The large double doors into the spire parted ways to reveal the interior of his new home to Corax, who walked with a paper plate in one hand and a fork in the other. A large slice of apple pie with a scoop of ice-cream, his favourite according to Owen’s eavesdropping.

  The moment news arrived ahead of their arrival to the tower the servants had been in a haze of work to prepare a room for the young iteration of Death. Moments through the door and the group were assaulted by the staff with requests. The most common being that Psychopomp wished to speak with the immortals.

  This led to a rather tall goat man approaching the group dressed in a butler's outfit and a monocle covering the right squared eye “A pleasure to see you have all returned safely,” he stated in a tone that carried aristocracy.

  Owen knew vaguely of the goat, plenty of stories shared within the distortion space they trained in about Huck, the leader of the servants. Quite the story of a noble turned servant but what always impressed Owen more was his efficacy when it came to missions that were too small scale for the immortals.

  “Some people however, are lacking manners,” Huck stated, stamping a hoof against the carpeted ground.

  “It isn’t my job to be nice…” a voice moaned from below. The goat's shadow quivered and warped into unnatural positions until it rose from the ground. The inky black mass spread a sense of dread through Owen and young Corax until the mass began to fade and revealed a human woman who wore padded robes that clung to her form with ease of movement but a light amount of protection. Given the design and knives on her waist it was safe to assume she was a form of shadow magic assassin. True to the nature of anyone who wished to be an assassin, in Owen's experience, she was as cryptic as possible, saying “A shadow does not need a name.”

  Potentially to pull the wind out of her sales, or simply to end the edgy dialogue, Huck said “Her name is Heather.”

  Disdain spread across her face, as if he had ruined her entrance she had been working so long on. With the introduction ruined the woman sank into the ground once more and the goat's shadow returned to its original position.

  “Psychopomps has requested you all attend a meeting at the central chamber,” Huck explained. Using his own badge to show his authority to young Death as he crouched down to be eye level “If you would be so kind as to come with me, I will show you to your new room.”

  The child seemed happy to go with him, far too enthralled with his pie to speak.

  A collective sigh of relief escaped the immortal's tired breaths once the child was taken away and they all wandered to the chamber of eternal strategy. Taking their seats once more around the stone table the dragon's voice reverberated through the stone room. “Welcome back, Immortal’s.”

  Psychopomp allowed them all to settle in before the questioning began. The first of course being “How did young death fare on the road?”

  A glance was shared between most of the group and Owen decided to be the one to speak. “That child is an absolute nightmare.”

  Opening the floor for complaining Swiss chimed in and added “Over fifty escape attempts in the days it took us to get back home!”

  “One successful attempt…” Osmir added, ashamedly.

  Psychopomp seemed quite interested in what happened there and demanded “Elaborate.”

  Owen gritted his teeth at the thought of it… Ultimately he felt it was best that he explained what happened. “So we were passing through a small village on the way back known for having access to an alchemy ingredient that is hard to come by… so I asked if we could make a quick stop so I could stock up… By now the kid had made like fifty something escape attempts like Swiss said. We were close to just tying the kid up since teleporting was far too dangerous with a little shit in tow. Might have ended up teleporting half way through a wall or somethin.” Owen leaned forward on the table and thought back on each of the increasingly elaborate and frankly, quite clever ways he attempted to escape from simple distractions to using magic to distract them when they didn’t know just how adept he was. “A day and a half with that many escape attempts. It was a nightmare. That was until his Awakening.”

  The air suddenly shifted within the room. That presence that weighed upon them that Owen could only describe to be Psychopomp’s essence shifted. It changed from a weight upon their shoulders to an oddly wispy feeling. This was a signal of curiosity as the dragon's voice asked “And how had such an awakening come to pass?”

  “It was that old man…”

  Through the small village Corax had been attempting to flee yet again but no matter where he turned it seemed that he was being followed by one of the immortals. That was until he was left alone with Owen who had spent some time perusing stock and haggling with the merchants based on the amount of coin he currently had on him.

  The boy used this as his chance to escape and once thoroughly distracted by the merchant, Corax slipped away into the crowd, making his way towards the edge of the town. Flight would have been a poor move given that would make him an obvious target. He had to hope the crowd of tourists he merged with were heading to the exit.

