The final part of my headcanon trilogy. Definitely my favorite part to write.
Lawrence was petrified. Who was this man, and why was no one else noticing him? Now that he thought about it, why wasn't anyone reacting to him still being alive? They all looked like they were still mourning for some reason.
The man smiled, but his smile faded as he realized that he wasn't going to get another response. He sighed before messing around with his tie.
"Well, you're a real talkative fellow aren't you? You know it's rude to ignore others." He chided Lawrence, but not in a condescending manner.
Lawrence composed himself before asking the number one question on his mind.
"Who are you?"
The man smile as at least now he could conversate.
"I'm glad you asked. I'm what some of you mortals have started calling "The Grim Reaper", but you can call me Death."
Lawrence was taken aback by the man's seemingly carefree attitude about such a morbid topic, although it did make sense if he was telling the truth.
"So does that mean I really died back there?"
"Yes. How else would your youth be restored and also be able to see me right now?"
"Is that why nobody else is noticing you?"
"Yes. No mortals or even pagan gods possess the ability to see me or souls like you. But it works the other way too, as I am not able to see the mortal world. You may be able to right now since you just died, but in a few minutes you too shed your earthly vision."
Lawrence looked at everyone in the room, and felt a deep sense of sadness that he would once again lose his ability to see his family. He had never been particularly religious, and had expected to die in those final moments, but here he was still existing. Actually now that he thought about it, there was a very pressing question to ask..
"Does this mean that the Church was right?"
"In a way. I need a little bit more to work with if you want a clearer answer."
"Is there a Heaven or a Hell? Oh shit, am I going to Hell?"
"No Lawrence, you are not going to Hell. There is a place for good people and bad people, but it's not as cut and dry as that. I'm not in a particular hurry to guide your soul, so would you like for me to explain it to you.
Lawrence thought about it for a second, but made his own request.
"If it's alright with you, can I just watch my family right now? I have not had a good look at them in quite a bit.
Death smiled.
"Alright."
They remained silent while Lawrence observed the mortal plane. True to the Reaper's word, Lawrence's sight began to disappear. It didn't darken, instead it got brighter until he seemed to be in a white room with only Death to provide company.
Lawrence shook his head, indicating that his sight was gone. The Reaper picked up where he left off.
"Well, there is a place for people who are moral, and its pretty similar to the general idea of Paradise. Morality is indeed subjective as cultures throughout the world have different ideas for it, but we generally categorize a "good" person as someone who displays empathy for others and is capable of being a positive influence on his environment, whether it be with nature, other humans, or even with the Earth itself. Those who don't fit this criteria do go to a different place, but not to the land of eternal punishment that is propagated by the Church. It's a place of rehabilitation rather than of torture. The length of time one stays in that place is contingent on how much of a negative influence his existence had."
Lawrence nodded as he prepared another question.
"You used the word "we" a few times. Are there others like you?"
"Well, I am the only version of Death. I can exist in multiple places, as there are several people who are dying right as we speak. In terms of other people, there are various figures in charge of the afterlife, including someone who fits your idea of God."
Lawrence's jaw dropped. This was a lot to take in.
"God was the first one in the universe and created everything, including me and you. However, he isn't all-knowing, as that would mean you could predict the future. Truth be told, no one can really predict the future, which is why things stay interesting. Watching humans encounter unique problems and find a way to deal with them in very entertaining. You are a perfect example of that.
"Really?"
"You might not have noticed it, but you are a very different man now compared to how you were in your younger years, Kraft Lawrence. You were a slave to greed, and only traveled in pursuit of money. You were headed straight towards rehabilitation, but then something incredible happened that we did not foresee. You met your wife, Holo."
"You have a lot to thank her for, you know. She indirectly and directly changed you in ways that made you into better mate for her, and a better person overall. She is quite remarkable."
Lawrence nodded in agreement. He was proud to hear her get praised by death itself. It was bittersweet though.
"It's true, I really should thank her. But, you have to die to come here right? I don't know if that's ever going to happen..."
"Well there is one way she could come here."
"If you're talking about suicide, don't bother. She wouldn't leave behind Myuri, and I would not want her to do that anyway!"
"That's not what I was thinking. I may be Death, but I'm not that pessimistic! I was thinking a more natural yet prolonged way that would happen smoothly."
Lawrence didn't follow what Death was saying. Death elaborated.
"The same way you died. Death by natural causes."
"That's impossible, she does not age. She said herself that she has lived for hundreds of years, and she didn't age a day in that time."
"Well it would have been very hard for someone to notice, but she did start aging recently."
"No way."
"It was after the birth of your daughter."
Lawrence was floored. His wife... aged?
