The Case of Yang Fang Leiden
Morticia hummed to herself as skimmed through the various names listed on pieces of paper she had with her. Some were pretty hard to read while some were definitely impossible to pronounce. Take, for example, the surname Deusericus. "Honestly, who comes up with these names?" the raven-haired girl sighed as she threw her arms into the air.
At that moment, the familiar sound of a soul arriving echoed in the hollow darkness of her realm.
Frowning, Morticia glanced at her schedule. The next soul wasn't due for another five minutes. "Oh dear… Another one of those," she mused as she waited for the soul to materialize.
She didn't have to wait that long and soon enough, she found herself face to face with a rather tall, muscular man with his hair tied into a ponytail. Morticia couldn't help but sigh when the usual round of questions began.
"Where am I?"
"You're in the realm between the World of the Living and various other forms of the afterlife," she dully answered. Actually, she could easily kick this man back into the World of the Living, but she had a few minutes to kill, so she decided that it'd be best to entertain herself.
"Who are you?"
"An emissary of Death."
"I'm dead?"
Morticia shook her head. "Not quite, Sir…" The girl began to read through the names again, but she couldn't really pinpoint what his name was. "Sir… Uh… Sorry, but what's your name?"
The larger man frowned in confusion. "I am Sir Yang Fang Leiden of Fabul," he replied.
The girl nodded. "Yang Fang Leiden, Yang Fang Leiden," she hummed to herself as a pale finger ran down along the papers she had. "Aha! Found it." Morticia shook her head. "Definitely not dead yet."
"What do you mean?" the monk asked. "You earlier said that this was the realm one goes to when he dies."
"Though I did not say it that way," Morticia began, "You're right. This is where the souls of the dead go, but this is not where their journey ends." She pointed a pale finger at Yang. "You, however, are not really dead yet, like I said. That means that I have to send you back to the World of the Living."
"It does?"
Morticia made a face. For a man well-respected by his comrades and friends, he was pretty slow to catch on with this whole dead and not yet dead part. It was to be expected though, given that he was already so willing to die in order save his comrades. Morticia suspected that the man thought his sacrifice was a waste. "Yes, yes it does, now hurry up," she grunted as she headed for the glass wall that would serve as Yang's way back to the Blue Planet. "I'll open the door for you and you can be on your merry way. Save the world, be with your family, all of those things you living people do." The black wall then lit up, showing the scenery she had last opened it at.
"Is that Kaipo?" Yang asked from not very far behind her and the girl nodded.
"I had helped a soul find her peace by allowing her one last chance to see her beloved," Morticia explained. "But this is not where I drop you off. I'll drop you off at the safest place nearest to the site of where you supposedly died. Which is right about…" The image on the glass wall began to change swiftly until it came to a sudden halt at an underground, well-hidden home. "The home of the Sylphs. My, my… You're pretty lucky. Those little fairy-like things will patch you up before you know it."
Morticia held out her hand and a golden key began to materialize. On the glass wall, a golden key appeared and the red-eyed girl shoved the key into it. With a slight turn of the wrist, the door opened. "Here you are, Sir Yang Fang Leiden of Fabul, you're second shot at life."
Yang nodded. "I am gravely thankful for this opportunity you have given me…"
"The higher ups call me Morticia," she said with a shrug. "And it's not me who decide who lives and who doesn't. I'm just a guide."
"Nevertheless, thank you, Morticia," the man sincerely stated as he held out a large hand at the girl. Morticia blinked her red eyes several timed before reaching out and shaking the man's hand. Yang flinched upon contact, surprised by how cold her skin was, but he made no mention of it. It didn't matter. He was going to live and see his family, his friends, his kingdom once more.
"Alright, in you go," the raven-haired lass chirped, motioning for him to step out the door.
Yang waved goodbye and with a single step, he was back in the World of the Living. As soon as the door closed, Morticia sighed.
"Mortals and their sense of gratitude."