Chapter 3: The Death God in White

Chapter 3: The Death God in White

The Death God in White

The arrival of a pixie in the first world was not subtle.

One-winged Lutcha stepped through the portal, which Megimon was strengthening with nearly every bit of his might, and a sound like thunder rolled across the desert. The atmospheric magic shuddered like a struck gong.

The scrubby plants and pitiful reeds around the little stream withered or burned or burst into bloom, depending on which random thread of the pixies taint touched them first. In their burrows, the shine lizards writhed. One of them squealed as spines sprouted from its back. Another fell on its side, twitching.

Well, well." Lutcha stretched her thin arms over her head. Her faceted eyes reflected the bright sun. This is new.

Its temporary, Megimon said quickly. Were in the middle of nowhere, but this world doesnt need something like you in it for long.

Its niiiiicee here, Lutcha said, arching like a cat and shivering with pleasure. I thought the first world didnt have much magic in it, but this place is definitely better than our swamp. What a pleasant chaotica.

AhI believe were standing on an unmapped convergence point. Most of the world isnt like this.

The pixie snorted. Stupid human, she said fondly. "This is no convergence point."

Whatever the case, I called you here to ask for your help. If you can. Megimon gestured to the twisted form of the boy at his feet. The childs breath was shallow and too fast now. He didnt seem to be capable of anything resembling speech.

Lutcha stepped closer and bent over the boy curiously, her dark green hair brushing his skin.

Its dying, she reported. Badly.

I noticed, said Megimon. Can you do something for him? Im aware its not exactly your purview, but

Lutcha sniffed the boy. Then, she tilted her head, and a disturbing smile spread over her face. Sylph.

What?

An aerial. A wind spirit. One has tried to break into being through this small human. His mana pathways are fascinating.

Hes possessed by a demon? Megimon said, shocked.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

No, you fool. Didnt I just say the spirit tried to give birth to itself. It didnt succeed. She gestured dismissively. Anyway, proper demons would be offended to hear you class a sylph among them. Its like confusing the spark from a flint with a bolt of lightning.

Megimon had scanned the village with his magic. The ruins were full of corpses, stripped to nothing but bones. Everyone who lived here is dead, he told the pixie. I thought perhaps the shredding plague had crossed the continent to find this place, and the villagers had no immunity to it whatsoever. But I suppose this explains it better.

Higher beings could sometimes force their way into existence on this plane. Megimon was clear on that much even if he didnt understand how the nothingness beyond the third world could spontaneously develop a will and become something more. The thought was too uncanny to ponder for long, even for a sorcerer.

Historically, a catastrophe was the result of such an intrusion into the first world. Beings like sylphs needed to consume vast amounts of life and magic to fully develop. Cities worth.

But thanks to the small size of this village, the general dearth of mana in the Erberen, and the absence of even any significant plant lifewell, this was a disaster that had died before it was born.

He heard Lutcha giggle, and he looked down to see the pixie prodding the dying boys chest. Some of his pathways have exploded. Magically, hes just goo inside. Actually, a few other important things inside him are goo, too. Thats a nasty toxin thats killing him. We should take a sample back with us. This would be useful even in our world.

I called you here to help me with the child, Lutcha. Not torment him and collect exotic poisons.

Youll be out of pain soon, said the death god. Lutcha will help you.

He wassmiling. It was a kind smile. He wasnt angry at Elph, then. That was good.

I didnt kill any of your children, Elph whispered to the lizard woman. Im sorry I took their tails, but I was careful not to kill them.

The small green god tilted her head, then shrugged. Thanks, I guess. Hey, is there anything you wish you could've change about your life?

M-my family. I wish I hadn't...I wish they were still...

Riiight, said the lizard god. But that ones pretty far out of reach. I meant more along the lines of: did you ever wish you were a red-head? Or that your front teeth were larger? Or that you were born a female human instead of a male one?

Lutcha, stop picking on the child, the god of death said, annoyance in his voice.

Elph didnt understand at all, but it was surely wrong not to answer the lizard woman in some way. Im a boy, he said. And I dont care much about my teeth.

The gods green face looked bored. That wasnt good. He couldnt risk angering such a being.

Fanna...my sister. She had curls. Nobody else in the village did. When we were younger, I was so jealous. Elph hoped that was interesting enough. He knew his mind wasn't working very well right now. His thoughts seemed slower and more scattered than they should have.

Her fingers patted his cheek. She wasn't treating him roughly, but the muscles of his face still spasmed. He whimpered.

We cant leave it any longer, said the god of death in a quiet voice. Hes suffered enough.

I agree. Green fingers drifted lower. Child who almost became a sylph, look me up if you ever ascend to the next world. Well get drunk together. Ill even buy the first round.

Then, with a terrible strength that made no sense given her size, the lizard god snapped Elphs neck.

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Megimon bellowed with shock. Lutcha! No!

What? said the pixie, frowning over her shoulder. Did you want me to do it some other way? A broken neck seemed efficient enough. And I even said kind things to him first.

The sorcerer stared at her, his arms hanging limply at his sides. I called you here to heal him, he said. But youyou justmurdered

The pixies mouth made a surprised O. Then she laughed. Wow! I just assumed you were too much of a tenderbelly to extract the soul yourself. I misread the situation.

Misread

She stood up and stretched her arms over her head. Next time Ill ask first. But really, if you want people to do something ridiculous and time consuming and probablyimpossible, you have to tell them, Megimon. How was I supposed to know you were in the mood for a miracle instead of the practical solution?

He was still gaping at her in horror.

"If you think about it in the right way, I didn't kill him. I'm just helping him acquire a brand new body, since he wasn't having fun with his old one." She clapped her hands together and beamed down at the dead boy. "Now suck out his soul, bottle it, and deliver it to your mad descendants."

She paused for a beat, then added, "And do remind the crypt guardians about the curly hair. His next life will probably be even shorter than this one, all things considered. He should at least get something pleasant out of it."