"Lucian-onii, please smile!" Buck and Ziru tried to cheer me up. They pulled the edges of their lips widely in an attempt to humor me.

"Are you okay Lucian? You seem... quieter," Caleb commented.

When I didn't reply, the werewolf was about to show off his coconut advertising skills again but was whacked in the head by Slade. 

"Lucian, don't think too much about it; whatever happened to you and your people before was never your fault," Sevor comforted.

"Oi, it's not that I'm worried about you but you haven't eaten breakfast. Did the carrots taste bad?"

...

...

...

"Where are you going?"

I stood still upon hearing Peaches' deep voice and turned to where he was standing.

As my head moved, I was struck by another wave of dizziness and my knees gave up. Before I could completely collapse, the reaper was already beside me, holding me securely.

After the angel's revelation, he fell back into a deep slumber and left me with the burden of knowing what my kind went through for me.

All those lives were sacrificed for my sake and because of me, Queen Titia became a catastrophe.

I had caused too much suffering to those around me. All those lives....all those sacrifices...Why did they have to become the seed to plant my existence?

My uncle was wrongly accused of being a traitor when he was one of those who gave their life for me.

For why did I exist? Will more people die in my stead?

"I need to get away from them. It is safer. I only bring harm and disaster," I murmured.

"You lied about finding a crater of food hidden in the camp. I saw you use your powers," he told me. His tone was chiding me.

He always seem to observe whatever I was doing. I once caught him this morning watching me urinate and Caleb had to chase him off.

I leaned my head against his warm chest and the reaper wrapped his left arm around my back; making sure that he didn't touch the throbbing rotten wing behind me.

"The children were starving. I didn't want them to starve..."

He released an exasperated breath that overwhelmed my cold body with shivers.

"If you keep this up...you will die and your death will cause the suffering of many."

My eyebrows furrowed as my chest grew even heavier. I placed my hands on his shoulders before looking at his glowing vermillion eyes.

"May it be life or death I have caused many sufferings. If I do not belong to the living and if I am not part of death, where do I really stand?" I asked him.

Who can tell me what I was? I seem to be an outcast of both sides. I did not have the right to live yet I also did not have the privilege to cease my existence.

"Please go back. I will find my brother and see if he knows how to fix the rotting pinion growing behind me."

The reaper stared at me and I pried his hands gently off of my body.

My eyes and his eyes glued to each other even as I walked away and the movement of his feet matched mine.

It was like I was holding a leash connected to a pet.

The reaper followed me. Whenever I stopped, he would stop. Whenever I'd turn my head to look at him, he'll do the same and look back as if he was not the one I was referring to with my stare.

He will not stop.

How can I convince THE REAPER; the exact one who destroyed a God and the same one who had Sin, Saint, and Strength in his being?

"Why are you following me?" I asked monotonously.

It was not that I did not like his presence but I expected Peaches to be... more distant.

"The souls of those children...I put them to rest," he murmured.

His words had an immediate wrap around my full attention.

"Are they still...in pain?" I asked him.

"No, they are not. Unlike the creations of my God, people belonging to different races are not aware of their deaths. They will only remember the memory that they are fondest of as they ascend to their respective Gods. "

My lips slightly curled and I held my chest as if a heavy load of burden was somehow lifted.

"In their fondest memory, they were playing with you. That is their happiest moment."

Did I make them ecstatic?

My legs slowly moved and took me to Peaches before my arms encircled his hard and stiff body.

"That is a relief to my ears..." I whispered.

To know that I had some impact in their lives brought the great meaning of life to me.

"Will you allow me to accompany you now?"

My eyes lifted to his and I tilted my head to look at him. "Did you only tell me that so that I would have a sense of gratitude to pay?" I deadpanned.

Peaches tilted his head the opposite way and I slowly felt his hands grasp my butt.

Why was he holding me there?

"How did you know?"

The edge of my lip turned up and I brushed my nose against his chest. 

"You're evolving..."

My body walked away from his warmth and the deadly reaper had more confidence to saunter beside me now after gaining an indirect approval of his request. 

"Do you know where your brother is?" he asked me. 

"He is probably in Black Crystal Mountain," I told him.

I didn't know which way it was but I trusted Peaches that he'll lead me there.

"What if he isn't there?" 

I stood still and licked my dry lips. 

"Why wouldn't he be there?"

The reaper merely stared at me before shutting his eyes and murmuring something under his breath.

"I know of a place that could help you but..."

"But?" I repeated after him.

"It is rather difficult to explain. I'll show you," he huskily murmured before extending his hand to me for me to grasp. 

Once I held him, the darkness consumed my vision and the air instantly became chaotic around us. Before I knew it, we were far gone from the river.

