Chapter 14: Chapter. 14: Broadening Horizons

Under the blue light we sat on a chair, a husky cackle echoed throughout the tunnel. 

¨Hahaha! So you’re saying you fell while climbing the tree and scared the kid?” 

I scratched my cheek, I was embarrassed about lying, but I couldn’t really tell him the kid saw me holding a scythe of death. 

“Yeah…” A sigh escaped me as I looked into the blue glass wall that stretched the entire length of the tunnel. 

“But why were you climbing a tree though?” The Old man asked, rubbing his chin. 

“Eh?” I didn’t think of that! I looked around and saw an orange trashcan⁠— orange. “I thought it was an orange tree!” Did those even exist? Nono, fruits came from trees! I think… 

The Old man nodded. “You must really like oranges then.” 

“I do!” I piped up simply thinking about the juice. I returned to see the blue window, fishes leisurely swam within it. Though they looked rather⁠— unthreatening. 

Soon an oddly shaped one swam, it was gray, but it looked like a triangle with rounded off edges, it was flat and even had a tail! 

“Old man, what’s that!” I pointed at the weird fish. 

“It’s a stingray Kaiti,” he pondered. “Is this your first time going to an aquarium?” 

I paused. Was I being too weird? Err… Actually there was no point in lying to him. I did feel a bit embarrassed about admitting it, but it was a new thing to me. At the same time we were practically alone in the place, so it must’ve been something everyone else had already experienced. 

“It is…” My eyes wandered off to the ground not really wanting to look at him. 

However, I received no reply. There was a brief feeling I felt, but I wasn’t familiar with it. Yearning, perhaps⁠— it reminded me of when I woke up that day, but different. Warmth spread through my head, it felt nice. But⁠—

I looked at him in surprise, his hand was rubbing my head. 

“Ah, sorry I just felt it necessary,” he apologized with a bitter smile, his hand letting go. “Still, the countryside has its own charms. You shouldn’t be ashamed of not experiencing common things, many people haven’t seen snow for instance.” 

Hearing him ease me into being myself felt… nice. I had been too worried about asking too much or making things awkward for people here. I just felt like I had to know everything. And sometimes it felt constricting. It… made me happy. 

“Thanks…” But he mentioned something else. “Old man, have you seen snow?” I began to fidget with my hands. 

“I have, it’s white and cold, deceptively reflective too.”

He has interacted with snow! I looked at him in surprise, he was staring at the fishes calmly. “Then, how does it feel to hold?” 

He pondered, before gesturing with his hand. “At first I would say it’s like grabbing dirt, but it's cold like regular ice, and like regular ice it begins to coldly burn your hand. It’s soft and cold.” 

Eh? “That sounds kind of disappointing.” 

He chuckled. “Anything can be disappointing if it’s described in a lame manner. You try it, try to describe something I haven’t experienced.” 

Was he okay? “How am I supposed to describe something you haven’t experienced?” I crossed my arms. It was simply unrealistic. 

The Old man chuckled. “Surprise me.” 

“Just so you know, my head won’t be rolling off!” I scoffed hearing the same words of the noble. 

“I don’t know what that means, but sure.” He shrugged. 

I humphed. He probably hadn’t seen what happened if they weren’t surprised. But… something the Old man hasn’t experienced? I hardly even knew him! Hmm… Death? No, no. I could probably tell him a bit around the Underworld. 

“Back in my hometown there are these people that dispose of flesh, and they are considered royalty. Along with those who dispose of bones, and those who dispose of souls.” I said all the royals, and the three most important jobs. 

The Old man paused. “Were you in some sort of tribe?” 

“Eh, no? Is it that weird?” I asked with confusion. Well the Underworld was weird. 

“Very weird, but you didn’t describe it in a lame manner.” He shook his head. “If you don’t want me to ask about your hometown then I won’t, but try harder.” 

My head looked at the ceiling recalling things in the Underworld. I guess everything sounded weird. From the crimson sky, the conflict, to the changing biomes due to the unstable wildlife. There was hell fire and ghastly ice I suppose. Oh! 

“Well there is this fire that is really really hot, and this ice that is also really really cold.” 

“That sounds lame.” He nodded. “You sort of get what I mean now, right?” 

I slowly nodded, not quite following. 

“You should try to experience snow for yourself, and I should try to experience this really really hot fire you describe, or the ice.” I winced hearing him. 