  However, something grabbed the child's attention. Towards the outskirts of the small village a scent hit his beak that almost sent the boy off his talons. It was almost… Intoxicating, alluring even, like a freshly baked loaf of bread on a workday morning. It reached out and beckoned him to follow, a request that Corax was not going to deny, nor was he able to.

  The scream was heard through most of the village causing most of the chatter to stop and attention to turn to the small hut with its door left wide open. “Get out!” Echoed through the town in an increasingly aggressive tone.

  That was when Owen realised he had lost the boy. A quick panic took over him before he realised that the two events were connected. Tossing his sack of coins at the merchant, far more than he intended to pay for these products he pocketed the bag of herbs and ran across town as fast as his legs could carry him.

  A pot almost hit him in the chest as it flew from the door and the screaming continued. “Ma’am?!” Owen called out in hopes of getting her attention.

  “Oh good, help! Come on in!” The woman responded.

  Upon entering, Owen found exactly what he expected to find. Corax had made his way into the woman's home. He seemed to be lost in a form of trance. “Get this Corvid out of my home!” she demanded. The large orc looked ready to toss him out herself, and given the muscles she had it was going to hurt.

  Luckily he was there to defuse the situation “Please, calm down,” Owen said, raising his hands in a reassuring manner “Please, let me ask some questions. I am the boy's handler.”

  “Then you are to blame for this brat carelessly wandering into my home while we are busy,” she retorted. Towering over Owen as she approached, making him feel very insignificant compared to her stature and her ire was directed towards him.

  “I… I am sorry,” Owen responded. Despite his immortality he still sensed a near primal fear of such a woman. His body may be indestructible, he could still feel pain. “This may be a very forward question but has someone passed away recently here?”

  This gave the woman a pause. Her advance came to a halt and she seemed to be concerned “How would you know that, outsider?”

  “Finally, a way forward,” Owen thought. Taking advantage of her confusion and standing upright again he said “I am very sorry for losing track of the boy but he is scheduled to become the next death. We were passing through town on our way towards the spire when he slipped away, mostly drawn by the essence of death from whoever has passed away recently.”

  “You expect me to believe that this… Child… Is the next incarnation of Death?” She asked, her attention turning to the boy who just walked deeper into her house, turning the corner into the hallway.

  “It may seem far-fetched but it is true,” Owen explained, reaching into his pocket and removing the seal of the spire. Even if he was an unknown face to the world, the seal was not.

  The woman's face contorted and shifted from her utter anger to astonishment. His claim was backed up by the approach of Osmir from the crowd “Ah, there you are Owen. Is young Corax alright?”

  “He’s doing fine,” Owen called back. “I suggest we follow him though.”

  The woman seemed to recognise Osmir and silently agreed, stepping aside and allowing Osmir and Owen to follow Corax down the hallway. Inside a large bedroom on the left hand side a family gathered in sorrow. On the bed lay an old orc, his years showing in the greying locks of hair and chiselled lower teeth to appear less threatening. His tattoos were fading and despite the state he was in, the man was smiling.

  “Oh it is always a pleasure to receive unexpected guests,” the old man stated weakly. He attempted to turn to look at who entered but his eyes were clouded. He needed some time to focus on Corax who approached his bed, still completely silent and enthralled by the sensation. “Who might you be?” the old man asked, reaching out to weakly place a large hand on the boy's arm.

  “This young man is the next in line to become Death, father,” the woman explained woefully. Approaching from the other side of the bed she held her fathers hand and whispered, tears building up within her eyes “He’s here to see you safely to the allmother.”

  Corax didn’t truly understand what he felt, or why he felt this compulsion. Reaching outward towards the kind old man the crow placed his hand upon his chest which caused a light to resonate and warm the room.

  The rest of the family sitting around the room could only watch in awe as a glowing wisp formed at the man's chest. Corax gently took a hold of the wisps tail and with a gentle tug attempted to remove it.

  “No one is ever truly ready…” Corax mumbled at the resistance the wisp gave. A gentle caress across the man’s face with his other hand came with another glow.

