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I think this is going to be Chapter 4, but I think adjustments need to be made. Heavy adjustments. >.>; Uy. Enjoy, if you can stomach it.
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“Hold still and make sure you stay in that position. I’ve only seen this done once.”

“Oh, isn’t that comforting.” Anthony rolled his eyes as he sat on his knees in front of her, his arms fully extended from his shoulders, his flat palms facing down, straight as a steel beam down to his fingertips.

“Ooh, you hush.” She snorted again and continued to instruct, her face coming ever closer to his, “Lift your head a bit more-oh! Right, we need to make eye contact. That’s important.”

“Um…” Anthony blinked several times as he held his sights on her unnatural navy blue eyes.

“What? You having second thoughts?” she straightened herself and held the overgrown scythe by both handles on opposite sides of the
pole, ready to create a portal.

“No, no, it’s not that. Don’t you have to tell the others about this? Wouldn’t they find out at some point?”

“We don’t meet much. It may be several mortal decades before they find us and by that time, you will have too much knowledge and experience for them to exclude you from becoming part of the circle. Hopefully, by then, you will have proven yourself that you are more than capable of guiding.”

“Fair enough. Now what? Do I have to roll over or something stupid like that?”

“I’m not saying you can’t. But if you do, you have to get back in position really quick. Come on now, eye contact. We are to make an oath.”

“An oath?”

“I told you, once you commit, there’s no going back. We shall begin as soon as I tap my scythe to the ground.”

“Will this… hurt?”

“I don’t know whether it will hurt you or not.”

“What about yourself?”

She answered after a moment of silence as her eyes expressed sincerity.

“I wouldn’t worry about me too much right now, Anthony.” She cracked a small smile before resuming a blank face, their eyes still on each
other.

The way she said his name felt to him as though she was saying a final goodbye, sad, but determined to go forward to the point of no return.

Before he could say anything more, the scythe tapped the concrete and the surface started to glow a shimmering gray-white and Alcyone began the ritual, her black robes enveloping her like smoke, her hood positioning itself upon her head, shading her face to where he could only tell one difference between her and the Death which had cast him to Hell – the Death he loathed and feared: Those navy blue eyes, though hard to detect, still shone bright enough for him to keep staring into.

Alcyone’s voice echoed through a barren atmosphere, “Antony, child of earth, now relinquished to the plane where no man thrives. Do you desire to deviate from the path of soul to seize the vocation of the Reaper? Speak now, or else turn away from me and accept your fate in the Beyond.”

“It is my desire to become a Reaper,” he stated boldly, making sure he was heard.

“Will you uphold the responsibilities of a Reaper and practice them as your predecessor commands you to?”

“I will.”

“Do you swear to never abuse your powers to cause harm to anyone or to use them for self-indulgences?”

Anthony answered without hesitation, “I swear.”

He saw her eyes spark and felt as though a thin, invisible cord was draped loosely around his body, winding around his arms, neck and waist, “Then, as a confirmation of your new existence, you shall receive all the knowledge and power that I also possess, knowing that you have declared your promise aloud in my presence. Stay still, we have not yet finished the process.”

“How am I to receive these powers?” Anthony cocked his head slightly, unsure of what she meant by ‘process’.

“How else but by word of mouth? Keep your eyes on me and open your mouth.” Alcyone slowly stepped closer and kneeled in front of him.

“What are you-?” he whispered when Alcyone cut him off.

“Hush and don’t move until the ground returns to its normal color.” She
ordered in a soft voice with difficulty; her face looked sickly pale, reminiscent of an ill patient struggling against a lethal virus or infection.

Before Anthony could respond, Alcyone put her lips lightly against his, leaving their mouths wide open as a bright light slowly floated from her maw to his, their eyes so close to each other that he could almost see flecks of sky blue underneath the navy exterior.

The small, weightless beacon dissipated down his throat and Alcyone lifted her head away, tearing her eyes from his, only to fall to her side like a limp ragdoll as Anthony left his mouth agape from worry and confusion.

Anthony wanted to catch her, but feared any corruption to the ritual would severely ruin his only chance to survive as he sensed that thin string tighten as it dug into his spirit, tugging at his very core, the feeling more like a dull irritation than debilitating pain, before the tense thread glowed as the contraction increased, looking like a small stream of light surrounding him, then disappearing completely.

The constriction subsided at once and Anthony wanted desperately wanted to relax his arms as a result, but noticed a faint tautness where his heart would have been. The binding now resided inside him, a Gordian knot tightened inside his chest cavity to a strong enough degree that would knock the wind out of a living person.

‘What just happened? Alcyone? What’s going on? Why isn’t the floor done glowing? Is she okay? What if something got messed up? If I move, will I make it worse? Dammit, why didn’t she tell me she was going to do this?’

She struggled to raise her head as the glowing faded, returning the floor to its natural gray, letting Anthony scramble to her side and raised her with difficulty, letting his weakened arms cradle her upper body.

He called her name several times each time with harried breath, each time louder and faster than the previous, until she squinted and cracked her eyes open.