"But...how? I didn't noti-"
And then it hit him. She had grown a bit taller. Lawrence jokingly said that she was taller than him because of aging, and that definitely played a role, but this... this made a lot of sense.
"Yes, it seems that you believe me now. The birth of your daughter and the strange circumstances around it are what led to your wife beginning the aging process."
"What strange circumstances? Sure she had issues here and there during her pregnancy, but everything was normal for the most part."
"Well Lawrence, you do not have immortal youth and she does."
"You don't have to remind me about that, you know..."
"I didn't say it to hurt your feelings, its the most important part. You see, your wife has something that most other living things don't. For the ease of explaining it, I'll call it youth essence."
"When two immortal creatures have a child, they both contribute youth essence. This leads to the child being born immortal, the parents staying immortal, and there is a net increase in the amount of youth essence in the family. But in your case, you did not have any youth essence to contribute, so Holo had to contribute hers alone. This added stress to the pregnancy led to a net loss in youth essence, meaning your wife is not 100% immortal anymore."
"Does this mean that Myuri is also not immortal?"
"Yes, both your wife and Myuri are not technically immortal. They will still far outlive humans, but they will eventually perish. And when they do, I will collect their souls and bring them to the afterlife, just like I am doing with you."
Lawrence's heart soared when he heard that.
"Does this mean that I will see them again one day?"
"Stay patient, Lawrence. It will be hundreds and hundreds of years until that happens. But yes, you will see them again one day. You just need to stay occupied until then."
Lawrence had never felt such joy. If he still had his human body, he may have had a heart attack from the sheer excitement he felt.
"I can see that you are eager to see them. Well, we better get going. We haven't moved from your bed you know.
Lawrence gave Death a bright smile.
"Alright, I think I'm ready to go now."
Holo rocked back and forth on her chair. She had a small child on her lap, and she ran her hands through its soft hair. The child did not have a tail, but it played with hers. The child looked right up at Holo and laughed. Holo smiled as she laughed with the girl.
The girl's name was Catherine. Although Catherine called Holo "Grandma", she was actually overstating their connection. Holo was several generations her ancestor, and had become the centerpiece to the family, along with Myuri. They had essentially become living family heirlooms, as they helped guide many generations through their lives.
It did not make much sense, though. Holo did not know why she aged. She had assumed that Myuri and her would live forever, but one day she had woken up and noticed that a wrinkle had begun to form on her face. She didn't know how to react, and immediately went to Myuri, who had noticed the same thing. They also noticed that with each generation of their family, their descendants seemed to live shorter lives. Myuri lived for hundreds of years, but she had also passed away a few years ago. Holo missed her greatly.
Holo looked out the window into a nearby street, as cars quickly raced down faster than any horse ever could. She remembered when Lawrence would take her on a wagon trip across countries as they traveled on dirt roads, and wondered what he would think of these machines. She smiled.
She did not know the exact year or how long it had been since Lawrence died, but much had happened in the world. The Church had severe internal problems and its followers now followed different branches of the same religion. Holo had never believed in a higher power, so she did not find too much interest in this. Smaller countries had coalesced into larger one, and the world map seemed to drastically change every few years. Currently, she was living in the United States, as one of her descendants wanted to start a business and acquire land. Well, that definitely ran in the family...
I wonder how much time I have left... To be honest, I'm not really worried about death. I've lived longer than anyone I know, and it's actually quite a relief. At least now, I can rest easily. It's kind of embarrassing having to rely on someone else for things she would have been able to do with ease in the past. This must be what humans feel like. I actually liked helping Lawrence, but this really bites! I am Holo, the wise wolf of Yoitsu...
Holo kept petting the child's head, and the chair continued to rock. Slowly, the chair began to lose momentum, as the number of sleeping occupants increased to two. One of them would soon reawaken, but the other had unknowingly exited the land of the living.
Holo would soon be discovered by the child's parents, who walked in on the two of them in a position they had seen several times before. But when the child rose and Holo did not, they knew what happened. She would be remembered by her descendants, who would pass on stories of their almost immortal ancestor.
Holo opened her eyes, and found herself in a completely white room. She stood up and walked around the seemingly endless void. She noticed that her muscles had been strengthened, as she was able to break out into a swift run.
"There's no need for that, you know."
Holo skid to a halt and looked at the direction that the noise came from. The voice's owner was a tall pale man wearing a suit and tie. What sick game was he playing.
"You will tell me where I am."
"I was going to break it to you more easily, but since you asked so bluntly: This is purgatory. You died. I am the one who will take you to the Other World."
"Rubbish."
"Excuse me?"
"You expect me to believe that I'm dead? Then why do I still have my body?"