  “I am honoured to have Death deliver me unto her embrace,” the old man stated, leaning into the glow as It seemed to relax the elder, removing any tension from his face and causing him to drift off into a deep sleep, one that allowed Death to do his job.

  Taking a hold of the wisp once more he pulled again and this time the resistance was minimum, allowing him to tug one final time and pull out the glowing orb of pure mana that was considered the ‘soul’. Holding it in his hands he stared deeply into the light, his eyes containing thousands of sparks of light that all reflected the man’s lifespan.

  The family wept. Some tears of sorrow, others tears of joy.

  Death had come for their loved one but not many could say they had the honour of death personally helping a loved one transcend this plain. “Be free…” Corax said, raising his hand and allowing the soul to begin its ascension to the spire.

  “From that moment on, the kid stopped being such a pain in the ass,” Owen finished explaining. “I had a private talk with him not long after and all he said to me was that when he held that man's soul in his hands, everything suddenly made sense. After that, he said nothing for the rest of the trip.”

  Alister leaned forward from his slouched position and said “The servants family had mentioned that the child was often found near those who died, animal or man. He was always ushered away back to his room when it happened so he must have not been able to interact with a soul before.”

  “All that time trying to escape, and suddenly it all makes sense…” Swiss mulled.

  “We were lucky that your little oversight led to a positive outcome,” Osmir scolded, attention directed towards Owen’s failure to keep his eye on Corax.

  “I know. I failed.” Owen tersely responded.

  “There is no need for this discussion of failure. Death has returned to the spire and you all returned safely. If not for… Some minor damages that need to be dealt with…” Psyhcopomp’s responded, the warm feeling within the air shifting back to that weight upon their shoulders. “The question remains of what shall be done from here. I think young Death should have ample teachers within the chambers already, given you each have experience training the newest member.”

  Before Owen could even think about asking what his role would be, the dragon answered “Owen will teach the boy of the world, math, science. A general teacher of sorts as the rest of you will continue training him how you trained Owen.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Is it truly wise to choose me for such a job?” Owen managed to ask.

  The response from the others implied that this was a question asked every time a situation like this arose and the dragon promptly answered “While the others may have existed for a varying amount of time upon this world, you have experienced the current world most recently. You can elaborate and explain to him things the others may not even be fully aware of in their existences.”

  It wasn’t like Owen had much of a choice so he nodded and responded “Of course, sir. I understand.”

  From one brat to another. Stephen at least wasn’t some spoiled rich kid but it meant Owen had some experience dealing with children. “You may take time to relax. When I have further need of you all I will summon.”

  “Thank you, sir.” The group all stated in unison.

  Upon leaving the chambers Owen had intended to return to his room and practice some more alchemy ideas but such a desire was short lived when Swiss grabbed his arm and said “Hey! Let’s go do something fun!”

  Her enthusiasm as boundless as always met with Owen’s dull stare down at her. “What would you have in mind if we did?” He asked through a forced smile.

  “Oh don’t be like that, I know you would rather lock yourself away and sit behind your dusty old books and ingredients but we haven’t had any time to just relax since we finished up training,” Swiss explained, dragging him forward until she also caught Frost’s large hand “You too missy!”

  Frost seemed quite amused when the ratling had to jump to grab her hand. A smile most likely spread across her face behind the fog. “I could see myself spending some time together.”

  Swiss was visibly excited now, something that changed Owen’s course of thinking from finding any form of excuse to get out of it to thoughts that this might be fun. With a few excited chirping noises she called out to Alister and Osmir “Everyone is free to come along!”

  “I am truly honoured but I must prepare for a lesson I am hosting in the morning,” Osmir explained, a hand raised and head bowed in apology.

  “Such a shame but we understand,” Swiss responded.

  Owen expected Alister to deny outright but to his surprise he asked “Where are you planning on going?”

  “We haven’t really decided yet so anything is up in the air,” she explained. Hard to even hear yourself think over the sound of what Owen could only assume was Swiss grinding her teeth which produced an odd chittering like noise.

  “If opinions are being taken I planned to head to the coliseum by train. If we head now we could catch the late night bouts,” Alister explained. It was what Owen expected him to be interested in so it didn’t come as a huge shock. What did was the fact he was willing to go together and wasn’t off like some lone wolf.

