Beep, beep, beep!A paw harshly came down onto the poor, unsuspecting clock, effectively silencing it. The owner of said paw groaned in annoyance, they didn’t want to get up yet! Just five more minutes, it wasn’t like they had anything to do… Or… Could do in the state they were in.
Knock knockFrom the mess of blankets came a frustrated growl, it was way too early for this! They took a peek from out of their cocoon, wishing that by some miracle their gaze would convince the person on the other side of the door to go away.
“My magnificence, may I please come in? It’s time for breakfast.”
Life sighed in defeat, they really couldn’t just hope that keeping quiet would make one of their staff go away it seems…
“Let yourself inside Fungi” was the short, curt response.
The bedroom door was gently opened and
a brown kalon with mushroom markings stepped in carrying a tray with a platter of pancakes and a glass of strawberry juice, he walked over to the nightstand and set the tray down before turning his attention to his superior.
“How are you feeling this morning? Any better?”
The crimson kalon raised themselves up into a sitting position, taking into account the current limitations of their body as they stared into the wall ahead of them. Life stood still and didn’t utter a word as they gathered their thoughts, or… Tried to, their mind was empty, muted, it felt like a void… There was one thing that they processed though, the single thing they could count on:
They were
alive.“Miserable, Fungi… Hand me the food please”
The servant dutifully nodded and gently placed the tray on the deity’s lap, using one of his paws to point at it “Eat up! It’ll make you feel less cranky” he replied, moving to sit in an armchair next to the bed of his master.
Silence settled between the two kalons, it wasn’t the most comfortable one because of the tension that always seemed to linger around the creator of all living things but… It was not the worst. Life picked at their food with a fork, not too keen on eating, eventually raising a piece of pancake to their mouth, albeit slowly. Fungi grabbed their sketchbook, scribbling about the new growing mushrooms that he found in the nearby forest, glancing from time to time at their injured… Friend? Companion? He… Actually didn’t know what to call the one beside him, they liked keeping a certain distance and he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries by asking to know the godly being on a deeper level… So Fungi simply maintained their conversations casual, he knew there was no way things would go wrong if he just didn’t pry into the life of the other.
“By the way… There’s some flowers in the garden that are starting to wither away, I don’t know how long that’s been happening… ” he mentioned, hoping that it’d coax the moping kalon into speaking.
The pair of eyes that glanced over at him told Fungi that he was successful.
“...Withering? That can’t be… Surely you’re mistaken, which flowers are you talking about?”
“Oh, the ones tucked away in your altar, you know, the red snapdr-”
“WHAT?”The sudden outburst made the mycologist jump in fright, nearly dropping his sketchbook and accidentally drawing a large line over his mushroom diagram, Fungi then turned his head to look at the now clearly agitated kalon.
“Y-Yes… They’re in pretty bad shape, probably have been for a while actually… B-But they can be saved! It’s not too late yet!” he added, realizing that he’d gotten himself into a bad situation with someone that can easily snuff his life out as if he were a small candle.
The bedridden deity felt small sparks start to ignite in their paws, slamming a fist down and making the bed creak in discomfort as their face contorted into a nasty snarl.
“I cannot believe that
scoundrel came back into my garden while I’m at my weakest, used their powers on what’s
mine and worst of all... It was
my snapdragons! Oh, if I… If I just… I should’ve
killed them when I had the chan-”
“STOP!”Silence fell in the room once more, but it was different this time, nobody moved a muscle… Life set their gaze on Fungi, and the poor kalon had to fight the urge to recoil out of self-preservation, instead he grabbed onto the deity’s arms and lifted them up so their palms didn’t touch the bed.
“You… You were going to set the bed on fire!” rasped the nervous servant, taking a moment to catch his breath, it felt like he was trying to lift a statue from how stiffly the godly being’s arms were locked in place. Without a moment of hesitation, he continued “Nobody came here,
nobody. Death hasn’t gone outside ever since your confrontation with them, they can’t be the one to blame every single time for goodness sake! Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, if you think everyone else is the problem except for you that…
You’re the true problem?” asked Fungi, hoping that his burst of bravery wouldn’t receive harsh consequences.
