The One Whom the Living Fear

It was a chaotic scene: in the middle of the street, a car was upside down, its wheels still spinning; a loud crowd had gathered around the scene; and even worse — a boy was lying unconscious on the ground, snoring. While Tadashi slept, he hugged his favorite light novel, which he had instinctively picked up from the ground.

Well, at least someone was enjoying the moment...

I'd rather not get bogged down in boring details, so in summary: Tadashi was taken to the hospital, his blackout attributed to a nervous breakdown. Still, something didn't seem to add up. He didn't mention anything about having had any kind of vision of Death.

Can he really see me? Or maybe the blackout triggered amnesia! I’m Death, so let's just say that human health is not my greatest specialty. However, it didn't matter, all I could do was continue to follow the kid.

A few hours later, Tadashi was already home. The entire accident situation was sorted out surprisingly fast. Not only was the car insured, but it also belonged to the company where the driver worked. The accident was attributed to a tire blowout or something similar. The driver seemed relieved, happy that he didn't have to deal with a fatal accident under his watch.

For the two careless individuals, it was better that everything was considered a major accident with no one to blame.

Now, lying on his bed, Tadashi was so exhausted that he hadn't even changed his clothes. Still dirty and sweaty, he rested his right arm under his eyes, his room lit by a white lamp. He had been lying there for a few hours. I didn't know if he was sleeping or just thinking about life.

Lost in my thoughts among the shadows, I watched him. However, this time the roles were reversed — I was suddenly startled, as the silence was suddenly broken:

“Hey, you there...” Tadashi, still covering his eyes with his arm, let out his deep voice that echoed through the room.

Where did all that testosterone come from? Out of nowhere he has a deep voice?

Silence. There was no answer. I was testing to see if he was really talking to me.

"I'm tired of thinking about what to do. Let's be direct, so please come out of the shadows. You're not hiding from anyone there." Tadashi got up from the bed, his empty eyes reflecting the white light from the lamp.

He can see me even in the shadows!

Jackpot! He really is a rare human being!

Dissolving from the shadows created on the ceiling of the room, I materialized in the center of the room. A black silhouette formed next to Tadashi, who just watched the mystical unfolding of my arrival. The transformation ended with a final touch:

“Transformation: Laidback Form #001,” I announced, with a background explosion.

Finally! I've always wanted to do a Tokusatsu-style transformation!

In front of him, Tadashi now saw, instead of the traditional and frightening Death, a much friendlier skeleton. Wearing flip-flops and shorts, with an open gray hoodie and black wig, I gave a thumbs up to show that I came in peace.

“Hey, little bro! I'm...” Before I could finish, Tadashi lost his mysterious composure.

“WHAT? YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR OWN FORM? THEN WHY DID YOU SHOW UP LIKE THAT IN THE STREET?! YOU SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME!” Tadashi shouted, with all the strength in his lungs.

“Uh... Yeah. I can choose! Actually, I just can't turn into living things.”

“So why were you like that?” Tadashi continued to ask.

I pulled a book out of thin air, showing its cover to Tadashi, which read: The Good Salesperson's Manual.

"It says I have to wear clothes that remind consumers of the true expert that I am! Besides, it said that when approaching customers, it's best to be direct about what you're offering," I said as technically as possible, trying to sound like an expert… just like the book told me to.

Tadashi sat down on the bed, slapping his forehead with his hand:

"Death is using sales tactics on me. Yep. I’ve officially lost it," Tadashi sighed.

Suddenly, the door opened.

“Hey, Tadashi! Are you crazy? Mom and Dad are sleeping, they have to work early tomorrow,” said Tadashi's sister. 

The girl's gaze turned in my direction, her face somewhat unreadable.

“A-Asaka, I told you to knock before entering,” Tadashi stepped in front of me, opening his arms. I don't know if it was to cover and hide me, or to prevent me from getting close to his sister. “I can explain... He's...”

"Wait? Aren't you playing online? You only yell like that when you're playing,“ said his sister, who clearly couldn't see me. ”You've always been weird, ever since we were little, but everything has its limits! Are you sure you shouldn't go back to the hospital? You must have hit that big head of yours on the concrete."

“I-I... I-I didn't...” stammering, Tadashi couldn't express himself.

“You know what, whatever! If you want to freak out, that's fine, just don't make any noise, I need my beauty sleep,” said his sister, slamming the bedroom door, leaving us alone again.

