Death Note: Return from Purgatory
Part 1: Revival of the Savior
Page 1: Return from the Brink
"It';s just as I thought... Humans are so... Interesting!" -Ryuk
Light Yagami awoke with a startled gasp; his body swinging up from his bed with his face caked in sweat. He could hardly breath, his chest falling in and out quickly while a hand covered most of his face, his pupils shrunk down to the size of pricks.
He wasn't sure where he was at first, looking around to see himself back in his room, safe and sound on his bed. Finally, he felt his body relax, and fell back on his bed, a hand on his forehead while he tried to collect his thoughts. 'Dear God, what in the Hell was that?'
Light wasn't sure if it was a nightmare or reality, but whatever it was, it scared him shitless. A book that allows you to kill anyone as long as you know their name and face, the existence of angels of death, a detective who was practically the same age as him, his father dying, being shot by his father's colleague, and then finding himself in a place that was neither Heaven nor Hell... If this was how famous author's came up with their books, he didn't even want to think what sort of dreams they had.
Still...
"Was that really just a dream?"
Light decided to ignore his latest dilemma and continued on with his life as if nothing had happened, going to school and ignoring most of the teacher's lectures, staring idly out the window in wonder, his reflecting staring right back at him. 'A book that kills...' he thought, a wry smile smeared across his face. 'As if such a thing would exist, especially since it was only thought of in fairy tales and idiotic myths. Still, I can't say it wouldn't be useful. With something like that, you could shape the world however you pleased, killing whoever you wanted, and no one could trace it back to you. Makes me wish it was real, that way this world wouldn't be so... diseased.'
However, upon remembering that book, that Death Note, he remembered the faces of the people who's lives he ruined... his father's included. His face contorted with regret and pain, and the grip on his pencil tightened. 'It was just a dream... There's no way any of that would actually happen. The Shinigami Ryuk, and the Death Note, they're not real, and they never will be. It's better off staying in the realm of fantasy...' he thought with a tone of contempt. 'Savior of the world, right... Kira made people's lives a living hell, and even worse, ruined them, his own life included... I refuse to be someone like that.'
As soon as he realized what he was thinking, he couldn't help but chuckle sheepishly, earning a few strange looks from his classmates. 'What am I thinking? God, that dream must have messed me up more than I thought it would. Oh well, better actually start paying attention, as much as I hate it.'
Just as Light was about to, for once, listen to the lecture, a strange familiar black blur fall outside the window and down to the grass. Blinking in confusion, he looked down at the ground, seeing a small shape on the grass. 'What could that be?'
Light almost didn't want to believe it. This was insane, it just had to be. He must still be dreaming: yeah, that had to be it. There was no other explanation; he had to be dreaming this up. He just had to open his eyes, and he'd be back in bed.
And yet, there was a part of him that wanted to accept what was happening right now. He was quickly making his way back home, his bag slung over his shoulder, and a black book titled "Death Note" sticking out. 'This is insane, and completely illogical...' he tried to reason with himself. 'This isn't some kind of elaborate prank, and the way it showed up was just like how it did in my dream...'
He quickened his pace back home, carefully avoiding passerbyers as he clutched his bag tightly, not even thinking about the events that transpired in his dream. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he made his way up to his room, ignoring the greetings his sister and mother, locking his room and tossing his bag to the bed, taking a seat on the chair placed at his study desk, and covered his face with his hands.
If this was a dream, he was hoping to whatever God was in this world would wake him up, and soon. He refused to turn into Kira, not after all the sins he committed. This was a dream, and he wanted to wake up any time now.
"If I write even a single name down... No, come on, Light, listen to yourself!"
He shook his head.
"There's no such thing as a book with the power to kill... It's completely impossible!"
However, the more he tried to reason with himself, the more the pit in his stomach grew. What if it wasn't a dream, but a warning? What if what happened in the dream would happen in the future? Him taking the life of a criminal and rapist before declaring that he would be a God that watched over a new world full of honest and hard-working people? That was sheer arrogance, as what sort of being would allow an average human being the right to play judge, jury, and executioner before thinking himself a God?
Seeking a distraction from his thoughts, Light stood up and turned on the small TV in his room, the news splashing on the black image as it revealed what Light confirmed to be his worst nightmares.
It showed a building that had been taken over, the people taken hostage, and the man who held them there... the first victim of Kira.
"Dammit..."
Light gritted his teeth harshly, staring back at the screen with conflicted emotions. This was just how it played out last time. 'I could save those people, all I have to do is grab a pen or pencil, right down the bastard's name, and presto... But, once I do that...'
The words of the inhuman being who wrote his name down in the black book, the Death Note, came back to haunt him. The moment he would write down the name of the man he wanted to kill, he would forfeit his soul to the Shinigami, and upon the moment of his death, he would be sent to neither heaven nor hell.
Light turned away from the screen, standing up and beginning to pace back and forth and biting down on his thumb. 'I kill a man, save innocent lives in the process... I could stop there. But, then...'
That was when a face flashed by in his head, and felt something wet stream down his cheeks. 'I killed the man who murdered her parents... and as a result, she clinged to Kira like a lifeline, like he was her savior...'
The room was nothing but silence while the TV continued to blare.
"It appears that the culprit has begun to take the hostages up to the roof."
Light whirled around, wondering what was going on before his heart sank, and the color drained from his face.
"Oh no..."