“Em… It’s better you don’t get close to either.” Both would harm any creature within its radius let alone experiencing. 

“If you say so, though, you're a strange one, Kaiti.” 

A small sigh escaped me. “Yeah…” 

“I meant it in a good way,” he shook his head with a chuckle. “Nothing wrong with being unique, in fact the reason I agreed to this whole thing is because of your strangeness as I described it.”

“Really?” Wait, he agreed because of that?! “I thought you agreed because you liked me.” 

“Bah,” he did a weird scoff. “I like you and the strangeness that comes with you, don’t get hung up on it.”

“Okay…” I guess I was overthinking it. 

“Anywhere else you want to go?” 

Hmm…  Oh! Samuel had mentioned this particular place that caught my attention! 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

The old man slowly and leisurely followed behind me. The wind blew into my hair. 

“I never would’ve imagined you wanted to come to the roof of a building out of all places.” 

“Well me neither, but Samuel told me I had to check it out.” I shrugged as I walked to the railings. 

“Samuel?” The Old man asked in confusion. 

“He’s a taxi driver I met the other day. He was really fun to talk to! Though he didn’t give me his contact information or anything, well⁠— he didn’t want to.” I pouted. “Something about work regulations.” 

I stood with my hands on the railing, basking in the wind. I never thought structures could be so tall and sturdy. Though, I still thought it was a safety hazard. 

“Ah, work regulations. I heard of those.” The Old man commented as he arrived next to me. 

We both looked at the view of the city.

I smiled recalling Samuel’s words. Kaiti, the tallest building in this city, is a hotel, and its roof is a communal area. You should definitely see the view, it’s quite an amazing sight. 

It was breathtaking. 

The high-rise metal buildings, made of glass as if they were a testimony to something grander, but it also reminded me of a beast of the Gaping Abyss trying to swallow the sky itself, its large teeth bearing against the injustice of life itself. It suddenly sounded a bit too grim. The buildings reminded me of spikes that grew from the earth, threatening but beautiful, tantalizing in their own little ways, each single one of them with little nuances or slightly different colors. They continued into the distance, eventually vanishing to the ambient itself. 

“It’s a very nice view.” The Old man’s husky voice entered my ears. 

“It is, but…” I pondered admiring the things around. “Is there more to see?” 

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There was a brief silence and the Old man began laughing, and then coughed a bit. 

“Ah, are you okay?” I asked in a slight panic, I had never seen someone cough from laughing. Normally it represented the death throes from poisoning. Wait! “Old man, are you poisoned?” 

He recovered. “Poisoned? No, why would I be? Is this from your tribe?” 

“I am not from a tribe,” I scoffed. 

“Right,” he pursed his hands on the railing. “Views are just something to bask in, but they rarely change. It’s the same photographic image, beautiful but unmoving. It’s part of their charm, but part of the reason I dislike them. So to answer your question Kaiti, there is nothing more to see.” 

Well⁠— things changed in the Underworld all the time, including views! Though, not like I could tell him that. 

“I understand, then what now?” I asked. 

“Well, I have to go soon, so I suppose that’s it for today.” The Old man gave me a lazy shrug. “But you can find me on the bench most days. It’s a relaxing place.”

“How about I accompany you home!” 

The Old man pondered. “Well, it’s nothing exciting, but if it gives you peace of mind, then I suppose there isn’t a problem.”

I nodded in excitement. I kind of wanted to see where he lived. I mean, he had seen snow before! Perhaps it was a grand castle. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

“This is where you live?” I asked in confusion, I stood by the sidewalk next to him. 

The sun was beginning to set. The day was uneventful, but the Old man insisted on walking everywhere we went. Though his house at least was not too far away from the park, so he didn’t need to take all day to do so. But… It was a weird house. 

“Yep, a retirement home. Company is nice. Do you want to accompany me further?” 

I looked at the large building with slight confusion. It didn’t look like any type of home I was familiar with. Though it did have multiple floors, it just reminded me of the hotel with a ton of windows and nothing fancy outside. 

“Sure.” I agreed, I wanted to see how such a home looked inside. Did it have a fancy grand hall at the entrance? 

Soon we approached, the entrance had glass doors just like the cafe. And it had a reception? What kind of home has a reception? Eventually we ended up in front of the receptionist, an average looking man with trimmed beard⁠— it reminded me of the advertisement pictures in certain sites.

 The Old man talked to him and went elsewhere. It was something about checking in. Soon, he turned to me. 

