Ending 1: Fury
Suzume had hoped that this moment wouldn't come to pass.
It could have happened in so many other ways. Soma could have been killed before she got here. Marcus could have located Soma and saved him while she fought off the vampire hordes. If Death had realized the importance of her assistance, he could have even decided to show mercy at the critical time.
No such luck. The situation had worked out exactly as Death had anticipated when he had formed the pact with her in the first place. Sometimes she wondered if he had a foresight for these things. It could be argued, she decided.
The cardinal had been defeated, and it still hadn't been enough to prevent this outcome. Soma was still manacled to the wall, and Death was still moving in for the kill.
Marcus continued to protest as he attempted to stand up. "Suzume! I mean it! We have to stop him! If we don't, Dracula..."
And if I do, she thought, Death...
She couldn't wait any longer. She lifted the staff in her hand, pointed it at Death, and used it to channel a quick blast of holy magic at his back.
The spell struck true. While it was not nearly enough to do him any serious harm, he had been distracted from his intent. He turned to face her slowly and addressed her in a surprised and angry tone. "What are you doing?"
"This isn't right", she responded calmly. "We've stopped the cardinal. His plan has failed. Everything will soon be back to normal." She put on a pleading expression. "It's over. No one else has to die. Especially not Soma."
Death did not show any facial expression. "His flagrant abuse of the power of Dracula has been deemed sufficient to justify his demise. It is my duty to end his life."
"That's crap!" Marcus yelled. "You're just doing this to bring Dracula back!"
"Reminding me that I have two duties to kill him is not going to prolong his life." He continued to eye Suzume. "I admit that your recent actions have done me, and the universe as a whole, a great service. In light of this, I am willing to overlook your interruption and not use it as justification to nullify the pact and claim your soul at this very moment." He took a step forward. "But if you wish for me to show you such leniency, you will stand down and allow me to..."
Without a word, she fired another blast from her staff at him. He blocked it easily.
"No", she said as she glared at him. "You are not going to kill him. Not now. Not ever." She raised her voice and her staff at the same time. "I challenge you. I will fight you to determine who has the right to his soul, here and now."
Death tilted his head slightly. "I do not accept such challenges. I have never done so. If you truly believe that, I must wonder what other false rumors the church has spread about me." He glanced at Marcus briefly. "I was under the impression that you had tutored her."
Marcus looked at him defiantly. "You could always try new things."
"That is a ludicrous proposition." He looked at Suzume again. "It is clear to me now that you have no intent of fulfilling your end of the pact. Consider it nullified. Your soul is mine."
And, as Death raised a bony hand toward her, Suzume felt a jumping sensation in her chest, akin to nausea. A few moments later, it passed. She looked at herself, feeling just as corporeal as before, and then looked up at Death again.
It was unfortunate that his skull could not effectively express surprise. His voice did a good enough job expressing it for him. "Why? Why am I unable to claim it? What have you done to your soul?"
Suzume landed gently on the floor of the room, face down. Before she could react, her body was forcibly turned over, and she found herself staring directly into the bewitched eyes of Marcus. His mouth was open, and blood dripped from his fangs. Her blood. She would not be able to forget that visual for a long time.
He continued to drain her. When he finished, she would become a vampire, like the others. The cardinal thought that this would make her obedient to him. He hadn't considered that she might not be as manipulable as the others.
Marcus had not possessed that kind of resistance. She couldn't hate him for succumbing to the cardinal's will. Despite everything he had told her, she believed him when he said that he didn't serve the master.
Still, he had been a vampire before. And even before the cardinal intervened, he had expressed a desire to drink her blood.
Back in the eastern tower, with the female vampire. He had undergone the same process, after all. Because Death owned his soul, even though he carried it, and he had wanted his freedom, and he had known that these vampires possessed the same abilities as Dracula...
...and if she was becoming a vampire... she would have access to them as well... including...
"...the power of dominance."
"My soul is mine", she said confidently to Death. "I will not allow you to claim it."
"I had judged you to be above such dishonesty. My instincts were mistaken. I suppose I should have realized that you would take after your mentor." A brief pause, and his voice grew darker. "When Dracula returns, you will be among the first to suffer! Soma dies! Now!"
As he turned to prepare his next slice, he was blasted yet again.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Suzume pointed her staff at him threateningly.
