Techno looked around him wearily, a sense of calm relief rushing through his veins in a way that reminded him of a hard battle hard won. But he'd had no battle recently, and he didn't recognize his surroundings. He was in a clearing with a cabin nearby, and there were some wolves playing nearby.

There was a gentle breeze, and the sun was shining down on top of him. It was warm and pleasant, and thankfully entirely underwhelming. He took a deep breath, realizing that the air was probably cleaner than anywhere Techno had been recently.

He closed his eyes, taking a moment to take in the fact that nothing hurt. It had been probably a number of months since Techno had last been at peace or at least not hurting for any reason. He opened his eyes again, looking around and spying a garden. He'd always wanted to learn how to garden.

"Well, this is something to get used to." Techno uttered. It took him several moments to realize… It was quiet. His voices were gone. The voices that had scared him so much as a child, that had guided him through life, were just… gone. He stumbled lightly, moving to sit on the ground when it fully hit him. They were gone.

He'd prayed for days, weeks, months, probably years at that, for the voices to leave him alone and for him to know what silence was like. To not have headaches from the shouts, the terrible singing, the unwanted advice and stories that plagued him… And now they were just gone.

He closed his eyes as he moved to lay down, to just enjoy the silence and the peace of laying in the sun.

There was a small smile on his face as he basked in the feeling of safety.

It was several hours before Techno felt the urge to move, and even then, it was so that he could explore. The several hours of nothing going on, and the silence, had given him some time to think for himself. He deduced that he had died somehow, not that he really cared as to how, and he was now in Limbo.

He'd heard stories about Limbo, and that Limbo was different for everyone. It just depended on who you were and what you did in life. He'd always thought his Limbo was going to be painful, but this… This was peaceful. Techno was at peace.

And now he wanted to explore.

There was a knock at the door. There was a knock at the door that sounded so painfully familiar. Techno didn't want to get his hopes up; his friend could have very well still been alive, though he wasn't sure what time was like in Limbo in comparison to living.

But he did move rather quickly to get to the door that stopped him from knowing.

He threw the door open with wide eyes and stopped. It was his old friend, but it also wasn't. For one, he knew that his friend didn't have massive black wings that resembled that of a crow, nor did he own any crows. Though it had been a dream of his friend's to actually own a crow.

And his friend also didn't wear a wedding band, though it had been a number of years since his friend had gone missing.

Techno had never stopped looking, even as he continued his conquest of eradicating corruption in governments. But the years had gotten longer, the silence, despite the voices, had never been so loud, and the winters were colder.

"Do you not recognize me, old friend?" There was a laugh, even though there was a hint of worry hidden behind the amusement. That laugh was so distinctly Philza that it hurt.

"Phil…" Techno finally breathed out, and there was a wave of relief that coursed through his friend. "You're- You died…" Techno never knew that.

"Not… Not technically, may I come in?" Techno immediately moved to let his friend in. Philza laughed lightly before there was a moment of panic. One of the crows that followed Philza had soared inside, moving to land on Techno's shoulder and pecked at his long pink hair. Techno only raised an eyebrow.

"We have a lot to catch up on." Techno uttered as Philza moved inside. There was an air of confidence, even in a place that couldn't have been familiar to him, as his friend moved. The wings on his back moved in time with Philza, twitching and shifting as Philza did.

"Indeed we do, mate, indeed we do." Philza smiled, and there was an air of happiness. "Starting, I got married!" Philza brightened up at even mentioning his potential partner. "She's absolutely gorgeous, and powerful, and oh so sweet and funny." Techno could see the adoration in his friends eyes as the two of them moved to the living room.

"You got married without me?" Techno joked, a smile appearing on his face as his friend glanced at him worriedly.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that mate." The two sat on the couch, Techno being mindful of the crow that had found his shoulder so comfortable. "And sorry about Eris there, she's a very curious crow. New, too." Philza chuckled.

"You can hear them?" Techno asked, feeling himself relax as he fell into the familiar back and forth with Philza.

"A lot like how your voices are, I imagine." Techno hesitated, a tilt of his head. He knew what his friend was talking about. It had been the topic of conversation a number of times, Techno's Voices.

"I don't hear them anymore." Techno uttered before he could think better of it. Surprise littered Philza's face.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's…" Techno stopped, glancing at the couch with a tilt of his head. "It's been silent. It's nice. Though, a little unnerving. But the quiet's nice, I think. Definitely new." Techno offered, looking back up. Philza looked happy, almost.

"That's good to hear, mate. That a new thing?"

"Since I… Since waking up here, yeah." Techno nodded. "But tell me more about this wife of yours." Techno tried to pry. Philza laughed, his face lighting up once more.

"Her name's Kristin, but you'd probably know the tales told about her; told about Lady Death." Philza told him. Techno really should not have been as shocked as he was, it was Philza that he was talking too. Philza could negotiate with almost anyone, and once he had something to put his mind to, there'd been nothing that would stop him.

Even more so, now that Death probably didn't have an effect on him.

"That… Shouldn't surprise me, yet here I am, surprised." Techno rolled his eyes. Philza laughed again, looking pleased with himself. It had once been a game for Philza, trying to surprise Techno.

Techno supposed that Philza had won that game, now.

"Oh, I have a son now." Philza looked happy, and extremely and utterly painfully fond as he told Techno that. "His name's Theseus, Kristin and I call him Tommy." Techno raised an eyebrow as he stared at Philza, who only shrugged with a smile.

"So, you're married, you have a son, how old is he? And you have wings and a flock of crows." Techno smiled, "I'm surprised that I'm still even surprised." Philza snorted, reaching forward and running a finger over the crow's head. Eris if Techno had heard Philza correctly, earlier.

"Yeah, been killing, taking out a few corrupt governments here and there, taking… taking care of the kids that pass through, helping Kristin's cousin, Deity of Rebirth, with the spirits that are scared to try living once more." Philza looked fond, he looked at peace and content.

That's all Techno had ever wanted for his friend.

"Tommy's three, now." Philza leaned back when Eris made a noise that sounded eerily similar to that of a growl. Crows shouldn't be able to growl, but Techno also didn't know much about birds. "Oh, and Kristin wants to meet you." Philza looked excited. "That is, if you are comfortable meeting her." He looked nervous for a moment before relaxing.

"I'll have to get to know her, now won't I?" Techno shrugged, wincing when Eris pecked his ear. "You knock that off, or I'll hand you right back over to Phil." Techno warned, smiling softly when the crow nudged his chin with her head.

"That would be a first for her listening." Philza uttered, sounding almost bewildered. Techno smiled slightly. "She doesn't… do people, her words." Philza tried to explain.

"Ah, so she's like me. Got it."

"You like people."

"No, I tolerated you. I hated the rest." Techno rolled his eyes with a smile. Philza made a noise of offense, even as he was laughing. Techno laughed too.