I can't remember the first time I had been here. For as long as I can remember, I had been in this place since time immemorial. 

This place... was my home. Well, it wasn't good looking enough to be called home, but it was my only home. 

Ever since I had been here, I would run around the large open hallway. It was dark, but I eventually learned to move around without using my sight. 

And then there were them. Masses of bone, amalgamations of flesh. They would follow me around whenever I had patrolled the area. 

They would risk their own lives and push me away from danger. 

I did not know why, but my instincts told me to kill anyone who came through this place. 

And so I did. Man or woman, I did not let anyone pass through. Eventually their bodies began to decompose and the smell started to plague the area. It soon became unbearable, but my head kept on telling me to kill anyone.

With my trusty scythe, I would hack down any intruders with one hit. They could not stand the strength of my weapon.

I left their dying corpses alone, and would come back the next day to find it rotting and starting to decompose. 

The days would quickly pass by. It was the same monotonous thing. I would wake up from my state of emptiness every few hours and go out to patrol the place. 

I don't know why I did it, but I did. 

I got so bored of doing the same thing everyday, that I had tried other things in order to satiate my endless boredom.

One time I had come across a group of humans. They had numbered around the twenty margin, and had crowded the area. 

And it seemed like they were looking for me. And they came prepared, too. When I tried to get closer to slice them down, my head called me to stay back. 

One of the humans was different. I could not see very well in the darkness, but I was somehow able to see the girl. 

Brunette, purple eyes. Eyes that screamed at me to get away. 

Those were the only people I let pass me. I had tried to survive, and had my skeletons and underlings do the work. 

To my surprise, a few hours later, the girl herself had come back. Those same eyes were still very much hurting me just from the mere sight of it. 

But the girl was injured. Her body, wrecked and bleeding, seemed as if she was about to die. 

Resisting the urge to pull back, I used my magic.

Until this day I would never use my magic on anything. All who came through this place would be hacked down by my scythe and my scythe only.

My second encounter with the girl was the first time I had used my magic. I think it was Dark Magic?

Very fitting for someone living in the shadows. 

A single spell from me and a dark aura had began to coat the blade of my scythe. I could tell that it had gotten stronger than before. 

And the girl, perhaps sensing something, immediately increased her running speed, she attempted to run througj the entirety of the place without any assistance. 

With my magic, I glid through the shadows of the place, and was waiting for the girl at the end of the corridor. 

Eventually the girl reached the end. Tired, and looking like she was about to fall the next step she took, the girl still had an eager expression. She was about to get out, was probably what she thought.

"Do you perhaps know why I am here?" 

From the shadows of the dark I appeared in front of the girl. Her eyes, which had the light of hope in them just a few seconds ago, had went dark.

"Ahaha... just when I was about to reach the end. Hey, mister Death. Why do you do this?" 

"Why do I do what?" 

"Killing. Why do you kill these people? I want to know."

"I am afraid I do not know why, either. Ever since I awoke in here, my head has told me to kill anyone that passed through."

"I see... in that case, I forgive you. If it really was like that, then I can't blame you now."

"Do you perhaps have any final words before I kill you? I would like for you to say whatever you have to say."

I did not know why, but I would always say the latter part of the sentence I had just said to anyone who I was about to kill. 

And this girl was the first to reply. 

With her last remaining strength, the girl stood up. Her body, already breaking, seemed as it would fall at any moment. 

But she stood. And she reached out her hand, and placed it on my cheek.

"I'd want you to find who you are, and live a life away from these walls. Won't you do that for me, mister Death?" 

"I... I'll give it some thought."

"I see. In that case, please kill me. I don't want to live feeling this agonizing pain any longer. I would just like to rest."

Her final words. I raised my scythe, before wrapping it's curved edge around her neck. As I prepared to pull it back, she said one last sentence.

"Heehee, you had skin after all, mister Death. Now you know you aren't just a lifeless husk."

And a clean slice pulled her head right off her neck. 

I never took pleasure in killing the people who passed through this place. But this girl, she told me that I had skin. 

I wasn't a ghost, wandering through this place forever. I was a real person. 

And she had proved that. 

_____________

Many days had passed since the day I had killed the girl. My memories of her were vague, and I could not remember her as clearly as I could the day I met her. 

But her last words still ringed true in my head. I wasn't a ghost. I was a person. 

Since that day I had noticed my skills had gone dull. My blade wasn't hitting, and my magic was weakening. 

I had looked for a morsel of information from this place that would help me escape. 

I would loot the bones and corpses of the people I had killed a long time ago, and would find trinkets, treasure, and other forms of expensive belongings. 

I had no use for them. They would just be more weight to carry.

I no longer had my scythe on my back any longer. I would now always drag it across the floor, in order to warn the people that I was coming for them.

I found out that I could not resist the urge to slay anyone who came through. In an attempt to leave some alive, I had dragged the sharp end of my scythe to make a noise that would warn the people. 

Until that day came. When I had almost lost my will to escape, when I had accepted that I was to be here forever, they came. 

At first there was four of them. One, a little child no taller than my thigh. The child had white hair, a color that I never came across in my time here. 

His green pupils would glow in the dark, reminding me of that girl. 

But the little child was no different. He had three of his friends following him. A bigger man followed closely behind him, his muscles visibly popping out from his thin clothing. And another, a blonde girl who was carrying the little child. She had a light in her hand, that was shining the dark area alight. And finally, an elf. I had also never come across an elf until today. 

I was surprised that they had allowed a little child to come to this place, but it had hit me. Maybe they didn't know what this place was.

But the little child was what surprised me the most. His body, while still small, did not limit his skill. He would give out orders to the people following him, almost like an experienced leader. 

And this feeling. The same one from the girl! My head was screaming at me to get away! 

The voices were too strong, and so I went back. 

The next time they went back was a few days later. They seemed to have survived, even after triggering the traps. 

And the group, oddly decided to have fun in this place. The blonde girl who had carried the little child gave him to the elf, and was standing on the same point as the muscle-guy. 

And after a quick count, the muscle-guy ran ahead. Oh, was this a race? 

The blonde girl, who hadn't been moving, surprised me when she performed multiple blinks in quick succession, cutting the distance between her and the muscle-guy by half instantly. 

By then I was too relaxed, and was watching the pair race it out. I had followed them through the darkness, and was laughing, guessing who would win. 

My head eventually cleared up when I noticed that the two had reached the end, with the blonde girl going in first. 

And I remembered, the two were still back there. I ran through the shadows until I spotted the elf carrying the little child as she ran through. 

"Light, get out." I let out a voice, hurt from the light that was emanating from the two. 

Just like the girl, these two had an aura that prevented me from getting closer.

And my instincts kicked in. I swung my scythe downwards, screaming in my head for the two to dodge. 

Luckily, the little child saw my attack and warned the elf, who was able to dodge in time.

I pulled back my scythe and disappeared into the shadows. 

The group would soon come back again, but had quickly moved through the area using a portal, giving me no chance to approach them. 

I heard the little child talk of a migration, though. I was convinced that they would come through this place again.

And I wouldn't miss it.