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Death City was silent that night. Only the wind echoed in between the buildings of the Halloween town, whistling in the ears of its sleeping inhabitants. As peaceful as it seemed (another day another dime as Master Death would say), they were unaware that blood was about to be spilled.
Jack the Ripper was a corrupted soul. Souls became corrupted when a human start killing another one and consuming their essence, that way gaining more power. And with their corruption, their bodies changed as well: If you were to glance at Jack, you wouldn’t have ever thought he was human before, with his hunched body, elongated face, serrated teeth, and claws, instead of hands, that he used as his main weapon.
They were more commonly known as shadows once this change happened because they only resembled what they once were. Jack wasn’t human anymore, he craved souls, and just recently he had cornered his most recent victim in an alley, a woman going by the name of Alice, who was just coming out of work after a long shift that day.
A screeched scream pierced through the silence after Jack the Ripper dug his claws into her chest, blood spilling everywhere around them. And as her disfigured body lay on the floor, a blue, round ball floated over her. Jack smiled as he grabbed the soul. Another successful hunt.
“Stop right there.”
And stop he did. He turned around to see the source of the interruption. At the entrance of the alley, two figures stood. One had curly, black hair and a black coat that only accentuated his red gloves. The other one, however, had a very different style: an oversized red hoodie with a big, golden star on it that covered his head, white pants, and large, red Converse. They seemed rather young, but Jack the Ripper had his guard up. He knew what they were.
Shadows didn’t run rampant. No, no, there was an organization that made sure to defeat any supernatural being that menaced society as they knew it. And those two kids were part of it.
Ren Amamiya pointed a gloved finger at the shadow.
“Fugitive Jack the Ripper, you have renounced your humanity and become a shadow. This is your end.”
A soft snicker was heard. With a frown over his eyes, he glanced at his companion.
“What now, Goro?”
“That was so cheesy. It will never get old.”
Ren scoffed.
“Got anything better?”
“What about just jumping into action? After all,” Goro grinned with his serrated teeth, his face partially illuminated due to the hoodie. “I’m not human either, and he disgusts me just as much— “
He stopped mid-sentence.
“Amamiya, where is he?”
Ren looked at where the shadow was just moments ago, but only the remains of his last meal were there. He had escaped.
“For Death’s sake, Goro, you distracted me!”
“Now it’s my fault?”
“C’mon, he shouldn’t be far.”
Goro Akechi rolled his eyes but said no more. His body began to glow and with a blink he disappeared, transforming into a scythe in front of his meister. The sharp blade was colored pure black, but when the light of the moon hit it, it turned red. Ren caught him without a hassle.
“He must be running away on the roofs,” Goro’s voice came from the blade, and Ren nodded.
“On it.”
He used the pipes and loose bricks from the wall next to the alley to climb up to the ceiling, using Goro’s staff to propel himself even further. Meisters and weapons needed to match, their soul wavelengths compatible, and Ren moved around with Goro as if he had been working with him his whole life.
It wasn’t long before the shadow was in front of them, and Ren raised Goro at an angle.
“The show’s over!” he yelled before cutting his body in half.
He landed on his two feet on the stone paved road, next to the last building he jumped from. Contrary to human bodies, shadows didn’t leave any physical presence after being defeated: Jack’s body became black and evaporated in thin air, leaving behind another round and pulsating soul sphere. But this one wasn’t light blue, like the pure one he had eaten earlier. Instead, it was red and had diverse black scales all over it. These were called shadow eggs.
The egg floated in front of them, and Goro’s scythe shined bright before returning to his human form. This time the hoodie was down, revealing his brunette hair neatly tied in a short ponytail. In silence he picked the egg; it fit in his whole hand. Then, he turned to Ren.
“With this…it’s shadow number ninety-nine,” he said. Ren nodded.
Ninety-nine shadows and one witch’s soul were needed for a Demon Weapon to reach its full potential. After this, the Demon Weapon would become Master Death’s weapon, more commonly known as Death Scythe. However, once reached that status, their plan would be another.
After a deep sigh, Goro brought the shadow egg to his mouth and swallowed it whole. It was a funny sight to witness, and it was hard for Ren not to laugh. It almost looked as if Goro was stuffing a marshmallow half the size of his head in his mouth, though he would deny that his eyes dropped to his throat when he swallowed.
