Chapter Text
“538 years…” Somewhere in a plane of existence unseen by mortal eyes, a voice reads out a number written on her wrist. “Ridiculous.” She says, solemnly standing in a field of darkness and lost souls. The underworld was quite barren most of the time after all. It definitely wasn’t a place anyone would go to see the sights, even for an immortal like the woman taking her break in it right now. The reaper had just finished doing her duties leading another set of souls down to their afterlife in this darkened plane. She’d been working hard in her duties to meet the expectations placed upon her as the apprentice of Lord Death. Because of this, her breaks are few and far in between. “Just who are they anyway?” She asks nobody in particular as she runs a finger across the long countdown. It was a strange thing after all, for a reaper to be fated to have a soulmate. “Why won’t you tell me, Sensei?”
… 100 years earlier …
“In the beginning, the world was nothing.” A cloaked figure speaks inside a darkened room. “Existence had not yet come to be, and the world was an empty void.” He speaks a voice not of sound, but of the mind. At first glance, one might think he’s simply a concealed human, but a second look would let one see the giant scythe wreathed in black ash floating beside him. “But then there came one being. A singular power capable of creation in a void of nothingness.” He tells a story, seemingly to another presence standing before him. “They created the multiverse and watched as their creation blossomed. Some call them a god, the one above all, or whatever name the humans give them.” He explains as the other listens. “But we, as guardians of the world they left behind, call them the world’s Author. This you should know, young apprentice.” He acknowledges the other presence.
“Yes, Sensei.” A female voice responds. “I have undertaken the necessary studies in order to meet the requirements set for me to be your apprentice.” She appeared to a human with pink hair, but her own scythe of silver and black resting on her back might convince someone otherwise. Her tone indicated that she’s holding the other figure in a high sense of respect. “Yet I still fail to see how the tale of creation would relate to my inquiry. Why would I, an immortal reaper in service to Lord Death, be fated to have a soulmate?” She asks, watching her words carefully in her master’s presence. “Why would the fates assign me a soul when I myself lead souls into the underworld?” The apprentice asks.
“I see that you are diligent in informing yourself about our role, young Mori Calliope.” Lord Death speaks his apprentice’s name. “Yet I also see that you still neglect to educate yourself about the roles of our counterparts as well.” Death tells his apprentice.
“They are unnecessary to fulfilling my duties.” Mori says. “The guardians of Life and Destiny have no impact on my efficiency.” She says, straight and to the point.
“Perhaps.” Death replies. “But it could tell you more things about our world, young one.” Mori could never see a mouth underneath that cloak, but she swears she could feel her teacher smile beneath it. “For as we reapers are the guardians of death and the aeons are the guardians of life, the fates are the guardians of destiny.” The Lord of Death repeats. “Tell me what you know of all of them, apprentice.” He asks of Mori.
“We reapers guide souls into their afterlife.” The apprentice does as she’s asked. “We lead them to where they shall go when they meet their end. Whether it is to their eternal damnation here in the underworld or to go back to the stream of life to reincarnate under judgement of the aeons.” She recites the written texts. “But the fates are not like us. They are weavers of desire, emotion, and destiny. They meddle in human affairs while the rest of us do not.” The reaper tells her master.
“Yes, that is correct. And it is them who make it so that humans are destined to have soulmates.” Lord Death continues the thought. “Through them, humans are forever destined to find a partner. Weavers of the threads of destiny.” He pauses for a moment to let his apprentice think. “And you ask why you, a reaper, have found yourself caught in one of their strings?” Mori nods to confirm. “Tell me, have you ever wondered why you take on a human form?” He asks.
“All reapers take on some form or another.” Mori answers. “Whether that form is of a devil like the other candidates for your apprentice, a vague manifestation like yours, or something rarer such as a humanoid like me.” Once again stating what she’s learned.
