Title: Manor of Sleeping Tattoos
Pairings: L/Light ; Light-centric
Part: Fifth Hour: Impalement
Words: 1577 words
Beta: elliott ashes
Warning[s]: Major character death
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or Fatal Frame; Death Note is the property of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata while Fatal Frame is the property of Tecmo (and others, I think).
Summary: The dream is always the same. He follows him deeper and deeper into the manor, even though he knows that it's going to trap him in this nightmare forever.

Fifth Hour: Impalement

Amane and the other handmaidens escort him into what Amane says is the Engraving Shrine. Light can only believe that she is telling him the truth, as he has no other clues as to where they are taking him.

Much to his surprise, though, he does not feel fear about what is to come. All he can feel is a tranquil feeling of calm which pervades him, his secret hope and longing gives him all the strength he needs.

Once they're inside the shrine, Amane and the others help him to disrobe behind the bamboo screens erected around a large stone table. He can't see anyone else in the room with them, but as Hisame and Shigure take his clothing away, Amane guides him to the table and helps him onto it.

Her smile is weak but comforting.

"Are you comfortable?" she murmurs softly. "The Engravers will be here soon."

Light shifts a little on the table, but he feels fine. The discomfort comes mostly from the fact that the stone is far too cool against his skin and he feels vulnerable lying on it completely bare. But the discomfort is mild. Letting his eyes drift closed, he can see L and just the sight of his face gives him peace.

He nods at her.

With his eyes closed, he misses the small smile on Amane's face, but he notices when she ruffles his hair in a comforting gesture and feels her cool lips against his temple.

However, he does open his eyes to watch her disappear behind the screens and into the shrine, and then she's gone.

– – –

The Engravers look intimidating to him. There are two of them and they're both blinded, topless, and covered in tattoos like the one he bore before. But the most disturbing aspect are the needles embedded into the flesh of their hands and arms.

Outside of this curtained area, he can hear the handmaidens singing the song that he has come to know so well over his imprisonment.

The 'sacred marks' that he'll bear are the very same tattoos that Reika's touch had inflicted upon him, the ones that she herself had borne in life. And since this is her memory he is reliving, he will experience the same things that she did.

As the Engraver's lean over him, their hands moving over his flesh, he can feel the pain as the Holly is etched onto his skin. He inhales deeply and focuses on the image that he conjures of his lover. His pain might have been dulled, but his love and longing still remain.

"We will begin the Piercing of the Soul."

– – –

Light realizes that the process of carving the tattoo into his flesh will take several days. After that, he doesn't know what will happen.

On several occasions, the Engraver's will leave him to mix more ink for the tattoo. During those times, Amane will slip into the room and converse with him softly to keep his mind from wandering too far. She answers his questions.

"What will happen next?"

Amane seems to like his hair; she runs her fingers through it often in long, slow strokes, as though he is a pet. It reminds him of what L used to do, but the thought is not accompanied by that white hot ache of before; now it feels distant. It's like it isn't so much of a part of him any more.

But still, it is her way of comforting him and he allows her it.

"Once the Piercing of the Soul is complete, then you must shatter the Mirror of Loss after opening the door to the Last Passage." Amane's voice is quiet; the other handmaidens are nearby but none of them can see or hear this conversation.

"And then?"

He knows that there's something more, something that she hasn't told him yet.

She glances away, nervous, "Following that is your entombment in the Chamber of Thorns, where the priestess will sleep for all eternity."

"Is that where she is?" Will I see him again once there?

Amane hesitates before she gives a quick nod, "Reika lies there... as does Kaname."

– – –

The process of having what the Engravers called the Snake and Holly Tattoo carved into him is a slow and painful process. His nights are no longer peaceful and he is plagued with the dreams of loss and pain of all those whose suffering his body now carries.

How can someone sleep peacefully with so much pain?

Over him, the Engraver's murmur quietly to themselves. They can see his dreams and they speak of the pain that he feels that is not his own.

To them, it is a good sign; it means that the ritual is successful.

Light isn't sure if he can take anymore; he would gladly take back his own pain instead of having to experience this for an eternity.

– – –

When the tattoos are finished, Light takes them in. Every inch of his body is covered with tattoos and each has its own story to tell. He can feel the pain of the countless worshippers who come to the shrine to be relieved of theirs.

It makes him feel selfless – a feeling that he hasn't known before. But at the same time, he feels like those same worshippers are somewhat selfish. They do not want their pain and instead give it to someone else to bear – it seems unfair that he must give up his own pain to bear theirs.

He wants to see L again. That single thought consumes him.

Reika must have had her reasons for why he is seeing this, and if it is because of their similarities, then he is fine with that.

Light will suffer through this if it means that he can see the one he loves again.

– – –

With the tattoo complete, Light takes the Mirror of Loss as Amane refers to it, and weighs it carefully in his hands. It feels much heavier than he remembers, and the etchings on it speak to him of his personal loss and the pain he has experienced by losing the one he loves.

Did Reika experience this as well? Like him, did her love for Kaname help her?

He doesn't know, but some part buried deep inside of him thinks that she carried that love with her. Light believes that she dreamed of Kaname just as he dreams of L. That thought both comforts him and helps to foster this strange feeling of kinship between himself and the priestess.

Now, though, he must discard his pain in order to proceed.

It feels as though he is losing a part of himself, but it is something that he must do to proceed.

When he places it in its place on the altar, he hears the click of a door unlocking and knows that he must do this; it is the only way.

He shatters the mirror himself.

– – –

The Chamber of Thorns horrifies Light. He thought that after the Kira case, after losing L, after these dreams and the pain of the Holly being etched into his flesh, that there was nothing to surprise him anymore.

What he sees inside of this shrine is nearly enough to make him want to retch.

Everywhere he looks there are priestesses; each of them is covered in the same tattoos as he is, and each of them have stakes running through their hands and feet. They are pinned in place, forever fated to dream of the pain of the Holly.

Near the middle of the chamber is an empty space, and Light knows that it is reserved for him. He is to be pinned down here with the stakes that the handmaidens carry.

This is what Amane feared to tell him; this last rite performed on the priestess.

Light is to be impaled.

– – –

The feeling of the stakes being driven through his limbs is dulled both by the pain of the Holly he is engraved with and by the song that the handmaidens sing. Now Light realizes its significance; it's to keep him from waking, to keep him sleeping for an eternity.

Reika experienced this before him. And now it's his turn.

Once the stakes have impaled him, Light lies there, drifting in some strange state between sleep and wakefulness.

Even though he is numbed to everything around him, Light can still feel Amane's hand running through his hair one last time and he can still hear her words echoing to him.

"Your pain and hers... will become one. Then you will know."

– – –

The pain of the stakes is dulled by the song that echoes in his ears, as though he is listening to it on repeat. It calms him and makes the rest that much easier to find.

But the stakes still burn and the wounds ache. They just hurt less than the other pain.

With the tattoos, he can feel the loss of countless others, reverberating inside of him. This makes his rest nearly unbearable; he can see their hurt and experience it for himself. Inside of him, their thoughts echo and he dreams of their experiences.

Light feels as though he is slowly losing himself.

Is this what it means to be the Tattooed Priestess?

– – –

Reviews are very much appreciated! And I'm very sorry for the late update – something came up. And, as always, don't be afraid to ask me any questions about the fic.

Twilight.