AfterLife
Chapter 3
----K----
"I need to see the User's Guide," Kei told Armonia Jastin Beyondllemason. The bejeweled Death God squinted at Kei carefully from where he sat on a chair fashioned from human skulls.
"The User's Guide? Well, I don't have one for you, Kei," Jastin answered haughtily. "I may be the King of Death's right hands, but I'm not in charge of the books." Jastin looked down and began inspecting a large emerald and gold ring on his bone finger, efficiently ignoring Kei. Apparently, Kei was not entirely on the Death God's good side, and he supposed he should let Jastin win a few games next time they played.
The impatient Death God heaved a rattling sigh. He would have to resort to bribery, but it wasn't like he hadn't guessed he would. The Jeweled Skeleton was moderately intelligent and knew the rules better than anyone else besides the King of Death, but never gave anything out for free. Hence the inordinate amount of treasure Jastin had collected.
"Well, I just happen to have a ruby that I won off of Gukku…" Kei began lazily, producing the blood-red jewel from a pocket and fingering it carefully. Jastin's eyes shot up and he seemed to watch it hungrily. "…But I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it yet."
Kei bit back his urge to laugh. Jastin was in the palm of his bony hand, his eyes locked onto the big ruby.
"If only I had a User's Guide..." He trailed off purposefully, letting Jastin fill in the rest.
"Well, I do know that Sidoh still has one. He got one from the King of Death after Ryuk took his Death Note, you know? I bet if you find him—"
"Ryuk took his note?" Kei interrupted. Was everything somehow connected? He had come looking for a User's Guide to see how he could get to the Human Realm, and now another reference to Ryuk, the outcast?
"Yeah," Jastin said irritably. He seemed to be growing grumpier with every passing moment that Kei kept the gleaming jewel from him. Kei figured it was better to be on the good side of the Death God ranked number two than pester him about Ryuk. After all, going to the Human Realm should solve his mysteries and he wouldn't need Ryuk at all. Not to mention that a god with a penchant for rule-breaking would not be Armonia Jastin Beyondllemason's favorite conversation topic.
"Thanks," Kei said, tossing the jewel to his fellow skeletal god who snatched it up greedily, "I'll see if I can find Sidoh and I'll even return the book when I'm done."
"You're a good god, Kei," Jastin mumbled, his eyes never leaving the ruby. Kei smiled and left, knowing that if he put the word out, the perpetually cowardly Sidoh would find him.
----K----
"Here you go, Kei," Sidoh said. He held out the User's Guide, the dusty black cover worn, but blank in Sidoh's insectlike fingers. His eyes darted around their surroundings, before settling on Kei, looking urgent. "I heard you were looking for this, so I thought I'd save you some trouble."
"That's thoughtful of you, Sidoh," Kei replied smoothly, smiling to show his sharpened teeth. He couldn't help but enjoy intimidating the other Death God when it was this easy and his emotions were so easily produced. It also had the added benefit of ensuring more quick responses when Kei needed something done, like getting his hands on a User's Guide.
Kei reached out and took the slim book carefully, noticing how Sidoh nearly flinched away pathetically. He tucked it securely into his belt and strode off, one hand idly fingering his scythe-guitar.
He knew without looking that Sidoh was relieved to see his retreating back.
----K----
There weren't so many rules as there were several ways of wording the rules so that the Death Gods would not find any loopholes in them. Or, Kei realized wryly, the majority of the other Death Gods would only understand one of the many ways they were worded… the King of Death was probably trying to keep his bases covered. Kei let out a short laugh, flipping the page.
There. His answer would lie on the next few pages.
A Death God must not stay in the human world without a particular reason. Conditions to stay in the human world are as follows:
Kei skimmed down the rules quickly, his scarlet eyes landing on the last one.
3. When a Death God stalks an individual with an intention to kill them, as long as it is within 82 hours of haunting them, the Death God may stay in the human world.
Kei grinned. Venturing into the Human Realm would be nearly as simple as watching it from afar. All he had to do was kill someone after stalking them before the 82 hour time limit was up. Basically, it was a free ticket to a world he believed held all the answers, and he only stood to gain some extra longevity from it. He felt like it was too easy, but pushed the thought away. This is what Death Gods did… of course it wouldn't be difficult.