“But do you know why exactly we take the forms we do?” This time, Mori jolts as she doesn’t know the answer to this one. “Then I shall inform you, young pupil. You may have beaten the other candidates in meeting the requirements to be my apprentice, but you are still young considering how short you have served your role.” Mori stays quiet for this one, letting her teacher explain. “The ones taking devil forms are like so due to their souls being inherently corrupt. They are evil because their souls were tainted in their time as mortals.” Mori’s eyes visibly widen at this. “Yes, they were mortals before they became devils. Just like how you were a mortal before you were reborn as one of my pupils. However, not due to tainting your soul with evil.” He teaches the young reaper the things she’s just now learning about. “And ones such as I are the exceptions. We exist as a natural part of the underworld. Neither souls nor former mortals. We are constants that maintain the balance of our realm.”
“But why am I fated?” Mori raises her question once again. “If the fates only give mortals soulmates, then why was I destined to meet mine hundreds of years from now?” She asks, still confused. “I know that there has not been another reaper taking a human form like me in the current era, but why am I so when the devils do not have a number assigned to them?” She presses her teacher.
“That, my pupil, is something you will have to answer yourself.” Death tells Mori. “While yes, I agree that it is unusual for one of our kind to be fated, I know that it is not impossible.” His apprentice visibly looks curious. “You said you shall meet them hundreds of years from now, correct?” He asks and Mori nods. “Then you shall have your answer then. Practice patience, young one. I know you work hard, but sometimes that drive leads to having less time going over your own understanding of how our roles are.” He leaves his apprentice hanging on her question. “In time, Mori Calliope. You’ll come to understand the workings of the fates then. You are dismissed and may go back to your duties.” Lord Death lets his apprentice go.
…
Mori Calliope once again gazes at her left wrist, willing the number to show itself once more. “216 years.” She reads, once again after tending to the steady stream of souls being sent to the underworld under her watchful eyes. She did her job well. As next in line to take the mantle of Lord Death, she made sure that she had the right to earn the position. She manifested in the world countless times now, seeing death fall upon millennia of humans. She saw all kinds of ill endings fall upon the mortals. Some die of natural causes. They were the fortunate ones to see their life end in old age, and some less fortunate ones who succumbed to sickness and mortal shortcomings. Some die with honor on fields of battle. They were the ones who fought valiantly in service of king and country. Then there were those who were tricked and deceived. Made use of only to then be tossed aside and eliminated. She didn’t care about their pleas or cries about unfairness. She didn’t even feel emotion. She was only there to lead them to their fate after all, not to hear them out. “What kind of mortal would they be, then?” The apprentice silently asks. She spent a lot of her free time like this. Pondering about the kind of person her fated would be. How they would react to meeting their destined only to realize that she’s an immortal reaper who cannot live alongside a mortal. Mori’s teacher never did answer her question after that one meeting. Lord Death was also quite busy, so the young student never did bother him again after being sent off once. She wonders, because the only time she ever spends in the human world was when she’d reap souls to lead to the afterlife. “Am I fated to meet them when they die?” She asks the obvious question.
…
War. A time when conflict rises to the surface, and when lives are put on the line to enable change. The clangs and ticks of metal-on-metal echo across the wide battlefield. Along with them, the whizzing in the air made by spells and arrows flying overhead tell of a time devoid of mercy. Human soldiers fight hordes after hordes of mad orcs, goblins, giants, and other such monsters. The kingdom had to drive the armies back, or else fall under the tyrannical rule of the Demon Lord. Countless lives have been lost already, and the humans cannot afford losing the capital city. One warrior in particular fights in order to make the last stand.
Takanashi Kiara wasn’t your ordinary human warrior. In fact, she wasn’t even human. While her fellow warriors and adventurers fight beside her thinking of her as one of them, they didn’t know of her true identity. “Take this!” She shouts as she drives her blazing blade of fire across the chest of the giant acting as this enemy battalion’s general, leaving behind a large, cauterized cut. The tall mass of gray skin falls, shaking the ground around it, defeated. “Everyone! Move forward! With the general down, the rest will scatter!” She rallies her allies as a legion of soldiers, archers, and spellcasters push forward to drive back the demon lord’s army, victory looking like it’s in the hands of the kingdom. This girl was an adventurer leading a party of human warriors, but her true identity was that of something a lot more special than just another human.
