《Life Of Death》


 Prologue

    LIKE always, I never stopped running away. I don''t know from what or from whom. I just went where my sluggish feet would take me, even though I noticed since, from the beginning, I have shackles burdening my feet.


    Obviously, I would fail my escape but giving up is impossible because I can''t control my movements.


    When I stopped at the place I knew I would, the pain from my feet is so visible as if everything were real. Even as the fallen branches and dried leaves scrape my feet, I could feel every stab.


    This felt so real for a dream.


    "You''re right."


    Suddenly, a voice broke into the silence of the night. My eyes searched for the source, and when I found a shadow touching the floor, I slowly raised my head until I saw a silhouette of something I don''t know lurking on top of a cliff, the moonlight barely illuminating the sides of its'' shape.


    "This is just a dream." I wanted to as who he is until I finally noticed the scythe, it is the figure next to him. It''s sharp edge making a terrifying flare.


    Just like that, I started trembling. Right before me, it is dark and dangerous, it''s as if looking at him death is already inviting you in.


    "It''s what you wanted to believe, right?"If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    My feet froze, there was something in that voice that made me less scared. Not because of how it shook and croaked when he said the last one, but because of the funny feeling that somehow I have already heard his voice from somewhere.


    I must be crazy because I am now turning my head back in his direction.


    "That''s right, I..." He seems to be struggling to talk now. "...I don''t even exist."


    THAT''s the time when I will always wake up. Not knowing why I started running and not knowing what happened after I saw that person.


    I sighed as I reached for the bottle of water on my backpack. I chugged the water down my dry throat. I almost finished the bottle when I finally put it away from me. I checked my wristwatch for the time. It''s almost time for the ship to arrive at the coast.


    "Damn..." I let out a breath. I still haven''t got that much sleep yet.


    From the shadows, I saw something move. I look up at the window to see what it is, it was a tiny blue butterfly. It stayed there just moving its wings. Curious, I walked towards the window. There was nothing there, but the ocean and...


    The moon.


    I blinked when I remembered my dream.


    I once told my friends about it. They said that it was only the grim reaper itself, warning me, that''s why he appeared in my dream. Something similar happened to other people.


    But, as I continued having that dream it seems to be something else.


    Instead of warning me, it seems to be reaching out for me...desperately.


    And desperately, I wanted to reach out as well.


    ---


    Author''s Note:


    Every chapter will be a little shorter because I will make this in a webtoon once I am finished with my current one. I found it hard to make a webtoon without any guide so I will write this as a guide for this webtoon. Writing is my hobby also so I will just share this with you, everyone. Anyways, sorry for the wrong grammar if there is any. I don''t have any sophisticated way of telling a story, I am an illustrator after all. There is a chance that some of the things I wrote here might change in the actual webtoon. Anyways I hope you''ll like this.

 Chapter 1- Jace Beaufort

    FINALLY, the ship was set ashore. The passengers waited patiently for their turn to climb down the stairs connecting the land. Some are still vomiting at the side of the ship, as for me I am already used traveling whether by air or by water, so I am one of those people who laugh at the memories of those nauseating first trip.


    "There he is!" A familiar voice screamed and it is not so hard to notice even when the passengers are making so much fuss about the late arrival of the ship. I wouldn''t blame them, either the navigating officers, we came across a storm, even though it lasted for a few hours it still took a very long time for us to get past it.


    In the crowd, I searched for the familiar faces of the people awaiting my arrival.


    "Jace!" My face brightened when I finally spotted them. Clutching my backpack over my shoulder, I hurried towards them.


    "Have you guys been waiting too long?" I asked.


    There were three of them. I could say that they are my friends but we drifted apart because we made our jobs our priority. Though I am the only one who really wasn''t able to see any of them since I accepted job offers from overseas.


    "Not at all." The man with the leather jacket and faded jeans replied. His name is Gin and the woman next to him is Rose, I heard the news that they were going out. From the way they are stuck together, I guess it is true. "Not that long, we can still attend the reunion."


    "I really hope that our classmates have matured enough by this day," I said that made them shake their heads.


    "Impossible, those jerks might have become worst by now," Rose replied.


    "Hey, that''s too harsh!" Gin exclaimed that made Rose laugh.


    We were already waiting for a cab when I suddenly remembered Elaine, she is too quiet since the time I arrived. I looked at her and greeted her, she greeted back. She gave me a smile but I could sense that she was only forcing herself to smile.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked her.


    Again she gave me a fake smile. "N-nothing, I''m just not feeling well."


