~ Next Time ~
The sky was red like blood, enveloping the desolate wasteland that stretched out farther than the imagination could reach. A young girl sat on the edge of a cliff, kicking her legs playfully through the cold, dead air.
"The underworld's really pretty today, isn't it sensei?" She called out into the void.
The girl's long pink hair swung around as she turned her head to greet a towering, hooded figure that had abruptly materialized behind her. The being's entire form was obscured by the cloak it wore, and the scythe it wielded was more than twice as tall as the small girl. Her wide smile pierced the heart that her master didn't have.
The robed being said nothing, instead eerily gliding to its apprentice's side and joining her on the ledge.
The two sat silently, the teacher's stoic and serious vibe starkly offset by the young girl's playful nature.
Suddenly, her gaze rose up to the sky. Not only did its color resemble blood, it almost seemed to have a thick and viscous quality to it, as if it were actually a dome of blood encasing the underworld. "Death-sensei, do you think we'll ever see that girl again?"
The reaper's skeletal hand tightened its grip on the scythe.
"You know, from your last job. That bright orange glow, those wings, like a beautiful fire…"
A cold gust traveled through the cloak, bouncing around Death's hollow ribcage and escaping out the jaw of its skull. "The Phoenix is a being who does not understand mortality the way you and I do," a cold, dead voice echoed. "She will always return. She is life, and we are death, forever locked in a timeless battle."
The young student took a moment to reflect on her teacher's words, before finally standing up, her eyes wide and sparkling. "Next time…" she exclaimed. "Next time, I want to fight her!"
A small chuckle could be heard echoing through Death's skeleton, briefly shattering its image as a stoic deathbringer, an image that has defined its existence since the dawn of time. "If you believe yourself to be ready, then I suppose we shall see."
