a heavy, exasperated sigh, looking at Death. These... creatures, really were dim. Clearly barely a mind. But why would they need intellect if they only existed for one purpose.

"Keep them off the carpet. Better yet, send them outside," she whispered, quickly adding, "Through the basement. I'll be right back." She got up to her feet and moved to the bookcase on the far side of the room, scanning over the spines. Most of these just seemed to revolve around different ingredients used in modern-day magic. Here and there's a book she'd seen in nearly any caster's home, teaching basic spellwork and the roots of magic. The strangest one was a book on gods in entertainment. Not gods as they are in mythology and legend, but in entertainment? There are quite a few differences, she thought.

She shook the light confusion from her mind, now sneaking down the faintly lit hall. Upon reaching the magician's bedroom, she found the door open on a crack. Peering in, she could see him passed out on his stomach, the corner of a phone peeking out under the pillow. She could feel her heart racing, the clamminess on her forehead, she wasn't cut out for this kind of thing. She found no spells at the door, carefully pushing it open, hoping in her soul that the hinges are oiled. Suddenly, the magician's phone rang, and he shot upright, "No payment plan!"

Kaia found herself back up the hall in an instant, dropping next to the carpet, rolling it up. "He's awake," she spoke with an urgent, hushed voice, "To the basement. Hurry!" Luckily, the reapers were composed of pure energy. It would've been a disaster had they had physical bodies. Rolling the carpet, the reapers appeared to protest as their energies were forced to change shape, rolling into the spiral of the carpet, unable to escape the border of the magic. "I'm sorry," Kaia rushed, "A few minutes." She hoists the carpet over her shoulder. It wasn't very large, just deceptively heavy. They made their way back downstairs, towards the only exit she knew was safe to pass.

His reapers really were stupid. As he watched the reaper ping pong back and forth between the walls, he wondered how much work it would take to tweak them to give them just a bit more intelligence. Usually, when they wear a face, the reaper shares some of the intelligence from the one they borrowed the face from but faceless as this reaper was, they were sitting at the intelligence level of a baby. As the second reaper joined the first, he reevaluated that. Rocks. They were about as smart as a bag of rocks. He sighed as he dragged his hand along his face. As Kaia hurried off into the deeper parts of the house, he turned to the other reapers, holding his hands out to the sides to keep them from stepping forward and onto the carpet. “Alright, all of you. I'm going to need you all to take a face. Doesn't matter the face. Just pick one. Now.” All the reapers in the room froze to look at Death as their formless faces began to ripple and change. Some of them chose unfamiliar faces but many just copied the face of Kaia's mother. Death took a moment to stare at the duplicated faces before he just threw his hands in the air. “Good enough!”

A few reapers stepped forward, peering at the barrier that held their comrades before they reached down and started to dissolve the carpet. Death crossed his arms over his chest as he watched them work. Now that was far more logical than just walking into the barriers and getting yourself stuck there. Nonetheless, it was a slow process. The reapers were going to be dissolving the carpet for awhile at this rate. Death could do it with one touch but he couldn't use his magic and that infuriated him more than anyone could know. He paced behind his working reapers, clenching and unclenching his fists as he did so. He grumbled the whole time. He wanted nothing more than to just get his boys out of that stupid trap and go melt that magician in his bed but he had to rely on his reapers and Kaia to do all the heavy lifting while he sat back like a spoiled kid and do nothing.

When Kaia came barreling down the hall again, saying how they had to go, the reapers straightened and stepped back from the partly dissolved rug. Death gave her room to work, peering back at the reapers who all wore the familiar face of her mother. He made a bit of a disgusted face at those reapers but felt it wasn't the time to work with them to get new faces. They would just have to deal with problem later. They had to get out of this place if the magician was waking up. Just the thought of running from a mortal made Death grit his teeth. What had become of him? All powerful, reduced down to a mere powerless mortal.

He led the way back to the basement, his reapers following behind just as quickly. He whirled around on his eyes, looking for the window and the chair just under it. He locked his eyes on it and pointed. “Go!” He called out in a whisper and his reapers transformed into black smoke before sailing off and out the window in one fell swoop. He ran to the chair and climbed on before he turned to face Kaia, holding a hand out for her so he could help her up and out of the window. He gave a tug when she grabbed a hold, pulling her up on the chair and was about to grab her waist and push her up through the window when a voice reverberated out through the shadows.

