Noi Karn blinked at the weird shadow creature in front of him.
Normally, he would have started screaming in fright or tried to run away.
Especially because the shadow had no mouth, eyes, or nose, yet it could speak.
But he saw how the shadow cat became the shadow figure, so he wasn't that scared.
Just shocked at the magical operation the cat had displayed once again.
Still, the environment was very creepy, so Noi Karn gulped and looked away.
Wait, Noi Karn thought.
"Am I seeing this, or is it just because I'm blind that I am seeing this?" Noi Karn asked with widened eyes.
"Naturally, you're in your mind, so you can see," the shadow replied flatly.
Its voice was completely still, without any emotion put into it.
Even the emotion of calm wasn't there, so the most appropriate way to describe it was still.
Noi Karn was excited at first, and why wouldn't he be?
This was the first time in a long time that he was seeing with his own two eyes and without limitation.
But then he looked around only to find darkness, so it didn't make much difference.
His excited expression turned sullen, and he looked at the shadow figure in disappointment.
Too bad the shadow figure just stood there without moving.
"What is this place?" Noi Karn asked after a while.
"A cage," the shadow replied.
"Who are you?" Noi Karn asked, frowning.
"$%&*$," the shadow replied, but it only sounded like jumbled words to Noi Karn.
Noi Karn squinted at the shadow figure while analyzing.
If it was locked up, then there must be a reason.
Maybe it committed a crime that made something else lock it up.
But what could lock up a magical cat that could create anything?
And for what reason?
"What do you want from me?" Noi Karn asked the question he felt was most important in this situation.
"To make a choice," the shadow figure said.
"Choose what?" Noi Karn asked warily.
"To become the new me or to let the world be destroyed by malice," the shadow figure answered.
"I don't even know what you are," Noi Karn said.
"Naturally, a human could never comprehend my [$%&]…" the shadow said.
"Your what?" Noi Karn interrupted.
"Well, the most similar thing to it should be a Name," the shadow figure said, the last word spoken slowly.
Noi Karn barely managed to understand what it was.
"Then what is your name?" he asked after hearing it.
"Death is the most basic form and the closest thing to humans," the shadow figure said.
"And why would you want a human to become death?" Noi Karn asked, one eyebrow raised.
"You did not reject me, so I do not reject you," [Death] said.
Noi Karn thought about its answer, trying to figure out when he had given [Death] such an idea.
"The first day of the apocalypse," Noi Karn murmured.
"That is correct," [Death] said.
"Were you the one who kept repeating the day over and over again?" Noi Karn's gaze sharpened at the question.
"I did not, because I am stuck in this cage," [Death] replied.
"Then who was it?" Noi Karn asked.
"$%&, £$%&, £$%&…" [Death] began to list out jumbled words.
"Stop, I get it," Noi Karn said, clutching his head once he heard so many jumbled words.
[Death] stopped obediently while Noi Karn rubbed his temples.
"I get that you didn't want me to know, but you could've just said so," Noi Karn complained.
"I didn't mean anything else except to answer your question," [Death] replied.
"Aren't you too obedient?" Noi Karn asked, rolling his eyes.
"I'm just fulfilling your request because there is no need to do the opposite," [Death] replied.
Noi Karn felt that arguing with it was useless, so he decided to get back to the point.
"Why did they loop those days repeatedly?" Noi Karn asked.
"The world kept destroying itself, so they tried to fix it," [Death] said.
"How was it destroyed?" Noi Karn asked, dumbfounded.
"Various ways, but mostly zombies," [Death] replied.
Noi Karn pursed his lips, not knowing what to make of it.
He felt at a loss because it seemed there was nothing he could do to save the world.
And most importantly, he didn't think he wanted to take up that responsibility in the first place.
He wasn't the type of person to care about the world, especially with how much malice it had shown him as he grew up in it.
"Why was I conscious in these loops?" Noi Karn asked.
"At first, it was because you resonated with me."
