A Deal with Death

A Deal with Death is a short story that takes place in the Ghostverse, immediately after Champions of Ascerth 2. It's intended to be an experimental project of sorts for in order to try a different style of writing.
==Plot==
The scene opens in a black void, with what appears to be a woman with a hood on floating throughout it: Tobura. She had just been killed by Kaiden in a pitched battle, and was now confused as to where she was.
Tobura: Is this...purgatory? Heaven? Hell?
Tobura keeps on floating throughout the void. Strangely, she begins to descend, passing by skulls and bones. It's a horrifying sight.
Tobura: I could've grasped my destiny. I could've defended Ascerth more efficiently than any living entity could!
???: But you didn't.
Suddenly, Tobura falls onto a floor of some sort. As she gets up, she notices cyan flames in front of her, along with ice for some apparent reason. Walking along, she can hear voices. Whispers.
Tobura: What's going on?
???: You're dead, that's what's going on.
Tobura suddenly notices a figure sitting on a throne made of bones and flesh. They seem to look humanoid, but have white facepaint along their body. Their hands are pure bone, and their face seems to have giant tusks. You'd probably shit your pants upon seeing this guy.
???: Call me Koreku. Though some prefer the term "death god".
Tobura: You're the...god of...death...
Koreku: Well, I moreso see myself as a collector of souls. Those who die worthy deaths come into my collection. Others are simply left to rot in purgatory, where you were earlier.
Tobura: So it's like you take the best of the best into your collection.
Koreku: Mhm.
Tobura looks at Koreku in fear.
Tobura: I can't be here. I sought to defy death! I was a necromancer for fuck's sake!
Koreku: Exactly why you're here. I like you. You don't like to play by the rules.
Tobura: The thing is, I wanted to use those I resurrected as immortal soldiers to better protect my world. We could defend it better than anyone.
Koreku suddenly smirks, as if he's heard those words before.
Koreku: You remind me of one of the souls I have in my collection.
Koreku snaps his fingers as a single spirit of what appears to be a krexxon emerges.
Koreku: This is Ethros. He led the initial krexxon invasion of your world.
Tobura: It's people like him that got me thinking. They want nothing more than to conquer and butcher. Why does that matter when you'll die anyways?
Koreku: Surprisingly, Ethros wasn't like that. He wanted to conquer your world...to better defend it. He believed that only the krexxon, being the great empire that they were, could defend planets from larger threats. What makes you any different from the krexxon?
Tobura: Well...um...
Koreku: Spit it out.
Tobura: ...nothing. We both have the same motive, yet we executed it in an awful way...
As Tobura starts to shed a tear, Koreku looks down at her with a grin on his face.
Koreku: I do see a use for you however.
Tobura: Hmm?
Koreku: War is on the horizon. Across the entire galaxy. And I intend to play a part.
Tobura: How so?
Koreku: War means more souls for me. Do you know how many I got from Jalgor's destruction alone?
Tobura: So it's like you want to expand your collection.
Koreku: Exactly. And I want you to be my champion in this war.
Tobura: Champion? Does that mean I get to come back to life?
Koreku: Sort of. I'll resurrect you as an...immortal being of sorts, not to mention giving you even more power over necromancy than you had in life. I want you to bring me more souls by taking part in this war.
Tobura: So you want me to make an army of zombies basically and use them to kill more people.
Koreku: Well, you're free to use whatever method you want to bring me souls. And should you fail...
Koreku points upwards.
Koreku: Purgatory for you.
Tobura: How many souls do I need to deliver for me to get my life back for good?
Koreku: Enough. And if you die between then and now, the deal ends early.
Tobura thinks things through. Being alive again is promising, and it seems like she and Koreku share some values in wanting the best of the best.
Tobura: Well, it seems like we both wanted to kill the best of the best and claim them for ourselves. So with that common goal in mind, I accept. Though it does beg the question of who I'll be using to help me gather these souls.
Koreku: I'll just let you resurrect the souls I don't want for my collection as zombies. Sounds fair?
Tobura: It does. Plus it means I potentially have a chance to get revenge.
Koreku: It's not his time yet. He still has greater things to do.
Tobura clenches her fist, but lets go.
Tobura: You're pretty weird for a god of death. Most of them just hunger for souls.
Koreku: I curate the souls that come to me carefully. You must've done the same with people your organization killed.
Tobura: We did, yeah. Y'know, maybe this was my destiny. To work with death himself.
Koreku: Maybe it was.
==Trivia==
*While Tobura was initially slated to stay dead, a conversation with convinced Krexxal to give her a more prominent role in the Ghostverse.
Category:Stories
Category:Ghostrealm Stories