Goro winced, and Ren grinned.
“Does it taste that bad?”
“It tastes like nothing, and the texture is terrible. It’s like chewing on hard, insipid jello.” Yeah, it sounded disgusting.
Ren fixed his gloves after Goro brought the hoodie over his head once again.
“Let’s call Master Death.”
They went to a desolate plaza, where stores were closed since it was already past midnight. Ren got close to one of the shops' storefronts and exhaled over the glass, while Goro just waited patiently by his side. With his gloved finger, he wrote 42-42-564.
The whole glass started to glow until it showed an image as if it was a video call…And in a way, it was. Master Death had a magical mirror at his office, that he could use to communicate to any of the meisters that required his attention, and vice versa. On the other side was a short girl with golden hair and a blue dress, holding a book that was way too big for her.
“Trickster!” greeted Lavenza, Master Death’s current Death Scythe, with a warm smile. She was always so happy to see them. Ren smiled back.
“Hello, Lady Lavenza.”
“Ah, Ren,” said a goofy voice behind her. Lavenza turned to her back; behind her was a desk, and sitting behind it was a small, funny man, with big golden eyes, a big nose, and an even bigger smile. Igor, better known as Master Death, laced his hands over the desk. “I see that you have gathered ninety-nine souls.”
“That is correct, sir,” replied Ren.
Igor was a God-tier being; no one could actually pinpoint what exactly was he, as there were not a lot of his species in the world. Reapers were known to be ancients, and Igor in particular was so old that he saw the beginning of the shadow eggs and fought in the war against the witches. Now, he was the headmaster of Death’s Meisters and Weapons Academy (better known as DMWA), where Ren and Goro were studying.
Igor grinned.
“As expected from the two of you. All there’s left to do is one more thing.”
“Yes. Recollect the soul of a Witch, so Goro can become a Death Scythe.” Besides him, Goro raised his head, a serious look glancing towards the window.
“Trickster,” spoke Lavenza. “Please, have in mind that now that Goro has consumed ninety-nine shadow eggs, he cannot consume another soul that is not a Witch, or the spell that would turn him into a Death Scythe would break. You would need to start over.”
“We have that duly noted, Lady Lavenza,” Goro replied, and a slight smirk raised over Ren’s lips. He was already unused to Goro’s respectful manners.
“Having said that,” she continued. “Please, be careful. It is known that many meisters and weapons perish in this last step. You cannot fail, both of you need to concrete your destinies.”
Ren’s smile faded.
“We won’t”.
Goro glanced at his meister when the connection finished. Ren was staring at his reflection, golden eyes looking back at him.
“Our destiny, huh?” he said. Ren shook his head.
“We are getting closer, Goro. Are you ready?”
His weapon grinned with his serrated teeth.
“Ready as ever.”
Morgana was the name of the witch, and she lived outside of town according to the information Lavenza provided them the following day. While Morgana didn't have any notorious track record (she was seen robbing... fish?), a witch was a witch and as a meister and his weapon, they had the responsibility to protect humanity from any potential risk. Neither Ren nor Goro were convinced by that logic, but they also needed the witch’s soul to continue with their plan.
Both Ren and Goro had a predestined future: Goro would become one of Master Death’s weapons and be assigned a region to supervise, which Goro had zero interest to do, and Ren, well... he had his own destiny that he was chained to. The idea was to get Goro to his full potential and then not return, never looking back. Ren also knew that Goro had some pending issues to attend to that he was yet told about, but he was one hundred percent sure he would be there to support him.
And for that, they needed Morgana’s soul.
Goro noticed Ren looked thoughtful when he parked his bike in front of Morgana's garden. She lived in what looked to be a rather small cottage; the lights were on, and smoke was coming out of the chimney, raising up to the sky in the form of small fishes, the ever-laughing moon completing the image. The garden was full of pumpkin patches, and metal scraps of some sort half buried between here and there.
"What's wrong?" he asked Ren.
“It’s still weird,” Ren replied while looking at the garden. It looked peaceful, not like the witches they were told about in classes, all living in remote areas and having laboratories they could experiment in. “This witch is just a thief. We are just…going to kill her.”
"Guess so," Goro answered. "It's the way it is."
