17 Chapter 17: Death III

Wednesday afternoon, after school. Duncan sat in front of the nurse's desk once more as Miss Marcia Lang sat behind said desk. The woman looked at him calmly, while the boy moved his foot up and down, indicating anxiety.

The woman clearly noticed, but she didn't say anything at first. She simply placed her hands on the desk and began the session.

"Thank you for coming, Duncan." she said with a faint smile. "Now, do you have something interesting to tell me this afternoon?"

"Not really." Duncan hummed.

"Oh, that's unexpected," said Miss Lang. "I heard you pass the football team tryouts. That's not interesting enough for you to tell me that?"

"Well I guess," said Duncan. "But it's not really a big deal, is it? It's just a football team."

Miss Lang just laughed at Duncan's casual tone. "Some teenagers would kill to be in your position, you know? If you're good in your position, you'll be popular around school. and If you bring your team to the national championship, that's even better."

"I'm not that good at being able to do that." Duncan chuckled awkwardly. "Mr. Wilson put too much hope in me."

"Nonsense." said Miss Lang calmly. "I'm sure you'll do well. Soon enough, the girls would flock around you."

Duncan shook his head halfheartedly. "Yeah…"

"What? You don't like girls? I don't judge." Miss Lang shrugged. "Perhaps a few boys will—"

"Oh god, no, no, I'm definitely into girls." Duncan hurriedly corrected the woman. "Just… I'm not that shallow."

"Well that's surprising." Miss Lang raised her brow. "Actually, no, that's not surprising at all. I'm sure you're not the type of boy to play with people's feelings."

"I don't know about playing with people's feelings… But I certainly wouldn't date a girl that likes me just because I'm popular. I just can't understand those types of people that dated those kinds of girls or guys, they clearly knew that they're interested just because they're famous or popular, but they still did it. It's just depressing to see, a fake connection, an obvious facade."

"Well, perhaps those kinds of guys or girls knew, but they welcome the attention anyway." the woman said. "Human beings tend to blind themselves to gain short term comfort."

Miss Lang's explanation only elicited a hum from Duncan. Then there was silence. They didn't say anything; an unpleasant mood gradually engulfed the room, but the two of them just sat there, silent.

Duncan kept moving his feet up and down in nervousness, but he eventually stopped. Miss Lang saw when he stopped moving and smiled at him.

"Do you have something else to say, Duncan?" asked the woman.

Duncan gazed down at the ground, his hands on the chair's armrest. He then pulled something from his pocket and placed it on the nurse's desk.

Miss Lang only raised an eyebrow as she examined the object. It was the tarot card of death, numbered "XIII" on the roman numeral.

"My lady, what do you want from me?" questioned Duncan calmly.

Miss Lang just chuckled at Duncan's question. "What do you mean, Duncan? What is this? Do you believe in tarot card readings?"

"You know what it means." Duncan continued. "Do you need something from me? Do you want to take me back to your realm? Or something else?"

The woman in front of him didn't say anything at first, but then, the woman just sighed.

"You discovered me quicker than I thought." the woman said. "I thought you never will really, I didn't think that you knew I even existed. Even beings such as me are not omniscient to know everything it seems."

"Death comes for everyone, right?" Duncan stated. "Whether we believe it or not."

The woman smiled. "Indeed, Duncan."

And then, darkness.

—

As Duncan's vision returned, he realized he was in a dark place. Nothing was around him, not even a mote of dust; he actually felt as if he were inside the infinite nothingness.

"Worry not." A voice suddenly echoed throughout the dimension. "I mean you no harm, Duncan."

When Duncan turned to face the source of the voice, he saw a pale yet beautiful woman sitting atop a terrifying throne. The throne appeared to be built of giant and other creature bones, and the woman was only dressed in a dark purple robe that covered everything but her hands and parts of her face.

"Mistress Death." Duncan said. "So you are her."

"You may call me whatever you like, Duncan. My Lady, Miss Lang, Marcia, Death, it's up to you."

"Alright." Duncan nodded. "You said you mean no harm, so you won't take me back to your realm?"

"This is the realm, Duncan. Parts of it anyway." answered the lady. "But true, I mean you no harm."

"Then what do you want from me?"

The lady chuckled. "I do not want anything from you, Duncan. I was… curious."

"Curious?"

"A boy born with a faint aura of death." the lady continued. "A foreign soul from another universe, a soul that has died once. I was naturally curious."

Duncan was quiet for a few seconds. "And then?"