"And you couldn't offer a little help?" Noi Karn glared at it.
"I am trapped in here, so I cannot interfere."
"Then how are we talking right now?" Noi Karn asked.
"Naturally, it's because a rune was activated and you are in the middle of a ritual."
"What's a rune and what ritual?" Noi Karn asked.
"A rune is beyond your comprehension to understand"
"But a ritual is a kind of process of a rune that allows an entity to make a transaction with a lower being."
"So we're having a transaction?" Noi Karn said, looking around, unimpressed.
"No. You are the sacrifice for [Malice] to descend," [Death] replied.
"Then how are we talking if you're not the entity?" Noi Karn frowned at the thought of being a sacrifice.
"There are two sides to you, and I am speaking to the other side," [Death] said.
"I do not understand," Noi Karn said, rubbing his head.
[Death] remained silent.
"Explain," Noi Karn said, rolling his eyes.
"[Malice] had chosen to use you as a vessel because you had lived your life surrounded by it.
Naturally, a human can't contain an entity, so it changed you to contain it.
And during that period of consciousness in the loop, it was making you a vessel.
It was also the time you resonated most with me.
So you were split into two sides.
One who has endless malice.
Another who embraces death."
Noi Karn was shocked at the massive load of information he received.
It was true that he was someone who had only received malice all his life.
And it was also true that he was someone who longed for death because of it.
But that didn't mean he wanted to be tortured into becoming a vessel for some evil entity.
"What about my friends?" Noi Karn suddenly realized something.
After all, they had the same problem. So did that mean they were…
"They are also vessels," [Death] affirmed his suspicion.
"Did we actually die?" Noi Karn pursed his lips and asked.
"Noi Karn died that first time, but the [vessel] lived," [Death] replied.
"So I've been dead all this time?" Noi Karn asked.
"Yes, you have."
Noi Karn was at a loss once again.
He didn't know whether to be happy that he had finally died or sad that he would not see the others again.
"If I choose, then what happens to the others?" Noi Karn asked with a frown.
"Naturally, they would be discarded as vessels and die."
"There's no way to make them live?" Noi Karn wasn't angry at his blunt words—he asked calmly.
"There is not, because this was part of the deal they agreed to," [Death] said.
"Don't you think it was a bad idea to make us stay together?" Noi Karn had to ask.
"I did not plan for anything. I simply resonated with you," [Death] said.
"So all of this was a coincidence?" Noi Karn raised an eyebrow.
"[$%&] might have had a hand in it, but it was your choice to stay together," [Death] said in thought.
"We never interfere in humanity's choices," [Death] added.
"Well, it was really cruel." Noi Karn laughed in frustration.
"Is it? I thought you always wanted to die, so why are you hesitating?" [Death] spoke first for once.
"And I thought you could not think for yourself," Noi Karn retorted.
But he started to think [Death] was right. Why was he hesitating?
He had always wanted to die precisely because he had nothing to live for.
There was nothing that motivated him to stay alive, and many things that motivated him to die.
So what changed?
Why didn't he just outright say he didn't want to be [Death] and be done with it?
He certainly wasn't tempted to become an all-powerful entity.
That sounded too bothersome—not to mention the fact that said entity was in a cage.
So why couldn't he speak?
Just then, a familiar melody came to mind.
The sound of a piano being played.
Noi Karn closed his eyes and sank into the memory of that day.
Their clumsy way of pressing the keys and the smiles on their faces.
The hands they used to splash paint on the canvas.
The smell of fresh air on that roof.
The feel of placing his hands on top of theirs.
The silent comfort of sharing pain while being bullied.
The endless conversations they had while watching over him in the base.
The relief of not being abandoned.
The laughter after waking up from death.
The excitement of watching a movie with friends.
Every single memory made with them made his heart beat harder and his eyes sting.
"Although you died that day," [Death] began to speak,
"Were you ever truly living in the first place?" [Death] asked.
"Not at all," Noi Karn said with certainty.
