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Arthur's grip tightened on his knee as he let out a low sigh, the sound echoing strangely in the frozen time. His glowing violet eyes fixed on her, unblinking.
"I still don't like the way you did this," he said flatly. His tone wasn't raised, but disappointed, almost bitter.
Didi..Death smiled faintly. She moved closer, soft footsteps echoing against the silence of frozen time, and knelt beside him.
"Hey," she said, voice gentle, "that's still me, not a separate entity."
Her hand reached out toward the lifeless body on the floor, her mortal shell. Her fingers lingered over the cooling skin before brushing it tenderly, almost reverently.
"Like I mentioned earlier," she continued, her gaze on the body, not on him, "once I absorb her memories and experiences… they'll be part of me forever. Maybe I'll learn something new. Maybe not. But nothing is wasted."
The moment her palm pressed flat to the chest of her mortal self, a strange light unfurled. It wasn't harsh, but soft. The glow spread from her hand, enveloping the corpse until the fragile human body simply unraveled disappearing in a radiance, leaving not even the outline of blood behind.
Arthur didn't move. He only watched, eyes narrowed, as if trying to pierce through the mystery with sheer will.
When the last of the light faded, the mortal shell was gone. And so was the Didi who had laughed, eaten, and kissed him just moments before.
Only Death stood there now. She rose to her feet, her gaze lingering on the empty space, silent for a long breath before turning her head toward him. A faint, almost playful smile curved her lips.
"Are you perhaps sad about this?" she asked softly, but her tone probed him, searching.
Arthur's expression remained calm and serious. He leaned back slightly, his hands sliding into his coat pockets. "No. Just carefully thinking about something."
Her brows lifted. "Oh? What is it?"
Arthur's gaze met hers, unwavering, the glow in his eyes dimming slightly as if narrowing to focus. "Every time we meet, it seems like you're trying to teach me something. What is your goal with me, really?"
For a moment, she only looked at him. Then she stepped closer, closing the space between them. Her hand rose, cool fingers brushing against his cheek, a deliberate, lingering touch. Her smile softened, though her eyes still glittered with that ageless mischief.
"I wonder," she teased, her voice almost a whisper.
He didn't flinch from her touch, but his jaw tightened.
Her tone shifted, quieter now, more honest. "Today was… different. What I felt, what I experienced, it was strange, even for me. It's not something I can explain just yet." She paused, her hand lowering from his face as she stepped back. "I need time to think about it carefully."
Arthur's eyes narrowed, reading what she wasn't saying. His voice cut through the quiet. "So you'll be leaving now."
"Yes." She gave a small nod, her hair shifting like a shadow over her shoulder. "Till we meet again. Probably soon, you never know when I come knocking."
Arthur sighed through his nose, the sound low, heavy, but not surprised. "Sure."
She smiled at that, her face a mix of warmth and enigma. And then, with no fanfare, she simply vanished.
Time resumed.
The hum of electricity returned, candles flickered again, the clink of glass scattered across the floor. Kara stumbled forward slightly, Raven's cloak shifted, patrons outside who had been frozen mid-scream mid-run continued their panic.
But to Kara's and Raven's surprise, the bloody corpse that had lain in Arthur's arms moments ago was gone. No body. No blood. Nothing but Arthur, standing alone in the center of the ruined restaurant, violet eyes half-dimmed, his coat brushing the air like a shadow.
Kara blinked, confusion etched across her face. Raven's lips parted slightly, her gaze darting from Arthur to the empty space where Didi had been. Neither spoke.
And Arthur only exhaled slowly, his hand brushing his face where hers had touched, the faintest ghost of warmth still lingering.
The world had resumed its rhythm as if nothing had happened. The corpse that had lain in Arthur's arms was gone no trace of Didi, no stain, no wound in the fabric of reality that explained her vanishing.
Kara staggered forward "Where is she?" Her hands balled into fists at her sides, her eyes wide. "She was just..right there in your arms, Arthur! Where is she?"
Raven's voice came quieter, steadier, but her gaze was sharp, calculating. "Did you teleport her somewhere else?" Her tone careful. She had seen things flicker in Arthur's expression that even her senses struggled to read.
Arthur didn't answer. He didn't even look at them. He simply started moving forward, steps slow but inexorable, toward the crumpled figure on the floor.
Black Mask was crawling backward across the floor, his mask cracked, suit torn and smeared with blood. He saw Arthur approach and panic lit his eyes.
"Wait… wait! Don't come any closer..listen, I can fix this. I can.." His voice cracked into desperation. "I can make you rich. Beyond measure. You want influence, power?! I've got connections, all the right ones, I can.."
Arthur kept walking. His shadow seemed to stretch across the ground before him like a living thing.
Roman's pleas grew more frantic, more ugly. "It wasn't my intention! I didn't mean to kill that stupid.."
The rest of the word never left his mouth. As he felt something crush him. Bloodlust.
Arthur's hand clenched into a fist, and with an unseen force of Ruler's Authority, Black Mask's jaw snapped sideways with a sickening crunch. His ornate mask shattered across the floor, fragments scattering like teeth. Roman screamed through the mangled ruin of his mouth, but the sound was cut short as Arthur closed the space between them and drove his fist into him again.
And again.
Each blow landed like thunder, bones cracking under the force, ribs collapsing, the tiled floor beneath them cracking with the violence of the assault. Arthur didn't yell. He didn't roar. His silence was far worse. His glowing violet eyes were fixed, unblinking, his expression carved from restrained fury, his knuckles slick with blood that wasn't his own.
Roman Sionis sagged at last, unconscious or perhaps just too broken to move. His body lay twisted and unmoving, his breaths shallow and wheezing, his face a grotesque ruin of bone and skin.
Arthur finally stopped. He stood over the broken man, chest rising and falling once, steady, before he turned his head slightly toward the two girls who had watched everything.
His voice, when it came, was calm. Controlled.
"Well… he won't be any trouble moving forward." He brushed his bloodied hand against his coat, almost mechanically. "He'll probably need life support. And a serious number of operations just to sit upright in a wheelchair again."
Neither Kara nor Raven moved.
Arthur turned his back on them and walked toward the restaurant's front doors. His steps were calm almost casual, like nothing happened.
"Arthur wait!" Kara moved instinctively, her hand rising, her voice breaking with demand and confusion.
But Raven's hand caught her wrist. She shook her head, her face pale but resolute. "Leave him be."
Kara turned to her, incredulous. "We saw that girl die Raven! we can't just.."
Her voice faltered under the weight of Raven's eyes.
Raven's gaze drifted past her, to the empty spot on the floor where Didi had been only moments before. Her lips pressed together tightly, a shadow flickering in her expression that was neither anger nor sadness, it was suspicion.
Softly, almost like a whisper not meant to be heard, she said to herself
'…What is really going on?'
The restaurant doors closed behind Arthur, his figure swallowed by the night beyond, leaving only silence and questions that neither Kara nor Raven could answer.
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want