The Hero's Death (1)
Thus, the hero's life came to a close. By chance, he had drawn the hero's sword, adventured across the world, and vanquished the monsters that threatened humanity. Praised as a hero by others, his exploits had spread far and wide as tales to tell. Yet in the face of death, even a hero was no different.
Is this what death feels like?
The hero gazed down at his feet. There lay his body on the bed—no, his flesh. And surrounding it, his children wept. Looking down upon the scene of his own mourning was... a strangely bizarre sight in many ways. He couldn't recall the moment of death itself, probably because he'd passed away in his sleep.
And in that scene, there was no sign of his revered big sister. The hero's sword, Cloud Solas, which he'd hung on the wall like a decoration after he could no longer wield it... had vanished at some point. His sister had promised to stay with him until the end, so she must have taken the sword the moment he died.
So that's why she said we'd meet again later.
Truly, as expected of the Life Goddess—his sister knew everything there was to know about matters of life. She'd seen through his lifespan as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Anyway, what now?
According to her, the reapers would come for the dead and guide them to the Underworld...
A reaper, huh...
The God of Death, was it? A rather ominous name, but no such fearsome figure appeared in the hero's sight.
Does it take a while for them to arrive?
"Are you the hero?"
Suddenly, a voice that wasn't human echoed from behind him. It reverberated like speech in a cave, yet carried a faint, somehow cute quality. The hero's soul turned toward the source.
"I'm the reaper assigned to guide you to the Underworld. Hello."
A small figure in a black hood addressed him, struggling to carry a scythe larger than itself, its face covered by an adorably crafted skull mask. A pint-sized reaper.
A reaper?
"Yes, a reaper."
It's not what I imagined.
"I hear that a lot. It's the form the Life Goddess designed for me."
His sister's taste, huh. She pretended not to be, but she did love cute things. It was just the sort of look she'd adore.
"Ever since I took this form, the Life Goddess has been quite fond of it. We're satisfied too."
The reaper puffed out its chest with a little ahem. The hero couldn't help but chuckle softly at the sight.
I thought a reaper would be terrifying.
"We used to be, back in the day. Bigger size, real skull for a head... But when the Life Goddess saw us, she said our work was dark enough without the grim appearance, and redesigned us."
Sis really does whatever she wants.
"Sis?"
I mean the Life Goddess.
The reaper stared at him for a moment before murmuring softly.
"Please don't call the Life Goddess 'sis.' She has so many admirers... Just knowing someone calls her that would make a lot of them angry."
The hero nodded slightly at the reaper's words. To him, she'd been a close, familiar sister his whole life... But to others, she was the Life Goddess. The most exalted deity in the world.
"I'll keep what I heard a secret. The Life Goddess asked me to, anyway."
I see...
The hero nodded again.
"Well then, any last words for your family? If not, shall I guide you to the Underworld now?"
I've already said everything I needed to. They're not kids anymore; they'll handle the rest just fine. I'm good.
"That's a relief. Most souls spend the whole night chatting with their families. Nice and simple. Here, wrap this around your waist."
What's this?
"It's a shadow rope for binding souls. Some try to run off and refuse to go to the Underworld, so we use it to drag them forcibly."
The pitch-black rope, made of shadow, was strangely tangible to his soul.
I'm not going to run.
"Rules are rules, so please. And it lets us travel faster."
The hero tied the shadow rope around his waist as instructed.
Done.
"Alright. Time to go."
As the reaper spoke, shadows spread from the rope around the hero's waist, enveloping his soul. Darkness swallowed his vision, and when it cleared...
"We're here. The gate to the Underworld, at the edge of the world."
A massive door clung to a sheer black rock cliff.
I've never seen this before.
"No one comes here alive, usually."
He'd traveled the world with his sister, but he'd never known this place existed. A sea of pure white ice, a bridge blanketed in snow and frost. Likely the northernmost end.
The northern edge... I had no idea something like this was here.
The farthest north the hero had gone during his adventures was to slay the venomous Djinn threatening the giants—and even then, only to their village, not the absolute end.
A place that would take months on horseback... and we got here in an instant.
"Reapers travel the world gathering souls of the dead, so getting back here is a snap."
Back here? Can't you go other places?
"We could, but we have to scour the world for souls. Miss one during a teleport, and it's a big problem."
The hero nodded in understanding.
"Alright, let's head down. Follow me."
I'm tied to the rope anyway; no choice but to follow.
"Some souls untie it anyway. Here I go."
Thus, the hero stood before the Underworld gate with the reaper. His eyes caught the inscription above the door.
What's that say?
"Words written by the Life Goddess: 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.'"
A warning to those passing through the gate. Once a soul entered, it could never leave. A warning to keep the living from crossing. The inscription emanated a mind-eroding terror from the door itself.
"Don't stare too long. It might damage your soul."
The reaper casually pushed open the door and tugged the hero inside by the rope. A passage of solid black rock. Stairs where not even an inch ahead was visible.
One misstep and...
"Souls don't get tired. Bodies would be another story."
With the nonchalant reaper, the hero descended the stairs to the Underworld for what felt like ages. Good thing souls didn't tire. Emerging from the cave, a vast plaza stretched before him. At its end stood a pitch-black statue.
What's that...?
"The first guardian of the Underworld: the Obsidian Giant, Talos."
The hero gazed at the giant statue overlooking the plaza with glowing red eyes. Its immense size, the overwhelming aura it exuded without moving. To think such a powerhouse guarded the entrance. The hero got a slight taste of the Underworld's fearsomeness.
It's strong...
"Yeah. One of the Underworld's guardians, after all."
Compared to the monsters the hero had fought... No, incomparable. Pure overwhelming power.
"The Life Goddess made him first when creating the Underworld. His strength rivals even those managing its layers."
The reaper added in a tiny voice, Though he was already breached once by some weird scheme.
"Come on, let's go. Long way down."
As he passed Talos, the hero looked up. Could he, even at his peak, defeat that giant? With any sword but his own, certain defeat. With the hero's sword... Fifty-fifty? No, 3 to 7, against him. Of course, his adventures were always with the Dragon Priestess, so they fought as a pair—and they'd never lose.
Though with sis around, we'd never have to fight that statue anyway.
"Stop with the weird thoughts and hurry up."
Sorry. That statue piqued my curiosity.
And so, under the reaper's guidance, the hero began his descent into the Underworld.