You can't escape Death <Frans>

CHAPTER 30: Remembrance

Death's frustration was prominent in that moment of vexation. His new emotions brought back the remnants of his former, most powerful self. His decaying aura of murder only wafted out further from his reach, and all life surrounding him immediately withered away into dust. Though the lack of contact by the grace of his fingertips, each glimmering blossom restored by Frisk only retreated back to the land of the dead. His anger, a compelling stimulus for the precedent of this outcome, was short fuse. The blast of pure rage fueled his archaic, young self to reawaken yet again.

He could not handle the mortifying curse any longer than he already had. His grip, tightened around the thin air surrounding him, formed his skeletal fingers inside of a tight fist. Though, as fragile as they were, the mere marrow resting within the small phalanges were filled with limitless amounts of power, and they did not even begin to show the limits of his own strength. His fingers threatened to snap as his eyes squinted shut in both despair and indignation. The temptation of pursuing his own mortality was only growing stronger by the mere century.

This was the primary reason why he had locked that box of emotions down underneath the surface of everything that made him sentient. He buried that very key that opened the infamous capsule, and threw it into a sea of chaos where no one would be able to retrieve it. Unfortunately, Frisk held that key he had got rid of so long ago and attempted to shatter everything he had created to protect himself from everyone. The connection was too compelling to push it away yet again, and his heart raced to see the next move he would make towards his eager aspirations. New emotions fluctuated through him, and he was confused as to what was the strongest of them all.

The banal color scheme that withered through him remained nothing but black and white. A monochromatic scheme of pale saturations differed greatly than the lush greens and yellows that sprung about when Frisk had healed them back to life.

He had destroyed all of that yet again.

Attempting to settle his emotions, Death struck the vines; thick and lively, now reduced to ash with the slightest touch of his hands. He now knew what the tears of life did to the successor, encompassing the victim in a protective barrier to shield them from the dangers of the outside world. The droplet of life served as the most powerful of weapons towards Life's ability, and it seemed to pass on to yet another.

In the hands of a mortal, the droplet of life could be very dangerous to use if applied improperly or towards the wrong being.

This, morphed and produced by Life herself, was a way to cheat fate, as some may call it. Death displayed his abhorrence towards her creation; an artificial power created by the hands of a superior god. And it was done by the fusing two compelling forces together into one. It would be the fall of the realms if the rest of the gods were to carry out this experimentation as well.

Escaping the withered barrier, the sanctuary was now rotten and abandoned yet again, just as he had left it when he found Life's decaying corpse on the dying grass within her haven. His empty eyes, filled with fret, darted around the barren wasteland of a realm to look for the slimmest chance to figure out where Frisk might have gone.

Death knew she could not have gotten far on her small, frail legs, but with other Gods lurking around due to yet another power vacuum, he needed to find her before anyone else did.

Suddenly, Death looked to the sky, as he felt a familiar presence in the air, wafting to him. Life's nature effortlessly attracted his power towards it's direction as conflicting forces. He spread his wings of the night yet again to win the race against the era of time. Time, unfortunately, remained the instinctive nemesis to all: creating karma from thin air, ticking down the painful seconds no matter how much you pray for them to stop.

Death's surroundings reminded him of the treks he would fly to get to the other end of the realm just to visit his divergent friend of vitality. Gazing upon the dry desert, Death searched for any sign of the human girl walking along the dust. Many had died here in the great war between Gods and mortals, and this was nothing but a mere remembrance of the mass grave. Death could no longer remember the day mortals had been banished to the realm they rested within today.

The pull of Life's power had only grown stronger, and he knew that he was beginning to catch up to Frisk quickly, as the colorless wasteland begun to change colors yet again into the fresh soil he knew so well. Running along the river of souls, he landed, spotting the desolate girl by the river. She tucked her head in between her knees, wrapping her thin arms around her legs in a feeble position.

Death knew she could sense his presence from the atmosphere change. The chill sight of death surrounded her as his power dragged himself further towards her.

Sitting next to her, keeping a distance, her head looked solemnly towards him with puffy, swollen eyes of despair. If he could describe himself, Death's mere void of emotions had looked exactly as he perceived her in this very moment. Broken and Lifeless. The memories of familiarity moved like a motion picture as Frisk watched the flowing river, listening to the rush of water against the rocks towards the bottom. It was light and fresh, and it sent a calming aura through death's body upon arriving at his favorite location.

"She had a beautiful life." Death whispered in her direction, viewing the memories of Frisk's best friend contained by the surface of the water. Frisk seemed too empty to react to his pathetic statement of compassion. Death struggled to connect to her dreaded soul, however, he simply could not. "You made her happier than anyone else."

Her tears quickly followed after her tainted thoughts plagued her mind, as if the remembrance of her friend sent a wave of nostalgia through her, more powerful than anything she had experienced. She only hugged herself tighter as the tears fell from her face and onto the lush grass, blossoming into gorgeous orchids and tulips.

It was in that moment when Death had felt something he had not felt in a very long time.

Empathy.

His soul pulled himself towards her; to wrap his arms around her frail, shaking body, nonetheless, he only looked towards the ground to suppress that very thought. He knew what would happen the minute he came into contact with her soft skin. She was a human: mortal. He kept his distance.

As he looked at her, his gaze followed up to the sky, as a faint breeze of life blew past him and to the horizon. Death only distantly smiled as the dandelion seeds picked up from the wind blew past Frisk, sensing the lost soul of Life. Her loving persona allowed her to solace Frisk in her time of need, wrapping her arms around her and embracing her with a warm, nurturing sensation. Her soul connected with Frisk's easily, sharing the same spirit within one another.

Death knew Tori had been here with Frisk, and that she would continue to protect her by all means necessary. He sighed and his grin remained there, knowing his friend was not so far away from his reach after all.

She was right there with them both.

Though, there was something else wafting through the air that punctured the freshness of the gentle wind. That, Death could not unravel. He only dismissed it as a pinprick of a blackened heart and the admission of something else into the twisted tale of fate.