Categories > Anime/Manga > Death Note > Shinigami: Death of the Old World
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So, that was it, then. Misa was going to be caught and executed, unless Rem walked into Light Yagami’s trap and killed Ryuzaki.
“Who will die? Misa or me…?” she thought. But she already knew the answer. In her heart, she had always known the answer. Misa’s happiness came first. All Rem could ever ask for was a long and happy life for the little human she’d come to love in every way possible…as a dear friend, as a sister…as a daughter.
“Watari, contact the leader of a country who would agree to this,” said Ryuzaki, already steering the investigation back in Misa’s direction by making plans to test the notebook.
“Watari...he was with Ryuzaki and Light Yagami on the way back here,” thought Rem. “And he’s passed along important information over the computer since then. He’s Ryuzaki’s right-hand man…if I want to write down the name of people whose deaths would lengthen Misa’s remaining lifespan, I have until the first person dies. That’s 40 seconds to write as many names as I can…”
Quietly, Rem drifted through the wall into the adjacent room. Hands trembling, she took out her death note and pen, and flipped to a fresh sheet. She touched the pen to paper, fighting back a flood of horrible emotions she’d never felt before and wasn’t prepared to face. This was the end…the end of her life…she’d never see Misa again; she’d never see anything again; all her senses, memories, and sense of self erased forever in the dust of death. Doom and oblivion were raising a deafening cacophony inside her head, and she almost put the pen away, but she firmly reminded herself of why she was doing this. It was the only way. She had to do it…this was no time to let her emotions get the better of her. She was stronger than that…she would bravely face death, for her Misa. Rem steeled herself, took a moment to remember everything she’d seen, heard and felt for one last time, and began writing her own death sentence. Her hands were trembling so violently, the symbols she wrote were barely legible. Once Quillsh Wammy’s name was down and her fate was already sealed, writing L Lawliet’s was just a bit easier. Rem closed her notebook and bowed her head, waiting for the inevitable. She could almost feel her disintegration beginning.
“This is Misa’s happiness, to be with Light Yagami. But Light Yagami…to kill even a shinigami…he’s surpassed the shinigami…”
An amused “tsk” sound came from Rem’s right.
“Now, now, young one, don’t you remember me telling you not to get too attached to humans? It’s dangerous, you know,” said the voice. It was warm, soothing, fatherly-and very familiar.
Startled, Rem looked up. She’d heard the voice before, but she’d never seen the shinigami who was now perched on top of one of the processors for the building’s massive network of computers.
He wasn’t as big as Midora, but compared to most shinigami, he was still fearsomely large. His skin was blue, and he was heavily muscled. A long, black mane ran from the top of his head and down his back, and his lower body was covered in fine black feathers. He had large, cloven hooves for feet, and he wore a belt with a skull-themed buckle. His nose was flat, like many other shinigami’s, and he had a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth. Bull-like horns sprouted from his temples, and his eyes were a vivid red, with black pupils. He was carrying a scythe, larger and more ornate than any Rem had seen before, and he was holding his death note.
“I know it’s dangerous. But it’s too late; I’ve made my decision,” Rem said to the stranger.
“Don’t be so certain,” said the stranger, smiling warmly as he flipped open his death note and showed Rem what he’d written: Quillsh Wammy, and L Lawliet.
Rem looked back at him quizzically.
The stranger chuckled. “It was very easy to kill them before you did, dear. You write very slowly when you’re so terrified. It’s been forty seconds now, and you’re still alive-no need to thank me. Taking care of my little ones has always been my number-one priority.”
It took a moment for what he was saying to sink in, but when it did, the relief that flooded through Rem brought her to her knees.
“Who are you?” she asked her saviour, awestruck.
The stranger let out another chortle of grandfatherly laughter. “You know who I am, young one. Think. You’ve known me since you were born. Of course, you only know my voice; I don’t usually appear in front of anyone in person. You’re a smart little creature…that’s why I gave you a rank of four. I’m sure you can guess who I am.”
