DEATH NOTE NOVEL:
"THE DRAYCOTT FACTOR"

"PROLOGUE: A NEW SHINIGAMI DESCENDS TO THE HUMAN WORLD"

It had observed everything and now it was ready to act. Or rather play. Whatever came first. If he looked at it just so, both were of the same.

The Shinigami descended down the spiral staircase of the time spiral whirlpool, its multi-facet emissions turning its waters off-white to a greyish hue colour, forever flowing like Eternity itself.

He stood there for a moment, thinking. His bones creaked with every movement he made, and a dark energy flowed from this well of "nothing" as he stood next to it.

This place was basically a hole in the middle of the universe, a black hole. And the whirlpool was the only way in or out of Shinigami Realm like a doorway. The Shinigami King denied any other exit or access.

The Shinigami Realm was a bastion of nothingness. There was no natural light, the sky was a constant depressing grey with flashes of cosmic eddies from passing comets that came close to the planet's surface. The planet was of in itself a useless stretch of rock covered with the bones of dead creatures ruled by the Shinigami King, a ruthless being. He was not to be crossed, or it was said a Shinigami would suffer tiers of "Severe Agony," and there were nine of them.

And if a Shinigami disobeyed the Shinigami King or disregarded the laws he governed, and if severe enough, a Shinigami would die under the most horrible of circumstances.

But what truly did it matter? Most Shinigami just sat around sleeping or playing games. They had no interest in anything and most had lost interest in even killing. They only killed when they needed to survive. To keep surviving in this dismal world of nothingness.

The Shinigami stood on an out-cropping precipice that overlooked the swirling waters below. He knew what he was about to do was against Shinigami Law especially after recent events, but he wanted to have a little fun, notwithstanding.

He had dropped his Death Note to the Human World. Now he had go retrieve it. This was not against Shinigami Law, however. If a Shinigami lost his notebook, he had to retrieve it.

Gauging on the advise of another—a grotesque, lanky Shinigami who was now chained in a cave with only a rock opening for a window to look upon this dead world—he had waited a few days before coming here. The Shinigami was not to be named, for he was an outcast, and one who had belligerently caused reputable damage to the Human World, a havoc that wasted human lives without any redeeming purpose other for entertainment.

This was not the Shinigami way.

But how the human who used this Shinigami's Death Note was bizarre, and yet it was not against the rules. How a human used a Death Note was up to them. All they had to be told was anyone who uses a Death Note can neither to Heaven or Hell for eternity.

The Shinigami had tricked the "Old Man" out of a spare one to drop to the Human World.

But now this Shinigami didn't have a Death Note and he was forced to wait for his own demise, to wither away without an ounce of hope of redemption, or collect lifespans to extend his own existence. His punishment was to watch the drudgery world of the Shinigami has his body died and rotted away. It was a fate worse than death like starvation.

Watching old adventures through a "Hole", as Shinigami called it—a large sphere that could show everything that transpired in other realms—the Shinigami enjoyed every moment of the other's escapade. And his boredom now turned to excitement.

Now he would have a chance to share in that same fun, purposely dropping his Death Note to the Human World.

The Shinigami Realm was a dilapidated, barren wasteland. The human world was interesting and lively.

When the other had returned to the Shinigami Realm, he had been immediately stripped of his privileges. But this didn't stop him from being outspoken in his views on how to help the Shinigami who saw no hope. Some of the advise he had learned from his human, the human he had possessed, was insightful.

But the Shinigami King would have no rebellion in his world, and locked the rebel away, and told all other Shinigami speaking with him would result in a similar fate.

The Shinigami barred from seeing anyone was known as the "Infected One".

The Shinigami King didn't want his world changed, or it would alter everything he had built and ruled over. It was a control mechanism for the "Old Man". If the Shinigami didn't think for themselves and did what they were told, he had order.

So the "Infected One" had to be locked away.

The "Kira event", as Shinigami were calling it, provided a temporary distraction, an excitement for the Shinigami, but it was soon forgotten.

But he had watched everything as it had unfolded with keen interest.

The "Hole" saw everything past, present and future. Time was relative, and so were the possibilities of altering certain events, changing them. The Human World generated great interest for him and he wanted to experience it, as well. And after talking with the other, the "Infected One", he knew exactly where to toss his Death Note.

Fun awaited him, and he was eager to embrace it.

Wings sprouted from his back and they spread forth like a vampire bat. He jumped off the precipice and soared into the whirlpool, the liquidities of the space dark matter and other supernatural properties splashed as he entered.

And as he went through, the dark matter engulfed him. He thought of where he wanted to go, drawn by his dropped Death Note.

And then the dark matter jettisoned him out—

He entered the Human World.

He flew across its landscape of Japan, invisible to all those whom were looking up at the starry night sky, and landed on top of a tall skyscraper.

This building was overlooking Japan's urban jungle of flashing lights on its side, in a region known as Kanto. It was testament to human achievement and its vanity of commerce. Humans were so ingenious when it came to constructing monuments and technologies to themselves. They were selfish and ravenous creatures. Smart beasts, as one of his fellow Shinigami once said.

As he perched on the edge of the building, he wondered which human had picked up his Death Note. It called him like a beacon.

The book was here somewhere. A human had already picked it up. But it was not Kira, instead he could sense another similar-like human in possession of it. And this human was close by.

He leapt off the building and took flight, and was excited about the events that would unfold.

To be continued…