“There you are!” It hissed before a larger than life hand of black shadows reached out and engulfed them both, carpet, chair, and all. There was a sickening spinning sensation as the world around them went black. Death clung tightly to Kaia as the world vanished.

Not now. Not now. They couldn't do this right now! They need to get out of this place. They needed to go! How could she do this to him now?! Damnit! He knew she would come. It was only a matter of time but right that second? She had the worst timing in the damn world!

The spinning sensation ended and Death felt his feet land solidly on- something. The chair clattered to the ground and Death took a look around. There was no color around them. The world was just solid black, the only color coming from them, themselves. It was as if they had been placed in a black void. Well, to be exact, that was essentially what had happened.

“Death!” A petite woman materialized out of the darkness, her skin a pale white. She wore a thin dress of black that left nothing to the imagination. A dark shawl of black and blue hung over her head with stars glinting along it. Her hair is long and dark, stars shining from within its curls. Her eyes were large and wide with a deep purple color. Two large black wings sat tucked against her back and when she saw Death, they spread behind her wide, those too flashing with sparkling stars. She ran forward to embrace him, wrapping her arms around him tightly and crushing her small frame against him.

“I have been searching for you! I feared I would not find you. I am glad to see you well.” She released him and stepped back, eyeing him up and down a moment before saying, “well, alive, I suppose. I was afraid a lesser god had finally decided to try and rid us of you so they could take your place but when Artemis told me where you were, I had to come and get you! Who would have thought someone could trap you, let alone a human. A hum-”

Death held up a hand to stop her ramblings. “Nox, I'm glad to see you well. I know you had only good intentions.” She only ever had good intentions with Death. If a god could have a crush, Nox's would be considered an obsession. In reality, she couldn't help it. Darkness and Death tended to go hand in hand together. Ever since her first manifestation, she had a thing for Death. He was, to a degree, a bigger, scarier version of her. Her darkness wasn't final. They were always broken by the light of dawn. But Death? Once you fell into the darkness of Death, there was no escaping it. His was the last and final darkness.

“We were trying to do something there.” Death continued, Nox crossing her arms and cocking a hip as she eyed him.

“Oh? It looked to me like you were running away and with a mortal girl, no less.” Her purple eyes settled on Kaia for a moment before she turned them onto Death again. “If you ask me, I did you a favor getting you out of that mess.”

It felt like it belonged in a strange nightmare; the flock of reapers that wore her dead mother's face. Kaia hasn't thought of her in a while, but her image is sure to be haunting now. She did her best to ignore the reapers, the situation was too dangerous to be focused on her dead mother's face duplicated fifty times over. The situation... how was she the one pulled into this? Why not some death magic practitioner? Or better yet, why not someone skilled in traps and seals and barriers? Well, there's no turning back now.

She immediately grabbed Death's hand when he extended it in an offer of aid. Trying to keep momentum, she lifted the rug as he hoisted her, aiming to throw it out the window first. Then, she blinked, and everything went black. It was like night reached into her mind, coiling throughout her thoughts. Her soul shuddered. This was not balance, it was a single piece of a whole. A one-sided coin. Death's energy had a peace to it. This had... nothing, but with a dash of chaos. She was left dizzy and dazed, first from the darkness. Then, from the woman in front of them. Kaia caught herself wishing to have half as much confidence as this woman in the black dress. She was quite stunning. Frowning at the thought, Kaia blinked quickly in an attempt to rid her mind of the fog that flooded in alongside the darkness. Stars. Now she was seeing stars.

It seemed as though Death was quite popular amongst the gods. It would make sense, though. Together with life, he is the most well-known and probably most powerful. The small woman nearly jumped on Death, he seemed slightly disheartened at her appearance. She could understand why; the more gods show up, the more complicated this becomes. This had to be some kind of record, Kaia thought to herself, meeting three separate gods in a single day. Please let there be some cosmic limit of a maximum of three. This is definitely not what she had expected for her evening.

Nox? Ah. Of course. She could understand how darkness and chaos were infatuated with death. It is one of the sides of death, after all. Darkness, however, did not seem too keen on the idea of Death alongside a mortal human. Again, it was just wrong.

"This might not be my place to speak, but I feel compelled to admit... you are stunning. Darkness in the most beautiful form." Kaia looked to Death and spoke again, not giving Nox time to process or reply, "I was helping Death escape from his entrapment. A mortal man meddling with forces this great is a danger to everything and everyone. Death should happen. It is a part of life. The circle of balance. Without Death, there will never be peace for the mortal soul. It has to be corrected."

