Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: Well here's another chapter! =D I hope you enjoy this one too ^^… There's not much to say here so I'll see you at the end! X3
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"Oba right there," Sophie whispered, keeping a tight grip on the boy's hand as they ran down to a flaming river. "Come on. There are demons after us." Oba yelped as he was startled by the yelling behind them, Sophie ignoring the sounds behind her as she thought about how she would be able to use the river. "Now… is there a boat or something around here – Hah there! Come," she pulled on Oba's hand, throwing him into a boat that was washed up on shore or perhaps waiting for them to jump on. Then she summoned her long black death scythe and used it to push off of the bank, a few demons finally catching up with them, but not in time as they departed away and began to float down the river of fire. Sophie chuckled happily, "At least my powers are starting to work once we left the lowest of the low," she smiled, frowning once she saw Oba huddled up on the bottom of the boat shivering. "Hey bud," she frowned, crouching down slightly, but keeping a firm hand on her death scythe that was stirring them along, "are you okay? Is this too much for you?... Should I bring you back –"
"No Sophie!" Oba told her, lifting his head up and holding his hands at her, "NO… just… I never knew how far under we actually were. The lowest place of the afterlife, where no life is supposed to live. Only the worst of the worst end up there –"
"And that's why I find that this mission of mine is essential," Sophie told him, standing back up and beginning to stir the boat along. "Most of the souls that I have trapped and the previous generations of mine have done to souls are not supposed to be there. Only a few, but most aren't. Perhaps they aren't going to the Fields, but at least they should be brought out of the bottomless guilt and pain that is there in the Darkness. You understand what I am saying boy?"
"Y-es I suppose," he shrugged, letting out a yawn and rubbing his eyes. "I haven't felt this tired in eons. Where are we going?"
"I do not know," Sophie honestly answered, "but I am only following my instincts. Somehow it led us to that gate, where we were able to get out and end up on this boat. I don't know if this is my boat or someone else's and I don't know if this river has a name, but I do know that we are getting closer to being free. Have to give everything some time I suppose."
"T-then can I take a nap?" Oba asked as he rubbed his eyes and snuggled tighter around his clothing.
"Sure I suppose," Sophie chuckled. "I'll tell you when I need you to awaken."
"Yes Sophie," he answered her, closing his eyes and curling up on the side of the boat. "… Why did they call you Darkness? And why did some of them call you Death?"
"I do not know," Sophie sighed. "It's easier for creatures to put labels on beings. That's why you call Osiris the ruler of the afterlife. That is why you have the goddess Ma'at with the Feather of Truth. Anubis involved with mummification and embalming. Perhaps these gods and goddesses were real or not, but you can never know unless they reveal themselves. As for I, I do not like being called names I know I am not."
"T-then what do you go by other then Sophie?" Oba yawned again, using Sophie's voice as a way to lull himself to sleep.
"My full name is Sophia Maurus Ioreta Serbus," she began. "My father is Maurus Serbus and my mother's last name was Ioreta. I was named after my mother's mother, who was Sophia Ioreta. When I was still human I was called White Swan because of a group of dear friends of mine all had nicknames and liked how I danced… gracefully…" she let out a dream felt sigh, continuing to speak even though she wasn't sure if Oba was still awake. "Well," she thought as she pushed the boat along, "the next nickname I got was the name Hehewuti because I was always working and unable to play. Also I was invited into their tribe, so they gave me a name that they thought would fit me. Over time I also got the name Wihakayda too. Then the Dark Rider came next because of the black horse I ride… which makes me wonder where that horse originally came from. If it's really Death's horse or someone else's," she huffed remembering the words the beasts had said back in the lowest pits of the darkness. "I gave myself the name Athena Ernest when I don't want people to know my real name," she continued, "because… because… I don't know."
She continued to row along in the fire, her scythe not becoming consumed by the flames as they drifted along. "I… I heard the name Athena several times I think… while I was asleep… I think from my father – No it was earlier than that, but I don't know," she sighed. "I wish I knew. I don't even know why I chose the name anymore." Looking over to her side she noticed Oba was sound asleep, a smirk coming to her face as she let out a hefty sigh. "I wonder how I'll get us out of this mess now –"
"Who are you?" she heard from a voice below them, a smirk coming to her face as she looked down at the waters. "You are not the boatman… though you feel like him –"
"Perhaps you should tell me your name before I tell you mine," she chuckled and grinned, amused that she was talking to water of all things!
"Phlegethon, the river of fire," the waters explained.
"Nice to meet you Phlegethon," Sophie nodded, "My name is Sophia Serbus, God of Death, but you can call me Sophie if you'd prefer."