"Then do you feel it?" [Death] spoke.
"Do you feel the way your heart beats and clings to life?"
"Yes," Noi Karn choked.
"Is this why you brought me back to life? Just to crush me once again?" Noi Karn glared at it with watery eyes.
"Everything in life follows a natural process," [Death] did not get angry but began to explain.
"Before there is death, there is life.
And the end of that life is what you call death.
I am the end of all things.
Naturally, that also means I am death.
But death follows its own pattern and occurs at the time [£$%&] says so.
Most importantly, the person has to live first.
Noi Karn, you are someone who had never lived once in the years you spent 'alive' on earth.
Living isn't just breathing—it has to do with the emotions that come with being alive.
Those complex and unlimited emotions.
So even if you resonated with me, that doesn't mean you grasped all of me.
So I wanted you to properly live this time.
Just for you to understand what death really is.
Now I would like to ask you once again.
Noi Karn, do you want to die?"
"Do I have a choice?" Noi Karn said with tears in his eyes because he already understood the answer.
"You always have a choice," [Death] assured him.
"I don't want to die," Noi Karn sobbed out.
"Good," [Death] said.
"I want to live," Noi Karn cried louder.
His face was covered in tears as they flowed endlessly.
"It's okay," [Death] spoke once again.
"I want to become an artist and paint a picture for my friends," Noi Karn said.
"That's good," [Death] replied.
"Is there anything you want me to make for you?" a female voice spoke this time.
It was a beautiful woman with blue hair and eyes.
She stepped out of the darkness and placed a hand on Noi Karn's head.
Noi Karn was dumfounded and looked at [Death].
"I am [Life]," she said with a warm and sincere voice.
"An acquaintance," [Death] said, but this time his voice was a bit more emotional.
[Life] rolled her eyes at [Death] and then smiled warmly at Noi Karn.
"Don't be shy. I was the one who made your movie theatre," she said.
Noi Karn, who had stopped crying, looked at [Death] with one eyebrow raised.
[Death] had no eyes or mouth, but somehow gave the feeling that he was rolling his eyes.
"So what do you want?" [Life] spoke.
Noi Karn pursed his lips and thought about it.
"I want to be able to see," he said hesitantly.
[Life] merely replied, "Okay."
Then, two human eyeballs with blue irises appeared in her left hand.
She swiftly shoved them into Noi Karn's eyes without giving him a chance to escape.
Noi Karn's eyes tingled for a minute before he blinked them.
"I can see?" Noi Karn asked in hesitation.
After all, he could already see in his consciousness, so he doubted he'd notice the difference.
"You will be able to see anything you desire," [Life] spoke vaguely.
"Thank you." Noi Karn couldn't figure it out, so he decided to forget about it.
"Well, I'm off to fight the other side of me," Noi Karn said, facing the two of them.
"Why did you choose not to become [Death]? After all, fighting would be easier because of it," [Death] asked.
"I want to live with my friends, so I choose to die for them.
To me, death is also my way of living," Noi Karn said, smiling softly.
"Good luck," [Death] spoke.
Noi Karn nodded.
"Just pass through that door," [Life] said, pointing at a wooden door a few steps behind him.
Noi Karn bowed to her and walked to the door.
He opened it, and his eyes widened as he saw the blue skies and himself.
What surprised him the most was that he was actually seeing this so clearly with his eyes.
Noi Karn just stood at the door, taking it all in and adjusting his sight.
He snapped out of it once he heard the other "him" speak about killing his friends.
He raised a foot to step out but paused at the last second.
Noi Karn turned around and went to hug [Death] and [Life].
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet my friends and finally live," Noi Karn said, smiling widely at them.
This time, the two entities did not speak but just silently stared at Noi Karn, who released them and headed to the door.
"Thank you for being here at this moment. Goodbye," Noi Karn waved as he stepped out the door.
His smile was really bright, all his teeth exposed as his lips stretched thin.
The two entities just silently waved back.