He read through the rest of the Guide Book anyway, memorizing and cataloguing the rules into the back of his skull. Maybe they would come in handy later, and certainly it was easier than trying to think about anything else. The knowledge of the Death Notes and how to use them seemed perfectly clear, not like… he stopped himself before he unwittingly stepped back into the underlying murky mire of his current peaceful mindset.
----K----
He had agreed to meet Lyr at one of the lookout points down into the Human Realm. Kei could never remember having visited it before, but of course, he knew how to find it. He didn't think about why. He crossed the valley, running into Jastin on his way. Well, Kei mused, he had seen the glittering god from quite a distance and headed towards him, even though he had been forced to deviate slightly from his course. He had returned the User's Guide, which had earned him a glance of appreciation or a sizing up… Kei hadn't been quite sure, but both counted as compliments in his mind.
He bent around the last stony outcropping, and the desert stretched out before him. Rocky spheres peppered the sand, cracking and crumbling under the weight of the cloying atmosphere. Everything was grey and nondescript until he passed around the side of the first sphere and found Lyr peering into something vaguely mirror-like. The side of the rock had been shattered away, and it was like looking into the sparkling center of a geode.
Kei tore his eyes from the shining images, and focused on Lyr. He was crouching, his pale hands over his black knees, and disconcerting blue eyes rotating to spotlight on Kei.
"What's it like?" Kei asked, finding it difficult to meet Lyr's eyes and feeling drawn to the mirror-world of the humans instead.
"I'm not sure yet," the wiry god answered, then he too concentrated on the shifting images in front of both of them.
If was quiet for a moment as both watched the scene unfold before them. There were people walking by under large grey-green umbrellas, some passing through glass doors, some continuing along the wet pavement that glared sunlight back up. It was colorful, but not quite the same as the red apple from his dream… almost muted somehow. It wasn't quite disappointing, but just not what he expected and Kei realized that was bad. He had been relying on his unspoken emotions and unconscious expectations the whole time. A few people wandered out of the store, holding paper cups of something that steamed foggily in the morning. He wondered what it was, and saw them bring the cups to their lips, sipping hesitantly. He wanted to be there, surrounded by it, instead of just watching though. Did Lyr want that as well?
"I'm going to the Human Realm," he stated casually, glancing over to watch Lyr's reaction. The pale face turned quickly to look at him, ebony hair shifting, and eyes slightly wider in astonishment. Kei smiled.
"Me too." Lyr was still watching him, but now had a defiant glint to his eyes, replacing the widening.
"Do you know how?" Kei felt like he was testing the smaller god. Again, the skeletal god was asking the questions even though he knew more of the answers.
"There is an entrance…" Lyr began, then hesitated, unsure of what it meant or where it was, Kei couldn't be entirely positive.
"Yes, there is," he acknowledged, before continuing, his tone almost bragging, "I know where it is and the conditions for using it."
"What are the conditions?" Lyr asked, his monotone belying the fact that it was actually a question.
"When a Death God stalks a human with the intention to kill them, they can stay in the Human Realm for up to 82 hours before killing them," Kei pronounced.
"How do you know?" A little resentfulness laced his monotone this time as he looked away, and Kei held back a smile. Apparently, Lyr didn't like simply being told the answers as much as Kei enjoyed telling them.
"I read it the User's Guide." Kei nearly smirked. His simplistic answer would irritate likely irritate Lyr, and he was beginning to realize it was a pastime he relished.
"Oh," Lyr stated simply, and Kei suddenly felt like he had lost something. Lyr hadn't seemed to care and he certainly wasn't paying much attention to Kei anymore. It was just when Kei thought he nearly had the slight Death God figured out when he acted in a way completely unexpected.
"I'm going now," Kei stated loudly, beginning to turn and walk away. Yes, the images of the small store selling hot drinks was interesting, but Kei would rather be there. And Lyr was annoying him with his uncategorical presence that could ignore his own. But after Kei's exclamation, Lyr jumped up and scurried to his side, his slight figure hunched in his usual style of walking.
Saying nothing, Kei found a smile nevertheless creep onto his face. He was the focus again. Lyr may be odd, but he was intelligent and he had chosen to follow the skeletal god. Kei was leading them on to new discoveries, and that felt right.
