Chasing Death

Chapter 42

"Don't beat yourself up for things that have happened. The past is long dead and buried. Seize your future even if it seems like a dead end."

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"Yes, I am Maya. I'm the magic, the illusion that you see in here. It's very uncommon for a human to seek me out, though," she confirmed, clicking her fingers.

A bright purple light engulfed her and suddenly the person standing before me was not an elderly lady, but a middle-aged woman draped in shimmering red. Her skin was honey and gold. Daintily braided gorgeous russet hair sat atop her head like a crown. The expression on her face was serene. There was a certain purity in her icy eyes that felt welcoming.

But the weirdest thing were her glasses. White cat-eye spectacles framed her sharp face, making her look like a college professor. It definitely was fashion-forward.

"I...am not what you think..." I blurted.

"Yes, I know the story you've been feeding to everyone. And I also know the lie that has been fed to you all your life. But I really didn't expect you to find Matarisvan or come barging in here, after your daring escapade from prison." Her pale pink lips lifted in a smile. She wasn't being sarcastic. Her tone was friendly, almost as if we were two long lost best friends meeting after ages.

"How did you?"

"Oh, I know everything, sweet child," she laughed, loud and clear like the morning skies. "I see everything, I know it all. But I choose to stay quiet and not act on my impulses. Impulses are for little humans like you."

"I know I made a big mistake in coming here, but I can correct it," I blurted.

"How?" An amused smile was playing on her face.

"I became an immortal because of a glitch in your system. If you could fix it and make me a mortal again, I would go back to my world and stay there and never return here."

"Would you be happy?" she asked, taking a step closer.

I kept quiet. Would I be content in the human world when my heart felt at home here? No. But I had no one to be here for, and no one back at home either. My didn't feel so dejected ever as I felt then. Nobody needed me. Nobody wanted me. I was just another spare piece in the game of the universe. And for the first time ever, I really didn't want to live. This was nothing like what I felt on the bridge or when I accompanied Mrithun to the underworld. The thoughts in my head hurt. The next words that came out of my mouth hit me like a speeding train.

"Could you take my life then?" I said unsurely. "Because there is nothing left in any of the worlds to hold me back.

Maya's head shot up from her screen and she blinked, her eyes growing wider. Her eyebrows knit tightly, frowning in disapproval.

"I can't take a soul, Tora. Only Death can. And I doubt Death would ever obey me if I told him to take you. He's always done what he wanted to. He never followed rules."

"Why won't he?" I whispered, fully knowing the answer.

"Don't waste my time with answers you already know," Maya replied icily.

I lowered my eyes.

"If you're with him, and you get close, you'd die anyway, like your mother. Humans can't be with immortals, not the way you want at least." She sighed, shaking her head ruefully.

"Wait what? My mother?"

"You are not invincible but immortal blood flows in you because you were fathered by an immortal and your mother died in giving birth to you. It is impossible for a human to bear a child with immortality running in her veins. When your blood mixed with your mother's blood, the immorality in you slowly sucked out her life force."