"Doesn't mean it's just."
It would have been an interesting topic to continue debating on, but they were interrupted when an artifact landed in between their feet and smoke began to come out from it. Soon they were covered, back-to-back, being the support the other needed. The smoke was so dense they couldn’t even see the light from the moon.
Goro yelled first.
"Amamiya!" And he transformed.
Ren grabbed Goro and moved around, just in time to block the sword that was coming for them. The impact was enough to make him recoil, and the shockwave made the smoke dispersed. A large figure was in front of them, with a big and muscular torso and dressed in all black. A mask was covering part of his face, but his eyes, a sharp yellow, were over it as if the mask was part of his body. What he had thought was a sword, was actually a rapier, that he held in front of his body, waiting patiently for the next strike.
"Morgana?!"
"Who are you?" asked a kid-like voice, that came from the figure in front of them. Ren had never had the chance to meet a witch face to face, yet he knew that they usually were humanoid, though some had some characteristics that were reminiscent of their companion animal. He couldn't say that the figure in front of them was human or reminded him of some animal.
More importantly, was he as meek as the reports made him out to be?
"Witch Morgana," announced Ren. "We are here to take your soul."
"Witch?" Morgana blinked, but just a moment later Ren was in front of him, raising his blade to strike him.
Morgana raised the rapier, blocking the strike, to which Ren spun Goro’s staff to strike from below. That's when he noticed the glowing card down his feet.
"Garula!" said Morgana, and a gust of wind came from the card, propelling both Ren and Goro in the air.
They landed over one of the pumpkin patches, and Ren groaned. He was hoping for it to be an easy battle. Goro vibrated under his fingers.
"What are you doing?" he asked. Or complain, rather.
"What do you mean?"
"He is toying with us,"
“And you think I like it!?"
A soft chuckle resonated in the air. Ren got up, cleaning the remains of pumpkin guts that got on his coat with his free hand. Morgana's figure flickered, until it evaporated in light, returning to its original body. What was left in front of Ren and Goro... was a cat. Or, at least, what they thought was a cat, because it had big, fluffy ears, and a wagging tail, but it looked more like a small demon. Suddenly the background of fish thievery made more sense.
"Well, you two sure are an interesting lot," said Morgana with a wicked smile pasted on his face. "A Demon Scythe... and a Reaper."
Ren tightened his grip on Goro. It wasn't something that he could really hide, his golden eyes screamed that to the four winds that he was, at the very least, similar to Master Death. And if he was honest, that was the only reason why he was there in the first place.
He thought he was human, and it's plausible that he was until Mother Nature decided Igor’s reign should come to an end. One day he was complaining about the Chemistry test from the previous week, and the other a headache started to turn him from inside out, clouding his vision and making him collapse in the school’s hallway.
All he knew was that, when he woke up, he could see souls: Down there, in the center of their chests, his friends had their souls, all a pure blue but with many diverse forms, that changed from personality to personality.
It freaked him out, terribly. And before his parents took him to a psychiatric ward, Lady Lavenza appeared at their door. Everything turned out okay in the end. He met Goro and some wonderful people he now called his friends, and he was one hell of a demon hunter, he and Goro being most of the time at the top. But nobody attributed that to them; it was expected for a reaper to be excellent at that. And every time he talked to Igor and Lavenza it was a testament that…
He did not want to become the next Master Death.
Morgana crossed his arms, slowly wagging his tail behind his back.
“You do know that if I was another person, I would have taken the chance while you were blabbering over there, right?”
“But you didn’t,” Ren said. “So, what is it that you want?”
“A deal.”
“A deal?”
“I think the both of you could be useful to me. So, you could join me, and I will teach you everything you don’t know.” Ren scoffed.
“Like?”
“You haven’t always been a scythe user, right? They are pretty rare, to say the least,” Morgana snickered. “So, I know you are not bringing out your buddy’s full potential.”
Ren frowned. Witches were known to be cunning and convincing; they would tell you wonders until you had your guard down and then eat you alive. And he wouldn’t admit that some of the words rang some truth: He hadn’t been in that world his whole life, like Goro, or Ryuji. He wasn’t born a scythemeister, he was made into one.
But that didn’t mean he was not a good partner to Goro. And it was a matter of pride to show him how wrong he was.
