The Shadow of the Reaper

“Rell!!” The girls screamed in unison as he fell to his knees, blade buried in his stomach.

“You…” Rell coughed, a streak of blood pouring from his mouth.

The Reaper looked down on the boy. From this angle, Rell could see his eyes through the skull mask. While his right side was a normal dark color, his left eye was completely clouded black, save for a single, glowing red bead of a pupil.

A Shadow? Rell found himself thinking just as the Reaper yanked the blade from his stomach, a shower of blood pouring out.

“Hmm…” The Reaper stood there, thinking.

A shower of gunfire flew towards him, fire and ice from Rena and Rin’s weapons phasing right through him as he contemplated.

“You’re annoying.” He turned. “I changed my mind, I have something to say to the boy.”

Astra launched herself at the two, wielding her last knife as she closed the distance. She passed right through the Reaper as he After Imaged. Both Rell and the Reaper disappeared, fading into Shadow.

“Rell!!” Elena cried.

Rell found himself bleeding in a grassy field on the outskirts of the city. The blood poured from his wound, staining the grass around him crimson. Rell gripped his hands against the wound, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. He reached into his med pack with one hand, stuffing a bunch of his leftover bandages into the wound and applying pressure.

“I wanted to end it quickly.” The Reaper sighed.

He was sitting quietly on a rock a short distance away, staring back towards the cityscape, his guard completely down.

“But I figured I'd ask you what you think you’re doing.”

Rell gasped, unable to talk. It took him everything he had not to pass out. The Reaper sighed, snapping his fingers. Suddenly, he felt fine. He looked down at the wound and found that it was nowhere to be found. Reaching up, he found the bandages he had just applied were back in his medpack.

“How?” Rell asked, getting to his feet.

“It’s only temporary. Just a little trick of Shadow Nin. I call it Shadow Dilation. That wound will return after the effects wear off, and you’ll bleed to death.”

“You reversed time…” Rell observed.

“Temporarily. I’m no god or anything, and Shadow Nin can only do so much.” The Reaper waved.

“Who are you? A human? Or a Shadow?” Rell asked.

“Neither.” He answered. “Just a Reaper, and even that is a bit misleading.” The Reaper turned to him, the edge of his mask coming into view, the shadowy red eye observing Rell. “Now my question. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Why should I?” Rell began.

The Reaper raised a finger.

“Remember, you’re my hostage. You’ll die if I release the Nin.” The Reaper said. “The answer.”

“I’m looking for my friends and…”

“The Chosen One?” The Reaper asked. “Alicia Lyndale? She’s dead.” The Reaper shrugged.

“What?” Rell shook his head. “No. That’s impossible. She was alive. I heard her voice!” Rell protested.

“I just know what I know. I found you rolling around with this dolls. I guess you really are completely oblivious to that thing.”

“You mean that incredibly overwhelming Shadow that’s watching us right now?” Rell asked.

“Ah, you actually notice it. You’re not as oblivious as I thought.” The Reaper chuckled.

“I didn’t know what it was at first, but I felt it since I first woke up.” Rell said.

“You’re making a mistake though. That thing isn’t a Shadow. It is The Shadow.”

“The Shadow?” Rell asked.

“It’s a god. A god that controls the very fundamental forces of the universe.”

“The Voice of Darkness…” Rell said.

“The dolls call it the King of Thorns. They’re completely oblivious to its true nature, except for 67, who hides it of course. She’s afraid those little meat puppets of hers will turn to its side and betray her.”

“What does it want?” Rell asked.

“You’ve fought Shadows your whole life. Those things are just instruments of its will. It wants the Piece of Anya that resides inside the Sanctuary Tree.” The Reaper answered.

“The Piece of Anya? The Voice?”

“A fragment of life itself. With it, it can snuff all life out in the universe, leaving it stuck in a perpetual void filled with only Shadows.”

Rell stood there for a moment, processing the information.

“Let me ask you again, what do you think you’re doing?” The Reaper repeated, getting to his feet. He stood about two or three inches above Rell’s height.

“I…” Rell shook his head. “What was I…”

“Rell…” Alicia’s voice echoed again, like she was whispering into his ear.

He turned, searching for the source of it.

“The tree… the Piece of Anya? It’s…”

The Reaper just stood there.

“You can’t save her.” The Reaper warned. “Six-Seven won’t let you in there. She’ll kill you. She may be a drunken coward, but she’s about 70% of the Hero of Light’s strength.”

“That’s why she was hiding her from me.” Rell noted.

“If you weren’t going to die, what would you do now?” The Reaper asked.

“Do you even need to ask?” Rell looked up at the Reaper, determination in his eyes. “I’m going to save Alicia.”

The Reaper let out a deep sigh.

“No. You won’t.” He said.

Something slammed hard into the ground next to them, sending up a massive plume of dust.

“You!” Sixty-Seven emerged from the dust cloud.

She was dressed in her elegant white combat dress that reached down to her heels. Her incredibly long blonde hair was tied in a loose ponytail behind her. Over her shoulder she carried a massive great sword twice her height.

“Ah, the coward appears on the battlefield finally!.” He mocked.

“What did you tell him?” She growled.

“Enough.” The Reaper laughed.

Sixty-Seven flash stepped, slicing clean through the Reaper. He After Imaged.

“Oh no you don’t!” She screamed, slamming a heel down onto the ground. “Revealing Light!” A plume of light emerged from her weapon, expanding out from her in a circular area.

The Reaper appeared a few feet from her, sword ready to strike. With lightning quick reflexes, she spun around, slamming the Reaper with the blunt end of her weapon. He tumbled sideways for several feet. The Reaper moaned in pain, forcing himself to his knees. His right arm hung from his side, twisted around the wrong away. His mask shattered slightly, revealing a matt of white hair just above his dark red eye.

“I miscalculated.” He coughed as he began to fade away.

“Revealing Light…” Six-Seven snapped her fingers, Light Nin runes appearing around the Reaper and disrupting his Shadow Nin.

“Dammit..” The Reaper cursed.

Six-Seven flash stepped, closing the distance and burying her heel into the Reaper’s chest, pinning him to the ground. With one hand twisted the massive sword in her hand, slamming it into the ground right by the Reaper’s face.

“I should kill you.” She hissed, looking down on the defeated man.

“But you won’t.” The Reaper laughed. “Cause you’re a doll.”

“What does that make you then?” She asked.

A Sister appeared a few feet away from Six-Seven, swinging a massive scythe towards her head. Six-Seven reacted quickly, easily parrying the girl and knocking her aside.

“Who?” Six-Seven shook her head, unable to recognize this Sister.

The girl had short black hair and crimson red eyes. She wore a black face mask, which covered her mouth and nose. The mask matched the dark hooded dress she wore, the massive black scythe completing her motif.

Several Elemental Nin flew at Six-Seven. She easily knocked them aside with her great sword, turning her attention towards the attacker. It was the woman in the dark dress with the large brimmed hat.

“Minerva?” Six-Seven mouthed, completely perplexed.

The mysterious scythe Sister appeared next to Minerva, the Reaper slung over her shoulder. Minerva smirked as they began to fade away in Shadow Nin.

“Revealing…” Six-Seven stopped as Rell keeled over, blood spraying from his stomach. “Rell!” She turned to him.

She turned back to the three, only to find that had escaped.

“Rell!” she screamed, cradling his head on her lap, ignoring the blood that began to stain her dress. “Don’t die! Don’t die!” She pleaded.

Rell stared at her as his vision began to grow dark. And he saw her. Alicia.

“Don’t fall asleep, okay?”

“I won’t. I won’t.”

And a warmth came over him. Like the sun.