"I have some good news for you Amber..." Thanatos said as he entered the Library. He wasn't wearing his armor but normal clothes.

His clone had sent his memories to him a few seconds ago and to say he was pleased would be like saying that water wet… From what he could gather, Ozpin and his follower(s) were equally looking for those who attacked the Fall Maiden but unlike him, they didn't know WHO they were.

In addition, the Hunstman Qrow, who was also the one who stoppped Cinder and cie to steal all of the girl's power, was missing and from what he heard was somewhere to gather information on the enemy.

In short, he was looking for infos about Salem and her followers.

He would have to visit her soon…

He had been angry by Cardin and the rest of Team CRDL's behavior and blatant racism toward Faunus but he was proud of how his clone handled it.

He would have done the same… but worse.

Anyway, once his clone's memories settled in his head, Thanatos got up of his throne before walking toward the Library to find the only other occupant of his Palace : Amber herself. During the time she passed here, the two of them grew close to the point of seeing each other as siblings.

Amber was fascinated by the books she found in his Library as some of them were unknown to her ! There were even some books about Magic ! It was no surprise that she had, a few days after her arrival, asked him to teach her and he did just that… albeit with nervousness as he never taught anyone before.

Thankfully, it wasn't as hard as he thought and instead, it was kinda fun. He would sometimes allow Amber to go outside the Palace to practice some spells or hand to hand combat techniques. The advantage of being Half-Dead was the ability to still be able to use your powers.

Back to present, as the words left his mouth, the young woman in question turned away from the book she was reading to look at him

"What news ?" she asked him curiously while putting the book down.

"My clone found your body…" Thanatos answered to her with a tiny smile.

Amber's face brightened like millions of lamps at those words and she quickly appeared in front of him with joy and excitement

"Really ? Where is it ?!" she asked him with stars in her eyes.

Amused by her current behavior, the embodiment of Death's face then turned serious as he answered in a calm tone

"At Beacon… in a Vault of some sort..."

Hearing this, Amber smiled wider as she clapped her hands in satisfaction

"Does this mean I can finally go back to the World of the Living again Harry ?!" she asked him with pure happiness. Since recently, he had allowed her to use his name.

Thanatos shot her a fake look of pain and sadness "That eager to leave aren't you ?"

Amber's happy face turned blank as she stared at him before quickly hugging him when she realized what she said.

"I'm sorry Harry ! I didn't mean it like that !" she apologized to him while hugging his waist.

Then she stopped in her tirade when he heard him chuckling and looked up to see him staring at her with a mischievous smirk. For a second, she stared at him blankly but one she putted the pieces together, her face turned into a scowl as she glared at him

"You...You pranked me ! Again !" Amber cried out to him and he only laughed in response which caused her scowl to deepen as she grumbled

"Meanie..."

Her word only caused him to keep laughing like an idiot. For a moment, he laughed until Amber punched him on the chest (after all he was 8'5" tall and her 5'8"!), annoyed by his hilarity.

"Alright alright I'm stopping… Jeez you really love to ruin my fun..." Thanatos grumbled playfully and she sent him a proud smirk in response.

Chuckling again, his face then turned serious as he spoke again "However, I'm afraid but you are not going to leave anytime soon…"

"Why ?" Amber asked him with a frown of confusion.

After all, he just said he found her body !

"Because the other half of you is still at the hands of your attackers..." Thanatos answered calmly but with a hint of sympathy.

The young woman blinked at those words before her shoulders slumped a bit : she had almost forgot this small detail.

"You know… I will miss your company..." Thanatos whispered more to himself than to his interlocutor.

"I'm sorry ?" Amber asked him as she clearly heard him.

Internally slapping his face, the embodiment of Death looked back at her before answering with sincerity

"I said I will really miss your company once you leave… For so many eons now, I have been here in this bast palace alone… I didn't complained but since you came here, I grew to enjoy having you around…"

Amber looked at him with surprise but then it turned into a warm smile as she hugged him again. Thanatos smiled as he kindly returned the gesture, which wasn't easy considering the size difference.