Kei left the desert and wound his way through half the grey flats before climbing up one of the many little trails on the side of the valley. They passed no one either coming of going on their way up through rocky outcroppings and rusting metal, a fact that seemed vaguely important. Why did all the Death Gods want to stay here? In this greying world of boredom? He shrugged it off—it was their loss—and focused on the path ahead and Lyr at his side. The black and white god was taking two steps to his every one, doing his best to keep up. Kei increased his stride by half an inch, nothing noticeable to Lyr, but it forced the smaller god to struggle to stay next to him. Kei wasn't sure why, but the thought appealed to him. The trail led them to the mouth of a small cave, but after entering, Kei realized it was much larger inside than he had imagined. Something strange echoed from a corner, and he thought he felt the barest hint of a wind, but then it was gone and couldn't quite remember what it had felt like. He passed quickly by some rusty chains and graying bones—perhaps relics taken from the Human Realm, but discarded on the way out? He spotted a staircase at the end of the cavern and knew it would be impossible for them to walk two-abreast down it. Kei naturally took the lead with his longer strides, spiraling down the darkened stairs without a second thought. Lyr followed behind him, hardly making a sound.
It began to get brighter, the further down they traveled. Kei suddenly realized he couldn't make out the sound of his own boots either; some kind of white noise had crept up on him without him noticing. They continued walking, and Kei felt a low tremor shake the stairway, murmuring through his joints. A wind rustled by them for a moment, then was gone. The light grew brighter, and the noise harsher. Kei was picking up individual crashes of sound and flashes of light reflecting and refracting off the cold stone walls.
And then he saw it below him, the glare immense and powerful. Nothing softened the din of the gateway, and Kei finally stopped on the little rocky ledge. The sensation of it was incredible, unlike anything Kei had ever experienced. It was a pure rush of stimulation, his senses used to nothing but gray and silence.
He turned back to Lyr, the light bouncing off his black skin and through his cerulean eyes.
"Wait until I completely disappear before you enter," he commanded. Kei didn't want the smaller Death God to ruin his experience by crashing into him as he descended into the Human Realm. It had to be perfect. Lyr nodded his compliance and Kei turned back around.
He stood above the whirling maelstrom of magic, harsh echoes and deafening booms crackling out like thunder. But now that he was on the edge, he realized the vortex seemed to swallow up the sound and light it was creating as well. Outside the little cave, there had been no evidence of the power held within. Just a small step off the ledge and he would be able to leave the boredom, the greyness, the lifeless eternity behind him. He would begin to unlock the mysteries of the entire existence of the Death Gods. And, Kei's mind brought forth, whatever Ryuk had been hinting at. The answers were coming to him.
He jumped, unfurling his wings so that he hung suspended over the gateway for what seemed like an eternity. Then he fell, folding his wings to his side.
Light swirled and coalesced around him, wind buffeted him from all angles, sound echoed from all sides, and his sense of balance suffered an extreme violation. Kei closed his eyes, shutting off the bright pinpricks of red, but it did little to ease the sensation of falling violently, or being pulled by his folded wings down, down, down into the confusing mess of another world.
Then it all stopped and he found himself quite still, standing on the top of a building. It was smooth and clean, the wind whistling coldly around him, through his mirage-like body. The clouds scudding high overhead were tinged orange and pink. Below him stretched a vast array of shining skyscrapers, not quite grey, not like the dust and rocks of the world he was accustomed to. No, this was entirely different, and incredible; Kei had never guessed that anything could be so achingly beautiful. He cast his laser-like eyes down the thirty stories or so below him. The streets were busy with cars and humans bustling along, places to go, lives to live, and Kei watched it all as the sun cleared the horizon. The world here moved and changed, and it had only taken him his first three seconds in the Human Realm to realize what made it so very different from the Death God Realm.
It was alive.
He waited several minutes, just basking in the feeling of being somewhere else. He was also waiting for Lyr, but after a while, it became apparent that the other god was not coming. He frowned slightly, but quickly stopped. If Lyr had gotten scared and decided not to make the leap of faith, Kei would just move on without him. It suddenly didn't matter anymore.
Kei stretched out his wings, and leapt from the building, spiraling down to just above street level. He needed to find someone interesting enough to stalk, someone he was sure would move around constantly so that Kei could gain a better understanding of humans and their world. And maybe that would answer his questions about Death Gods as well. He didn't remember ever seeing a world this stunning before, so perhaps he really hadn't been here… and then he wondered what apples were like. Were they red? Were they sweet?