"Serbus…" the river thought to itself. "… You are affiliated with Erebus? Perhaps Chaos? You seem to be like Chaos –"
"I am Sophia. Simply Sophia Serbus," she said again. "I do not know if I am associated with those beings, but even if I am, I am my own creature. Now that we're done with the introductions," she chuckled, "do you know how to get out of here?"
"What?... Hades?" the river asked her.
"That would be correct," Sophie told the river. "I am not accustomed to drifting along in your waters and I would like to leave before I am presumed dead –"
"Aren't you already dead–"
"No," Sophie tried to explain. "I am not dead yet. Even if I was I wouldn't have ended up here –"
"How would you know Serbus –"
"Because I am a God of Death," she huffed slightly annoyed with its constant questioning, "and it is my job to evaluate souls and send them off to the afterlife. Now will you tell me how to leave or will I have to ignore you?"
"… You are one powerful goddess," the river huffed back before going back to her question. "You will connect to the river Styx in approximately a hundred more miles. Once you do take a right, and by taking a right the Styx will let you leave if you talk to her. Don't get her angry. She's not a happy river if you make her angry. Then she will drift you into Oceanus and you will connect to the realm of the living."
"Thank you," Sophie nodded to the river, a chuckle escaping her voice as she thought. "I guess it may be a few more hours," she sighed, scratching the back of her head, and then pulled her black hood over her head as she pushed the boat along. "I wonder when the Leviathan will show itself," she thought quietly to herself in a whisper, just in case Oba was listening to her and began to get worried about this creature she was describing.
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Jericho hummed lightly, sitting down at his desk and setting down a cup of coffee down. He flipped open Sophie's cinematic record, as what he was accustomed to doing every day since Sophie had disappeared, and looked towards the end expecting nothing to show up. Then his eyes went wide, almost spitting out his coffee as he jumped to his feet and ran down the hallway and up the stairs.
"Mrs. Obki! Mrs. Obki look at this!" he yelled down the hallway, slamming open the door leading to Fiona's office, where she was sitting contently reading a newspaper and sipping tea. "Her records are showing up!"
"Oh they are?" Fiona raised an eyebrow, setting her paper down calmly and grabbing the record from his hand before he could fuss. "Let me see then…" she coughed, looking them over with great interest. Slowly the smile on her face turned into a frown, reading the material over and over again as Sophie was trapped in the darkest reaches of the underworld. "Well…" she sighed, "Sophie is in her own little predicament isn't she?"
"Excuse me?" Jericho frowned, walking around the table and towards the record so he could read over her shoulder.
"From the looks of things," Fiona began, "she was sent to… I guess a place called Abaddōn. Just a place in the Darkness of the Darkness… but there's more." She sighed, "The farther up Sophie goes then her powers increase ten-fold. So by the time she's back on earth she could be… well I don't know," she shrugged. "We can only hope Sophie doesn't go crazy with power."
"I doubt that will happen," Jericho chuckled, "but just where is she now?"
"I-I'm not sure," Fiona sighed, "she stopped talking to creatures when she crossed over to the river Styx and is currently thinking to herself… nothing else is being written."
"I'll go and try to find her then," Jericho told her, about to dash out of the office till Fiona raised her voice.
"Wait boy," she huffed. "Don't be hasty. I don't think it's necessary."
"But –"
"Sophie has been able to make it on her own till that point," Fiona huffed, "and the fact that she found the boatman's ferry isn't a coincidence either. Let her be boy. If she needs us then her cinematic record will say so."
"… If you say so," he sighed, "but what should I do now –"
"Go collect some souls," Fiona shrugged, keeping the book open on her desk as she grabbed her newspaper and began to read again. "It will be a few hours till Sophie is out anyways. Who knows where in the world she'll pop out." Jericho nodded and turned back to leave, a sigh escaping his throat as he closed the door behind him. Fiona just shook her head, turning a page in her paper. "That boy," she chuckled lightly before letting out a sigh, "so foolish."
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Out of the mist of midmorning emerged a tall, frail looking man dressed in heavy black clothes and a large top hat. He skipped across the top of the hill as he chewed on some dates in his hand, jumping down from the hill and stopped just as he was about to fall off of a cliff that lead into the ocean. He giggled to himself, sitting down with his legs dangling off of the ledge as he ate his supper. "What a great day to be out and about," he snickered to nothing in particular, continuing to eat his food in haste as he saw the waters beginning to bend in a large vortex from a deserted island a few leagues away from him. "Just about time," he thought, watching the spectacle unfold as a large tentacle emerged from the water and drifted back into its hiding spot.