“Goro.”
"Fine," he replied, already knowing what he was thinking.
Ren placed the scythe in front of him and closed his eyes, evening his breath. While that was something not to do in front of the enemy, Morgana stood still, maintaining his little arms crossed. After taking a deep breath, Ren opened his eyes, and there was a different spark in them: they were glowing.
"Soul Resonance!" Both he and Goro screamed.
Soul Resonance was a special ability done by a weapon and its meister: the meister's soul wavelength transferred to the weapon and they amplified it. Though this could be done by every meister and weapon, it was not a feasible feast, because they required to be connected. As the energy surged through their veins, Ren could feel Goro’s heartbeat. They were in sync.
Goro’s blade started to glow, while Ren raised him at an angle, blade behind his back. The blade then grew, quadrupling in size, almost embracing his meister. An electrifying sizzle covered the silence of the night; Goro’s blade glowed a deep red, and the energy that surged from him almost looked like teeth from a saw.
"Scythemeister Technique," Ren pronounced, "Witch Hunter!"
Even though Goro had augmented his size, his meister could still handle him with ease and charged against Morgana faster than he could before. The witch was smiling.
"Color me impressed: It's not every day that I see such a young meister perform this technique."
Ren was annoyed, all he could think about was to prove him wrong and wipe that smug smile from his face. Raising Goro, he prepared to slice the witch in half.
"However," Behind Morgana. the large figure from before appeared once again, blocking the strike with its rapier. Ren tightened the grip on Goro and pushed, the sizzle deafening his ears as it fought against the blade. "You are still too unstable." And just like that, Goro’s magic blade broke into pieces, the shockwave launching them back.
Ren landed on the ground, trying to catch his breath and gripping Goro. It was the first time their Soul Resonance didn't work--- no... it failed. Their connection broke, and that hurt his pride more than anything. Sitting, he glanced at his weapon: his blade looked impeccable as always, what broke was the enhancement from the Witch Hunter. But him... he was awkwardly silent.
"C'mon. Goro," he said, waking up. But his staff weighed in his hands, and his throat tightened. "Goro?"
“He has a lot of potential.” Ren raised his scythe again; Morgana was walking towards them, the large figure standing close behind him. “But you can’t bring it out fully.”
“And you do?”
“Actually, I do,” Morgana snickered and glanced at the figure behind him. “Zorro here, he is an extension of my soul. And I felt it when you charged at me… his soul has a great power that can be exploited in the right hands. So, what do you say?”
The scythe glowed, and Goro transformed back to his human form. But Ren’s soul faltered when he noticed that he did next to the witch.
“Is that so?” Goro asked.
“You are not…” Ren started, but his voice quieted down when he saw the way he glanced at him.
“You know, I wanted to give you a chance,” he said while turning his body to him, his hands inside his hoodie. “Thought that maybe we would be able to do something bigger…But with this, I can reach the end of my plan sooner. Why shouldn’t I take that chance?”
Goro’s words hurt in his heart like daggers. Ren knew how ambitious he was, and how much his plan meant to him… to them. Because Ren showed the same ideals as him, and after all the time they shared, the three years they spend alongside each other, gathering the ninety-nine souls…
He was about to throw it all away?
Ren had a hard time when he entered the DMWA. The rumors of the next Reaper appearing suddenly at the school spread fast, and it was not as welcoming as one would think. Whispers and glances were all he could notice. Suffice it to say that the first contact he had in that world, apart from the directive board and Master Death, were the weapons.
Interview after interview happened in the span of a few weeks. Dozens of weapons appeared in front of him, offering themselves as the best match for the future Master Death. After all, with the power he was destined to have, his weapon would for sure inherit some of that.
“Quite the talk you are,” he heard one day.
There was a boy next to him in the library; Ren was studying everything related to that world, absorbing as much as he could when he was interrupted by a figure next to him at his table. This boy had a blue vest and auburn hair falling on his shoulders, looking like those know-it-alls that he had met one after one in those days. And immediately he had his guard up.
“Not surprised,” was his reply, and the boy chuckled.
“Don’t get me wrong, “he said as he sat beside him at the table. “All good things. of course. The promises of greatness, the next great Master Death... There's an annoying pressure upon your shoulders. I get you."
"How so?"
