The Anteroom of Death
Let them in
Come and play another day
Throw your mask away
I don't care what you say
Cause your lovely words decay
Come and play another day
Welcome to the Anteroom of Death
(Tarja – Anteroom of Death)
I woke up in a creepy looking room – dark walls lit only by few light sources, no furniture and also no person around. Violins were playing a funeral march. I looked behind a curtain on a wall – there was an alcove where a whole orchestra sat. They stopped their play immediately and the conductor pointed his baton at them impatiently, vanishing the players and instruments without a trace. Pouting he turned around. "You could have let me the fun!"
He conjured a black cloak above his body and stood imposingly before me, his face shadowed by the hood.
"WELCOME TO MY KINGDOM! Oh, and for your information – You Are Dead!"
Well, thank you for that information...
I sighed and blinked at the – now – cloaked person. "Yeah, I noticed. It is hard to miss when you are stabbed. Repeatedly. Among other things... So... who exactly are you?"
"I Am Death!", the man exclaimed proudly.
"Why are you speaking so strange?" I asked unimpressed. Sometimes you could hear the capitals in his sentences! (If you know what I mean...)
"What do you mean?" Death (or whoever) scratched his cheek confused and looked down at me.
"... It doesn't matter." It seemed he could talk normally, sometimes. "Well, I am dead. And now?"
"No no no! You Are Dead, not dead!"
Capitals again! "And what exactly is the difference?"
"Other souls die and are dead. But You Are Dead – for you apply different rules."
I still did not understand but it seemed he was incapable of giving a explanation which made sense.
"I see... And why am I different?" I asked instead.
"Well, you are The Master Of Death, of course!"
What the... I gave him a blank stare.
"When did that happen?" I finally found my voice again.
"No idea."
"What? Why wouldn't you know that?!"
"It does not matter HOW it happened, but THAT it happened. Of course the title is a little bit misleading..."
"Wait wait wait! You have to explain! … Please."
"Uhm... what exactly?"
"From the beginning, please. How does one become the Master of Death? And what do you mean with misleading?"
"The Master of Death (also known as Conqueror of Death, Vanquisher of Death and others) is the one who masters all three of the legendary Deathly Hallows, which are the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and Cloak of Invisibility. While it is generally assumed that becoming the master of Death refers to some form of immortality, the true Master of Death truly accepts the fact that death is inevitable, and that there are other things worse than dying.*" Somehow he now sounded like he quoted an encyclopaedia entry.
But it sounds like something I would do... Or did. "I see." And this time I actually did. I sighed and sulked a bit. Not that I would ever admit that. "And what now?"
"Because of your Status you have different choices. You are not dead as are other souls, which arrive here. They – mostly – move on immediately. But you will not. You-"
"Wait! What do you mean, I will not move on?" I shouted panicky.
Death paused for a moment and blinked surprised. "That is what entails being Master Of Death."
He sounded as if I should have known that. And then he continued speaking. "The Master Of Death Will Not Move On. The Master Of Death May Choose Between Following Choices. He May Repeat His Live. He May Be Reborn In A Different Time. He May Go To A Different Dimension. He May Become A Reaper Of Death. He May Become Death Itself. He May Play His Life As A Video Game. He May Return To His Live And Be Immortal."
That was too much. I slumped down onto the floor and groaned heavily. "That's not fair! I didn't even try to become Master Of Death! And those choices! Are you serious!?"
"Of course I am", Death answered indignantly.
"Why had I no choice if I even wanted to become the Master Of Death? And why didn't you tell me of the choices beforehand?"
"Death is no choice, it is a fact. The same applies for The Master Of Death. And regarding the Choices... Well, there should have been an information leaflet but it seems like my secretary was … otherwise occupied." He glowered towards the ceiling.
"I don't wanna …" I whined. When I noticed what I just did, I shut up immediately.
"Sorry, but you have to." He didn't seem to be sorry. Bastard.
"Then explain the choices." I had absolutely no strength left for any politeness or patience.
"Well... The first two are easy to understand. The third – going to a different dimension – is kind of the same as the first one, where somewhere along the time-line a different event happened or a different choice was made. Becoming a Reaper means you will work for me. Becoming Death means you will take my job – great choice by the way, I have much fun! The next choice was made by the Death before me – for shits and giggles I think. He was a bit strange... Oh well!" He grinned at me and then continued. "The last choice is again self-explanatory. If you take any of the first three or the Video-Game-Choice, you will automatically proceed to afterlife after living the new life to the fullest. When you become a Reaper you have to meet specific requirements. Becoming Death is self-explanatory, I think. And immortality... well that is a bit complicated."
"Yeah, okay. I don't want to know. I really don't want to be immortal."
"So, how about becoming Death then? You have really cool powers and time does not matter anymore for you, so you can go to the past or the future or whenever wherever you want!"
"And why would you want to lose your job, if it is so cool?" I asked sceptically.
Death looked at me wide-eyed for a moment, then he deflated and sighed heavily.
"You got me. The deal with the Death position is, that I only may go to the afterlife if I find a successor. And the successor can only be The Master Of Death. Yes, you understand the problem."
I pity that poor man who was stupid enough to be tricked into this stupid job. But I have a choice to make. I don't want to! Yes, I whine in my head. Whatever.
"Please tell me more details about the other choices."
And he did.
I hate making choices like this!
*Quote from Harry Potter Wikia – Article 'Master of Death'
Yes, I had this … inspiration. Just when I listened to Tarja's song it caught me unawares and didn't let go. This inspiration was only for the first paragraph and suddenly it grew – to this.
I am not really the best person for English grammar (and also too lazy to check this story for more than the worst spelling mistakes) so I am sorry for any mistakes here.
I will leave it as a Oneshot because for more are the ideas missing. Of course this is more a drabble than a story. Maybe if you leave reviews and give me ideas (e.g. what Choice 'I' should make), I will write more. Also it was more or less intentional that 'I' was never mentioned by name. Yes, it was meant to be a "Harry!MoD"-story, but I am not sure if I can write male protagonists – especially if it is from the first-person perspective.
Just tell me what you think. Could this be Harry? Or a OC? A Fem!Harry? Maybe Hermione? (That would also interesting to see – never saw it on FF-Net... Hermione!MoD...)
What do you like – what do you … no, only the likes please.
And maybe, what I could do better.
Just review, even for only telling me that you read this!
Yes, I am sounding desperate, I know.
And I ramble, sorry.
Thanks for reading!
Jilly