There was no immediate response and Fungi closed his eyes in anticipation of a strike that never came. Instead, all he heard was a sigh, and the servant opened his eyes to stare at a… Disturbingly calm Life, the deity just looked at him, completely defeated.
“To think that I would reach this point, where I’m so weak that I can’t even take care of the flowers that are dear to me… I… I-I can’t have them die, they’re like a representation of who I am… I’d just be losing a part of myself.”
Fungi faltered but replied nonetheless “I see… But you can always replace them.” he offered.
“Replace them? As if, it isn’t the same… Limbo wasn’t
replaceable either, Fungi!” growled out the other.
The mycologist flinched before actually taking in what Life said, that was new… Who were they talking about?
“...Limbo?”
It felt like the mortal was walking on eggshells just by speaking that name out loud, he saw the tension in the crimson kalon’s body rise, realizing that this might be a very sensitive topic… However, he needed to know more, this was the most that Fungi had ever learned about them.
“Yes, Limbo. Back then things weren’t as simple as Life and Death, there was a third kalon… And they were the middle ground between the two extremes: me and my counterpart. If any living being was gravely injured, which happens to be a very common occurrence, they would help us determine whether they were too weak to live or still had enough strength in them to not die. While we waited for their decision to be made, they kept that creature in a deep sleep, going into their dreams to check if they were closer to the light than the darkness or vice-versa… Until they could finally say with confidence what we should do with them.” explained the deity, their tongue felt heavy, they hadn’t spoken about their past friend for so long…
“And… Why are they not with you two anymore?” Fungi asked, knowing what the answer probably was but still wanting to hear it.
“Died… Death did it.” was the curt, monotone response.
Life’s small servant couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the kalon in front of him, he understood why they acted out so irrationally now, they hadn’t yet been able to deal with the fact that not only did their friend pass but also that their
other friend was the one to make that happen. Yet… It didn’t feel right, he had heard enough about Death to gather that there was no way they would just… Willingly do that, but he would only know what truly happened if Life found out the truth first, as he wasn’t allowed to cross over the border to the reaper’s territory.
“I’m sorry for your loss, really, I am… But surely you must see that from all the times you’ve stormed in and complained about Death to me that they tried talking to you, tried explaining what happened, that can’t be the full story.”
“I don’t care about the full story Fungi! They just take everything from me, that’s why I have to make more living beings, so they can’t catch up to me.”
“Do you not get that all it does is overwork both of you? This isn’t healthy! Death has to reap so many souls daily from how many creatures and plant life exist in the world… And for every life they take with them you create five more!”
“Life is precious, Fungi, it must be protected, it doesn’t deserve to be taken! It has to be safe… Safe from all of the dangers the world has to offer, at any point you could die, don’t you realize how horrifying that is? That no matter what you do your fate is inevitable? That your choices are meaningless? You have to be so careful with yourself, why would you take risks if you know that there’s a chance you can wind up dead? That’s how I see my job, how I witness life… I bring beauty to the world and for what? It’ll only be stolen from me, everything is… So that’s why I try so hard to postpone it. If I can prolong the life of another I have succeeded, even if it means that they’re suffering… My creations will last for as long as they can, and I make sure of that.”
“Is that why you’re so insistent on me not leaving your home?”
Life looked away from their servant, fidgeting with their bedsheet nervously, they didn’t want to open up to the mycologist so much and now they’ve spilled everything out of their chest… What a terrible day this was.
“Nothing can harm you here, the outside world is unpredictable though, you never know what might happen… But you can live your life to the fullest, just keep in mind that any meaning you try to apply to life itself is, to me, nonsense. It’s only a way to keep you sane, mortals can’t face the reality that they were put into the world by mere chance, not because there’s some special purpose for them… You’re here to live your short years and die by the end of them, that’s all.”
