Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the series. The characters here obviously belong to their original owner. We all know the drill when it comes to disclaimers, right?

The scrawling scarlet script cascaded over the previously pristine pages as the shinigami ended the doomed man's life with a flourish. A sigh escaped the Death God as the time ticked away within its mind. The last beats of the damned could only be imagined within the shinigami's mind as it stood watching from another world.

Down on earth, the man's eyes widened. Before the minute drew full course, his heart gave out and seized within his chest. A single croak broke through his lips as his fingers clenched at his chest, and as the man's legs went limp under him his eyes glazed over as his last breath escaped, carrying his soul.

A communal gasp echoed around the room as blood oozed from a gash across the dead man's forehead, the table in front of the corpse also lying upon its side with a smear of blood slowly dripping off the nearest corner. Several witnesses rose up as their jaws dropped in unison. A flurry of voices rose and ebbed within the chamber before the sound of a harsh pummel brought them to silence.

"Twenty years," the shinigami spoke to itself. An inhale of new life surged through the God as the rest of the man's natural lifespan was added to the measly amount allocated beforehand. "That should be sufficient enough for what I need to accomplish." The shinigami's jaw clattered as he spoke.

"Now," the shinigami spoke to itself again, for there wasn't any other being within the barren wasteland for several miles, "to find that shinigami with his tale of Earth. But first, a gift."

The Death Note the shinigami was using closed with a snap, a crimson design circled across the cover amidst an abyss of black leather. Several characters flowed like blood across it, clearly defining the original owner of the note.

Through the tears within the back of the shinigami's clothes sprouted a pair of feathered wings. They shimmered black as night as the shinigami rose into the grey sky, feathers fluttering downwards as the shinigami rose upwards. Patches of the Death God's wings were stripped clean of the onyx feathers, giving way to a system of glistening ivory. The crisp bone caused a stark contrast with the patches of ruffled ebony feathers.

From below, the being flew like that of a dying raven, slowly propelling forward through the bleak, dull sky. The landscape too complemented the atmosphere of the sky, as the shinigami passed overhead. Piles of skulls soon littered the ground as the shifting seas of sand slowly seeped into the plains. Mounds of earth crested and rolled as an assortment of ancient skeletons lay emerging from the rock.

But the shinigami spent no time gawking over the ancient beings or wondering what they once were; instead, the glistening garnet eyes scanned the horizon for one sole purpose. Adjusting its gaze to combat the rising fog, the shinigami swooped through the sky, slowly spiraling downwards as it located its objective.

Barren branches broke through the thickening fog as the shinigami made landfall. Aside from the deathly figure, a lone tree stood askew upon the hill. The blackened tree appeared burnt and lifeless; wilted fruit clinging to the otherwise bare branches. Wisps of fog curled around the smooth, barkless trunk of the ancient tree.

The earth crunched underneath the shinigami's boots as he took several slow steps forward. One foot struck a sole skull as he made his way towards the tree, sending it rolling and tumbling down the slope. The sound of it shattering against a mound of bone broke the surrounding silence.

Raising an arm, the shinigami plucked one of the withered fruits with ease from the lifeless limb. The shinigami rolled the disgusting fruit within its skeletal grasp, the blackened flesh withholding an oil-like ooze. Satisfied with the discovery, the shinigami pocketed the fruit and shuffled several steps back before ascending upwards once more.

The molting wings pumped and propelled the shinigami through the fog. As the shinigami glided above the wasteland, thoughts roamed freely throughout its mind. 'It'd be pointless just to search for the one I seek… Surely the others would know where he rests.'

'Yes,' the thought echoed through what passed as the shinigami's skull, 'they shouldn't be that far.'

With a tilt, the shinigami dived downwards. As the earth grew closer, the fog began to thin. The glowing garnet eyes gazed back and forth across the landscape in search of signs of life – or in this case, of Death. The landscape below lacked much variety. Wherever one looked, spires of bone and rock jutted from the earth as mounds of debris and skeletons littered the ground. If one didn't monitor their movements, it would be very easy to become lost.

That was not the case now, however; it would be hard to miss the sound of shinigami vice within the lifeless world. The wind carried the sounds of their raspy voices with it as it flowed across the wasteland. It never took long to locate the gambling kin-mates.

The rattling of bones accompanied the shinigami's arrival as both feet touched onto the dirt and both wings withdrew. The bones danced through the dust as they tumbled out from one of the other shinigamis' hands.