"I'm still here you know… I'm not leaving yet…" Amber whispered to him warmly before chuckling in amusement

"I can't believe I managed to tame Death…"

Thanatos chuckled a bit at that, whispering back in equal amusement "I suppose you did..."

But then he felt a pang of sadness in his heart. Why ? Because he hadn't told Amber about the fact he worked with the Queen of Grimm or the fact he KNEW who had attacked her.

The embodiment of Death wouldn't admit it but he was slightly afraid. Afraid of loosing one of the only person he could see as a friend… and a surrogate sister. However, if he kept hiding it from her and she accidentally discovered it, things would be even worse.

"Amber… I have something to tell you..." Thanatos began to say in a calm but nervous tone.

"Yes ?" she asked him with slight curiosity while still hugging him.

"You probably won't like it...But I know who attacked you..."

At those words, a gasp escaped her mouth as she pulled herself away from him.

"You do ?!" she asked him with disbelief

"Yes : their names are Cinder Fall, Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai..." The embodiment of Death responded calmly with a sigh.

"How do you know them ?!" Amber asked him with anger and an expression of betrayal.

He knew that look very well… He had once arbored it after all… It was during the time he was still 14 years old… and was accused of having killed Cedric. Internally shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, he looked back at Amber who was still looking at him with the same expression she had a second ago.

"I don't know them personally… Only the names…but I DO know they are working with someone I'm ally with..."

Amber blinked at the unexpected words and seemed to calm down at the fact he didn't know them physically but then tensed at the second part of his sentence.

"Who is your ally ?" she asked him curiously but she didn't know why but she felt like she will not like the answer.

Thanatos looked hesitant to answer, something she noticed almost instantly by the way he looked at the shelves filled with countless of books around them.

"How much do you know about Salem ?" he asked her after a moment of silence.

Amber blinked at the question before saying "Well… Ozpin told me she was the Queen of Grimm and someone who wants to wipe out Humanity… Why do you a-"

Then she paused as she suddenly putted two and two together and looked at him with horror, shock and anger

"No… Don't tell me..." she began to say while shaking her head in denial.

"Yes… I'm allied with the Queen of Grimm herself !" Thanatos declared in a stern and calm tone while looking at her with sadness at the look of horror she was sending him.

"Why Harry ? Why did you ally yourself with her ?!" Amber asked him in anger and shock as she looked at him (once again) in betrayal.

Thanatos calmly looked at her before sighing while gesturing to the sofa "We should sit down… Its gonna take a while..."

00/(Time Skip)/00

It took him a hour or most but Thanatos explained to the Fall Maiden everything. Not the part of how he became Death mind you but why he allied himself with someone who 'wanted to wipe out Humanity'. Amber had been stunned to hear Salem's history and couldn't help but feeling a bit sympathetic toward her. No wonder she went 'mad' : being cursed by Gods for defying them, being betrayed by the man she wanted to save…

But what had shocked her the most was not Salem's history… but the fact Ozpin was actually Ozma, her ex-husband ! The Fall Maiden had wanted to denied it but Thanatos spoke with nothing but sincerity and calm with no traces of deception and lies, both in his tones and on his face.

Once he finished, Amber had demanded to be left alone as she wanted to think about what she learned. The embodiment of Death did just that and had left the Library to end straight to his room. On his way there, he had felt both relieved and worried.

Relieved because now Amber knew about his alliance with Salem but Worried because it might break the relationship they had together. He slept with difficulty that night… His mind showing him scenes of Amber hating or cursing him for his decisions.

The next day, after he woke up, he went to the Great Hall when he passed near the Library. Silently opening the doors, he saw Amber sleeping in the sofa.

(Yes Souls and Gods have to sleep too ! After all, who wouldn't want their beauty sleep ?!)

Approaching her, Thanatos summoned a cloak before gently putting it on her, leaving only her head out. Smiling, the embodiment of Death then quietly left, not having noticed that Amber was awake and watching him go. The second the Cloak touched her, the Fall Maiden was awake and when she opened her eyes, she was not surprised to see it was Thanatos/Harry.

As she watched him leave the Library, she thought what he told her last night. Sure she was upset by the fact he hid such informations from her but she could understand why… somehow. She wanted to be angry with him… she really wanted to… But she can't.

