The training was awesome.

One thing Death once said made me pay attention to how I was learning everything and I really was a quick learner. He said that would end with all the fun of seeing me struggling with what he was teaching me, but he would accept that as long as I kept training every day and practicing whatever he told me to.

Mastering fighting movements would be easy, but mastering my leg to combat was the tricky part. Sometimes I would flawlessly show up a specific move, but would lose balance by the time I tried to rely on the leg and, whenever it was too much for that fake limb, the wound around it would ache.

"This should've been completely healed by now." I sighed, sitting down, my hand over it "Why does it still hurt?" it was a sunny day, so no trousers for me, as my shorts were all above comfortable, and that allowed me to take a closer look to it. It was a pretty nasty scar, I would admit. Thankfully that metal replacement was fixed there forever.

He kneeled down to have a better look and examined it for a while. "Perhaps it's because Absalom's axe was embedded with corruption" He waved his hand over it, a green fog showing up and making it feel warm "It can take a little while for you to stop feeling the pain. Better?"

"Yep..." he gave me his hand to stand up "But its worth nothing stopping the pain if I can't even properly use it"

"Well... Maybe I'm the wrong person to help you with that matter"

"What do you...?" and it hit me "Ooooh, do you mean War?" he nodded "That'd be amazing! Could you ask him that?!"

"Sure. Let's finish the training for today." He decided "You could use some rest" and starter walking inside.

"But I'm so filled with energy!" I ran towards him.

"you can't go past your limits with the leg. It could bring you to exhaustion" he opened the door and let me in first, the fireplace lighting up by the moment we stepped in.

"Shit, I'll never get used to that" I laughed "Then teach me something else!" I asked "Teach me to heal injuries like you do to me!'

"That requires a rested mind and no laziness to read what's necessary"

I gave him an angry face "I'm not lazy! I just don't like mandatory reading. But if you tell me you'll teach me, I'll give you my best"

He stared at me for a while "Fine." He walked towards the shelf and got one big book and one parchment and put it over the table in front of the couch "If you master this until our next training, I can think about it"

I sighed, pouting "All this...?" the book was bigger than my hands could hold "Alright. I'll know it by heart next time you come back" I put the book aside "Talking about something off topic, how long has it been since I'm here? It... doesnt seem so long, but at the same time it seems I'm here for a lifetime"

"Few half breeds with humans have been documented through Creation, but those that had their counterpart dormant for a long time or those who never awoke that side lived, grew old and died just like a normal human. Those that came to release their counterpart for the first time, starts to have, let's say... Benefits from it" he said "More strength, more resistance, less need for human things you needed before, and it makes you live longer. Makes time seem irrelevant for you and it passes you by without noticing, you don't show up any signs that you're aging, so don't get shocked when I tell you that has been over a year since you came here.

He said 'don't get shocked' and the first thing I did was to get shocked "Over a year?! How?!"

"Didn't you pay attention to what I just said?" he chuckled. "Perhaps, though, your life expectancy is bigger than usual, given your heritage and that he isn't originally a demon, but an angel in first place. Which is even rarer. I don't remember any half breed from angels"

"but he rules Hell. How can he not be a demon?"

"He was not an ordinary angel, Maya. Above all, he was an Archangel that was banished from Heaven. Differently from Abaddon, as an example, that sold his soul in order to become a fallen angel demon as the Destroyer, Lucifer still is everything he was praised for in Heaven. Just with a slight difference added to his power, that became more aggressive and darker, opposite to his brother's"

"Ah... I get it." I though "Have you ever seen him?"

"Up until now, no one has" he probably noticed I was too much thoughtful and changed the subject "Have you seen anything else in your visions?"

I brought my thoughts back to reality and I inhaled "Yep. I saw you" I could feel him confused "I... didn't know you had someone..."

"I don't" He was confused "What did you see?"

"You. With a little package on your arms. Smaller than your hand" I giggled "A baby."

"Me, with a baby?" it probably sounded as strange to him as it sounded to me. The way he said it made me think that maybe he was not fond of babies. I had to suppress a laugh.