Tadashi lowered his raised shoulders and sat back on the bed. Sighing, he made a movement with both hands, closing his fists as if holding something. His fists then rested on his legs, still closed.

“Okay, I managed to hold myself back. I'll give you 10 minutes to explain to me what the hell is going on. If I don't like the answer, I'm going to freak out completely, take off all my clothes, and run naked down the street,” Tadashi said, his honesty shining brightly on his face.

“Don't do that. I'm wearing shorts, but that's because I don't feel the temperature. It must be cold outside!” I said, trying to convince Takashi not to force me to watch a degrading scene.

“You have five minutes to explain yourself.”

Tadashi was a tough negotiator. There was no more time to rehearse. Let's do it live! I used all my powers to create an appropriate environment to present myself.

“Deadly Technique Number 236! Sudden Stage Creation!”

Dry ice smoke spread everywhere, the lamp went out, the room gave way to vast darkness, with only a large spotlight coming from above. In the midst of the light, I picked up a microphone, tapping it twice to test if it worked.

“Ahem... I think I already mentioned it, but it's better to be safe than sorry! Nice to meet you, I am the personification of Death!” my now announcer's voice echoed through the black infinity.

Tadashi's eyes and mouth widened. As I spoke, the vast black hall was filled with lights and all kinds of fireworks all around, accompanied by orchestral music celebrating my triumphant presentation.

"I'm the one who never lost. All the heroes fell to their knees when they met me — and, spoilers — none of them managed to escape. I'm the final showdown, the fate everyone fears, the dark after the movie credits...and the company logo. I'm not an angel, a king, or even a god of death. Anyway, you get the idea. I'm Death, period." I would wink at the end, but I'm a skeleton, I can't close my eyes.

I approached the boy, who, watching from outside the spotlight, was enveloped in complete darkness.

“What I mean is, I don't waste my time on anything that isn't worth it. You're a special guy, and I think you've known that for a long time.” As I approached and touched his shoulder with my bony hand, the light slowly approached as well, now illuminating both of us.

“Me... Special?”

“Yes, you must have noticed that your sister can't see me. Almost no human can, but you can.” The light from the sky reflected in the Tadashi's eyes as he lifted his face to look at me. “Your eyes are very valuable, but not because of their color or shape. I'm talking about your third eye.” I touched his forehead with my finger.

“T-third eye?” What the hell, is he going to repeat everything I say?

“The Third Eye — The puppet's power to see not only its strings, but also those who control them.”

Damn, that was a pretty cool phrase! Who knew all those centuries of reading would actually come in handy?

“It's extremely rare. Not the kind of rare you see once in your lifetime — but the kind you won't even witness after you die.”

Tadashi looked doubtful:

“So how did you find me?”

“Ha... It was fate!”

I clapped my hands. Not only did the lamp light come back on, but we also returned to Tadashi's room. I love putting on a show, but visual effects don't come for free! I picked up the first volume lying on the bed and showed it to Tadashi.

“I'm a huge fan of ‘The Chronicles of Zero,’ I saw you at the bookstore on the corner!”

It had been a few months ago, when I was looking for a specific volume. Unfortunately, the last copy was sold out. However, a boy in line to pay was holding the last one. I didn't think twice, I just snatched it from his hand.

Most humans couldn't see me, and everything I held disappeared from their perception. He would think he had lost it or something. The mind always finds an explanation for the inexplicable.

But no, he just took it back:

“Hey, it doesn't matter how much you want it. I got it first, man!” The calm and reactive Tadashi gave way to a hot-headed delinquent. “You want to fight over volume, huh?”

What... he just took it back? His eyes were glued to the cash register and his book, so focused on his goal to buy it, that he didn't even saw my form.

When I described our encounter, Tadashi's expression melted into something indescribable.

“Eh? So you were that creep that tried to stole from me...You like light novels?”

“Yeah. That's why I'm talking to you!” I opened the light novel, stopping at an image of the protagonist being reborn in a baby's body. “So, what do you think? How about reincarnating into a new life with me?!”

Tadashi put his hand on his head, his hair now covering his face and expression. I just saw his mouth opening as wide as possible, preceding the worst.

“EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?” The scream echoed through the house... no, through the entire neighborhood.

Then came an even louder scream from the other side of the house in response.

“ONII-CHAN! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!”

Hehehe... I can see I'm going to have fun!