Without hesitation, he spun around, scythe at the ready. "You have insisted upon being a threat to my existence. Thus, I invoke my right to end your life myself! Your soul shall become mine by force!" And he floated with a considerable amount of speed directly at her, scythe prepared to slice. Four small sickles, drifting through the air at his command, accompanied him.
She shouted quickly. "Marcus! Purify the cardinal and save Soma!" Without a word of complaint, he nodded.
This was it. She was fighting Death. Such battles were standard for those who would oppose Dracula. She had heard the stories.
She frowned at this. She had always heard the stories. Every once in a while, she thought, it would have been nice to have actually witnessed some of the stuff she was going to do in her life before she ended up doing it.
The first lesson she learned, almost immediately, was that it was a bad idea to try to block his scythe. Her staff was knocked out of her hands and rolled to the outer wall. Thinking fast, she drew her spear. It was time to see if her training would finally pay off.
Specifically, training that she had received from Death and his most loyal minions. Anything she had learned, he would already know. And she hadn't learned anything else. She hadn't even used this type of weapon before today. This was bad.
She swung the spear a few times to knock the sickles out of the air, and then heaved the spear at Death. It bounced off his armor harmlessly. Hopefully, she thought, she could make it to the staff in time.
"A magical offense?" She could tell that Death was gaining on her. "You are no threat."
"Is that what you think?" she shouted in reply. "My family has never lost to Death before!"
"I have fallen in battle against Trevor Belmont, Reinhardt Schneider and Soma Cruz. Your ancestors accompanied them." A pause for emphasis. "Your family has never fought me before."
She grabbed her staff and turned. "Guess I'll be starting a new trend, then."
"You have no experience. You have little strategy. Challenging me was a waste of my time and your life."
"Yeah?" she yelled at him. "Well, I've got something the others didn't! I know what makes you tick!"
Death stopped suddenly. He stared at her, only briefly glancing at the others behind him. Marcus had moved from the cardinal to Soma's position. She prepared to warn them in case the reaper made a sudden attempt on Soma's life again.
"...that knowledge must die with you! You will not leave here alive!"
And, in a flash of rage, he dashed at her again. This time, he overdid his scythe swing, and she was quick to counterattack. Judging by his reaction, the staff seemed to have affected him more than usual, which she attributed to his carelessness. Now that he was visibly angry, he was making mistakes.
Backing off slightly, she tried to cast lightning at him. This did not seem to affect him greatly. Very well, she decided. She would continue to wallop him with her staff.
The sickles had returned, and they were giving her problems. While she was getting very good at dodging scythe slashes, she was receiving noticeable smaller cuts. Still, she kept striking as best as she could, and Death was starting to look noticeably weaker. That's how she had always fought with this staff, she realized. Once she landed the early hits, the rest was momentum.
And that's when a sickle caught her directly in the arm. She winced in pain and fell back slightly. Death prepared his scythe again, ready to press this advantage...
"Done!"
Suzume looked. Marcus was smiling in her direction. On closer inspection, she noticed, he didn't have fangs anymore. Soma stood just behind him, finally free of his chains. Near them, the cardinal was still unconscious.
She kept her eye on Death as she moved in that direction. "What's done?"
"Dracula's power. Completely removed from the cardinal. Returned to Soma. And sealed away again."
"Really?" She boggled slightly. That was faster than she had expec...
"What?" Death turned his attention toward the three men immediately and dashed past her. As she turned to follow his motion, she saw him holding his scythe in Soma's direction. And he was... doing nothing.
"You... you are beyond my reach..."
"Uninjured", Marcus said as he smiled. "Not a threat to you. No longer affecting the universe. He's safe."
"Dracula ordered me to..."
"He's not here", Soma replied simply.
"Gaibon and Slogra..."
"They listen to me now", Suzume said from behind him.
"I will not..."
"Get it through your thick skull already!" Marcus was shouting at him. "Dracula's not coming back! You no longer have the ability to bring him back! Just give up!"
Death stared at him coldly for several seconds. Then, without another word, the scythe fell from his hands to the floor. From Marcus's perspective, it was becoming clear that Death's body was slowly disintegrating. Perhaps Suzume's offense had been sufficiently effective to weaken it, or Death may have realized that he no longer needed to remain there...
And then he turned to face Suzume.
She had distracted him.
She had kept him from killing Soma. She had faced him in battle. She had pressed the advantage. Soma was beyond his grasp as a result of her actions.
