Third Person POV

Lying on the ground were a dying twelve-year-old boy and a deceased woman.

The boy had light brown skin and long hair that was silver on the left side and black on the right side. His right eye was red, while his left eye was golden brown. He was tall for his age, standing at five feet six inches, and had a lean yet muscular body with scars of all shapes and sizes.

This boy is Lanius Monkey D. Lucifer, a descendant of Luffy D. Monkey, Boa Hancock, and the original Lucifer. He was also the current Red Dragon Emperor.

However, that wouldn't be for long, as Lanius was bleeding out profusely, bathing in a pool of his own blood, and would die at any moment.

The boy was experiencing various emotions as his death was approaching. There was fear and sadness, but his most prominent feeling was rage. He was angry at himself for not being strong enough to protect his mother. Angry that his father killed the only person that ever showed him any compassion and love. And he was angry that he would never be able to avenge his mother.

"Hey, Ddraig..."

"Yes, partner..." the dragon's tone was gentle and filled with great sadness.

Tears began to run down the boy's cheeks. "Thank you for being my friend. Without you or Mom, I wouldn't have made it as long as I did...it was an honor to be your host."

"No, the honor was mine...I'm sorry I couldn't do more..."

Lanius let out a hollow chuckle. "Don't be sorry. There was only so much my body and you could do...I don't blame you at all. I just...wish...I just..."

The boy's eyes began to close, and his heart slowly stopped beating.

"Goodbye, partner..." Those were the last words the boy heard before everything went black.

Lanius opened his eyes and found himself in an empty white room.

"Where am I?" he asked himself as he stood up.

"You're between the realms of life and death," said a female voice behind him.

Lanius's eyes widened, and he turned to face the woman behind him.

The woman had ghostly white skin and long, wild hair that was pitch black. She had black eyes, wore black lipstick, stood the same height as Lanius, and had a lean yet curvy figure. Lastly, the woman wore a black tank top, spiked belt, pants, and boots.

This woman was Death Of The Endless, the literal personification of life and death and one of the most powerful beings in existence.

"A-Are you..."

"Death? Yup," she chirped.

Her attitude and appearance dumbfounded Lanius. He expected Death to be a guy and more menacing, not a friendly and attractive-looking goth chick.

"W-Woah, you're not what I would imagined..."

Death chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"H-Hehe yeah, I bet," he awkwardly laughed while attempting not to freak out about the fact that he was actually talking to Death herself. "...I don't mean to be rude, but why are you talking to me? Shouldn't I be...you know, gone..."

She smiled. "I'm glad you asked my little hybrid. I'm here to offer you a deal."

The boy tilted his head in confusion. "A deal?"

Death nodded. "Yup, I'll grant you a second chance at life and help make you strong, avenge your mother. In exchange, I want you to be my avatar and kill those who've avoided me for far too long."

Lanius's eyes widened in disbelief. The boy couldn't believe what he was hearing! "D-Dont get me wrong, I'm incredibly thankful for the offer, but...why me?"

Death looked at him with compassionate eyes and gave him a sad smile. "Because it wasn't your time to die yet, you still have a role to play in the future," she vaguely explained with a heavy tone.

"What do you mean?" Lanius couldn't help but ask.

She gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, but that's as much as I can tell you."

He sighed. "I understand...but can you at least tell me if my mom is in a good place?"

Death nodded and smiled sadly at him. "She is."

Lanius smiled and was relieved by the information. "Ok...that's good. I'll accept your deal."

She beamed. "That's great, but before I let you go, I have to make a few things clear. As my servant, you'll receive certain benefits. One of them being that for each individual you kill, you'll be granted increased power and occasionally new abilities."

He grinned. "Sounds awesome."

"I'm not finished yet," she looked at him sternly. "There are also rules you need to abide by. Rule one, no excessive killing, and rule two, don't abuse the abilities I give you. Failure to follow these rules will result in losing a fraction of your power or worse. Do you accept these terms?"

Lanius gave her a determined look and nodded. "I accept. I won't let you down."

Death smirked and kissed his cheek. "You better not'" she breathed into his ear, causing him to shiver. "Or else I'll have to punish you~"

With a snap of her fingers, Death sent Lanius back to the world of the living.

Lanius POV

I yawned and slowly rubbed my eyes. I then sat up and saw that I was in a room.

Where the fuck am I?

"You're in your new friend's home," Death answered.

I nearly jumped at hearing her voice but was able to stop myself and respond.

'New friend?' I quirked an eyebrow.

"Yup, since you're my avatar, I gotta make sure you're taken care of and have someone to watch your back in a fight."

