“Oh, Unending…”
“I set her free. I’m sorry.”
Silence again. I hated it. I would’ve preferred Death to be angry. I would’ve liked to see furious lightning fracture the skies. My skin freezing. My spirit quivering in fear. But nothing happened. I was still sitting in the white dust, waiting for my maker to say something after my monumental screw-up. My anger had dwindled into my own sense of failure, and I could no longer count on myself to hold Death accountable for the lies, considering what I’d just done.
“Had you told me the truth from the beginning, had you told me where you were, I would’ve been able to warn you about breaking the seal,” she said.
“Would you have warned me, though, or would you have simply summoned me back with no explanation?” I was shocked to have found the strength to confront her on this.
“Considering who was under that seal and that you weren’t there by some harmless coincidence? I would have warned you,” she replied, and I hated her for being right. “This only proves that I cannot fully trust you, Unending. You meant well. I know you did, but you let the World Crusher go.”
I would’ve liked a fiery comeback for this, but there wasn’t one. Only the awful truth and my desire to repair the damage I’d unwittingly inflicted upon the world. “I can fix it.”
“How? You don’t even know where she went or how to find her,” Death replied, slightly amused. “Anunit played you, my dear. I hope you understand now why she is so dangerous. It’s not just about the Reapers she’s resurrected. It’s that she’s resourceful and spiteful and reckless.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I see that. What about the World Crusher?” This wasn’t the time to argue with Death, and I was perfectly capable of beating myself up over this without bringing Anunit into it. I figured I’d stick to the issues at hand. “She’s loose.”
“I’ll handle her,” Death said. “Do not trouble yourself over the World Crusher. She is my problem, and I will take care of it. I should have done this ages ago, but I prolonged her misery in a desperate and foolish bid to avoid dealing with mine, so… here we are. My first creation free and likely itching to avenge herself. My second creation embittered and disappointed. It’s my fault. No one else’s.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of her words. She sounded genuine, but maybe she was saying these things to soften me up a little. Or maybe now that the cat was out of the bag, Death was finally showing a hint of humility for all the wrongs she’d done. I wanted to stay angry, but the thought of the World Crusher out there sort of took the edge off. “How will you take care of the World Crusher? Do you know where to find her?”
“Did I not just tell you not to trouble yourself over this?” Death chuckled, but this was serious. I knew it. She just didn’t want me involved, and I had to wonder why. Was this her way of punishing me, perhaps? Or did she worry I might get cold feet and further impede any attempt to capture the World Crusher? Either option hurt me on a deeper level, but I couldn’t exactly blame her, either. “The World Crusher is my problem, Unending. Stay out of it. Now, back to Anunit, where do you stand with the trials? I presume it involved your presence on Biriane.”
I let out another heavy sigh. “Freeing the World Crusher was the third trial,” I said, then gave Death every detail of the operation, from the moment we arrived until I watched the true first Reaper disappear, followed by the Ghoul Reapers. I held back any reproach about them and the suffering they had endured. I wanted to look Death in the eyes for this particular conversation, and I’d made too big an error here to hold any moral high ground, at least for the time being.
“Hm… I see. And Anunit swears she had no idea?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m inclined to believe her, but to be honest, my judgment has lapsed before. I wouldn’t rely on it. Not right now, anyway.”
“It doesn’t really matter. Whether it was her or the Ghoul Reapers, it doesn’t matter. One or all of them got you to do what they needed you to do,” Death replied. “You’ve completed the trials, then. You can get the body you so desired, and I admit, I’m curious about the whole process. Personally, it irks me that Anunit gets to do this, but I made you a promise, and despite what happened, I intend to keep it.”
I had no words left. She knew how to subtly rub it in, all right. Around me, the temperature climbed, the sun making every part of this city burn white. The air trembled with heat, and I felt fortunate to not be alive and able to feel this scorching summer on my skin.
“You should do it,” Death continued. “You’ve worked so hard. And after what I assumed are colossal disappointments where I’m concerned, you deserve a lifetime’s worth of a break. You have my blessing to pursue this dream, Unending. Consider it my offer of peace, my way of saying I’m sorry.”
It was always like this with her. One moment, she seemed open and sincere, and another she’d turn and twist my nerves into simmering bundles of rage. She was hard to love sometimes. “Hm… you’re sorry.”
“I will not ask for your forgiveness,” she said. “We know each other better than that. But I am genuine in my apology. I hurt you. In a bid to protect myself, I hurt