Kei flapped silently above the heads of the people, searching for someone who would stand out. Surely the only one that wasn't wearing a suit, the only one with hair color other than black, surely she was the one to stalk and then kill. Her lifespan was so incredibly long as well… it certainly wouldn't hurt Kei to steal it from her.
Kei sank down behind the blonde woman, trailing her by foot as she walked past the building he had first stood upon. She looked up at the doors as she passed, then away hurriedly, pressing a hand on the side of her face and taking several quick steps to a nearby train station.
Yes, Kei decided. She would be the one. Sufficiently different, and already on the move to some unknown destination bound to be just as interesting as she was. Kei boarded the train with her and they headed downtown, Kei marveling at the sights and sounds of the city. Eighty-two hours seemed like plenty of time to spend following this girl, and then he could always come back and stalk another life after he killed her. Kei might never have to return to the suffocating world of grey again. The thought made him feel… like there was something caught in his ribcage, bouncing around inside him, but it felt nice. He didn't really know what to call it, but let it be, the emotion flooding out to the rest of his body.
His charge stepped off the train, and Kei followed her, phasing through several people and the vehicle's wall. Moving closer behind her, Kei saw that she was shaped… funny, in comparison to the other humans moving about. Did that also have something to do with the way she looked? It was odd though, that she would be so thin and slender everywhere except her stomach. It was probably some kind of human disease, he mused, but after glancing back up to the woman's long life span, he guessed it wasn't fatal.
Well, she would die soon, but it wouldn't be from whatever was ailing her. Kei just hoped she would do something interesting, hopefully lead him to some kind of useful clue to his existence.
She passed several stores, keeping her eyes on the ground, carefully not making eye contact with any other humans. Kei however, let his eyes rove over the multitude of brightly colored items inside the little shops and wished she would stop for a moment. What if something in there was a key to unlocking his mind?
The human didn't slow however, and moved forward, quickening her pace almost as if to thwart Kei. He wondered if she could somehow sense his presence even though he was completely invisible. Shrugging to himself, the goggled god spread his wings and cruised just above her head. It was better than walking.
She reached a small graveyard, the little gray stones oddly reminiscent of the Death God Realm, only shinier and lined in neat rows. Kei frowned to himself. He didn't really think he would find his answers in a graveyard… after all, it was as close to the Death God Realm as he could get in this world, and he'd had enough of that boring monotony. Still, his 82 hours were already ticking away, and the chance that the woman wouldn't spend the next few days in the graveyard was high. He would just have to wait.
Bending carefully to resemble a woman twice her age, the girl lifted a pail of water and its accompanying ladle up from the end of the row and waddled with it down the line pausing only when she had found what she was looking for. Kei looked it over from behind her as she set to washing it.
Yagami Tsuki. Kei found the Japanese kanji easy to read, even though he knew some of the other Death Gods had difficulties with this alphabet. He watched the peculiar woman light a thin stick of incense and place it gently at the base of the stone tablet. Then she bowed her head, blond hair falling over her shoulders and hiding her face from his view. She looked back up at the grave and smiled sadly at it.
"You know, Light, I'm doing really well now, although I miss you a lot. But I have great news! You'd be so excited, I know. I went to the doctor's after I saw you last week and they said it's going to be a girl! Isn't that great? I haven't thought of a name yet, but I'll be sure to think of something you'd like. Do you think I should ask your mom to help? Or Sayu? They've both been so helpful recently…" the girl trailed off, her cheery monologue growing dimmer. "Oh, Light…."
Raito? Kei wondered at the word. It sounded rather foreign to be uttered as a Japanese name. Was it even supposed to be the name of the deceased? Probably a pet name, he decided, as there was no way to get the sounds ra-i-to out of the kanji for tsuki. Humans were strange, he decided, as the girl held her face in her hands and leaked tears. Very strange. Well, she wouldn't have to be crying for long, he mused. Sooner, rather than later, she would be joining up with her beloved Raito in the afterlife.
The woman rose then, wiping her tears and holding her distended stomach carefully. The now-empty wooden pail was returned to its place along with the ladle.
----K----
It was an uneventful trip home, stalking Amane Misa. The girl avoided busy places and didn't stop to talk with anyone or buy anything. She came to a house and entered, talked with the residents, ate dinner, went to her room, slept, went to the kitchen, ate some more, returned to her room, and then slept again. The woman's simple human existence was downright boring, and as much as Kei liked being in the Human Realm, he was beginning to feel anxious. Wasn't there anything he could do? Why didn't the woman go out and buy apples or something? He wanted to know if they matched his… imagination.
