The void stretched endlessly before them, wide and open in a way Erik wasn't used to. For so long, the boundary of the seal had been a horizon he could not pass, a limit, even if invisible, that shaped his world.
Now there was nothing holding him.
Nothing restraining him.
Which, strangely enough… worried him.
He didn't voice it at first. He simply followed along beside Lady Death, their footsteps gliding across the fabric of existence itself. Her presence glowed softly beside him, a steady warmth that softened the emptiness.
Erik's fingers tapped nervously against his leg, a habit he didn't realize he still had.
Lady Death noticed. Of course she did.
"You're quiet," she said gently.
Erik exhaled, running a hand through his hair as the bun loosened slightly. "Just… realizing how big everything suddenly feels."
"The universe was always this big," she replied with a smile. "You've simply been given the chance to look at it again."
"That's the problem." He gave a half-laugh. "I'm used to confinement. I knew every ripple, every echo in that place. Out here?" His eyes drifted into the endless expanse. "I can feel everything. And it's a lot."
Death nodded knowingly. "Freedom isn't always gentle. Sometimes it overwhelms before it comforts."
Erik hummed, a soft, instinctive sound, like tuning a string under his breath. "I thought I'd feel nothing but excitement. But instead, it's like stepping into a room that's too large to breathe in."
Death slowed her pace and turned toward him fully.
"Erik," she said softly, "you do not need to have everything figured out right away. You've been free for less than an hour. Anyone would feel uncertain."
He blinked, surprised she phrased it so plainly.
She stepped closer. "You're not drifting alone anymore. And you're not expected to run headfirst into whatever comes next. We can take this at your pace."
That eased something inside him. He hadn't realized how tense he was until his shoulders naturally relaxed.
"So… no expectations?" he asked.
"None," Death promised. "No destinations. No rules. Just possibility."
Erik let out a slow breath. "Possibility sounds dangerous."
"Possibility is life." She gave him an amused smile. "And besides, I thought you might enjoy seeing the worlds your music has touched."
His head lifted slightly. "My music?"
"Yes. Songs, prayers, laments, your voice drifted through creation long before mortals existed. Some civilizations still whisper pieces of melodies you unknowingly wrote." Her eyes sparkled lightly. "Would you like to hear them for real?"
Erik hesitated, but only for a moment.
"Yes," he admitted. "I'd like that."
"Good," she said warmly. "We'll explore. Visit places. Meet people, or avoid them. Wander until something calls to you. Only when you feel ready, only then will we think about settling down somewhere."
Erik raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like we're moving in together."
Death didn't flinch. "Aren't we traveling together?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Oh, I know," she said with a teasing smile. "But watching you get flustered is fun."
He groaned into his hand. "You're unbelievable."
"And you're easy to read," she replied lightly.
Erik shook his head, though a faint smile tugged at his lips. The tension inside him slowly unwound, note by note, like a chord loosening from dissonance into harmony.
Death extended her hand again, but this time not out of necessity or rescue.
Only invitation.
"Come on," she said. "The void isn't the only thing worth seeing."
Erik looked into her eyes, calm, ancient, patient, and felt a warmth he hadn't known in millennia.
He took her hand.
A soft vibration rippled from him instinctively, a quiet hum of anticipation rather than sorrow.
Lady Death squeezed lightly. "Where to first?"
Erik looked into the distance, into the open nothing where an infinite number of somewheres waited.
"…Anywhere," he said. "As long as it's not a cage."
"Then," Death answered with a gentle smile, "welcome to freedom, Erik."
Together, they walked forward. Not into destiny. Not into duty. But into possibility.
And the universe hummed softly in response.
__________
The transition was gentle, surprisingly gentle, given the scale of what happened.
One moment, Erik and Lady Death were surrounded by the endless shimmer of the void.
The next, the fabric of reality folded, stretched, and softened like water, and a world bloomed around them.
Erik stopped walking.
Then he froze completely.
He inhaled sharply, eyes widening as the world unfolded beneath him.
A horizon.
A sky.
Colors so vivid they felt almost violent after millennia of monochrome emptiness.
Lady Death watched him carefully out of the corner of her eye. "Take your time."
Erik slowly stepped forward until his feet touched soil. Actual soil. Not the fabricated stone platforms he carved from nothingness. Not the hollow illusions made to give shape to loneliness.
This ground was real.
