[A/N:Sorry my timeline god messed up, when I was writing Orpheus storyline. I didn't know the timeline, only after seeing Sandman season 2 did I understand it's 1700 B.C.]
In Greece, 1700 B.C., Death and her siblings attended the wedding of Orpheus, the son of Dream and Calliope. The night of his wedding, however, Death claimed Eurydice.
Overwhelmed with grief, Orpheus pleaded with his father Oneiros to bring Eurydice back to life. Oneiros refused. Devastated, Orpheus disowned him.
It was Destruction who advised Orpheus to speak with Death about his wife's fate.
Through a portal Destruction owned, Orpheus stepped into Death's realm.
The other side disoriented him. It was unlike anything he had ever seen — a modern-day setting, where a vinyl record played soft music.
Confused, Orpheus wandered toward the sound. His eyes fixed on the record turning. He touched it, and the music stopped.
That's when the door opened. Death stepped in, she was wearing modern clothees a simple, black tank top, and black pants with
a prominent silver ankh pendant. With
a small bottle of fish food in her hand.
"Looking for something?" she asked.
Startled, Orpheus quickly apologized. "I'm… I'm so sorry."
Death shook her head with a faint smile. "If I'd known I was gonna have company, I would've tidied up."
Orpheus gave a small chuckle. "This place is so strange. Well, to… to my eyes."
Death shut off the record and studied him. "I'm impressed you found it."
"Uncle Olethros showed me the way," Orpheus admitted.
She scattered some fish food into a small bowl, watching the goldfish stir. "Did he?"
Then she turned back to him. His grief was written across his face. Her voice softened:
"Orpheus… I am sorry about Eurydice."
"Then give her back to me," Orpheus pleaded. "Please."
"She doesn't belong to me anymore," Death explained. "She's in the underworld. That's where you people go — Hades' realm."
"Then send me to her," Orpheus pressed. "Please, just so I can bring her back."
Death sighed, walking a few steps away. "That isn't going to happen."
"Why not?" Orpheus demanded.
Her tone grew sharper. "You don't go to the underworld without dying first."
Orpheus's voice rose with urgency. "Heroes and gods go to the underworld all the time. Heracles chained Cerberus."
Death rolled her eyes. "Heracles was full of sh*t. He got dead drunk for a week, then told everyone he'd been to the land of the dead."
"My uncle said you can do it," Orpheus insisted. "He said you can do anything you want."
Death paused, narrowing her eyes. "Your uncle Olethros has a big mouth, you know that?"
Hope flickered in Orpheus's voice. "So you can do it, then?"
Death nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Her demeanor changed. She stepped in front of Orpheus, serious now. "You could go to the underworld. You could even come back. But you could never die. I would have to agree to never take you."
Orpheus was struck silent — awed, uneasy. "You would… make me immortal."
"It may sound like a gift…" Death began.
"I'd risk anything for her," Orpheus interrupted.
Death gestured for him to sit. She lowered her voice: "Orpheus. Look me in the eyes."
He did.
"Is this what you really want?" she asked.
He nodded.
Death let out a long sigh. "You got it."
A faint breeze swept around him at her words.
"I… I thank you, Teleute," Orpheus whispered.
For the first time, Death's eyes grew wet. She knew what was coming. "Yeah," she murmured. "I hope it works out for you."
"Wait," Orpheus faltered. "But don't you know? I thought you could foretell the future."
Death fixed him with a solemn look. "I don't need to know the future. I am the future. For everything and everyone." She paused. Her expression was one of pity. "Except you now."
She crossed the room, picked up an old key, and unlocked the basement door. The hinges groaned as she pulled it open, revealing long, winding stone stairs disappearing into shadow.
Orpheus peered into the darkness below. "So that's…"
"The underworld," Death confirmed. "Good luck."
Orpheus gave a small smile, then began his descent. Each step echoed downward until he vanished from her sight.
Death closed the door, her hand lingering on the wood. She already knew what was going to happen. And then, for the first time, a thought crossed her mind — an idea. Yan Sen.
A swirl of darkness swept through the room—Death herself appeared, usually serene, but this time visibly anxious. Yan Sen raised an eyebrow, noting not just her demeanor, but the oddly modern cut of her dress.
"What could possibly unnerve Death herself?" he asked quietly. "Especially in future clothing."
Death sighed, her gaze distant.
"It's my nephew, Orpheus. Yesterday was his wedding to Eurydice. She… she died—bitten by a serpent. Grief-stricken, Orpheus begged his father, Oneiros—Dream—for help, but Dream refused. Orpheus renounced him in despair. So he turned to his uncle Olethros… Destruction, who agreed to open the gates to my realm, Teleute, the land of the dead."
She paused, her voice tinged with regret.
