The entire throne room darkened whilst silence encompassed every single iota of space surrounding all of us. Odin clasped Gungnir tightly as Hela moved her head outwards, summoning a spectral black sword as her grey eyes scanned our surroundings. Artoria flared her apocalyptic energy as space seemed to blur around her, the golden-orange light thrumming with an intensity that would cause most people to look away.
Susan rushed over to me and stayed close to me, her attention darting between Artoria, me and the new guest we seemed to have. Yuna was blinked after looking at Odin, her entire aura shifting somewhat as I felt a connection to her through my concept empowerment related to Norse Gods. She wasn't a god yet, but she was well on the way to actually being capable of it.
Loki and Thor were back to black, Loki now back in his male form as he drew his daggers and looked around. Green magic expelled from him wrapped around the entire group, joining Frigga's as she tried to leverage the wards of the entire palace to detect and contain the new 'threat'.
After the first word of greeting I sighed, my mind slightly chaotic as I regretted letting this entity that I now fully comprehended was death. The system was smart with its classifications... Fourth letter of the alphabet was 'D', 5th was 'E', 1st was 'A', 20th was 'T' and the 8th was 'H'. Entity 4-5-1-20-8 was Death. Easily deducible should one pay attention to what Hela had spoken of through the mental connection.
"Greetings Death... Why have you come to us all on such a lovely day?" Chuckles split the entire chamber as everyone gazed at me as if I were completely weird. Susan even pinched me and looked emphatically frustrated that I was actually confident in this scenario.
~Ohhh? A mortal with enough courage, or foolishness, to address me? How... amusing.~
Before us, there was only nothing… until the nothing spoke, and it became everything.
From the void, from the gaps in perception, a presence beyond understanding stepped forth. Not created, not born, simply inevitable. A vestige of a power beyond all we had ever known.
In her wake, stars winked out like dying embers, and time bled into the marrow of sound, existence itself squealing beneath the weight of her form. Shadows that were not shadows loomed large in what had once been a throne room, now reduced to a mere notion, its vibrancy snuffed out, discarded, as black and white stretched hungrily over every last trace of light.
I tried to look past the mere fluttering of Death's power, only to be met with lights, like eyes, yet hollow, absent of substance. Her form was unbound, divorced from shape, and yet, I knew. Not from sight, not from sound, but from the deep, undeniable precognition that flooded every fibre of my being. She was Death. She had always been. And always will be.
~Come now... Don't disappoint me now... Not when we were just starting to have fun.~
Closing my eyes for a few moments I stabilized myself, opening them once more only to be met with a paradox given form. An omen draped in human flesh. The poise of a spectre lingered within the faint movements of her body as the elegance of a queen soon replaced it, only to be swapped with a calmness and finality that could only be ascribed to a setting sun.
Her skin, pale as moonlight upon forgotten tombstones, seemed untouched by time. Neither the softness of the living nor the stillness of the dead, but something in between, something beyond. Light hesitated against it, bending, as if uncertain whether to illuminate or flee. Her eyes, if they could be called that, were twin stars on the verge of collapse. Pale, luminous, infinite, yet hollow. They did not glow; they devoured. To meet her gaze was to feel the weight of all things lost, the whisper of forgotten names carried on the breath of eternity. Her hair was white, not the colour of age, nor purity, but the pale radiance of a world before creation. It cascaded over her shoulders, moving like drifting mist, yet within its strands lingered the echoes of something greater. The shimmer of fading souls, the quiet gleam of dying stars. Her attire was neither extravagant nor severe, simply fitting. Sometimes, a flowing black gown that bled into shadows, woven from the fabric of last words and final farewells. Other times, a black tank top and jeans, an ankh resting at her throat, as if to remind the cosmos that even Death could walk among them unnoticed.
She did not seem cruel, nor kind. Nor was she cold, nor was she warm. She simply was.
"Excuse me for my silence, I was just blown away by your beauty is all." Odin slowly craned his neck towards me as his wife brought her fingers to her eyelids, lightly rubbing them in frustration.
Astoria and Susan scoffed loudly and chuckled a little whilst Yuna stared at the new form and clutched her temples in pain. Casting a quick glance towards her I felt I should check on her, but that seemed much more complex now that this entity had arrived.
~A flatterer, not nearly as unique a trait... But that is fine.~
It felt as if she had just insulted me but I held my tongue, it is not worth getting into an argument with Death itself. Especially not as I were now.
"Flatterer only to those worth my time, Death. Now, please inform me why you caged Hela in Hel for this long." I had tried my best to keep my tone calm and consistent, but it was hard when existential dread murmured in the depths of one's heart just at the lingering touch of her mere presence.
~A lack of pride, a rare trait indeed... Hmmm... Hela was merely a measure for me to attain some infinitesimal shred of freedom. It seems that time has ended however and now I must find someone else who wishes to take upon themselves my mantle.~
Hela looked paler than usual, her grey irises quivering at Death's presence, her hands shaking somewhat as PTSD began speckling her emotional aura with flashes of times where she was forced to cut down millions of souls in Hel due to the lack of guidance from Death in the nine realms.
"Take up the mantle... Does this mean that you did not intend to destroy the nine realms?"
