GRIM REAPER

-Renaissance-

…

Weiss settled into her seat, enjoying the eternal silence.

She closed her eyes, dismissing the intensity that existed in her head every time she sent a soul to its destination, the pressure, the images of other people's experiences blending into her own mind, images that she didn't want to see, but that she still hadn't learned to avoid.

Now she had the faces of the progenitors of the soul that she had just collected, fresh in her head, she could see their faces, soft, loving, just like his wife's face, full of life, different from the expression of the man, who was over a hundred years old, looking weak and tires. His body couldn't resist any longer, even though some of his organs were replaced with artificial ones.

That was the way of extending life that humanity used in those years.

But it was still insufficient to achieve immortality.

There was no perfect tool to achieve it, not even Death could escape death.

It pained her to see people like this, in such a state, to see hundreds of humans slowly die, their lives artificially lengthened, but their bodies remained nothing more than skin and flesh. Some seemed to change that about themselves, but if the meat didn't fail, the brain did.

The imperfect brain.

And those visions of death reminded her of her predecessor.

How long had it been?

Years, but for her aching heart, for her aching soul, it felt like yesterday.

Luckily, each time the images she saw of humanity were fewer, fewer seconds, fewer scenes, not like in the beginning, them all overwhelming her mind, dyeing her mind with human's lives. She didn't want to see people's lives, to see the faces that were abandoned in that world, they reminded her of her own life, her own reality, how she had been abandoned there, in the abyss, leaving her completely alone.

Alone with her loneliness.

In addition to her own selfish pain, it also felt wrong to invade people's privacy, their memories, however trivial they were.

Weiss crossed her legs, before looking at the scythe rigid in its place. She held it, and despite having used it for such a short time, it was as if it had always been there, in her hands, as if she had been born to have that weapon with her.

She ran her fingertips over the animal skull at the tip, just as she ran her fingertips over the sharp blade, which, while cutting through nothing more than diffuse souls, didn't seem to affect the edge like a normal weapon. It looked intimidating, and she had the strange thought of what would it feel to when that weapon stripped her of her very soul.

But no.

She couldn't do such an act, not when she expected the universe to fulfill her dream, her wish. As the Grim Reaper she had a work to do, until somebody else came to that abyss, the one who would inherit her position, and thus, the cycle would continue.

Weiss moved her hand in front of herself, returning the scythe to its usual place, to the left of her body, of her throne, and a moment later, she could see the portal come into view in front of her face, but not the one she used to go through to the human world, it was a different one, one that allowed her to see beyond that realm.

That was her routine since that day.

Yes, many people died per second, but many people were born too.

In that century, not many died, but not many were born either, so it could be said that her work as Death was relatively slow, unhurried, less than usual, so time there became even more eternal than it used to feel before. So, she could give herself the pleasure of observing each of the souls that arrived in the human world, integrating into a human body, a new and fragile container.

She needed to be alert to the new born, that way, she would be able to notice when Ruby's soul would be back into the human world. It was her mission, her new job, to rejoice into her wish becoming real.

She couldn't miss it.

She wasn't going to meddle in the lives of others, spy on them, she said she wouldn't do it, instead she just wanted to see the souls that arrived, hoping to see the soul that interested her, the only soul in that infinite sea that she cared enough to use her omnipotent powers. Again, it was her selfishness speaking, but she couldn't help it. She was there, in the dark, alone for an eternity, waiting for someone to die to collect their souls, the least she asked was for someone to take away her loneliness.

Weiss couldn't stand the loneliness anymore.

She used to be expressionless lately, since every day was her loneliest day, so she was immensely surprised that her face changed, that her own expression became surprised, as if her skin had forgotten how to express itself.

It was time.

She knew it.

Image after image, neonate after neonate, one after another, appeared, and this one had caught her attention.

Those eyes.

Those silver eyes couldn't be someone else's, those were the silver eyes she was looking for.

The soul returning back to life.

She tried to look only at the baby, nothing else, without the people around her, it was none of her business what was going on in the human world, the only thing that matters to her, was that baby, that soul, that human, nothing else.

And she felt it inside her old guts.

That newborn was Ruby.

There was another death on the list, another death waiting for the Death, but she didn't move. That could wait, a few seconds more or a few seconds less wouldn't make much of a difference. The vessel was dead, the soul would still be there until she came to harvest it, it was irrelevant whether she harvested it soon or not.

What she wanted now, was to see a little more, a second more, and she had the luxury of doing it.

Just a second.

She felt the silver eyes looking at her, as if this window to the world were corporeal, and she found herself smiling.

It was impossible, those silver eyes couldn't see her, she couldn't even have the slightest hint that a being on another realm, of another reality, was watching her. But out of her own selfishness she decided to tell herself that it was so, that Ruby saw her even in that state of mind, because they were soulmates and the connection they had was so incredible, that it could overcome any reality, any separation between them.

Weiss was going to see Ruby for a moment more.

Just one more second.

…

Weiss settled the cape on her shoulders, and saw herself bringing her nose closer to the fabric.