Technically, he could leave the small house she lived in for a short while. At the moment, everyone who lived there was asleep, deep in dreams. He didn't have to be present with her during the entire 82 hours, did he?
Still, he hated breaking his plans. He had decided to stalk her and so he would, learning everything about her that he could. So he waited, wandering the house, a veritable wraith. But nothing seemed to jump out at him as an answer of some kind. Nothing about the interior of the house surprised him, and he even found the room his quarry slept in downright familiar.
His mind leapt ahead suddenly. What if that was the point? It was familiar, thus he had been here before. Well, probably not here, but… a similar place? The fog crept in on large bear paws, swatting away the thoughts almost before they could form. It wasn't helping him think, although the fear that usually accompanied the dampening mask had yet to arrive… or else was greatly muted. He blinked, realizing the whole affair was less than he remembered. The stifling stillness that threatened to overcome him every time he wanted to simply think wasn't… it just wasn't. Not that it was much easier to think, only that he was no longer suffocating under the impression of it.
He was no longer in the Death God Realm now. Was that the only thing that kept him from utilizing his mind at his full potential? Did the Human Realm open up these possibilities? A place where the greyness had lost its cloying hold?
The feeling of something ricocheting off his rib cage returned, the freedom of thought replacing his earlier boredom with the house in the dark. So, perhaps he had wandered these streets, visited a house similar to this one before. Could that be possible? If he stayed here, would be remember when and why he had been to the Human Realm before?
A light switched on, nearly blinding him as Amane Misa ran quickly down the hallway. It wasn't quite morning yet, and Kei found himself enormously intrigued in the wake of discovering his own limitless mind.
Until he heard the retching sounds she made having reached the toilet room. His previous thoughts were shoved unceremoniously out of his mind, and Kei was left with a single pervasive one. Humans were quite disgusting. Forget strange, this woman was gross.
Another light switched on, and the older woman who lived in the house also found her way to the bathroom. A quiet exchange followed, something Kei couldn't quite make out, but he didn't want to venture closer to the room. Some things were perhaps better left alone. Besides, a few moments later, both women exited the room with the flush of the toilet.
Kei followed them silently into the kitchen where the Amane Misa sat and the woman, Yagami Sachiko, began making tea.
"I hope everything's alright, Misa," Yagami Sachiko said, her face turned down to carefully measure the hot water into little cups. "You shouldn't be throwing up this far in... is this the first time since you stopped having morning sickness?"
Amane nodded, and Kei noticed that her blond hair was turning black at the roots. He felt almost cheated, realizing that she wasn't so different from anyone else; she had changed her hair color artificially. Amane Misa brushed her bangs out of her eyes before replying, "I think I stayed up too late last night or something."
Kei nearly laughed at the accusing glare the motherly woman sent to the sitting girl. Humans were so expressive. Then he realized that no one could hear him and he let himself chuckle aloud. It sounded oddly foreign in the kitchen, but no one else noticed. His charge was speaking again.
"I was thinking of names! I couldn't help it, mother," she protested, and then pouted, pushing a full bottom lip out. It suddenly reminded Kei of the color of the apple from his dream.
Yagami Sachiko smiled, but again, Kei noticed the vast range of expressiveness that humans held. Her smile was kindly, yet it couldn't completely mask a twinge of sorrow. Kei found it exhilarating, the slight differences he could read so unlike the bored and slack expressions that he found in the realm of the Death Gods.
"Did you think of anything you liked?"
Amane Misa nodded, suddenly becoming shy and almost meek. "But… but I wanted to know your opinion before I really decided. She's your granddaughter."
"Thank you, Misa," the woman replied quietly, setting the tea on the table, a cup before each of them. She sat heavily into the chair opposite the faux blond and then sat up straighter with an air that Kei decided was a fake cheeriness. In watching Amane Misa closely, Kei wondered why she didn't notice the falsity in the woman's smile. Or was Kei simply incredibly apt at reading human emotions from their faces?
Amane Misa took the teacup carefully in both hands and sipped. She set it down just as delicately, and looked across the table. Kei wondered what it tasted like.
