(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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The world trembled.
The crimson clouds above twisted into a massive spiral,
And from the cracks of reality itself, faint whispers echoed—
Thousands of voices, the lost souls of the dying realm calling out in relief.
A vast column of dark light surged upward from the ground, piercing the heavens.
For a moment,
Leo saw fleeting silhouettes within it—
Spirits, chained and freed all at once,
Flowing into the new gate that now bridged Hell and Death together.
Then—
Silence.
"____"
"____"
"____"
The system chimed again, faint and clear:
[Ding...]
[System Notification]
[Dimensional Merge: Success.]
[Death Realm stabilized. Soul cycle restored.]
[Fame Points +9,800,000.]
[Hidden Bonus Achieved.]
Leo exhaled softly, lowering his hand as the fiery ring vanished into his shadow.
The air felt... calmer now.
Balanced.
He glanced at the fading storm one last time and muttered with a small smirk,
"Good. Now, let's see what kind of world you've become… one where even Death answers to me."
Leo froze mid-step.
"____"
When a sound drifted through the silence.
A faint giggle.
Giggle~
Soft. Feminine. Yet haunting.
"You're right…"
"…Even Death answers to you."
The voice carried like silk woven through smoke—
Gentle but chilling enough to make the air around him turn cold.
Leo turned sharply, his eyes narrowing as the air behind him shimmered.
And then—
He saw her.
Before him stood a bride—
But not one of the living.
Her skin was pale as moonlight, veins faintly visible beneath translucent flesh.
A long, tattered wedding gown trailed behind her like mist, glimmering faintly under the crimson sky.
Blue flowers—
Half wilted, half spectral—
Were woven into her dark hair.
Her eyes glowed softly, a melancholic cyan that held the weight of countless lost souls.
And when she smiled,
It was both beautiful… and heart breakingly sad.
Leo instinctively took a step back,
His aura tightening in quiet caution.
Something about her presence was wrong—
No malice, but an overwhelming pull,
As if her very being existed between existence and oblivion.
"You…"
He murmured, voice low, guarded.
The woman chuckled lightly, lifting the hem of her gown as she stepped closer.
Chuckle~
"____"
The air around her shimmered faintly with ghostly petals that dissolved into blue light.
Then she bowed gracefully, her voice echoing through the still air with ethereal calm.
"Emily,"
She said softly.
"Emily Merrimack of Evermore. The Death of this world… or what's left of her."
The words hit like a quiet thunderclap.
Leo blinked once, studying her—
No heartbeat, no aura signature,
Yet undeniably real.
Not an illusion.
Something older.
Something fundamental.
She looked up, her gaze steady and warm despite the chill of her presence.
"You've done what even I failed to do,"
She continued.
"You stitched together what was dying… saved a realm already forgotten by time."
Her expression softened, though her smile carried a trace of sorrow.
"____"
"But it came at a cost, didn't it? Now… you've drawn my attention."
For the first time in a long while,
Leo didn't immediately reply.
His fingers flexed slightly,
Energy faintly crackling in his palm before he let it fade.
He met her glowing eyes, unflinching.
"So… you're the Death this world forgot."
Emily tilted her head slightly,
Fufu~
A ghost of a laugh escaping her lips.
"Forgotten, abandoned, betrayed… I've been called many things, Leo Morningstar."
Her tone lingered with a teasing whisper,
Yet beneath it lay centuries of loneliness.
"And now, thanks to you—"
She said, extending her hand as faint spectral light rippled across her palm—
"—I live again."
The world around them pulsed faintly,
The newly fused Death Realm stirring beneath her feet.
Leo's eyes glowed faintly red in response,
His aura flaring in response.
"So… you're not here to fight?"
Emily's smile widened, soft and knowing.
"No. I'm here to thank you…"
She whispered, voice like falling snow.
"And perhaps… to ask what you intend to do with the power you just gave back to me."
A faint wind swept through the silent field, scattering the ashes of Merlin's fall.
Whoosh~
"____"
"____"
"____"
For a long moment...
The two simply stood in the aftermath of destruction—
Silent sentinels among the ashes of a broken battlefield.
The crimson light had faded to a muted dusk, and faint echoes of thunder rolled far in the distance.
Leo's coat fluttered in the faint wind as his eyes, still glowing faintly red, remained fixed on Emily.
The spectral bride tilted her head slightly, her blue gaze unwavering—
Waiting.
Finally, Leo spoke.
His voice was calm but low, carrying the quiet authority of a man who had seen too much.
"I have no intention of ruling over the dead,"
He said firmly.
"Nor of controlling souls like Merlin tried to. I did this because the balance itself was collapsing. If the law of death ceased to exist, this world would have torn itself apart."
Emily's expression softened.
"____"
The faint sorrow in her eyes gave way to a slow, genuine smile—
One that carried centuries of relief.
"So you truly meant it,"
She murmured.
"You didn't seek dominion. You sought preservation."
She stepped forward lightly, her bare feet leaving faint blue ripples of light on the scorched ground.
Her gaze lingered on him—
Not with reverence, but something gentler… more intimate.
"Finally,"
She whispered, almost to herself,
"Someone who sees death not as a weapon… but as a responsibility."
Her smile deepened.
The ghostly petals swirling around her shimmered faintly,
And then, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she added—
"As expected of my husband."
Time froze.
"____"
Leo's eyes widened, his composure shattering like glass.
"huh..."
For the first time in anyone's memory, the ever-calm Leo Morningstar looked genuinely speechless.
"...What?"
