Crème POV:
“Crème! Crème!” I hear my Uncle and Karan grieving while calling my name, it’s been a while since I’ve been just laying down and listening to them but I don’t know the reason why they’re grieving so much. I slowly opened my eyes and moved my hands only to feel the sands around me, I got up and saw Death’s memoir right next to me. I had no clue where I am so I look up to the dim sky and there was some clouds and light but no sun in sight.
I aimlessly wonder around the dessert and saw behemoths, humungous dark grey skin monsters similar to elephants only with bigger tusks. They walk to the south with their face covered in black clothes and with chains on their necks. I followed them and after a while, I saw other smaller beings like ogres, goblins, fishmen, humans and many more walking towards the same direction. I carefully look at them and saw that their pupils were lifeless and they don’t show a hint of emotion, the only thing they did was blindly walk towards the south.
We kept walking until we got closer to the giant portal radiating with white light, the behemoths pause and one by one everyone around me goes to the light. My head feels fuzzy as I got closer, my body felt light it was as if I was walking underwater. After getting close enough, I saw guardians wearing black robes escorting the emotionless beings into the light.

I was hypnotized by the light but I came back to my senses when I heard a scared voice in front of the crowd, “No! No! Please let me go into the light! It wasn’t fault and I only performed the arts of the dead.” He begs the tall guardians while on his knees but they didn’t budge even with all his crying. He immediately tries to run towards the portal but before he could take one more step, he was spilt opened by a huge cleaver.
I walk calmly but deep inside I panic as I get closer to the portal. There was no way I could outrun them and even if I did where would I go? I could try to dodge and go to the portal but there’s a lot of them and I don’t even know where that portal leads to. I kept overthinking of what I need to do but eventually I found myself standing in front of the tall guardian. Upon closer look, I can see he’s a pale undead warrior and inside the hood I can see his white eyes covered in scars. He’s blind but he carefully looks at me, observing what I am.
He comes closer around me but as soon as he got close to the book he stopped, he walks away and two other guardians escort me somewhere else. They are a different race from the undead human but they’re also pale, one is a girl with scarlet hair and all black eyes and the other is an elf man with white hair. We walked towards an area of ruins and dark grey stones can be seen scattered everywhere.
As we went deeper in the ruins, the stones are piled up and a throne can be seen in the middle. The woman sits there her jet black hair, her pale skin, and blacked irises, after looking for a while I realized who it was. “Death.” I opened the book just to confirm it but she really is the one.
Authors POV:
The woman speaks with her cold lifeless voice, “You who’ve seen my story must know who I am, tell me my chosen candidate who do you think I am.”
She looks down at Crème and he falls to his knees and bows “You are death, the one who guides souls in the sands of time. Many legends and stories we’re told but your true nature is the end of all that’s living.”
Crème still bows at the sight of death not because he was scared but because death is one of the most ancient and powerful being to ever exist. Crème only thought that death’s memoir was just an exaggerated tale, but if she really does exist then she is comparable to the powers of heaven and hell.
Ms. Death stands and goes walks down from her throne and all the undead bow down, “You were betrayed by the one you love the most and now you are here wondering as lose everything, tell me why you don’t harbor any hatred from your heart?”
Crème stands up as Ms. Death stood in front of him, “I lived my life reading stories, I lived my life to the fullest and although I regret dying, I knew death was always around the corner in the world of the mystic. My death was a mercy from the one I loved, I wouldn’t choose any other better way to die even if I was given a choice.”
Ms. Death’s eyes became sad as she hear his answer, “What a pity child, your fate is far worse than I. You have been chosen as my servant, but I give you a choice: Die as you are now and reincarnate to another life or live as my servant and face your wretched fate.”
Crème thinks about it for a while but he asks Ms. Death, “Before I give my answer, why have you chosen me and why do you need such a feeble human to be your destined servant.”
The clouds gather and the sky darkens and Ms. Death walks away but Crème follows her. Death shows a nest made of stone with a shard of darkness floating in the center, before he could ask, she says, “I performed two miracles that surprised the gods, one was I brought fourth death and the other was I brought fourth life. Out sheer loneliness, I yearned every day to have someone beside me, someone like me so that I won’t be alone. The gods are created by the universe and the universe is the one who gives us our blessings, but I, a god who wished every day, created another god.”