"Do not get me wrong, Duncan. Usually, I do not care about such things. I usually let my legions restore order. But when you awaken your power, I become more curious. So I came to earth to examine you."

The lady then stood up. She walked down the throne slowly towards Duncan, where she cupped the boy's cheek, caressing his hair. "You have certainly caught my attention…"

"...And why is that?"

"You know, mortal beings see me as enemies." answered the lady. "They fear me, they brand me as evil, a threat to the universe. Countless stories were created about me where I am the villain… but you… you took pity on me… a laughable concept to think of, it makes me want to laugh, but I can't help to appreciate what you said."

The lady released her grip from Duncan's face and stepped back a couple of feet.

"Do you want to know how death works in this reality, Duncan?" asked the lady.

Duncan just nods at her words.

"When someone dies, I rarely ever go to do it by myself. I usually send my minions, or the beings that are believed by the mortals to be their death god, to liberate their souls." she said. "But when I do, I present myself as one of their loved ones."

In an instant, The lady turned into Catherine, Duncan's mother.

"If their loved ones are their parents or siblings, then they will cry on my shoulders, apologize, or curse me for not being there for them when they need it, whatever they're feeling in their final moments. If their loved ones are their lover, then they will try to kiss me, they will beg for forgiveness, they will say their piece to me."

"Then why'd you do it?" Duncan asked.

The woman suddenly turned to Gwen Stacy. "For closure, Duncan. Even if it's just a facade, a fake connection, it helps with the pain. They know it wasn't their loved ones, yet they still cry on my shoulders, they still beg for forgiveness."

"I guess what you said is true, human beings will blind themselves to seek short term comfort." Duncan hummed.

The woman smiled as it turned back her 'normal' form. "Indeed."

The lady walked to sit on her throne again, before looking down on the boy. "What do you think of me, Duncan? Am I evil for taking a soul? Am I a villain for reinforcing balance in the universe?"

"No." answered Duncan. "At the end of the day, you are a natural force, a fundamental concept that must be maintained."

"I appreciate your truthfulness, Duncan." the lady smiled. "Though you are not ready yet for the full responsibility, I will give you this gift, as you seemed adamant to not want to come to this place ever again."

A black light suddenly appeared in front of Duncan, and it lunged itself towards him, entering his heart.

"What was that?" Duncan questioned.

"Like I said, a gift." answered the lady. "This will be our last meeting for a while, Duncan. So, for the last time, do you have something interesting that you want to share with me?"

Duncan just shook his head in amusement. "No, Marcia."

"Then let us end this session." she said. "I will be watching you Duncan, I hope you succeed in anything that you will do in the future."

After that, Duncan's sight turned dark once more.

—

When Duncan opened his eyes again, he saw a familiar scene. It was the nurse's office, and he was the only one there.

He noticed the card he had given to Miss Lang on the desk in front of him. When he took it, he felt a familiar cold sensation and lifted his brow.

He accepted the card and placed it in his pocket.

The boy then looked around to see if anyone would come into the office, and when he determined that no one would, he opened Apocryphon.

At first, he noticed the previous addition, the Fool Arcana page.

[I: Thou hast made a vow with the Arcana of the Fool. Thy heart can hold two of your alternate selves.]

He quickly concluded that he could have another persona, but he doesn't know how to get another one yet, so he discarded that thought for later.

When he flipped to the Temperance Arcana page, he observed that while the number [III] was present, there were no words beside it. When he thought about it, perhaps not every rank has a reward, so he can only conclude that there was no reward in rank III.

The Hermit Arcana comes next.

[I: Thou hast made a vow with the Arcana of the Hermit. Thy affinity for magic is strong; mastering it is simple.]

The rank I of the hermit arcana is quite easy to interpret, as Duncan could learn magic easily now.

Finally, there is the arcana of death.

He was initially perplexed. There are three new additions. The numbers [III], [IV], and [V]. Though numbers III and IV don't have any words, that means they don't have any rewards.

However, the number V has one.

[V: Thou hast touched the lady's heart. She has chosen you to be one of her minor advocates; thou can see the aura of death, and she has banned you from entering her realm.]

Duncan was confused by what he had read. If she banned him from entering her realm, does that mean he's immortal?

He couldn't think of another interpretation, but there's still a chance he misread it; perhaps there's another interpretation that Duncan couldn't think of.

Duncan simply closed the book after seeing all of this. He sat on the chair for a few moments to clear his mind before leaving to go home.