  “I like the sound of that,” Frost chimed.

  While Owen may have preferred a calm and quiet cafe to talk and relax, he didn’t want to be the stick in the mud so he said “Sounds good to me.”

  “Off to the coliseum then!” Swiss exclaimed, finally letting go of Owen’s hand and backing off a few steps “Alright, meet by the front gate in ten minutes and we’ll head out!”

  With that, she was gone. Boundless energy and optimism carried her long strides through the halls that only became harder to hear the further away she got.

  In a brief return to his room to prepare Owen found that the staff had followed up on his request and had not only a higher grade alchemy station set up in his room under the window so he could fumigate if needed, they also put in a stand and section in the corner for him to leave the homunculus within that kept its magic regulated so he would only need to re fill it when it was in use.

  Checking his clothing he was unsure what to wear at first, finally settling on a long white coat he was particularly fond of from his college days with a thick black shirt underneath to battle the cold nighttime air.

  Everyone gathered at the front gates in some casual attire given they didn’t exactly need any padded tunics or armoured gear for a trip to the coliseum. “Slow as usual,” Alister mocked when Owen approached. Alister had sported a large brown jacket that buttoned up to his neck that seemed to have fur padding the inside of it. Owen assumed he must not be a fan of the cold.

  Frost, somehow, managed to stay impossible to see even in her casual attire of a thick Jacket akin to Alisters, some leather gloves and her hat that covered the rest of her head. The fog continued to cover the front of her face and her trousers plus large boots made sure absolutely nothing was vulnerable to the dangers of being seen.

  Swiss on the other hand was wearing traditional robes of her people that had frills around the arms and legs and a tribal patterned design through the entire outfit. She had seemingly taken time to wash up in the ten minutes since her fur was puffed up from the drying process.

  “Don’t mind him,” Frost said as she nudged Alister.

  The trip to the coliseum itself was uneventful as Swiss spent most of the trip playing a board game with Alister while Frost seemed to be lost in a meditative state. It allowed Owen time to jot down some ideas he wanted to try when he got home on the back of a napkin he stuffed into his chest pocket.

  To make it all the way out to Coriandria they needed to take another train. It was known by many as the capital of indulgence. Owen had heard many stories of it from the richer students at college during their breaks.

  Hours passed by in an instant and night had turned to day, the sky speckled with tiny stars that danced to the humm of the universe. Owen’s musings of cosmic insignificance came to a close with large lights appearing in the distance. Giant pillars reaching for those very stars that caused them to become mute and invisible the closer they got.

  “Have you ever been to Coriandria?” Swiss asked, slightly looking his way so she could also keep her eye on the state of the game board.

  “Oh heavens no,” Owen responded, watching the city approach with its giant buildings reaching to the sky. The coliseum was visible from here and it stood proud, as if a building could somehow exude the aura that it knew just how important it was. “I was far too poor in college to make any trips like that. If I was suffering from coreblight I would have died of starvation several times over.”

  “Well you are in for one hell of a culture shock” Alister said, placing his piece into the centre of the board and stating “I win.”

  Swiss needed a moment to check the state of the board, utter shock plastered across her face as she hadn’t seen his move coming. Quickly cleaning up as the ticket inspector approached.

  The station was packed to the brim and it would have been incredibly easy to get lost if Alister had not grabbed Owens arm to drag him along. “Come along,” Alister teased.

  Culture shock may not have been the appropriate word to describe just how alien this place felt. Men and women on the street offering their… ‘services’, stores placed around that sold all manners of narcotics, adult theatres, and then the coliseum. Giant boards hung from the sides of buildings advertising their services and several other boards seemed to be depictions of famous fighters from the coliseum with times and dates for their next matches.

  The smell of the street was enough to make Owen almost dizzy. People were clearly using said stores given the overwhelming odor and with his sense of smell he could sample each one of them. “Nasty…” He mumbled, pinching his nose before he ended up with a form of contact high.

  Despite appearing as a den of sin and vice the local guards were very active and seemed to harass a group smoking on the street to move into the designated smoking area to not be a nuisance to others.

