From AO3. Repost of a fic from late 2017.

Warning for: Character Death; Minor Character Death; Implied Suicide.

The train never stayed in one place for long. It wound its way around the stars, collecting passengers from all the planets across the galaxy. The quiet whistle that echoed in your ears upon death. The rumble of the train's approach. All senses told you when it was time, before you could fight the cold hand of The End.

You would always find yourself seated on said train, rolling towards your destination. Nobody ever left until they reached their proper place of calling, and it was the Conductor's job to make sure they got there. His role was multipurpose – a Grim Reaper to the planet Earth. A hal'aak to those who lived in the woods of Xoniz. Kuizhan to the Irophia Empire of the Celestial Systems.

Death to those who lived before the end.

This revolution around the stars had brought a sad sight. An explosion, which killed multiple children, led to a crowded train of confused passengers. Too young to understand what had happened, it took all Death's strength to explain the situation. Tears were shed and he had to lock the car, preventing them from bolting. Changing course, Death dropped them off in the Child's Palace to spend their eternity, and he was looking forward the usual quiet train ride once more. As he descended upon Earth, the passengers who appeared rested peacefully. Those who died in their sleep were always the most wonderful, accepting their fate without a moment's hesitation, and deciding on their destination. They were agreeable. Amiable.

Except for one.

The bird collapsed onto the train, heaving in his seat. He clawed at the leather and window, banging against it, screaming someone's name. Death, hearing the ruckus, entered the train car without missing a beat. The passengers asleep were beginning to shift, and he knew he needed to silence the bird who had just arrived on the train.

"Be still." His low voice shifted to a growling craw, his form changing from a hal'aak monster to that of a shadowed crow. "Be still, be silent, be steady. Peace." He repeated his words until the mantra eased the bird's aching soul. The passenger eventually settled into his seat. Death studied his features and saw his face. It was the same one he saw in too many others, the lines of regret evident between his ruffled white feathers.

"…Mind if I hear how you died?" he asked quietly, sitting down next to the bird. But instead of speaking, the quail narrowed his eyes at Death, watching him with a judgmental gaze. So instead, Death continued, sighing. "Well, then I'll just guess. It's written all over your face that you ended yourself and you regret it. Happens to most of you who go that way."

"I regret it because he ended me." The response was barely over a whisper. Death narrowed his eyes.

"Someone else killed you? So, a murder." …Silence. "…No?"

"Right the first time. Suicide. A mutual suicide. But he didn't die. He took my papers and he didn't take the poison." He ruffled his feathers, gaze turning to the front of the train. "It was a pact between friends."

"A pact to die? Foolish bird. Never trust those men, if even now you will never meet them again." The humorous quip was lost on the dead quail, who only slammed against the window once more. "And you cannot leave the train here. I have had a long evening and I will not catch you if you decide to lose yourself amongst the stars."

"I don't care." The quail watched the galaxies roll by as he made his feelings bare. "I wanted this for so long, and now that I'm here, I realize how upsetting it is. Death is an end, isn't it?"

"Naught you can do now. Some see it as the start of something new, where the slate is blank. Perhaps you can make up for that lost time you wasted in the living." Death's tone turned sour. "Pick your destination soon. The card's in the pocket there."

"Here."

Death stopped cold, barely out of his seat. Slowly, his head swirled towards the quail, blinking once. "I'm sorry?"

"Here." The tone was firm. "There is a place here, right out the window. A station."

"As I said, it is for getting lost among the stars. I do not recommend stopping there. You might lose yourself in loneliness and go mad."

"Then that is where I belong. I'm already insane for desiring death and wanting no more of it when it comes. Nanaki Kazuaki shall live alone, atoning for his wasted time. I want to get off the train! Let me off the train!" His sudden shrill chirrup startled some awake, and Death stared a moment longer, before bowing his head.

"Then here, you shall leave. Go. Get off my train." He knew the dead were never to be fought with. They quickly learned to not fear injury or harm, and therefore lent themselves to overwhelming him with all their strength. A lesson he had learned many millennia ago.

So instead, he simply stepped aside, allowing Nanaki to exit his seat. He stalked off the train, glancing about the station as he stepped off. Death swore that Nanaki saw something he didn't among the starry expanse, seeing that faraway look in his eyes.

Then, he stepped out into the open—

And vanished.

Death held onto the edge of the train door as he looked over the sea of swirling blue and white, trying to make out the image of a quail. But nothing met his gaze, and he decided to wait. An hour or two would put the train slightly off schedule, but it was a risk he could take for a passenger as horrified as he.

However, each moment passed him by without seeing Nanaki and he regrettably left the station behind. Riding away without sparing a thought for him again until the train rolled through the very same station again. For a moment, he remembered Nanaki Kazuaki. For a moment, he stood prominently in Death's mind. But only for a moment.

Three revolutions about the universe later, someone asked to get off there again. Mysteriously, without warning. They had glanced at their selection and requested it. Personally assured Death that it was where they wanted to be. And he had no choice but to let them go, watching them, too, fade into the distance.

These passengers saw something he could not see. They were people lost in the afterlife, almost without purpose. Murder victims and regretful accidents were the most common who disembarked at this place, but sometimes, the occasional natural death or famous assassination. Each of them left and never returned.

Sometimes, when he arrived at the station, there was someone standing just out of sight. A vague afterimage of them existed, as if they were looking through water. Death would stare back, waiting for them to approach the train. But their eyes remained wild, looking about with a horrified realization in their features. It was as if they were trapped on the other side, lost in that space where one quail had gotten off so long ago.

Death wondered if anybody would ever manage to get out.