He teleported us in front of very thin yet towering trees that I have never seen before. Their branches produced gossamer strings which were lengthy and plentiful and reached just above the ground. The strings were so abundant that we would become strays in a different realm upon entering.

"Where are we?" I asked him.

"We are in front of the String forest," he replied.

"But what are we doing here?" I asked him.

"There are people that have hidden for a long time. Your kind knows them well."

The reaper knew more of my kind than I did.

We ventured inside the forest and parted curtains after curtains of strings. They were lightweight and their fibrous bodies were polished much like hair strands but thicker. 

I perceived a small body lying on the ground with the ends of the strings swirled on top of him as they were prevented from reaching the soil. He was a dwarf. He had a disfigured face and a missing arm.

"What are the creatures that settle here?" I asked my companion.

The reaper looked up in thought and then replied. "Mantikhoras, ghouls, griffins, typhon, kappa, death worms, and aspergers. They aren't much of a problem so we are safe," he assured as if those beings didn't bite people's heads off. 

Anywhere was safe for the reaper. He was practically the being who brought danger to danger.

I looked at the dead dwarf and then back at him. The dwarf had a missing arm; a leg that was broken and deep gashes that made his face unrecognizable for the people who knew him.

"We are safe indeed," I sighed. 

A flash of happy and singing dwarfs and a memory of the crying Farah sprouted in my mind that made me stop in my tracks and look at Peaches. 

"Before we continue, let us bury the body."

Peaches were very handy— not only can he teleport us anywhere, but he can also do things that didn't include us lifting a finger. The soil moved on its own and dumped themselves on top of the dwarf.  

Peaches, although had always been the more silent type, was even more serious.  His eyes were focused on an area of strings. A small circular pit that emitted a bright, scalding, and orange light appeared on the ground.

The man raised his hand and made a grabbing motion before dumping something in the hole. That something seemed to be only visible in his eyes.

Either that or my companion was losing his mind.

"What was that?" I asked him.

"The dwarf's soul," he replied. "I sent it to hell for interrogation. But from what I can see, there was no need for interrogation. He did unspeakable things."

I cocked my head at him. How can he tell? Peaches didn't seem to be the kind of man who made up stories.

"How did you know?"

"I examined his soul." 

I blinked at him as I tried to process the information.

 "What can you see in my soul?"

Was my soul vegetarian as well?

Peaches sauntered closer and grasped my arm. He closed his bright red eyes and then his calm face distorted from being calm into confused and into total shock. Well, this was new.

"What did you see?" I asked him once he had opened his eyes.

Peaches pursed his lips which gave me an indication that a great revelation will be made. Had someone finally discovered my secret? I was keeping it for so long. What will I do? How can I explain to him that I did not mean to stab Wye Fye with my carrot in my deepest and darkest desires? How many people will he tell? Shall I silence him before he blows the whistle?

 "Your soul is...there is like a parasite in it. I cannot tell much as I have not seen anything like it," he replied. 

"I do not seem to be getting your point," I spoke.

Peaches shrugged.

"I do not seem to be getting myself either."

So I had a parasite in my soul...was it the outcome of dying and being brought to life?

We continued to stroll in the endless maze of strings and Peaches would subtly ask me things that indicated that he wanted to carry me.

"You seem to be tired, I am not, you see?" he told me and showed me that he can float before slapping his back, assuring me its sturdiness.

"I am astonished Peaches, not many can float as much as you do. Slade's brain can float somewhere too; I wonder where it went?" I deadpanned

...

"You are hungry. I don't get hungry. Hunger can cause weakness. Weakness can cause you to collapse on the ground. I am strong, you see?" He extended his bare, well-toned, and tanned arms out of his cape to flail them up and down.

"You have a beautiful physique Peaches," I deadpanned. 

If a person had a weak mind, he would have been driven into insanity not long ago from seeing nothing but strings. Peaches and his constant self-praising to get me to ask him for a lift in his strong arms occupied my mind from being snapped.

I halted and Peaches halted with me when we heard the sound of a deep purring. It was close. It was very close. My eyes widened when the strings in front of me separated by an unrecognized beast. Its eyes were big and predator-like. It had the same color as Samael's eyes. Its upper canine teeth outgrew its upper lip and surpassed the lower lip with its length and sharpness. Its pointed ears were black yet the majority of its fur was a light yellow. I blinked at the creature and the creature blinked back. 

It didn't look perilous at all. Its teeth were dripping with fresh blood and there were splatters of the bright red liquid on its fur. Not a danger, Peaches had said so.

"Domo (hello)," I greeted the beast.

I felt myself get shoved backward and Peaches lunged to snap the beast's neck. The curious creature became hostile and bellowed a growl. I placed my hands on the soil and vines grew and coiled around the reaper.

I pulled him behind me to tell the hostile beast that we mean no harm, but we already ruined our first impression as it charged forward to attack us.

