Adam took in a long, slow, breath of pristine ARS air as he sat looking at the sun setting on the horizon. There was a choice to be made, one he thought to be decided at this point, but as it turned out that decision proved more difficult than he originally believed.

A full third of his life was spent in service to the United States Army. As things stood he might very well end it all as captain up for promotion to major, or worse be considered a traitor.

Life as an officer was different than that of an enlisted soldier. He was pretty much guaranteed a job until he did something terrible, or was passed over for promotion to the higher commissioned ranks.

Until now there was no doubt in his mind that he would make it to a position of leadership at least as high as that of a major or lieutenant colonel. His record was spotless, and his career highlights exemplary. The army was the only life he knew, and he lived for it.

Adam closed his eyes and placed his palm against his head. "Is it right? Should I throw all of that away for a fantasy? Haven't I already done that?"

Who was he? Was he an officer in the United States Army, or was he a priest of a god he never knew existed until recently?

In a moment of moral outrage, he'd chosen to be an American over being an officer. The idea of taking a man into custody, imprisoning him, when he'd granted humanity a chance to drastically increase their lot in life was wrong. More to the point, any attempt to detain him was ridiculous. The blue-haired lieutenant was a walking war zone in his own right, and he was engaged to a woman who might as well be an actual goddess whether she claimed it or not.

He took another deep breath as the sun dipped low over the horizon. "I can't let it end like this... I have to speak my peace, and resign my commission officially."

In truth, he'd misspoken during his last meeting with the commanding idiot who took over the operation. His retirement from the army hinged on his promotion to major. He did not get picked up below-the-zone, but there was little doubt that he would have gotten it this time. The fact that he was part of a major secret project that allowed for the creation of real-life super soldiers made his promotion almost a given.

If he did not get that promotion, he did intend to leave Earth behind after his retirement. It would have been a sign that it was time to move on. Now that was all wrecked because of one ridiculous fool.

Adam snorted loudly, "How can a man that blind be a high ranking officer? Who promoted that idiot?"

He stood up as the sky began to darken. "AWOL, desertion, dereliction of duty, all manner of disrespect to a senior officer and other types of conduct unbecoming of an officer of the United States Army..."

A slight laugh escaped his lips. "Talk about burning bridges..."

In truth, there were many times during his career that Adam wished to tell some pompous senior officer that he was an idiot. The majority of people in higher ranks whom he'd met were all hard-working and knew their jobs well, true professionals. Yet, there would always be one who seemed to be born to receive his scorn.

"Time to go fill out some paperwork and see what happens, next," said Adam. A few seconds later, he disappeared from ARS and reappeared in the conference room that he'd been in several days earlier.

Not a sound was heard. No, not so much as a whisper. He left the room and headed down into the hall. Suspicious at the lack of noise, or personnel, he poked his head into every office. Not only could he find no signs of life, everything seemed perfectly clean and orderly.

It was not until he arrived at his old office that he found signs of life, a particularly noteworthy one. A man in jet black robes sat at his old desk in perfect silence. "Who might you be—" asked Adam curiously just before baleful eyes rose up to meet his own. Black like the burnt remnants of a lost dream, those eyes held the promise of death and endless torment.

Adam's words froze in his throat even as his heart began to hammer in his chest. Nothing could be seen of the man's face save for those eyes, for he wore a hood that cloaked his features in impenetrable shadow.

"Who am I?" asked the man, his voice deep like the grave of a soldier laid to rest. "Mortal, a better question. Who might you be?"

Those eyes seemed to penetrate deeply into the core of Adam's being. In that briefest of moments he knew the terror of a small brown mouse when faced with a hunting serpent, or of the exhausted deer chased by a pack of snarling wolves.

Quiet, naught but silence reigned in that room for a moment while Adam underwent his existential crises. Who was he in the face of such a creature? He knew by some long hidden instinct that whatever sat in his chair was no man, it was something far beyond his ability to properly fathom.

His mouth went dry. His eyes nearly rolled back in their sockets. However, before he gave in completely to the raw panic that welled up inside of him he found just enough strength and courage to speak. "Captain Adam Johnson—" he said with conviction. His strength waned greatly after that and he was unable to finish what he wished to say. In that moment, he was not even certain that he knew what he would have said anyway.

Eyes darker than the soul of a politician bore down on him for a moment, but then inexplicably they began to lighten. Soon they shifted into a far more normal color, tone, and appearance a vibrant green color.