His lord would not return. His duty was not fulfilled. His duty had not been fulfilled for many years. He had sworn to assist Dracula. He was still sealed. He would not be returning in a century. If he could not act, he would never see him again. He had failed in his job.
He had failed in his other job as well. The cardinal had been stealing his souls. He had attempted to usurp the position of the dark lord. He had attempted to duplicate the position. He had attempted to distribute it to every willing mortal. He had brought Death to his knees and directly commanded him against his will. And his command was to not kill. He had been told to refrain from performing the very duty that he existed to perform. The cardinal had no right to oppose that duty. And the cardinal had outsmarted him repeatedly to reach that point.
Everyone had outsmarted him. All he had tried to do was perform his duties, and the mortals had gone out of their way to stop him. It was not limited to his enemies. Every single ally he had obtained during his mission had abandoned him. He was alone. He had no master. He had no minions. He had no friends. He was not even in the castle that his lord called his home. He was surrounded by nothing but mortals. Mortals that opposed him at every turn. Mortals that feared and loathed him. Mortals that had subjected him to their every whim, despite the fact that he came into the world solely to be superior to them, and to inflict the will of a higher power on them. Against the power of death, they were intended to be powerless. No hope. No escape. No chance of compromise.
He had compromised. That was why he was in this situation. He had been powerless to stop a mortal, and so he sought the help of another mortal, and that mortal had betrayed him, and only saved his own skin by offering the services of a more practical mortal. A Belnades. She would have been able to help him. And she did. And he had helped her. And he had made every compromise possible for her to finally put her trust in him. He had brought her back to life, given her back her soul, instructed her in the ways of battle, risked giving away his position simply to keep her safe, led her through unfamiliar territory, spared the life of one of her friends, motivated her when she was close to giving up, entrusted her with his closest allies, and put his faith in her abilities. He had tolerated her imperfections, aided her in realizing her strengths, and he had never spoken a lie to her. To gain her trust, he had held himself to a higher standard, told her everything that she needed to know, some things she didn't need to know, and even things that she would have been otherwise forbidden to know. Because he believed in her, and he thought that she would help him.
He had requested one service in return from her. And when she refused to do that, he had been polite enough to allow her to merely remain passive during the encounter.
And, when the time came, she had not even given him that.
She had taken everything from him, leaving him with nothing, and she refused to give him anything in return...
"YOU BITCH!"
The voice was unlike any spoken in the existence of the universe so far. If a mortal could look past its supernatural source, its loud volume, its emphasis, the amount of unbridled fury behind it, and even the profanity, there would still be a dark essence there that chilled to the bone. To Suzume, it had an unspoken yet understood meaning. The very essence of the end of life had a heartfelt wish for her to die. For her to be subjected to the worst punishments available within the afterlife. To cease to exist anywhere in the universe. To be so removed from his presence that a vacuum was left by her absence. Simultaneously.
"I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOUR CONTINUED LIFE! I WILL NOT REST UNTIL YOU ARE GONE FROM THE WORLD OF THE LIVING! YOU PROMISED YOUR SOUL TO ME, BELNADES! IT IS MINE! YOU ARE MINE!"
Despite her feelings of utter terror, she slowly raised her staff at him. "Then try to take it!"
"YOU CANNOT FIGHT FATE! EVERYTHING THAT HAS COME BEFORE IS IN MY POSSESSION! EVERYTHING THAT SURROUNDS YOU WILL FOLLOW! I AM DEATH! EXISTENCE ITSELF HAS BEEN PROMISED TO ME! I AM COLLECTING!"
"...he's gone insane", Soma whispered to Marcus.
The scythe flew into his hand again. "RELINQUISH YOUR SOUL NOW!" And he threw it directly at her. It made a solid arc, covering most of the distance of the room easily. She jumped out of the way...
...as it lost altitude and came to a sliding stop a foot away from her.
She looked up at him. "That's it?" With some hesitation, she bent down and prodded the scythe with her staff, making sure that it would not suddenly rise to strike her. It didn't react. She considered picking it up...
Without warning, Death came rushing at her, arms outstretched yet unarmed. It was faster than she expected. As a reflex, she quickly snatched up the scythe and held it up in time to see Death collide with its sharpened edge right in front of her eyes.
Not even his body could resist the sharpness of the blade. As she stared, his body split in two and traveled past her on each side, until one of his ribs caught her in the chest and she was knocked backward into the wall. Her head collided with the wall painfully, and she lost consciousness.