A faint ringing filled his ears.
The world seemed to tilt.
The red lightning, the burning horizon,
The howling wind—
Everything dimmed to black for a split second as his mind refused to process what he'd just heard.
He blinked twice.
Blink~ Blink~
"____"
Then thrice.
Blink~
Nothing changed.
She was still standing there—
Still smiling, still radiant, still terrifyingly calm—
As if she'd just said something completely normal.
"W–Wait,"
Leo managed, his usually sharp voice faltering.
"What do you mean… husband?"
Emily chuckled softly, the sound like bells under water.
Chuckle~
She lifted her hand and pointed gently toward his chest—
Where the sigil of the merged Hell Gate still faintly pulsed under his shirt, glowing crimson.
"You merged my dying realm with your hell,"
She said sweetly.
"You restored my existence… with your essence. In the eyes of the cosmic law, that's not just a pact…"
She smiled wider, the faintest blush of spectral blue touching her cheeks.
"…it's a bond of union."
Leo's face went blank.
"____"
His thoughts crashed into each other like broken code.
"...I— you— we— WHAT?!"
Emily's soft laughter filled the twilight,
Swirling around him like a breeze scented with ghost lilies.
Fufu~
"Don't look so alarmed, dear husband,"
She teased, her tone playful but her gaze warm.
"I won't bite… unless you ask."
Leo's brain short-circuited a second time.
The ground beneath him cracked slightly as his aura flared instinctively, half in embarrassment, half in disbelief.
"This… is not how today was supposed to go,"
He muttered under his breath,
Glaring at the horizon as if hoping reality itself would correct this misunderstanding.
Emily only giggled again, tilting her head with an amused smile.
Giggle~
"Oh, but it did,"
She said softly, stepping closer so that the faint glow of her aura brushed against his.
"You saved Death… and in doing so, became part of it."
The air around them shimmered faintly as the two energies—
Hell's infernal crimson and Death's ghostly blue—
Spiraled together in quiet harmony.
Somewhere deep in the void,
The system's interface flickered silently in Leo's mind.
[Ding...]
[System Notification]
[Relationship status updated — "Bound to Death (Emily of Evermore)"]
[Note: This bond is metaphysical and irreversible.]
Leo stared at the invisible message for three seconds.
Then muttered flatly,
"...You've got to be kidding me."
Looking at Leo's expression,
Emily chuckled softly.
Chuckle~
Her pale blue eyes gleamed with mischief as she stepped closer and lightly poked his cheek.
"Don't make that face, my dear husband,"
She teased, her voice carrying a haunting melody.
"Since today is our wedding day, let's make it a special one — a day this world will remember for eternity."
Leo could only let out a deep sigh,
Sigh~
Rubbing his forehead in defeat.
'Of course,'
He thought,
'the goddess of death herself had to be dramatic.'
Before he could respond,
Emily smiled faintly, her ghostly veil fluttering as if stirred by an unseen wind.
"We'll meet again soon — at your place,"
She said softly, before fading from sight,
Her presence leaving behind a faint trail of ethereal blue petals that slowly dissolved into the air.
Exhaling a long breath,
Leo steadied himself and turned toward the battlefield.
"System,"
He muttered tiredly,
"send all magical creatures and centaurs who aided us back — the beasts to the suitcase, and the centaurs to the Forbidden Forest."
A golden shimmer rippled across the ground as portals bloomed open like liquid sunlight.
One by one, the creatures roared, bowed, and vanished through them —
Returning to their respective adobe.
The battlefield, moments ago alive with chaos, fell into a deep, surreal calm.
With a faint crack,
Crack~
Morningstar Mansion...
Leo apparated back to the Morningstar Mansion.
The scent of sandalwood and fresh lilies greeted him,
Followed swiftly by the warmth of familiar arms.
Mavis was the first to rush forward,
Her black hair glowing faintly under the chandelier light as she wrapped her arms around him.
Behind her came Kejoro, Hagoromo Gitsune, the Black sisters, Wakana, Eileen, and Setsura —
Each of them embracing him in relief and quiet pride.
Even though they had known he would win,
The tension of waiting had weighed heavily on them.
Now, seeing him safe, their hearts finally eased.
Leo returned each embrace with a faint,
Weary smile before straightening.
His gaze swept across the room —
Sharp, composed once more.
"I told you all to stay out of this war,"
He said softly, his tone neither stern nor reproachful, simply resolute.
"Except for the British Ministry — they're the only ones from the hotel who were meant to intervene."
The room fell quiet.
The only sound was the distant crackle of the fireplace.
Leo's eyes then shifted to the far corner, where the shadows seemed to breathe.
"Valac,"
He called.
Two crimson eyes blinked open within the darkness.
The temperature of the room dipped ever so slightly.
Without hesitation, Leo gave his command.
"Deploy the members of the Continental. I want them assisting at every rescue site — across all nations. No politics, no borders. Just save whoever you can."
Valac bowed her head, her voice a low whisper that slithered through the silence.
"As you command, Master."
Then, like smoke caught by the wind, she vanished —
Swallowed whole by the shadows.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)I hope you guys are enjoying the story.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Guys: The poll next world...
1--> HOUSE OF DRAGONS & GAME OF THRONES.(Depends on the story flow) (3)
2-->BAYWATCH. (Small Arc.)
3-->HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON.(Depends on the story flow) (2)
4-->BAD BOYS.(Small Arc.) (1)
5-->MEG.(Little Longer.) (1)
Please give a review
And power stone!!!
It will Motivate Me.