Death's head immediately flickered, her gaze penetrating deep into my own as her will crashed down upon me, her void-like eyes expanding to reveal the largest of black holes... The end of entire solar systems... This was not just an entity for the Death of mortals, no, she was the death of everything.
~How dare you assume that I would drag those who are living to death prematurely!?~
I flinched backwards as I watched my own mother dragged behind a house and buried. My father whimpered upon the grave as Homelander floated in front of him. Light gathered in the heroes eyes, spearing forth and carving a hole through the head of my father. My best friend in my past world was kidnapped and forced to do unspeakable things before finally being given the mercy of death's embrace...
"I-i...I..." Tears collected within my eyes as unbridled rage and anger whelmed me.
The voice of Odin interjected.
"Do not harm the young goddess... It, it was my original misunderstanding... She is only acting upon the information I presented to her."
Death's gaze retracted, a look of mild pity and sadness taking her celestial visage until placid silence replaced it. She looked over at the God King of Asgard, her mood souring as she also watched Hela shaking in her presence.
~That, would make much more sense. Freya did not seem to hold prejudice, like you do.~
The last words were almost growled as the swallowed light of the chamber grew slightly darker, before fading back to the black and white quality.
~Still, you serve your purpose and will one day reach my halls... For now, I need someone to take up the mantle of Hela. This time, there will be no imprisonment and there will be no need for fighting.~
Everyone flinched at her request. Hela was breathing heavily as her heart rate spiked, she was reliving her first meeting with the entity still. Odin was completely despondent as the Odin Force shivered around him, the very power almost kneeling before the manifestation of death itself.
My mind compartmentalised the trauma, Occlumency shelving the vision into the depths of my brain as I stepped forwards and was about to raise my voice... Until the blonde who had been hugging me stepped forwards, past me, and spoke.
"I will do this. My wife already has too much on her plate... Every one else here is steeped in responsibility or power. Only I am truly free to take up this mantle..." Artoria was horrified and so was I personally as I could take whatever Death was dishing out... My system would allow me to resist it if I so wished, but Susan couldn't easily do so.
"Susan, no!"
~Noble, very noble... Also foolish. Do you understand the position I will be bequeathing this day? The weight of allowing souls to pass through your own and experiencing everything they have? Then to judge them?~
I held my tongue as death looked at me for a single second, her eyes then flickering over to Susan. My lovely woman, no, wife, standing there under scrutiny and seemingly smiling. Her emotional aura was one of excitement and hope, hope directed towards us...
'You silly woman! You do not need to gain this power to keep up with us!'
"No, i do not claim to know anything of the sort. But, if I can spare that pain being put on another soul who already suffers so much... Then I will be content in taking the mantle."
Artoria spoke up in horror and fear. "Susan, love, you don't need to do this! We love you for who you are, not the power you have or anything else!" Susan's emotions flared into love as I spoke. "Artoria is right, we love you for you, not your power. What matters is the soul, not the physical appearance or combat prowess!"
Susan smiled brightly, looking at both of us, before turning to Death and smiling still.
"I'll take the job."
~Intriguing... Very intriguing... Hahaha, I haven't had someone this wonderful for the position in eons... Very well Susan Bragisdottir, I shall grant upon you the title and domain of death. You will become equal to your partners and become the living judgement of the dead.~
Her voice slowly started to fade as the black and white seeped into Susan, her hair turning platinum blonde as her eyes went from cerulean blue to icy-grey. The entirety of her body became celestial in a way as her skin became the same shade as Death's mortal form. Her clothes were the same but now, her existence came with a weight and her entire stature seemed equal if not superior to my own... Despite a thousand years of training to become a ruler...
~The pact between me and Hela is broken. Another will soon takes its place. Be warned mortals, death comes for you all eventually. None can escape it for very long, and it is not something to be feared...~
Death faded into the background as the surroundings reinvigorated. Colour flushed into the throne room as the throne stood cracked. Odin Force bled into the chamber quickly as the entirety of Asgard sounded horns. The shuffling of hundreds of boots coming our way brought a sombre conclusion to this entire event as Hela lost her black hair and instead gained pure white hair, her grey eyes changing to bright gold as Susan ran up to me and hugged me deeply.
"Sorry Freya!"
She hugged me tightly, as if I was the thing anchoring her to a tight rope. Tears slid down my cheeks as I closed my arms around her, the scent of her hair like lilacs and cherry blossoms as I rested my head on top of hers.
"Silly, silly wife... You shouldn't have taken that deal..."
"I, I couldn't stand there and let you take all the risk again... We're in this together, yeah?" She looked up at me with puppy dog eyes, her ice-like eyes laying upon me, piercing my mental shielding. I let the barriers down for her and watched as she blushed deeply and leaned up.
Lowering my lips to hers I gave her the most tender of kisses that I could manage, Artoria rushing over and soon joining our moment as the family of Odin watched on in mild shock, frustration, longing and pain.
'System, what does it take to kill an entity?'
{Points... Which is what you will be getting more of. 10 worlds have begun to play your games.}
[Points: 50,195,666,487]
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Tadah! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was really fun to write! Hope the depiction of Death as an entity fit both DC and Marvel Death in a unique way that you guys like...
Also, here is a question for you all...
What games would certain worlds/species from DC and Marvel like playing? (Sticking to games she has already made or is looking to make; Warframe, Stellaris, Harry Potter Game and Sports Games)
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