Kaia's eyes fell on the rug, she's unable to meet Nox's gaze, "This magic used is older than I've ever experienced first hand, and setting Death free from this body he is trapped in will take time. I don't suppose there is any way you might be able to help? Maybe with some form of script or knowledge so I may learn this language faster? Death needs to resume his duties before the entire world goes up in flames."

When Kaia first spoke, Nox whirled to glare at the girl, however her face faltered then broke when she complimented the goddess. Nox slid her hands along her silken gown to smooth it before giving her star encrusted hair a flip. She grinned broadly before peering at Death as if to say, ‘see, even a mortal girl can appreciate my beauty.’ Death frowned at her and turned his eyes to Kaia as she went on, explaining their situation and not giving Nox the time to respond properly. He had to give it to the girl. She was good. She knew what to say and how to say it. The way she handled Artemis and now Nox, she had a gift, this little witch. Death couldn't help but smirk slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest. He lucked out getting her to help him.

Death watched Kaia as she asked Nox for any kind of assistance, punctuating Kaia's statement with a little demonstration. He called on his magic, causing the runes to flair up along his body. Nox's eyes grew wide as she watched him grit his teeth in pain before she ran up to examine the runes as quickly as she could. She traced them, her dark marks lingering in the air long after Death stopped and the runes faded from existence. She hummed in thought as she spread the runes out before her, eyeing them intently.

“These are indeed old. We are talking about the creation of paper, old. Unfortunately, I am not the god to be able to read them or even tell you how to decipher them. You are looking for Hermes or Thoth. Possibly Athena. They could help you. Language is not my area of expertise.” She pointed and the rug shot out from Kaia's hands. With a wave of her hand, the rug rolled itself out, floating in the air just before them. The two trapped reapers resumed their humanoid shape and peered out at them. Nox looked at the two of them before looking back at Death who just gave a half hearted shrug of his shoulder. She sighed before snapping her fingers, the trap shattering and the two reapers vanishing. She then sent the runes to the rug with a flick of a wrist. The black runes settled into the fibers and embedded themselves into the rug. “There, now our sweet Death doesn't have to hurt himself each time to show the runes to people.” She gave a flourish of her wrist and the rug rolled back up before settling down by Kaia's feet.

“Now, our options are pretty limited. Hermes is notoriously difficult to get a hold of. Thoth is usually always locked away in his study and Athena is currently trying to get your throne so I can't imagine she'll be much help.” Death was taken aback to hear that Athena was actively going for his throne.

“She's doing what?”

“Oh Death, honey. You would not believe the people going for your throne. Right now, let's just focus on getting you free so you can get to it, yes?” She had a point, of course. So he just nodded solemnly and she flashed him a sad smile before giving him a light part on the cheek. “We shall free you from this. Fear not.” He just nodded again and she gave a soft sigh before turning to Kaia.

“I can not transport the two of you all the way to Thoth's study. It's too far of a way. Your mortal bodies would dissolve into my darkness before you ever got there. However, I can at least get you out of the house you were in and give you a head start. Normally, we gods are to be more hands off with mortals but when one of us is trapped in the mortal realm, the rules get thrown out the window. If you need a quick escape,” she reached into her hair and grasped one of the many stars before pulling it out. The flickering star condensed and shrunk in Nox’s hands until she held a small star charm. She held it out for Kaia to take. “Pour some magic into this and I will come to you. I will pull you out of whatever situation you find yourself in. As long as there is darkness there in some form, I can retrieve you but it has one use. I imagine the gods would not be pleased if I continue to interfere too much. So only use it in extreme emergencies.”

She turned to face Death, wrapping her arms around him and crushing herself against him again. “I would give you every star in the sky if I could but you can't use magic right now. The other god wouldn't care if it was you asking for help.” She sighed as she finally released him before stepping back. She pointed to the rug and made sure Kaia picked it up before she spread her arms, her wings spreading wide behind her as well. “Until we meet again. Be safe, be smart and be quick.” She clapped her hands together and the previous spinning sensation consumed Death once more as everything disappeared.