The man was holding a shotgun, and the hostages, most of which women and children with a few elderly folks lined up with their hands behind their heads, sitting on their knees.
"Don't do it... God, please..."
His words were fruitless, he knew that, but he still continued to chant it like a mantra. The man pushed them up the ledge, and walked over to one end of the line. Light already knew what he was going to do.
Without even thinking about the consequences that would come of it, he took the Death Note from his bag, slammed it open, grabbed a pen, and quickly wrote down the man's name and fate.
The man stopped right behind the old man that was about to be thrown off, as evident by the kidnapper's grip on his arm. However, just as he was about to throw him off, he suddenly tossed him aside and placed the barrel against his jugular.
The pull of the trigger sentenced both his fate, and Light's. He felt his body shaking, looking down at his hand, which had begun to tremble. The fingers allowed the pen to fall to the floor as he stepped back, and his body fell to his bed.
What the hell had he just...
"Most impressive, Light Yagami."
Light looked over to the side, seeing an imposing figure standing at the corner of his dimly lit room. It was not Ryuk, but rather a new being entirely. Its body was cloaked in a tattered cape that hugged most of his body, his clothes torn and stained, and a hood hiding a large majority of his face, though the featureless white mask already hid it with bandages covering the skin. Underneath the hood, Light spotted a couple rotten strands of black hair.
"Are you... a Shinigami?"
The Shinigami stepped out of the corner, walking over to Light with shuffled footsteps. The room was filled with silence, the TV placed on mute, and the only sound he heard was the rattling of chains.
"Oh, I'm a bit more than that, Light Yagami. To you humans, I would be called the Lord of the Underworld, and the humans in the days of Greece saw me as a dreary person, and those of Rome saw me as a cruel and heartless beast. However, I am neither of those."
Light frowned, having heard those descriptions before.
"So... You're Hades, or Pluto?"
"Either which shall suffice. Tell me, do you enjoy your new life?"
Instantly, quicker than he thought possible, Light grabbed the King of the Dead by the coat, though the man was easily a full head and a half taller than Light. All Light could feel was anger, nothing but white-hot rage that burned in his breast.
"You son of a bitch! Do you have any idea what you just did?!"
Hades gave a old, yet muffled chuckle.
"I did. I brought the savior of this world back from Mu, and raised him from perdition."
"I didn't ask for this! Why the hell did you let Ryuk drop that damned book here?!"
Light already knew what Hades was, and if the laugh the being gave him was any indication, he had hit the nail on the head.
"So, you figured that out, did you? Yes, I am indeed the King of the Shinigami. The Land of the Dead is my domain, and that also goes for the souls that were forfeited the moment they put pen to paper on the parchment of the Death Note."
Light wanted to kill him. He wanted to bash his brains in. He wanted to shoot him dead. He wanted to strangle him. He wanted to write his fucking name down in the Death Note.
"Why?!"
"Answer me this, Light Yagami... With the knowledge you have now, what do you think you could do?"
"The hell is that supposed to mean?"
Hades gently removed himself from Light's grasp, and took a step back, allowing the young man some breathing room. Even from this close, Light could smell decay from his robes.
"I'm asking that, if you were to resume your role as Kira, the savior of this world, what would you do? Would you repeat history, and strike down those that would oppose you and kill sinners? Or would you strive for a better path?"
Light stopped. What was this guy going on about?
"You could spare those that would repent their sins, those that committed sins to save the lives of their family or loved ones... And you could even spare those that you had killed the last time you chose the path of Vigilant."
He didn't even need to ask who Hades was referring to. When he heard the news, he felt like punching himself, wondering what in the Hell he had been thinking back then. Ray Penber was going to be a father, and he had a loving wife waiting for him... and he killed them both.
"Would you choose to become a God once again? Or rather one who would take the law into his own hands?"
Light said nothing, his bangs obscured his eyes. He thought back to the names he wrote down, all the lives he had ruined up to that point where Matsumada had shot him dead, and then thought back to his father.
Finally, he looked at Hades straight in the eye (if the being had any at all).
"What's the catch for bringing me back?"
Hades chuckled.
"You're more intelligent than I gave you credit for. The only catch is that, if you die once again, then you're soul is not bound for Heaven, Hell, nor Mu."
Light raised an eyebrow.
"Simply put... you're soul is mine to eat."
'Okay, too much information.' Light grimaced before sighing, running a hand through his hair.
"So then, if I manage to stay alive and succeed in my role as Kira, what happens then? I get to keep my soul?"
"That would all depend on you and L."
'L?' Light thought with a frown. 'What does he have to do with this deal?'
Before he could ask Hades any more questions, the Shinigami King disappeared into the darkness, leaving Kira alone in his room. He looked back at the Death Note, the book still open as if waiting for him.
"Well, better get started..."
He took hold of the pen he dropped and sat back down, writing down every name of every scumbag he heard or seen on the news. 'This time... I'm not going to be a God.' Light thought, his eyes blazing. 'From here on... I'll be the one who delivers judgment.'
"I will be the God of the New World." –Light Yagami
Well, that's the first chapter, although in my opinion, it felt rushed and crappy. Then again, I'm running on two hours of sleep here. Another reason being that I haven't watched Death Note in such a long time. In other words, I'm rusty as hell on that anime. Updates will be slow, you have been warned. Like, Follow, Review, and tell me what you think, and I'll see what I can improve or focus. Thank you, that is all.