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"Oba it's time to awaken," Sophie told the young boy in the boat, who yawned and rubbed his eyes.
He looked around, noticing his surrounds had changed from complete darkness to a small hazy glow off in the distance. "W-where are we master?" Oba asked her in a groggy state, picking himself off of the boat and clinging to the side of the boat for stability.
"We are almost freed," Sophie said quietly, "and my name is Sophie remember?" she chuckled, Oba blushing at her statement as his eyes adjusted to the thinning darkness around him. He groaned; his head starting to spin as the light around them began to grow. "Come this way," Sophie told him. "Your eyes must be adjusting to the light that you have been kept away from for thousands of years. I don't want you falling out of the boat."
Oba nodded and did as he was told, crawling over to the sound of Sophie's voice and clinging to her leg. She wrapped a protective hand around his back, using her other hand to push the boat along the rest of the way. Oba cringed and Sophie shifted her head away from the sudden exposure to the light, their eyes wincing as Oba shuddered beside her. "I-it's bright!" he yelped, blinking in astonishment as Sophie began to chuckle at his comment.
"Yes," she laughed, "but go ahead and take a look."
Forcing his eyes to stare up at the light, Oba gasped in disbelief as he saw the clear blue sky above them and the smell of the ocean before them. He stood up in astonishment, a smile growing on his face as he heard the seagulls caw from overhead. "S-sophie. Sophie look!"
"Yes isn't it beautiful up here?" she responded, letting in a deep breath before letting out a happy sigh. Then she looked behind her, holding up her left hand and closing up the hole that the river Styx had created for them. Reorienting herself on her intended mission, Sophie continued to use her scythe and pushed along the ocean floor, causing the boat to drift away from the island they must have popped out of and towards a soul infested island she could tell from afar. "Now we're not out of trouble yet," she told Oba, who looked up at her with a frown on his face.
"W-what do you mean Sophie?" he asked her.
"There is a creature that guards the entrance and exit of Hell," Sophie explained, "called the Leviathan. Perhaps if it was only me we wouldn't have a problem, but now that I've brought you out of the bottomless pits of Hell… well the creature is liable to show up –"
"Does that mean I should have stayed behind?" he frowned, letting out a frightened squeak as Sophie began to laugh at his question.
"Oh no my boy," she chuckled heartedly, "I still stand by my decision for you. No, that's not the problem. I knew the Leviathan would make its way here… and honestly it will be easier now that you're here for him to find me." Oba stared at her confused, waiting for her to continue explaining the situation to him. "Once I dock to boat on land, I want you to wait for me at the top of the hill among the trees. Why? If the Leviathan gets to me then I don't want you being dragged back to Hell with me. I will come back, that's for sure, but if you end up being thrown in with me then we're going to have a problem," she huffed slightly, "but not to worry. Your master will defeat the Leviathan, and then I can start my plan on freeing and evaluating everyone to their appropriate destinations." She chuckled again, once she remembered something that had happened that had been on her mind since she was thrown to the underworld. "Which reminds me," she smiled at him, "I need to thank you."
"W-why would you thank a silly creature like myself?" Oba sighed at her.
"Because you were the one that brought me down to Hell in the first place," she shrugged, "and I never knew there are souls trapped there for many years… and it's my fault and I need to correct the situation." She rustled up his hair; bring the boat up onto the shore and using the butt side of her scythe to push the boat up farther, "So I should thank you. Thank you little Oba, son of Pharaoh."
"Y-you're welcome," he chuckled lightly, jumping out of the boat followed by Sophie. "What should we do with this boat?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "Perhaps it will go off on its own or someone else will take it. Let's just get you up to a safe place –" She paused, pushing Oba up farther on the beach and glaring off into the waters.
"W-what is it Sophie?" he frowned.
"It's the Leviathan," she huffed under her breath, "I can sense that he's about to emerge… Oba go and run for the hills and wait for me. I'll show up when I'm done. Don't look back."
"Y-yes master!" he exclaimed, running as fast as he could up the beach and not daring to look behind him because of Sophie's warning.
Then Sophie set her eyes on the waters, were tentacles emerged out of the water to grab a hold of her. She pulled her black cloak tighter around her body and her black hood tighter on her head, the only thing showing from her face was her devious smirk and an eerie blue, green, and yellow glow coming from her eyes. "If you're going to fight me then show yourself!" she yelled into the water, slamming her black scythe against the sand before looking around for the creature. "Come on Leviathan," she began to taunt it, "I know you want to show yourself…" She waited till the tentacles emerged again, this time the top of the Leviathan's head showing itself with its eyes glowing brightly at her. She grinned, letting out a battle cry and jumping up high into the air with her scythe raised to slash it into half. The Leviathan roared back, sending its limbs at her to grab a hold of her.