Fungi simply exhaled and moved to sit down beside Life, turning his head to look at them with a soft but stern stare “...I do not need your protection, thank you for your concern nonetheless, I’m also perfectly aware of my own mortality and don’t mind the fact that I’ll be dead one day. Most mortals are obviously afraid to die, for many different reasons of course… But it’s something that we know has to happen, we were made to be this way for a reason and I personally think that not being able to live forever is beneficial. We are capable of cherishing everything around us and what we do much more knowing that one day we’ll have to part with it, along with the fact that death is freeing… This might be surprising to you but life can be extremely tiring, especially as you grow older, so it’s nice to be lifted of any burdens that we have to deal with and finally be able to rest for all of eternity. When I eventually move on to the afterlife… Please don’t cry over me being gone, smile because I existed alright?”
Life was left speechless, they couldn’t believe what they were hearing, and from a mortal too! To think that most god-like kalons, including them sometimes, underestimate how wise regular kalons can be… They live so little time compared to them, of course they take the few years that they have to learn as much as they can and reflect over their purpose. The deity opened their mouth to say… Something, they honestly weren’t sure what, but they were quickly shut up by Fungi pressing one of his paws against their snout.
“Just go to Death, give them a chance to talk please… I mean this Life, you can redeem yourself and put this chapter in your book to a close. I won’t force you to do it, I
am just a part of your staff after all, but I think it would be petty of you to continue this never-ending battle of wits after what we just discussed. Have a good rest of your morning, I’ll see you at lunch.”
And so, the mycologist left the crimson kalon’s bedroom without another word, making sure to grab the food tray with a now empty plate and glass on his way out.
Alone with only their thoughts, the deity repeated what their servant had told them over and over in their mind, moving to lie down before a sharp pain coursed through their chest. With a hiss, their paw grabbed hold of the bandage that was wrapped around their injury, Life had almost forgotten about their last confrontation with their counterpart and the reminder was not exactly welcome. They frowned, their resentment bubbling back up until their mind replayed Fungi’s speech again.
Maybe they’d consider going to pay Death a visit.
There they were again, this was becoming oddly familiar, like a habit almost.
Standing in front of Death’s door, the last time they were here everything escalated way too quickly… Life can admit it, their temper had gotten a little too out of hand. They raised their paw to knock at the door before realizing it was actually already open, maybe the house was empty? But for the reaper to leave their home unlocked for just anyone to walk inside was rather careless. Well, not that they really care, it gives them easier access to their counterpart’s house so they won’t complain about it.
Stepping inside, they could see that it was very unkempt: the interior decorations were dusty, a couple of cobwebs littered the ceiling, even the floorboards seemed to creak more than usual. Life fought the urge to cringe in disgust, Death wouldn’t stoop so low… Would they? I mean, their home was old but they always took good care of it, now it looked… Truly decrepit. It also didn’t help that the place was eerily quiet, they wouldn’t let themselves get creeped out though, so they began making their way through the hallway.
Then… They saw it.
It was hard not to notice it, after all, it was probably the thing that had the most color out of everything they’ve seen so far.
A vase of red snapdragons.
No, not just a random one, it was…
The vase.
One that was offered by a younger Life to a younger Death, from a friend to a friend, something that the other could take care of without it withering away.
The deity leaned their face close to it, the flowers were in great shape and the vase was dust free, Life’s cursive writing of the other’s name was also still perfectly legible. Part of them thinks it was well maintained just because Death wanted to prove that they could keep it alive but a smaller, more hopeful, part of them wonders if they didn’t throw it away because they still care about Life.
Shaking their head to clear their thoughts, they turned their gaze away from the snapdragons and continued walking along the hallway before they stopped at the front of Death’s bedroom. There seemed to be a soft sounding noise coming from the inside and Life noticed that the door was ajar, so they took the opportunity to peek in.
There they were, in all their glory, sitting on top of their bed next to the golden kalon that had suffered a direct hit from both their magic. Their bony hand gently caressing his hair as they appeared to be… Singing? So that’s what the noise was. Their companion was still motionless, eyes closed in what seemed to be a peaceful sleep if you didn’t look into it further.
