There was one thing that all the affiliations had in common: the need for love by another. Angels, Nephilim and Demons all had a need to be loved. This rule applied to even the Four Horsemen. War was the first to marry, soon after his sister, Fury, and then Death, followed by Strife. All the Horsemen had families, wives and husbands, all except for one of the Four, who had recently been widowed. As ironic as it sounds, it was Death. Being one of the last to marry in his family, he was the first to experience the loss of the love of his life. He reaped her soul with a heavy hand and a clear mind. He was used to the sharp pang of sorrow that came with losing a loved one, but when he had to send her soul to the Well, he nearly broke down in tears. At least she gave him two children before she passed, and they both are a blessing to their father. Their names are Wraith and Necrosis. Necrosis is Death's eldest child and she's also his namesake. She was blessed with the long and pale hair from her mother and yellow eyes streaked with beige, with the dark ring of youth around her iris. She had dark red lips that defined her face in every way. Her round features and large eyes made her look like the younger of the two, when Necrosis was four years older. Her younger brother was her complete opposite. Wraith had dark, long hair like his father, and purple eyes that shone. His features were sharp, and chiseled. He was a mirror image of his father, all aside from some minor differences, but they looked relatively similar. Death was a proud father, and he loved his children more than anything. He would do anything to protect them, and go to the ends of the world to keep them safe. Which is the reason why they live in a mansion in a distant realm from any danger. It was called the Oblivion Forest. There was nothing but trees, rivers, and old castles and other edifices, one of which the three had mad a home out of. It was a mansion made of glass and stone that belonged to a royal family.

Chapter 1 - Meet the Children

It was a rainy day in the Oblivion Forest. Dark gray clouds hid the golden rays of the sun, and in their stead left rods of lightning. The deep booms and shrill crackles resounded and echoed all throughout the land. The heavy rain made it practically impossible to go outside and play in the puddles. Necrosis and Wraith sat inside, watching the gloomy weather from their favorite room. Or at least their favorite room on days like this. This was the only room in the castle made entirely out of glass, from the floor to the ceilings. From this room, the could see anyone or anything coming near the castle. The two children were casually lounging in the room, sitting on the cool glass floor. Wraith was sitting in between his older sister's legs, reclined into her chest, her delicate hand stroking his raven hair. They both looked out and saw the oak tree with the blue ribbon on it's lowest branch, the one that they had made so many memories on. Necrosis had her first kiss on the top branch. Wraith lost his first tooth from falling off of the lowest branch. The tree was very important to the two, as it was to their mother. Before the children were born, she planted the tree the day they got married and found the castle together. Although they never met their mother, and most likely never will, they always felt these inclinations to keep their mother's memory alive, and they don't even know that they're doing it. Just like Wraith. It was part of his character to wear a black hooded cloak that she always wore. His grandfather gave his mother the cloak, and when Wraith found it hanging up in a closet in Death's room, he was so inclined to wear it, and it has been his favorite garment of clothing from then on. He hasn't let it out of his sight for more than a second. Anytime he saw there was a tear in the dark fabric, he would repair it as soon as he got home. It was only a shame that Necrosis had no 'memories' from her mother. She only looked like her mother, but that was the only part of it. She had her mother's intelligence and quick thinking. Her mother was a master swordsman and she owned a fine collection of all types of swords from all different worlds. Death keeps them all in his closet. It's surprising how Wraith didn't find the swords instead of the cloak.

In the distance, Wraith saw the green fire underneath Despair's hooves. The two children ran down the spiral staircase and waited for their dad to come inside the mansion. Before Necrosis ran to the door waiting for her father, she grabbed a towel from the bathroom and folded it, ready to give to Death when he comes in. The sound of the horse being banished to the earth was the last thing that the two heard before Death came into the mansion, completely soaked to the bone. Necrosis handed him the towel as he set the heavy satchel of items gently down on the floor. "So, how did it go?" Necrosis asked, taking the towel from her father, seeing that he had dried.

"It went well. Wraith, I got your pomegranate." The young boy sprung up and reached for the bag and sifted through the contents. "Necrosis, i got you something to." Necrosis' eyes lit up when he said it. She didn't ask for anything, and all she saw in the bag was even more fruits.

"Where is it?"

"Upstairs. Come." The two walked up the stairs, Death's arm around his daughter's shoulder and the younger boy behind them, already eating his pomegranate. They entered the master bedroom. "Stay here and close your eyes." Wraith stepped back and watched as the shadow of his father's true form brought two boxes and set them in Death's hands. "Open your eyes." She opened them and saw two ornately decorated boxes. One was made of stone, and carved with the symbols of the affiliations. The other was a obsidian box, smooth and matte.

"What's in them?"