  Approaching the coliseum the line would have been reaching back into the streets they came from. Owen thought that perhaps the crest of the spire would get them in faster when Alister walked past the line. However it seemed to be something entirely different as he took out a satchel of coins and placed it down in front of the elf manning the counter “These three are with me.”

  The man looked into the satchel for a brief moment before he said “Welcome back Alister. Your booth is prepared as always. Tonight’s special is a must try from the east. A rare monster meat said to induce a state of relaxation.”

  “Have four prepared, and four bottles of wisp wine if you would be so kind.”

  The elven man nodded and bowed his head “Of course, sir.”

  A young but gruff looking Corvid approached from the side by the door, ushering the group inside. The interior of the coliseum was made mostly of smooth stone, however Owen struggled to pinpoint just what kind.

  A large set of desks inside split into those paying for seats and a smaller stand to its side for those who were applying as fighters, the largest and most popular was on the opposite end which was the betting booth. All were packed at this time of night. The corvid cleared his throat when Owen got lost in his thoughts of marble or not which caused him to snap back to quickly follow.

  Ascending several sets of stairs kept behind a locked door they would be led into a small room with the wall facing the door being made entirely of glass. Looking out Owen could see the stage below them and at this height they had a perfect view of the entire stage.

  Again his mullings were cut short by the Corvid clearing his throat. This time his hand held out expectantly as the others entered the room. Owen was quite nervous as to what he was looking for but made an educated guess given the situation and took out his satchel to offer a handful of coins.

  A moment of silence left Owen nervous. The crow looked at the coins placed into his hand before he looked back up to Owen and nodded, a bow as he slipped the coins into his chest pocket.

  Stepping inside, everyone else had gotten comfortable at the table with chairs around it. There were more chairs piled up atop each other against the wall on the other side of the room but they grabbed enough for all of them. “Well, this place sure is fancy” Owen said, closing the door behind him.

  “I am a fan of the coliseum,” Alister said proudly. It seemed the room was made for Alister as the more he looked around the more it resembled an apartment… If an apartment was one room. A large and comfortable single chair with several smaller chairs for guests. A kitchen to the right of the door with the basics one would need. A fold out bed was nestled into the corner, the chairs waited and then in the centre of the room the large table. One would assume he would use the normal restrooms provided.

  “The most important stuff is kept here,” Alister said as he approached the kitchen. At the furthest end was a fridge that he opened and took out what looked like an ancient bottle that had some form of writing on it Owen couldn’t understand.

  “Is this where you always get off to when we have free time?” Swiss asked, stacking books from her distortion to be able to sit at the table properly.

  In one of the drawers Alister pulled several shot glasses and approached the table again. Taking a seat on the luxurious chair he turned it to face the window and said “It is a place I come to relax, yes.”

  “It is very kind of you to invite us,” Frost said. It seemed the two knew each other more than they let on but Owen felt intruding into their minds to find out what was actually going on between them would be a massive breach of trust.

  Alister chuckled, motioning out to the field below them where a match was to start “This woman is one of the most impressive fighters I have seen in decades.”

  They all turned their attention to the stage where an older orc with a scar across his face stood in the middle holding a glowing crystal. Holding it to his mouth he spoke and it was heard through the entire building “Aaaannnnddd Welcome to tonight's main event!” He exclaimed in a boisterous tone. Raising his hand he turned to the first contestant which seemed to be a rattling who wore a comically large mages hat and carried a wand with him. “Our first contestant has been working his way up the ranks rapidly and claiming a spot dear in all of our hearts. Please join me in welcoming our pint sized wizard, Tido, to the stage!”

  The cheers of the crowd drowned out the announcer as Tido took his position on one end of the stage, a quick flourish of his wand and adjustment of his hat let Owen know people here lived for the show.

  On the other hand the orc raised attention to the opposite end “However!” He shouted, cutting off the cheers. “How will our rising star fare against the queen of the arena herself? Please join me in welcoming our harmony of fists, Melody, to the stage!”

  The door on her side parted, revealing a very large and very muscular human. Built like a mountain she wore a simple pair of pants and tunic. Her black hair lay atop her shoulders, allowed to run free rather than be restrained to a ponytail. The look on her face and roars of the crowd all backed up Alister’s comment.