“Kiara!” One of the warrior’s allies calls her name. “Bad news!” This one was one of her party’s clerics. A young human girl with dark hair, holding an ancient tome representing her devotion as a priestess of the Old Ones. “I received a message from another troop's Sending spell. A high-ranking demon managed to slip through the Atlantean army’s defenses! Gura managed to drive back the majority of the demon army headed there, but that one went straight past them, headed for the outermost village, and the civilians haven’t all been evacuated yet!” The maiden tells the warrior.
“They managed to sneak by Gura?” Kiara asks for the priestess to confirm, who does so with a nod. “Dammit!” The warrior curses. “And what of Amelia and the Mage’s Guild? How are they fairing, Ina?” She further assesses the situation.
“They’re doing their best defending the kingdom’s walls.” Ina tells Kiara. “Ame’s leading the defense so the wall won’t fall, but the village the demon is headed towards isn’t built inside it.” The priestess informs the warrior. “Their evacuation hasn’t been completed because the noble of their land refuses to let them pass before his carriages. If the demon gets to them, it’ll be a massacre with many civilians dying!” Then, Ina takes a deep breath before speaking what she says next. “I know you still haven’t told everyone, but I think you’re the only one who can reach them in time. You have to use your powers! It’s the only way!”
“I guess you’re right about that.” Kiara was more than just a human. The only ones who knew of her secret was the close friends she fought alongside with. Ina - a priestess of the Old Ones, Gura – an Atlantean royal skilled with the trident, and Amelia – the Mage’s Guild’s top student capable of using time magic. The adventuring party helped a lot of people in their days, but in this surprise attack, they were divided as they all had roles to play in this defense of the kingdom. “Alright, I’ll be sure to come back alive. You’ll all be able to handle yourselves, right?” She asks Ina, who gives her a confident nod.
“You’ll definitely come back, Tenchou.” The priestess smiles. “You have your soulmate to meet today, after all.” Ina was right. Kiara had been looking forward to today. She’s waited her entire life for this day. It was the day when her count told her that she’s destined to meet her soulmate. She had to survive. “You ended the fight here, Gura succeeded in driving back the other army, and Ame can hold the wall even on her own. We’ll be fine.” Ina assures her friend.
“Then I’ll see you when I defeat that creature, Ina. Be safe.” And as Kiara says her parting words, a vortex of fire surrounds the female warrior. This, however, didn’t surprise Ninomae Ina’nis. For she knew about how phoenixes take the form of flaming birds. Majestic creatures said to be immortal. She also knew that it was unusual for an immortal being such as Kiara to have a soulmate, so Ina was aware of what today meant to the mythical warrior.
…
A panic, Mori Calliope thinks as she’s once again summoned to the mortal world to lead new souls to their afterlife. This time, she observes as peasants of various ages crowd behind wooden carriages. They seemed to be running away from something, as indicated by the rush to get behind an outer wall spanning a vast distance. Something will be attacking them today and based on what the reaper sees fast approaching behind her, it looked like a large demon was flying in their direction.
“Unfortunate.” She says, despite none of the mortals being able to see nor hear her. She knew the fates of these humans. It was why she was summoned here after all. They’re all fated to die here at the claws and jaws of the black demon. “Will it be one of you?” She asks to deaf ears, as she wonders if her soulmate was one of the ones panicking behind the carriages. Mori Calliope turns her head to look further up the path. It seemed that these were civilians evacuating due to an attack. In the distance lied an empty village where she presumed they lived in. It looked like they were hurrying to get inside city walls, but the shouting of a noble told her that they’re being refused passage as the fat man insists on giving his carriages priority. “Filthy humans and their greed…” The reaper mutters to herself. She’s known plenty of humans in her time as a reaper. She knows that a lot of them had unhealthy attachments to earthly possessions. She’s never understood this, as an immortal. She thought of them as shameless beings who wasted their limited time on superficial concerns. But then, the shouting stopped as the grouping of humans suddenly turn to notice what’s flying towards them. “It only takes one to cut short the lives of others.” The demon stops in front of the crowd, its tall black frame accompanied by two large bat wings, a forked tail, and fangs that could crush stone with its size. They were doomed.
