The Ancient Hall dimmed as the flame of the torchlight danced erratically, turning its hue a ghostly emerald.
Tears of blood streamed endlessly from his eyes, staining his face and transforming his vision into a world drenched in crimson.
In that moment, Lidien's reality shifted, as though he had stepped into a realm where blood and shadow reigned supreme.
Time seemed to stretch and then freeze entirely, the world grinding to a halt.
From the stillness emerged a figure cloaked in black, his movements deliberate and haunting. With each step he took, a river of blood trailed behind him, its crimson waves flowing endlessly, as if bound to his very presence.
The air grew heavy, charged with an otherworldly energy, as the cloaked figure drew closer to Lidien.
"Thousands of years have passed since last I was called upon. Tell me, Child, why do you present a living offering to me, a Seraph of Death?"
The Seraph of Death began to circle Lidien, the river of blood surging and spreading around him, forming a suffocating bubble that enveloped Lidien entirely.
Lidien thrashed and struggled, trying to swim free from the crimson tide, but no matter how hard he fought, he could not escape the blood that held him captive.
The Seraph of Death let out a dark, echoing laugh, thoroughly amused by the sight of Lidien struggling, nearly drowning in His River of Blood.
For a moment, He was so entertained that He nearly forgot why He had come to this land and responded to Lidien's desperate prayer.
With a snap of His fingers, the River of Blood erupted, drenching Lidien in crimson and leaving him gasping for air, his body stained and trembling.
"Tell me, Child, what is it that you wish to trade?"
Lidien bit his lips and looked toward Lily, who was lying on the ground.
'Live... Lily, and continue the curse that I've received...'
The Seraph of Death smiled when he read Lidien's thought.
"I... would like to trade my life... for hers... so that she may live..."
The Seraph laughed; even He, a Seraph, could not resurrect one who has died.
Unless...
"Are you willing to gamble your life for hers, without certainty?"
Lidien stared into the eyes of the Seraph hidden beneath his hood, unafraid.
"I... am tired..."
Without instruction, without notice...
Lidien stabbed the Sacrificial Dagger into his own chest, smiling as his body slumped to the cold ground, his eyes fixed on Lily as his tears dropped, mixing with his pool of blood.
As the present Lidien watched everything before the old one stabbed himself, he thought it would be the end of the dream...
But it wasn't.
The Seraph knelt in front of the dead body of Lidien and removed his black cloak, showing his naked body covered in bone-deep scars.
He put his fingertip on the dead Lidien's chest, still dripping with fresh blood, before drawing ancient markings on his own body.
The Seraph lifted his head, staring beyond the dark ceiling, spreading his arms wide open.
"O Reaper Who Sits Upon the Throne Forged of Soul and Blood!"
He joined his hands together, pleading.
"The One Who Embraces the Living Left in Death's Wake!"
Then slammed his head on the rough ground, marking it with his bleeding forehead.
"Death Itself!"
Putting his elbows on the ground beside his head while raising his hands like a beggar, begging for blessing, he implored:
"Heed my Call!"
A black and crimson cloudy vortex crackled as strands of lightning ripped space, slowly enlarging the tear.
The torch's oddly green flame suddenly slowed its flickering until it stopped.
Beyond, a black throne stood oddly in the middle of a bloody world, where darkness was nature itself, impervious to the light of sun and stars.
A Being sat on the throne, chained, unbothered, staring boredly at the kneeling Seraph whose gaze could penetrate deep enough to see his soul.
"Master...." said the Seraph.
The Being smirked, placed his hand on his chin, and watched the Seraph, amused.
"How many years have it been..." said the Being.
"A hundred thousand years... Master..." The Seraph replied, fixing his position into that of a servant kneeling before his Master.
"A hundred thousand years, yet your hatred seems not to recede..."
The Seraph gripped his hands, nails digging into his palms, as nine pairs of black-crimson wings suddenly erupted from his back.
"Master... I offer you a body without a soul..."
The Being stood up, chains rattling against the black and bloody ground, and stepped out of the portal, entering the room where the dead Lidien and Seraph were.
"What did he trade it for?"
The Seraph then pointed to the side. A woman in her late twenties, blonde-haired and fair-skinned, lay on the cold ground, blood dripping from her mouth, her eyes still open, unmoving.
"To let that woman live..."
The Being then gripped the air.
When he opened his hand, a small fragmented white crystal with an ethereal face of Lily suspended above his palm, and sent it towards her lying on the cold ground.
Then he looked back at the Seraph.
"Watching and reliving the lives of millions of species since my existence... has made me realize one thing... Death is neither the beginning nor the End..."
As the Being walked slowly, a black miasma, thick and corrosive, followed his path.
"That even I, the God of Death, cannot comprehend the true meaning of Death..."
The God of Death stood in front of the Seraph, then smiled.
"...Tell me, what is the true purpose behind calling me out here... Was it just to offer a soulless body to me?"
The Seraph gritted his teeth before calming himself.
"Master... please use that body as your new vessel and reclaim what we lost!"
The God of Death smirked, then looked at the dead Lidien.
"What we lost, huh."
The God of Death then put his free hand into the air.
With a gentle pull, another portal opened, showing a distant and lonesome planet.
And when he opened his gripping hand, a bright crystal, diamond-bright and whole, suspended above his palm.
The dead body of Lidien floated.
The sacrificial dagger pulled itself from his chest; blood cascaded down his lower half and pooled on the ground.
Holding the diamond-bright crystal, the God of Death forcefully fused it with the fragmented crystal of the dead Lidien into one.
With a gesture, a crimson vortex slowly materialized above his palm.
"Master! No! This is not what I prayed for!"
The God of Death smiled, bloody tears flowing down from his crimson eyes.
"I know..."
With his remaining strength, the God of Death forcefully fused his Essence into the crystal.
The diamond-bright crystal darkened, turning bloody, sucking every drop of blood in the room before he placed it into the chest of the dead Lidien suspended midair.
"As the God of Death... it's time for me to experience what Death truly is."
The Seraph watched his Master slowly disintegrating.
The God of Death just smiled, blissful... until he vanished into nothingness.
"In the end... Master chose not to fight..."
The Seraph looked at the unconscious child, forced a smile, and sighed.
Then looked towards the present Lidien who watched everything unfold.
"We'll await your return... Master."
Until he vanished like black smoke in the air.