CHAPTER 3 –
A cry echoed through the silence.
My cry.
I knelt inside a ruined house, shaking beside the mangled bodies of the people I loved. Blood pooled around me, dark and still, quiet as the moonlight leaking through the shattered roof.
I remember waiting for someone to come. Anyone.
I had helped everyone back then. Shared food with neighbors. Fetched water for elders. Gave up my toys for other kids.
So why… why wasn't anyone helping me?
Footsteps finally appeared. Voices. Light.
But instead of comfort, instead of warmth, I felt the breath get crushed out of my lungs.
"You cursed child. Why are you alive when everyone else is dead?"
"You must have made a deal with the killer, right?"
"Monster. It should have been you."
My throat trembled. "N… no. I didn't do anything. I did nothing…"
"Liar."
"I DID NOTHING!"
The scream tore out of me, raw and broken. "I DON'T WANNA DIE. I DON'T WANNA DIE. I WON'T DIE, I WON'T—"
The world shattered.
Darkness swallowed everything. The voices. The bodies. The moonlight. Even me.
A voice rose within the void.
Not human. Not gentle. Not forgiving.
"You don't want to DIE, huh…"
It twisted, playful at first. Then wrong. Sickeningly wrong.
"Then surVivE heRe."
The final word cracked the darkness like glass.
"SurVIVE."
I jerk awake, gasping.
My shirt is soaked with sweat. My breathing sounds like someone else's, ragged, desperate. For a moment I can't even remember where I am.
Then the ceiling of Vaelthorn Manor slides into view.
"Hah… that dream again."
I sit up slowly and rub my eyes, trying to chase off the phantom claws gripping my chest. That nightmare has followed me since childhood, appearing without warning. The faces in it have faded with the years. The house too. Even the voices.
Only the sentence remains.
You don't want to die… then survive here.
"It's been a while since I heard it," I mutter.
A knock interrupts my thoughts.
"Young Master Rei, are you awake?" A maid steps inside and bows. "Please get washed. Breakfast will be served soon. Lord Aldren will not be pleased if you are late."
"Yeah, I know. Just give me a minute."
She leaves. I exhale.
"Father sure is a strict man…"
I fix my hair, splash cold water onto my face and push the nightmare out of my mind.
The day has begun.
Death does not get to lie in bed.
Not in this house.
Not with the secrets I carry.
I straighten my shirt, slip on my boots and head toward the dining hall.
The Dining Hall
The maid opens the door and I take my usual seat. Aria locks onto me the moment I sit.
"You came early today. Why aren't you late?"
I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Why is me being early suspicious?"
Father glances up from his documents. "Rei… are you alright? You are unusually punctual."
"Father, not you too."
Mother giggles softly. "Stop teasing him. But yes, are you feeling well, Rei?"
"Mother… you too?"
Aria snickers. Mother hides a laugh behind her teacup. Father coughs like he's trying not to smile.
My soul leaves my body.
Breakfast continues peacefully until Father speaks.
"Aria. Have you prepared everything? You depart for the academy next week."
Aria nods. "I finished packing yesterday."
I pause mid-bite.
So it was already time, huh.
In this world, when a child reaches fifteen, they're sent to the Imperial Knight Academy. Commoners train to become soldiers, and nobles train to become Imperial Knights. If someone is truly exceptional, they might be scouted straight into the elite knight orders… or even something higher.
Aria wasn't just exceptional. She was the kind of person they wrote legends about.
After breakfast, I rise. "Thank you for the meal. I'll head out for training."
Aria arches a brow. "Don't push yourself too hard. You're still young."
"Yeah, yeah."
I wave her off and leave the manor.
The Forest Hideout
I walk through the forest until the trail turns wild and overgrown. Deep inside, hidden from everyone, stands an abandoned storehouse.
My sanctuary.
"No one ever comes here. Perfect."
I push the creaking door open. Dust and old wood greet me with familiar peace.
"I can hide everything here. My research. My experiments. Mortis Veil."
I smile faintly.
I still remember how wild it was at the beginning.
Uncontrollable.
Dangerous.
Hungry.
Now, it obeys.