“DO NOT FEAR!!!” Mori Calliope was suddenly compelled to look away as she turns to look behind her and sees a vortex of fire reveal a female warrior with bright orange hair. “Demon! Your fight is with me!” She shouts as she raises a sword blazing with bright fire, which gets the demon’s attention. “That’s right! You know what I am, don’t you!?” The girl also pulls out a shield to accompany her weapon. It also burns with a blinding light. “You know that phoenix blood tastes a lot better than humans, right?” She shouts as the demon’s full attention becomes hers.
“A phoenix?” Mori wonders. She’s heard of these creatures before. Immortal beings blessed with magic allowing them to die and live again from the ashes of their corpse. She’s never seen one before, even in the hundreds of years of her service to Lord Death. “She takes the form of a human?” She ponders the thought as the blazing warrior and the evil creature make battle.
“You will not kill humans today, dark creature!” Takanashi Kiara shouts as her and the demon trade blows. Her sword slashed and burned all across the dark monster’s body. Her movements were fast as she circled the larger beast, making quick and effective slashes. A good strike even allowed her to cut off one of the foul beast’s wings. “Ah!” But the demon was also no joke. This creature was one of high rank. Not enough to the point where it was one of the ones that were intelligent and manipulative, but rather one of terrifying martial prowess. The Demon Lord only made use of his best dogs to fight in his army after all, and this black demon was one of those. “I won’t fall!!!” Kiara ducks under a swipe, narrowly missing a slash from the creature’s claws. “AHH!!!” But she couldn’t avoid the poisoned tri-spear impaling her side as the demon’s tail struck her vitals. “No! you won’t get me that easily!” Kiara twists her weapon in her hand, holds it with the blade pointing down, grips the creature’s tail with her left hand, and cleanly cuts the body part with the flaming edge. “Ugh!” She was free, but she could feel the beast’s poison invading her body. “No…”
“Tragic.” Mori Calliope watches as the fight looked like an even match. She knew of a phoenix’s strength, but also that one of the most potent counters to them was the poison inflicted by a black demon. “She’ll die, and so will the humans.” She believes that, however was confused when the girl refused to lie down. She didn't know why, but this warrior had her full attention as well. “What? Why are you standing?” The warrior suddenly erupts into roaring flames. A swirling tornado of magical fire colored in orange and teal light. The demon leaps upwards to avoid the fire. “What’s the point? Why even continue?” She asks no one who could hear, as she continues to observe the battle unfold.
“Heh…” Within the fire, Takanashi Kiara’s spirit burns. She extends her arm upwards and raises her sword towards the dark creature. “I’m sorry, Ina…” She softly speaks as the sword’s blade burns even brighter and two large wings with feathers made of fire emerge from her back. “I guess I won’t come back to you today after all. Take care of Gura and Ame for me until I come back, okay?” The fire all around the warrior suddenly flows and moves into the tip of her blazing sword, making the blade burn a blinding white. “But I won’t let these people die.” She leaps up to meet the creature in the air, boosted by the thrust her wings gave her. “I guess it was meant to be one of you…” She takes one last look at the people she protected, taking in their worried faces, but unable to see one face in particular also looking at her. “Please die.” And with one spin of her body, the mythical warrior of blazing flame slashes once with her sword and lets out a grand cut followed by the brightest trail of fire humans have ever seen. The black demon growls one last time, as its body was cut in half. The phoenix fire searing its entire outline and ending its life. “If only we could’ve met sooner…” Kiara whispers, as the poison courses through her veins, stopping her heart and ending her life.