"You have to open them and find out, you can open both, but just be careful with them. This is old stone, and even more ancient obsidian." She took the obsidian box first and opened the dusty box. There were two guns, bound in off-white bindings to protect the shine of the marvelous weapons. "These guns belonged to your uncle Strife. These were the ones he trained with when he was around your age." She mulled over the facts and took one of the firearms and examined it. They were in amazing condition, and they would feel relatively light in her hands. She set the gun back in it's little indent in the box and closed it gently. Next was the stone box. She set the obsidian box down on the floor, and took the heavier container. She couldn't tell if the weapon inside was the thing that made the box heavy or if it was the stone itself. She looked closely at the box and saw the incredible detail of the stonework. Ages upon ages of weathering and deterioration gave the box just that much more character and it made it even more spectacular. She opened the box, the content inside was a sword, and a few stones inside. She gasped in awe.

"Who did this belong to, father?" Death coughed. This sword belonged to her mother. It was her most prized sword, and she took more care of this one than any other. The rest of the steelworks were just for show, but this was the sword that saved her life many a-time from danger. When she was in the Hellguard, she used that blade, and felled more than one thousand demons in her life. This sword meant more to her than life itself, and she would never let it go.

"I think your mo-.. grandmother." He almost slipped up. He had the perfect alibi and it almost slipped.

"Wow... this is amazing." She couldn't take her eyes off of the gorgeous sword. The way it glistened in the lowest of lighting was outstanding. She touched the edge, feeling the flesh being torn with barely any contact. This was perfect. She took the sword and saw that there was a strip of black in the center with silver designs within. She could see her own reflection in the steel.

"What do you say we take this for a test run?" She smiled and clenched the weapon tighter. "But first.." He turned briefly and pulled another box from under his bed. He returned and offered the container to her. When she opened the box, there was a full assortment of different sheaths and other holsters within. There were so many that she couldn't choose. After about thirty seconds of sifting through, she found the one that spoke the loudest to her. It was a black steel sheath that practically went with the sword. There were a few thick bands of mahogany colored leather about the steel. And at the very tip, there was a gold piece with a carving that looked like a demon tooth or a horn. It was a beauty, but pales in comparison to the splendor of the sword that was to be placed inside of it. He tied the leather around her waist and placed the sword safely inside it.

"Thank you, father." She hugged her father and kissed his cheek. The rider smiled and patted her back.

"Wraith, gather your daggers, we're leaving in a few minutes." Wraith left the room and left his father with his sister. "If we do get into trouble while we're out, I want you to stay behind me, or try to fight. If you fall, I'll be there to pick you up and keep you safe." She nodded, hugging her father one last time. Wraith came back with his three lucky daggers in his boots, and then they were off to a not so distant castle.

The place was enormous. The entire castle was about five stories tall, at a minimum. The three entered the edifice through the large steel-reinforced wooden doors. From the inside, the echo of the still down-pouring rain sounded like it could have came from inside the ivory masterpiece. They climbed up the spiral staircase, and found one of many hallways with all the doors open. Death and his son walked the hall, back to back, their weapons raised looking through every door. Necrosis walked behind them and began to braid her long, pale hair. She looked at all the plain, dull and white rooms until she came across one of the rooms that was decorated in pink and frills. This might be interesting... She walked into the room and saw that there was a huge walk-in closet. There were mountains upon mountains of dresses and skirts. She turned her nose at each and every one of them. As much as she liked wearing dresses and skirts, she despised wearing pink dresses. She was never dressed up in pink. Her father only gave her the colors that suited her personality when she was little. Now, she wore all black, there was nothing wrong with it, and it made her pale skin look heavenly, despite the fact that she looks more demon than angel. She exited the closet and looked at the dresser in the far corner of the room. When she got to the wooden bureau, she noticed that it was warped and mildew covered it entirely. She opened one of the three drawers, and saw nothing but moldy clothes. She closed it in a split second. She opened the one below it, and saw many different types of buttons. This person must have been a hoarder.. she thought. She closed that one and the top one contained a jewelry box. She took the item out of the deep drawer and opened the box, hearing the sweet tune upon opening. She chuckled a bit when the tune ended. She sifted through the box and at the very bottom, she found what felt like a ring inside a leather bag, bound up with wire. She took off the wire, almost hurting herself with the rusty metal. When the wire was off the bag, she heard her father's voice calling her.

"Necrosis, where are you?"

"Uh, I-I'm in this pink room." She continued to free the ring from its confinement. When the ring was out of the bag, it was a brass ring with an incantation in the inside. It seems like the 'princess' cut a deal with some demon. She read the incantation in her head, feeling some dark energy coursing through her body. She smelled something metallic, and wiped her nose and saw dark red blood. It was old blood, and it was just now coming out of her nose. She gasped and stuffed the ring in her pocket, and ran out into the hallway and bumped into her father.

"Necrosis, are you feeling okay?" His pumpkin eyes were drawn to her bloody nose. He wiped the blood away from her nose, and held her chin up.

"I think so." The smell of the metallic and old blood was still there in her nose and she knew it wasn't going away for a while.