"Because I am the same," the boy grinned at him. “Goro Akechi, at your disposal. I think we can make a good deal."
At that moment they did talk about a deal: Goro was the only scythe in many years, pressured to become the next Death Scythe and wanted nothing of it, so, they could unite forces to go against their destiny. But, at least to him, their relationship grew after so many years together, Goro showed his true face to him and even stopped faking his persona... to most people, at least. The teachers still were met with the fake charming prince and they would tease him about it.
And... he was throwing all that away? For power?
"You are joking," he said in a coarse voice.
Goro glanced at him once more and then turned to Zorro.
"So, this is an extension of your soul? Care to show me how you do it?"
Morgana nodded, and with that, it was all settled. Goro turned partially to his old meister and extended his left hand to him. It was an awkward position, as part of his body was still facing Morgana, which didn't go unnoticed by Ren. With a frown over his eyes, he looked at Goro. He nodded.
"Well, then... this is farewell, Amamiya."
Ren swallowed and took his hand. Goro’s blade appeared where his right arm was supposed to be, embracing Zorro.
"Now!"
He pulled his arm at the same time Goro finished transforming, slicing Zorro in half. Morgana gasped before he and Zorro evaporated in shadows, a purple soul floating in their place.
Ren finally took a deep breath, ruffling his hair with his free hand.
"You are the worst. Would it kill you to keep me in the loop?" he complained.
Goro returned to his human form next to the witch’s soul and shrugged.
"I planned it on a whim and had to act fast. He wouldn't shut up about that thing being an extension of him, so I figured that if we killed Zorro, we would also kill him. Your disbelief also helped," he explained, taking the orb in his hand. "Do you have so little faith in me?"
"After that? Of course I do." Goro rolled his eyes, but Ren could see a glimpse of a smirk on his lips. He approached him, crossing his arms. "This is it.”
"It is." His red, brilliant eyes were illuminated by the purple light of the soul, and they almost looked transfixed. "There's no turning back. You know that, right?" His eyes then gazed at Ren’s, and the meister's breath hitched. "No regrets."
Ren snorted.
"Who do you take me for? 'm not like you."
"For Death's sake, you are not going to let it pass."
The banter felt familiar, though that was the moment their lives would change forever. And without delaying it anymore, Goro swallowed Morgana’s soul, shuddering as it passed down his throat. Silence filled the air as Ren waited expectantly for the moment Goro would transform and take power as a full Death Scythe. And Goro himself was waiting too.
Though he was less patient about it.
"I feel nothing."
"What?"
"As you heard."
"No surge of power, not a sharper blade?"
Just to test it out. Goro transformed his right arm into his blade. It looked the same as usual. Ren was at a loss for words.
"I don't understand, you should have transformed right now. And Lavenza wouldn't have let us come here if we didn't have the ninety-nine shadow eggs..."
"That was quite a feast!"
Both Ren and Goro stood frozen in place as a black and white cat walked in between them and had the audacity to nuzzle himself against Ren’s leg.
The cat had Morgana’s voice.
"What... what are you doing here?" Ren’s voice sounded like a whisper, three times higher than his usual tone, in total disbelief at what was happening. "We killed you, Goro just ate your soul, how is a witch able to survive that?"
"Oh, right," Morgana replied nonchalantly while scratching his ears with his back paws. "But I'm not a witch. I'm a cat with magical properties. He just ate one of my lives."
The color drained from Goro’s face, as Ren struggled to answer that. All this time, have they fought just a cat? And not only that... Goro ate his soul.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Goro complained. He sat on one of the giant pumpkins in the garden, burying his face in his hands in despair.
"Oh, but you've proved me wrong," beamed Morgana, still next to Ren, wagging his tail from side to side. "You make a great team, think you both could let me train you? Just need a house with one of you, at least."
But Ren didn't reply either. Lost in thoughts, he walked towards his partner and sat beside him. He rose his gaze up to the sky, looking for meaning in all that mess, but all he could see was the ever-laughing moon, though this time it felt like it laughed at his misery.
Goro ate ninety-nine shadow eggs, and he needed a witch’s soul to complete the ritual and become a Death Scythe. However, he ate a cat's soul, which broke the chain.
They had to start over.
Ryuji was going to have a field day with this one…