…
Mori Calliope watches as the phoenix’s dead body falls to the ground along with the two halves of the demon she’d defeated. The mythical warrior had succumbed to the creature’s poison, and in her last moments, used up her fire to save the lives of the peasants she most likely didn’t even know. They surround the girl’s body, inspecting it for any signs of life. They wanted to thank their savior but were too late as the warrior’s life had left her body. Mori Calliope knew this because she could see the girl’s soul leave her corpse that slowly fades into ashes. The reaper walks up, knowing that her job was to guide the warrior’s soul instead of any of the humans. Although, she wondered how exactly again she was supposed to handle an immortal’s soul, as this was her first time guiding a phoenix.
“Hello.” The reaper speaks to the humanoid figure that looked like the warrior earlier. It seemed her soul kept her human form rather than her bird form. “I suppose you already know what happened to you.” She approaches the phoenix from behind, who looked like she was still concerned with the humans mourning her.
“Huh?” Takanashi Kiara turns her head to look at the reaper. “Oh, I suppose you’re here to guide me, right? You’re what they call a reaper?” She asks, unusually calm, Mori thinks. “I’m sorry, I haven’t actually died before. This is my first time going through this.” She fully turns around to face the pink-haired immortal. “I’m Takanashi Kiara! What’s your name?” She asks her guide, unusually casual.
“My name is unnecessary. I am just here to guide you to where you’ll stay until you eventually rise again.” Mori tells the phoenix what she knows to be the standard process for immortals. “You are to stay in the underworld for until you recover your life force and rise again from your ashes.” She informs the warrior’s soul. “Any business you have here will have to be left behind as you take your time to reconstitute.” The reaper says, devoid of all emotion.
“Aw, c’mon. What’s the harm in telling me your name, miss reaper?” Kiara once again presses her guide. “It’s as you said. I’m gonna be staying down in the underworld with you for a while, so I might as well know you.” It seemed Kiara was aware of how her reincarnation worked. “I used up nearly all the magic I had stored in me for that last attack. It’ll probably be months until I can be alive again in the human world.” She says, all too casual for Mori’s liking.
“Why do you help them?” The reaper’s curiosity took the better of her. “They’re filthy mortals. Their greed was what caused them to be in the situation in the first place. Why would you waste your life to save them when you have an eternity to live?” Takanashi Kiara turns around to face her.
“Because I care about them.” She states, causing Mori to visibly look confused. “Maybe you would too, if you didn’t only see them in their last moments.” The phoenix converses with the reaper. “Spending time with them taught me a lot of things. Even as an immortal, their traditions and customs were very fun to partake in.” The warrior smiles.
“But why would you form bonds with them? What makes you so inclined to relate to them when you know you’ll only see the ones close to you die again and again?” Death’s apprentice asked the other immortal.
“It’s because I wanted to find my soulmate.” Kiara states, making Mori take a few steps back at the word. “I was supposed to meet them today, too.” The warrior raises her right arm and wills a number to appear on her wrist. “It’s strange. I first got close to them because I wanted to know what the number meant. I spent 500 years of my life interacting with them to gain their knowledge. Apparently, humans were made by the fates to have destined partners. Yet, here I was, an immortal also assigned my own. I didn’t understand.” Mori Calliope stays silent and lets the phoenix talk, realizing what this revelation meant. “I learned what they meant by ‘love’. A mortal emotion that made you form close bonds with others. I wanted to know what love is like, so I decided to get closer to as many humans as I can. I knew that the only one I could truly love was my soulmate, but I was still able to love many humans despite that. I enjoyed it. I made a lot of friends that way.” Kiara recalls her forming close bonds with her adventuring party.
“So, you also thought that only mortals had soulmates?” Mori Calliope asks as she walks forward and takes the phoenix’s right arm. “Can you make your count appear?” She asks Kiara, who goes along with it. The 0 days appearing on her arm confirming everything the reaper thought. “It’s you.” She looks the phoenix in the eye.
“Huh?” Takanashi Kiara didn’t know why yet, but the physical contact of this girl grabbing her wrist made her want to blush – if she still even had blood. “W-What?” She stutters. Why? She asks. For some reason looking this reaper in the eyes triggered something within her.
