Lord Death starred in the mirror at his childish skeleton mask.
It was crude. Simple. Without detail. Something anybody could see and laugh at.
But that was good. He wanted them to laugh at him. It was better than having them fear him. His other face had been so serious and grim. Not very nice at all.
Still, it had been a useful face. It was a powerful thing and gave an incredible presence. Nobody crossed him. Nobody defied him. He was unbeatable. He was unstoppable.
And yet, he was also friendless. And unloved. And lonely.
So he hid his true face.
He hid it behind a false mask of silliness and playfulness, so he could be loved by all. He hid his true voice underneath a whimsical sound. And he his his true body behind a radical structure. And it worked.
Everybody came to love him.
And upon this love he built a wonderful place where the people he loved could fight with him. And he didn't need to show his true self to make his enemies fear him. They feared the place he had built. He no longer fought with his loved ones. They fought for him.
He was feared him no longer. He was simply an echo of his past self. A joke at his own expense.
But he dared not reveal his true self to make himself feared again. He couldn't. He might drive away the ones he loved and be lonely again.
So he stayed where he was and did not change. He did not fight fearing his true self would come out. He could only hope that his loved ones were strong enough to fight the battle for him.
In the end, he felt like a coward.