I stayed in place as the beast descended with opened jaws and sharp claws.

Ah, danger, we meet again.

As my face was nearing to be disfigured, Peaches kicked the beast and sent it far away. He then looked at me with furious eyes as he disliked being stopped from committing murder.

"You have a death wish," he commented. "What were you intending to do by sparing an Asperger?" He asked sternly.

"It wasn't going to hurt us. You scared it," I answered him blankly. "It didn't deserve to lose its life by attempting to defend itself. Do not be barbaric."

Peaches scowled.  "I was created that way."

I stepped closer to the reaper and challenged his gaze with my own. "If you are what you say you are, then take my life now."

His eyebrows furrowed further. "I refuse to that for no reason or orders."

Orders? So he will do it if he was commanded? I looked up only to see the thickened unity of strings. My chest expanded as I took a deep breath to raise the volume of my voice just a little bit.

"To Peaches' father, command him to take my life! Order him to take it heinously and spare no mercy!" I shouted. 

I honestly did not know why I was doing this. What will I gain? But messing with Peaches gave me satisfaction.

 "Kill-"

The reaper cut me off by placing his hand over my mouth. I perceived his expression and saw how his eyebrows didn't meet any more and how he was looking up as if anytime now, his father will command him to do something that he did not want.

"Do not ask Him that!" he chided, with a thunderous emotion grasping his voice.

My lips twitched from how worried he was. I removed his hand and decided to tease him further.

"Why? You are barbaric, aren't you? You would favor my death," I told him blankly.

Peaches re-covered my lips as if he didn't want to hear any more gibberish from me.

"I would not!" He snarled at me. 

 His panic was new to me. He was very much shocked by his excessive concern as well. 

A smile spread across my lips and I attempted to soothe his panicked nerves by stroking his hand that covered my mouth with my own. Although it was unplanned, it was nice to see this side of the reaper.

He lowered his head and a blush spread across the tan expanse of his skin. His tensed body relaxed and he slowly removed his hand from me. 

"Forgive me peaches, I was only trying to defend the rights of that Asperger." 

Hopefully, it didn't die from the reaper's kick. 

"You defend others but you can't even defend yourself..." he rebutted. He was sulking like a child.

"You are wrong, I do defend myself it's just that...I seem to have a magnet for danger," I explained. 

Samael stared at me deeply before nodding in approval. "You are correct, after all, you attracted me."

The danger wasn't so bad. It came in a form of Caleb, Sevor, Slade, and Peaches. Who knew they could stay in one place and take care of lovable children?

We arrived at a spring that did not have any strings. Peaches and I decided to rest for a bit. He still hadn't explained the kind of people that my kind knew but Peaches was not one to waste time. 

He sat quietly on the grass and found a string instrument that he was very immersed in learning. The string instrument was accompanied by an arm that belonged to the dwarf. He must have been chased starting from this point.

I lowered my legs and slowly sat on the ground but I jolted forward to my knees when an electric feeling surged through my spine. I softly yelped that made Peaches teleport behind me to see what had caused that reaction. 

"What is it?" 

I waved my head and rubbed my bottom to soothe it, but rubbing it only made it more sensitive. I looked at the spring and decided to bathe in cold water to soothe the ache. Perhaps the pain in my pinion radiated to my bottom.

"Does it hurt here?" he asked and tightly grasped my left butt cheek. 

I bit on my lip and prevented another yelp from escaping. 

Was he doing this on purpose?

"I am fine. Please continue with your profound talent," I assured him and immediately sprung up. 

As I walked, my bottom continued to throb and I could feel something sticky threatening to come out. 

I removed my clothing and immersed myself in the cold water. Shivers upon shivers caused the hairs on my body to rise and my teeth clattered.

The water was clear with the moss giving it a greenish color. The coldness of the temperature calmed the uncomfortable feeling I had but it wasn't enough. I let my arms venture behind me.  I began to knee my bottom cheeks but the action only intensified the feeling. 

I leaned my head against a moist rock that was near the spring and sighed. 

Why exactly was this happening to me? This was the same feeling I had when Sevor acted strangely but this was multiplied to a hundred. The cool water helped on soothing my ling that suddenly became as active as Caleb's but my bottom reminded pulsating.

Caleb must always be in pain. Whenever we were alone together, his thing was always up. 

 I tried to focus on the sound of Peaches' amateur play. It worked for a while until I saw the man removing his dark cloak and exposing his tanned smooth skin. The cloak was in his way of playing but his bare chest became a hindrance to my self-control. The reaper's eyes met mine and my breath hitched when my bum decided to pulsate even harder.

I cannot take it anymore. 

"Peaches, touch my butt," I stated nonchalantly.

Touch it now.

Now.

The man stopped strumming and blinked at me in confusion.

"What?"

======================================================

A/N: here comes the most awaited