The Day Death Died

The Day Death Died - Chapter 36

Edwin and I turned, walking back into what remained of the gym. It was eerily quiet after the battle. The Keres were gone, their terrible shrieks swallowed by the endless void of Pandora's Box. But their damage lingered in the stillness, a reminder of the chaos they had left behind. The students lay scattered on the floor, pale and unmoving, their souls hanging in the delicate balance between life and death.

Edwin stood next to me, his blood-red eyes scanning the bodies, his grip tight on his scythe. Even though the danger had passed, the weight of what had happened bore down on us like a heavy, suffocating fog.

"They're dead," I whispered, my voice trembling. I already knew it, but saying it aloud made it real, too real. These kids weren't just unconscious—they were gone.

Edwin didn't respond immediately. His face was a mask of grim determination, but I knew him well enough to see the cracks. He was as shaken as I was. He stared at the lifeless bodies, his jaw clenched tightly.

"We captured the Keres, Maddison. We did what you set out to do," he said, his voice thick with something unspoken. "I really didn't think it was possible."

I swallowed hard, staring at the students—their faces frozen in peaceful slumber that should have been temporary. It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Edwin's scythe twitched in his grip, his eyes flickering with frustration. "We have to reap them."

"No." My voice was stronger now. "We can't. They didn't deserve this."

But reapers didn't control fate. Our job was to guide souls, not question the timing. That cold fact was drilled into us from the moment we died and took up our scythes. We weren't supposed to care. But I did. How could I not? They were my friends. My classmates.

My boyfriend.

I took a step toward the center of the gym, where the fallen students lay in rows, their faces pale and serene as if they were simply sleeping. My heart clenched. I wasn't just a reaper; I had been one of them. Just another high school girl. Now, I was trapped in a limbo between life and death, forced to guide others across the veil but never able to return myself.

Edwin must have sensed my growing panic because he placed a steady hand on my shoulder. "We don't have the power to change this, Maddison."

He was right. And that was the most unbearable part.

But a thought, wild and desperate, clawed at the back of my mind. We had captured the Keres, sealed them away. Their chaos was no longer threatening the balance of the mortal world. Maybe, just maybe, we had earned enough favor with the gods to ask for something more.

"Zeus," I whispered, barely daring to hope. "We... we need him."

Edwin's eyes widened, but he didn't stop me. He knew I was right. There was no other option. The students couldn't be left like this. Not after everything we'd done.

With trembling hands, I raised my scythe and pointed it toward the sky. "Zeus!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the gym. "I call upon you!"

For a moment, nothing happened. My chest tightened in fear that he wouldn't answer, that we were on our own. But then the air crackled, a low rumble of thunder vibrating through the ground beneath us.

The clouds outside parted, and a bolt of lightning split the sky, striking the earth with a deafening crack. The gym shook, the air around us charged with raw, divine energy. Edwin and I both stepped back instinctively, gripping our scythes tightly.

And then, with a shimmer of golden light, Zeus appeared.

He stood tall, his robes flowing like storm clouds, his eyes glowing with the power of the skies. The sheer force of his presence made my skin tingle. This wasn't the first time I'd seen the king of the gods, but every time, it felt like the first—an overwhelming reminder of his power and authority over both life and death.