'I see...thank you so, who's my new friend?'

"Her name's Uta. She was a good friend of your ancestor," she revealed, making my eyes widen at the information.

Uta, also known as The Siren of Death, was an incredibly powerful Outer God who fought alongside Luffy and his allies during the Great War. Many assumed she died like the others, but apparently, that wasn't the case.

'I thought she died.'

"Oh, she did, but like you, it wasn't time for her to die yet."

Before I could continue my conversation, I heard a familiar male voice.

"Lanius?"

I beamed brightly. "Hey, Ddraig..." I tried not to let my emotions get the best of me. "Guess who's still kicking."

"But how?" Ddraig asked incredulously.

"That would be my doing," Death replied, shocking the heavenly dragon.

"L-Lady D-Death?" the dragon stammered, absolutely terrified that the literal abstract of life and death was talking to them, which is understandable.

Death snorted. "I'm certainly no lady. Anyway, I'm the reason why our friend here is alive. He's my first avatar."

"WHAT?!"

Wait what? "I'm you're first avatar?"

Huh, I thought she'd have more than one.

Strange...

"Yup," Death chirped.

"Why?"

Death hummed. "Who knows?~" she playfully replied, making Ddraig groan.

Who would've thought Death could be so cheeky? I shook my head in amusement and explained everything that transpired to Ddraig.

After that, I left my room to meet my new friend. It didn't take me long; the place we were staying was small. She is currently in the kitchen cooking while singing.

"We can choose the way of our future. Try a brand new path. If I change the world. If I change the world."

"Say goodbye to everyone who stands against us. No one has the power to stop a change that comes through music."

"No, you can't stop magic. Close your eyes, and you can see the future before you."

"Every note I sing is bringin' you closer to your purpose. Once you're there, don't let go."

"You wanna play a real game? Unfurl the chain. Melody strung out like we're walkin' on a tightrope. Don't wanna try, don't wanna cry, wanna forget. Just wanna live inside a dreamland."

"I wanna be free. And let a brand new era dawn. I know that we can create a new world! We can choose the way of our future. Try a brand new path. If I change the world. If I change the world. This boundless music brings transformation."

"Messages in the song reach even further. This dream will come true. I believe in you."

"Say goodbye to everything that's weighing you down. Transcend beyond reality to colorful worlds of music. We need to keep on rising."

"Close your eyes and take my hand. We're runnin' together. We don't have to live like this. I know we can all do better. I sing for liberation."

"You wanna play a real game, unfurl the chain. Melody lighting up the path to new horizons. Don't wanna try, don't wanna cry, wanna forget. Just wanna live inside a dreamland.

I wanna be free. And let a brand new era dawn. I know that we can create a new world!"

"We can choose the way of our future. Try a brand new path. If I change the world, If I change the world. This boundless music brings transformation. Messages in the song reach even further. Reach even further. A new genesis!" she finally finished.

"Wow, that was awesome!" I praised with stars in my eyes.

She screamed and jumped in surprise. Then she turned around to glare at me while holding her chest and breathing heavily.

"You scared the shit out of me!"

"Woah..." That was my intellectual response to her.

Uta was said to be one of the most beautiful women to have ever existed. Her beauty was so great that it rivaled beings like Gabriel, Aphrodite, and Lilith. And I'm fortunate enough to say that those rumors were factual.

Uta was fair-skinned and had purple eyes, and her hair was red on the right side and white on the left side. She had braids at the top of her head resembling bunny ears and two ponytails that went past her waist with circular braids at the end. She also wore a short white dress that did nothing to hide her figure, which all I could say was damn...

"Did someone develop a little crush~" Death teased.

'Shut it," I internally replied.

I heard Ddraig chuckle ominously, making me sigh. They're never going to let this go, are they?

"Nope!" both replied in unison.

Fuck.

Uta looked at me, momentarily confused, but quickly realized I was checking her out. Her eyes shined mischievously, and a grin formed on her beautiful features.

"Ara, Ara~ Does someone like what they see?~"she teased, causing my cheeks to turn slightly red.

However, I refused to succumb to her teasing like a beta male, so I shook the redness out of my cheeks and looked at her blankly.

"What if I do?" I snapped back.

My reply took Uta aback for a second, and then she chuckled. "I'm flattered, but you're a bit too young for me, although you are pretty adorable...maybe when you turn 16, I'll change my mind...Anyways, you hungry?" I nodded dumbly. "Great, go sit at the table over there, and I'll bring the food out," I did as I was told and sat at the table, still surprised by her earlier comment.

Death giggled. "I bet you're real happy about that, huh?"

'Quiet.'

End.