“Gave me a rank of four…,” Rem repeated to herself. Suddenly, it dawned on her, where she’d heard this voice before…she’d heard it explain the characters in human names, how to add and subtract human life spans from her own, what the rules of the realm were, all while huddled in a massive crowd of every other shinigami in the realm…
“Great King!...thank you,” Rem stammered as she hastily bowed her head. “But…I thought you were the large golden shinigami with two faces who hangs from the tower!”
“No, no,” said the King, smiling kindly. “That’s not a shinigami. It’s more of a very large puppet, really. I built it so I could talk to those who came to me, while I was almost anywhere within the tower. Think of it as more of my representative, if you must.”
“Great King, you are more merciful and kind than I’ve ever imagined. I can’t even begin to express…”
He shushed her, gently. “Then don’t. Right now, you must listen to me. At the moment, your existence is a bit of a bother to the human named Light Yagami…quite a clever little worm, isn’t he? He’s quite happy right now in his belief that you’re dead, and I see no reason to deprive him of his happiness by letting him know the truth. I can’t let him keep trying to force you to kill yourself, dear, so I’ll make you a deal. You can watch over your human from our realm- it will be a great advantage for her, if you can protect her without Light Yagami knowing. My only request is that from now on, talk to me first, before you consider something drastic. Now, then, we need to make sure he’s fully convinced that you’re dead. ”
“How do we do that?” asked Rem.
“Fairly easily,” said the King as he hopped down from the processor. Rem hadn’t noticed it before, but he’d had a large, full bag slung over his shoulder, the contents of which he emptied out onto the floor.
“Ah. Sand,” said Rem.
“Yes. I told you it would be easy-just one more thing. I’m sorry, young one, but seeing as how death notes don’t disintegrate along with their owners, you’re going to have to leave yours behind.”
Rem nodded. “I understand,” she said as she stuck her death note into the pile of sand.
“Excellent. Follow me!” the King said as he flew through the nearest wall.
Rem obeyed without question. After what he’d done for her, the King deserved every bit of trust that his benign voice inspired.
They flew out of the building, over Tokyo, and climbed steeply up into the sky, finally reaching the portal to the shinigami realm. They passed through it, but the King kept flying at a steep upward angle, quickly gaining altitude. Rem grew concerned as they began to approach the King’s tower- although it was still a ways off, they were nearly level with the top of it, and still climbing.
“Great King?” she asked. “I don’t believe I’ll be able to continue flying this high without breaking the rule against being above the fifth level…”
“Don’t worry yourself. You have my permission,” said the King. “In fact, I’m going so far as to let you inside the tower. You see, there’s an urgent matter I must discuss with you privately.”
Rem was intrigued. What could possibly be so important?
They landed on top of the tower, and the King led her down the spiral staircase, then down another set of steep stairs that went straight down. This room was very small and very bare, save for the multitude of various chains, shackles, and who knows what other devices hanging from the walls and ceiling.
Rem was about to speak, but the King beat her to it.
“Rem. How many shinigami do you know who have died, sacrificing themselves to prolong the lifespan of a favoured human?”
Was this what the King had been so anxious to discuss? “At least ten, but that was a long time ago, when shinigami still visited the human world regularly; although, there were a few more after that. Why, just months ago, Gelus…”
“And do you know why I saved you, and not them?”
Rem was taken aback at his question. “Well, there were so many at first, I doubt you could have saved them all…but Gelus…I don’t know. Why?”
The King smiled sweetly at her. “The reason I didn’t let you die, dear…is because I wanted to kill you myself.”
Rem barely had time to register her shock before the King swung the blunt end of his scythe at her. She dematerialized, instinctively and immediately.
But it didn’t work. Rem cried out in surprise as the scythe struck her face and knocked her to the floor.
Dazed, she tried in vain to stand up. Hot, wet sand was filling her mouth…what? How could that be? She spat out a few broken teeth along with the sand, and felt bewilderedly at her mouth as more hot, wet sand streamed out of it. What was this horrible sensation...? With a jolt, Rem realized that for the first time, she was in physical pain. But it didn’t last long. With a blow to the back of her head-one that should’ve passed through her, but didn’t- she was out.
