An Incomplete Death
The God of Death is an absolute being. Yet the only thing a god truly knows how to do is wield their own divine authority. The reason they are still regarded that way is because no one can dare challenge that authority. Not even a fragment of a god.
The Saint stared at me with a dazed expression. Then her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in disbelief.
“...Why you?”
“You said it yourself, Saint. You asked if a grim reaper wasn’t the God of Death. It’s because I am the God of Death that death has finally come to this world.”
Her pupils trembled as tears welled up in her eyes.
“Then… the people here… they can all die? Even me?”
Her voice shook. The question was laced with both desperate longing and raw fear. Thinking of the horrific situation she had endured for so long, I wanted to give her the most comforting answer possible. But in the end, I slowly shook my head.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not the case.”
“...W-why not?”
The Saint looked up at me with glistening eyes.
“You said death came because of you…”
“That part is true. But before that—those people lying over there. They’re all human, right?”
“Yes. They are.”
“Unfortunately, handling human death is not something I can do alone.”
I sighed and pulled out the Death Register, showing it to her. I pressed the power button again as I took it out, but the screen remained pitch black. The Saint tilted her head as she carefully examined it.
“Why is this? What is it?”
“This is called the Death Register. Simply put, it’s a tool that shows the fate of those who are about to die. It records departed souls and is necessary for guiding them to the Underworld.”
The Saint poked the black screen with her finger.
“...Nothing shows up?”
“Normally, the names of the people lying over there would be listed, along with exactly how they are supposed to meet their deaths. But right now, I can’t see any of it.”
The Saint looked at me with a confused expression. I could feel the silent question of ‘why?’ in her gaze. I scratched my head and decided to explain in more detail.
“...This is actually why I panicked earlier. This device is supposed to be impossible to break, yet as you can see, it’s not working at all.”
I held the Death Register out in front of her again and pressed the button, but the screen stayed dark. I shook my head and added,
“As long as this won’t turn on, I can’t interfere with human death. A grim reaper completes death, but it is fate that creates it.”
“...Sorry. I don’t understand a single thing you’re saying.”
I tried to explain it as simply as possible. How can I make this any easier? I clutched my head in frustration, then suddenly looked up.
“Think of it like this. The gods of fate have placed a ‘lock’ on human death. It can only be carried out in the exact way they have decided.”
“...So the method is written on that black thing?”
“Exactly!”
It felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest. …Well, there was still one major blockage left.
Yes. All of this was because of this special world, one so unique that the connection to the Underworld had been severed.
I let out a deep sigh.
“The reason the Death Register isn’t working is because the link between the Underworld and this place has been cut. The network connected to fate is located in the Underworld.”
The Saint’s brow furrowed slightly.
“...Then, does that mean we have to reconnect it?”
“That’s right. Once the Underworld is linked to this world again, death will fully return.”
“How?”
…If only I knew. If I did, wouldn’t I have gone back to the Underworld already? A high god like my father might have been able to open the gates of the Underworld even from here, but…
…I’m just a half-baked grim reaper. Nothing more than a fragment of my father.
Overwhelmed by helplessness, I lowered my head. I didn’t even know where to begin. But I couldn’t stay frozen forever.
Let’s start with what needs to be done first.
I slowly lifted my head. The Saint was watching me with worried eyes. I forced a smile.
“I think I should get going now.”
“...What?”
If I didn’t retrieve the souls quickly, they would all turn into evil spirits. Even if the negative energy in this world couldn’t leave a certain area, souls were different. Once their connection to the body was severed, they would wander aimlessly. And with negative energy this strong, they would likely turn into evil spirits the moment they were touched.
Having too many evil spirits is never good for a world.
So I needed to collect the souls as soon as possible. …Then why was this Saint clinging to my waist again, dangling there?
“Um, Saint?!”
“Don’t go!”
“Pardon?”
“If you’re not here…!”
Her voice trembled. She tightened her grip around my waist. I blinked in confusion at the sudden situation. Then something flashed through my mind.
…Wait, did I just say something that could be misunderstood?
With the gates to the Underworld not even opening, where could I possibly go? I had only meant it in the sense of ‘I’ll be back after I take care of something,’ but the Saint was acting like I was about to leave her forever. Only then did I understand her desperation.
I gently touched the hand that was gripping my waist hard enough to turn white.
“Saint, I’m not leaving. There’s something important I need to do, so I just have to step out for a bit—ahh!”
“...Liar!”
The Saint cut me off firmly. At the same time, it felt like my upper and lower body were about to be torn in half. I shouted urgently,
“Saint, please calm down first! I can’t breathe!”