A field of pure black surrounded Suzume. She tried to reach out and feel around, but there was nothing within reach. Odder yet, her arm was completely monochrome. It was as if the color itself had been drained from her body.
You are mine.
She turned to see what appeared to be Death. He was no longer wearing his robe or armor, meaning that his form was that of a skeletal torso with long arms and his usual skull. The lack of color didn't affect his appearance significantly.
"Where are we? What have you done to me?"
You are in a coma.
She paused to think about this. "Better than the alternative. You were trying to kill me!"
You deserve it.
"So what does this mean? I'm still alive?"
Not for long. You will not awaken.
"...so you killed me after all." She looked at him. "I guess you're here to watch it happen?"
I have no choice. You possess my soul.
Suzume looked at him in confusion. When he failed to elaborate, she instead tried to remember what had just happened. He had shrieked at her, and he threw his scythe at her, and she had picked it up... just in the nick of time.
"...so... I killed you?"
You destroyed my body. We have discussed this.
"Oh. Right." Another pause. "Guess this sucks for you, huh?"
The form of Death drew closer. My actions were deliberate.
Her eyes widened. "You wanted me to use your scythe against you? Why?"
You own my soul. Your body is dying. Once it is dead, I will claim your soul.
"...guess I can't help that, can I?" She pondered briefly. "That's not much of a payoff for you."
All that will be left is your body and my soul. And then I shall wake up.
As soon as she realized what this meant, her face went pale. In black and white, it was hard to tell. "...you... you want my body..."
Correct.
"Why? What's wrong with the old one?"
In my hands, my scythe was a tool of death, sworn to bring a swift end to those whose circumstances called for it. In your hands, it is a weapon of death, prepared to destroy whatever I see fit.
He had ranted, she recalled. He is Death. Existence itself is promised to him. He will collect.
"You intend to claim the souls of everything?"
They are mine. I am merely accelerating the process.
"Everyone will die!"
I know that better than anyone. It is a fact of life.
She was becoming frantic. "That's not what I meant! Things aren't supposed to die yet!"
For once in my existence, I intend to make the decision for myself.
"But you aren't supposed to kill things randomly! They gave you a bunch of rules so you can't! You shouldn't just sidestep them like this!"
He moved closer still. You did.
She went silent.
Humanity deserves this fate. His voice was becoming depressed. This opinion has nothing to do with the will of Dracula. The fact is that humanity is imperfect. I have never demanded perfection. Indeed, death itself is often evidence of an inherent defect. I even find some human qualities interesting and noteworthy. I earlier mentioned your sense of free will and ability to function without rules for every action.
His voice became angry. But it does not compensate for its major flaw. I cannot accept a population that is capable of creating rules to govern itself and then ignoring them.
He moved directly in front of her. She had to tilt her head up to look at his head. What is the point of forming a pact if there is no obligation to fulfill your terms?
"...so I'm to blame for this?" She was starting to regret her actions.
I offered you life. I offered you my assistance. And I continued to give you whatever I could as long as it was apparent that you needed it. Your only terms were to assist me directly and to allow me to kill Soma.
"I couldn't let you kill him! Not when Dracula..."
Then you should not have agreed to the pact.
"You would have let me die!"
You were already dead.
Suzume tried to recall her thought processes at the time. She had just learned that he was not a man by the name of Gregor. As far as she knew, the vampires desired to create death rather than abolish it, and that Marcus had come along to save her in her hour of need. Most importantly, she had believed that making the pact was the only way Soma would have had a chance to survive to that point in the first place...
"How exactly do you intend to 'wake up' after I'm dead, anyway?"
I can claim the souls of the dying. It is my understanding that your magic will allow me to save myself from dying completely.
"But this is a coma, right? You can't just wake up when you want!"
I can. This coma is self-induced.
Her eyes brightened. "So I can wake up, too?"
No, you cannot. I will not let you rise.
She was his hostage, Suzume realized. Her first idea was to panic at the situation. Her second idea was that, if Death was responsible for her situation, it was possible to get herself out of it.
She tried her best authoritative voice. "This is my soul. You have no business here."
It is your soul. I am unable to claim it. This is why you have claimed my soul instead. And doing so ensured that I have no other possible business.
"Well, then, it's my soul, and I say that I have a right to wake up!"
This decision may be made by my soul as well, and my soul is considerably more powerful than yours.