“Are you his family member?” The receptionist asked. 

“I am more like an acquaintance, just offered to accompany him home.” I said feeling somewhat awkward⁠— what kind of home had a receptionist?

Actually. Was this the Old man's home? It was weird. Wait my dad would retire when I become a Grim Reaper, would his retirement home have a receptionist too? 

“I see, Jackson can be quite eccentric, I am happy he has company.” He smiled amiably. 

“Jackson? The Old man’s name is Jackson?” I asked, feeling confused. 

“Old man?” The receptionist asked back. “You don’t even know his name?” Uh oh, he was on the tipping edge of getting angry. 

“Sorry I just failed to remember. I normally call him Old man.” The receptionist nodded. “Well I have to go.”

“Wait⁠—

I ignored him and left anyway. His name was Jackson? He simply told me to call him Old man! Well, should I call him by his name? I ended up shaking my head, getting rid of the thought. If he wanted to be called by his name, then he should’ve just told me outright. I had to go home anyway. 

I looked at my phone and then paused⁠. Right, I had no change. 

A sigh escaped me standing on the sidewalk. I looked around to make sure there were no people, and walked for a minute before turning into an alley. Nearby emotions? None on the sidewalk or alley. 

I summoned my scythe who was happy to see me. I raised it to slice reality once again.

To the outside of my apartment I go. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

I held my breath as I walked through the rift and walked onto the space beneath the stairwell. Soon color came back to the world, the wind of the night blew, and the space I exited⁠— it was empty. Thankfully I had let my scythe disappear before crossing the rift, but I would still scare someone if I were to literally appear next to them. A sigh escaped me as I walked up the stairs and eventually stood before the apartment. 

The door unlocked with a nice click, and again. I saw Ash, she was on her laptop as always. 

“Your day was good, I take it?” Ash asked, giving me pause. 

“How do you know?” Could she feel emotions too? 

“It’s because I am an empath⁠— kidding.” She did a hollow chuckle to herself, her mood dry as the raven desert. “You just seem to be doing better, that’s all.” 

“Yeah, I am doing better.” I humphed. I didn’t like her calling me an empath or whatever thing that was meant to be insulting. “In comparison to you who is always bitter and stuff.” 

“Well yeah, I am bitter. These cookies though? Sweet.” She munched. “But that’s to be expected, you don’t even have a job so you wouldn’t understand the struggles.” 

“I have struggles.” I scoffed. 

“Like what?” She asked, looking at me in confusion. “You don’t seem like the type of person to have a ton of struggles.” 

“Well like⁠—” Everything was related to being from the Underworld and the Underworld itself. “You wouldn’t get them.” I crossed my arms. 

Ash gave me a laugh. “Just try me.” She grinned, but for some reason I felt ridiculed. She was looking down on me. 

Why⁠— I felt slight anger, but simply decided to not go down to her level. I was a Grim Reaper! Or soon to be one! 

“You humans wouldn’t get it.” 

“You humans? Aren’t you human yourself? Silly.” Ash’s voice carried fun, and her mood⁠— well she seemed happy too. But…

I had said humans! I had said humans! I panicked internally. 

“You’re right. I am human…” I scratched my cheek and sat next to her. I didn’t feel like talking anymore. 

Then, for the second time today, I felt a hand on my head. 

“There, there, no need to be upset. I was joking.” 

I paused and went stiff. Something was coming⁠— something. It’s feeling was hatred, primal destruction, and it inched closer and closer. 

“Hey don’t be⁠—

“We need to get away, now!” I said feeling a sense of urgency. Why was a monster present? Let alone one with⁠— those kind of feelings! I pulled Ash’s arm away from the couch along with myself. 

“Hey, what's with you?” Ash protested with slight annoyance. “You didn’t⁠—

“I̷'̸v̶e̴ ̵f̶o̸u̶n̵d̵ ̶y̶o̷u̵.” Corruption entered both of our ears. Ash’s emotions spiked to pure primal bloodlust making me slightly shiver. 

“The bastard I told you about is back!” she hissed. “Why the fuck are you showing up here now!? You should’ve just stayed dead! How are you even here?!” 

At that moment a rift opened and tentacles began to pour out dripping with black liquid that seemed to corrode the floor, soon a red eye with a black slit opened from the darkness. 

“R̸e̵v̵e̸n̸g̴e̴ ̵i̸s̶ ̵h̶e̷r̸e̷.”