Capítulo — "The Whisper of Lost Love"
The battlefield had quieted. The ashes of Thanos' army settled like black snow across the crumbled earth. Survivors embraced. Some wept. Others stood in stunned silence. Victory tasted like blood and loss.
But Wanda Maximoff… she had unfinished business.
Her crimson energy pulsed softly at her fingertips as she walked away from the crowd, ignoring the confused looks from Sam, Bucky, and Strange. Her path was clear. Her mind sharp. The only whisper cutting through her grief was the echo of his voice—Vision's voice—ripped from her twice by fate, by cruelty, by inevitability.
Now… she sought the one who walked beyond inevitability.
The shadows thickened as she reached the treeline, the air colder, reality bending. The faint smell of ozone mixed with smoke. The birdsong faded. It was here—the space between realms—where only certain beings tread without invitation.
"You're persistent," a familiar, low voice cut through the mist.
Wanda halted, eyes narrowing as Daniel materialized from the gloom. His black trench coat flowed behind him, the faint silhouettes of Reapers clinging to his shadow like wolves in waiting. The faintest ripple of energy emanated from him—the raw essence of Death… untamed… absolute.
"You said I'd get answers," Wanda stated, crossing her arms, defiant even as the weight of his presence pressed around her like gravity.
Daniel's lips curled into that faint, brutal smirk. "And here you are. Most mortals avoid me, even when they know me." His gaze sharpened, dissecting her emotions like a surgeon. "But you're not like most."
"I buried him twice," Wanda whispered, voice trembling at the edges but holding. "Twice, Daniel. You… you train me, show me strength… but what good is strength if love keeps getting ripped away?"
Daniel exhaled slowly, stepping closer, the ground cracking faintly under his boots. His dark eyes locked onto hers—not cruel, not mocking—but impossibly ancient. "Love and Death," he murmured, almost poetic. "Two sides of the same inevitability."
"I'm done with inevitability," Wanda snapped, her chaos magic flickering around her wrists.
"Careful," Daniel warned, voice calm but iron beneath. "You're strong… stronger than most. But you're not beyond the rules."
"Neither are you," Wanda challenged, stepping close enough to feel the unnatural chill of his presence. "You can walk between life and death… you've taken souls and given them purpose… I know your secret."
Daniel chuckled—a deep, cold sound. "Secrets are currency," he mused. "But you're right… I owe you this."
Without ceremony, he lifted a gloved hand—the shadows twisting, reality distorting. Before them, the fog parted, revealing a shimmering portal like glass fractured with crimson veins. On the other side… was Vision.
Whole. Intact. Standing under a twilight sky of pure energy, where color and form danced like living symphonies. His eyes… bright, aware… locked onto Wanda the instant he saw her.
"Vision…" Wanda whispered, voice cracking as her hands hovered toward the barrier.
Vision's voice was soft, synthetic yet impossibly human. "Wanda…"
The raw ache in her chest nearly broke her resolve, but Daniel's voice anchored her. "You can see him," he instructed firmly. "Speak to him. But this barrier holds. You cross it… you cease to be."
Wanda's fists clenched. "Why show me this, if I can't—"
"Because strength isn't about bending the rules," Daniel interrupted, eyes dark as abyssal depths. "It's about surviving within them. You've felt pain… loss… rage. But I've felt the ultimate cruelty."
His jaw tightened as fragmented images flashed telepathically into Wanda's mind—images of Daniel ceasing his own parents, his sister… his trembling hands… the impossible choice. The last time his emotions ever surfaced. The moment Death became… just Death.
"I reaped my own family," Daniel admitted, voice a ghost of emotion. "I watched their souls rise. I carried them beyond the veil… and I haven't removed these gloves since."
Wanda's defiance faltered as the weight of his revelation settled. The shadows recoiled faintly, the Reapers retreating as silence wrapped around them.
"You loved them," Wanda whispered, eyes glistening.
"I still do," Daniel admitted quietly. "But love doesn't change inevitability. It only teaches you how to survive it."
Vision pressed a hand to the barrier from the other side, his eyes soft, understanding. "You have to live, Wanda," his voice echoed faintly. "You're not alone."
Tears finally fell down Wanda's cheeks, her crimson energy trembling but contained. She turned to Daniel. "You brought him back…?"
Daniel shook his head. "I can only guide the echoes. His soul? Reborn in fragments… built from memory and essence. But his spark… that's his."
Wanda exhaled shakily, stepping back from the barrier, resolve stitching itself behind the grief. "Teach me more," she said softly.
Daniel nodded once, respect glinting behind his brutal demeanor. "You learn fast, Scarlet Witch. You'll need it."
She smirked faintly, wiping her tears. "Where to next, Reaper?"
Daniel's trench coat billowed as he turned, the Reapers fading back into the mist. "The universe isn't done bleeding," he replied, his voice both a promise and a threat. "And neither are we."
The barrier shimmered one last time before closing, Vision's image etched into her mind like a permanent scar—hope wrapped in heartbreak.
And as Wanda followed Daniel into the shadowed path, her magic steadier, her grief honed… only one truth remained undeniable:
Death walks beside her now. And so does purpose.
End of Chapter.