「14」The God of Death and The Moon Deity (2)

SIDAPA


I GOT back to my tree, but I saw no one. I looked around, searched every bush and tree, and still nothing. When I got tired, I walked back, disappointed.

“Um, excuse me?” I panicked when I heard a voice speak behind me.

I assumed it was hovering over me so I lifted my head up to the sky, but it turned out that it was standing right in front of me so I looked down. My eyes widened.

Before me stood a being whom I had never seen before. It had long, silver white hair that stretched down to its waist. Its skin was so pale, and their icy blue eyes were gorgeous. It wore a silk robe that covered very little of its skin. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, but one thing was for sure:

(It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.)

“Who are you?” I asked in a soft voice. But since I was in my true form, what was soft for me would sound very deep and scary for others, like talking to a creature that came straight from the underground.

“Can you please help me?” he begged. I had to assume he was a man. I was surprised that he didn’t flinch or cower in fear when he heard my voice, let alone saw my frightening appearance.

“What’s the matter?” I asked. I wondered if he noticed that I was staring holes at him. I just couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was dazzling.

He looked around and seemed worried about something, before answering me. “I fell down and hurt my leg,” he said, and that was when I saw the nasty scratch on his right leg.

“Are you alright?” I inquired, and bent over to have a closer look at his injury. I almost touched him, but I was quick enough to stop myself. I didn’t want to scare him away.

He faced the other side to hide his injury, then said, “I’m fine.”

“Does it hurt?” I asked, and tried to peek but he would just avoid my attempts.

“No,” he denied, but it was written all over his face that he was hurting.

“You’re hurt,” I insisted, but he just pouted at me. “If it’s okay, you can rest underneath my tree. Just… don’t touch anything,” I offered, a little embarrassed.

His expression suddenly brightened up. “You live inside that tree?” he exclaimed in a fascinated tone.

“Underneath,” I corrected. “Well, mostly. But I don’t technically live there,” I clarified. “Just come,” I told him, and he became gloomy again.

“It’s actually hard to walk now. My leg started swelling,” he said with a saddened expression.

“Then is it okay for you if I carry you back there?” I asked. He became happy again. Funny how fast his mood changed every time.

He stared at me for some time before noticing, “You’re pretty big. How tall are you, Mister?” he asked curiously.

“Seriously? You ask that now?” I sarcastically replied. “Enough with the questions. Hold on to my back,” I told him. “And don’t fall down,” I added.

“Can you carry me like a princess?” he requested.

“What?” I was dumbfounded.

“I’m afraid of heights!” he reasoned.

“I see,” I said, and I carefully carried him in my arms. It scared me when I felt his delicate body. If I were some vicious killer, I could snap him in an instant. That was how delicate he appeared to me.

The beautiful creature trembled when I slowly elevated him, but he tried to hide it by closing his eyes shut.

「Where did he come from?」 I thought as I silently threw glances at him. 「He still hasn't said anything about my appearance. I wonder if he has some eye problems?」 I wondered further.

What was I thinking? It was unfair of me to think of him that way. Maybe he wasn’t the type to judge someone by their looks.

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WHEN we arrived, the creature was in awe when he saw my tree. The tree that I used to carve all the lifelines of every soul was about 20 feet tall. To someone else’s perspective, it looked lifeless and ugly. It was all black and had no single leaf growing on its branches. Even its glow was dim. I was the only one who appreciated its beauty.

It was purposely designed to look that way. Before I decided to live on this mountain, I was told by Kaptan— God of the Heavens and Skies—that human hearts were fragile. If they were to face something that was beyond what they could acquire in this world, they would do anything in their power to possess it. They were easily fooled by beauty and disregarded the hideous.

In order to protect my tree and for me to continue guiding souls in the afterlife, the tree had to become something repulsive to the sight.

“You live here?” the creature asked. He was still sitting comfortably in my arms. He didn’t really mind all the oozing darkness that surrounded me. My true form was something no one would want to see in their dreams.

“He is a very large creature standing 12 foot tall. He has 10 golden brass horns on his head that intertwine against each other, resembling a crown. He has a body that shouts ‘death’ when somebody sees him, his spine protruding on his back. The graphite color of his skin is something you can’t adore. A black material is growing out of his arms and it extends up to his shoulders. From his waist down is the color of darkness. He has deep, black eyes with white pupils, and sometimes they glow. Lastly, his face will haunt you in your dreams forever,” I recited.

My companion lifted his head up to meet my eyes. “Are you referring to yourself, Mister?” he asked. Not a hint of fear was shown on his face.

“Aren’t you afraid?” I asked in a low voice. “Please say that you are,” I begged.

“Why?” he asked in confusion. Then, he stretched out his arms and he gently cupped my cheeks with both of his hands. “You are handsome, Mister,” he uttered, before smiling earnestly. He wasn’t lying. I could tell from the look in his eyes.

That was the first time that someone complimented me. It was unbelievable, but it warmed me up inside.

“I’m going to drop you,” I said, and I covered my face with black smoke to hide my embarrassment.

“Huh?! Why?!” he squealed. “You meanie!” He threw several punches on my chest, and it felt like I was getting hit by a tiny bird. I put him down on the ground. He still threw a fit but soon stopped when I no longer spoke and distanced myself a little. “Um… Do you have anything that I can use to disinfect my wound?” he suddenly asked. He was calmer now.