Yan Sen watched as The Fates vanished from sight, dissolving into the veil of the cosmos like mist. He let out a long breath, his shoulders relaxing slightly. He turned to walk away — and that's when he felt it. A shift. Not hostile. Familiar.
He stopped.
His eyes narrowed as he glanced across the empty grass field. It was strangely quiet. Still.
"Show yourself," he said, his voice steady, resonant.
The air ahead shimmered, like a heatwave breaking reality. In the next moment, the stillness parted — and from it, she walked into view.
A woman.
Tall, ethereal, hauntingly beautiful. She had long waves of dark brown hair that framed a pale, porcelain face. Eyes the color of the deep ocean, lined with jet eyeliner that gave them a quiet intensity. Dark red lips curled not in menace, but quiet self-assurance. She wore a silver necklace — a thin chain and an ankh pendant that gleamed under the evening sun.
Her black Greek toga flowed like smoke around her. Draped over one shoulder, cinched at the waist, pleated along the skirt… she looked like a figure from a forgotten legend carved into stone — elegance in motion.
She raised her hands slightly, palms open. "I am Death," she said. "And I didn't come to fight. I was… curious."
Yan Sen tilted his head, studying her.
"You're Death of the Endless," he muttered.
Death nodded. "Yes. I sensed something… a connection to my realm. And then I found you — the being not of this omniverse."
Her eyes searched his face, her expression unreadable.
"What are you, exactly?" she asked.
For a moment, Yan Sen said nothing. But within, his thoughts turned. Making allies was never his goal… yet Death — of all entities — was perhaps the only one who undoubtedly the kindest, most open and charismatic of the Endless.
"I'm similar to you," Yan Sen said at last, evenly. "But also not."
Death's gaze intensified. He could sense her growing interest.
"You are the personification of death," he continued. "I represent something else… the End of All Things. I exist outside the endless hierarchy. Beyond time. Beyond form. The End that consumes gods, stars, ideas — everything."
Death blinked — the faintest flicker of surprise in her eyes. Then, unexpectedly, a soft smile touched her lips.
"Someone like me," she said, quietly. "It's rare. Everyone meets me twice — once at birth, once at the end… but no one walks with me beyond the very last breath." Her voice dropped. "When the universe ends, I will be the one to lock the doors behind me."
Yan Sen nodded.He offered a subtle smile. "Yan Sen. It's an honor to meet you."
"The honor is mine," she said softly.
They sat down in the field, side by side. Grass swayed around them. The winds were gentle, bearing the scent of rain. The sky above was vast, open, and painted orange by the dying sun.
As they talked, Death lowered her guard. She found herself intrigued by this being. The more she learned, the more she saw — Yan Sen wasn't just powerful. He was finality made flesh.
He told her what none had heard.
The Endless Void — a part of his true form — existed outside everything. No omnipotence worked there. No time. No space. No memory. The moment something was sent there by his Instant Death, it was erased from every layer of existence. No struggle. No escape.
The gods of higher realms never even felt it happen.
And yet, he sealed all that away… to walk among the fragile, the uncertain, the mortal.
"To choose restraint," Death said, watching him. "That's rare."
She looked at the horizon, eyes distant.
"I envy you," Death admitted. "You walk among mortals by choice. I… I have a duty. Always releasing souls. Guiding them. Unwanted, unwelcomed." Her tone dropped, bitter and tired. "I used to wonder what would happen if I just… stopped. If I gave it all up."
She paused.
"I hated being feared."
Yan Sen looked at her calmly. "Mortals fear only what they don't understand. Death is unknown… so they run." He leaned back on his hands, eyes skyward. "But if the face of death smiled the same way it did at their birth — if it offered comfort… maybe they'll stop fearing it. Maybe they'll welcome it. As an old friend."
The silence stretched between them — a golden, gentle hush. Then Death smiled again, but it was different this time. Not the enigmatic mask she wore for eons. A real smile.
"I really like you, Yan Sen," she said, rising.
She looked back at him. "Duty calls. But… I hope we meet again."
Yan Sen stood. "After work, then."
Death gave a small nod… and with a shimmer of the air, she was gone.
Yan Sen remained there, standing alone in the field — the setting sun casting long shadows behind him.
[A/N: Any ideas for MC's Students among DC heroes. I have ideas of Lady Johanna Constantine being a student, then later John Constantine and Johnana Constantine..etc.]