Erik stood outside the new house, staring at the doorway with the same expression one might give a puzzle sent by an enemy. Death, standing beside him with her arms crossed, waited patiently for him to process the situation.
"So," she said, "what do you want to put inside?"
Erik rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. I've never needed furniture."
"That's why we're doing this," Death replied. "The whole point of having a home is to make it comfortable."
He squinted at her. "Comfortable, how? Like… pillows?"
"Yes, Erik. Pillows."
He frowned suspiciously, as if pillows were somehow a dangerous concept.
Death sighed and took his wrist. "Let's just start with one room. One. We can do this slowly."
She pulled him into the main chamber. Sunlight filtered through the crystal windows, casting faint shimmering patterns along the walls. The space was beautiful in its emptiness, but even Erik couldn't deny it needed something.
Death gestured grandly. "Alright. First question: do you want somewhere to sit?"
Erik hesitated. "I usually just sit on the floor."
She stared at him.
He stared back.
"Erik," she said slowly, "we are getting furniture."
He huffed like a scolded child. "Fine."
With a sigh, he lifted his hand. A soft hum vibrated from his fingertips, and the stone at the center of the room rippled like water. Shapes rose, forming something… chair-like. Kind of. Maybe.
Death took one look and pressed her palm to her face. "What is that?"
"A… chair?"
"It looks like a rock giving up halfway through being a chair."
Erik squinted really squinted. "It has a flat part."
"And that's all it has."
Erik groaned in defeat and let the rock-chair sink back into the floor. "Furniture is impossible."
Death laughed softly. "You can create entire worlds, but furniture is where you draw the line?"
"Yes," he said immediately. "Furniture is complicated."
"Sit with me."
She tugged him over to the empty space and sat on the smooth floor. Erik followed reluctantly.
"You don't need to make furniture from sound," she said. "Just think about comfort. Think about what you want to feel in this room."
Erik's expression softened.
Comfort.
Warmth.
Presence.
Not isolation.
Not emptiness.
He took a breath, let his hum drift low and steady, and the room shifted.
A long couch formed near the window, its cushions made of soft, woven light, its frame carved from smooth dark stone. The fabric wasn't really fabric, but something warm and comforting that fit the valley's energy.
Death touched the couch cautiously, then sat. It dipped under her weight like a normal seat.
Her eyes widened. "Oh. This is… actually nice."
Erik blinked. "It is?"
"Try it."
He sat beside her. The seat conformed gently around him, warm but supportive.
He stared. "Furniture isn't as hard as I thought."
"Told you," she said, nudging his shoulder.
Emboldened, Erik stood again and hummed another note. A low table rose near the couch, shaped from polished stone veined with shimmering threads of light. A soft carpet formed under their feet. Not cloth, but mossy, spring-like texture that felt like walking on early morning dew.
Death walked barefoot across it and sighed contentedly. "Perfect."
Erik watched her reaction, a smile tugging at his lips. "Good?"
"Very good. What next?"
"A bedroom?" he guessed.
Death raised a brow. "Are you asking me or telling me?"
"I don't know how houses work."
She laughed, the sound filling the home with warmth. "Then we'll make one together."
They moved into one of the smaller chambers. Erik hesitated before humming again. The walls glowed, responding to the intention behind the sound.
A bed formed, large, soft-looking, covered in a dark blue material that resembled woven stardust. The frame seemed carved from the same gentle light his windows held.
Death walked around it thoughtfully. "Comfortable?"
Erik touched it and immediately pulled his hand back. "Why is it so soft?!"
"Erik. It's a bed."
"I didn't know beds were so squishy."
She grinned. "You'll survive."
He grumbled something incoherent but didn't erase it.
Next, he shaped shelves from swirling patterns of stone. A smaller resting bench near one window. A table for writing or composing.
Death noticed immediately. "You want a space for your music."
He nodded with a slight smile. "It felt right."
"It is."
They stepped back into the main room and surveyed their work. The home still felt spacious, still simple, but no longer empty. Warmth filled the air, from the light, the materials, their presence.
Erik exhaled softly. "I think I understand now."
"Understand what?"
"Home," he said quietly. "It's not the furniture. It's filling the space with things that make life easier. Softer. More peaceful."
Death rested her shoulder against his. "Exactly."
"And doing it with someone."
Death's gaze softened, her voice warm. "Especially that."
Erik let a small smile form. "Then our home is coming together."
"It is," she agreed.
They stood there for a long moment, taking in the cozy beginnings of their shared sanctuary. The valley hummed outside, content with their progress. Inside, the air vibrated gently with Erik's lingering resonance, the promise he'd infused into the walls.
Their home. Their space. Their first steps into a future neither had dared imagine before.
"Death," Erik murmured, "thank you."
She looked at him curiously. "For what?"
"For helping me build something real."
Her expression softened into something tender.
"You're not building it alone, Erik. This is our home."
And for the first time, the word our felt completely natural.
__________
Evening settled slowly over the valley, the last rays of sunlight slipping behind the distant mountains. The waterfalls along the cliffs shimmered with gold before fading to silver. Fireflies drifted out from the forest edge, blinking softly like wandering stars. A calm breeze carried the smell of clean water and blooming wildflowers into their new home.
Erik stepped into the main room and paused.
The place felt lived in now.
Not full, not crowded, just warm. The soft couch waited near the window. The carpet-like moss cushioned his steps. The faint star-patterns on the roof pulsed like constellations.
Death emerged from a side room, brushing dust from her hands. "The shelves didn't collapse," she said proudly. "I put some stones and crystals on them so they don't look lonely."
