XXIV

NICO

(The day Naomi Solace died)

Nico materialized in the underworld. Seconds after, Bianca also appeared beside him.

"Have you lost your mind?" Bianca shouted at Nico as he trudged towards the small valley surrounded by walls, a gated community also known as Elysium.

"I need to see Naomi. She's in the Elysium right?" Nico continued to walk faster.

Bianca yanked Nico's arm so he was forced to face her. "I'm certain. You've really lost your mind. Because you've already lost it, you must have forgotten that you can't go in there!"

"So what?" Nico yanked his arm back. He was going to walk again when Bianca pushed him.

"So what?!" Bianca shouted. "How many rules do you intend to break? Who are you? What have you done to my Nico? What that jerk doctor did to you!"

"Even if I tell you what he did to me, you'll never understand it," Nico said quietly. "Besides, he's not the one who's a jerk here. It's me."

"Nico!"

"Will saved your ass so shut it, Bianca."

Nico left Bianca rooted to the spot.

"You are not allowed here." The black ghoul said who was guarding the big golden gate to Elysium. The other black ghoul pointed a sword at Nico, near his throat.

In one swift movement, Nico parried the sword away from him with his Stygian sword that had appeared in thin air.

"You will let me in or you will regret refusing me," Nico said. His voice was dangerously quiet, more of a warning of what was to come. Then, waves of black aura appeared, coiling around Nico.

"Back away. This is my last warning." Nico continued.

One of the black ghouls made a mistake and attacked Nico. In a swish, the darkness around Nico zapped out the ghoul. The ghoul disintegrated.

"Do you want to follow him?" Nico asked. His eyes turned onyx black. The ground around him started to tremble. The black aura that coiled around him was getting bigger. As if there was a big black hole that had appeared in the space behind him, ready to suck in anyone who dared to take a step towards him.

The ghoul made a wise decision to step back. The ghoul spoke as Nico started to walk. "You are the one who's going to regret this."

Nico paused just in front of the ghoul. He was looking at the gate. "Don't you know? Regret and Guilt are my best friends."

The golden gate of Elysium opened and Nico headed inside.

Elysium was truly a paradise, a utopia where everything was in harmony. Thousands of souls scattered around laughing and glowing. Souls nearby Nico paused when they had seen him. He hadn't realized that he was still surrounded by a black aura. The ground started to tremble again. He was so out of place with the darkness he carried with him in contrast to the light that the Elysium emitted. Nearby souls ran away in fear. Then, one by one all of them started to back away as far away from him as possible.

Nico closed his eyes and breathed. Although, his breath was ragged. He needed to calm down or else he might blow off the entire Elysium. He could feel it, the power radiating around him. Anger, pain, guilt, and regret were powerful tools to create a bomb that could incinerate everything in his radius. But how could he calmed down when he felt like he was going to crack any time soon? He started to get scared of the power he might unleash accidentally. Who knew that feelings could be a weapon of mass destruction? He understood now why death angels shouldn't have any human feelings. It was a dangerous thing when you had been given a second chance to roam around the living carrying a bomb in your heart. Desperate that he was, he started to think of blue eyes and blond, even if it was painful.

Slowly, his breathing became steady; the shaking of his body subsided. Nico opened his eyes. Souls were watching him warily from the distance.

"I-I need help" He croaked. "I need to find a soul named Naomi Solace."

The souls just stood there in silence. One soul to find among the thousands of souls. Nico needed a good luck charm. This could take a while.

"Naomi!" Nico lost count how many times he had shouted Naomi's name. If he had been a mortal, his voice would probably be gone by now. He had lost count of how many souls he had asked for Naomi, and he had lost count of how many times he was directed to a wrong Naomi. With growing failures and disappointment of finding her, he was starting to give up.

Nico paused. He bent over as he put his hands on his knees. No. You can't. He reminded himself. He needed to find her no matter what. Naomi was the only one who could help him. There were things he needed to tell her.

"Boy. . ."

Nico looked up. In front of him was an old man shimmering in white. Nico straightened up.

"I heard that you were looking for a woman named Naomi." The soul said.

"Yeah... "

"And she's a new soul?" The soul inquired again.

"Yes. . ."

"Who was also a country alt singer, you say?"

Nico nodded.

"Well, there's a woman who was singing in Elm Street so probably. . ."

"And where's this Elm street?"

