I clench my teeth as the pale skin of her neck lies in wait beneath my jaws.

Her pale, almost lifeless body rests in my clutches.

I feel her heartbeat pump as if it’s a part of my own. A heartbeat, that is something I’ve never had myself

Tears stream down from my eyes.

Why am I sad?

I have a meal right before me and for some reason I can’t help but weep.

Some things just have to be done, no matter what the toll is on my mental state.

I tell myself these things, but I know there is a way. There is another way. There must be.

I twist my neck in a motion that seems like it should be impossible. A disfigurement worthy of the undead.

Chomp.

[Title Acquired: Humanity]

Everything goes black.

“Well, well, well. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

I sit in a white abyss. It’s the first light I’ve seen in a long time.

I get up to my feet in a panic as I will surely die soon. I begin to scratch at my skin as if somehow peeling it off will stop the sun from ravaging me.

But I’m unharmed.

I hear laughter in front of me and raise my head.

It’s a young girl, although my predisposition reminds me that youthful looks aren’t indicative of age in any sense. I mean look at me, I’m thousands of years old and I don’t look more than twenty.

“In all my years, I’ve never seen such a sorry sight. A vampire committing suicide? It’s almost unheard of.”

What is she talking about?

Memories flood my mind like a dam that’s just burst open.

Ah yes, that’s right.

“That girl was beautiful no doubt but was she really good enough to make you want to bite yourself rather than that beautiful neck. I’m not even a vampire and yet I wanted a taste of that.”

Heh.

“So then, why’d you do it? Why’d you spare the girl from your irrevocable bloodlust?”

Tears stream down my eyes once again as I’m hit with the sensation of pain. I can’t deal with pain, thousands of years of being a vampire and I’ve never once had to feel pain. But despite a lack of any kind of wound, I hurt more than I have in a lifetime. Hell, even a hundred lifetimes.

“Stoic as ever I see. I’ve always wondered if it’s stoicism or just a lack of any sort of emotional response contributing to the deft silence of your race. Maybe you just need to keep friends instead of eating them?”

The girl was sitting upon a throne too large for her. Was that always there before?

She really is beautiful; her clothes are so pale white they are almost indistinguishable from the luminescence of the room we are in. If you can even call it a room, it’s more like a vast plane of never-ending light.

I know where we are.

“I assume you’re god then?”

I mean it’s the only conclusion I can come to, I know he (or I guess in this case she) exists, as they give power to the Holy Church. I’d love to see the look on their patriarchal faces when they realize their deity is a woman.

“I guess some have called me that, but if anything, I think I should be called Death.”

“Death?” I can’t help but laugh as I spit out the words.

“Well yes, you see me when you die, and I decide your fate. I think a better word is Death than god; I don’t love you or need you.”

I wonder if she talks like this to everyone that comes through here, it would be hilarious if those from the Church who have devoted their entire lives to her come here to be shattered like this. Or maybe it’s because I’m, well…

“Yes, it is because you’re a vampire.”

Wait, what? Can she hear my thoughts?

“No, I can’t hear your thoughts. I just love the look on your face right now; so many people come through here, I make it a game to myself to see if I can guess just exactly what their faces mean. Your reaction tells me I’m right.”

“I’m sorry to break through this tedious dialogue of yours, but why am I here? I mean, I’m a vampire – don’t I just go to hell?”

The girl leans back in her chair and breaks out into hysterical laughter.

“No, no, no. Heaven and Hell as you would call them, are the final resting places of those who have actually lived a life. Those who are dead already do not get that choice; those already dead go to eternal nothingness.”

Sounds great to me, where can I sign up?

“So why am I not there then? Seems like there is only one place for me – even less of a reason for me have to put up with you.”

The self-proclaimed “Death” leans toward in her chair with a devilish smile.

“Well, you see, it’s the circumstances surrounding your death and that title you got at the very end. I’ve never seen it before.”

I remember getting a title right before I died. Checking my status screen show’s one new title alongside my empty HP bar.

“You’re saying you’ve never seen this before? Aren’t you god though? Didn’t you create the system?”

“I told you before, I am not god. I am Death. I am a result of the system just as much as you, and in that same vein, I know my creator just as well as you.”

“But didn’t anyone tell you how to be Death and stuff?”

“Nope.” She answers with the indifference of a child. A child who doesn’t know right from wrong yet somehow has the ability to judge others based on their life.

“So how do you know that’s your role?”

I was genuinely curious; how could she even know that she is Death or really anything for that matter? How does she know this is her objective in existence?

“You see, when you open up your status screen right now, you have a myriad of different skills and roles. You were born a vampire, so you were born with that title that gives you life as long as you consume it from others, and through that title, to achieve those means, you got the skill Feeder. Correct?”

She looks at me with a solemn expression; yet her actions deceive that notion. I see the frills on her dress start to quiver. Maybe I am not the only one pretending to be a stoic?

“That’s correct, you know a lot for someone who is not god.”

“I just know what I know.” She forces a smile. “Anyways, well the title I was born with was Death and the skill I received with that role was Judgement. The title itself means very little, although it does restrict me from gaining any other skills throughout my life. Judgement is my only skill, and with it, I get to decide the fate of a soul. In this white void, that is all I can do.”

I feel like there is something she’s afraid of, something she’s not telling me. One part of me wants to go down that road, but my fear for the future has the best of me. I have been immortal up until now, so I must know what lies ahead for me.

“So what is my fate?”

“Well your fate is that you should be sent to eternal nothingness, for I cannot send you to heaven or hell, the system will not allow me.”

That sadistic smile shows up again.

“But alas, you see that ability you just received, take a look at it on the status screen.”

[Humanity]

What the hell does this even mean?

“I’ve never seen this ability before and you achieved it as you died. This has made me realize that maybe there is some other fate for you. I want to know what lies ahead for you, maybe when you die in your next life, we can have a nice chat.”

Next life? What is she even talking about?

“Bye for now, Hiro! I’ll try and make it a little easier for you.”