The Day Death Died
(This does include my writing partner's replies. I included them because they're giving some perspective of what's happening in my replies.
His Replies: Blue
My Replies: Red)
So this is what it feels like - a blade piercing the heart. Still-beating and warmth surround it in liquid form; blood. It seeps from its core and drains him of life, right before God's bewildered eyes. They mirror the look of disbelief in Death's own orbs as they cloud in ghostly white until he sinks to his knees and the divine dagger remains in his chest as he falls limp through Heaven's grounds.
'You made me do this, o'sweet Death, brother of mine. It was never meant to be like this.'
Life flashes before Leon's eyes as he travels eons within his fading mind. The memory of the Universe and all of its precious beings. Ones he blamed for their faults. Faults he, himself, exudes. It's not always easy to see oneself from an outward perspective but as death consumes you, it's as though you're seeing yourself clearly for the first and last time.
There's no more pain when his corpse thunders into the ground in front of Hell's gates. Lucifer is the first to notice the incredible havoc Death's falling wreaks on all of the Universe's realms. Earth is shaken hard by Leon's passing, in a literal and figurative sense. It's as if a thousand earthquakes happen at once and as soon as they stop, comes a pause in time.
What will Heaven and Hell, and no less Earth and its mortal beings do without death? There's an order to everything and something is felt missing at once.
Immortal beings and greater entities are summoned, even God. However, Father of Creation doesn't show his cowardly face, afraid of the wrath he will face in the wake of Death's death. Even angels appear in the depths of Hell and the Devil is furiously slamming his fists into a stone table that shatters beneath bruising knuckles, which heal just as fast as they wound. Flames dance around him and he grinds his teeth in fury.
"This is what Father does! Instead of stepping down, he allows Death to die, at His hand, no less. Is this what you all wanted?!"
It was never meant to be like this. Even the archangels know the gravity of what's taken place. Michael touches the dead vessel he fought tooth and nail mere fleeting hours ago.
"What do you reckon we do, Luci? Father has abandoned us all."
Uncertainty doesn't fare well when it's on the tongue of one of the greatest archangels of time's existence. God's very right-hand man and favored son after Lucifer was cast from Heaven many, many eons ago. The Devil stands beside his heavenly brother and for once, they are not fighting amongst themselves. No. They're seeing eye-to-eye for the first time since the dawn of time. Good and bad come together as neutral and there's an audible sigh from the both of them that echoes to the rest, who all remain silent.
"Well, brother, as always, I do have a plan. However, should it fail to be successful...we are figuratively screwed, thanks to dear old Dad."
__________________________________________________________
The last ones to be summoned are Claudia and Silas. Lucifer knows there's no time to waste. If anyone can save Leon from weaving himself into the comfortability of his own existence, it's his son. Besides God, Death's offspring is the greatest entity still alive, and only he holds the ability to bring death back to the universe.
Silas is upset. No, that's an understatement. He's furious and for once, the Devil is hesitant to approach. A fist finds a stone wall and bores into it with ease, as though it's made of butter. Claudia isn't consoling her son. She's not his peace this time. Instead, she's shielding the obvious heartbreak that can be heard throughout all of the realms if one listens closely.
"I'm going to kill Him!"
Yes. Silas is furious. Fuming. And while Lucifer is usually always on board with taking down his creator, this time, he shakes his head in disapproval.
"There is no time for that. What do you think will happen if we kill the only entity holding everyone's existence together, all on his own, now?"
Silence.
A frustrated sob pass angered, trembling lips but the boy, now considered a man and a warrior, wipes his eyes on a bloody sleeve at once. It's been less than two hours since Silas was fighting a couple of the angels that just left the room, leaving it empty shy of the three still living and breathing. And Leon's body. One they all stare at, still in disbelief. Nobody has had any time to process. The offspring of Death feels guilty and it shows. It's felt.
"I let him run off after Him. I should have-"
At once, Claudia spins on her heels with a stern expression but warm, loving eyes.
"No! You did nothing wrong. This is...all Him. And your father. Their stupid war..." Her voice trails off.
When the woman turns to her once-lover, there's turmoil surrounding them in a heavy aura and smoke emits faintly. It's like she's quite literally fuming, though her touch upon his bearded cheek is gentle. Wrath. She wants to be angry at Leon for getting himself killed but Claudia knows, deep down, that nobody could've seen this coming. Not even him. He was supposed to capture God and imprison him, and then Death would take his place. Instead, the Creator destroyed his brother and now he's cowardly hiding, refusing to take the blame.
This goes beyond humanity. It's a threat to them all. Besides God. He will still live and can start anew but the rest of them are doomed without Death's presence.
Lucifer clears his throat. The Devil is not about wasting time. Not in this case, anyway.
"Silas is the only one powerful enough to bring him back."
__________________________________________________________
Daddy! Daddy, please! Daddy, don't leave me!
