Trivik groans as he awakens within an alleyway, his sweet sister sleeping beside him and snuggling to his body for warmth. Her gentle snoring fills his ears, and he sighs while looking up at the full moon illuminating the sky. As he strokes his short, ginger beard, he scoffs at the stars.

Oh, night sky. You hold the truth of this cruel world. It's not the light of the moon that has control, nor the specks of the twinkling stars, but, in fact, the sea of deep blue that takes over much of you. However, I'm afraid this world has a color deeper than black on its hands, and your blue can't dismiss the light of the moon like the darkness ignoring the light.

After his passing thought, Trivik glances down at his balled fist, calming his mind with assurance of his sister's binding to him. In the center of his hand, a rope glowing like a firefly sticks out, formed from himself. It's merely his insides stretched out, flowing out his hand to a rope-like appearance, and it connects to his youthful sister, circling her thin neck to make her seem like nothing more than an insignificant mutt.

Trivik takes in a massive breath of air, wrapping his left arm around his sister as he pushes her to his body to gather her body heat.

She's so warm. Trivik's eyes build up with water, and he keeps it in as any other night. His fingers comb through her long, black hair, and he grazes her pale cheek with brotherly love, his heart shivering. Sun, I think this nightly, but I'm sorry for your birth. I will correct this injustice the gods forced upon you and every other Reaper daughter. Sister, I love you.

Trivik bends his head down to Sun's forehead, kissing her tenderly though his lips are chapped with blood dried in the cracks of them. His aqua eyes gaze at her closed eyelids, and he uses his index finger to stroke her lightly freckled cheek.

After smiling modestly, he turns back to what's in front of him, putting his bare arms behind his head. His eyes stare at the mud-brick wall that his feet press against, a stone one scraping against his back to leave streaks of irritated red. Dirt and grime cover both of the walls, along with Trivik and Sun's naked bodies, as they lie on a dirt path with food matter and other foul debris. Shadows wrap around them, and it dulls Trivik's eyes and heart as his lip quivers. Tears finally leave his eyes.

Why, Goddess of Light? Goddess of the Overworld? Why put me and my sister through your underworldish life because you can't break through the darkness? I never asked to be made a puppet. A Reaper. I'm not your vessel, and my sister is no pawn you can loan to your brother to stay on his good side. Why hide the darkness? You are a cruel mistress, and I'm a crueler soldier in this war you shoved me into. And as a soldier, I won't be given comfort in my struggles for you. I'll lie here in this muck that's no different than me, and I'll starve so I no longer have to live in pain.

Trivik miserably puts his hands on his face, rubbing the water from his eyes to the side. He combs back his deep red hair that's longer than short, his heart throbbing while his breathing increases. His body shivers; it's not from the chill of the air, but from his fright for his future. As a child, he could never picture himself with a sister, instead hoping for a little brother like all Reaper boys, and he couldn't imagine her twelve-year-old, nude body being beside his twenty-three-year-old one. Though with eyes that could see the darkness, he was blind of the fact Reaper life wouldn't be fun like his father made it out to be. And now, Trivik faces the truth of his sorry existence.

Questions form in Trivik's mind as he ponders whether his father's constant inebriation sparked the ideas of Reaper fantasy. But all thoughts stop when his sister's glowing, black eyes open, and he turns to her while swallowing a lump in the back of his throat.

Thanks for reading the first chapter. I'd love to hear all comments and questions. Also, I'd appreciate if you voted.

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