    I wasn''t convinced, not when I noticed her looking over her shoulder as if she was cautious of something.


    "Jace, Elaine! What are you guys waiting for?" Gin called over us. They were already inside a cab by the time I turn at them. In the meantime, I already have forgotten about my concern with Elaine.


    We had the reunion party at our old school. The school was still the same except that it was liquors and snacks that are on our desks. Surely enough, my former classmates never changed, bragging about their fiancee or their position in their jobs.


    I didn''t mean to brag but I was quite an eye for girls back then so some are fuming over me attending our reunion.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I am in the middle of a conversation when I noticed Elaine wasn''t talking to anyone at the reunion party, instead, she was talking with someone over the phone. She looked like she wasn''t enjoying at all, instead, she looked like she was frightened of something.


    And when I saw her leave the party, my body automatically moves to go after her. I excused myself and walked as fast as I could. Once I am outside, I searched for a sign of Elaine''s figure.


    She was just turning to another hallway by the time I saw her. It felt strange by the way she walked tensely and so cautiously, that''s why I became worried.


    I followed her with quiet movements. She was still talking on the phone but I can''t make out what she was saying at all. Then she suddenly stopped. I realized we had stopped at the back of the school, where students are rarely ever there because it is where the students are climbing up the wall to cut classes.


    She was just standing there as if she was waiting for someone.


    I was about to call out to her when I noticed five figures coming out of the shadows, going to where Elaine is. Curious, I hid back behind the wall to listen to their conversation.


    The first person to talk is the person who is in front of Elaine, who seemed to be the leader of the group.


    "So, did you get the money?"


    Elaine said with a trembling voice. "I-I have them."


    "Then where is it?"


    "I will bring them tomorrow. I promise just come back tomorrow, and please don''t involve my friends here."


    My forehead creased, I somehow had the idea of what seems to be the problem.


    "I told you, you three weeks to get the money. And you''re past the due date, if you don''t have it we''ll take you instead." Said the man. "Your life is even not enough, we''ll take your friends life as well."


    Elaine almost cried when she said, "Please, I''m begging you, don''t touch my friends!"


    I think I heard enough. When I emerge from the wall I saw the man in front pulling out a knife and pointing it at her. My blood rushed through my veins. I immediately ran and attacked the first person I went to. I alerted the others so they all pull out their knives to attack me.


    I swung one person down the ground and hit another one through their jaw. When I looked pass I caught the other one about to strike me with his knife. With the way he carelessly held the knife, it gave me the chance to step away and gave him a blow on his stomach which made him drop on his knees. My sneakers found his knife and I forcibly kicked it away.


    I heard a curse behind me so I spun around as I did I gave him a kick in the face.


    "What the f*ck! You told someone about us!" As soon as my feet hit the ground, I heard a scream. I was about to get rid of the remaining one when I got surprised by the knife already pointing at my direction.


    Elaine is stayed hidden behind my back, my hands preventing her to come into the scene. While I am standing in between them I am checking through my peripheral vision if one of his subordinates had managed to get back on his feet.


    "Leave!" I said.


    The man raised an eyebrow. "Not until I get the money."


    I gritted my teeth. "She said she doesn''t have the money right? You won''t get anything from her so I suggest you--"


    "Jace!" I heard Elaine screamed, and I turned around and saw someone was already swinging his knife in my direction. I pushed Elaine back and grabbed the man''s arm as fast as I could but I ended up cutting myself with his knife while I am keeping his hand imprisoned with my wounded hand.


    "I said leave!"


    At first, he wasn''t budging but I saw his expression changed to a frightened one. The leader seems to be having the same expression because even he retreated from attempting to attack me.


    Before I knew it, they all got on their feet and started running away from me. I stared, dumbfounded, unable to move when Elaine came running in my direction embracing me with her trembling body.


    As I stood there, I looked at my wounded hand.


    Just like before.


    For some reason, whenever I am aggravated towards a certain person, they seem to notice something in me. I don''t know what it is until I realize that they are already backing away from me. That is the reason why I avoided getting angry.


    Still, it kept me wondering, what do they see in me when I am in that state?

 Chapter 2- War Reaper

    "JACE, I''m so sorry. I''m so sorry...," Elaine kept apologizing, her eyes teary while looking at my arm that is now bandaged with white bandage tape. My blood seeping through the fabric as I try moving my hand too much. The cut was not that deep but when the rest found out about what happened, they immediately send me to the hospital.