"I warned him: if he entered the underworld, he'd become immortal—unable to ever die again."
Yan Sen listened, then, with quiet concern, asked,"What's the problem?"
Death's answer was grave."The Fates—the Kindly Ones—are involved. They've likely already determined Orpheus' doom. I'm hoping you'll intervene. After all… the Fates fear you."
Yan Sen nodded, considering. "But how will he trust me?"
Death removed her Ankh necklace, pressing it into his hand."Show him this. He'll know it's mine—there's only one like it."
Taking the Ankh, Yan Sen nodded, closed his eyes, found Orpheus in the underworld—and vanished.
In the shadowy halls of Hades, Orpheus stood before the Lord of the Dead and Persephone, pleading, his voice rising in a song of such longing and beauty that even the stony Erinyes wept. Persephone's expression stayed calm, yet compassion softened her silence.
Hades, unmoved at first, relented after a glance from his queen."Walk to the far exit of the underworld," Hades intoned. "Eurydice will follow behind you. Do not speak or look back until you both reach the light. Only then will she be truly yours again."
Orpheus obeyed, shadows clinging as he made the long ascent. But in the growing silence, doubt gnawed at him—was this all a cruel trick? Fear twisted in his chest, every sense urging him to turn.
Just as he faltered, a calm voice echoed:
"Don't turn back. You will lose everything."
A lone figure appeared in the gloom before him—a young man with an otherworldly presence.
Orpheus, desperate, demanded, "Who are you?"
Yan Sen simply held out the Ankh. Orpheus' eyes widened in recognition—his aunt's symbol.
"I was sent by your aunt," Yan Sen stated. "She felt Fate's power here. The confusion, the paranoia—that's not your weakness, it's the Kindly Ones working against you."
Orpheus caught his breath as understanding dawned.
"But how do I know Hades keeps his word?" he pressed.
Yan Sen gestured toward the pale light ahead.
"When you step out into the world, then look back. If she's not there, take the Ankh, and bring your complaint to Death herself. But if you turn too soon, you'll never know. You'll always wonder—if didn't turn back, she would have been with me?"
Reason pierced the fog of doubt. Orpheus nodded, steeling himself, and strode forward, never glancing back until the very end. As he stepped out, he turned.
Eurydice stood behind him, radiant—her fair skin glowing, long black hair shimmering, blue eyes shining with joy, her wedding gown a wisp of moonlight. Orpheus ran to her, sweeping her up in a tearful embrace, love and relief mingling in the harsh sunlight.
Death appeared at Yan Sen's side, a bright smile softening her usual calm.
"I love a happy ending," she whispered.
Orpheus, overwhelmed by joy and gratitude, spotted Death and rushed to embrace her, his voice trembling with relief.
"Thank you, Telute," he whispered, clinging to the only divine relative who had ever shown him kindness.
Death gave him a gentle squeeze, then gestured toward Yan Sen.
"It wasn't me this time, Orpheus. I didn't have the power to change your fate—it was him."
Orpheus turned, meeting Yan Sen's calm gaze. He didn't know this stranger's true nature, but he understood that anyone trusted by Death herself must be extraordinary. Bowing his head deeply, Orpheus spoke with heartfelt thanks,
"Thank you—for giving me another chance,"
and though words fell short, his gratitude was unmistakable.
Yan Sen simply nodded, giving Death a small, quiet smile.
But then Death's expression turned serious. She addressed the young man beside her. "Orpheus, what are you going to do now that you're immortal—while Eurydice remains mortal?"
Orpheus was caught off guard, struggling for words. Eurydice squeezed his hand a little tighter, worry clouding her face.
Without a word, Yan Sen produced a slender vial containing liquid that shimmered with a crystalline brilliance—sparkling facets catching every stray light, beautiful and otherworldly. It looked like water woven from diamonds.
Orpheus and Eurydice stared at it in fascination. Death, recognizing its power, found herself unsurprised. She'd seen gifts like the Golden Apples and the Fountain of Youth before—yet for someone like Yan Sen, this was simply a gesture.
Yan Sen offered the vial to Orpheus. His tone was matter-of-fact but kind. "This will grant your wife immortality. She will not die from old age or any mortal wound."
Orpheus gazed at the vial, awe in his eyes. "How can I ever repay you?"
Yan Sen smiled and waved the question away. "You don't need to."
Before another word could be spoken, Yan Sen faded from sight, leaving them in quiet wonder.
Orpheus finally turned to Death. "Aunt Telute, who was he?"
Death looked at the spot where Yan Sen had vanished. "His name is Yan Sen. He is like me, and like your father—but many, many times more powerful."
Orpheus and Eurydice stared in silent shock, the vial glimmering in Orpheus's hands.