Erik blinked. "Shelves get lonely?"
"Everything gets lonely," she replied simply.
He didn't argue.
She stepped beside him, her eyes studying his expression. "You're thinking about playing something."
"How could you tell?"
"You get that look," she said, gesturing vaguely, "like the universe is whispering into your ear and you're deciding whether to whisper back."
He snorted softly. "It's been a while since I played without a void answering me."
"Then let the valley hear you," Death said gently. "It's been reacting to your presence already. Maybe it wants to listen."
Erik hesitated only a second before reaching for the guitar he'd formed earlier. It rested against the wall, warm to the touch, humming faintly like it missed him.
He sat on the raised platform he'd created, Death lowering herself onto the couch with a quiet, expectant calm.
(Honestly I have no idea what song to put here so ima just paste what i was listening to while writing this. - When None Remain - Dark Acoustic Instrumental [Beautiful Death])
Erik took a breath.
The valley outside exhaled with him.
Then he strummed.
The first note was soft, so soft he almost didn't hear it, but the house did. The crystal windows vibrated gently, throwing scattered flecks of light across the walls like dancing fireflies. The floor rumbled faintly, not violently, but as if settling in to listen.
He began to play properly.
A slow melody at first. Gentle. Warm. The kind of sound that matched the glow of sunset fading into night. Notes drifted out the windows and spilled across the valley.
Grass leaned toward the home.
The river slowed just slightly. Not stopping, just relaxing, its current swaying in rhythm. The waterfalls softened, their crashing roar quieting until they sounded like a distant choir humming the harmony.
Death quietly crossed one leg over the other and leaned her chin on her hand. "It suits this place," she said softly. "Your music, it feels like it's talking to the valley."
Erik closed his eyes, letting his fingers move instinctively. "It's answering," he whispered.
And it was.
Wind brushed his cheek, forming a breeze that circled the room gently, as if dancing. Outside, trees rustled in perfect timing, not randomly, not chaotically, but in tune.
The valley was singing back.
Erik felt the hair on his arms stand up. The valley's resonance wasn't loud, it was subtle, shy even, but undeniably there. His music filled the air like a warm blanket settling over the land.
He shifted into a brighter melody. Hopeful, curious, quietly joyful.
That was when the world responded with something new.
From the treeline beyond the river, small lights appeared. Not fireflies. Not magic sparks. But eyes.
Dozens of them.
Erik's fingers stilled, but the lights didn't retreat. Instead, they hesitated at the forest's edge, watching.
Death sat up straighter. "We have visitors."
Erik set the guitar down gently and rose to his feet, stepping closer to the window. The lights grew larger,no longer tiny flickers, but soft blue-glowing orbs moving through the shadows.
Shapes emerged behind them.
Small creatures, maybe two feet tall. Furry, with gentle faces and long ears that twitched like tuning forks. Their fur shimmered in moonlight, shifting hues like soft northern lights. Their eyes glowed faintly in the dark, watching Erik with cautious curiosity.
(Image Here)
Death crossed her arms. "Local wildlife?"
Erik shook his head slowly. "They weren't here earlier."
"Then the music called them."
The creatures approached the riverbank, their feet barely disturbing the grass. One of them waded cautiously into the shallows, staring directly at Erik through the open window.
Death approached beside him, her voice soft. "They're not afraid."
"No," Erik murmured. "They're listening."
He wasn't imagining it. Each time he exhaled, the creatures' ears flicked toward him. Each faint hum that slipped from him instinctively caused their glowing eyes to brighten.
He stepped out of the house, Death beside him. The nearest creature froze at first, then tilted its head in a surprisingly intelligent gesture.
Erik crouched slowly. "Hello."
A soft trill came from the creature, like wind chimes and a purr mixed together.
A language of resonance.
Death smiled. "I like them."
Another one hopped forward, sniffed the air near Erik, then placed its tiny paw against the ground. Grass shivered, releasing a faint pulse of blue-green light.
"They communicate through vibration," Erik said quietly.
"Like someone else I know," Death murmured.
He ignored the tease.
One of the creatures bravely stepped closer, reaching out with a paw. Erik extended a hand, but stopped a few inches away, waiting.
The creature bridged the distance.
Its paw pressed against his palm.
A warm vibration pulsed between them. Steady, innocent, welcoming.
And Erik felt it.
Acceptance.
The valley didn't just hear him. It recognized him. And so did its inhabitants.
Death knelt beside him, brushing a gentle hand along another creature's back. It chirped happily and leaned into her touch.
"Well," she said softly, "I think your song made friends."
Erik looked around at the gathered creatures, bright-eyed, glowing softly, drawn to him not by fear or instinct but by resonance.
A world that welcomed him. A home that responded to him. And now living things that came simply to listen.
He let out a small, breathy laugh. "I think," he whispered, "I'm starting to understand what home feels like."
Death nudged his shoulder. "I'm glad."
The creatures circled them in a loose ring, humming their strange melodic language, offering companionship in their own quiet way.
The valley hummed back. The house glowed faintly behind them. Death stayed close, her presence steady and warm.
And Erik felt something he never thought possible:
He was no longer an outsider in the universe.
This place had chosen him. Listened to him. And now, it sang with him.
For the first time, peacefully, Erik smiled into the night.
__________
__________
And that, folks. Hope you all enjoyed it and ill see you all sometime tomorrow if not the next day for sure.
Any questions or concerns let me know.
Help this book be seen, send some powerstones please.