Of Gods, Men and Destiny
By Kelly
A/N: A little something to whet your appetite for the upcoming chapter. I'm really sorry it's taking so long. Due to lack of privacy, I've been unable to type the next chapter at my leisure. I'll be able to do it after this 29th though so no worries. This goes for my Chosen One and Cardhunter as well.
"Well? What is it old man? I haven't got all day you know."
Enma stared rather benignly over the rim of his teacup. He ignored the blatant disrespect the young man showed to someone of his position and instead, gestured to the teapot.
"Won't you have a drink?" he asked politely.
Flickering, red-orange eyes gazed back silently for a minute before the man let out a giggle and finally picked up his own teacup.
"It's amazing, the lengths you go to, to appear. . .approachable to those rodents you love so much," pale, fleshless lips curled with disdain, the pink tongue lightly flicking the edge of the cool china. In direct contrast to Enma's own somewhat. . .human appearance, the visitor was anything but. It wasn't so much the eyes that literally burned like fire, it was also his hair. As long as Enma's, trailing over the tatami, but where Enma's was a river of gold, the man's was a river of molten fire. If one were to look closely, you could almost see tongues of flames licking the air.
Enma, Lord of the Dead, Judge and Ruler of the Afterlife, swallowed a sigh and tried to hide his misgivings about the whole meeting. He made no gesture but in a heartbeat, the tray of tea and cakes disappeared, leaving the intervening space between them clear. Today, the Hall of the Dead was empty of its attendants, long dismissed by Enma.
"Must you go on?" he asked instead in a quiet voice.
The dancing fiery eyes narrowed even as a humourless smile curved his lips. "You do have a knack of asking the stupidest questions don't you?"
"I can stop you. Put an end to this."
It seemed that the man was waiting for such a reply. The smile grew positively wider. "Ah, but that would be against your principles wouldn't it? To not interfere with a mortal's life. To let them find their own destiny. You know, all those endless. . . ." he paused to savour the words, staring intently at the majestic figure before him, "pointless. . .drivel."
It appeared that Enma flinched back. A very slight movement, one that would be missed if you weren't looking for it but the man was. He grinned.
"Why are you doing this? What is the point? There is nothing to be gained except death and destruction for the path that you have chosen!" No one, no mortal or god, would ever dream of hearing Enma Daioh beg. But he was begging now.
There was a shimmer of red light and in the place of the young man with burning hair, the spitting image of Enma came into being. From the embroidered robes down to the long golden hair, he was the mirror image of the god.
But where a sad, almost desperate look suffused the immortal face of Enma Daioh, his copycat still had the same wide smile on his face. A smile that hinted at amusement, a hint of irony, and more than a touch of madness.
"Because, my dear Lord, death and destruction is what I live for."
Long after his mysterious visitor had departed the Hall, the bright, twisted laughter still echoed gently.
. . . .to be continued. . .