From the dark multiverse, Anna reemerged from beneath the Crisis Anvil just as a massive wave of energy exploded from Alpheus' body, tearing through the World Forge.
Her thoughts were all over the place. From seeing the World Forger standing upright in absolute stillness to seeing the body of Klaus lying lifeless on the ground, the fact that she is a ghost right now didn't seem all that major.
'Luckily ghosts are intangible,' she thought to herself, 'but what a hell of a way to learn that fact!' Even for a five-hundred-year-old vampire, being crushed by a massive anvil that universes were forged on was something new.
Her own lifeless body lay a few feet away, its skin grey and the wooden stake that Esther had killed her with still sticking out of its chest.
She has yet to process the fact that she was indeed dead right now, partially because she has died before, twice. Plus, she was in the 6th dimension right now! She was in the Monitor Sphere of the multiverse! She was in the World Forge! All of those were much more interesting than the fact that she was dead.
Suddenly, Alpheus jerked awake, his glowing yellow eyes diluting, and his mouth opens wide. Instinctively, Anna dove behind the Crisis Anvil for cover.
A stream of blinding, vaporous white light burst forth from his mouth and plunged itself into Klaus's limp body through the chest. Even though she was a ghost, she covered her eyes anyway, just to be safe.
A loud THUD sounded from the other side of the anvil, followed by a loud flapping of wings.
"Hello, Anna."
She spun around as Sam appeared next to her, his great shadowy wings spread wide open and his entire vessel glowing with power. "The Ultimator is dead and his power is with me." He informed her, "we are safe now." He reached out kindly to take her hand and help her feet.
"Wait, what?!" Anna stared at him incredulously, "how?!"
"He was foolish to face me in that mental battle." replied Sam, "you see? A fight in the mind is entirely dependent on willpower and imagination. Although The Ultimator's mind is capable of thinking 10th dimensionally, my mind is still far superior. His arrogance led him to face me in the one place where my power remains intact."
Anna did not fully understand what he had just said; her eyes were too busy focusing on Alpheus' limp body that lay several meters away. "Wait-what?!" She couldn't rip her eyes away from the collapsed monitor that was right before them.
"Oh, Alpheus?" Sam followed her eyes and smiled. "Oh, he's alive. Do you see? When an entity or spirit possesses a vessel, they usually push the consciousness of the owner somewhere deep into the subconscious. Now that the possessor is gone, there is nothing keeping his mind from consciousness. He'll be up and about in no time."
"Oh. Thank God." In a sense, she really felt for Alpheus the World Forger. In one day, he had his realm invaded by an abstract entity, lost a massive collection of his masterpieces, and got possessed by an evil force that wished to devour the multiverse. Making it through the whole ordeal unharmed was the least he deserved.
"Yeah, now we need to talk about you..and..." Sam looked at her and then gestured to her body lying a few feet away. "Yeah...so...I think you may have forgotten, but I kind of am...Death."
Anna stared at him for a brief moment before the realization finally hit her. "I'm dead..." It was like a rock just formed in her heart, causing it to skin down to her stomach. She knew what it was like to die once. She didn't want it again!
A warmed hand wrapped around her shoulders comfortingly. "Well...yes, but technically no," Sam told her gently, "physically, that stake to the heart was enough to destroy your body, but spiritually, you are very much alive."
"What?"
"You can only die if I allow it," explained Sam, "no matter how much your body gets destroyed, you cannot die unless Death allows it to happen. Right now, my will is the very thing keeping you alive."
Anna frowned. "So I'm not dead then? Why haven't you done your duty?" She could see that Sam had a thing for her, but she didn't think he would go as far as to break his rules for her. After all, no matter how much he fancies her, he was still Death, and it was his job to deliver when the time came.
"Well, do you want to be?" Sam asked.
"Want to be what?" Anna asked, "Dead?"
"Yes," smiled Sam, "it's your choice; I can either heal you of your injuries and return you to life, or I can ferry you up to heaven where you can know true peace. I will give you the option you pick without question."
"I wasn't aware people get to choose when they die."
"Oh, they don't," shrugged Sam, "I'm letting you choose because I like you. No, because I love you." The sentence came out before he had a chance to stop it, making his eyes jerk wide with shock. Thinking about it in his heart was one thing, but actually hearing himself say it out loud was a whole different story.
"So, have you decided where you wish to go?"
"Is this a trick?" Anna looked suspicious. A cosmic entity like Death is giving her a choice?! There must be something he's not telling her. Also, he loves her?! She also knew there was something going on between them, but love? She wasn't entirely sure if she loved him back yet. It has only been a few days since her breakup with Jeremy...
"Do you really distrust me this much?" Sam a pang of pain in his heart as she said those words, but he buried that feeling away, "I promise you, once you make your decision, I will deliver accordingly. No tricks. No loopholes. No coaxing."
"Then I choose to return to life!" Anna quickly said as if she was worried that he would suddenly revoke his offer, "return back to life then!"
Sam smiled. "Of course I will, but-"
"You said no tricks!" snapped Anna, "but what?"
"But I was wondering if you would like to see the process."