Death Cast

00.6 | The Penultimate

Barron Grey indulges some peculiar hobbies. One of those was observing people.

He is a grim reaper. His age is estimated to be between five hundred and six hundred years old. He possesses a youthful, handsome appearance, with dark brown skin, golden haloed eyes, and a gray ash tied up in his long hair. He is exceptionally amiable and flippant, but very cunning.

Many people had commended him on his looks, specifically highlighting his eyes, which were dashing. The wisp of attention he carries inevitably makes people feel special, as if he was looking directly into their souls, caressing them as if touching their deepest desires.

Well... err, he was indeed seeing their souls.

He had seen many of them, most of whom had departed from their physical vessels. The souls were the consciousness brought by the miracle of life. Once they met death, they would leave like crabs growing out of their shells. It's just some of these souls didn't want to return to the place where they were supposed to be.

Grim reapers then escort these souls, tallying them up to make sure they were supposed to die.

Doing his usual routine, Barron strolled around the streets of the central district to breathe in some fresh air. With his good, pleasant looks, he would receive brief morning greetings, to which he would respond with a nod.

As a grim reaper, he could not perceive the changes in the weather well. Maybe it will be cold or hot. These temperatures were superficial. However, he still liked watching nature change visibly. The constant change could not be prevented, which means that nature is a living being.

It only shows nature is alive.

However, while he was enjoying the morning rush, he noticed a wisp of black mist hovering in the air. It occupies a massive range, almost containing the entirety of the sidewalk. The most concentrated place was above the area where a crowd of pedestrians were huddling.

This kind of mist was not visible to people. It does not have any harmful effects if inhaled or contain magical results if consumed. The smoke was just an indication; like one would smell smoke if a fire was ignited. Just this one marked the presence of death.

It can be considered a death flag.

Grim reapers were familiar with this mist. Anyone, especially those who were close to death, would release this kind of signal. It has various densities, with the heaviest meaning it is closer to death. Barron frowned as he examined the mist.

It was normal to see a death mist anywhere; what bothered him was the unusual density of the mist. He could tell it only arise from a sole source. Each person has their own color of mist. It might look dusky at first glance, but it has several shades.

This kind of ministration can exclusively be released by people who would like to commit mass murder or cause mass deaths.

Or, it can be done by an Autumn.

Barron contacted the main office and reported the situation he had discovered. After receiving the approval of reinforcements, he hustled his way to the crowd.

The Grim Reapers did not like the impression of death because of the way they were required to escort the souls of the dead. And like how people who were slaved by corporations and were not compensated enough, the grim reapers thought it was such an exhausting job.

To begin with, they have to make sure they had gathered all the souls to the finish line. If one soul was missing, they have to look for it. A soul left behind might cause many problems since they could grow and become vengeful ghosts. Examples of these were those wandering souls in haunted places. The Grim Reapers could no longer touch them since they had bounded to the area by resentment.

Second, they have to deliver the souls to the land of the dead. But before they could achieve that, they have to traverse the river that connects the two ends of a mortal life.

Crossing the river of life and death is not as simple as it might seem. They have to personally row the boat while constantly watching the restless souls beside them. Souls who thought they didn't deserve to die would often dare jump over the boat. Some would try toppling it, soaking everyone in river water.

The river has no effect on the grim reapers, but it does on the souls.

By the name itself, the river controls the line that connects life and death. Souls falling into the river will experience cleansing - the type that will burn in their entire consciousness. Death is the end of life, and this river is the end of the soul. The second death will be achieved. After the second death, there is no more life.

The soul will be completely gone forever.

Needless to say, nothing terrible will happen with just a soak. The least it could do is to let the souls experience the feeling of hell. But the river demonstrates a persistent nature. Once it captures a soul, it will haul it down until the soul drowns. The Grim Reapers did not want to have a tug of war with the river, so oftentimes they would just let it be. Sadly, one soul off of their list means a salary deduction.

It was a really tedious job.