"I think the better question is how did you regain your youth?"
Holo stopped and thought about it, but it did not ease her suspicions.
"For all I know, that could just be part of my biology! How would you know if I didn't just regain my youth with my godly powers?"
"You know, you are really difficult for someone who calls themselves "the Wise Wolf"."
Holo did not respond as she was secretly wondering if the man was telling the truth.
"Well, I don't know how else to convince you, so it's best that I just show you."
"Show me what?"
"The place where you will go."
Suddenly, the room changed into what looked like a reception area. A pale woman with similar features as the man was sitting at a desk writing something down on a piece of paper. There was a fairly long line, and Holo noticed that more people were appearing behind her out of seemingly nowhere. The most startling thing was that every single person had the man standing next to them. What sorcery is this? How did this man duplicate himself...
"Surprised?"
Holo looked to her left, and the man was staring down at her.
"What the hell is going on here? Who are you?"
"This is the check-in station. All souls must report here in order to be granted access to their next location. It takes a while, as that lady is the only one in charge. So, we have time to talk. As for me, you can call me Death."
Holo's brain was overloading, this was way too much to take in. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her thumbs.
"Water?"
Holo looked up and the man had conjured a glass of water out of thin air. Ok, now this magic show is just getting silly.
Holo asked the man every single question, in the hopes that He would slip up and reveal that this was all just a big joke. But that moment never came. He answered all of her questions related to the afterlife, the origins of life, and even deep philosophical questions that Holo had pondered about for years. Holo hung her head as she resigned herself to defeat. It seemed she really was dead.
"Next?"
Holo hadn't noticed, but the line had advanced in the time that she had been talking, and somehow her position had moved without her noticing. Before she could say anything, Death began to speak for her.
"This is Holo, the last wolf spirit."
"Oh really? Well, it's nice to meet you Holo! Going to be honest, I did not think you would ever make it here, but after your daughter came through, I guess it was a matter of time."
"My daughter you say? Where is she?"
"You'll get a chance to see her soon enough. We just need to fill out your paperwork..."
The woman filled out a sheet and then filed it away before ushering Death to continue. Suddenly, Holo was transported into another room, but this room was different. It felt less like a void and more like an actual interior of a place, and it was fairly dark. There were large wooden double doors, and they looked better than any work a craftsmen could have done.
"Well, it looks like our time is up."
"Wait, what am I supposed to do now?"
Death smiled before putting a hand on her shoulder.
"That door is what will lead you to the afterlife. I will not be able to accompany you, but you should be able to find what you are looking for on the other side. It was nice to meet you, Holo."
Death then placed his arm on his chest as he bowed, before turning around and walking away. His figure began to fade until he was no longer visible.
Holo turned back towards the door, and walked up to it. Her senses could not feel anything on the other side, which made her very uneasy. She gathered up the courage to open the door, and pushed the doors open slowly.
A bright light blinded her, and she felt as though all of her senses began to pick up signals again. She rubbed her eyes as she realized that she was now standing in a field of wheat. The sky was blue and the sun beamed down at her. There was a gentle wind, and she could smell animals nearby. This felt very... natural.
"So you've finally arrived!"
Holo shuddered as she heard that voice. She quickly turned and looked at Lawrence. He looked just as she had remembered, with the familiar clothing and everything.
"Well, are you just gonna stand there with your mouth open. Don't tell me that you didn't want to see me?" Lawrence said as he pretended to be hurt, while looking away in a mocking fashion. As he was turning back to look at her, he felt himself be pushed into the ground as Holo tackled him. She was on top of him and had her face buried in his coat. He smiled as he patted her head. They did not say anything as there was no need, and remained in this position with each other.
"Come on Holo, there's some things I want to show you."
Holo lifted her head up, and looked into Lawrence's eyes. She had missed this.
"There's so much I have to show you. So we are going to be quite busy here."
"Well that's good. The last thing I would want is to be bored for eternity."
"That's the spirit!"
Lawrence got up and held Holo's hand as she stood. They walked together as Lawrence led Holo through a patch of trees. As they made it to the other side, Holo saw something that overwhelmed her with nostalgia.
It was their old horse-drawn carriage. There looked to be cargo in the back, and as she looked she realized that it was an assortment of foods that she enjoyed. She salivated silently before jumping into the seat. Lawrence joined her, as they began to make up for lost time. It felt like a dream, and she did not want to wake up. Afterwards, Lawrence took the reins and the carriage began to move. Holo sat next to him with her head on his shoulder with a smile on her face, and Lawrence returned the gesture. Holo's tail wagged before wrapping around Lawrence. Their journey with each other had picked up where it had left off, and their imagination was the only limit for its future...
End.