"Just straight ahead."

"Thank you," Nico said and ran. Even if he was dubious and this could be a wrong Naomi again, he couldn't stop trying. He couldn't.

He halted when he had seen a gathered crowd of souls on a big tree from a distance. Instead of leaves, emerald stones were hanging on a tree making it glimmered, similar to all the trees and flowers in the Elysium that were made of precious stones.

Then the singing voice echoed. His eyes widened. Even though he never heard Naomi sang, he couldn't be mistaken about the voice. He ran towards the voice. When he had reached the crowd, he pushed through the souls.

"Excuse me," Nico said. The souls graciously parted.

And finally, he saw Naomi. Singing her heart out, eyes closed. Naomi's voice was so captivating that he momentarily forgot why he was there in the first place. Naomi's eyes opened and landed exactly on Nico. The song abruptly stopped as Naomi's eyes widened in recognition.

"N-Nico!"

"I knew it!" Naomi was smiling. "The first time I met you, I knew that there's already something special about you. Will certainly knew how to pick."

They were sitting under the same tree. The gathered crowd has been dispersed so Nico and Naomi had found some privacy. At the mention of Will's name, Nico's dead heart constricted.

"But, why are you here?" Naomi asked tilting her head to Nico

"I am so sorry!" Nico's face contorted. Then something wet and unfamiliar slid down from his cheeks. He froze. He gingerly touched his cheek and looked down at his fingers.

Tears.

Tears that mortal shed when they were extremely happy or sad or if words couldn't be uttered out loud. Tears could speak volumes. Nico clenched his hand and closed his eyes.

"You could have live. Will could have saved you! B-but because of me... Because I was there... I am so sorry. It was my fault!" Nico choked back a sob. "And now Will was miserable because of me and I couldn't stand the fact that it was because of me. I took you away from him. I am sorry Naomi."

"N-Nico!" Naomi gripped both of his forearms. "Look at me."

Nico opened his eyes to look at Naomi. Naomi was gazing softly at him, like how a mother would look at his child. Naomi released him.

"Listen, hon. My death was never your fault and never will be your fault. Even if you are someone so extraordinary, you can't stop the natural flow of the universe. People die, animals die, even the stars die too. There's nothing you could do about it. Dying is the finish line of everyone out there."

"B-but Will, he can save you, he has this power-"

"Ah." Naomi nodded in understanding. "When he was a child he did something amazing to our pet dog, he suddenly glowed and healed our pet. It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" Naomi elbowed Nico playfully. "Will is beautiful when he glows like that. Is that how you fall in love with my son?"

Nico was stunned to silence.

"Mothers always know everything, mostly," Naomi continued. "I know that Will could do extraordinary things when he glows. But Will isn't a god and death is a constant thing. Once constant, it is permanent. Therefore cannot be removed nor change. No matter how much Will prolong the life of a person, they still die in the end. Just like me and I've already accepted that long before."

"Then please tell me it's okay" Nico bowed, hands clenched into a fist. "Please tell me it's all right. Because the guilt is too heavy that I can't bear it. It hurts so much. I've kept on thinking that things might have been different if I didn't meet Will at all, and you're still going to be there alive. . ."

"Yes, Nico. Things would have been different. Because if you didn't meet Will at all, he wouldn't be that happy, you make my son the happiest."

Nico's head whipped up. Naomi wiped the tears out of Nico's cheek and smiled warmly.

"I saw it," Naomi explained. "The day you went to the house. I saw how Will's eyes sparkle when he looked at you, how his smile and laugh were brighter when he was with you."

"I-I . . . ."

"Now, stop blaming yourself from the things that had been done. It's no use anymore. Live in the present now and for the future. Just go back to Will and can you tell him that I'm already happy here and here's nothing to be sad about because I'm already at the paradise. Please take care of my Will. Nico huh?"

"B-but I did something terrible . . ."

"It's not yet too late." Naomi hummed.

"Do you know how different our world is? I couldn't even give him a normal date. And I'm just a hindrance to his power."

"It's not a hindrance Nico, it was what you call, sacrifice. You sacrifice some things for the people you love. You're also willing to sacrifice for Will, aren't you?"

Nico slowly nodded.

"So is Will, you are not the only one who can sacrifice things for the sake of the people you love. It's a mutual thing and that is love. And that's all that matters, love."