A/N: hey there everyone, sorry for the unexpected delay in continuing these little stories! school's been a bit stressful and then I got a new laptop so I had some issues transferring everything over but we're back now!
so to make up for the long wait, I've made this story the longest one yet. it's pretty much a continuation from the previous chapter, where Light agrees to become the new Goddess of Death. anyway, thanks for all the reviews, follows, and faves and I hope you like this one!
When she opened her eyes, there was nothing.
No sun.
No horizon.
Not even a single sound.
Just the darkness. An endless swirling mass of black laced with the sense of dread and the chill of complete emptiness. It flowed around her in rapid clouds and gusts as though being ushered with purpose to a specific destination- but where that destination was in this empty plane, she hadn't the slightest idea.
She sat up slowly and took a few moments to gather her surroundings, feeling sluggish as though awaking from a deep slumber. Had she been sleeping?
She couldn't remember.
Her first discovery was that it was cold- bone chilling, flesh crawling cold- and that her attire would be of very little help in combating such extreme temperatures. A thin, silken drape hung loosely off her bare shoulders and pooled around her small form in an inky puddle of cloth. The loose ends of the cloth would get swept up in the winds and blend in with the sea of Chaos, as though the dress itself was made of the same dark matter.
Her second discovery was that she did not, in fact, feel the cold. As she watched the harsh winds pull at her dress, as she looked down upon her bare legs laying on what was stone cold terrain, she recognized that she should be absolutely frozen. Yet she could feel no chill. Trying to think about why this was hurt her still slow mind, so she decided instead to explore in favor of worrying.
But where would she go? What direction would she take? She brushed aside a few wisps of rose colored strands that were stirred out of place and slowly gathered them to the left of her neck, her fingers straying in the curls as she pondered over where to go.
If she traveled north, she'd be wandering into unknown darkness.
If she traveled south, she'd be wandering into unknown darkness.
The same for the west, and the east…
She untangled her fingers from the soft curls and settled on west, where the wind was blowing from. Perhaps by traveling against the black gusts, she could find the source of it. She nodded her head once and muttered a quiet 'right', before she was off.
Her third discovery came hours later. Or at least, what should have been hours. What she discovered was that this place had no time, or structure, or any sense of order at all to govern it. She felt as though she had been walking for hours, yet the scenery seemed to be the same as ever and she didn't feel the slightest bit tired. The rational part of her was irritated beyond belief, annoyed by the lack of sense this whole place was making. She should be hurting, she should feel the effects of walking for hours on end, she should have reached some sort of destination by now, and yet for all her efforts she had nothing.
No weariness.
No destination.
And certainly no idea as to why she was here anyway.
Irritated, she flicked aside her long dress, annoyed at how the billowy silks kept slowing her down, annoyed that she was lost in a seemingly endless realm of rocks and darkness, annoyed that for the life of her she couldn't remember why she was trapped here in the first place.
Was this her own choice? Or had she done something wrong? Was this her punishment?
Or had she always been here anyway? After walking for so long, she had yet to come across an exit or entrance of any kind. Without a means of entering or leaving, she must have always existed in this plane- for where else could she go?
Yet being stuck in this empty world with no means of escaping also seemed like the consequence of a crime.
Which brought her back to square one. What if this was a punishment of some sort? Unfortunately her memory was shot- a piece here, a fragment there- but none of them stayed long enough for her to decipher. Even the bits she could decipher made no sense to her. All she saw was light: red streaks at ferocious speeds, the flash of metal against metal, a large glowing orb seeming to attract even smaller orbs of light, light, light.
"Light."
The one constant that her shattered mind refused to let go of, despite how many times it was broken down again.
Light.
If she tried hard enough, she could almost hear it, hear the word being uttered by faint voices on the wind.
Judging by the small tinge of recognition she felt in her mind at its utterance, the word was more than just a word. If only she could remember the importance behind it.
Light.
The irony of being trapped in a world completely devoid of that one thing was not lost on her. Still, she continued on.