It worked the last few times, she thought. "My soul is that of a Belnades. Evil will not be allowed to corrupt it. You cannot possibly defend against it."
Death tilted his skull slightly at these words. Then he looked at her evenly and continued.
My soul is not evil. It has never been evil. If it is your argument that my body was evil, I will remind you that it was formed from the magic of the dark lord. My soul, and my existence as a whole, has always been divine in nature. A pause. You seem to have forgotten that my soul is also eternal and omnipresent and capable of claiming other souls. Your soul is indeed strong and holy, but it is nothing in comparison.
And to provide evidence of this, he moved closer still. And closer. Much closer. Suzume began to realize that, in a featureless void like the one that surrounded her and her... soul mate, there was nothing present to serve as a reference for scale. Death continued to loom closer to her, his form growing larger and larger. Eventually he reached out a single bony hand and grasped her, and she came to the realization that her soul, in comparison to his, was only the length of his pointer finger.
He held her tightly in one fist and raised her to the level of his skull. You are incapable of affecting my soul. His jaw opened slightly. If you consider my inability to claim Soma, perhaps we are even.
She grumbled loudly. "So I'm completely helpless, then? What am I supposed to do now? When am I going to die?"
I expect it to take several days.
"Well, great. I'm a victim of the most boring evil plan ever."
You do not know me very well. I have waited for decades at a time to fulfill my goals.
"Look, maybe there's something I can do to change your mind?"
No. I know better than to form another pact with you.
Suzume leaned back as much as she could manage and groaned. This was sounding less like an attempt to create havoc and more like an attempt to guilt trip her.
These events appeared far different from the perspective of Marcus and Soma. As the vampires were gone or turned back to normal and Death's body had been destroyed, they concluded that their mission was over.
There were concerns, of course. Ever since Suzume had landed the final blow, she had yet to awaken. And while the cardinal had awakened, he was in great pain. Marcus came to the uncomfortable realization that he had in fact been dying when he had sent for Soma.
The next step was to seek medical help for the two. Even in his uncomfortable state, the cardinal remembered the location of a nearby village that offered a hospital, so the group decided to head there via car. The planning process never brought up the fact that the cardinal was directly responsible for the destruction of a village that would have been closer.
"Do you think Suzume will feel better soon?" Soma asked.
"I don't think she's eaten since last morning", Marcus considered. "We should do something about that."
After a while, Suzume began to realize just what it meant for her to have claimed Death's soul. Despite the apparent effectiveness of his scheme, its execution was not going to be particularly enjoyable for either of them. He would merely wait for her to die, and until she did, she was confined to this space with nothing but him as company. For days.
Death seemed calmer than before. She decided to try using reason.
"Are you really going to slaughter humanity?"
Death turned his head to look at her. I will have the option to do so.
"That's true", she admitted. "All of us have that option. Most of us don't do it."
I am aware of this. He paused briefly. It is quite likely that I will limit my activities to a less drastic level. Perhaps my reaping will be organized in a manner that will allow the remainder of humanity to reconsider their actions and redeem themselves.
"They're not too bad", she pointed out. "You don't really hate them that much, do you?"
Sometimes I hate them. During such times, I often placate myself with the knowledge that they will die and I will have an opportunity to take out my frustrations on them. And explain why.
"That's probably for the best. Anyway, it's better than getting as angry as you were..."
I am still angry. I have a very good memory. I do not forget offenses easily. But it is considerably harder to remain irrational as time passes.
"Irrational?"
You hurt me. I want you to understand just how much you hurt me. If it is necessary for you to suffer and die to understand, then you deserve it.
Suzume looked at him with a frightened expression. "Don't you think you're going a little far? I mean, you didn't pull this crap on Marcus!"
You are worse than him.
She frowned. "You really think so?"
He too broke his word. He made a show of making up for his error by requesting your presence, and then used you against me as well. You are correct. He infuriates me, and I wish that I could have killed him when I had the chance. He paused and shook his head. But in the end, all he took from me was his soul.
He never went so far as to earn my trust before he shattered it. When he told me that he disliked me, I had less reason to change his mind.
He is easy to hate. I never wanted to hate you.
"Her condition is stable. To be frank, she could wake up any minute now."
Marcus looked at the doctor. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely, Mr. Williams. She is in good physical shape. A bit on the malnourished side, but we've set up the equipment, so she'll be getting the nutrients and fluids she needs."
