Three

Selia did not ask what he had done to her, or how he had made her change as well, for she already knew, they were connected. They had stepped fully into the mantle that they had carried for a long while. She felt some of the pieces of True Death conflicting with what she was, and yet, that conflict faded quickly as things fell into place.

After all, True Death could not exist if there was no Creation, no life to reach the end.

“We are not as we were before,” Ryun spoke, it was a statement, not a question. She answered it still. She had more time to get accustomed to this. His anger, his desire to hunt and kill the yeti had led him deeper into the parts of him that was the Reaper, that was the Violent Hunt manifested.

“No,” she sent to him slowly yet at the speed of thought. When they tapped into the power of the True Death before, when their aura’s touched they became a singular being, sharing a single mind and thoughts.

They could do that now as well, with no effort at all. She knew it, and he did as well. But neither of them made an effort to take that step and become one.

“Because we remember,” Selia said kindly.

Yes, because they remembered. Because they knew why they split apart in the first place, because they did not want to be lonely. Because they chose to be two, instead of one.

Selia was… She didn’t know what she was. She remembered being the Scythe, all the ages since the birth of another Universe, it was more than a dream, it was… well, memory.

She nearly lost herself in it when this change happened, she nearly became the old Scythe in truth, as Ryun had nearly become the old Reaper. Because the memories had a weight that her mind did not.

But Erdania was there, and her voice pulled Selia back, the same way that she had pulled Ryun back by reminding him of what they had. It was emotion, their care for one another that had anchored them to this moment in their memories, this time. This version of who they were, not the old ones.

She understood the need for change, for them to take action and become something different. The weight of the old Aspects of True Death was too much, they would not be able to always push it away, to keep their minds in the present. They needed something more, a new anchor. “I want—”

“Yes,” Ryun responded, understanding immediately what she wanted.

Their thoughts were still close to each other, and they both turned to Erdania, everything else forgotten. Ra’azel was important, but some things were more so.

Revenge.

It was what Ryun had cautioned Tali against, what had brought her down. He didn’t blame her for the actions of others, no. But now, even through his anger he understood that it gave those others the opportunity to act.

But revenge was poison, he knew it, it had broken too many things in his life. He would not be slave to it. To the need to make another hurt when someone he cared about was more important. Tali was safe, he had to hope that he had done all that he could’ve. Ra’azel would die, this place was not going to let him run free, even though the yeti in a stolen body turned and fled through the forest.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“It’s time, Erdania,” Selia said slowly as she looked at their partner, the third part of their world.

“Time for what? What happened to you two, what is this?” She asked. So many questions, the lack of understanding, but they could fix that with ease.

Both he and Selia reached to their Souls, that were at the moment permeated with the Essence of True Death. Selia raised her scythe and Ryun his claws, as they had done once, long ago when they had split themselves in half, they touched their Souls.

It was, in many ways similar to what they had learned to do with their Souls when making their spiritual tools, taking a piece of it and infusing it into an object.

They took a piece from each of them, a small piece, and offered it to their third. It was time for them to be together fully.

Erdania was confused, and she had to admit, a part of her was scared. Her questions weren’t being answered, and she didn’t quite know what was happening with Selia and Ryun.

They had changed into what she recognized from Ryun’s stories. The beings that had given him the essence of who they were. The mantle that both he and Selia had assumed. Reaper and Scythe, the Aspects of True Death.

She was afraid that they had lost themselves in whatever this was. But Selia’s words had alleviated some of her worries. Ryun on the other hand… Even without being able to sense him the same way that Selia could, she could tell that he struggled. That he was filled with anger. She had seen him in the form of a wolf before, though this one was slightly different, more real, not made out of Oblivion at least.

Still, she could see it in the way he was standing, how his eyes moved behind the white mask on his head. She cast a glance at Eratemus, or his body at least. She was pretty sure that the yeti had taken over his body. They had to deal with him, and quickly. So, when Selia told her that it was time, her confusion only grew.

And then they did something. Threads, white and black, rose from them and reached to touch her. Immediately she knew what the threads were, she knew them intimately. They were them, pieces of them, and she knew what they wanted to do.

For a moment she almost spoke out, told them that this wasn’t the time, that they had more important things to worry about. But inside, she was overjoyed. She accepted their gift with no questions.

Presence detected — Eternal Hunters: Aspects of True Death

Integrating…

Eternal Hunters: Aspects of True Death Essence integrated.

Unique Perk gained:

—Eternal Hunters: Heart

One moment she was alone in her mind, and then they were three.

Selia smiled as she felt Erdania inside of her mind. As she felt her love and knew that she felt hers and Ryun’s too. They had split a small piece of each of them, not enough to be a full third, no. They understood that to give her more would have to come with the memories, with the weight of their past. And that was not something they wanted to burden their love with.

No, instead they took enough that they would be connected, they gave her a piece of what allowed them to sense the coming of True Death, so that she may know their purpose. Not enough to change her Soul and turn her into something like them. No, she was her own person, she didn’t need the weight of the past. She was a new piece of True Death, being born in this time.

“This is…” Erdania’s voice filled both Selia’s and Ryun’s minds for the first time. “Oh, you do love me.”

It was nearly enough to break Selia’s heart, to hear her say that, as if she still had any doubt. But Selia knew how she had grown up, what had been done to her as a child. Selia understood.

She felt that there was a lot that they wanted to say to one another, to make known and experience, but there was no time. All three of them could feel something pressing on the edges of this domain, the manifestation of their Aspect in the Real world.

All three turned to look at the darkness in the forest, seeing through as if it wasn’t even there. Seeing him, Ra’azel, the one who had taken Tali, had caused Ryun’s great anger. Who had stolen a body of a friend and killed him forever. All three of them felt everything through their link, though Ryun and Selia took the brunt of it, they didn’t want to overwhelm Erdania. Still, his anger pulsed through their link, she had never felt him as angry as he was now.

Notifications were blazing in the corner of her eye, and she pushed them away, hiding them. Ra’azel was not an opponent to take lightly, even a moment of inaction could mean death.

They had assumed the full mantle of True Death, expanded it, but that did not make them more powerful. Their bodies were as powerful as their attributes made them, most of their power was suppressed, only what was tied to True Death was available to them. In this place, they enjoyed more power, true. But they lacked so much.

It would have to be enough.