  “I’m sorry but my boy Tido here doesn’t stand a chance,” Alister said, quietly laughing.

  “What makes you say that?” Swiss promptly asked.

  “You’ll see,” Alister assured.

  “A clash of the fan favourites is about to begin!” The orc called, stepping off the stage with his crystal in hand “I want to see a fair fight! There will be no time limit on this match, instead today's rule is that neither contestant is allowed to use any form of restorative magic or item. Failure to comply with said rule will lead to an immediate disqualification!”

  “Are rules like this commonplace?” Owen curiously asked, watching both contestants size each other up.

  “Once you reach a certain bracket you are considered skilled enough to take rules onto your match,” Alister began explaining, lining up the four shot glasses and attempting to undo the cork of the bottle he held. “The rule changes at 3 AM every day and matches with rules on them tend to have multipliers applied to their bets at the desk below.”

  “Now! Begin!”

  The contestants didn’t waste a single moment. Tido swung his wand to the air which caused the stone below him to rise up and seal him within a box “A quick defence, someone knows his opponent!” The orc called out “but will it be enough!?”

  At that moment a large crashing sound signalled that Melody had moved, in an instant she had moved from her side of the arena to behind the box of stone he had created and slammed her fist down into it, crumbling the wall and sending dust everywhere.

  She hardly had time to react as a blast of fire came from within the opening she created, causing her to back away and the walls to slump back to the ground, revealing Tido once more. This time while she was on the defence he raised his wand and static formed around the tip.

  “Can the queen escape this counter attack!?” the orc yelled as Tido flicked his wand towards her as she was in the middle of side stepping the fire and a burst of lightning sprung from the tip, cutting her off.

  Her attention was pulled to Tido while she was moving, watching the spell charge for a moment before firing at her, the observant could even notice a smile spread across her face. The second her foot touched the ground and mere moments before the lightning struck her she simply… vanished.

  The crowd cheered again when the lightning hit the ground and caused a large spark explosion mixed with the fire. The crowd seemed sure that he hit her but was proven wrong by the sound of a shocked gasp from the announcer. Turning his attention Owen saw that she had moved in front of Tido, towering over him she raised her hands above her head getting ready to interlock and strike downwards.

  Tido was as quick with his magic as she was on her feet, pulling up his wand and this time making a barrier out of light magic in an attempt to blind her with the reflection of the stage lights.

  “It’s over,” Alister mentioned.

  Both hands interlocked she slammed them downwards atop the barrier which caused it to hold up her assault. Tido didn’t have time to breathe a sigh of relief watching her raise her arms once more for a second assault. The rat had to think of a plan but by the time he even realised it was already too late. Terror spread across the rat's face as he noticed the tiny crack in his shield the first blow caused…

  The shattering sound filled the arena first as the shield simply disintegrated under the weight of her second swing, followed by the loud yell of pain of the rat being sent into the ground. As the dust settled the announcer screamed “And we have a winner!”

  “I didn’t even think normal folk could get this strong…” Owen mumbled as he stared in awe at the woman who’s arm had been raised above the unconscious, and twitching rat in the rubble of the stage.

  “It’s what makes the coliseum so interesting,” Alister stated.

  “Well, I can see why you love it, thanks for the invitation,” Owen responded, needing to pat Swiss on the back who seemed quite heartbroken that Tido lost.

  “Oh shut up, it was nothing. Now.” Alister stated, leaning forward to pour that oddly purple liquid from the bottle into each shot glass, filling them to the brim. He nodded to them all while he took his and raised it to the air. “A toast, to commemorate finishing your first official job and becoming one of us. Let’s see who you become after all of this” Directing his speech towards Owen of course.

  “I like that kind of toast,” Frost said as she raised her glass to meet his.

  “To a job well done!” Swiss added, raising her glass.

  Owen awkwardly grabbed his glass and raised it to meet the others “I…” Struggling to find any words to respond to such a statement.

  “No need to force it. Let’s just enjoy the night,” Alister assured.

  Owen nodded and said “Alright… to my new friends” raising his glass once more, a clink of the glasses signalling them to all down its contents.