Newt was still talking—something about Maze protocols and Runner rotations—but all I could hear was the ding echoing in my head and the System's S-rank reward blinking like an impatient toddler.
[S-Rank Mission Complete]
[Reward: Reaper Companion – Kiryu]
[Status: Summoning Initiated…]
Reaper. Companion.
What in the fresh dystopian nonsense is that supposed to mean?
"Greenie?" Newt waved a hand in front of my face. "You in there, or did the Gally punch from yesterday fry your brains already?"
I blinked and forced a grin. "Just contemplating the horrors of adolescence."
"Right." He didn't look convinced. "Well, contemplate on your own time. Maze training starts tomorrow, bright and early. Don't be late."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Newt clapped me on the shoulder and wandered off toward the Homestead. The moment he was out of earshot, I whispered through gritted teeth, "System, what exactly is a 'Reaper Companion'?"
[Host has been granted a loyal Reaper entity from the Death Note dimension. Designation: Kiryu. Binding complete.]
[Warning: Reaper entity may have… personality.]
Oh, wonderful. Just what I needed. A glorified emo bat with a god complex hanging around.
And as if summoned by my sarcasm, the air shifted. The temperature dropped—not cold, just… off. Like reality held its breath.
Then I heard it: a dry, raspy chuckle that sounded like a haunted xylophone being dropped down a flight of stairs.
I spun around and came face-to-face with seven feet of pure nightmare fuel.
Tattered wings curled around a skeletal frame, bones protruding at unnatural angles, and a grin that was way too pleased to be here. Glowing yellow eyes studied me like I was a particularly amusing cockroach.
"Well," the Reaper said, voice like broken glass over velvet, "this is unexpected."
"Hi," I deadpanned. "You must be Kiryu. Welcome to… whatever fresh hell this is."
Kiryu tilted his head, sniffing the air. "You reek of confusion. And pork."
"I was butchering a pig. Long story."
He gave an appreciative nod. "Excellent. I haven't had bacon in centuries."
I stared at him. "Do you… eat bacon?"
He shrugged. "I eat apples. Everything else is recreational."
Okay. So this is my life now.
"Look, here's the deal," I said, motioning him to follow me toward the tree line where no one would hear me talking to the air like a lunatic. "You're apparently my reward. I didn't ask for a bone-daddy sidekick, but here we are."
Kiryu's grin widened. "Sidekick? That's rich."
"Hey, I didn't write the System script. I'm just reading the subtitles."
He chuckled again, wings rustling. "So. What exactly is this place?"
"The Glade. Middle of a giant murder Maze. I'm technically a test subject, probably a war criminal in a past life, and my daily activities range from dodging biomechanical monsters in the future to explaining what soup is to kids who think seasoning is black magic."
Kiryu nodded solemnly. "Sounds like a party."
"That's one word for it."
I flopped down near the Deadheads, resting my elbows on my knees. "Look. I don't mind having backup. But can you not scare the shuck out of everyone? These people are already one breakdown away from forming a cult."
"I'll do my best," he said solemnly. "No promises, though. One of them has particularly fluffy hair. I may braid it in his sleep."
"Kiryu."
"Fine. Fine."
I sighed, rubbing my temples. "You're lucky you're bound to me. Otherwise, I'd sell you for apples."
His eyes lit up. "You have apples?"
"No, I have dirt and existential dread."
"Passable substitute."
My eye twitched.
We sat in silence for a moment—well, I sat, he hovered like a particularly morbid mosquito. I could hear the rustle of the wind in the leaves, distant laughter from the Gladers, and the occasional clang of Gally throwing weights around like they owed him money.
Kiryu's glowing eyes turned toward the walls. "The Maze… it hums."
"You can hear it too?" I asked quietly.
"Not with ears. It breathes. Old places like this do. You're not wrong to be afraid of it."
"Not afraid," I said automatically. "Just… pissed off."
"Ah. Anger. The most honest of emotions."
I shot him a look. "You get a philosophy minor with that skeleton, or is it just the Death Note perks?"
He cackled.
Suddenly, Chuck stumbled out of the trees nearby, holding what looked like a squashed tomato.
"Samuel! You want a snack?"
Kiryu vanished like a shadow under a flashlight.
"Uh…" I blinked. "Depends. Is it edible?"
Chuck inspected the tomato, then shrugged. "Frypan said not to eat the green ones, but this one's mostly red?"
"Risky. I like it." I took the tomato, pretending not to hear Kiryu whisper "Poor child's digestive system is doomed."
"You're weird," Chuck said with a grin.
"And yet, somehow irresistible."
He laughed, then waved and ran off toward the hammocks, presumably to give someone food poisoning.
Once he was gone, Kiryu faded back in, upside down and hanging from a tree branch like a gothic fruit bat. "That one's got guts. Reminds me of a gremlin I once dated."
"…That's a sentence I didn't need in my life."
"Too late now."
We stayed out there until nightfall, Kiryu drifting in and out of visibility, always just at the edge of my vision. Occasionally, he'd mutter strange things to himself in some otherworldly tongue, or hum a tune that made my spine twitch.
Despite all that, I felt weirdly calm. Like having a death god for company somehow made this place less crazy. Go figure.
When I finally trudged back to camp, most of the Gladers were asleep. I passed Minho sharpening a knife, who raised an eyebrow.
"You talking to yourself again, Greenie?"
"Wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've done today."
He snorted. "Just don't go Maze-crazy on me. That spot's taken."
"Noted."
I climbed into my hammock, muscles aching. Kiryu floated above me, wings curled protectively like some haunted blanket fort.
"You gonna watch me sleep now?"
"Only a little. Try not to snore."
I flipped him off, pulling the blanket over my chest. My eyes drifted shut, but not before I whispered one last question.
"You ever get used to being dead?"
Kiryu's voice was quiet for once. "No. But you get good at pretending."
Comforting.
Still, I fell asleep fast—maybe because I knew nothing would dare sneak up on me with a seven-foot reaper perched overhead. Or maybe because, for once, I felt like I had the upper hand in this messed-up game.
Whatever tomorrow brought—Maze monsters, System missions, or just Gally being a raging klunkhead—I'd handle it.
After all, I had a death god on my side.
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