The youngling voice of his son as he drifts into the dark of night feels like deep stabbings to his heart. One he possesses purely because of his choice to become one with a form such as his humanesque shell. Leon's heartstrings are tugged and torn from its root, shaken, ripped apart. Even as he tries to turn around and fight the pull of the darkness, he somehow has no control over his actions. Unlike when he'd been living still. When he willingly left Silas behind. All because of his and Claudia's chaotic energy, draining them all. He'd told himself it was for the better. What a fucking lie that had been.
"Dad? Dad! Dad, can you hear me?!"
A harsh, loud gasp and Death awakens from his still slumber. There's a piercing, searing pain throughout his entire form and sharp jabs at his once-more pumping heart, thumping violently within his chest. His eyes shoot open and his mouth is agape as he inhales his first, proper breath and his lungs come back to life. Restoration is happening right before everyone's eyes, that are present, and he senses it all; their prior sadness, their shock and awe, the tension and, not to mention, the faint feeling of his son's state. The one that's brought him back to a sentient state.
"All right, let's have a seat, shall we, big guy?"
It's Lucifer's voice urging Silas to sit. He's, after all, just gathered and used all of his powers to bring his father, Death, Himself, back from the dead. The Devil aids him to a nearby chair while Leon fends for himself, attempting to sit up, but he takes it slow. He's able to tell his own strength or lack thereof, and while it's already regenerating, it's not fully there yet, so he takes another breath before he sits straight up on the table. Silence, and three pairs of eyes upon him anew. The wound is still there as a reminder, though only in the shape of a scar now. One he touches in slight disbelief. God killed me.
__________________________________________________________
Red? Blood? It couldn't be. This was impossible. This couldn't have been real. It must have been a joke. She wanted it to be a joke. She prayed to the stars that it were just a cruel prank in the grand scheme of things, a dumb idea Leon had to trick the others to believing that death himself could actually be dead. That wouldn't have hurt so bad. That wouldn't have made the wrath that consumed her feel so alive in those moments when she ran into the room past her son to see the body. Those moments she stood there, her heterochromatic eyes glaring into the body on the ground. She heard nothing. Her vision was like a tunnel. She didn't even feel Silas brush past her quickly to get his own look at his dear ol' dad. Laid so perfectly across darkened stone that was now stained with the blood shed from his open wound.
A familiar lump had formed in the nephilim's throat. She swallowed past it in hopes of making it disappear but as her eyes found Leon's body, it only grew in the attempt not to cry. There was a familiar fizzy feeling in her nose and throat following that scratched at her eyes. Tears began to surface as she tried to control her bodily functions while her emotions swirled inside of her causing an intense battle of control over her body between her brain and her heart. Her eyes still fixated on death's human vessel, she did her best to keep her reaction to herself. Her wide eyes and parted lips that formed a gasp were the only satisfaction that she would give to the room of beings, the satisfaction of revealing Claudia's weakness.
Claudia could feel Silas's own emotions barreling out of control, emitting a clear vibration around him. It was a gift he had been born with. She wasn't sure if it was a condition of death or a condition of wrath. Regardless, if the Governess's son felt some time of way, so did anyone within a short radius feel it as well. Seeing that she was standing directly beside him, of course she too would surely feel it. Somehow, she still kept her composure. Whether it was pure control, willpower or an abled ability that she had unknowingly mastered throughout the years, she was thankful that her exterior stayed pieced even as she felt it cracking. Seeing her son's reaction didn't help either. She stepped closer to the body, stepping past Silas as if to shield him from the scene.
It wasn't until Silas had his outburst that Claudia began to react. It was what she needed to snap back to reality, to face the horror of the scene before her. "I let him run off after Him. I should have-" Claudia would be having none of this behavior from her son. She had taught him better.
"No! You did nothing wrong. This is...all Him. And your father. Their stupid war..." Claudia began to chide her son but slowly turned as her voice began to fade with her words. Her eyes fell onto Leon's body once more. She could feel it. She was beginning to lose her inner battle with the wrath that began to consume her.
How could he do this? How could he allow this? He wasn't supposed to die. It was supposed to be that wretched brother of his, that all mighty prick who held his head a little higher as if he were better than the rest. He was the true evil in the universe. It was God who deserved the sword through his heart that allowed death to quickly consume his life. Not Leon. Not death. Not her beloved death. Her mind began to drift.
~
"All I know is (ooh ooh ooh)
We could go anywhere, we could do
Anything, girl, whatever the mood we're in
Yeah all I know is (ooh ooh ooh)
Getting lost late at night, under stars
Finding love standing right where we are, your lips
They pull me in the moment
You and I alone and
People may be watching, I don't mind
'Cause anywhere with you feels right
Anywhere with you feels like
Paris in the rain
Paris in the rain
We don't need a fancy town
Or bottles that we can't pronounce
'Cause anywhere, babe
Is like Paris in the rain
When I'm with you ooh ooh ooh
When I'm with you ooh ooh ooh
Paris in the rain
Paris in the rain."
