Notes: Sorry about how long this took me to post; a lot of things happened in my life recently – including my getting a job which has been eating my time up and making sure that I'm exhausted by the time that I get home at night. But here's the chapter. There's just one more hour left and then it's complete.
Title: Manor of Sleeping Tattoos
Pairings: L/Light ; Light-centric
Part: Seventh Hour: The Abyss
Words: 1780 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).

Seventh Hour: The Abyss

When he wakes up, he's back in the cage. He glances down at his hands. The tattoo he bore is gone and there are no signs of the wounds from his impalement. His confusion doesn't last.

Amane is standing outside of the cage. There is a small smile playing about her lips.

"Reika's pain is yours now."

He was Reika; for those long nights, she and him were the same person. Light doesn't understand completely why this is, but now he knows. Reika wanted to see him one last time, like how he wants to see L. She just wanted to be with him.

She just wants to sleep.

– – –

The path he walks is familiar. He is surprised that Amane is by his side, but he doesn't complain.

Out of the corners of his eyes, he can see the ghostly inhabitants of the manor. All of them hover just out of sight, watching him. When he glances down, he realizes that he's still in the white and blue of the priestess – of Reika.

Is he still dreaming that dream?

He doesn't want to dream it anymore.

– – –

"What happens now?"

Amane glances over at him and gives a little shrug, "I'm not sure."

"That isn't very reassuring."

"Well, this has never happened before," Amane replies. "You have a better idea of what will happen then I do. You have a part of Reika inside of you."

That explains the outfit. Light wonders if maybe he's going to take Reika's place, to let her sleep. But that doesn't make sense with what he knows of the ritual. The priestess may only have rest if she is sent across the rift on a boat.

And he doesn't want to have to experience that pain for an eternity.

– – –

Amane and he go on foot and take the long route instead of using the cage. In front of him, he can see another woman disappearing into the Engraving Shrine. Her clothing is modern; she is as trapped here as he is. But something is different.

He has a good feeling about her.

The Camera Obscura disappeared from his possession a long time ago, before his dreams of Reika's life and her last few days as the priestess. But he finds that he doesn't need it any longer.

In the garb of the priestess and with Amane at his side, they shrink away from him. Light can't tell if they fear what he represents or if there is something going on that he doesn't know. All of the ghosts seem more solid than before and several of them seem... less threatening.

Their expressions are peaceful and free of those horrible twisted expressions he knew before; with faces clear of blood and murderous intent.

They seem to be more at peace than the others that lurk on the edges of his vision. Those are the ones that glare at him with hate in their eyes, who eye him as their next possible victim, but they don't dare approach him.

Light himself feels more relaxed. The weight feels like it has been lifted from his shoulders and although his heart still aches, it doesn't hurt so much now.

He knows what he has to do.

– – –

When they enter the Engraving Shrine, there is no one there. The bodies covered in sheets no longer have needles in them and there is an odd silence hanging over the entire building. Behind them are the ghosts of the manor's inhabitants.

Amane is looking towards a woman who stands to the side. She has beautiful, long, dark hair and looks tired and sad. The woman stares ahead blankly. She looks like a lost child.

"Mother..." Amane whispers. She sounds heartbroken.

For a few seconds, it seems as though Amane is torn between accompanying him and going to her mother. Her eyes seem different and she looks exactly like she is; a young girl who is in way over her head. Amane is a very sweet girl, Light thinks, and he's glad to have her on his side.

Turning to her, Light bent over and gathered the young girl into an embrace.

"Thank you." For the first time in a very long time, he feels like he actually means it.

It doesn't surprise him very much when she returns it.

– – –

Amane has done so much for him that he isn't sure what he could possibly do to repay her. She's dead, though, which puts a damper on any plans he could possibly make. All of this time she has been wandering this manor and the dreams of others, trying to help them survive, and it has left its marks on her.

He can see how it's aged her when he looks into her eyes. The best thing that he could do for her is to help her rest. This nightmare has to end.

