The Demon's Bride

Chapter 682: Difference of Lost Lives-III

In a blank, Hallow watched the way a human's life could go downhill. The boy's life was rough but he remain happy as he continues to think a positive life along with his sister who acted as his mental support.

Now, the girl, her sister had died and Hallow could see the despair on the boy's eyes. Watching this, Hallow remember again the true reason why he had been watching the boy's life.

In the beginning, his purpose of coming was to pass to the abyss, finding a peace for his soul so he could retire from his position as the grim reaper.

"Not wrong, that boy was you," came the voice from behind Hallow that shocked the little chick.

Hallow had somewhat guessed it in his mind but can't help to be surprised from hearing this. He turned to see the person standing beside him was none other than the same creature who had guided him to the current room he was staying at.

Hallow pursed his lips and looked at the boy who had stopped moving as the vision had halt in movements. Slowly, he understood why he was fascinated with the boy as the boy was himself.

"What happened after this?" Hallow questioned. Being a grim reaper, once his punishment was bestowed and turns into a grim reaper, his memories had been erased, causing him to forgot the sequence of his life story.b

"While there are those who manage to avenge the unfair deaths of their family like those two children who you served before, there are more cases like you who wasn't able to do anything in face of injustice," the creature stated, "As you know, I don't think I have to describe you of what happened to you after your sister's death, do I?"

Hallow pursed his lips again, or more correctly, his beak. He stayed quiet before saying, "She died." It was hard to tell what he was feeling emotionally at the moment.

Hallow felt a weariness in his heart but he cannot feel the exact sorrow that his past self had felt. Perhaps because being a grim reaper, his emotions had been erased; or perhaps because he didn't share the same memories as his past self did. Regardless, he could feel the hollowness caving inside his heart, making him to realize how he once felt in the past when he was still alive was similar.

"What is the purpose for me to see this?" Hallow then questioned when he felt the pain in his heart to be unbearable. The conflicting emotions he felt was overwhelming to him who had stopped having emotions once he had turned into a grim reaper.

The creature crossed his arms, "Why do you ask me that?"

Hallow rolled his eyes, "It's hard to think that for me to reincarnate and to graduate from a grim reaper, I would only need to watch my past and my cause of death."

"It could be that easily, after all, your punishment was to watch how life matter; how each lives weigh heavily on themselves and those around them," said the creature.

"Perhaps that's true but I can see that's not all the reason why you had shown me this."

The creature stared at the chick before finally nodding his head. "Right now as we speak, I have two souls with me," the creature took a walk and pull out both of his hands where a blue wisps floating over his palms. The right soul belong to the head of the crew who had sacrificed you and lied to you. Second soul is…"

"Before that," Hallow raised his wing, "Where is my sister?"

At the question, the creature only stared at him. Thinking that perhaps he wasn't clear enough, Hallow said again, "If she died of the same reason as I did, she should be a grim reaper as well. Tell me… I don't mind if you reveal that she is a lower reaper. I will only wish to know her current condition, or if she had perhaps left the abyss before me."

"No," the creature shook his head, receiving Hallow's confusion. "Hear me, Hallow. You sister is not in abyss. She has never came to the abyss nor have she ever turned into a grim reaper. Only you."

"What do you mean?" Hallow's brows creased, a premonition lurked over his heart, causing a ball to form in his throat. "She had taken her own life… how can she not…" realization struck Hallow whose green eyes stunned in shock. "She didn't took her life?"

"She never did," the creature answered.

Hallow was confused, "Was it her illness?"

"Neither that," the creature answered and swiped his hand across the sky, resulting for an image of his sister. "She died because on the stormy night, she had came to find you. Knowing how diligent you are to always meet her at promise time and come back home at time, she was worried an accident occurred in the harbor. But the poor girl slipped from the slope."

"But why… did those people found her in our house?" Hallow continue to ask. His sister should have become a strange to his current self but his concern didn't change like the time when he was still a human.

"The magistrate knew that your disappearance will raise questions. He had came to check on your sister to give his poor excuse so others won't found out his dirty deeds when he found her dead body. He feared that people would blame him for killing your sister and to dirty his name."

"He let her body stays in that house for days?" Hallow questioned. He was shocked, baffled, and at lost of words with anger.

The creature decided it was best not to further add how in fact his sister hadn't died when she fell from the slope. If the magistrate had chosen to help her instead of ignoring the accident, she would have stayed alive.

"Coming back, Hallow. This soul on my left side belong to that head crew, Timmie Jerlson. The other one is—" the creature didn't have to complete as Hallow said,

"The magistrate." At first, Hallow didn't understood why he had been brought here but now he learned it wasn't hard to know why.

"Yes, I need you to make a choice, Hallow out of three." The creature explained.

"Three?" Hallow could only see two choices presented in front of him.

"Both souls is counted as two and as for the third one," the creature stepped aside, letting Hallow to look at the white snowy door which stood at behind the creature. The door was tall and wide. Golden framed and had a pattern of doves which as blinding to see with the magnificent purity of the color.

"You can choose whether you want to destroy one of the two souls on my hands, or even both. While you can also choose to go that door, leaving this world and to leave this world for good."

At some point, Hallow's body had changed. The once chick had turned into a human; a boy of the young age whose eyes were brown in comparison to his usual green eyes. He was shorter than most of the boys of his age due to the condition of his physical growth when he was once a human.

Assuming his old body, Hallow who had became taller than when he was still a chick stared to the two souls longer compared to the door.

He still didn't have the same emotion as his past self felt. He didn't know if he felt anger or rage; or wether it was regret. However, one thing was clear. Seeing the two souls his hands urge to take hold of the soul and clench his fist, flexing his muscle to destroy the souls to pieces.

Before he knew it, his hands had hovered over the two souls. His eyes were still brown but a glimmer of anger had turned his eyes red.

The creature who stared at this made no expression. He was forbidden to stop the grim reapers to make their decision or to change their mind by swaying their choice. Nevertheless, he felt it was quite a shame that Hallow who had the opportunity to leave the world would destroy the same opportunity.

He can't help but say, "When you choose to destroy this souls, however, you would never be able to go pass that door ever again."

Hallow stopped but he didn't remove his hands from hovering over the souls. He had seen the deaths of humans and he knew how most of deaths are painful rather than peaceful. His sister, whom he didn't remember had died in one of the worse death possible. He doesn't remember but the anger that raise in his heart was genuine.

The creature could only found the answer of Hallow's choice when his fingers touched the souls.

"Wait a second," a voice came aloud from behind them and the door which wasn't there in the beginning appeared all of a sudden. Ian entered in ease to the room which had been closed for use. "There's an unfinished business that needs to be taken care before that chick could leave this world."

The creature frowned when seeing Ian and Elise who followed behind him.

"You two knew that coming here is against the rules, don't you?" The creature questioned and Elise offered the creature a smile.

"Our birth was against the rule as well, what could be worse than that?" Ian questioned. One of his lips curl high while his eyes narrows.