The sounds of slashing and the cry of the beast was all that could be heard from the land, Sophie dropping down onto the creature as its limbs fell around them. Grabbing hold of its head she threw it up into the air, slashing her scythe at the sky as she fell into the water. The Leviathan let out another cry, its body being ripped apart by the dark energy that she sent towards it. The Leviathan fell in after her, its body aimed at grabbing a hold of her as she tried to swim underwater. Sophie did the best she could as she swam around in the water, frightened that she was at a disadvantage since she never learned how to swim. She yelled at the Leviathan as it roared back at her from the water, her scythe slashing the body in half again and again till there was nothing left. Blinking in confusion and waiting for another attack that never came, her body slowly floated farther and farther into the darkening water, Sophie unable to swim out from her watery grave. A hand grabbed a hold of her, pulling her out of the waters and throwing her onto the land.
Sophie let out a hefty cough, a mixture of water and blood coming from her mouth and she looked up at her savior. She blinked with uncertainty, never before seeing a human whose eyes bore the same brightness the Leviathan did. "You are Darkness yet you do not know how to swim?" he chuckled, "That's pretty funny! Hey landlubbers this powerful creature doesn't know how to swim –" The Leviathan let out a surprised yelp as he was grabbed by the tip of Sophie's scythe and thrown off of her.
She threw him farther up the beach, not giving the creature time to think as she appeared in front of his face and snarled at him. "Enough games Leviathan," Sophie growled at him. "Now do you want me to destroy you or will you let me leave?" she snarled, pushing the blade of her scythe up at his neck.
He whimpered slightly, letting out a huff as she slit into his throat millimeter by millimeter. "Okay alright," he growled, causing Sophie to stop and hold her scythe at his neck, "You win. I will let you go… Dang it. Having to listen to you, Erebus… how drone –"
"My name is Sophia Serbus, Leviathan," she sneered, digging the blade deeper into his neck, "Not Erebus, not Abaddōn, not Anubis, Chaos, or Death: just Sophia Serbus, servant of Darkness and God of Death. Now do you want me to explain this farther by embedding my scythe into your head or can I go about my own business silently?"
"… You're no fun," he huffed, "You were more fun when you were defenseless."
"Hey I can still be fun!" she huffed back, letting go of his neck and stepping away from him, but kept a stern glare on is eyes. "It just took me a couple of days to get out of the lowest reaches of Hell."
"Oh really?" the Leviathan stood up, giving her a slight bow. "Then my apologies o tired one," he grinned, Sophie shaking her head as he creped around her and back towards the water. "I will promise that this is the last time you will be seeing me from the order Michael sent out to me. You are free to go back to the human world Serbus, but do know this: I will be back."
"And I will look forward to the reunion," she answered with a smirk. Slowly, but surely, the Leviathan walked back into the water, slowly turning back into the sea monster and disappearing into its watery depths. Once she was sure the Leviathan was gone she collapsed on the sand, unable to keep her eyes open as she fell into a state of unconsciousness.
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Hearing a low groan coming from the woman, who had washed up on the shore, Oba's eyes blinked trying to not tear up as he continued to shake her. "Come on master," he whimpered, "Y-you need to get up –" He suddenly stopped, seeing a long shadow cast across their bodies and stretching into the water. Oba whimpered as he slowly turned his head around and looked up, feeling a dark and overwhelming presence behind him. The man snickered, the boy letting out a surprised yelp and holding his hands up in defense. "Don't eat me!"
The man couldn't help but laugh, running a long black nail over the boy's cheek and causing him to jump back startled and fall off to the side of her body. "I will do no such thing," he giggled at the boy, Oba's eyes widening in fright as the creepy man crept towards his master. He sneaked forward at the creature he was waiting for and knelt down beside her, running a nail over the woman's face as she began to regain consciousness by his touch.
Sophie let out another tired groan as she slowly opened her eyes, her glowing blue, green, and yellow eyes still shining as she flinched away from the bright sun. "… U-undert-aker?" she asked the man, Undertaker chuckling as he shifted his head in front of the sun to shield her stinging eyes.
"This is he," he giggled, his features softening as he ran a nail over her hair and cuffed her face into his hand. "I was worried about you," he said in a soft voice, "and I wasn't sure if you would come back."
"D-dad I –" she flinched, feeling a sting going up her arm. Sophie looked down at her left hand and groaned, the skull and thorns marking still visible and glowing on her hand. "H-how long was I gone?"
