Desert Wings

Until Our Very End

"Yeah okay." I reply, fearing the cold in his eyes once again.
"So let us fight once again." Death stows the scythe in a sort of sheath thing on his back, uncertainly I keep out my sword,"Put that away." he frowns.
"No."
"Okay." Death ducks under my first attempt at a strike and side steps out of the path of the second. I try to back up, get enough space between us that my sword will do me good once again, but Death chases me, dogging me as I walk around the rocky ledge, avoiding the edge. I lash out with my sword, frustrated at how easily Death was evading my attacks, watching me wear myself out as the time I've spent on the run from him takes its toll visibly.
"Why won't you fight?" I cry as Death simply side steps another thrust. Death doesn't reply which annoys me more, I pick up the speed of my attacks to watch Death dodge them all with ease. I try again and again to hit Death with my sword only to have him dodge each and every time. Annoyance turns to frustration as I try to battle Death who simply steps to the side each time my sword nears him. I fly around to behind him and my sword comes within millimeters of hitting his back only to have him step just out of my sword's reach,"Why aren't you fighting me?!" I scream at Death, he continues to refuse to reply to me, infuriating me further,"Why?!" I scream, tears running from my eyes as I whip my sword about, desperate to wound the untouchable.
"Why do you continue?" Death finally asks me, answering my questions with one of his own.
"Why won't you fight?" I ask again, my confidence bolstered by Death's reply,"Surely you don't refuse to fight simply because you can fight?" I pause, letting my arms drop, my sword held loosely in one hand.
"No, that isn't why I am doing this," Death whispers, head bowed, the fire light casting strange shadows on his dark hair and pale face, throwing them into even sharper contrast,"I won't fight you because you can't fight me. Not really at least, have you noticed yet that you are covered in blood, yes some of it is Luck's but it is there all the same. Have you noticed how easily I evade your attacks? How battered you are? How tired, how fatigued you grow while I dance in circles around you as though we just started fighting? How long do you think you can go against an opponent like myself?"
"I defeated Fate easily enough, this shouldn't be to hard." I reply, hesitating to attack since Death had made no move towards me.
"No," Death shakes his head,"Fate is not like me, she is not like Life, she is not like Time, Chance isn't like us either. We will be here until everything else is gone. Us tireless workers of the Universal Order."
"Then why don't you fight them? Fight it? The Universal Order?" I  desperately fire back as we both stand, facing each other in a fight but changing our swords for words.
"Because Kara," Death's voice is soft,"That would be fighting myself. Something I will not do, something I refuse to do, no matter what this world is reduced to."
"But why?" My desperation seeps into my voice,"Why follow a twisted system when you can single handedly condemn the entire broken thing?"
"If I fight it I lose everything, my job, my existence, my power, my throne, my kingdom." Death seems to break a bit, his voice altered slightly.
"So that's what this is about then. Is it? Your twisted thirst for power? Hoping I'll will control of the White Desert to you or something?" I hiss, grip on my sword tightening,"What had you wanted me for when I was nothing?" I ask, mind flying to Skylar, then to Jade, Hestia, Chance,"What did you want from me when I had nothing to offer but a life and a will to keep it? What do you want from me?" I ask again.
"Nothing, I had just wanted company in a lonely world." Death implores,"I never wanted more power, I still don't want it. I don't want the burden, I was just looking for someone who could possibly be a friend, someone who wouldn't leave in the next few months."
"Liar." I hiss,"You don't know what you want, you still don't, so don't try and tell me that." I heft my sword,"That isn't how this game works."
"Please Kara," Death practically begs,"Believe me. I am not a power hungry maniac, I'm not like Fate." 
"To bad that apparently I am. After all, I killed Fate." I lift my sword,"Doesn't that make me just like her? Doesn't that make me a power hungry maniac? Killing the Desert Queen and inheriting her power?"
"No, Kara. Your twisting my words, that's not what I meant." Death replied, agitated. 
"I am twisting your words, are you hearing me?" I ask.
"What in the Desert do you mean by that?" 
"Listen to the words, they hold power, learn to harness it, control it." I pause, contemplating my sword and spreading my wings slightly,"You can rule the world, why," I pause again for dramatics,"You may even be able to conquer Death."
"Words may not vanquish me Kara, no matter how mighty the pen the sword can always strike down the one who wields the pen."
"With more ease but that damage is different."
"How so?"
"Being broken is different than being dead." I launch myself at Death, only to have him dance to the side,"Being broken is belonging to neither the living nor the dead. Being dead is simple, you cannot return. The broken can pick up the pieces, can fuse themselves back together and move onward until they have the time to mourn properly. Tears dry so the armor does not rust. Fear, grief, everything helps to stoke the flames to temper the armor and the blade. There are few killers crueler than kindness. No, cruelty at least makes sure you are broken, repaired, broken again, only to strike you down as you try to get back up. Kindness lets you die while you have a full heart, when you still have goals and dreams on the verge of achievement, kindness lets you die with friends by your side to break as you pass by. The pen can tear down your walls, expose your heart and your truths, break your heart. The sword can steal everything from you, artfully used it can be as fatal as the pen, but the sword often strikes the killing blow." 
"Tis always a sad day when a poet dies, oh well, the Plain shall gain a great mind." Death replies before punching me in the gut. I double over, almost dropping my sword,"To bad for the White Desert." Death stands over me,"Sheath the sword Kara."
I finally comply to his request and duck just in time to avoid a blow to the face I dodge all of his attempted blows, as I duck another blow Death draws his scythe and I am faced with the black blade,"What are you doing with that?"
In response Death swings the blade away from me and knocks me to the ground, sweeping the blade in a grand arch so the edge comes to rest on my chest,"Oh, yeah that."  sarcasm dripping in my voice.
"Yeah, that." Death replies with a mocking grin.
"Are you always this nice when you kill people?" I ask sarcastically.
"Usually I don't have to kill." Death is brutally honest.
"Fun." I glance to the side, waiting for the pain. Death is always timely. 
As the edge of his blade sinks into me a scream tries to rip itself from my throat, if it escaped or not I don't know as tears slip down my face. Soon enough blood is running down the rocks around me and darkness invades my vision, my mind. A static filled silence fills my ears and my mind, as I encroach on the edge of what must truly be oblivion a faint line comes into view on the horizon of my vision, The Plain. Darkness once again fills me as I fall back into its welcoming grasp. 

The Plain. The end of today and the edge of tomorrow. 

The end.

*********
Okay, I'm working on the first chapter of the sequel to this story I will post it as soon as I can, but that might not be for a while since I am going on a trip soon. Keep an eye out for the sequel I think it will be titled "The Plain". Thank you all for reading this far!
I hope you have enjoyed this story and that you all will enjoy the sequel!