“Did nobody teach you that it’s rude to stare?”
Two red irises now locked onto Life, they gave up their hiding place and opened the door to face Death directly.
“You know, you should probably clean up your house, I might develop allergies from how much dust everything has collected.”
“What do you want Life?”
“Straight to the point aren’t you? I’m here to help your little friend.”
The creator of all living things approached the bed carefully, not wanting to upset their counterpart as looked at the injured kalon. He didn’t have any physical injuries, which was worse, the problem was solely focused on the inside and that made it harder to determine what’s wrong.
“Help? What, pray tell, made you change your mind so suddenly?”
Life tilted their head up to look at Death, trying to appear nonchalant as their tail nervously moved from side to side, they didn’t know if their reason would be enough to convince the other that they should stay.
“I had a chat with one of my staff, you could say he’s my… Confidant. He’s brought some things to my attention and shed light on some matters, along with insisting that I talk to you so… Here I am.”
An eye roll was the initial response, not a great start.
“Of course you only came here because someone convinced you to, I know that you’d never think of this idea yourself”
Life glanced at the wall beside them, their paw mindlessly drawing a pattern on the floor
“It’s kind of hard to think of anything else besides how upset you are when one of your friends dies Death, my servant helped me snap out of it somewhat.”
A sigh came from above.
“I’m aware, although I’m not pleased that you’re here… I’m glad at the same time, you have it easier than me when it comes to healing others. Have you finally put Limbo aside?”
The name still made the deity’s heart ache, and this time they resigned themselves to it. They wouldn’t lash out at the mere mention of Limbo again, they were just… Tired now, is this how Death usually feels?
“Actually, that’s one of the reasons why I came here… Tell me what happened to them.”
“...What?”
“Tell me the truth, Death… Please.”
The reaper’s eyes widened, of all the things they were expecting to be asked to do, telling their side of the story wasn’t one of them. However, there was no way they would pass up the chance to lift off the weight that has been hanging over their shoulders for centuries so, with a deep breath, they began:
“Do you remember that day when the three of us were playing in Limbo's backyard? At one point you went back inside to get snacks for us, that was… Pretty much when everything went wrong. We were all just starting to get a hold of our powers and Limbo said that they wanted to spar with me, as training for when we would need to have future…‘Godly fights’ as they put it, with kalons of our strength and of course, we fought with the help of our magic. It wasn’t something that was meant to be actually serious, it was like a very dramatic theater play if I’m being honest, and eventually they managed to pin me down. Not wanting to lose, I impulsively sent a burst of energy at their chest… I didn’t yet understand what kind of power I was sending out to attack, I would soon come to learn which one it was when I felt them collapse on top of me like a fish out of water. I panicked and rolled them off of me, desperately trying to shake them back to life until… I saw it: There was a wisp of bright light beside me, and that was when I realized I had just ripped their soul out of their body. Unfortunately, once the soul is out it can never be put back in… Sadly that was when you returned, walking in on me standing over Limbo as I was trying to push their soul back inside their body… I can’t blame you for reacting the way you did, if I was you I’d react the same way. I thought of myself as an absolutely despicable kalon for years after that, it’s still hard to let go of it even if I’ve come to terms with what I’ve done.”
Life’s paws were digging into the hard wooden floor in an attempt to ground themselves, they couldn’t help the uncontrollable tremors in their body. Fungi was right, they’ve known Death for years before the incident, obviously they wouldn’t have done it out of their own volition. If only they had listened to what their counterpart had to say, perhaps both of them wouldn’t have gotten into such a long-winded and exhausting mess of a misunderstanding.
“I… I’m sorry Death, I really should have let you explain yourself in the past. We would’ve avoided so much conflict if I had known your point of view that day. I don’t want my actions to be understood, I know you, you
wouldn’t have reacted the same way. There was no excuse for me to continue lashing out at you for years and years… That fateful morning I made everyone I knew turn against this shy, sweet kid and spoke about them as if they were a heartless monster… I made so many kalons and other creatures alike fear you, tormented you for years. To think that I really thought I was right in that situation, even if you
had ended Limbo’s life on purpose I would’ve been just as bad as you, if not worse. It’s my fault we both turned out this way, and I sincerely apologize for what I’ve done and said to you.”