Instead of returning to her mother's side, Amane remains with him. She feels that this is her duty and Light knows that there's nothing that he could say to make her change her mind about this. She says she will stay with him until the end, or for as long as she is able.

"She will understand," Amane says as they pull apart. "When this is done, we'll be together again. Her and me and Kaname and Reika – we'll be together again. I know it."

Light wishes that he could have her confidence at this moment. He can only smile at her and hope she doesn't see that flicker of fear in his eyes.

– – –

As they pass through the entrance to the staircase leading down into the Abyss, the Engravers stand on either side of the doorway. Both of them bow their blind faces to them before they step back and seem to fade into the walls.

The staircase that leads down into the Abyss spirals along the sides of the cavern. In front of them is the hanging prison which Light had spent so much time in. The song is stronger here, he can hear it echo from somewhere below them.

Light turns to Amane and is a little surprised to see how pale her face is. It's weird because he also realizes that her body seems to fade away towards her feet, looking as though she's simply floating there beside him.

Like the Engraver's behind them, there is an ashen hue to her face which underlines her state as one of the dead.

Once they come to the bottom of the Abyss, there will be no turning back. This is the end of Light's journey and this is where Amane's hopes and dreams will either come true or fall apart in front of her.

The weight of what he's seen and experienced weighs heavily on Light. He knows that everything will come down to this.

He turns to Amane, "You ready?"

"Yes." She nods as though to emphasize this point. "Let's go."

– – –

The stairs are tricky and very long. Amane says that she and the other handmaidens would take them, along with the head of the family; the priestess is lowered down in the cage. She had offered to help Light use the cage to lower him down into the Abyss, but he felt that the stairs were a better choice.

The cage holds too many bad memories.

As the two of them proceed down, Light has to use the wall to steady himself while Amane floats along beside him. It's a little unnerving, because he can see the other handmaidens swirling around in the air nearby.

Minamo whispers softly, asking if she is going to be impaling a new priestess soon. Shigure and Hisame say nothing but continue to sing their song in their soft voices.

The entire area is illuminated with a pale blue light.

– – –

Reika's memories inside of him are both hazy and vivid. He glances around the Abyss as he makes his way downwards, a few more trickle through.

The reason he doesn't want to enter the cage or use it is because a quick memory flashes before his eyes.

If he closes his eyes for a moment, he can see the man from his – Reika's – dreams reaching towards him. He reaches out for him, but their fingers just miss as he is lowered down into the Abyss.

It is Reika's dream. It was what she longed for so strongly, to see him one last time.

– – –

When they reach the bottom of the stairs, Light looks around. It isn't a particularly interesting sight; the walls are roughly hewn from the rock and the entire area is rather small and lit with a soft blue light.

"It's a purifying light," Amane explains. "It keeps the miasma which spills out from the Abyss from affecting us."

It explains the strange light and why the air feels heavy but isn't having an effect on him; Amane, he supposes, would be immune to it anyway.

The lanterns and candles flicker; everything seems to be in a strange monochrome.

But the blood which stains the stone floor is a vivid shade of red and it stands out, catching his attention. For a few seconds, he can see Amane there, impaled to the ground much like he was within the Chamber of Thorns.

He looks to her, seeing a distant but bittersweet smile on her lips. She glances up at him, "I died here, as punishment for breaking the code."

It seems far too harsh to him, but he supposes that she came from a different time. The code had probably remained unchanged for many hundreds of years and the punishments wouldn't have changed within that time either.

"The others were impaled too." Amane walks slowly forward, glancing down at the bloodstain which is all that remains of her physical form. "To seal the Rift and keep the Unleashing from spreading."

Light nods. They can only go forward.

– – –

Beyond the Abyss, the Last Passage continues. They cross over a wooden bridge, continuing on towards the Chamber of Thorns.

Over the water, he can see images of people, those who have died and are waiting to cross over. In a few places, he thinks that he can recognize a couple of the faces. But their forms are so indistinct and blurry that he can't be positive.

Amane is a comforting presence at his side. He draws courage from that.