"And what about the cardinal?"
"He won't make it." The doctor shook his head slowly. "Between his illness and injuries, it's amazing he's still alive at this moment. I mean, we can't even seem to find his pulse any more."
Suzume had no means of tracking the time. She had been in Death's trap for what felt like hours, and she was not enjoying it. She hadn't even spoken a word for the duration, on the off chance that he might reply to it.
He truly hated her. And everything he had said to her was making her start to hate herself. She couldn't even bring herself to call herself the victim now.
This may not work.
He started the conversation this time. Maybe it was safe. "What's wrong?"
You are recovering. You are not dying.
She smiled slightly. "That's good to hear."
No. It is not. You will be waiting longer.
"How much longer?"
At the current rate, perhaps we will need to wait until it is your time to die naturally.
"What? I'm only twenty! You really plan to wait fifty or so years?"
I can wait forever.
Suzume sighed. "How long has it even been, anyway?"
I do not believe that it matters. Nothing awaits you. You will exist until you do not.
"I just wanted to know..."
Why do you continue to do this? Why do you speak to me as if I am your equal?
"I'm just talking to you. Like I always have."
We were allies at the time. We are not allies now. If you will not address me as your superior, I would at least expect you to speak down to me as your mortal enemy.
She shook her head. "What good would that do? Honestly? It's obvious there's only two ways out of this for me. Either I die, and nothing I say makes any difference, or you let me out, and that only happens if I convince you." She looked down. "I gain nothing by hating you."
Pay close attention to me. There is absolutely no possibility that you will convince me to release you. Doing so would cause me to lose the last things of value to me that I still possess.
"What things are those?"
You do not need to know.
"Am I one of them?"
No. Neither is your soul.
"Come on!" She smiled at him. "You can tell me!"
Stop that. Stop acting civil to me. It is better to admit that you hate me.
"I don't hate you."
Death grasped her immediately in one hand and glared at her. You should. I have ended your life.
"You end lots of lives. If I hated that, I would have sided with the cardinal."
You still fear death. Why did you oppose him?
Her voice grew frustrated. "It wasn't about death! You keep assuming that! I opposed him because he was a vampire! He changed me against my will! His plan would have vampirized the population and made them suffer! I dislike death as much as anyone, but it is preferable to suffering!" She raised her voice louder. "You understand this! I heard your words to him! So why am I suffering in here when you merely wish for me to die?"
If I could have killed you instantly, I would have done so. Instead, you reclaimed your soul and defeated me in battle.
"Of course! I had to stop you from killing Soma!"
You had no right to oppose me.
"I don't oppose you! Don't you understand? I opposed Dracula's orders! He's the one killing humanity for no reason! He's the one I hate!"
I am sworn to aid him. You could not oppose him without opposing me.
She pounded her fist against his thumb. "Okay! Fine! I opposed you! I admit it! Are you happy? My family's been opposing you and Dracula for centuries! We don't want to die, so we fight back! What I don't understand is why you insist on taking this as some kind of personal insult!"
Death took some time to reflect. The void grew quiet again.
In your heart, you opposed me. In your actions, you welcomed me. And you convinced me to conclude the latter.
Marcus was trying to sleep in the waiting room when Soma motioned for him to follow him. "Something's wrong", he whispered.
"What's up?"
Soma's face was calm. "This place is getting a lot of business since we got here."
Marcus shrugged. "I guess so. Kinda odd. Why? You think there are some more attacks going on?"
"It's not the amount of business they're getting. It's the type." He pointed down the hallway. "Nobody's been going in or out of those doors, and I'm afraid that I can guess why."
"Oh? What's down there?" He checked a nearby map. "Just the morgue."
Soma nodded. Marcus winced.
"You didn't exactly allow it to work in my favor!" Suzume shouted. "Staying alive and preventing Dracula's return happened to be two of my goals! Heaven forbid that you could offer me a deal in which both could happen!"
I do not possess any duties that do not involve souls or Dracula.
"I'm saying that if you did, this pact probably could have worked!"
The pact was your idea. You keep forgetting that. You are entirely responsible for your failure to adhere to it.
"I needed to form a pact to stay alive! That..."
I should have allowed you to die. Oddly, Death did not say this in a malicious tone of voice at all. If you had experienced it, perhaps you would have considered remaining dead to be an option.
She grumbled. "You're not going to stop claiming that this is my fault, are you?"
