Eternity ((Kamukoma Short Story))

Part Four [Law-Abiding Deities]

"How many is that?" Izuru lowered his hand from the pained mortal, crumbled up like a dying ant.
"Two thousand and... Forty-six," Komaeda mentally compiled all the victims in his mind. Admittedly he lost count at one thousand five hundred but that sounded about right.
"Who are you?" The mortal's eyes were glazed, not quite looking at either of them. "You smell of death, why are you helping me? The world is ending, the sun is gone, did you not see?"

"It won't end, I promise," Nagito forced the fakest smile of his life as he gave such a bold-faced lie. In truth, if even the smallest thing went wrong, it probably would be over. The lie might've been for his own comfort as well. "Just try to keep warm and hold onto hope. The gods are on your side."
The mortal did not respond but exhaled a gentle, relaxed sigh as his eyes closed. Izuru set a hand upon the man's chest to check for breathing before standing up,
"He will be alright for now, he was developing hypothermia and frostbite but I managed to regulate his temperature, let us continue."
Swiftly, the death god stepped outside into the snow-ridden ground, not giving a second thought to being submerged in the layers of frost. The snow had fallen not long ago, the planet growing ever closer to its ice age, but what could they do about it?

Perhaps if Komaeda had held onto his sun powers, he could have melted a bit of it, but it would have been useless. he didn't regret using them to mask Izuru's deathly presence at least, they were more useful with the dark god.
Nagito followed after, closing the door to the small house behind him before cocking his head curiously to meet Izuru's red eyes,
"How much longer will you be able to heal mortals? You're a death god, aren't you? Healing isn't... Exactly in your jurisdiction. I mean, you can do whatever you want I won't stop you, but if it's exhausting you, we can try to find another plan."

"I'm fine," He turned away quickly, not allowing Komaeda a long enough glance upon his face. "If I stop now, mortals will continue to die at alarming rates. We must hit the warmer climates next, they were less prepared for the icy weather."
"Izuru?" He tried, but the death god continued as though he didn't hear.

"Perhaps if I take what warmth the dead still possess before they completely freeze, I will have more to give to the living-"
"Izuru!" He tried again, this time, grabbing a thick handful of the sleeve to his dark robe and halting his rambling, "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep draining your powers. All this healing won't do anything if we can't find a permanent solution. I thought the other sun gods would have solved the problem by now but if they haven't, there has to be something else. We have to go back," He swallowed, catching a glimpse of Izuru's eyes narrowing in thought. "This was all my fault," Komaeda finally admitted. "If I wasn't trying to be more than I am, then it would still be okay. I didn't know my place and now everyone is paying for it. I should go back and let Mother Nature finish me off. It's only right. You can go back and pretend you never met me. I don't want you to be dragged into this."

"As if I would allow that," The death god ripped his sleeve from Komaeda's hold and turned to face him, "This is the first time I have ever stepped outside, and you are to thank for my freedom and the powers of the sun gods. I have grown too fond of you to allow your death so quickly."
He wanted to argue or say anything at all in return, but words escaped Nagito's mind. What was Izuru trying to tell him with that? He found himself standing with his mouth agape, like a fish attempting to breathe and failing miserably.

"Komaeda," Izuru ever so gently closed his eyes, "Do you wonder what the world was like before Mother Nature made her law against love?"
The question was enough to shake off the death god's previous statement and ground himself once more,
"There aren't many stories, whenever someone talks about the before, it's always about the overpopulation and the war for jobs."