The man in the chair reached up and removed his hood, an act that revealed his far more human features. Though he was a bit pale, he was clearly handsome in a way that would have made him the darling of any Hollywood studio. Instead of the piercing intensity of his former gaze, the formerly sinister specter now wore a gentle expression and a mildly amused smile.

"See, was that so hard?" asked the man. "One should always introduce himself, before he asks another for their name. Is that not the case?"

The baleful, soul-piercing, eyes no longer in play, Adam found that strength returned to his body quickly. He could even speak normally. "I. Yes. That is only proper, mister... Ah?"

The dark clad man leapt up from his seat and elegantly hopped over the table. Adam took an involuntary step back, but stopped his reverse momentum when the strange man raised his hand up. "There's no need for the mister, bit. You may call me, Silence."

"Silence?" asked Adam, his hand rising up in preparation to clasp the gloved hand of his new acquaintance. "That's an interesting name."

Silence did not move his hand in the slightest, he waited patiently for Adam to take it. "It's a name as well as a title, I suppose."

"Is that so-- *urk!*" said Adam, his words cutting off the moment he clasped Silence's hand. The involuntary noise he made was the sound of the air rushing from his lungs as his heart seized up and refused to start again. Adam collapsed to the floor, the light dying in his eyes.

Silence sighed lightly and held the man's hand for a few seconds. Soon, a softly glowing mass of energy rose up from his body. That energy took on a vaguely Adam-shaped appearance for the briefest of moments before Silence squeezed his hand then reached over and slapped the glowing Adam-fog. "We'll have none of that."

The air made a shrill noise, almost like a dog yelping, and the fog rapidly retreated back into the corpse of the good captain. Adam's heart began to beat once more and he bolted upright. He rapidly panted for air even as he looked around in wild-eyed and disoriented.

It did not take long for him to realize that something floated before him other than the pale man's smile. It was a message screen not unlike the ones that he saw on ARS.

[Urgent System Message!]

You have been afflicted with a dread divine curse, Rebuke of Silence.

Death himself has rebuked you. Now his shadow shall linger upon you for all of your days upon this world.

- You have been cursed with true immortality. So long as the shadow of death hangs over you, you will not be allowed to die and pass from this world into the realm beyond or reincarnate into a new life.

[--]

"What? What is this?" asked Adam slowly, his voice slightly slurred.

"Ah. It's no big deal, really. I simply laid my hand upon you and made you an immortal being," said Silence.

"For a time," he amended after a brief second.

"You what?" asked Adam incredulously. He scooted away from the man, his eyes wide and fearful in a way that he had never before experienced in his life. "How? What?"

Silence chuckled softly. "Ah, that mortal wit. I do love it, so."

The god of the end offered a warm smiled to the man, despite his cool features. "You have unfinished business in this world, but made it clear that you do intend to leave it for ARS. Correct?"

"ARS?" asked Adam. He blinked rapidly then shook his head. "Of course, ARS!"

"Seems you figured something out there, fella," said Silence in a light tone of voice.

"Ah, yes. I wanted to immigrate to ARS, I guess you would say, but I did not like the way things ended here," said Adam.

"Sounds about right," said Silence. "Something about some idiot officer who did not understand that his opinions were not more important than facts?"

"Something like that," said Adam. He rose to his feet. "I'm surprised anyone from ARS came here like this, though..."

"Ah, that." Silence waved his hand lightly in front of him. "Blizrum was worried about you. He sent a request up to my sister seeking that she look into the matter since he has no authority outside of our servers."

Silence tilted his head then offered his hand to the man once more. "She had a lot going on and I offered to help out."

"Your... sister?" asked Adam. He glanced down at the hand extended out toward him, but hesitated to take it.

"Ah, yes. She of many names. You might know her as Origin, goddess of love and reincarnation. Or maybe as Rhea?" asked Silence. "I am Silence, god of the end. I am death and the transition between one life and the next."

"You... are death?" asked Adam, his eyes widening once more.

"Only during work hours," replied Silence in a friendly tone. "The rest of the time, I mostly just do normal people things."

"Normal, people things?" asked Adam. He was still more than a little bewildered by the situation.

Silence shrugged, "Even gods need to have 'me' time you know."

Adam nodded slowly. That probably made sense. Maybe.