The sound of a slow drip echoed though the bathroom… a faucet that needed fixing and ignored for a few days. Ritusko had no will to fix it, no will to do much of anything at this point at all. She stared at the empty soaking tub… the bloody water drained and the stains washed away, but the memory was still fresh in her mind. Seeing Mari on the floor, cradling Maya's naked form, her arms split open by a crafting razor… and all the blood… the room smelled of iron.

She still smelled it… she smelled it every time she worked the forge. It would be a permanent reminder of what she had lost. Her sorrow ruled her life now, but didn't time heal all wounds eventually? The funeral was only a few days ago… she knew she had to give it time.

"Kodama… I don't suppose in your research you ever came across how long the mind mourns the loss of a loved one."

Kodama looked at her sadly… "At least as many years as you knew the person…"

The girl had an answer it seemed for everything. Maya was originally her researcher, but Kodama was able to find information so quickly… Maya's skills in that department just couldn't compete, so for efficiency's sake, she started to use Kodama instead. Now she wondered if that decision was part of what drove Maya to take her own life.

"You idiot…" Ritsuko wasn't talking about Maya.

Her shoulders sank, tears came without pause, and she briefly wondered if despair would drive her to join her lost love.

Then she felt it… it was a touch, like a gentle hug… brief, but similar to what she had felt at the funeral. She turned around, almost expecting to see her beloved assistant there. She didn't… but she felt her still. She was close. A sudden nervousness and fear overcame her heart and everything in her mind was screaming at her to get out, and go to the back of the house.

Mari was about to check on Ritsuko when she saw her rush out of the room the Forge Mistress shared with her late lover. She was running, and she looked almost panicked. Mari quickly gave chase, but even with vampiric speed, Ritsuko was fast. What was driving her? Others saw her rush out of the house, and soon the home was cleared as eight other people joined her.

At this point, Ritsuko was backing up… she paid no heed to the fact that everyone followed her. She was looking towards the house, backing up and looking above it.

"Rits, what the…" She barely registered that Misato was trying to talk to her… her attention was drawn above the house where nothing seemed amiss.

Then suddenly as if it was just a façade, a circular section of the sky seemed to shatter, turning instantly into a conglomeration of broken glass and metal that resembled pieces of a clock face…

… and something dark was coming through…

VI: Cheating Death, Part I

It felt like a year to Maya… a long year since she ended up in this forsaken world between worlds, but today… today things were different. Though the skies above were still overcast, the sun was now threatening to break though the stationary blanket. Though everything was still in the grip of entropy, it was looking more like nature had taken over, with vines climbing structures and grass blanketing the ground.

The world was looking a little brighter every day, ever since she turned the tables on Death and started doing his job. She met so many people, more unfortunate children, elderly ready to move on, and more than a few unfortunates who were the victims of circumstance, crime, or the events that were shaping the world. It was an emotional job, but it always made Maya feel good. She was helping people in a way that a war against cults could not… she was helping them end their mortal existence and more on to whatever awaited their souls in the future.

A green field of energy dissipated from around an apartment building. Maya stood within its confines, hood now up. There were no more tears because what she did wasn't sad… but joyous. Another soul found its rest… and its last breath now served to further strengthen her. As she stepped from the warehouse the world around her changed. She felt herself phase between places once more and into a construct within this reality she herself created with the power she had acquired; her personal sanctuary.

A garden of beautiful flowers greeted her, surrounding a circular marble tower three stories tall in the style of ancient roman mausoleums. Golden braziers hung between the sculpted columns of the opened first floor. Polished marble floors with ancient designs adorned the first level and various potted plants, all beautiful but some quite deadly created the display. A hole in the center ceiling allowed access to the other two floors.

While she continued to stay in vicinity of Japan, she had gathered enough energy to extend her range to the entire world. After that, she learned how to create these dimensional constructs and had created her own private sanctum. Death couldn't reach her here, but hiding wouldn't end this hunt. Soon, she realized, she'd have to face him.