"Mitsuki... I wanted to spell it with 'beautiful' and 'moon.' For her father…" Amane Misa trailed off, her eyes looking up under long dark lashes, and Kei guessed she was seeking approval. He wondered what for exactly, realizing that he hadn't been paying attention to the actual words of the conversation. There was too much going on in the faces of Amane Misa and Yagami Sachiko for him to focus on the words. It seemed like there was a lot of context he was missing anyway and it didn't seem integral to his quest.
Yet somehow those words managed to make Yagami Sachiko cry fat droplets of tears, patting them away with a small handkerchief. The women reached out and clasped each other's hands firmly, desperately and Amane Misa was crying too. Kei didn't understand, which was slightly frustrating, but mostly boring as the tears continue to leak from the eyes of the two humans.
"I think it's perfect, Misa, my daughter," Yagami Sachiko finally said, cupping her free hand against Amane Misa's tear-stained cheek.
"Thank you," came the reply, a sigh echoing her hiccups and sobs. She pulled out a small black and white photo, and set it out on the table between the two of them. Kei leaned over, miming the movements of the humans. Amane Misa put her other hand to her stomach, her eyes on the hazy x-ray.
"Hi there, Mistuki," she cooed.
And then it happened. A blossom of red appeared, smoke curling somewhere in and around Amane Misa's shoulders. Another smaller cloud of scarlet unfurled above the photograph, a simultaneous miniature. They swirled and fused, slowly becoming recognizable despite Kei's frantically growing horror. It was unthinkable. The crimson smoke burned with a strange inner light, and Kei wished he could reverse the process, prevent the numbers from emerging, erase the kanji letters before they formed. This couldn't be happening.
Yagami Mitsuki, the Japanese kanji read, a long life numbered out below. The red characters above the photograph were identical to what was now displayed around Amane Misa's shoulders.
It was a complete bind. His mind floundered in chaos and strategic dead-ends. He had no choices. Amane Misa was suddenly untouchable. His condition for being in the Human Realm was to stalk and kill her. Her strange condition was human pregnancy, something he had never considered in the unreproductive world he knew. By the laws of the Death Gods, Yagami Mitsuki could not be killed until she was at least 780 days old. And he was especially forbidden from killing someone—however indirectly—by means other than a Death Note. And if he killed Amane Misa, Yagami Mitsuki would surely die.
He was trapped, checkmated perfectly by fate's sense of irony. What would happen now that he would be unable to fulfill his purpose in the Human Realm? He could no longer stalk Amane Misa. Was the King of Death already preparing some kind of punishment for him? Would he be locked back into the Death God Realm without hope of being allowed back out for breaking the rule?
Kei waited, a darker beast crashing around the inside of his chest with a frightening ferocity. He felt tight and stiff, unable to move fluidly, as if his joints were slowly fusing together. What would happen to him? Every moment that passed, he expected some kind of harbinger of his doom to appear. Fear trickled down his spine, blocking out even the casual voices of the two women in the room.
Kei waited.
Nothing happened.
The women left the room, laughing gently, their air one of exuberance. Kei didn't stir, making no effort to stalk or follow either of them.
Still, nothing happened.
It took Kei a long time to realize that nothing would. There was no fire and brimstone, no pain, no punishment, no messengers, no… knowledge of his illegality. It was if the King of Death didn't even know.
Kei's mind shattered like a million pieces of light unfolding. The answer was brilliant, illuminating the darker recesses of his mind, chasing back the harsh fear, replacing it with a calm and cool haughtiness that Kei found as reassuring as he did powerful.
How could he know? The King of Death couldn't read his thoughts, know his every move. He wasn't omniscient.
Kei found himself laughing at the sheer simplicity of the rule of the King of Death. None of the humans noticed, of course, and he found himself laughing even more. The great many-handed black Death God was King only because no one had ever challenged him before. He had no real power beyond holding on to the spare Death Notes, a deep knowledge of the rules, and the belief of the other gods. Well, Kei could easily obtain more notebooks and now had the same knowledge of the rules… and more. He knew that most of them didn't matter. Who could enforce punishment on a god? Kei was untouchable, immortal. And belief? It was easily garnered by support. What would the other Death Gods do if they knew a smidgeon of what Kei now understood? He wouldn't tell them everything he had figured out, of course, but… no, he wouldn't tell anyone anything.
Kei would do as he pleased.
And he was currently more pleased in the Human Realm.
Uttering another harsh laugh, Kei beat his wings, taking flight over the skies of Tokyo.
----K----