    They were about to end the reunion party and come with me instead. I refused, I''m not the type of person to spoil a party, let alone annoy the entire hospital staff with the whole class waiting for the news of my condition. They''ll crowd the waiting area for sure. So, I just had Gin, Rose, and Elaine wait for me.


    I sighed when Elaine once again apologized. Even though I replied ''I''m fine'' or ''It''s not your fault'' she just wouldn''t stop, maybe she felt guilty.


    "Could you tell me what happened instead?" I asked with a soft voice not wanting to sound like I was threatening, I''ll respect her privacy if she doesn''t want to tell me.


    Gin and Rose tried calming Elaine down, her words are impossible to understand because of her uncontrolled sobs.


    "I''m sorry...," Elaine finally said in a clear voice. "There was this hidden organization that a friend of mine recommended to me."


    "Organization?" I asked, creasing my forehead.


    She nodded, "This organization lend us money easily, unlike banks they doesn''t need any background check or credit cards. I needed money to get this job that was offered to me on the states."


    "But why are you here?" I got an idea why but I hope I wasn''t right.


    Elaine''s lip quivered, with that I confirmed that what I''m thinking is right. I sighed. Elaine started crying once again burying her face with both of her hands.


    "I was scammed. T-the money lenders kept on raising the interest in unfair amount that I don''t even know if I could pay it back. Even my friend who talked to me about that organization never showed up."


    I know that Elaine doesn''t have the slightest idea but there is a high possiblity that this friend that she was talking about is part of that group.


    "Loan sharks." I muttered that made Elaine stopped crying. I looked at her helplessly. "You''ve been dealing with a very dangerous organization, Elaine."


    Her eyes and mouth are wide open with shock.


    Rose gasped and Gin rubbed his forehead.


    "This is bad..." Gin said.


    We watched as Rose hugged Elaine to comfort her, her sobs are getting louder and we knew that we should go out. Well, it''s not that I want to go out, it''s that Gin suddenly asked me to go out. He said that he need to talk to me privately.


    "What is it?" I asked.


    Gin sighed as if something was weighting down his shoulders.


    "Have you heard about the drop in our military army?"This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    I shook my head not because I didn''t heard of it.


    I did heard about that but I found it hard to believe because we are one of the country that has the largest military count. We even undergo mandatory military training.


    "What happened?" I curiously asked.


    Gin leaned back on the wall behind him and started talking.


    "I don''t know what is the real reason why our soldiers was wiped out. Overall, there are three rumors. The others say that they are dispatched in Empious city, which is true and that the government have been protecting a hidden syndicate there and they are the one who killed them."


    "That''s alarming since we can''t do anything about it." I commented.


    "The second one is ridiculous, they said that the they exchanged our men with some secret war weapon because everyone is going crazy about the possiblity that another war can spark because of our feud with Neplus."


    I almost laughed, who ever thought of that excuse sure haven''t lied about why he hadn''t done his history homework.


    "And the third one?"


    Gin looked like he was scared of even bringing that up but he proceed anyway.


    "There is one soldier that got inside and pretended as a soldier. It is said that the mafia was involved here. They are the one who sent this person to learn the system and to have access of the weapons. Other than that during the raid at Empious, this soldier massacred all his comrades, no one survived. And the most terrifying and the strangest of all is that all of them died by a slash on the throat, some are even decapitated. Since then they called that soldier, the War Reaper."


    I touched my head when I suddenly felt like it was spinning. I narrowed my eyes because other than the dizzy feeling, it started throbbing and somehow a flash of image played like a quick reminder. Bodies, blood, all over the place.


    "Jace are you okay?" Gin asked concerned.


    I blinker several times before I could brush off the image that I just saw.


    "Y-yeah, I''m fine." I said with a sigh as I pushed my head back to rest it at the wall.


    Then I realized something. The reason he was telling me this story now is maybe because...


    "Gin, don''t tell me..."


    Gin nodded, "Yeah, I just hope I am wrong. That does loan sharks are just a small fry and we are not dealing with something dangerous as what happened at Empious even though we''re not sure if the mafia is involved." Gin said. Then he gazed at me intently. "And if I''m right...I can''t imagine what''s going to happen to us."


    THAT night five men came rushing inside a five storey high building. They climbed up the floor of the top floor where godfather is waiting for tonights'' money.


    "B-boss!" The one who had the upper hand in the five person group exclaimed. "W-we didn''t get the money! W-we were-- That person he--."