Amber grew to see him as the brother she never had and a close friend… In fact, he was her best friend.

Smiling, the young woman slowly went back on her feet before stretching her body. Once it was done, Amber left the Library to head straight toward the Great Hall, hoping to find Harry there.

How right she was when she found him sitting on his throne, now wearing his armor.

"Good morning Amber..." Thanatos/Harry greeted her warmly from his seat once he saw her approaching him.

The young woman internally felt bad as she saw the slight nervousness in his neon green eyes.

"Good morning to you too Harry…" she greeted him back with a smile.

An awkward silence followed until Amber opened her mouth to say "I'm sorry…"

The embodiment of Death blinked in surprise at the words before frowning.

"What for ?" Thanatos asked her with confusion from his throne.

" For yelling at you yesterday…" Amber responded in a soft tone as she rubbed her left arm with nervousness.

"I should be the one to apologize… I should have told you sooner..." Thanatos commented back with a sigh.

"Well what's done is done so… Friends again ?" Amber inquired him while giving him a soft smile to which he returned wholeheartedly

"Friends again~" he said with a nod and Amber sighed deeply in relief while himself looked relieved.

"What are you gonna do now ?" the young woman asked him gently as she went to stand by his side.

"Well the same as usual : greeting the souls, judging them and send them on their 'next great adventures'..." Thanatos replied with a shrug.

"Booooooriiiiiiing !" Amber grumbled with a huff, which caused him to chuckle a bit.

"Well… It IS my duty after all my dear..." The embodiment of Death retorted with a small grin.

Rolling her eyes at this, Amber added with a sigh "At least your clone is having fun ! Him !"

"I really don't like that 'Him' young girl..." Thanatos replied with slight narrowed eyes while scowling.

" And what will you do about it Old Man ?" the young woman asked him back playfully with a grin.

"I'm not THAT old !" The embodiment of Death retorted with fake indignation.

Amber stared at him with a blank expression on her face as if saying 'Are you serious right now ?'

"OK yes I am..." Thanatos grumbled while rubbing his eyes with a hand.

The young woman stared at him triumphantly and he rolled his eyes in response. The look on his face only caused her to start laughing uncontrollably… much to his chagrin and annoyance.

"Yeah Yeah laugh it off !" he grumbled to her before adding to himself

"Those youngsters… Always so disrespectful toward their Elders..."

Sadly for him, she heard his comments and her laughs doubled in intensity. A twitch mark grew on his forehead at the sound as he rubbed his eyes with his fingers.

He really had to open it, did it ?

00/(Time Skip)/00

Thanatos looked calm and neutral as he watched the soul of a man passing through the Red Door to his next destination : the Inferno. From what he saw, the guy was a child-rapist and so it was the only place of the Underworld he deserved to be.

Looking at the entrance, he saw no more souls and sighed deeply in relief. After Amber stopped laughing at him, she went straight to the Library to read more of his books on Magic and barely a moment later, he started his 'day of playing Judge' as a soul entered the Hall.

Then another…

And another…

And another again…

And on and on…

Until the guy he just judged…

In short, in the spawn of 3 hours, he had to judge a total of 13 different souls. A good part of them (6 out of 13) had been Faunus who worked in the Mines of the SDC. Because of their sufferings, Thanatos/Harry sent them to Elysium so they could live in peace.

The others were different : 4 of them were people who died in prison (a child-rapist, a murderer, a slave-driver and finally a child abuser) while the remaining three were a young woman and an old couple.

The child-rapist was sent to Inferno alongside the child abuser and the slave-driver while the murderer was sent to Oblivion… especially after the guy had the gut to insult him and DEMAND him to be send back !

The young woman, who had been killed by Grimm, was sent to Elysium just like the Old Couple. None of them had committed any crimes and in fact, from what he saw, the three of them had been good people.

Once the soul of the child-rapist passed through the Red Door, Thanatos thought he could take a break… but then froze when he heard Salem's voice reaching him

"My Lord… I have news for you..." she was saying in a pleased tone.

Whatever news she received must have put her in a good mood. Taking a deep breath, Thanatos went back on his feet before disappearing in thin air. Amber could take care of herself and she knew this Palace like the back of her hands now.