Jaerim was forcing his way out of the crowd when someone bumped on his shoulder. He was jostled to the side, trampling the shoes of the people beside him. Jaerim didn't have the time to glare at the person since he was then pushed out by the people.

"What's wrong with that person?" Jaerim asked with a frown.

He tried to look at the person who bumped into him from the crowd, but the people blocked him at the tail of the gathering. Since there was no reason for him to go back, he simply gave up.

There's no use focusing on such trivial things.

Jaerim was about to turn a corner when he smelled something good. The tantalizing scent of onions and meat grilled on the flat hot pan teased the appetites of people, gathering their attention. He looked around and found a food stand nearby selling crepes.

Ah, he forgot, he hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

The person selling the food stand was already familiar with Jaerim. The young man is still coming, but they have already prepared the usual. The fragrance brought by the food attracted the hungry people, making the food stand crowded in no time.

"Here you go," the vendor said, finishing the crepe in no time and handing the wrapped delicacy to Jaerim.

"Thanks," Jaerim said, paying the amount into the cash box beside the stand.

A calico cat is guarding the money, not letting anyone dare steal it. Jaerim scratched the cheeks of the cat, which earned him a mellow purr. When the cat got enough, it bit Jaerim's finger lightly. Jaerim chuckled, intending to scratch the cat's back when suddenly, a loud uproar made the cat flinch.

Everyone looked in the direction of the noise.

A car was overturned right just beside the post of the traffic light. The people that were standing at that location earlier were lucky since they were obstructed by the street pole on the street corner. If not, they would have been under that car, dead.

The situation calmed down after a while. Someone made their way forward to check on the driver. Barron tried to open the door of the car, but it was locked, so he crouched down to peak through the window webbed with cracked glass. A silhouette of a person can be seen stuck inside.

He knocked on the pane to see if the other person is responsive. Seeing the shadow move, Barron immediately tugged the door handle. But the door was stuck. He could not move it.

“The person inside is still alive,” he announced.

After determining their safety, a group of men came forward to assist Barron open the door. While they were discussing ways to unbolt the locked door, a woman suddenly cried out.

The woman, wearing business clothing, was kneeling on the ground. In her arms was a little girl clenching a doll. Her face was pale, looking lost. Barron had traced the position of the girl and realized she was very close to the car before it crashed. The scorch left by the speeding car was found right next to her limp legs.

The little girl responded late. She looked up, her eyes filled with confusion, then found Barron standing just nearby. The little girl seemed to be amazed at seeing something wonderful and tugged at her mother's collar. She pointed at Barron innocently.

"He has stars in his eyes, Mom," she said, pointing to the golden halo that surrounded Baron's eyes. "It looks extremely pretty."

"What?"

The woman could not grasp what her daughter was saying. She looked at the man to whom her daughter was pointing. Barron smiled warmly, his blue eyes almost hypnotizing. The mother shook her head and lowered her hand.

"Are you hurt somewhere? Tell mommy, is there anything painful in your body?"

"I'm okay, mom. Nothing is painful..."

Barron turned around and focused his attention on the overturned car. Someone from the crowd acquired a crowbar somewhere and tried to force the door open. While they were doing it, the smell of gas filled the air.

The people noticed the pungent smell and immediately ran away from the site. Since it was rush hour, there were many people walking around. The panic caused these people to run about, trampling those who were confused by the sudden hysteria.

Barron frowned. The black mist had become more solid. The Autumn must be close by. But it was clearly just a bit lighter before. It's impossible for the color to suddenly become saturated. Unless another Autumn appeared...

Jaerim could not think properly. The people around him are running for their lives. Even the vendor of the food stand left his post, carrying the cash box on one hand and hugging the calico cat on the other. Since it had left suddenly, the food that remained on the grill continued to burn, emitting a sharp smell.

It had become chaotic.

He touched the gauze on his cheeks, feeling the unusual warmth from it since a wound had been opened. Amongst the moving images before him, Jaerim was relatively calm. His upright figure presented a contrast to the dynamic world.

It looks like that whenever he goes, death will follow him.