    "Calm down." The old man, in his late 50''s spun his swivel chair to face the subordinates who seem to be scared, if it''s because of him or they''ve went through he doesn''t know. "What is it that you guys are making a fuss about?"


    This time it wasn''t the leader who answered, but it was his men. "Someone attacked us. A young man--"


    "Only a man?" The old man asked. " One man beat all of you?"


    "Y-yes! We are not kidding! And he seem so skilled at what he was doing!" But then he stopped talking and started shaking like a frail leaf. "T-there was something in him..."


    "What does that mean?" The old man became curious all of a sudden. He clamped his hands together and stared at them. "Tell me more."


    Another replied with wide eyes.


    "W-we''re not sure of what we saw...I-I haven''t seen anyone like that." His lips rattling with every word. "It felt out of this world. But we know for certain that he is not normal and that if we stayed there for a while longer, we''ll be dead by now."


    The old man tapped his finger on the table, with each sound of the nails hitting the table, their anxiety becoming more and more.


    Tap, tap, tap.


    And then he stopped. There was a smile on his face.


    "Don''t worry. I could take care of it."


    From the dark corner of the room, there stood a man, quietly listening to the conversation. The five subordinates who just saw him trembled more violently. They are beginning to wonder that this man is almost the same as that person. Having this thick atmosphere as if he was pulling every bit of your soul.


    "It''s your turn." The old man said it like it was a treat to the man.


    The man emerged from the dark, the shadows covering the half of his face. And when they looked at his eyes they averted their gaze. They knew how terrible it is to look at them. It is like a hallow and dead eyes.


    "You know what to do." The old man smiled. "Kane."

 Chapter 3- Garden Of Fate

    "WAKE up, Jace." I woke up with a light shaking of my shoulders. Elaine was standing over the sofa, where I volunteered to sleep. "Breakfast is ready."


    I rubbed my eyes awake to check my watch for the time. It''s still six in the morning, the Butterfly Garden, the place I was planning to visit today will be open by eight.


    "What time are you going to work?" I asked rising up from the sofa.


    "I should be there by 7:30," Elaine replied. I checked her attire, she''s already dressed for the day. I promised that I will walk her to her workplace because it may not be safe for her to walk alone.


    "Give me thirty minutes then," I said before walking towards her bathroom.


    The reason why I am in her house is to guard her and also, I haven''t seen a place where I could rent. Yesterday, we already let the police know what happened. They said that there have been cases like what Elaine has. They''ll let us know if they found out something. I know there are other cases they are working on other than Elaine''s case so we don''t want to put pressure on them. Besides, I hate to say this but the police are not that reliable so I don''t really want to depend on them that much. They told us that they will bring an officer to guard Elaine so until that officer arrived, I''m not planning to leave her side.


    It was already seven o''clock when we arrived at her workplace. She was an employee at the Butterfly Garden. Some people come there to buy flowers or seeds, some came here for the tourist spot, like me. So this garden consisted of two areas, at the entranceway you will spot the flowers and seeds in the sale. It''s a huge house garden, different kinds of flowers like marigold, sunflowers, roses with all kinds of colors are placed in a vase neatly. Shrubs are embracing every corner of the garden, giving it an enchanting look.


    But the other one is my favorite, it is an open area where there are only native plants are planted. That is to attract butterflies. The roof is crisscrossed woods, there is an open space to lure the butterflies inside the garden. As I got there, I almost held my breath, there were hundreds of them, no even a thousand of them, flying all over the place.


    "You can look for free since the owner knew you." Elaine smiled. "They read your article, even the pictures you''ve taken, they are all amazed."


    "Well, I guess being famous is a good thing."


    "No, they just want their place to be featured in your magazine as a promotion."


    I chuckled, "Just leave it to me and it''ll be famous in less than a week."


    I looked at her when she urged me to go on and do my thing, that is to take pictures. She knew that I have nothing in my camera but butterflies.


    "Come on, I am safer inside here. It''s not like those goons will try to hurt me in public."


    "You don''t understand," I said. "These are powerful men, they can manipulate--"


    "I know now," She said and again she forced a smile. "Then I''ll follow you while you take pictures."


    I heaved a sigh, she''s still selfless and that never changed at all. And I don''t think if I could be like her.


    "Just stay by my side," I said finally, after a second of contemplating. When she nodded, I proceeded to take my camera that is on my backpack.