So, that was it, then. Misa was going to be caught and executed, unless Rem walked into Light Yagami’s trap and killed Ryuzaki.
“Who will die? Misa or me…?” she thought. But she already knew the answer. In her heart, she had always known the answer. Misa’s happiness came first. All Rem could ever ask for was a long and happy life for the little human she’d come to love in every way possible…as a dear friend, as a sister…as a daughter.
“Watari, contact the leader of a country who would agree to this,” said Ryuzaki, already steering the investigation back in Misa’s direction by making plans to test the notebook.
“Watari...he was with Ryuzaki and Light Yagami on the way back here,” thought Rem. “And he’s passed along important information over the computer since then. He’s Ryuzaki’s right-hand man…if I want to write down the name of people whose deaths would lengthen Misa’s remaining lifespan, I have until the first person dies. That’s 40 seconds to write as many names as I can…”
Quietly, Rem drifted through the wall into the adjacent room. Hands trembling, she took out her death note and pen, and flipped to a fresh sheet. She touched the pen to paper, fighting back a flood of horrible emotions she’d never felt before and wasn’t prepared to face. This was the end…the end of her life…she’d never see Misa again; she’d never see anything again; all her senses, memories, and sense of self erased forever in the dust of death. Doom and oblivion were raising a deafening cacophony inside her head, and she almost put the pen away, but she firmly reminded herself of why she was doing this. It was the only way. She had to do it…this was no time to let her emotions get the better of her. She was stronger than that…she would bravely face death, for her Misa. Rem steeled herself, took a moment to remember everything she’d seen, heard and felt for one last time, and began writing her own death sentence. Her hands were trembling so violently, the symbols she wrote were barely legible. Once Quillsh Wammy’s name was down and her fate was already sealed, writing L Lawliet’s was just a bit easier. Rem closed her notebook and bowed her head, waiting for the inevitable. She could almost feel her disintegration beginning.
“This is Misa’s happiness, to be with Light Yagami. But Light Yagami…to kill even a shinigami…he’s surpassed the shinigami…”
An amused “tsk” sound came from Rem’s right.
“Now, now, young one, don’t you remember me telling you not to get too attached to humans? It’s dangerous, you know,” said the voice. It was warm, soothing, fatherly-and very familiar.
Startled, Rem looked up. She’d heard the voice before, but she’d never seen the shinigami who was now perched on top of one of the processors for the building’s massive network of computers.
He wasn’t as big as Midora, but compared to most shinigami, he was still fearsomely large. His skin was blue, and he was heavily muscled. A long, black mane ran from the top of his head and down his back, and his lower body was covered in fine black feathers. He had large, cloven hooves for feet, and he wore a belt with a skull-themed buckle. His nose was flat, like many other shinigami’s, and he had a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth. Bull-like horns sprouted from his temples, and his eyes were a vivid red, with black pupils. He was carrying a scythe, larger and more ornate than any Rem had seen before, and he was holding his death note.
“I know it’s dangerous. But it’s too late; I’ve made my decision,” Rem said to the stranger.
“Don’t be so certain,” said the stranger, smiling warmly as he flipped open his death note and showed Rem what he’d written: Quillsh Wammy, and L Lawliet.
Rem looked back at him quizzically.
The stranger chuckled. “It was very easy to kill them before you did, dear. You write very slowly when you’re so terrified. It’s been forty seconds now, and you’re still alive-no need to thank me. Taking care of my little ones has always been my number-one priority.”
It took a moment for what he was saying to sink in, but when it did, the relief that flooded through Rem brought her to her knees.
“Who are you?” she asked her saviour, awestruck.
The stranger let out another chortle of grandfatherly laughter. “You know who I am, young one. Think. You’ve known me since you were born. Of course, you only know my voice; I don’t usually appear in front of anyone in person. You’re a smart little creature…that’s why I gave you a rank of four. I’m sure you can guess who I am.”