The song played in the background as Leon spun the brunette on the dance floor. A tight black dress hugged every curve known to her form and Leon's hand slid across them smoothly with such ease as if he could recall each inch of her from his memory. Truth was, he probably could with how often he had studied her form with his eyes, hands... and his mouth. Even as they danced, fully clothed and in the public view of the other patrons, he could still see her without the dress, without a stitch of clothing and recall the beauty that she simply was.
"I look at you now and I want this forever
I might not deserve it but there's nothing better
Don't know how I ever did it all without you
My heart is about to, about to jump out of my chest
Feelings they come and they go, that they do
Feelings they come and they go, not with you
The late nights
And the street lights
And the people
Look at me girl
And the whole world could stop
Anywhere with you feels right
Anywhere with you feels like
Paris in the rain
Paris in the rain
We don't need a fancy town
Or bottles that we can't pronounce
'Cause anywhere, babe
Is like Paris in the rain
When I'm with you ooh ooh
When I'm with you ooh ooh
Paris in the rain
Paris in the rain."
The smiles shared between them, quiet bouts of laughter as they tripped over their own feet showing flashes of embarrassment, and even the few stolen touches they took liberty in while their hands roamed their bodies during their dancing. By the middle of the song, they had forgotten the others around them and only half remembered that they were in public. It was a shared moment of happiness and Claudia would never forget the look on Leon's face. It was the first glimpse she had ever gotten from him that felt even remotely human in nature. She wondered if anyone had ever gotten the pleasure of seeing this side of Leon, so carefree and relaxed for once. As if their immortality was just a dream and they were simply a mortal couple enjoying a night out.
"Have you ever been to Paris?" Leon asked the nephilim curiously.
Claudia shook her head, "No. Why?" She asked with a smirk.
"I'm going to take you someday. We will see everything there is to see and we will make love in every corner of the city until we can claim it is ours." A rare version of Leon, one that was gentle and far more human feeling than his normal personality.
"Oh
Girl, when I'm not with you
All I do is miss you
So come and set the mood right
Underneath the moonlight
Days in Paris
Nights in Paris
Paint you with my eyes closed
Wonder where the time goes
Yeah, isn't it obvious?
Isn't it obvious?
So come and set the mood right
Underneath the moonlight
'Cause anywhere with you feels right
Anywhere with you feels like
Paris in the rain
Paris in the rain
Walking down an empty street
Puddles underneath our feet."
Their bodies danced as the song began to slow down and their bodies began to slow with it, Claudia looked up into the beautiful amber eyes that bore into her. Large hands pressed against her hips and slowly moved around to her back just above her round bottom while her hands that rested on his biceps slowly reached up, hiding beneath long brown locks of hair to rest at the back of his neck. The sweetest of smiles on their faces that slowly inched toward one another until their lips found one another. An act that had become quite common, felt different. It was the first moment Claudia felt a glimpse of love for death. She felt an overwhelming power unlike the wrath that coursed through her. Love. An emotion she had not been as familiar with but distinct in nature and far too sweet not to recognize. It was the moment Claudia knew she was in love with Leon.
~
"Silas is the only one powerful enough to bring him back." Lucifer's voice brought Claudia out of the familiar memory that had stilled the wrath that fumed through her literally and figuratively. She looked up at Lucifer and nodded her head.
"He's right." Claudia turned her head to look over at Silas. He looked frightened on top of feeling anger twisting him even still.
"What? I don't know how to do that! You can bring him back, mum. I've seen you do it before!" Silas insisted, approaching his mother and getting closer to the woman who birthed him.
Shaking her head as Silas approached her, Claudia took a deep but shaky breath as she was bombarded by her son's tall stature just like his father's. "You can." Claudia insisted while closing her eyes momentarily. She opened them and looked up at her son's face. "You have the power just as I do. You just need to tap into it, my son." Claudia pushed. She reached up and placed a soft hand against Silas's cheek that was wet and torn between hot and cold from his hot skin and cold tears. "I don't have the power to raise your father."
"But you do." Silas argued. "I've never risen from the dead. You have!"
Claudia shook her head again but her eyes didn't leave Silas's piercing glance, "I have the power to raise mortals. I don't have the power to raise immortals. Your father does. You are your father's son. You are your mother's son. Tap into the two powers, Silas. If you can combine the strength inside of you with the ability to raise the dead and raise your father, you can do this. I've seen you raise animals from the dead during practice. It's just like practice." Claudia paused as her son looked down on her, scared and unsure of himself. "I will help you."