She felt another passing in the other world… she noted she could enter her sanctum anywhere, but she would still be in tuned with those that died nearby. Even this sense of death was limited in range still, but now as least she felt as if it was at minimum a couple of thousand kilometers, which was about half the length of Europe.

And after all the time spent here so far, she understood the necessity of time moving so slowly in the land of the dead; she couldn't be everywhere at once yet, so until then she had to be able to be anywhere nearly immediately.

"My work is never done it seems…"

Leaving a children's hospital this time Maya took stock of where she was. The city was mostly destroyed, but the part of the city where this hospital was still remained intact. The shadows around her were of JSSDF troopers who desperately tried to protect what little remained of the city and its infrastructure. With time being so subjective, she didn't know if this had already happened or was happening at that moment. All she knew was that another poor child was laid to rest.

Then she noticed it… there was a cultist in the mass that was attacking the JSSDF line that wasn't advancing… it was staring at her. She moved to her left, and watched as slowly the head tracked her movement.

"He can see me…"

Maya realized her power now allowed her to be viewed in the land of the living by those with sufficient supernatural power. And immediately she thought of her sempai. She could go to her now… reveal she still exists in some form… maybe even be brought back into the world of the living once more. But where would that leave all of the people who died?

At the mercy of Death… and that she could not abide. But… she could leave this place… finally make up for the pain she caused. Wasn't it selfish to want to live again? Didn't she deserve a second chance?

Her mind fought with the morality of it… she had a responsibility now…

The stories, though… Death was a confidant of Dracula himself. He was ever at his side, so how could he do that if he had a responsibility in the natural order? And Maya felt the answer more than she came to know it… because Death could control the flow of time in the world of the dead to the point where time will not pass if he does not wish it to. She knew she would soon be able to not just control time within this realm, but time where those had past, freezing them at the moment of death, just as the world seemed to Yumi-chan when she looked out the window and realized time didn't pass. Before Maya had even arrived, she had no idea how long the girl had waited for her. It could have been days, weeks, years, decades… and yet to Yumi-chan, she had just woken up and fixed her breakfast.

If she wanted a life outside of being a guide to the dead, she could have it. This realization made her want to help the dearly departed even more. Flying now to the next soul that begged for release, she had a renewed purpose. Cheating Death was just another goal for her now.

It felt as if another year had past… Maya found herself returning to the house in the forest. Time was once more near frozen as she approached. Before she entered, she looked up, in time to see the sky break opened and the sun to shine over the land of the dead. The gnarled trees seem to begin to straighten, the grass grew tall, and a warm breeze began to blow. Though dark clouds still made the sky mostly cloudy, the occasional appearance of the sun and the much more cheerful landscape were a clear indication of how far she had come in her time here.

She descended to the level of the second floor before phasing though the wall into the house. It was the bedroom she shared with Ritsuko. The bed was a mess, and the room looked as if it could use a good cleaning. A light drew her attention to the bathroom, and she floated towards the door. Inside she saw the shadow of Ritusko, kneeling by the soaking tub… the place Maya died.

She floated closer, noting the energy Ritsuko had within her… it was her grief, Maya realized, taking a physical form. She floated behind the shadow, wrapping her arms around her, and feeling the energy flow between her and her sempai. She felt Ritsuko slowly begin to stiffen up as she felt Maya's presence. Warmth of a very pleasant nature flowed though Maya and she felt stronger in that moment than she ever had in her life.

Sempai was her strength, and it was her love that allowed Maya the chance to fight back against Death itself. And it was this strength that carried her forward, even now. She released her sempai and floated upright…

And she felt a cold feeling wash over the room. Maya turned around at an unhurried pace to see Death Floating a few meters away.

"I knew if I was patient, that you would return here eventually… you've grown much since our last encounter."

"I've been preparing for this," Maya stated. "Our long-awaited meeting has arrived… and now we'll see who truly holds the title of Death Incarnate."

