Arthur sat one arm resting over his knee, his gaze was still fixed on the horizon. Even here, in a place stripped of life, he could feel it, the distant pulse of existence far beyond this world.
Didi watched him for some time before speaking.
"I'll make this simple," she said, her tone was light. "I want you to take my place for a day."
Arthur didn't react immediately. He turned his head slightly, just enough to look at her from the corner of his eye.
"For a day?" he repeated.
Didi nodded, stepping closer, her presence completely at ease. "You'll experience what it means to be me. Not just in name, not just in power… but in my function."
She met his gaze fully now.
"You'll guide the dying. Every soul that reaches its end, you'll be there for it."
Arthur stared at her for a second, then leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose.
"…That's a lot."
There was no exaggeration in his voice.
Didi smiled faintly. "I know."
She moved closer beside him, looking out over the dead valleys below.
"I exist in countless places at once. Right now, as we're speaking, I'm already doing my job across the universe." She tapped her chest lightly. "This version of me is the real one you're talking to. The rest… are extensions. Facets."
Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly. "And you expect me to do the same."
"I don't expect," she corrected gently. "I know you can."
There was no doubt in her voice.
Arthur went quiet again, his gaze drifting back to the horizon as he processed it, not the difficulty of the task, but the sheer scope of what she was asking.
After a moment, he spoke again.
"And what do we get out of it?"
Didi tilted her head slightly. "We?"
Arthur glanced at her. "You don't strike me as someone who does things without a reason,"
That earned a small, approving smile.
"Fair enough," she said. "You get understanding. Not the kind you think you have now, the real kind. You'll see life and death not as forces you control… but as something far more fundamental."
She paused, her voice softening just slightly.
"You'll grow from it. More than you expect."
Arthur didn't look convinced, but he didn't dismiss it either.
"And you?" he asked.
Didi's smile turned just a bit playful again. "I get to see what you do with it, and once you complete it, it will also mean that you are my equal in this concept."
That alone was enough to make him sigh.
"…This is the test."
"In part," she admitted. "But not the kind meant to make you fail."
She stepped in front of him now, her expression calm, almost gentle.
"I'm not trying to get rid of you, Arthur. You're not that easy to break."
There was a teasing edge to her words, but she was sincere.
Arthur shook his head slightly. "Reassuring."
A brief silence followed before he spoke again, more practically this time.
"There's one problem."
Didi raised a brow. "Only one?"
Arthur ignored that. "How do I even know who's about to die? Or where?"
For a moment, she simply looked at him.
Then she smiled.
"That part's easy."
Before he could react, she reached forward, placing her hands lightly against his face, guiding his gaze directly into hers.
"Look."
Something shifted instantly.
Arthur's eyes flared with light, shadows rippling through them as his awareness expanded violently and infinitely.
Lives across the universe burned like countless stars in his perception, each one distinct, each one moving toward a point he could now feel with terrifying clarity. Some flickered gently, nearing their end with acceptance. Others snapped suddenly, violently, like threads cut without warning.
Worlds upon worlds.
Beings upon beings, mortal and gods alike.
All of them… ending.
Constantly.
Arthur's breath caught, just slightly.
"…There's so many."
The words came quieter than expected.
Not overwhelmed.
Didi watched him carefully, her hands still lightly holding his face.
"That's tomorrow's count," she said softly. "And you're actually getting a lighter day."
Arthur's gaze sharpened slightly, still locked onto hers. "Lighter you say..."
She nodded, completely serious.
"About ten million fewer deaths than today."
There was a pause.
Arthur stared at her, then let out a quiet breath.
"…Right."
Didi smiled and gently let go, stepping back. The connection snapped, but the echo of it lingered in him, like something vast that refused to fully fade.
"Well," she said, brushing her hands together lightly, "now you know."
Arthur remained seated, his gaze distant now, still processing what he had felt.
"When this day ends," she continued, "you'll take over for the next one."
Her tone softened again.
"I'll be watching."
Arthur didn't look at her.
"I'll handle it."
Simple and certain.
That was all he needed to say.
Didi smiled, satisfied.
"I know you will."
And just like that, she was gone.
No sound or trace.
Arthur sat alone once more, the dead world stretching endlessly before him.
But it didn't feel the same anymore.
Now, beneath the silence, he could sense it, the constant, distant pull of endings.
Arthur leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on his knees, his eyes faintly glowing as he stared into the horizon.
"One day…" he murmured.
A faint, almost grim smile touched his lips.
"…Let's see what that really means."
****
Arthur hovered in the vast emptiness of space, far beyond the pull of Earth, where even light felt distant and slow. There was no sound or movement, only the endless stretch of the universe surrounding him.
He remained perfectly still, suspended in the void. His eyes were closed, his expression calm, almost detached, the faint frozen drift of his coat was the only sign of motion, though nothing in that place should have moved at all.
But Arthur wasn't idle.
His awareness had expanded far beyond his physical form, stretching outward in ways that defied distance and logic. He wasn't looking with his eyes, he was feeling, sensing, existing across a far wider scope than his body allowed. The universe unfolded before him in layers, each one filled with life, motion, and energy. Countless presences flickered in and out of his perception, some strong, some faint, all moving along their own paths without realizing they were being observed.
It wasn't something you could hear, nor something that followed the simple ticking of time. It was deeper than that, something woven into existence itself.
And Arthur didn't question it. He let himself align with it, allowing his senses to settle into its flow as if he had always been meant to recognize it.
For a long while, he simply remained there, letting it all guide his awareness.
Then, quietly, almost to himself, he spoke.
"It's close."
His fingers twitched slightly at his side, a subtle sign that something within him had begun to shift. The energy around him grew heavier and denser.
His perception sharpened.
Now he could feel it more clearly, the countless lives scattered across the universe, each one moving toward a point he could sense with unsettling precision. Some approached it slowly, fading like embers at the end of a fire. Others rushed toward it without warning, like threads snapping under sudden strain.
He didn't intervene.
He simply observed.
Because this wasn't his role yet.
Not until,
Her day concludes.
And when the moment had arrived.
Arthur's eyes opened.
A deep violet glow ignited within them, cutting through the darkness around him. The calm in his expression didn't fade.
"It's time."
And just like that, he vanished.
No explosion of power. No distortion of space. One moment he was there, the next he simply wasn't.
Somewhere, far across the endless stretch of existence, countless lives reached their final moment. And Arthur was already there to guide their end.
/-\
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