Silas, still nervous and unsure, nodded his head. He sniffled and pulled away from Claudia. The two of them turned their bodies to look at Leon. Both mother and son swallowed hard. They stepped toward Leon's lifeless body slowly until they were merely inches from him. Silas fought back his anger and his sadness. He didn't have faith in himself. He didn't believe that he could bring Leon back from the dead but, somehow, his mother believed in him and he was going to use that as his strength.
Silas kneeled beside the body and Claudia moved to stand behind Silas. "Remember what I do? Hands over the wound." Claudia coached the young man. He was already exhausted from fighting but somehow, he was going to find this strength that he didn't know he had. "Good." Claudia said when Silas's hands covered the wound where he had been fatally stabbed. Tears began to escape the corners of his eyes as the saddened boy looked over his father's body as if being punished. He began to tremble. "Close your eyes, Silas." Claudia instructed.
Listening to his mother, Leon slowly shut his swollen red eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm himself. Claudia placed her hands on either side of his head and began to emit power into his temples. It was like the nephilim were transferring her power to Silas but what she was really doing was giving him the energy boost he needed. He had lost most in battle. She knew that if he were going to do this, he needed his energy, even if it meant giving him every last bit she had at that moment.
"Picture him, Silas. Picture the wound healing. See his chest rising and falling? Feel his breath as he breathes on your skin? Listen to his beating heart. See it, my son. Reach your hands into him and find his energy. Find your father's energy and force it into his vessel. He's not dead. He is lost. Bring him home. Help him find his way in the abyss. Be his navigation. Call out to him. Let him hear you." Claudia's voice was soft as she spoke. Power began surging through her into Silas and into Leon. Colors of red, orange and white brilliantly flowed through them like a great waterfall of power that surrounded Leon.
Silas began to grit his teeth as sweat lined his skin and Claudia began to grow weak. Still, she didn't stop. She continued to give her son every slice of power she could muster. "Dad? Dad! Dad, can you hear me?!" Silas cried out violently as an efflux of power flowed through his hands and filled Leon with the power. Leon's body began to convulse and shake violently. Claudia opened her eyes and looked down, watching life return to Leon. It was working.
"Almost there, Silas. You are doing it, my boy. Come on." Claudia chanted as if cheering her son on in her own way, even through gritted teeth. "Pull him back. Put him back inside of his vessel. Heal his wound. Bring his life force back. He's not dead. He sleeps." Claudia continued until she suddenly couldn't take anymore. She stumbled back, light fading from her hands and her body.
Lucifer caught the Governess and sat her down. "Easy there, Governess. We've had one death too many." Lucifer sighed as Claudia leaned back against the cold wall. She shivered and pulled the fabric of her dress around her closely while watching her son. She was drained and had given him everything she had. When she watched his own power begin to fade, she held her breath. Lucifer then made his way to the boy, tending to his weakness as well. Claudia knew Silas would be fine. It was Leon's fate that made her hold her breath.
While Lucifer tended to her son, Claudia moved to her hands and knees. The woman slowly crawled weakly over to Leon. She needed to reach him even as she almost fell over before getting to him. When she finally arrived at Leon's side, Claudia looked over his body. The wound was closed and a long and gnarly scar lined where there was once blood dripping down his body and where his life force had escaped the human vessel.
"Leon..." Claudia whispered while her fingers found the scar and traced it softly with her fingers. "Wake up. Right now." Claudia's sweetness was beginning to change and the bitterness filled her voice. She thought back to that day, that memory of when she first felt love for death. "I know you can hear me, you giant brute." Claudia growled, seeing that his chest was rising and falling but his eyes were still closed. "You promised to take me to Paris." Claudia said as tears began to escape her lids.
Sniffling, Claudia pulled herself until she was sitting but leaning over his body, long blonde hair tickling his chest and blanketing them in a sheet of white. "I forgive you. I forgave you a long time ago but I was so bitter." Claudia admitted aloud. "Blame it on resentment. I couldn't move past the fact that my father sent you and you let me fall in love with you. Rule number one when tricking someone, you taught me, never get close." Sniffling and using the sleeve of her dress, Claudia cleared her throat and wiped her face. "You said you loved me. I believed it and I believed you. I get it, I told you to get out. I know. But what else do you expect?" Claudia asked, as if he would answer.
"You lied. You used me. You did everything you promised you weren't doing." Claudia reached out with her hand and stroked his jawline and into his thick and blood matted beard. "I hated you so much for it... at least that was what I told myself for years. Truth be told, I never stopped loving you. You just betrayed me and I couldn't move past that." Claudia admitted aloud. She didn't care who knew because those people in the room wouldn't be able to use it against her. "I don't care what happened. I don't care how much you might hate me but, these past few months with you and Silas have been the happiest moments of my life." Claudia choked back a sob. "So wake up so you can take me to Paris like you bloody promised, Leon." Claudia cried softly before leaning down and resting her forehead against his chest.
