DISCLAIMER: I do not own Death Note or any of its characters. *This Disclaimer will serve for the entire story*
Prologue: Grand Finale
Alone.
Light took a deep, ragged breath, his heart thudding, racing, the blood pounding in his ears. His brief life flashed before him, and he grunted as a searing pain entered his chest.
"Someone...?" He gasped to no one in particular. He was completely alone, with no one to come to his aid; he had failed, and it was his own fault.
The image of L appeared in his eyes; the cold, dark, calculating look the detective constantly had given him. The look that convinced Light that he knew much more than he let on, that he never let his guard down.
In a way, Light had felt extremely proud of himself when L had died. He had thought of every misstep, every single moment up to when he held L's dying form in his arms. He thought of no one and nothing but the victory he would obtain, the victory that was finally within his grasp.
Then, as Near emerged and took over the Kira investigation, Light had been shaken somewhat out of his stupor. He realized then that L still stalked him, haunted him in every way, shape, and form.
Light knew somewhere deep inside him that it had been far too easy to go through with is plans with Mikami and Near; however, his ego and confidence proved to be his downfall in the end. He had been too careless, too reckless with his decisions, as he believed Near inferior to L in every way.
Light's shallow breathing slowed, and he gazed distantly up at the roof above him. He breathed in the dusty, damp air of the warehouse, watching as tiny flecks of dust danced and swirled in the sun's rays that filtered above his head.
It had seemed as if time itself had stopped as Light had realized that Near had tricked him, that it had all been a trap from the very beginning. His recklessness had caught up with him, and Light had been driven to the point of near insanity. He recalled the pain, mental and physical, when Matsuda's gunshots pierced him, the desperate look of betrayal in the young detective's glistening eyes; Light knew he had officially lost, then, lost the only hopes he had left to hold on to.
Light didn't have the energy to cry. He already felt the throbbing in his chest easing slightly, his breath becoming fainter. He had already realized moments ago what was going on and why he was feeling this way; Light smirked, knowing that the Shinigami would obtain whatever pathetic life Light would have lived - had he spent the rest of his days behind bars - any second now.
Ryuk had spared him a life of misery in prison. Light mused it ironic how Ryuk seemed to be saving him, yet he knew that Ryuk was only killing Light to quicken the end to his show, his observation and amusement at human affairs.
Goodbye, Ryuk, Light thought; once again, he realized that the Shinigami was the only one who truly understood Light, in a sort of twisted, logical way. After all, both of them had much in common, namely killing for a cause; Light for Justice, and Ryuk for Life. Simply, both were caught in a sort of deadly dance, in which only one would irrevocably rise as victor to live another life.
I hope that this has been a great source of entertainment for you, Ryuk. Light felt his heart thud slower and slower, his eyes closing into eternal darkness, the ghost of a smirk still on his face.
I hope you enjoy the grand finale.