"Seven days, but I'm not going to let you out of my sight till you rest," he giggled, pressing his lips upon hers, but flinching back slightly as an explosive shock ran up his mouth and down his spine.
That's when she noticed Undertaker frowning, her face turning to worry as she raised her hand up to grab his cheek. "W-what's wrong?" she trembled, her hand still shaking as he grabbed hold of her hands and kissed them tenderly.
"Nothing," he said quietly, "I will explain later." Then he turned his attention over to the soul staring at them, a wide grin on his face as he gestured the boy to come over with a wave of his finger. "Who is this lovely~ soul you've found little maiden?" he chuckled as the boy crept sluggishly towards them.
"Oba, son of Pharaoh," she groaned, closing her eyes and turning her head to avoid the bright sun shining on her face. "A-as you I will explain later," she grumbled under her breath, "b-but first: Oba come here."
"Yes Sophie," Oba explained, rushing over to her side and trying to avoid the eerie set of green/yellow eyes that seemed to be shining from behind the other man's silver bangs.
"H-here… possess me body now," she told him.
"W-wait what?" Oba huffed.
"Oh you know," she chuckled, "when I told you that you would be staying in my body while you're up here? Well come on now… I can't keep awake any longer." Oba did as he was told without complaining, his soul disappearing into Sophie's body as she closed her eyes and let in a breath. Once Oba was inside of her Sophie looked up at the Undertaker and smiled, chuckling as she tried to come up with an excuse for what she had done. "L-let's just talk about this later," she sighed, "b-but I don't even know why you're here."
"I came to pick you up," the Undertaker chuckled, finding that her actions didn't need an explanation yet as he picked her up and walked to the edge of the shore. "I knew where you went and knew where you would end up popping out of the underworld."
"Y-you did?" she blinked, her head flopping over to the side as she watched the Undertaker kick the boat she had used to ride the rivers of the underworld back into the middle of the ocean.
"Yes," he giggled, "and I found it entertaining to just watch then help you."
"Oh thanks," she huffed disgustedly, feeling in the back of her mind that he was keeping something from her. She was pushed out of her thoughts as she felt another sting go through her arm and up around her body, shuddering as she shifted her body closer to the Undertaker for comfort.
He cooed softly into her ear, running a comforting hand along her cheek as he brought her left hand up into his hand and pressed it against her chest. "It's okay little maiden," he talked to her softly as he walked up the beach and towards the hills above, "I will get rid of your pain soon enough."
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"Hey Jericho I was just wondering if you knew if Sophie got back yet?" Rose asked as she came into his office, setting down a collection of papers on his desk as she looked at his tired face.
"She did," he sighed softly, "but her powers have increased by ten-fold… or even more than that. I'm worried she may lose control if she stays in the land of the living longer then she has to –"
"Don't worry about silly details like that," Rose huffed as she took a few steps backward towards the door. "Sophie is a strong woman, a strong spirit. You need to put more faith into her." Then Rose chuckled lightly, playing around with a black feather keychain hanging off of her side, "I know I had to learn to do that… and so do you," she huffed back. "Now do you have anything for me to send out?"
"Nope I'm okay," he told her. "Tell Alexander I send my regards."
"Will do," she nodded, closing the door behind her and walking down to Alex's office. "Hey муж dear," she peeked her head into the office, "I'm going to go talk to Miss Sutcliff about something."
"Oh okay," Alex smiled as he signed forms and set them off to the side. "What about?"
"Sophie made it," she giggled happily, "but, of course, she won't be coming to work for a while."
"Ah I see!" Alex chuckled happily. "Well this is exciting news to hear. Let's give her a few more days before we start bugging her," he snickered, "since we don't know what type of state Sophie could be in right now."
"Yes'um," Rose smiled back, blowing him a goodbye kiss as she closed the door behind her. "Seven days…" she thought as she walked down the hallway towards the stairs, "You can't just think that's ironic right?" Rose chuckled lightly, skipping down the stairs and eventually reaching her destination.
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A/N: BAM DONE! I hope you guys have enjoyed this last chapter ^^ I'm starting to like this Leviathan character. I don't know if you guys do or not, but he's fun to write up! Heh. I can't wait to introduce him better =3 I guess I'll see you guys next time. As always comments are welcome!... OH! And if you guys have an OC you'd like me to add I'll do so. If not then… then yeah. Enough ranting. See you!
Phlegethon – the river of fire
Erebus – "darkness"; the first recorded instance of it was "place of darkness between earth and Hades"
Chaos – "emptiness, vast void, chasm, abyss"; formless or void state preceding the creation of the universe or cosmos in the Greek creation myths, more specifically the initial "gap" created by the original separation of heaven and earth