Eleven: The Sequel of AlterMyth

G. I. Blues

Prologue

Sleep came quickly for Irys that evening. The marooned reaper plopped down on the small bed in her tiny room and she drifted off to dreamland. Her heavy eyelid closed and the darkness that she saw turned into the cosmic void.

The same void that she fell through and whisked her away into the strange land called South Vietnam in 1969.

Irys felt like she was floating through space in the eye of her mind. Constellations from the night sky surrounded her and gravity seemed to lose its grip on Irys' body. A multitude of stars swirled around her like a veil of brilliant lights, but each star carried Irys' memories and the thoughts that she kept to herself.

Floating there in that void, Irys thought about what could have been.

What if her promotion wasn't interrupted?

What if she earned her scythe and claimed her name like she should have?

What if she never became a Grim Reaper and passed away quietly into eternity.

What if I never became a Grim Reaper, huh?

Irys ruefully repeated that thought. She dug deep into her memories and looked back to the day that she died - and the day that Calliope Mori ferried her through the waters of the River Styx. Thinking of Calli drew a handful of stars closer to Irys and pulled her into one of her fond memories.

Illuminated by the swirling stars, the cosmic void transformed into a more familiar scene: the busy lobby of a luxurious hotel in Paris, France on a fine summer morning in 1901.

Travelers from Europe and all around the world came to and fro in the lobby, but not a soul seemed to notice Irys. She was floating through the scene and passed through people and not a single pair of eyes turned her way. All the while, she could hear the music played on the lobby's grand piano and the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

When Irys arrived, a large group of travelers arrived all at once and the hotel staff scrambled to attend to them. Irys floated towards the group and saw a few dozen men and women. All of them were familiar faces.

They were her fellow Grim Reapers of the renowned Potomac Platoon, but none of them wore their traditional black robes. The reapers wore well-tailored traveling cloaks that were the latest in fashion from the Upperworld. Every single one of them had weapons, ammunition and provisions for their upcoming campaign, but they were stored in handsome traveling trunks and other pieces of unassuming luggage.

Among that group of 'travelers' was none other than Irys herself.

It was an Irys from just less than a week ago: a sickle-class Grim Reaper with her whole afterlife ahead of her. She didn't have the name 'Irys' yet, but she still had both of her pretty purple eyes. The flame of hope burned relentlessly in her heart.

The floating, spectral Irys watched her old self with great envy.

What would I give to go back to that time?

The two-eyed Irys broke rank from the rest of her companions and made a beeline for the lobby bar. The spectral Irys, on the other hand, followed her past self. Together, they found a peculiar figure seated at the lobby bar, nursing on a glass of wine like it was nine in the afternoon.

Calliope Mori, one of the greatest Grim Reapers of all time.

Past Irys took a moment to admire her superior. She then approached and presented herself to Calli.

"We've arrived on schedule, Calli-senpai." Past Irys reported eagerly, "Sections C, D and E and their sickles are with me in the lobby. We're ready to roll, so just give us the word!"