There was no smell of roses anymore, which was unfortunate, just as there was no blood red color either. At the moment of putting it on, it changed, it became white like herself, and the change seemed interesting to her, even so, she would have preferred it to remain as it was on the shoulders of the previous Death. But they were different souls, they were different beings, despite sitting on the same throne.

She sat down in her place, taking a deep breath.

The scent of nothing from that infinity was relaxing, especially when she had been in the human world seconds ago, where the air became more and more toxic in most places. People managed to do anything to protect themselves, new lungs, gas masks, but for her that aroma was absolutely disgusting. She wasn't used to it. She could say that it was even worse than the smell of putrefaction and blood of her own body, of her work, of her labor.

A smell worse than death.

But that was how people lived, at least in that human world, because there were too many worlds, too many realms, and luckily, she didn't have to take care of all of them, and, above all, she was glad that the soul she was looking for, that she desired, was under her jurisdiction.

She saw herself smiling, waving her hand, the portal appearing again in front of her, the window that linked her with humanity. She crossed her legs and nestled her cheek against her hand, getting comfortable.

Was this how Ruby must have felt when she watched her from her throne? When Ruby paid her a silent visit while she hid under the covers, praying for Death?

The cycle was repeating.

But Ruby, the human Ruby on the Earth, unlike her, didn't hide under the sheets, no, she was brave so she went out, without looking back. Ruby didn't pray to life, nor to death, nor to the universe, she just move on, without relying in anything nor anyone.

Ruby was still a child, but she had grown in that time, and she was surprised by how the time passed, how quick a child grown. Weiss watched Ruby running without stopping, quick, energic. She wore a gas mask over her face, the garters pulled so tight, leaving a reddish mark on her skin, that way the mask wouldn't fall off her small face.

Ruby ran without hesitation, without fear.

The highest land on earth were used to create the tallest buildings, using even the smallest bit of land, and places near sea level, had to make cities that could withstand being under water, connecting them with tunnels.

Humanity managed to survive, it impressed her.

In one of those tunnels, she saw little Ruby, running between vehicles that were moving rapidly from one side to the other. Her short reddish hair moved with each of her movements, even more so when she was hit by a gust of wind caused by the vehicles.

Weiss saw Ruby take a breath from time to time, she seemed tired from running that much, and although the mask provided her with clean air, it wasn't enough.

After running for a long time, she reached the streets of the great and humid city, on the surface, and silver eyes looked around, looking for some point of reference, and there she just ran again.

Weiss had watched Ruby grow since she found her, and noticed how she gained weight, how she gained height, how she learned to walk or how she said her first words. She missed few moments of Ruby's life, and even though she said that she wouldn't be like that, that she wouldn't be a spy breaking into her privacy, she couldn't do much about it.

She reached the abyss and felt the need to see Ruby again, to see what was happening in her life, to see who she became.

There were ups and downs in that place, in that world, from the age of seven Ruby began to have problems in the place where she lived. There were health problems, there were problems in maintaining the air, water leeks, need of food supplies, things that didn't happen in the city, but there, underwater, even the toxic air was low. And yes, she tried to stay true to her own promise to stay out of the way, to learn as little as possible, but if she watched Ruby practically all day, she was going to find about it one way or another.

And today, Ruby had run away.

Ruby had decided to stop suffering in that environment, and although she had to try to convince her peers, she couldn't, that's why she was running alone through the big city. She was surprised to see Ruby managing to break into an old place in the lower part of the city, her tiny frame helping her in the mission. She had a plan, it was clear. Weiss saw her looking around, sneaking into what appeared to be a garage, and she searched endlessly until she found what she needed.

Weiss had infinite wisdom as an eternal being, but she didn't investigate enough about that world, which technology and problems were changing every day. She must have been interested before, when Ruby was in power, but she was too busy with Death itself to pay attention to new technologies.

Ruby put some small boxes inside a bag and tied it to her back, and so she moved around, going back, returning to the place she get into in first place, starting a long adventure through the city and the tunnels again.

That girl was a good person, she had that soul after all. She was her Ruby, and she confirmed it even more when she carried her loot back to her home under the tunnels. Weiss didn't even know what she had achieved, but she noticed how more than one person thanked her for her work. Taking her seriously, trusting her, promising her that they would help her next time.

Ruby saved someone.

She was Ruby after all.

It was the same soul that decided to be Death because the previous Death needed her, just as in life she risked her integrity to help, to stop the gangsters, to make the world a better place. That was Ruby, her Ruby, and always be.

She found herself smiling again, looking at the girl, who was scratching the back of her neck, her round face brimming with pride.

The silver eyes moved to her, to the place where she was watching, again, and she wasn't even surprised anymore. It had happened a few times, and while her rationality forced her to believe it was nothing more than a coincidence, the naiver side of her told her that Ruby could see her.

Ruby smiled, looking at her, and felt her heart pound in her chest.

She felt alive again, after those years being Death.

Yes, they would see each other again soon.

The perfect moment had to come.

Death had to come.