"You really believe a few days of harvesting is enough to match the power of one who has harvested every previous generation of humanity? Delusional doesn't even begin to describe this."

Maya chuckled. "Tell me, monster; How much energy do you get from the last breath of each human you meet? Because I'm willing to bet my soul that I have gained so much more from each one than you have."

"I've been doing this FAR longer than you… I've eaten the last breath of countless mortals."

"And I bet you were a cunt to every single one of them."

She had changed much since their last meeting, and not just visually. She was confident, fearless, determined. It seemed Death wasn't so sure of his supremacy in that moment.

"You think your kindness gives you some sort of advantage?"

Maya smirked. "You don't listen very well, do you, monster. I already said this to you once… Death should be kind, a friend at the end of the road… but you… you're just the worst kind of monster… I'd call you a vampire, but I'm pretty sure I hit the nail squarely when I called you a parasite. You take what you want and you leave… I wouldn't be surprised if some of the ghosts that haunt dark places were just people you ripped the last breath from and didn't even bother making sure they made it home.

"I on the other hand spent time with each and every one I sent off to their final destination… I remember all of them… their hopes, their dreams, their desires, and their regrets. I learned their names, and carry them all inside of me. I've rescued thousands from the torment of an afterlife bereft of love, while you just used them and then discarded them."

Death snorted. "Worthless waste of time… Humans are not worth the expenditure."

"And that's why I'm going to destroy you. Even now, after all you have seen from me, you underestimate humanity."

Death seemed to consider her words; his head even bowed slightly in thought. When it raised again, Maya knew this discourse was nearing its end.

"If you really believe you have what it takes, then let this be our last battlefield."

Death raised a hand, energy seemed to fall like rain, only it was falling up not down. The air around Maya grew colder than she had ever felt it and the world around them seemed to become fuzzy and indistinct.

Maya's scythe appeared at her side as everything started to become clear again… they were on a rooftop, part of a huge castle complex that surrounded them. The sky was only partly clouded with a massive moon in the sky above off to her right, a tall clock tower nearly dominated her view, the clock read close to midnight. Everything around her had gothic designs and the exact nature of the architecture somehow gave her chills… chills that bit into her very soul, because despite never seeing it before, she felt as if she knew this place.

"This is…"

"Yes, child… This is Castlevania… at least my last memory of it before the eclipse consumed it. This is my domain, my personal realm within the land of the dead. Here, there is no escape for you. I and only I control who dwells here, and who can leave."

"And people say I cling to the past," Maya stated sardonically.

"All souls cling to the past… why do you think every soul you find was at the place it called home or felt safe, even if they died far from it? Each soul creates its own domain upon death where it resides until it is ready to move on. We are no different. You have your own domain I'm sure… this is mine."

Maya knew now for sure there was no turning back. She had to hope the power she had attained was enough to defeat Death itself.

"Now… we end this game once and for all." His scythe appeared in his hands and he swung it back, ready to begin his assault. "I'm going to eat your soul, shit it out, and use it to smother your fucking girlfriend to death."

Maya's eyes narrowed. "You just made your last mistake, monster… NEVER threaten what I love." She grabbed her scythe with her right hand and spun it in a flourish before holding it behind and in a low stance, opposing the high stance Death took.

For a few moments, they started down each other from a great distance, Death high in the air ahead of her, Maya on the rooftop, and a deathly silence seemed to reign supreme over Hell House.

The clock struck midnight. At the sound of the first tolling of the bell, both versions of Death, both the old and the new clashed in the skies… the sound of their scythes meeting as a crack of thunder…

I wanna see your face,

Painted black,

Black as night,

Black as coal,

Don't wanna see the sun,

Flying high up in the sky

I wanna see it painted,

Painted,

Painted,

Painted black… yeah

"All of my torment… the pain… the suffering… the loss… it all comes down to this. Trapped in Death's Domain, I am now fighting not only for my own life… but for the sanctity of death itself… I must not fail!"

Next Chapter: The conclusion of "Dearly Beloved…"