Two of the shinigami watched intently as the bones tumbled along to a stop. A third sat nearby, the only one of the three to notice the addition to their group.

"Ah, it's about time you showed your ugly mug around here." The shinigami bobbed his head as he talked, causing his feathered headdress to sway in turn.

A cuss erupted from one of the others, as the bones were scooped up again; their previous layout proved unsatisfactory to one of the gamblers. The pair both turned to face the newest shinigami. Each seemed to have a bone-like head, one more animalistic than the other. The former of the pair wore tattered cloth, while the one with the cattle skull was covered with tussled fur.

Pleasantries were foregone as the fourth shinigami dove straight to the point: "Tell me where the Punished rests."

A snort escaped from one as they turned back to the bones stuck into the dirt once more.

"You actually want to go meet him?" the shinigami in the headdress sounded surprised as he questioned his demand.

The final shinigami made an inaudible sound as he gazed down upon the formation of the bones, the markings etched into the worn surface again playing in his opponent's favour. "Bah, why waste your time with him."

A heavy thump resounded around them as a large bone mace indented the earth. "Shut up," spoke the traveler, the sockets of his hollowed eyes streaked with scarlet. "I just want to talk to him. I heard he had some fun in the human world."

"The human world?" Zellogi, the shinigami in the native style headdress spoke out with a sense of vigor. "That was nearly two decades ago. Don't tell me you seek to go there as well?"

The bone club elevated itself to be on par with Zellogi's face. "My business with the human world is between The Punished, The King, and myself. Now…" The shinigami spun and dropped the mace back into the dirt, sparing Gukku from yet another unfavourable roll.

The gamblers let out a simultaneous yelp as the pair scuttled back from the bone shattering club. "He's outside the gates to the human world," Zellogi spoke out with a sigh. "He stays within the highest room before the descent into either of our realms. Just go and get on with your foolhearted plans."

"That's all I sought." The shinigami extended out its arms and bowed mockingly before it slung the bone mace onto its back before taking to the skies for the third time that day.

The sound of echoing footsteps drew the shinigami known to the others as The Punished back to their realm. The shinigami leaned back against a wall carved from the bleak bone, pulling his gaze away with effort from the human world. The foot falls faded to a stop and the scent of fresh death washed over the damned.

"Who are you?" he asked, the deep voice cracking as it spoke for the first time in years. The shinigami turned slowly to face the stranger with glazed eyes. There was a pause as he waited for an answer.

"I've been looking for you," the clattering voice stated, ignoring the question. "I want to hear your story."

"Oh?" The shinigami cocked his head, a mix of emotion upon his twisted grin. A silence descended upon the pair as feelings of familiarity rose within The Punished, be it a resemblance to a previous state of being or otherwise.

The silence lasted for but a few seconds as the stranger continued, "I'll make it worth your while." The voice clattered before the being pulled an object out from a pocket. An arm wound back before the object was heaved through the air, accompanied by an audible grunt.

The shine of light shimmered upon the surface of the withered apple as it cascaded across the chamber. The Punished in turn rose his own hand; he caught the apple as it struck square into his palm. His fading eyesight providing little hindrance to where he knew the fruit would land.

"Very well," he spoke before taking a deep whiff of the long rotten fruit, its typical scent of decay and rot mixed with the faint taint of citrus.

"I was getting bored anyways." He squeezed the apple lightly in his grasp; the spoiled meat of the fruit sloshing within the thick waxy hide. "I'll humour you."

Sharpened teeth bit into the apple causing the acidic juices to squirt and dribble down the shinigami's grey flesh. He paused to savour the treat. "I'll tell you," a second bite consumed all but the core, "the story of a human I once knew." The shinigami smacked his oversized lips as the core too vanished. "One who tried to change the world and become a God."

The shinigami stood up slowly, as he prepared his tale mentally. He stood swaying slightly as the breeze ruffled through the tuffs of jet black feathers fringing across his shoulders and through his equally erratic hair.

With an inhale of breath, the shinigami, Ryuk, began his tale.

A.N. : Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed this opener. Don't fret. I shall continue this story. Possibly assign a date for a weekly update. Im thinking Monday or Tuesday. Probably the latter.

Oh, and Guys and Gals... Just want to let you know that reviews are quite appreciated. This is pretty much my first fan fic and yeah, I'd care to know what went well, what didn't, what you want to see more of... Or maybe I should ask this when more of it is up. XD
Oh well. Have a Good Week All.

Thanks :3