When the world was finally returned to him, the two of them were in the middle of Kaia’s apartment. He sighed deeply as he dropped down on his rump with a groan. So Athena was going for his throne. That didn't bode well. If the goddess of strategy and wisdom was going for the throne, that meant she had to have a plan or six. How were they going to go up against that? He aggressively scratched his scalp out of anxiety. This mess was getting worse by the second.

The runes were older than she thought. Kaia had hoped that a god on Death's side would be able to decipher them or, in the very least, give her a way to do so herself fast. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. It was never that easy. Nox was nice enough to capture the runes into the carpet. That would save Kaia from asking Death for another demonstration or five to copy them down. The two doltish reapers were also free again, which was good. She wondered how long it would take for the magician to realize his carpet was gone. He'll be so focused on losing Death, it might take a while for him to notice. Kaia listened as Nox spoke.

Hermes. The messenger god. She might've been in a more favorable position had she gone into journalism. Travel is also one of the many things she always put off. She sighed as the next thought crossed her mind; she's officially a thief now. Just maybe that would earn ten seconds with the god. No. That's way too farfetched. It's like playing fetch with a stray dog and expecting Gula to appear and give you her thanks. Although, since he can move so easily between the worlds, maybe he'd be curious enough to show up? Death goes missing and is found in a mortal body alongside a mortal after being trapped by a different mortal. Hermes is sometimes seen as a psychopomp, after all. On the other hand, it might not be an excellent idea to put too much trust in him. He's no idiot and might even be aiding under the table at a chance of enforcing that title of his.

Thoth, however... he might be the good choice. There's a full moon in two nights. That should make reaching out somewhat easier. And Kaia's always had a passion for broadening her knowledge, so that might give her some additional points. Also, the fact that Thoth is a god of reckoning, he should understand the importance of freeing Death and having him return to his throne. Unless his idea for reckoning is "fuck around and find out", then he might not be of much help. She's barely just met Death and her entire world feels upside down. She's a mortal! What is she doing standing next to the Death. There's no time to think about that now.

Athena is completely out. There's no way Kaia would have enough knowledge or experience to think she'd be able to out-strategize the literal godess of wisdom and war. She was nowhere near that stupidly arrogant. It felt a bit confusing, though. Athena was said to be an advocate for peace, unlike Ares. Is it possible there was a different reason for Athena to go after Death's throne? But who was she to speculate on the motives of gods?

Kaia's shoulders suddenly felt a lot heavier, "Please, dissolving is not on my to-do list for today." She gladly accepted the charm, removing her necklace to slide it on next to the stone, hoping she wouldn't need to use it. She thanked Nox with a weary smile. Was it too late to reconsider the dissolving part? Then, everything went dark again. That sickening spinning sensation overwhelmed Kaia's senses. She was not build to withstand the drawbacks of travel like this. She again changed her mind on the dissolving. She had a feeling it would be a slow and painful way to go out.

Home. How she wished she could go sleep. Pretend that it was just a dream, and she hadn't unintentionally involved herself in the business of gods. And Death. She dropped the rug in the center of the living room. It rolled itself out as she passed by to the kitchen. This was going to be a long night. Wordlessly, she made coffee. She didn't know if Death would want coffee, much less if he actually drank it. Regardless, she made two cups. If he didn't want it, she decided she'd just drink it, too. She put a cup in front of him, slumping down next to him, eyes on the carpet.

After a sip, Kaia speaks, "How I see it, is we have five choices. Hermes could be a pain in the ass and we don't know his position. Thoth, we'd need to convince him to leave his studies to aid us. Athena's motives are unclear and we might fall into a trap with her. Doing it myself could take fuck knows how long. And then there's my father..." She scrunches her nose, "He's a language professor, but it would take almost a week to get to him. Then he'd need time to decode this rug, too. He'd have a faster time at it, I'll admit, but I guarantee you won't hear the end of it."

Part of her would rather face Athena than her father. She hasn't seen him in a while and would prefer to remain out of his sight. "Fuck!" She jumps up, "We need to hide ourselves! Stupid!" Kaia rummages through her things, hastily grabbing ingredients to preform a spell. She ends up with two small jars, enfused with magic and encased in the spell. She stuffs one into her own pocket and the other into Death's hands, relaxing as she does. "That man has my blood and who knows what of yours. Keep this on you at all times. It will hide you from his eyes should he attempt to locate or scry." She looked Death up and down, leaving the room, returning with a t-shirt, "No shirt, no service. Put that on."