Now he just had to hope Salem wouldn't keep him for too long in case more souls entered his domain in his absence.

Meanwhile, in her castle, Salem was watching her 'Kingdom' through a window as she waited for the embodiment of Death to come. On her face, she arbored a pleased smile… a smile that widens when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"You called for me ?"

Turning her head, she was not surprised to find Thanatos in the room, wearing his terrifying yet beautiful armor. Secretly she couldn't help admiring it. Shaking her head, the Queen of Grimm went on a knee, bowing at the God before her.

"You have no need to be before me Salem…" Thanatos groaned with slight annoyance while slightly shaking his head.

Salem chuckled in response before going back on her feet and staring at the man in front of her. Being before him reminded her of how she faced the Gods of Light and Darkness so many centuries ago… How she felt so small compared to them…

Sure she was 5'10" tall but she was not as imposing than the young man (in appearance only) in front of her !

Not only the size was imposing but the power radiating from him as well was also a factor.

Shaking her head, the Queen of Grimm focused back on the Being in front of her, who seemed to be waiting for her to talk.

"My Lord… I got some news about the remaining Relics..."

Thanatos' eyes shined a bit in interest now and she had to retain herself from smiling in pleasure.

"Where are they ?" the embodiment of Death asked her calmly but it was easy to hear how pleased he was by the news.

"From what I was reported, the Relic of Knowledge is in Haven Academy while the Relic of Creation is at Atlas but we don't know where exactly..." Salem responded calmly but with a smile on her pale face.

"Excellent ! But I'm curious of who gave you those information..."

"For the Relic of Knowledge, it was the Headmaster of Haven Academy… For the other one, it was one of follower : Arthur..."

Thanatos nodded in acceptance before asking "How did before you can get the first Relic?"

"Leonardo Lionheart, the Headmaster of Haven is secretly trying to move the Relic as we speak… He is to give it to another one of my follower : Hazel… "

"How did you manage to gain his loyalty ?" he asked her with a curious raisebrow.

"It was no really hard… He is a coward who would do anything to survive… even if it means betraying his own friends..."

Those words caused Thanatos's eyes to narrow in anger. This Leonardo reminded him of Peter Pettigrew, who had betrayed his friends for the Dark Lord Voldemort. Taking deep breathes to calm himself, Thanatos looked back at Salem with a calm expression that caused her to be slightly afraid of him.

"What of Cinder ? Do you know where she is ?" he asked her sternly but calmly.

"I only know she is in Vale but nothing else…" Salem responded in a soft tone filled with disappointment.

"Very well then… I have no choice but to look for this Torchwick fellow… If I get him, he will tell me where she is..."

Salem nodded at his words before saying "What if I have an alternative ?"

Thanatos blinked at this before looking at her with narrowed eyes "Explain..."

It sounded more like an order than a simple request, Salem thought as she opened her mouth to say calmly

"What about I call a meeting ? Cinder and her group would have to come here like the rest of my inner circle..."

"And I will just have to be there to confront her…" Thanatos finished with a nod of understanding.

"Beside I think it is time for them to meet our new ally~" Salem added with a purr which caused the embodiment of Death to smirk at her toothily.

"They are in for a big surprise… I can't wait to see their faces..." Thanatos replied with a grin before laughing loudly alongside Salem.

Their laughs echoed throughout the castle and the Grimm near it, fled the area in fear.

"When do you plan to organize this meeting ?" the embodiment of Death asked her once they stopped their moment of hilarity.

"Maybe in a week… or less… I don't know yet..."

"Then take all the time you need..." Thanatos told her before pausing as he closed his eyes, looking like he was deep in thought.

"My Lord ?" Salem called him out with some worry

"I have to go… a soul entered my domain..." The embodiment of Death explained once he re-opened his eyes.

"Very well… I will contact you once I scheduled the meeting..." The Queen of Grimm said with a nod.

"Very well… Goodbye for now Salem..." Thanatos said before disappearing in thin air.

The Queen of Grimm watched the spot her Lord stood not long ago before looking at the nearest candle, mumbling

"Now… when should I set up this meeting ?"

(To be continue…)