"Before Creation...the six primordials ruled the universe— each in their own realm...Nyx, the mother of night. Ruled over the in between also called the realm of dreams. Chronos, the Lord of time—Ruled the chronoscape...keeper of cycles, memories and time. Aither, the sky eternal. Ruled the heavens, light and the upper realms. Thanaros..."
Hesitating —he continued "....the first reaper, Ruled over the underrealm, judging the dead and preserving the barrier between the living and the dead. Ereba, Ruled the Erebic labyrinth also known as the abyss, the place of forgotten souls and Ananke, the goddess of fate. Governed the loom of fate, controlling the thread of fate—"
"What happened to them" Ashley already engrossed asked
Not appreciating the interruption. He replied "Died, sealed, missing—"
"And what happened to the seven realms?" She asked. More interested like she was listening to some old folktale
"Same with their rulers—except the underrealm, a new primordial was chosen to rule over it as the reaper" Kyle said. emotionless —like he wasn't just talking about himself
"So what does all this have to do with the Bride?" Ashley asked, trailing behind him.
Kyle stopped walking. almost making Ashley hit his back "I was getting there before you interrupted" he replied, annoyed by her constant questions and interruptions.
"Sorry..." Ashley muttered.
Making sure she wasn't going to interrupt him again
Kyle resumed walking "the absence of the six primordials became a burden to the reaper because he was charged to rule over the seven realms and keep the balance all by himself. Centuries passed and he slowly started to loose his essence— on the verge of the destroying all seven realms— a fragment of Ananke still existing chose a bride, to keep the reaper from destroying the realms, help him balance the veil between the living and the dead and absorb the overflow of energy from the reaper in case he becomes destructive again"
Ashley quietly took in all the information. The hardest part was registering the fact that she was the bride he spoke of, all this responsibilities fell on her
"And I am the bride you speak of" Ashley said softly, like she was still trying to convince herself
"Yes" Kyle responded
"But..." he continued "the bride of the reaper is supposed to be a soul—detached from the mortal realm— not alive"
Ashley looked up at him, finally realizing why he was surprised that she wasn't dead "....so i am supposed to be dead"
"Yes" Kyle replied
"What happens if I choose not to die?" Ashley asks, feeling unsettled —she wasn't ready to die, this was too sudden and too unbelievable for her to take in just like that
"We are about to find out" Kyle responded. His voice cold, he knew there was no option to keep her alive. If he was to take her to the underrealm she had to be detached from her mortal body
"but if you do not come with me to the underrealm, the veil between the human realm and underrealm will weaken and creatures that are not meant for this world will leak in and start to wreak havoc".
"Like the creature that attacked me yesterday" she responded, her voice somber as she understood
"Yes" he replied bluntly
The journey through the forest soon ended, they both stood at the entrance of her shop, quiet— Ashley with her thoughts
Seeing that the girl needed more time to think. He decided to give her more time to bid farewell to her mortal life "I will return"
With those words —he vanished, leaving Ashley standing alone at the front door.
After awhile—staring at her door. she finally decided to walk in.
"Ashley where have you been" Leora's voice rang desperately seeing Ashley— half covered in mud staggering into the shop. Rushing to her, she examined her body for any scratches or wounds
"I've been worried sick, since last night...where did you go" Leora said, assisting Ashley to the stool to sit down
Ashley wanted to reply, but she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. The thought of loosing everything she held dear— weighed down on her
"I told you to stay indoors Ash...why don't you ever listen" Leora scolded, pacing back and forth. She hadn't noticed the sad look on Ashley's face was not because she got hurt
"I'm fine Leora...I'm sorry I didn't listen to you" Ashley said softly, her voice filled with sadness
Hearing the apology Leora stopped pacing, taking a sit by her side "when I saw you weren't in your shop by noon yesterday I searched everywhere for you...I was soo scared— some creatures attacked the town yesterday and I thought...." she paused, flinching at the thought of loosing her best friend.
Hearing about the attack, Ashley turned to look at Leora "describe the creatures"
half expecting it to be the one that tried to her
Listening describ the creature— it was exactly the one that attacked her
Realizing— she might have to abandon her life for the sake of the human realm.