The Day Death Died

The Day Death Died - Chapter 22

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" Mikolos asked, glancing at me curiously.

"Kind of. I'll know when I see it," I said, though I wasn't entirely sure myself.

Edwin dropped his pack onto a large rock by the riverbank, the thud of it breaking the stillness. "I'll wait here."

"Of course, you will," I muttered under my breath, giving him a brief smile.

Mikolos looked like he was about to follow me. "I'll come with you."

I shook my head. "No, thank you. Would you mind just keeping Edwin company for now?"

He hesitated, but nodded. His eyes lingered on mine for a moment longer before I turned and walked along the riverbank. The trees around me cast long, skeletal shadows, but something else seemed to shift in the air. The farther I walked, the darker it became. The light drained from the sky—not the soft dimming of dusk, but an unsettling, absolute darkness, as though the sun had simply disappeared.

I glanced up. No clouds. No storm brewing. Just darkness.

This is impossible.

My heart quickened. An irrational thought flickered through my mind: What if it stayed dark? Forever?

I clenched my fists, the cool metal of the scythe strapped to my back grounding me. I was already way over my head with this. But at least, I reasoned grimly, I'm dead... ish?

I continued walking, each step feeling heavier than the last, when something shimmered in the distance. My breath caught. A figure stood ahead, bathed in the absence of light yet radiating a strange luminescence. She was stunning, ethereal, her form wrapped in a black chiton trimmed in white that shimmered like starlight. Her long, obsidian hair cascaded down her back, and her feet—delicate, almost fragile—were adorned with golden sandals that caught the faintest traces of light.

"Nyx?" I whispered, though the word barely escaped my lips.

The crunch of gravel behind me spun me around. I froze, coming face to face with another woman—equally beautiful, yet her presence was fierce, commanding. She wore a gown of swirling blackish-blue, like the deep void between stars, and her iridescent hair rippled with an unearthly blue glow. Her eyes, twin orbs of endless night, locked onto mine.

"Chaos," I breathed.

"Child," she said, her voice carrying the weight of millennia, "why have you followed us?"

"I need to speak with Nyx," I said, my voice more steady than I felt.

Chaos glanced at Nyx, who had stepped forward, her gaze cool and unreadable. "Why?" Nyx asked, her voice soft, but filled with the promise of danger.

I swallowed hard. "Your children."

Both women stilled. Nyx's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.

"The Keres," I clarified, my heart hammering in my chest. "They've... they've done something terrible."

Nyx's expression flickered—just for a second. Was that a twitch of her eye?

Chaos's voice was low, dangerously calm. "What about them?"

"They've killed people—innocent people. A lot of them."

Silence fell between us. Nyx's stare sharpened. "Who are you?"

The question wasn't gentle. It was probing, an edge of suspicion laced with curiosity.

"Maddison," I replied, suddenly feeling very small under her gaze. "My name is Maddison."