“If you leave, it’s all over! Everything will end! So don’t go. Please…”
“I’m not leaving! In the first place, with the gates to the Underworld closed, how could I even leave?!”
The strength around my waist loosened a little compared to before. But there was still no sign of her letting go. It seemed like I needed to say something more convincing.
…I didn’t think she wouldn’t believe me this much.
Of course, when I thought about everything she had been through, her reaction made sense. The unbelievably horrific situations, the people who blamed her for every tragedy, the endless persecution… In the midst of such despair, I must have appeared to her as the one and only hope.
If that hope suddenly disappeared… of course she would react like this.
I let out a deep sigh and raised my hand. Slowly extending my pinky toward her, I said,
“I swear. Until I find a way to open the gates of the Underworld, I will never leave your side.”
The Saint looked at me with a startled expression. In her eyes, a brief hesitation and faint relief flickered.
“...Really?”
“Yes, I promise. So could you let go of my waist now? It feels like it’s going to snap.”
She stared at me for a long moment before slowly releasing her grip. My waist seemed to cry out in relief. I took a deep breath that I hadn’t been able to draw properly until now, then held out my pinky again.
“Here, Saint.”
“...Huh?”
“I said I’d make a promise.”
These days, humans seemed to trust ‘pinky promises’ more than swearing on the River Styx.
Even though swearing on the Styx is far more absolute for a god.
Thinking the Saint would do the same, I held out my pinky, but instead of a finger, something soft touched it. When I looked down, the Saint was pressing her lips to my pinky.
“Uwaaah—!”
“...Huh?”
I quickly yanked my hand upward. The Saint tilted her head in confusion.
“Why… why are you like that?”
“J-just now… your lips. W-why?!”
“...You said you’d swear.”
The Saint looked at me silently. Her eyes were filled with pure sincerity.
…Ah, it’s a cultural difference.
I covered my face with both hands and muttered,
“Um… I’m sorry, but could we do it our way instead?”
“Huh? How?”
“...Like this. Hold out your pinky.”
The Saint cautiously extended her pinky. I let out a deep internal sigh and hooked my finger around hers.
“When we make a promise, we do it like this. Then we press our thumbs together…”
“...T-this feels kind of embarrassing.”
The Saint murmured in a small voice and slightly lowered her head. The tips of her ears turned red again. Seeing that made me feel awkward too, so I quickly pressed my thumb to hers and pulled away.
“There, it’s done!”
“...Ah, it’s already over?”
The Saint stared at my hand and murmured. Already over? Did she think there was more to it? Come to think of it, humans did things like copying or whatever, but I didn’t know about that. After agonizing over it, I decided to just shake hands.
“Then… shall we shake hands? As a sign that we’ll get along well?”
“...G-get along? Y-yes!”
The Saint shyly held out her hand. When I took it, her warm body heat transferred to me. Maybe that was why her cheeks flushed pink. She stared at me intently in that state, then suddenly bowed her head deeply.
…Maybe I should have just ended it with the earlier one.
The Saint’s face, still holding my hand tightly, was growing redder and redder. Perhaps because she had been so embarrassed in front of me, my own face started burning too. I shook our joined hands a few times firmly and quickly let go.
“P-please take care of me, Saint.”
“...Yes! I’ll be counting on you too.”
The Saint clasped both hands together and smiled brightly. I stared at her blankly for a moment before quickly turning my head away.
“Um, may I ask you one favor?”
“What favor? Tell me anything. I’ll do whatever you want—except letting you leave!”
“...I keep telling you I’m not leaving.”
Where did the oath I just made go? I tried to push away the sudden absurdity and continued.
“That place from earlier—may I go inside?”
“Huh? Why?”
“There’s something I need to check.”
I needed to confirm the souls before their connection to their bodies was completely severed. Otherwise, I’d have to go around searching for each one individually. I wondered if I needed to explain that too, but fortunately the Saint nodded without much suspicion.
“Follow me.”
She nodded and walked ahead with light steps. Once again, we stood before the massive door. Strange patterns were chaotically carved across the surface of the old, worn panels.
“I’ll open it.”
When the Saint placed her hand on it, the door creaked open with a long groan. The moment it did, the trapped, foul stench rushed out so thickly it stole my breath. And before me unfolded a horrific sight too terrible to look at directly.
My entire body stiffened instantly.
…Ah, right. It was like this here. I really have to go back in there and check?
…Oh, gods. Oh, wait. I am a god.
I hung my head in despair.