NEITHER HEAVEN NOR HELL
Author's Note: No Internet is doing wonders for my creativity. I've got a LOT of stories coming down the pipe. In the meantime, I wanted to give you guys something while I'm at Starbucks :D
-nhnh-
Ryuk regarded Light with curiosity.
Curiosity and a whole hell of a lot of respect. Against all odds, Light had lived out his entire natural lifespan.
The "OG Three" (L, Mello, and Near), as Light morbidly referred to them, had died decades ago. Ryuk thought Kira had been merciful in executing them with heart attacks - or perhaps that was simply rose-colored glasses, made all the more rosier by Light's increasingly harsh reign in old age. The older he got, the less tolerant he became of dissent.
Last year he had ordered the latest detective assigned to find and kill him (arrests were no longer even a pretense) dissolved in piranha solution. The screams still sometimes echoed in Ryuk's ears. He wasn't a compassionate shinigami (few were), but a phrase from the human show Futurama came to mind that seemed to sum up Light well: "Wow! That was pretty brutal even by my standards."
"So, Ryuk." His tone was carefully guarded, as it normally was.
"Yes, Light?"
"My lifespan is coming to an end soon." Again his tone maintained its neutrality. Both knew this was coming, though Ryuk of course did not tell Light exactly when. Rules were rules, even among longtime companions.
"Indeed it is."
"I get that you can't tell me exactly when. I've accepted that my curiosity will never be sated, though I can take a good guess. But I must know one thing."
"Shoot."
"Neither heaven nor hell?"
Unexpectedly, Ryuk laughed. "Wow!"
"What's so surprising and funny?"
"How long it took you to ask! When I wrote that in there, I figured you'd press me on it."
"Why bother? It was not relevant to my ascent."
"Fair enough. So, you want to now know?"
"Yes, humor this old man."
Ryuk thought. "Well, I'll start by saying you're not the only Light Yagami."
"So, multiverse theory is right after all." Light thought. "And perhaps there are some Lights that have afterlives, but I am not one of them."
"You're still so smart, Light!" Ryuk was impressed despite himself. "A slight correction, though. You are the only Light that does not get to go to the afterlife. This timeline's my home turf."
Light's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
"It's simple, really. All sapients go to a place known as the Multiuniversal Afterlife…except for sapients in THIS universe. This is where shinigami first came from. We're always writing names down, so it'd be a pain to figure out the MU."
"Does the Death Note work in other realities?"
"It does. But only you don't get to go to the afterlife. Sorry, pal!"
Light sighed. "Can't say I'm happy about that, but I was expecting it. I have to ask, though. How accomplished am I compared to the other Death Note users?"
-nhnh-
And so before Light died he learned of countless Death Note users across all the multiverse. The Death God was the only one who had killed more with the Note itself, and Light found his dedication impressive, even if genocide was a step beyond his (some would say lax) standards.
It was an interesting note (heh) to end the soul of Light Yagami on before its eternal annihilation.
-nhnh-
The best writers are willing to break their own sacred rules, be it "show don't tell" for some or, in my case, "don't write more shit about Light and Ryuk" XD. I feel this tale is necessary for context.
Also: in A Passionate Intensity and The Rage of Tuchanka most of the billions killed die the old fashioned way; the Death God still has them beat for number killed via the Note. 190 years of frozen time will do that.