As she traveled further and further into the darkness, she finally began to notice a few changes. No longer was she walking yet seeming to stay in the same spot, rather, there was suddenly new terrain around her to mark her progress. The smooth, empty ground she had grown used to was now interrupted by sloping hills and shards of iridescent crystal, increasing in size the further she continued.
The winds had picked up as well, blowing so fiercely that the black smog had condensed, becoming so thick that she could hardly even see the new surrounding crystals littering the ground and so strong that she struggled to walk against it, often teetering backwards or accidentally side-stepping onto a sharp crystal.
She didn't feel the sharp stone slicing into the soft arch of her foot.
She no longer cared that she seemed to have lost the ability to feel.
No longer was she even bothered by her increasing lack of ability to care.
She was getting closer to the source of this Chaos ruling over the desolate land. The closer she got, the more her scattered memories seemed to vanish. One by one they flew away, as if they were simply blown away by the increasing winds. A dark mass was slowly emerging into view.
The source.
The woman doubled her efforts.
As she forced her way against the Chaos, she could feel her emotions slip away as well, following her memories down the way. All of her doubts were gone, all of her questions and annoyances forgotten, everything was consumed by the single thought.
Go closer. Find it.
The form of the mass was slowly but surely becoming more defined as she pushed closer, the winds still ever increasing- so much so that she could hardly see the form behind her clenched eyes and braced forearms. But she pressed on, the desire to get to the center turning into a downright need that she needed fulfilled.
Eventually her sight was rendered useless as the Chaos grew thicker and thicker. She blindly continued straight ahead in hopes that she was going in the right direction, trusting her feet to get her to where she needed to be.
And indeed they did.
Her foot suddenly hit something hard and the woman- thrown off by the unexpected collision- stumbled forward, her hands meeting a similarly hard object has she braced for impact. Surprisingly her fall was short and her hands found purchase on what felt like two smooth stones, the Chaos stopping the moment her hands made contact. With the dark winds suddenly gone and her sight back, the woman found that she was holding onto the armrests of a large crystal throne.
Everything was eerily still and silent, her ears so unused to such silence after being exposed to the wind's roar for so long. Still leaning over the throne, she slowly eased back to observe her surroundings, confused by the sudden lack of Chaos. One moment she was being mercilessly thrown about and the next, nothing. She was finding "nothing" to be the only dependable thing in this world.
The throne before her was breathtaking. She had seen many different crystal shards on her journey here, but none of them were as large or as magnificent as this. The seat she had bumped into was carved out of the rock, its surface smooth and clear unlike the rest of the mighty crystal which was jagged and uneven. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the design of a tree had been detailed into the throne, meticulously carved by an unknown hand.
But all of this came as an afterthought to the young woman, details she wouldn't notice until a later time.
What she focused on instead was a tiny, glowing orb of light. It was floating just above seat of the throne, as though it were attempting to actually sit down. A surprised "hmph" escaped her lips as she swore the ball hadn't been there a second ago.
A glowing orb... and strangely it seemed familiar to her.
But when had she ever encountered such phenomena before?
With the faintest tingle of a memory, she leaned closer to the throne once again to inspect the oddly familiar ball of light. This close up, the light was surprisingly unimpressive to her. Its glow was dim and flickering and it hovered unsteadily above the seat, as though it were about to die out at any minute. Strangely, she found herself feeling sorry for it.
A light drowning in a sea of chaos… What was it doing out here in a world of never-ending darkness?
She briefly wondered whether she should touch the orb or not, but after it helplessly flickered and sank a little lower into the seat she decided to throw caution to the now nonexistent winds. Who cared if she began to take pity on seemingly inanimate objects? She certainly didn't.
Gently she cradled the orb in two hands and sat on the throne in its place. It was a bit tricky trying to unjumble the many twists and knots the chaotic winds had made in her dress with one hand while trying to keep the unstable ball steady in the other hand. Once she had finally made herself comfortable in the hard seat did she finally take the time to really look at what she was holding.
