Night 21

I finally returned to my room. Yet, I was restless. There were so many questions and uncertainties that I couldn't just ignore them. I'll probably regret this decision later, but I'm willing to take a risk, all for the sake of getting answers.

The young man stopped outside of a room labeled with the golden numbers 205. He pulled open the door and was met by the sight of the simple room, with minimal furniture and the closed, shuttered window across from him. A candle flickered atop the table in the corner, illuminating the room in orange light.

The young man stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He walked across the room and over to the bed. He did not take off his boots or his jacket and simply sat down on the edge of the bed. Slowly, his gaze scanned over the room. He stared at the candle, watching the wick burn and the wax occasionally drip. Silence filled the room, like an endless and unbearable noise. The young man then got to his feet and began to pace.

Back and forth his steps went, with the consistency of a clock. Several times, he needlessly circled around. With each cycle, he seemed to only get more anxious. His eye caught on the cat painting, and he came to a stop. From behind the painting, he heard a muffled and hoarse voice urge, "Quickly! Open the window."

An eerie meow then sounded behind the wall, as the young man looked to the window. The wooden shutters were tightly shut. Several long seconds passed before he finally began towards it. When he reached the window, he stood there for another few seconds. His hands slowly reached for the shutters, paused, took hold of the handles, then flung open the window; there was blackness.

Endless, impenetrable blackness stretched out before him. A soft and airy bell dinged twice nearby. The young man took hold of the windowsill and stuck his head out, looking in the direction of the noise. He saw a black cloaked figure floating away, with a blue and yellow hat on his pure white head. The figure then stopped and turned towards the young man, revealing that the figure held a large scythe with a skinless skull as a head.

The young man stumbled back from the window, but the figure called out in the voice of a calm man, "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

Afterwards, the young man walked back to the windowsill, and the robed skeleton moved himself so he floated across from the young man. The skeleton explained, "I only deal with souls who've wandered from reality and deserve rest." He waved for the young man to go back inside as he stated, "You're still torn on which decision to make. Once you do, perhaps we'll see each other again soon or maybe later."

The skeleton then turned and started to float off, but the young man called out, "W-wait!"

"Hmm?" The skeleton faced the young man again and then waved a hand to urge him to go on, "What is it? I do have work to get back to."

The young man glanced down before returning his gaze to the skeleton, asking, "I…want to know how souls can pass on peacefully."

The skeleton put his hand back to the handle of his scythe, holding it contemplatively. He answered, "It all goes back to a soul's tie on reality. To pass peacefully, a soul must believe that there is no unfinished business in reality, have no regrets to hold them back from resting eternally." He adjusted his grip on his scythe and finished, "Does that answer your question?"

After a long pause, the young man replied, "…Yes, it does. Thank you."

The skeleton dipped his head before floating off, waving goodbye. "Take care of yourself!" he called out before disappearing from sight.

The young man waved goodbye before closing the shutters again. He stared thoughtfully at the window, repeating to himself, "…No regrets, huh?"

Meanwhile, purring could be heard on the other side of the painting.

Moon's Meow:

WARNING: I DO NOT RECOMMEND READING THIS STORY UNLESS HAVING WATCHED "GREGORY HORROR SHOW", EPISODE 13 OF SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN (ATTACK ON TITAN) OR READ AT LEAST CHAPTER 18 (VOL. 4) OF SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN (ATTACK ON TITAN). OTHERWISE, THERE IS A HIGH CHANCE OF SPOILERS.

Death has always been one of my favorite characters, whether it's is knowing and mythical appearance in the show or his casual and optimistic attitude in the game. Things seem to be looking up for the guest, but we'll see how long that's going to last...

Hope you guys enjoyed and I look forward to hearing from you! The next update is Monday!