Basic Oblivion

Chapter 7

A large wolf growled as it chased an antelope through the Wolfen Forest. The antelope was an odd color with purple and turquoise fur. Though the wolf was fast, the antelope managed to stay a few feet ahead of it as it ran. The wolf chased the antelope around a tree, but stopped when it's prey was nowhere to be seen.

The wolf started sniffing the ground as it tried to pick up the scent of the antelope again. Suddenly, the wolf howled out in pain as chains flew out of the trees and began to tear it's body apart. There wasn't much left aside from bloody pieces of fur and a few bones when a figure dropped down from one of the trees using the very same bloody chains that had just torn the wolf apart. From behind the figure stepped the antelope.

"I told you to stay out of these woods, Pastel," the figure said, a fifteen year old boy with golden brown hair and a long sleeve shirt with wide cuffs and the same turquoise and purple as the antelope.

"I need to be able to run around," the antelope, Pastel, said. "I'm not able to spend all day trapped indoors like you are, Jake."

The chains slid up inside of the sleeves on Jake's shirt. "It's too dangerous out here for you to be on your own and I'm not going to keep chasing after you to save you every time a wolf tries to make you it's dinner."

Pastel was about to make a retort when the shadows around them started to distort. Two figures rose up from the shadow. The first was an eighteen year old boy that had wolf ears and a wolf tail that were covered in white hair and a white long sleeved shirt with a set of dog tags around his neck with numbers on it. His eyes were silver and his messy white hair was tied in a small ponytail in the back.

The figure was accompanied by a boy of the same age wearing black Kevlar armor and black camouflage cargo pants with black combat boots. His face was hidden underneath a black mask that was equipped with an air filter.

Jake bowed to the boy in white. "Lord Atlas, what is it that I can do for you?" he asked.

The boy in white, Atlas, motioned for Jake to stand. "We have a complication," he said. "It would seem that my counterpart is getting himself a little more known. It was fine when he was doing things under the radar, but I can't have him drawing too much attention to himself or my plans will be ruined. We need to move up our plans, so I need you to do something for me."

"What would you like me to do?" Jake asked.

"I need you to go with Reaper here and find our other operative to go...point our pawn in the right direction," Atlas said.

"When do you want me to leave?" Jake asked.

"You will leave tomorrow," Atlas said, turning to leave. "I suggest you be ready. Reaper, come."

The boy in black, Reaper, followed Atlas as he left. "Reaper, are you prepared for what's to come?" Atlas asked.

"Yes, I am," Reaper said, his voice electronically modified and distorted by the filter that covered his nose and mouth.

"Good, then we are almost ready," Atlas said. "When you leave with Jake tomorrow, the show will begin and the wheels of destiny will be put in motion. Soon the world will burn in its own darkness."

"I have to admit, the Underworld has proven to be a lot less horrible than I imagined it would be," Justin said as he drank what he was pretty sure was a cup of hot chocolate. "So, why exactly am I your guest?"

"Did you know that Death is not an eternal being?" the old man said. "Death is actually a role that gets passed down every couple of centuries to the soul of someone who's strong enough to handle the power."

Justin set down his cup. "What, you think that I'm able to become Death?"

"Well, you've lived your entire life with the power of two different entities inside of your body, so you already have an idea of what it's like to have power," the old man said. "So, yes."

"Even if I wanted to take the power of Death, what makes you think I can control it?" Justin asked. "The only reason I can control my power is because of the containment gem I wear."

"That may be true, but unlike some of your predecessors, you have managed to form bonds with the entities you host," the old man said. "This gives me reason enough to choose you."

Justin stood up. "Can you give me a reason to accept your offer?" he asked.

"For starters, the arrival of your brother in the city you've grown to call home," the old man said. "You do remember what he can do don't you, how much power resides inside of him? Don't you remember what had happened back at your old village?"

Justin glared at the old man. "Don't talk about my brother like he's some kind of monster!" he said. "I know he has some issues, but people that think like you are the reason for that!"

The old man smiled. "Do you think that people like that don't exist in Amext?" he asked. "They're all over the city, as soon as they see what he is, he'll be ridiculed just as badly as he was back then. How can you protect him if you're trapped here?"

Justin thought about this as he thought back to the times when he and his brother were younger. All the torment from the other children. All of the bullying that Jason had to endure just because of the magic that he didn't choose to have. Jason hadn't been able to do anything to defend himself, too scared of turning into the monster everyone saw him as. Unfortunately, all the anger he held towards them eventually started to take it's toll on his mind.

"I won't let what something like that happen again," Justin said quietly. "Very well then, I accept, but only in the event that I can go back to the realm of the living."

"You will," the old man said, the skin on his face beginning to crack and fall off as it revealed bone. "Your abilities as the new Death with be quite rewarding. You can travel between the two realms, rise undead soldiers to fight with you, and summon  the weapons that once belonged to the Death's of the past."

The old man began to turn to dust as Justin felt the power of Death being added to his own. His appearance began to change as he felt his internal organs dissolve and his body turned to bone. His clothes then started to change as it became a black cloak held around his neck by a skull and crossbones pin, the end of the cloak torn up. His shirt turned to a black long sleeve with crossing bones at the ends of the sleeves and a skull with a scythe behind it on the front, the images of ghosts wrapping up the sleeves and ending on the back of his shirt at his shoulder blades. His pants turned black and skulls appeared at the knees.

Testing out to see what weapons he had, Justin began to summon all the weapons he could, learning that he was unable to summon his original dual swords and pistols, but was still able to summon his chain whip and his two new weapons. Looking in the mirror, he could see that the teeth of his skull had sharpened and that he had flames in his eye sockets.

Justin turned to look at Charon. "I need to go find my brother," he said. "Feel free to join me if you wish."

Charon bowed. "It is my job to protect you, Lord Death," he said. "Even if it requires going to the realm of the living."

"Great," Justin said, holding his hand up as a door appeared. It was black and lined with gray skulls along the frame. "By the way, you can call me Justin. That 'Lord Death' thing sounds way too formal."

"As you wish," Charon said as he followed Justin through the door.