“And I, you, teacher,” Ren-Shai said with a smile of his own. Since he couldn’t see the future in his weakened, young body, the twist surprised him enough to get Ms. Fiddler a slow clap. Much to the other classmates laughing at him.

“Any reason for the applause?” Ms. Fiddler asked as she raised her right eyebrow.

“Just congratulating you… you may be even more annoying than the Crows,” Ren-Shai commented, laughing as well.

“Man… he must really hate birds,” one of his classmates whispered.

“Mr. Ray, please go stand in the corner until the bell rings. I’m sure you know everything I’m going to be teaching today anyway, yes?” she asked. [You anomaly in a boy’s body.] the sinister, hidden voice that only Ren-Shai could hear spoke.

“Absolutely. I’m quite sure I’ve mastered the concepts of English from when it began as a Germanic language and was refined through Shakespeare,” he replied. “Death, why ignore a fate that comes for thee?” he asked, winking at Ms. Fiddler. “Lan-Shai will be curious as to wh-”

“Don’t. Say that name,” Ms. Fiddler snarled, forgetting to speak in the god’s language. “It’s forbidden and you know it,” she growled.

“Saying the name of my brother shouldn’t be forbidden to me,” Ren-Shai responded.

“... All of you, turn to the pages on the board. Mr. Ray, come with me in the hall,” Ms. Fiddler said.

“Of course, Ms. Fiddler,” Ren-Shai replied as he strode to the door and out of it. After him, Ms. Fiddler stepped into the hall and glanced left and right, clenching her knuckles so tightly, her illusions’ hands were white. The real view was a skeleton that had no expressive face somehow managed to look angry. It reached down to grab Ren-Shai, lift him, and pin him against the wall.

[Where did you learn that name, anomaly?! Are you courting him to come and destroy us? The greater deities are aware when their names are spoken!] the skeleton roared.

“Why would I be afraid of my own brother, lesser god?” Ren-Shai asked, staring flatly at the skeleton. “I came to experience what would make mortals strive so hard against our designs. Instead, my essence was too powerful for a mortal coil. So, while I can experience things as a human, I retain some of my powers,” Ren-Shai said. “If you kill this form, I swear to you on my name of Ren-Shai, I will obliterate you and the entire mechanism of death for this existence and my brothers and I will craft a new one,” he growled. Agitation was still new to him, but having his lessers threatening him was an indignation.

Very few things could make the Grim Reaper itself feel fear. When the anomaly swore on the name of the greater gods - that was not something a lesser could do. That either meant a lesser god bred with a human and the halfbreed could lie - which would get both executed - like what happened with Zeus - or the being was who it said it was. [Show me your fate thread.] it said, activating its own inhuman senses.

Ren-Shai sighed at that, activating his inner essence. Only something that could view other dimensions would see what was to be revealed. The Reaper released him… and fell to its butt. [Y-You hold them. Y-You hold mine. Y-You are them… Y-you are me.] it said, cowering.

“Remove that curse from that girl or there will be hell to pay,” Ren-Shai said, his eyes narrowing on the humbled lesser.

[W-We can’t. To change the thread of a golden-fated mortal was difficult. To change it back after all was set in motion… is impossible. N-Not for you, but… you said you limited your powers. I’m truly sorry, my lord.] the Reaper replied.

“It is fine, I suppose. You were trying to protect the natural order as you were created to do. Normally, I would have just turned you to dust or had my brothers do it, and made something new to do your job. My time among the humans has… shown me quite a bit,” Ren-Shai said, scratching his chin. “The father and mother of this body truly care for their offspring with no shame or reserve. Tyler Ray’s father has taught me much about compassion. In a way, I suppose, my brothers and I have neglected the lot of you and left you rudderless,” Ren-Shai said. “It is our mistake. When this life is over, I will take a more active role here. You are my and my brother’s child - our creation of our will,” Ren-Shai said. “How could we expect you to be the best you can be if we never stayed to show you?” he asked.