“Gave me a rank of four…,” Rem repeated to herself. Suddenly, it dawned on her, where she’d heard this voice before…she’d heard it explain the characters in human names, how to add and subtract human life spans from her own, what the rules of the realm were, all while huddled in a massive crowd of every other shinigami in the realm…
“Great King!...thank you,” Rem stammered as she hastily bowed her head. “But…I thought you were the large golden shinigami with two faces who hangs from the tower!”
“No, no,” said the King, smiling kindly. “That’s not a shinigami. It’s more of a very large puppet, really. I built it so I could talk to those who came to me, while I was almost anywhere within the tower. Think of it as more of my representative, if you must.”
“Great King, you are more merciful and kind than I’ve ever imagined. I can’t even begin to express…”
He shushed her, gently. “Then don’t. Right now, you must listen to me. At the moment, your existence is a bit of a bother to the human named Light Yagami…quite a clever little worm, isn’t he? He’s quite happy right now in his belief that you’re dead, and I see no reason to deprive him of his happiness by letting him know the truth. I can’t let him keep trying to force you to kill yourself, dear, so I’ll make you a deal. You can watch over your human from our realm- it will be a great advantage for her, if you can protect her without Light Yagami knowing. My only request is that from now on, talk to me first, before you consider something drastic. Now, then, we need to make sure he’s fully convinced that you’re dead. ”
“How do we do that?” asked Rem.
“Fairly easily,” said the King as he hopped down from the processor. Rem hadn’t noticed it before, but he’d had a large, full bag slung over his shoulder, the contents of which he emptied out onto the floor.
“Ah. Sand,” said Rem.
“Yes. I told you it would be easy-just one more thing. I’m sorry, young one, but seeing as how death notes don’t disintegrate along with their owners, you’re going to have to leave yours behind.”
Rem nodded. “I understand,” she said as she stuck her death note into the pile of sand.
“Excellent. Follow me!” the King said as he flew through the nearest wall.
Rem obeyed without question. After what he’d done for her, the King deserved every bit of trust that his benign voice inspired.
They flew out of the building, over Tokyo, and climbed steeply up into the sky, finally reaching the portal to the shinigami realm. They passed through it, but the King kept flying at a steep upward angle, quickly gaining altitude. Rem grew concerned as they began to approach the King’s tower- although it was still a ways off, they were nearly level with the top of it, and still climbing.
“Great King?” she asked. “I don’t believe I’ll be able to continue flying this high without breaking the rule against being above the fifth level…”
“Don’t worry yourself. You have my permission,” said the King. “In fact, I’m going so far as to let you inside the tower. You see, there’s an urgent matter I must discuss with you privately.”
Rem was intrigued. What could possibly be so important?
They landed on top of the tower, and the King led her down the spiral staircase, then down another set of steep stairs that went straight down. This room was very small and very bare, save for the multitude of various chains, shackles, and who knows what other devices hanging from the walls and ceiling.
Rem was about to speak, but the King beat her to it.
“Rem. How many shinigami do you know who have died, sacrificing themselves to prolong the lifespan of a favoured human?”
Was this what the King had been so anxious to discuss? “At least ten, but that was a long time ago, when shinigami still visited the human world regularly; although, there were a few more after that. Why, just months ago, Gelus…”
“And do you know why I saved you, and not them?”
Rem was taken aback at his question. “Well, there were so many at first, I doubt you could have saved them all…but Gelus…I don’t know. Why?”
The King smiled sweetly at her. “The reason I didn’t let you die, dear…is because I wanted to kill you myself.”
Rem barely had time to register her shock before the King swung the blunt end of his scythe at her. She dematerialized, instinctively and immediately.
But it didn’t work. Rem cried out in surprise as the scythe struck her face and knocked her to the floor.
Dazed, she tried in vain to stand up. Hot, wet sand was filling her mouth…what? How could that be? She spat out a few broken teeth along with the sand, and felt bewilderedly at her mouth as more hot, wet sand streamed out of it. What was this horrible sensation...? With a jolt, Rem realized that for the first time, she was in physical pain. But it didn’t last long. With a blow to the back of her head-one that should’ve passed through her, but didn’t- she was out.
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