Weapons. Armor. Clothes. Storage. Even the essence of death itself bends to me.
A shift catches my eye.
The creature I collected from the bandits materializes from Mortis Veil, slumping onto the floor. Twisted, malformed. A curse clings to it like dried mud, squeezing its soul until it sits between life and death.
I crouch beside it.
"If I'm right… this curse is a death-bound seal." I raise a finger above its cracked skin. "Mortis Veil only stores non-living beings. For it to accept you, you were treated like a corpse."
I frown.
"But if I remove the curse… you should return to being alive."
A thrill runs through me.
"Time for some experiments."
Three Days
Morning after morning, I return. Hours slip by as I probe the curse, carving through layers of death magic. Sometimes it twitches. Sometimes it hisses. Sometimes it screams without a mouth.
On the fourth day, everything changes.
A sound like tearing silk fills the room.
Dark light bursts out of the creature. I shield my eyes.
When the glow fades, I finally see it.
The curse shatters.
Bones shift. Skin smooths. Flesh restores in reverse.
The creature becomes a person.
A young elf woman lies on the floor, breathing faintly. Green Emerald hair spills across the wooden boards like moonlit water.
She's completely unclothed.
I don't react.
Those kinds of emotions died long before I ever arrived in this world.
She stirs.
Her eyes open, sharp, impossibly sharp. Deep green irises swirl with emotions she was denied for years.
Envy.
Pure.
Hungry.
"Uh…" she whispers. "Where… am I?"
"In a store room," I say. "Obviously."
She pushes herself up, trembling. "Who… who are you?"
I smile. Not warmly.
"Me? You can call me Death."
Her breath catches. "D… Death? Then… am I dead?"
"No. I saved you."
"S-saved me…?"
"Yeah. From that curse that dragged you toward death. I removed it."
"Curse…?" She touches her chest. "Who placed it on me? Why me?"
"It wasn't meant only for you." I cross my arms. "It was placed on your bloodline. The bloodline of those who defied IT. It should've faded centuries ago. But someone meddled with forces they shouldn't have."
Her face darkens. "Who?"
I give her a knowing look.
"The Null Choir."
Shock freezes her. "T-The… Null Choir?"
"Yeah. They're a group who…"
I pause.
"Actually, forget it. You're free now. Go wherever you want."
Her eyes sharpen. Envy flares behind them like a star going supernova.
"No. Tell me everything." She steps closer, fingers trembling. "Please… I need to know. Who cursed me? Why? I want the truth."
I sigh.
"Fine. The curse wasn't aimed at you. It was tied to your lineage. Someone awakened it again. Likely the Null Choir. I don't know their motives yet."
Her fists clench.
"Null Choir…" she whispers. "They took everything from me… Death, I'll follow you. I want answers. I want strength. I won't be powerless again."
I tilt my head.
"You want to work with me?"
"I want strength," she repeats. "You have it. I want it. I won't hide that. If I must serve you to obtain it, then so be it."
A slow grin grows across my face.
"Now this is getting interesting."
I raise my hand.
"If you insist… let me give you the power of Death."
Mortis Veil surges out, wrapping around her like a serpent. It sinks into her skin, her blood, her bones.
She gasps.
"This… this power…"
Mortis Veil weaves clothing over her, dark, elegant, deadly.
I step closer.
"From now on, you'll answer to the name Ivy."
The elf kneels before me, head lowered.
"It is my honor to serve you, my lord."
Her voice trembles with reverence…
But beneath it, I hear something else.
A quiet hunger.
A desire to rise above.
A desperate refusal to ever be weaker again.
The true nature of Envy.
I smile.
"One sin has awakened."
Ivy lifts her gaze, eyes gleaming like sharpened emerald.
"Then command me, Lord Death."
The abandoned storehouse grows silent around us.
A new member of the Death Bringer is born.
Ivy tilted her head. "Lord Death… that name sounds extremely lame. We need to change it."
I stared at her. "Huh? Already? Can't you pretend to respect it for at least five minutes?"
"No," she said flatly. "It's lame."
I sighed. "Fine, fine. We'll fix it later. Until then, we're sticking with Death Bringer."
She crossed her arms. "…Still lame."