(A/N - Remember Erik was sealed before planets completely formed; they were still rocks at that point. He can hear what they are but he has never seen them.)
He crouched, fingers brushing the grass. It bent under his touch, soft and cool with the presence of life.
"It has texture," he whispered, marveling.
"Most things do," Death replied with a smile.
He picked up a handful of soil, letting it crumble between his fingers, and then he laughed under his breath—a breathy, astonished sound.
"This is strange."
"Good strange or bad strange?"
"Both," he admitted.
As he stood upright again, his eyes drifted upward.
The sky wasn't special by mortal standards, just blue, dotted with drifting clouds, but to someone who hadn't seen color in ages, it looked like a painting.
The clouds shifted. Birds flew across them in a scattered arc. A breeze touched his face.
Erik froze again.
"Wind?"
Lady Death nodded. "Yes. That is what happens when air moves."
"No, I know that," he said quickly. "It's just…" His hand lifted, brushing through the breeze like it was a living thing. "It touches you."
"As most things do," she said playfully.
"That's not helping."
She smiled wider.
Erik inhaled deeply, letting the air fill him. It wasn't necessary, eldritch beings didn't need oxygen, but the act itself felt oddly reassuring.
He blinked several times, overwhelmed but not distressed.
He took another step and stopped when a faint sound reached his ears.
Not the hum of the void.
Not the resonance of his own being.
This was something external.
A distant, gentle tune, wind moving through trees, leaves rustling, branches creaking softly. Nature's quiet melody.
A chord he didn't create.
He turned slowly toward it.
"What is that?" he asked.
Lady Death looked at the line of trees swaying in the distance. "That? That is a forest."
"And it makes sound?"
"Everything makes sound," she said. "You're just hearing it again."
Erik listened harder, closing his eyes.
Rustling leaves. Flowing water. Birdsong. Echoes bouncing off terrain.
A rhythm formed by living things.
"It's" His voice cracked softly. "beautiful."
Death watched him with a gentle, almost proud expression. "You've been surrounded by silence your entire life. This is your first time hearing a world breathe."
Erik stepped forward, drawn to the sound like a moth to flame. "It's so busy. But not chaotic. It feels alive."
"As it should," she said.
He turned to her with a sudden realization. "I think I'm overwhelmed."
"You're doing beautifully," she said, amused. "Most beings can't even stand on a new world without collapsing into existential panic."
Erik blinked. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"A little."
"Well, it's working."
They walked together toward the forest, Erik's steps unsteady at first, as though the planet's natural vibrations tickled the edges of his senses.
Every few seconds he would stop and stare at something entirely ordinary.
A flower. A rock. A tree. A patch of sunlight.
He knelt to examine a leaf like it was an artifact of creation.
"How do things stay this stable?" he asked, turning it over. "Life is surprisingly organized."
Death laughed softly. "You're only saying that because you haven't seen humans yet."
He tilted his head. "I've heard their music, but never observed them."
"Then you're in for an experience," she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
Erik stood again, gazing deeper into the world, its valleys, its skies, its pulse of life.
"This is nothing like I imagined," he said.
"What did you imagine?"
"Less." He paused thoughtfully. "Less color. Less movement. Less sound."
Death leaned sideways playfully. "Disappointed?"
He shook his head.
"No. I think this is the first time in my existence I feel…" He struggled for the word. "welcomed."
Death softened. "That feeling will grow, Erik. The more you explore, the more the universe will open to you."
He looked at her, eyes shimmering faintly with emotion. "Where should we go next?"
She shrugged lightly. "Anywhere. Everywhere. A thousand worlds before we think about settling down. There's no rush."
Erik chuckled. "You talk like traveling with me is a vacation."
"Perhaps it is."
"And if I get overwhelmed again?"
"I will be here," she said gently.
Erik took a slow breath, absorbing her words.
Then a soft hum of excitement slipped out of him, completely unintentional.
Death raised an eyebrow. "Was that,"
"No, it wasn't," Erik said quickly.
"It sounded like a happy hum."
"It was not a happy hum."
"It was very much a happy hum."
He groaned, but his smile betrayed him.
They continued walking into the living world, side by side, the sound of the forest growing louder and warmer with every step.
For the first time since the dawn of existence, Erik wasn't walking alone.
And the universe, quietly, subtly. Hummed back at him.
__________
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Sorry I couldn't upload yesterday, I was not feeling the greatest.
Anyway leave a comment and have a good day see you all later.