After the laughter — short, strange, almost bitter — a silence lingered between us. A silence that reminded me that, in the end... I was still dead.
I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly, trying to mask the discomfort.
— "Well... now there's the question." — I cleared my throat, pretending to be casual. — "How do I get back up there?"
Death looked at me. She didn't answer right away. She just stared at me with those empty eyes — like two black craters that swallowed the light of existence.
— "You don't." — she said, with the natural tone of someone talking about the weather.
— "Huh...?" — I widened my eyes.
— "Unfortunately for you... someone, at this very moment, is preventing your return to your body."
My heartbeat — if I even had one — spiked.
— "Seriously?! How do you know that?"
She sighed.
— "I already told you. I know things I shouldn't know." — Then she extended a pale hand, like a living screen emerging in the air. — "But if you want to see... I'll help you see."
The image formed before us as if the very veil between worlds had been pulled aside. And there, like a knife through my chest, I saw it.
Ciny, Chad and... the Witch. Fighting desperately against a group of hooded figures. One of them bore the symbol of the Azural clan, marked in blood on his chest. The battle was brutal. And I... I was absent.
— "No..." — I whispered. — "I have to go. I have to go back, please... can't you do something?"
Death crossed her arms, serene.
— "Unfortunately not..."
— "What do you mean 'not'? You're Death!" — I exploded, nearly losing my composure.
— "Exactly." — she replied, with a cold calmness. — "Death is not supposed... to bring back Life."
I took a deep breath. The weight of reality was crushing me.
— "You're right... I'm sorry."
— "No need to apologize." — she said, almost kindly. — "Unfortunately, all we can do is watch. Unless..."
She paused. Her tone shifted. Something darker.
— "Unless...?" — I asked, lifting my face. — "What is it?"
— "There is a way. But I don't know if you'll like it."
— "Tell me, please! My friends... they could be in danger!"
— "Trade your life... for death." — Her voice sounded like funeral bells. — "Give me years, and I will bring you back."
A chill ran down my spine.
— "You want... years of my life?"
— "Yes, John. Your remaining years."
I fell silent. For a moment, I thought about what that meant. I might lose ten, twenty, fifty years... maybe more.
— "I accept." — I declared.
Death's eyes narrowed.
— "Why? You don't know how many years you still have. And even so... you accept that I take the rest?"
— "How many years is it?" — I asked.
She didn't answer right away. She just observed me. Not with judgment... but with surprise. As if she, the very embodiment of Death, was impressed.
— "Stay quiet and follow my plan." — she said at last, in a low voice. — "I don't want to hear anything else."
— "Okay..." — I murmured, with an ironic smile. — "I don't know if it's weird to trust Death... but I trust you."
She began to chant words in a language my human ears couldn't comprehend. It was like hearing time itself unravel in reverse.
And then... something happened.
A light shone before us. Dense, golden, warm like the sunrise. From within it, a figure emerged, dressed in flowing, almost ethereal robes — as if made of wind, perfume, and eternity.
A deep male voice echoed.
— "Death... I never thought you'd call me."
— "Life." — she said with a light sigh. — "I think there was a mistake."
— "A mistake?" — The figure of light tilted his head. — "What do you mean?"
— "This human came to purgatory before his time."
— "Are you sure?"
— "Are you going to say that, in all eternity, I've made even one mistake?"
Life laughed.
— "You're right, Death. I trust you. If you say he came early... I'll help him."
— "Thank you, Life."
— "After all... we must coexist. Or the balance unravels."
I stood there, mouth agape, watching that surreal exchange between the two oldest entities in existence. I didn't even know what to think.
Life then approached. His touch wasn't physical, but I felt my entire being react. He began to chant something — different from Death's words, but equally incomprehensible.
And then...
I felt my existence unravel.
My senses faded one by one. Sight. Sound. The weight of the body.
And, for a brief moment... all was silence.
But shortly after...
— "GET BACK, CINY!" — I heard Chad's voice, loud, urgent.
I opened my eyes.
The ceiling of my room. The broken light. The smell of magical smoke in the air.
I was back.
On pure instinct, I raised my hand and fired a concentrated mana beam at the nearest enemy. His body vanished into particles before he could even scream.
Everyone froze for a second.
Chad raised an eyebrow.
— "Look who's back."
The Witch smiled, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
— "Hmm... looks like he found another way. Intriguing..."
Ciny let out a joyful laugh.
— "Of course he's back! He's my stud! Welcome back from your beauty sleep!"
I took a deep breath, a slight smile on my lips.
— "Took long enough."