    I momentarily forgot about the problem about last night and became engrossed in taking pictures of the butterflies. I caught every angle I desired. Once, I decided that the shots are enough, I reviewed every picture. The one shot with the squad of butterflies flying over a couple inside the gazebo while the sun lit the color of each fragile wings of the butterfly is my favorite.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "Couples sure attracts butterflies," I said in a smile.


    "They sure are," Elaine said agreeing. "This place isn''t called Garden of Fate for nothing."


    I was swiping through my pictures when a butterfly suddenly landed on my hand. My system was filled with enthusiasm when I realized what kind of butterfly is it.


    "Woah, a blue Morpho butterfly?!" I exclaimed.


    "You know that?" Elaine asked. "As expected of butterfly enthusiasts."


    "It''s a rare species, it''s too bad that they might go instinct soon," I said with a sad smile. "I like it when they fly, they seem to disappear and reappear again because of its wings."


    "You know what? Rather than those couples...," Elaine started, looking over the couples at the gazebo. "or the tourists over there, or the children at there or even me...," then she turned to look at me. "They all seem to be gathering at this place. To where you are..."


    When I looked around me, I began noticing that she was right. The blue, not just the blue ones, all kinds of butterflies inside the garden almost flying around near my direction. I didn''t notice that before because I am more focused on taking pictures whenever I set an eye to a stray butterfly.


    Other than that, this may sound weird but sometimes, I can feel something while they are near. Something strange, as if I got the feeling that I can feel that they have emotions and that I could feel that emotion.


    "It''s already attached to you," Elaine said that made me looked at the blue morpho. Yes, indeed, when I got up on my knees, it''s still resting on my hand. "I am so jealous of you, are you some kind of butterfly whisperer or something? Whenever I tried catching one, it won''t even get near me." She pouted.


    I snickered, "Maybe because you''re not that attractive enough."


    She gasped, "You''re so mean, Jace!"


    I patted her head. As someone older than her, I get the feeling that I should take care of her. I don''t know it''s every elder brother''s sense of responsibility. And now that she''s in danger, I think it''s my obligation to take care of her.


    I felt a sudden pang of guilt when I remembered someone. Elaine seemed to notice the sudden change of my mood that''s why she asked me what''s wrong.


    "Have you heard of Lee?" I asked, "Do you have any news of him?"


    Elaine sighed, "I''m sorry, Jace. We don''t really know where he is now."


    I looked down. Not knowing if a person is still alive or not, or worrying if they are doing fine is the worst of all.


    "Hey, Jace. It''s not your fault." Elaine tried to comfort me.


    "I don''t know...Elaine..."


    "Look," Elaine smiled. "Why don''t I get you something to eat? I''ll ask the owner that the famous Jace Beaufort wants to be served a high-class meal in order to feature this place in his next issue, how does that sound?"


    I grinned, "I sound cunning. Hey, don''t give me a bad reputation."


    She laughed. "Okay, wait here while I get you something."


    I sat there for a little while just watching the blue morph resting on my wounded hand.


    "Hey," I tried talking to the butterfly since I''ve got nothing to do really. "Do you think it''s true? The belief that you will meet your destined one here?"


    I blinked my eyes, both of its antennae twitched, I think that''s a nod. I''ll assume it is.


    "It''s kinda cheezy though," I said rubbing the back of my neck. "Then do you think I will meet that person now?"


    Again, it''s antenna twitched.


    I sighed. What am I doing?


    "Then give me a sexy one, would you?"


    Another twitch.


    I looked at the butterfly closely. Honestly, this butterfly is weird. I''ve never seen one that sat on a human''s hand for a long time. I started to wonder, is this one dead?


    "Hey, since you have too much free time, why would you take me to that person now?" I demanded.


    To my surprise, the butterfly moved. Not just twitching its'' antenna but moving its'' body towards a direction.


    "Mommy, he''s talking to the butterfly." I heard someone said. I turned around and saw a child while holding her mommy''s hand.


    "Ignore him, let''s go!" The mother said quickly, probably think that I''m crazy.


    I sighed and looked at the butterfly who was really pointing at the direction where the mother and child were earlier.


    "I am not into a pedophile, if you mean a child." I sighed. "Or was it the-- Hey!"


    Suddenly, the butterfly flew away from my hand.


    "Hey! Where are you--"


    I was frozen in place because at the time when I turned around there was a tall man, even taller than me, standing in front of me. And for some reason, I felt my head tingle in a familiar agonizing way. Just like how my dreams would start, there was a flash, an image, a memory, of someone else''s that feels so dear to me. Very dear...


    If it''s something dear, then why does it hurt?