“I didn’t see that coming,” she mumbled, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but I’m more worried about you! What the hell were you trying to pull?” he shook her lightly, and tried to scold her with his voice, cracked and hoarse. He tried swallowing, but couldn’t feel anything go down to soothe his throat.

She ignored his statement and asked, “Did you remember to stay still until the lights were gone?”

“Yes, but you never explained why I shouldn’t have moved! You never explained what would happen to you or me, you-!”

“Ah, good. I’m not sure what would have happened if you did. Not sure what came over me just now, either. I hope that didn’t mess anything up... As for your remarks, I can’t explain much, because experiments can be so dangerous to both you and me. So, I can only tell you so much since the risk is too great to find an answer. The rest… Well, we’ll figure out some way or another.” She lifted herself to her feet, depending heavily on her scythe, and, in turn, offered Anthony up, which he gratefully accepted and dusted himself off, noticing he was beginning to lose his wispy form, turning into a more skin-toned, corporeal shape.

“So… Now, what?” Anthony remarked at the new pigments appearing in his hands.

“Well, that depends. Do you feel any different?”

“Not drastically different, I’m just starting to look less like a specter. You?”

“No more than usual. I mean, I’m only a fragment of Death. I just broke off a tiny piece of him to give to you,” she shrugged and continued, frequently eyeing the scythe’s blade.

“But, I have to ask you something: Do you thinking taking this road is
any better than going to Beyond? I mean, I saved your life, but was it really worth saving you when you’ll be working as a Reaper? For some, it’s almost enslavement. Or an indefinitely extended period of community service. What gave you the idea to choose this existence?”

Anthony opened his mouth to respond, but realized that he had no initial response.

He turned away from Alcyone to think for a little while before answering slowly, picking his answer word for word, “Well, I think it’s a mix of ideas. Initially, I knew I was going to Hell if I went Beyond, and I- I don’t think I can muster up a way to tell you why.”

Inside, he thought, ‘Who knows what you could do to me if you found out. I don’t mean to prey on this opportunity, but if I didn’t go into Hell in the first place, this would never have happened.’

“Secondly, I didn’t want to just dissipate into thin air, or be eaten by anything. I realize that the life I had lived—”

His thoughts interrupted for a split second, ‘Or both lives, for that matter.’

“I felt like it was such a waste. Like I hadn’t accomplished anything significant except for getting to graduate from an institution that really didn’t teach me anything. La-dee-da.” He rolled his eyes upward and shrugged his shoulders uncaringly.

‘I was lucky to accomplish that much. My damned health problems nearly took that away from me.’

“I also… wanted to know more, I guess.”

“Know more about what?” Alcyone leaned on her scythe and slowly seated herself on the ledge, looking into his brown eyes, now rich and full and, Alcyone noted, almost uncharacteristically gentle.

“About you,” he corrected himself from speaking his thoughts, “I mean, as a Reaper. Being a Reaper, having all these opportunities and… and knowledge of the world! History, physics, all types of philosophy! Think of it, if you were in one interview with anyone, they would have so many questions about life and death, what happened in history and what might happen in the future-!”

“Woah, wha-? Wait-Ha-hang on a minute!” she interrupted him, her hands gesturing dismissal, “You have a very helter-skelter impression about us, I’ve no doubt about that now. It’s as if you’re a conductor of
a train who is trying to make the train fly.”

She then flew off into an improvised monologue, acting more like the conductor was a mad scientist, “Quick, more coal! Stoke the fire! I want to see if I can pull her up!”

Anthony couldn’t help but chuckle, but explained, “I’m serious! If you took one hour to talk with the living, they would learn so many more things about what determines their fate! You said yourself that you don’t decide the fate of souls; instead it’s the actions and consequences of each person’s life! If at least one person listened-!”

“And who on earth would want to listen and comprehend what I or the other Reapers say? Who on this earth would actually believe us? Would they even bother to think that we are actually Reapers that just happen to be in human form? Of course not!” she explained with a sigh, “They would dismiss us as foolish pranksters or lunatics, heathens, non-believers and skeptics of their Gods! The ideas that I express are difficult enough for you to grasp and since I don’t know where you go, I can’t possibly know what determines your fate! I just do an excessive amount of guesswork!

"But you are able to believe because you are in front of me, thus proving to you my existence as a Reaper, and you are willing to listen with an open mind to my ramblings, thus telling me you were obviously a desperate man for doing so. You have the mentality of a human, looking out for yourself and your interests and ideals, whether they are true or false or otherwise!” she took a breath to continue, “But it’s the least I can expect from anyone who has lived long enough to learn that, in the living world, material matters trump all other matters.”

She pointed to the ground below, “Bread and money don’t belong in this world, though, and you’re learning to adjust to that. Or you will soon enough.”

Anthony’s complete attention was on her, trying to comprehend what was going on and noting how she connected each transition of thought.

“So, Beyond…”

“I know nothing, I just infer.”

“Huh…”

“I know, right? Welcome to No Man’s Land.”
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Yup, that's it for now! Time to put in the middle stuff... ^^;