“I-I…” Mori Calliope also felt something rise inside her. “I have something to show, too.” She says as she raises her left hand and wills a number to appear on her wrist, reading 0 days. This caused the warrior’s eyes to widen, and then have her assault the reaper with a hug. “Guh! Woah! What are you doing?” Mori awkwardly slurs her words. Strange, that’s never happened before. She’s always managed to keep her composure.
“It’s you!” Takanashi Kiara says while hugging the girl. “All this time, I thought it had to be a human!” She couldn’t see the reaper’s face blushing intensely due to the physical contact. “That’s why! I had a soulmate because my soulmate was an immortal like me!” She giddily laughs. “Now that I look at you, you actually are pretty hot.” The phoenix admits as the reaper fumbles her way free of the embrace.
“E-enough!” Mori backs away. “Y-yes, that does explain some things.” Why was she like this? What’s this warm feeling inside her? “I suppose that makes sense as to why we have these things.” She once again raises her wrist to show her number. “I can’t understand w-why you were chosen to be my fated, but I won’t let it interfere with my duties. I still have to take you to the underworld until you come back to life.” The reaper tries to go back to her duties, but for some strange reason, feels a slight warmth spreading across her cheeks. “Come on, I have to lead you down there.” She turns around, unconsciously trying to hide her face from the other girl.
“Your name.” Mori Calliope stops in her tracks. “Tell me your name, and I’ll come with you.” Is she really doing this? Mori thinks. “My name’s Takanashi Kiara! I’m a phoenix and also a warrior who fights alongside humans!” Kiara says to the reaper.
“Fine, if it’ll get you to come quietly.” The reaper turns around to face her destined one. “My name’s Mori Calliope. I’m a reaper in training. There, is that enough?” Kiara smiles.
“Alright then, Calli~” Takanashi Kiara calls the reaper by a nickname, which causes something to bubble up inside Mori. “Anything for my wife.” She teases the immortal reaper.
“ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!!!” Mori shouts, causing Kiara to laugh more. “I still have a job to do.” She states, bluntly, which causes Kiara to frown a little. “B-but I’ll still be able to accompany you in your stay!” That’s strange, she never wanted to comfort a soul before. “W-we’ll figure out what we’ll do about… us… then…” She awkwardly lets out.
“HA↙HA↙HA↙” The phoenix laughs at the flustered reaper. “Of course, Calli. We’ll get to know each other then.” She gives the reaper a wink, causing Mori to pull out her scythe and point it at the soul. “Woah save that for the bed, Calli~” But Kiara refuses to let up.
“Shut it, Kusotori!” The reaper fires back with her own nickname, which only causes more hollering from the bottom-left bird. “Just come here already…” Mori lowers her scythe and offers her hand to the phoenix’s soul, with a slight blush in her cheeks. “And don’t misunderstand, this is just how we’re supposed to do things.” As much as Mori would like to refuse it, it was standard procedure to guide souls by the hand.
“Alright, Calli. But you don’t have to deny it, you know?” Kiara takes the reaper’s hand. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other quite often in our infinite lifetimes~” She gives the pink-haired reaper another wink. It seems the two were fated to forever meet each other time and time again. As the fates would have it, two immortals were destined to have their lives intertwined. Their threads, interwoven as beings of life and death, were fated to tie together. This was the story of their first encounter, and both expect many more to come in their long long lives. For as each time Takanashi Kiara were to die, she would meet her destined one another time, because her fated was a reaper named Mori Calliope.
The fates work in mysterious ways after all. Some believe they even have the power to weave destiny beyond just this universe. If you were to ask Lord Death and receive a straight answer, he would tell you that the World's Author made the fates be so out of inspiration. A desire to see how their creation would evolve with the hands of fate. The fateful knowledge the guardian of Death didn't tell his apprentice was that these two souls were woven by the fates to be destined to meet each other beyond just this world. The Author created a multiverse after all. Only, Lord Death was no being knowledgeable enough to be aware of exactly what entails the two in these other alternate universes.