Crème expression darkens as he deeply imagines what has happened, Ms. Death continues with black tears falling down her eyes “I was overjoyed to not only be alone but to bear a daughter that I would raise as my own, I guarded and nourished the giant black crystal and waited for her to be born. I was joyful and eager to see her but one day the gods came asking for help, the lost souls run rampant and with no one to guide them I couldn’t help but bear responsibility. I left for a day to guide them all but when I came back the crystal was torn into pieces.”
Crème’s expression changes into rage as he hear her story, “I was furious and heartbroken, I immediately went to the city of gods asking what they have done. They reason that they we’re scared of another version of me being born but I could see the greed in their eyes, they hold the shards of darkness in amazement of my power. I couldn’t bear it any longer so killed anyone I could reach, I laid waste to the city of gods trying to collect the shattered pieces but the power in the shards was used to drive me out.”
She continues in regret, “Half my power was used to nourish the crystal and the other was used to guide the dead, although I killed some of them, the city of the most powerful beings combined their power against me. The banned me from earthly plane and into the sands of time, forced to guide the souls for an eternity.”
“I don’t want to worsen your fate since if you become my servant you’ll be going against the gods, but I give you the chance to choose for yourself: Follow the will of someone else and face the almighty gods or rest peacefully and be reincarnated again.” Death says as she touches the stone nest of the crystal.
After he heard the tale of Ms. Death’s daughter, he calmly says “You haven't answered my question but you don't need to. I will collect the shards and I will deliver long awaited revenge but I only ask you to swear to me. Swear that what you say is true and that this is no underhanded contract of the devil.” Blood drips down as Crème clenches his fists and hold his rage.
“I swear to you mortal I did not lie or use your emotions to trick you. The answer you seek will eventually fall into your hands.” Ms. Death bites her thumb and uses the blood to form a cross in Crème’s palm. Ms. Death continues “The universe is fair and balanced, it requires an equivalent exchange of sacrifice for gain. I can give you an undying body, but in turn you shall sacrifice your name. A name holds immense value to the eyes of the universe, sacrificing it means everybody forgets your name but they can still remember who you are.”
Crème smiles and says “No, my name is the only thing I was given so I cannot give it away. No matter you offer in exchange of my name is unacceptable, instead I would offer you my soul for the price of an undying body.”
Ms. Death was surprised since it’s the first time she witnessed a mortal willing to trade his soul just to keep his name. “Very well then.” She raises her hands and waves them in a ritualistic manner, she starts chanting in an ancient language no human has ever heard. The sky clears up revealing hundreds of stars in the night, Crème’s shadow get sucked up into the night and he evolves. A soul is much heavier than a name so instead of turning into an undead, he turns into an evolved human with immortality.
It was thought that humans of the past were but mere uncivilized barbarians, however in truth, there exist a lost genealogy of perfect humans who roamed the earth. Crème was still the same except his skin is clear of blemishes and acne, his height changed, his eye sight became clearer, and he could feel the full control over his body. “You are now a servant of death, all undead beings will recognize you as my own. Hold onto my book, it is your guide and your ticket to come to me.”
As Ms. Death prepares the ritual to send Crème back, she says “Before I bring you back to the land of the living, you must know the price that you have yet to pay. You now have the power to heal yourself but if you die completely, you end up here in the sands of time. You will still be brought back to the living but it comes with a cost of your memories. The more you die the more you forget so I urge you to be careful.”
Crème POV:
I couldn’t see anything other than pitch black darkness, I wriggle around and felt something smooth like glass around me, and I moved to feel the surroundings. It was like I was inside a tall human sized jar, I lean on the back glass and jumped into the front trying to smash it. I kept moving back and punching it, after the while it finally cracked and water spilled everywhere along with the glass.
Someone flipped the switch opening the lights and I realized that I was in my uncle’s workshop. I look at the doorway and- “AH!”