Prologue: The Last Story...

  The warmth of fire combats the cold of Winter's night...

  Out in a nameless village hidden in a mountain valley...

  A frail, dying man shares the last story of his life...

  "Come, children. Come gather round the campfire..."

  An elderly man in his final years hurriedly rallies a group of kids closer to the warm, roaring campfire crackling between him and them. His sunken eyes see past shaggy strands of hair, maintaining a tempered and stalwart joy for life reflected toward the youths rushing to listen to another one of his stories. A smile creases his tired features, his stained teeth flashing beyond a thick mess of a white beard masking the entirety of his lower face. He waits until the children are all nice and settled with him beneath the luminous light of the full moon high in the cloudy night sky above them. Snow starts to fall when he starts his final story...

  "I want to share with you an old story; it's a story that you'll only hear once and one many are too scared to tell," he starts speaking, his words as gently delivered as the soft-spoken yet tempered tone of his voice; he's mastered his storytelling over years of practice. All of the children's eyes quickly fixate on his form, all shades and colors focused on the one man indulging their minds with another cryptic tale. The elder pauses, overthinking his next words until deciding he's already out of time. He needs to tell this tale. She needs to hear something he's kept hidden all her life to protect her.

  "A tale about those that once acted as the Shadow of the Death God himself; the Reapers of Thanatos," he titles them, instantly noticing the looks of intrigue and uncertainty amidst the watching children, especially one of them. The kids didn't know what a Reaper was, but they still attentively listened. The elder continues, his voice almost nostalgic with every spoken word. But there's another emotion amidst that sea of nostalgia. It's an emotion even Gods possess...

  Fear...

  "They were Remnants gifted with the power to slay even the Greater Gods themselves. And as Remnants blessed by the most powerful deity, Thanatos..." he pauses to let the children try comprehending the scope of what he's saying; they never truly do. He knows this and is saddened by it, but still tells his story. He finds comfort in their attention all the same. A captivated audience isn't something many can say they created.

  "They acted as a balancing force: reaping and weighing Life into Death at their Deity's discretion. Thus, naturally, over time, these Reapers became feared by everything and everyone else..." The elder's words fall solemn, almost as if he hurts saying this, but he keeps going. For a silent story is a story never told. "And thus, the Reapers were driven to extinction by the very Life that they swore an oath to Death itself to protect..." he falls quiet again, intentionally leaving his cryptic delivery to float in the minds of the ignorant children attentively listening to him. What could such a contradictory, rubbish statement mean to them? Maybe they'll find out, maybe they won't. The man can only do his part and keep going...

  Not much time left; he should wrap his tale up...

  The kids should be put to bed before his journey ends...

  "But..." the man suddenly coughs, bringing an old and weary-looking hand to his mouth, hiding the blood and mucous from the kids. He wipes it away on the underside of the log he's sitting on, out of sight and out of mind. The kids suspected nothing. He continues his tale. "Every action warrants a reaction, and those that rebelled against the Reapers of Thanatos now suffer a fate worse than Death," he pauses again because someone immediately raises their hand; it's a little girl no older than ten with bright brown eyes, short, soft, fluffy hair, and an expression so innocent that it almost makes the elder understand why they rebelled against Death.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "Do you mean the Revenants?" the little girl asks in a voice matching her precious features, and everyone goes silent, even the elder. It's a shame that Revenants even existed, let alone that kids needed to know what they were to survive. Nevertheless, the elder answers with an honest nod. He can't take any more questions, though.

  The looming end is upon him...

  He coughs again, hiding more of his sickness behind him before standing.

  "Yes..." he says, grunting as he stands before letting out a solemn sigh; he's upset he can't stay as long as he wants. All of the kids eye him with a curious expression; why's he getting up? One of them, an older boy close to hitting adulthood, questions it.

  "You stopped?" the young man inquires, his voice and tone harmlessly curious and a proxy for the other children's same thoughts. The young man senses something's up, but he's too young to know how to read his intuition well enough to see through the experienced elder's quick deflection. A simple lie from a trusted individual can change everything.

  "Yeah, I just realized I needed to go to the bathroom," the elder assures, waving off the kid's concern with such nonchalance that he's sold his lie before even advertising it. The young man believes him the moment he says it's a bathroom break, falling silent as the elder carries on. "You all should get to bed. It's later than I thought it'd be; I'll finish the story tomorrow night," he assures, instantly rewarded for his lying with groans of disappointment. The kids are upset; he's never done this before.

  And for better or for worse, he never will again...

  "That's unnatural..." one of the teenage girls expresses louder than the rest with a shrewd tone; she's a young and pretty woman with a sharp-featured face, messy white hair, and piercing red eyes. "You never stop a story once you start telling it..." she reminds, gaining approval from the other orphans gathered around the campfire. Her appraising eyes meet Cedric's, and the latter can't help smirking. He's always impressed by this one. Kayda's also the reason he decided to mention Reapers at all tonight. It's all for her, and she doesn't even know it.

  Cedric flashes a tired smile, his eyes flicking toward an approaching woman with golden hair and deep blue eyes dressed in a simple tunic; his assistant and savior, as always. She arrives just in time. Cedric answers the teenager before she and the rest are whisked away by the mysterious helper.

  "Aye, but I never promised I'd finish this one..." he winks at Kayda; it's his final joke. None of the kids know that he's burned each of their faces into his mind for the last time, especially the girl who'll hear his final words. He's glad she sees him. His parting statement has everything and nothing to do with the story he never finished telling her.

  "Remember that existence is all about finding balance, Kayda..."

  "Those that find balance fear no man, god, nor force of nature..."

  Kayda takes those words to heart, having known all this time that Cedric is at death's doorstep, but never understanding how she knows. She's always felt like Cedric knew something and wasn't telling her, yet she never cared to seek out secrets. Cedric never told, so she never asked. It's a secret he'll keep till his grave.

  Kayda's the last to leave, trailing behind the rest of the oblivious kids, but giving one last look over her shoulder at the man that gave her everything but what she needed. The brief few seconds they lock eyes for the last time feels like an eternity to her, but she understands. She thinks she can piece together why Cedric told them about the Reapers tonight...

  And if she can't? Oh well...

  Kayda waves Cedric off, something she's never done before. Then, she gives a parting farewell.

  "Rest well, Mister Cedric. Till we meet again..."

  The silent embrace of the cold winter night caresses Cedric one last time once everyone's out of sight, leaving him alone with his thoughts beside the dying flames of his campfire. The village was a decent walk from here; he'd be dead before they went to sleep.

  The weary senior sits against the fallen log, half buried under snow instead of on it; he's lost the strength to sit upright without support. The falling snowflakes kiss his weathered flesh and sprinkle his fur coat, and he slowly succumbs to the comforting darkness while thinking about his life. From his very first memories to Kayda's farewell comment, he reminisces and self-reflects over it all. In the end, he lets a small smile out while gazing at the darkening moon. His eyesight is fading. Not much longer now...

  "Those that find balance fear no man... deity..." he tries to repeat the adage, but his voice is failing faster than his thoughts. ".... or force of nature..." he finishes with his thoughts, letting out his final few breaths. Kayda didn't know that she was one of the last Reapers alive, nor about her Reflection, but Cedric did. If there's one regret Cedric realizes he has in his final seconds, it's that he didn't tell Kayda everything before dying. Now, she'll have to figure everything out on her own...

  And because of that, she failed and made everything worse...

  And Apocrypha has suffered for over several generations because of it...

  Thanatos will torture him for eternity for what he's done.

  Fear an enemy to all...

  To be continued. Next Chapter: A Thousand Years Too Late...