The Reaper's Name is Kindness

1. The Reaper's Name...

Psychopomp number 121 did not remember what they were like when they had first departed from the mortal world. They did not remember the name or designation of the psychopomp who had consoled them as the truth of their incorporeal state set in. They did not remember what it felt like to give up all of their living memories and their old identity in favor of becoming one of the Living Universe's reapers. The one thing they could remember was the absolute kindness that radiated off of the psychopomp who had been assigned to the newly departed person 121 once was.

It was this pure, unadulterated kindness that Psychopomp 121 had also once wished to be a beacon of, but it had been a long time since they gave up on that hope. Their only hope now was that their next assignment would not be as difficult to negotiate with as the one currently confusedly blinking at the glowing archway 121 had stepped through only five seconds prior.

To the newly departed human, 121 simply looked like a vaguely humanoid silhouette surrounded by an incredibly bright light emanating from the archway.

121 motioned swiftly with their left hand and the archway dimmed, solidifying itself and taking on the image of a regular door. It perfectly blended in with the hazy projection of a living room where the recently departed human's body was now lying in a different state of existence.

The human opened his mouth to speak, "What is-"

121 raised their hand and the human cut his inquiry short just as the psychopomp wanted. 121 mentally cleared their throat and brought forth the introduction that they had repeated for many other newly departed souls.

"Greetings human, I understand that you have many questions as to where you are, what has happened, and what must transpire next. All of your questions will be answered before long, and any worries or doubts you have will be quelled. As it stands currently, you are not dead. You are instead in a place where your mind has been divorced from your body."

As 121 spoke they noted how the human's face slowly twisted, one of his eyebrows falling as the other rose and his lips parted to create a tiny opening.

121 couldn't help their instinct as they saw the human's expression and quickly peered into his mind. Rifling through his thoughts as a living human may rifle through a filing cabinet, 121 quickly found what was currently being produced by every inquisitive instinct the human mind possessed.

Hundreds of the human's unspoken questions poured into 121's mind leaving them scrabbling to focus on what they could catch.

Wait what?

How am I not dead?

Is this not what death is?

Is this guy death?

Am I going to Hell?

I hope not.

Shouldn't there be more angels?

Or other dead people at least?

Seriously, how am I not dead?

I'm pretty sure I am.

As quickly as they opened their mind to the human's unspoken questions 121 had to close the spout, afraid that their well-rehearsed introduction would be lost in the chaos.

"So-" the human began, his face scrunching up- "I'm not dead?" His eyes began to flicker between the corner of his eyes as a natural reflex from when he thought about big questions while alive.