"It couldn't be from anyone else. You're the only one with orange eyes, and she had them too. It then showed you with her as a little toddler, training." I noticed he was still quiet, so I just kept telling him "you were teaching her your abilities with necromancy and she was creating mini versions of your ghouls, excitedly calling you when successfully created a mini army. It was a nice thing to see. I just... didn't see anyone else, you know? Like, a mother to the child. It was just you two"

"It is hard to picture what you're saying"

"Why? Can't you see yourself as a father?" I giggled.

"You do remember those three are decades younger, right?" he chuckled and sighed "But... no. It is not that. We have something like cultivated solitude... Specially me... We rarely have each other as companions. I just can't see how I would ever get a child"

"Well. I never saw myself ending up in here, doing any of the things I'm doing or already did, and yet here I am." I shrugged "Or maybe it's just a distant vision. I never know exactly when my vision come to life, so it can be decades or even centuries ahead."

He inhaled deeply. He was a little uncomfortable with the subject, I noticed "Yeah, maybe..." he looked away "Have you seen anything else?"

"Well... Answer me something... You're invulnerable, aren't you? Like, you can endure any mortal wound?"

"Not completely. There's plenty of resistance and the high amount of injuries I can sustain, but not complete invulnerability. Why?"

"Is because... I also saw you..."

"Dying?" He completed.

"I'm not sure... it just showed you, all beaten down, your mask was to the point of falling down, all cracked up, and a blade dripping blood... I doubted it was you at first, but the state you were in made me think it could actually be you..." now it was my turn to get uncomfortable saying that and an awkward silence followed "But, like, there has been plenty of times where you could've been killed, and yet you're still here. So I think it's a vision that wont happen... You're too powerful to be killed like that" I said, all confident.

He didn't say a word, only stared at me "You're still uneasy. Is there anything else?"

"No... is just that bothering pain in my chest again..." I was pressing it tightly without even noticing. It has been like this for the past few days. Its... really bothering this time..."

"Could've told that before" he put one of his hands over my chest and I could feel it getting comfortably warm, the pain slowly fading until it became bearable. "There. This should ease it" he said when finished "How are you feeling?"

"Way better." I smiled "I'll be able to sleep properly today" I giggled and we remained silent for a while "Uh, so, Death. There's something I've been curious about since the day I got here, but never came to ask..."

"Yes?"

"well... all those demons broke in back in the human refuge because of me, so they tracked me down . Wouldn't they be able to do the same here? I mean... I most certainly wouldn't like to face them alone"

"No one can find this place except for us, there's no need to worry" he stood up and offered me his hand "This house is the centre of a barrier dome for protection. Basically, everything inside it becomes unreachable and invisible and it extends all the way down to where your eyes can see and ever further"

"Why so distant? Just the house isn't enough?"

"Fast travel, portals and serpent holes tend to be less accurate than it should when you've sustained bad injuries or mortal wounds. I told you once that fast traveling while wounded may not be the best option, so we have to rely on the others and so we would end up getting far from here. You're already injured, and still have to worry about being followed? That's why it reaches that far. Each time any of us showed up in another and more distant location, we would increase the barrier. Up until now, is enough"

"its is so hard for me to picture any of you with mortal wounds" I said.

"So let's make it another lesson for you. No matter how strong or experienced you are, even the strongest can be hurt if the other is willing to do so" he inhaled deeply "Alright. I want you to start reading the book. I'll give you two days"

"I can't read that fast!"

"Make it a challenge, then" And he just left.

I did make it a challenge, but When you need time to pass you by fast, it seems an eternity, but when you need more time to do anything, it seems it passes you by flying.

As expected, I couldn't finish the reading in time, and I was feeling bad with myself, because I really wanted him to teach me those things. Being able to heal yourself is, by far, one of the most amazing things I wanted to do, and it would be really convenient if I ever needed – it would be better if I didn't need, but you never know what awaits you. Demons, stay away.

I was still not used to his silent footsteps, so I wouldn't be able to even hear him walking in if, had he not been with someone else with him. In terms of height, there was little difference, but come on. War is massive. Not even walking slow can make his footsteps silent, even if he wanted to, so that made me look at them by the moment they stepped in.

I just sighed, closing the book "I didn't finish reading it" I'm absolutely sure I was trying to convince him with the same face I used to show my brothers when I was little. "I know, I know... no healing training for me"

Death chuckled "We are not here for healing training" And it got me confused "War agreed to help you with the leg" and I almost jumped to stand up, but I tried to contain myself.

"This is going to be awesome!"