A bony paw reached out to grab Life’s face gently, and a finger started wiping away the tears that had begun to slide down their cheeks. The owner of the finger tilted the deity’s chin up and they were met with a soft smile being directed at them.
“You’ve listened to me, apologized and recognized your misdeeds… Thank you. This does not mean I forgive you though, far from it, it’ll take a while for me to be able to accept your apology. It also won’t be easy for you to regain my trust, and to achieve the same level of friendship we had in the past, if that’s even possible anymore. But these are great first steps regardless, I’m proud of what has happened today between us. Now come on, get up on the bed next to me, the floor isn’t very comfortable.”
Life’s heart thundered in their chest as they returned the other’s smile, although theirs was more shaky. Slowly, they climbed up on the soft mattress and sat down beside Death, this was the closest that the two gods have been to each other without the reason for their closeness being a fight and it felt… Different, like two friends just chatting about their day.
“Thank you as well, that means more to me than you’ll ever know… I’ll prove to you that I’m capable of change, of being the kalon that you once knew.” they promised, a paw setting itself on their chest like in the old days, promises were kept safe in the heart.
“By the way Death, what did you do with… What remained of Limbo anyway? I know when I came back that day, I startled you so bad that you let their soul go and it flew away but… What about the rest?”
The reaper pointed at one of their cheeks with a claw, it was the same one that got a burn mark from the fight they had in the forest with their counterpart “Do you remember this day?”
Life’s ears pinned back, nodding in shame “I do, it was when I confronted you about stealing flowers from my garden.”
Death closed their eyes and a small light came from their paw, it soon faded and their gaze locked onto Life. They opened their paw to reveal a charred flower, its beauty lost to a tremendous blaze.
“I’m sure you’ve also seen these right?”
An eyebrow raise came from the other deity.
“Of course I have, it was one of the many flowers you took that I burned afterwards, what are you getting at?”
Their counterpart chuckled, laughing harder when they noticed that Life began to pout because they weren’t understanding what was going on. When they calmed down, they handed the crimson kalon the burnt flower and pointed at it.
“These were decorating a grave weren’t they?”
“Yes, but why does that mat-”
A look of realization crossed Life’s face, their eyes widening as they stared back and forth between the flower and Death, shocked at what had just been revealed to them.
“Were these… For Limbo’s?...”
“They were.”
It felt like everything came crashing down with what they’ve been told, their entire perspective on that day was completely shattered. They destroyed the flowers that were meant to honor Limbo.
“I… I-I can’t believe I-”
“I know, but I’m sure they don’t hate you for it.”
A gentle paw caressed the ashy petals of the dead flower, giving it a featherlight kiss before returning it to Death so they could send it back to the spirit realm.
“I never knew Limbo got a grave…”
“They didn’t, I had to make it myself… Before our confrontation I renewed it entirely, even went so far as to change the soil to a new, healthy one instead of keeping it as it was.”
The reaper felt a paw place itself on their shoulder, they glanced at Life and saw a very determined expression on their face, they could immediately tell the other was planning something.
“I’ll replace the flowers I’ve ruined with new ones. I’ll give you the ones from my altar in their place.”
“Wait… Those? Are you sure? I know how important they are to you…”
“It’s because they’re important to me that I’m willing to give them up, it took me almost losing them entirely to understand that. You’ve sacrificed your reputation to get Limbo the previous flowers, now I’ll make the sacrifice of giving up something very dear to me… An eye for an eye.”
“You really don’t have to do this though.”
“But I want to.”
Life froze as they felt a pair of arms wrap around them, barely being able to process that they’ve just been hugged. It felt just like old times, but now Death had finally been the first to initiate it. Slowly, carefully, they returned the embrace, melting into the soft touch of their counterpart.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Both kalons stayed like that for a while before separating, they looked at each other and smiled. Their issues haven’t been fully solved, but they felt that they regained a level of companionship that had been buried in the past. Now it was time to focus on another problem.