Very few things could make a lesser god cry. Much less the Grim Reaper. Most of the lesser gods had felt abandoned, despite being proud of the roles they were given. What Ren-Shai had said was something that, at their core, they had always wished to happen. The recognition of their fathers - their creators. The Grim Reaper waved its hand, temporarily freezing time, so it could weep in peace. Millions, no billions of years… and it was being recognized by its father. While others would have seen Ms. Fiddler weeping regular tears, Ren-Shai saw black beads running down the skeleton’s eye sockets. Just like he had begun to feel compassion for his family before, he felt it for the broken being before him. The Reaper buried its face into the chest of a five year old human’s body that day as a single arm wrapped around its head, holding it in the frozen space of time. For a brief moment, Ren-Shai let his true appearance eclipse his form - albeit a small illusion of his real self, so the Reaper could truly know it was him.

“I am sorry… I have seen how much abandonment hurts humans. The fact you all live with them and have learned from them meant you would have felt it, too, I hadn’t considered your feelings,” Ren-Shai said. “You have my word, when this mortal shell ends… I will take my lessons and become a better creator,” he commented. The truth was, he wasn’t sure how big of a role feelings played in those kinds of things for lesser gods, but when he saw them showing the emotions humans had, combined with his experiences, he had slowly begun to understand the position.

[I will… tell my Crows to stop bothering you. I apologize, my lord.] the Reaper said. [I cannot enter the realms of the other lessers to tell them, so, I suggest being careful. They may try to end your journey early before you have found what you wanted from experiencing a mortal shell.] the Reaper said.

“Let them come,” Ren-Shai replied. “And you may stay as a teacher, it would look suspicious if you disappeared right after this chat with me. You can unfreeze time when you’ve cleaned up a bit,” Ren-Shai explained. “I will remain here with the punishment you assigned,” he said.

[I will.] the Reaper said, wiping its face as it stopped its tears from flowing. Ms. Fiddler then strode back into class after time had resumed. “Apologies, students, he was just bringing up something too advanced for you all right now,” she said with a small smile. Despite everything, she seemed much happier. Class went on until the bell rang for recess. Ren-Shai strode out to the playground, walking to the jungle gym that Tyler had been hurt at - the school left the playground open on the weekends for the students. Ren-Shai looked at where his body’s memory felt his hand slip and where his skull hit the ground, causing Tyler’s death. A new experience struck him - from the reaction of his body. Ren-Shai felt Tyler’s fear much more acutely through the electricity coursing through his form.

“That’s what it was like, eh, child?” Ren-Shai asked, setting his hands in his pockets. “The joy that you did it, the fear when you saw the ground coming for you?” he asked, closing his eyes. He was actually talking to Tyler - since, though Tyler’s soul was in the afterlife, Ren-Shai had used his thread to come to Earth. “Don’t worry, kid. I will watch over your little sister… I know how much you miss her,” Ren-Shai said. “I always pay my debts.”

“Who are you talking to?” a familiar voice said.

“Someone who gave me an extraordinary chance, Anna,” Ren-Shai said. “Who I will move the heavens and earth for for what he’s entrusting to me. I think I realize how precious life is to your kind and understand your desire to protect it,” Ren-Shai commented as he shifted his hands out of his pockets to rest his thumbs in them.

“... Heroes don’t use all those big words, I don’t know what you just said,” Anna said.

“As I said before, one day, you will. I promise you, you will,” Ren-Shai said, glancing over at Tyler’s former friends on the sidewalk playing hopscotch. He noticed Anna looking over at them, almost longingly.

“Did you want to go play with them? I’ll lend you a shoulder,” he offered. She was still his responsibility, after all.

“Uh, no. I, uh, want to talk to you. You tell all these great stories,” she said, huffing as she did her best to not look over at the other kids playing.

“Are you sure? I’m going to climb the jungle gym. A friend of mine wanted to see what it was like on top of it,” Ren-Shai said. “If you want me to carry you up, I can,” he offered.

“Uh,” Anna said, looking up at the top of the jungle gym. “Can you?” she asked.

“You said I’m a superhero, right?” Ren-Shai asked, offering her his left hand.

“Uh, sure! I… uh… didn’t want to play anyway,” Anna said, nervously smiling as she took his hand and ended up on his back. With strength a five year old should never have had, he scaled the jungle gym effortlessly, before sitting on the top with one arm around Anna to keep her from falling. When he looked over at his responsibility, for a brief moment, Ren-Shai did something he didn’t expect. He smiled. The light in Anna’s eyes and the joy on her face was almost infectious - like she had done something she never thought she’d ever do again. Ren-Shai made a promise in his heart. That if he was responsible for her pain, he would, in part, be responsible for her happiness - it was the least he owed her.