The ball of light easily fit in the palm of her hand- in fact she could perfectly cup it's soft exterior. It seemed to have gained strength just by being held- its flickering ceased and instead it radiated a steady, growing light. The woman cracked her first smile in what felt like ages. At least she seemed to finally be of some use. The ball seemed to return her smile, giving her an especially warm and bright flash before suddenly leaping from her palm and soaring high, high above her head. Her gaze followed it higher and higher as it slowly shrunk to just a speck of light in a sky of darkness before winking out altogether.
With a sigh she slumped back into the throne, resigned to the fact that she was simply meant to be alone here for all of time, when suddenly another orb hesitantly floated onto her lap. Puzzled, she gently scooped this one up as well and watched the dying light in her hand blossom into a healthy glow before it too, soared high up into the darkness. Then came another, and another, and another.
She didn't understand it but somehow she, sitting upon that shining throne of crystal, had become a beacon for the strange little glowing spheres. They surrounded her, tens of them, hundreds of them, each one waiting their turn to be held by this extraordinary woman. She didn't have time to wonder where they were coming from or why she was somehow able to help them or even where did they go once she was done. No, she didn't worry about the questions, currently all she cared about was helping as many of these orbs as she could. It gave her a sense of accomplishment after doing nothing but wandering in the darkness for who knew how long. Her peace was suddenly interrupted though, by the clearing of a throat.
"Ah, I knew you would be quite the natural at this."
Shocked, the woman jumped and cradled the ball currently in her hand like a protective mother. She sensed movement to her left and the next thing she knew she had a face full of him.
"You've assumed position well enough, though I am actually a bit surprised at how fast you caught on after watching you wander for so long. I didn't think you'd find your way," the man continued with the hint of a smile. He approached her throne confidently, stopping just so his leg barely grazed her knees. The woman stayed in her throne and studied him carefully, unsure of how to respond to the seemingly only other living being in this realm. He was dressed in the same dark silks as her, though his bunched around his slim waist and flowed down from there, completely covering his lower half but leaving his torso bare.
"And… exactly what position would that be?" she asked, still cradling the one orb she held. The others had stopped their steady flow to the throne, instead they remained suspended in the air as if watching the two beings' interaction, their combined dim light semi-illuminating the pair.
"My goddess," he supplied, bending down ever so close to her face. She held his gaze, finding comfort and familiarity in those green eyes. Those bright eyes with dark markings running down to the corners of his lips became partially covered by his soft silver hair at this angle. She resisted the urge to grab that face and move him- though whether she'd push him away or pull him closer, she couldn't tell. She knew this man, she was sure of it, she just couldn't remember how.
"Your… goddess…" she repeated. The word left a tin taste in her mouth. However the man seemed delighted at her emission and she found that she didn't dislike his smile. She could endure such a lofty title if it made him happy. A heavy silence fell between them afterwards as they simply studied each other, their faces mere inches apart. Her stare was one of curiosity and confusion. His was one of satisfaction and a touch of pride before he suddenly pulled away.
"I… should let you get back to work," he stated, "Those souls look like they're in dire need of your attention." He gestured to the large crowd of orbs surrounding them, patiently waiting for the goddess to send them on their way, though the wait was costing them precious time they didn't seem to have. "You can't let them rest idly for too long lest the Chaos swallows them whole," he offered.
The goddess looked down at the orb still resting in her hand. Unlike the others it shone brightly, having been sitting in her healing hands for some time now. "So they're souls…" she mumbled, gently alternating it between her hands. She looked up upon hearing the man's soft chuckle.
"Well, of course they're souls. That was our deal, wasn't it? That you would take the goddess of old's duty and continue the cycle of reincarnation in her place?" he gave her another smile and bent down once more, this time capturing her lips in a quick kiss. "And so I shall leave you to that duty. Farewell for now, my dear Goddess of Death."
And with that he backed away and disappeared in a blinding flash of light, leaving the goddess alone with her many souls and tracing her lips in confusion.
She didn't quite know all the details, such as who that man was that she just encountered or the deal they supposedly made, but she gathered enough to know that hers was an important job. She had a role now, a duty to fulfill, and she wouldn't let him down. And so she continued on.