“I’d say it's about time I help bring your friend back to the land of the living.”
Death nodded, starting to lift themselves off of the bed to give Life space to work “I’ll let you do what you need to do.”
Before the reaper could go anywhere they felt a paw grab their wrist and pull them back down. They turned to look at the other, perplexed.
“I think I’ll need an extra set of paws for this.”
“You want…
Me? To aid you?”
“Do you see anyone else in this room? Of course I want
you to help me Death!”
“My powers aren’t made for heal-”
“You can tell me where his soul is and give me strength with your magic. I’m pretty sure that’s the damaged part.”
Death could tell that Life wouldn’t be taking no for an answer, once stubborn, always stubborn… So they gave in and put a paw right where Sawyer’s heart thumped with quiet heartbeats.
“It’s here, souls are always next to the heart.”
The crimson kalon then put their paw beneath the reaper’s own and started sending wave after wave of magic into the writer's chest while Death re-routed their energy so it could be used by Life.
They noticed that their powers were starting to take effect due to the small twitches of Sawyer’s paws, but they weren't enough to wake him up.
“We’re going to have to do something bigger than this… Do you trust me?”
“...I said that it would take me a while to trust you again but I guess I’ll have to ditch that thought for a moment… Yes, I’m going to trust you.”
“Ha
ha, very funny… Send me everything you got, all the power you can give!”
Death did as they were told, transferring as much of their energy as possible, feeling themselves start to sweat from the exertion. Life gathered it on their paws and a large fireball began to form until… It came out like a lightning bolt, blinding the room with a bright light.
The two kalons flinched at the harsh glow. When it faded they blinked so their eyes could adjust to the regular lighting, looking down to see the results of their effort.
They were met with a groggy stare from a very confused Sawyer.
Death quickly grabbed the smaller kalon and held him tight “Welcome back Sawyer! I’ve missed you so much my little friend… How are you feeling?” asked the reaper, scanning over the writer to check for any injuries.
Sawyer leaned back, giving the other a sleepy smile “...I’m… Tired… But I’m okay” he replied, trying to reassure them. Soon he noticed Life standing beside Death, and squeaked in fear, tucking his face away in his friend’s fur.
Death chuckled, running their paw through Sawyer’s hair “Good… You don’t need to be afraid of my guest over here, we’ve… Talked some things out.”
“You… Have?” questioned the golden kalon, peeking from his hiding place to glance at Life, still feeling uneasy about the other deity after what he saw them do. He was well aware of what they were capable of.
Life extended their arm forward “We have, it is nice to meet you properly this time Sawyer.” they greeted him, happy to talk to the mortal face to face.
The writer grasped the other’s paw and shook it “It’s… Nice to meet you as well…” he said, feeling shy around the new presence “Did you help Death save me?”
“Yes, I’m sorry for what happened… It must’ve been a terrifying experience for you, no kalon should go through something like that.”
“It’s alright, you’ve made up for it… And it wasn’t that scary, but I
did have a weird dream.”
Both deities stared at Sawyer in confusion.
“Dream?”
Sawyer nodded at the question, fidgeting with his paws as he explained further:
“I was in this strange place, there was nothing in it except for gray walls that served as the scenery, me and this… Ghost? I still don’t know what it was. They told me that I would be fine, I was closer to living than I was to dying but they wouldn’t let me wake up until both of you spoke with each other. I think it was probably when you started using your powers to bring me back that they lessened their control over me, it seemed that they were waiting for something though… I guess they heard what they wanted because soon they opened a door that wasn’t there before and told me to walk free. Before I was about to leave they winked at me, they were a peculiar spirit thing… I should write this down, it’s good book inspiration, it could maybe even be a best seller and-”
The writer’s audience tuned his speech out when he started rambling about book ideas, Life and Death shared a look of mutual understanding.
Perhaps the trio never truly stopped being a trio…
“Truce?”
“Truce.”