It is your fault.
Suzume looked down at her feet. She could not see them. A large bony thumb was in the way, and beyond that, four fingers that curled around her body, holding it tight against the palm behind her.
She couldn't win. Death had the last laugh, and he was not laughing. She had betrayed him, and this was her punishment. And this time, there was no one who could save her.
"I give up." She looked up at his skull again. "My soul is yours. Take it. I have no right to oppose you."
It is rather late for you to come to that realization.
"You're right. We had a pact. I broke it, so you should get my soul. I know we both tricked each other out of it. It doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, we're even. Just take my soul now, as if I had simply broken the pact." She took a breath. "I'm tired of being dishonest, and I'm tired of trying to convince you that I'm not." She put her hands in a pleading gesture. "No one else needs to pay for my crime. Please reconsider."
I cannot.
"None of them cheated you! Just take it out on me if you have to!"
You misunderstand me. I cannot simply take your soul when you ask. You are not dead.
"Then kill me!"
I lack the means.
"Are you sure?" She looked down at the fingers that encircled her. "You can't just squeeze or something?"
The giant figure of Death loosened his grip and turned his palm upward so that she continued to lie on it. This is a metaphor for your soul, not your body.
"What about Gaibon and Slogra?"
I cannot control them.
"I can, right? Can't I order them to kill me?"
You are incapable of doing so at the moment. If you were conscious, it would be a possibility.
"Then let me do so! It'll be quicker that way!"
If I allow you to awaken, you will have an opportunity to escape me. I do not trust you. We wait.
"Fine. Be that way." She adjusted herself to a casual sitting position. "What have they been doing, anyway? I lost track."
I cannot tell you.
"You can't, or you won't?"
You claimed my soul. I am bound to your body. I am incapable of looking for them.
"Oh", she said sadly. "That's kinda lame."
A few moments passed in silence. Then she suddenly sat up in surprise. "You're stuck here?"
Until you die, at the very least.
"So you really can't do anything right now? That seems a bit extreme."
I admit to being less than rational when I formulated this plan.
"That's for su... um... wait. Does that mean... you haven't been doing any other duties? Not even reaping?"
That is correct. No one has died since we battled.
She stared at him in shock. "...okay, this plan is just wrong. How long has it been?"
I do not know. He turned his skull to look away from her. It was easier to rationalize this plan when I believed that it would come to pass in under a week. I thought that it might dissuade humanity from ever following the example set forth by the cardinal. He looked at her, and she could sense his depression. Fifty years could be entirely too long for them.
"Uh... yeah... a bit." She thought for a second, and then resumed. "What about once I die? Can you even catch up?"
I will be able to reap as I please.
"Thank God for small favors, then. My body could never handle all that work."
Death's voice was hesitant. My words referred to your body and my new freedom. My soul will not...
And he became completely quiet, staring off into space, his jawbone open. Suzume got the distinct impression that he had not actually considered this. Indeed, if his soul was still trapped in her body, it would be physically impossible for him to perform his duty on a global scale... leading to exactly what the cardinal had planned...
He realized the same thing, she noticed. The plan is fatally flawed. I must abandon it entirely. You will get your wish.
"Really? You're going to release me?"
The skull glared at her. No. I am abandoning the idea of using your body. I am not releasing you.
She sighed. So much for hope. "Then what's going to happen to me?"
I will remain here until I can reap you in a manner that allows me to vacate your body. My soul will be freed, and I will reassume my duties.
"It'll still be too many years without reaping! Just let me go! I'll make sure your soul gets freed! I promise!
That is unacceptable. I cannot trust your word.
"You're being stupid! Yes, I know I broke my vow! It doesn't matter! I can still keep a promise! This is too important for me not to! Just trust me!"
No. You do not fully understand how dangerous your potential for insincerity can be.
"Do you think they're conscious?" Marcus asked Soma.
"I do not know. Either way, they are suffering."
"Do you think Death is gone?"
"It's possible." Soma hesitated. "I can think of a solution, but I would rather avoid it if possible."
"What are you... oh. Yeah, I see your point."
"Suzume's coma may be connected. We should wait until she regains consciousness. Or dies, if it is her fate. Otherwise we may be running a needless risk."
Marcus nodded. "Agreed."
Soma sighed. "It will be our last resort. If Death will not claim souls... we will have no choice but to trust in the power of dominance."
Suzume rested on what passed for ground in this void. Death had turned his attention away from her without explaining his objections. This bothered her greatly.
This couldn't just be his hatred or distrust of her. He had explained those things fully. She was missing something important. Maybe if she could figure it out, she could finally escape her fate. It no longer mattered to her if it was via death or freedom. She just wanted this to end. And, she realized, so did Death.
Across the void, Death's attention suddenly snapped upward. She didn't know why at first, until she suddenly got the distinct feeling that she needed to be released.
I cannot. You know why.
His manner was surprisingly cautious and frightened, she noticed. It must have been because he had been neglecting his duty, and humans were not dying when they should, and this could not be tolerated.
Help me. Spare me from this fate, and I shall continue to serve without complaint.
Suzume's eyes widened. He had described his actions as fulfilling someone's will, and not just Dracula's. Was the entity responsible for his duty present? Could it be God, or someone else?
It didn't matter. His demands would not be met. He brought the pacts on himself. He would be forced to fulfill them, no matter what. He would continue to serve Dracula, and Soma would continue to live. And as for Suzume...
Death suddenly vanished from sight.
She wasn't sure what this meant. Had he been released from her unwilling captivity? Could she finally awaken? She tried, only to fail. She could not wake up just yet, she realized. There was something important that had to be addressed first.
"What's that?", she asked, starting to get the handle on how this conversation worked. It was simple, she realized. It was the fact that she had been told certain things by Death. Things, he had said, that no living creature should ever hear.
"I haven't told anyone", she said, and she knew this, and she was aware that this was the only reason why she continued to exist in the universe. But this would not be enough to save her from her fate.
She tried to protest. She had made a promise. She would have never told anyone. And it became entirely too apparent to her that there had once been a time when Death had been equally certain of this...
And then Suzume woke up.
"Suzume!" Before she had even started to sit up, Marcus had practically thrown himself on her body and wrapped her in an embrace. Behind him, she could see Soma looking at her, his eyes full of relief. And around them, what appeared to be a hospital room, where she was lying in a bed, with various tubes and machinery connected to her body.
"Marcus!" As he released her, she could tell that he had tears in his eyes. She was almost as happy. "It's good to see you, too!"
"When you didn't get up after the battle, we were so worried! You've been out for four days!"
She paused to think about this. "I defeated Death, didn't I? Soma's still here..."
"I must thank you for that", Soma said as he approached her and also gave her a hug. "We were concerned. There was a certain... lack of death after your battle. We thought maybe you'd gone too far..."
She shuddered at this. "I'd hate for the cardinal to get his wish." She looked around. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing", he continued. "A lot of people died at the same time a few minutes ago. Whatever the problem was, it's over now."
As she breathed a sigh of relief, Marcus interjected. "So what happened? Was there more to your fight than we thought? What was Death doing?"
She shook her head. "I just beat him. I don't know if there was more to it than that."
He nodded. "I really want to thank you for helping me. You had me worried for a long time. I couldn't imagine him getting his hands on Soma. If you had let him..."
"It wouldn't be right", she said. "I can't just let the bad guys win. I had to stop Dracula's return."
"I know. But even I have to admit that he was kinda persuasive. If you had acknowledged his offer..."
Suzume looked at him, and shook her head. "No. There was no offer."
Marcus smiled. "I guess you're right. There's no reason why anyone else should know."
"Marcus told me about it", Soma added. "It's probably better that we not inform the church. It's bad enough what the cardinal did. It wouldn't help if they heard about you forming that kind of pact with Death."
"What?" She glared at him. "I'm not that kind of person!"
"Exactly", Marcus agreed. "We need to put this whole thing behind us."
"Seriously! What the hell are you talking about?" Suzume's voice had risen. "I didn't even see the freaking reaper until the time that I stopped the cardinal. Why do you keep acting like he somehow tried to influence me?"
Marcus stared at her. "What? Why are you getting upset? I know what happened! I was there! Even I have to admit that he helped you along the way!"
"Stop it!" she shouted. "Stop saying that crap! It's not funny! After everything you taught me, I can't believe you think I could be tempted by the words of Dracula's servant!"
"Suzume." Soma's voice was suddenly concerned. "Is there something wrong?"
Marcus didn't pay attention to him. "And then those demons helped you..."
"Shut up! Shut up!" She was in tears now. "It's not true! Stop accusing me of betraying the church! I didn't do it! Believe me! I'd remember it if I did!"
An End