Losing Paradise

[MANIFESTATION RP — EPITHET]

• • •

Gau Mephistoles sat upon the roof of Hell, gazing at flowers — forget-me-nots. The blue flowers seemed unperturbed by the maelstrom of suffering and wailing souls below; continuously churned by the guardians of Hell. The ceaseless cycle of torture and death by those damned to reside here until the world ended stood in stark contrast with the flower bed, neatly combed and dressed and cared for as one does with a garden. 

"I like it. You've done a good job tending these," Gau said.

An elderly man — skin over bone, dark sunken eyes — sat on the other side and nodded. "I was afraid that they wouldn't survive here in Hell," he said with a raspy voice.

Gau didn't respond at first and instead enjoyed the scent of them. "I've received a message, he wants me to come back." 

The elderly man's eyes seemed to brighten. "Isn't that what you were supposed to do? Go back," he asked.

He made a small, coy throw gesture. "If you're someone like me—, something like me, going out there without enough power of your own is—," he began but paused.

"Dangerous?"

"Suicide."

The elderly man nodded, seemingly agreeing. "I understand, I think. How long has it been? Ten centuries?"

Gau grinned. "I think you know how long it has been, to the day."

The elderly man didn't respond. Instead, his gaze wandered off the flower patch and down into the pits of Hell. A gaping hole formed and a broiling mass of living corpses came up. He winced and groaned.

"I like it here though. I might stay another century or two, we'll see. What do you think," Gau finally said.

The elderly man looked back at him, eyes growing even darker than before. "You see these flowers?"

Gau nodded. "I do. They are lovely."

"For something so precious and fragile to survive here, it is quite remarkable isn't it?"

He nodded again. "You did an excellent job tending to them."

"I was afraid that they wouldn't survive as nothing survives here. Indeed, most of them died right away. I tried everything a gardener might do, but they died all the same. But when I started feeding them my life force, that's when the flowers maintained their vibrance."

Gau snickered. "That's a great story."

The elderly man bowed his head slightly and glared from the deep, black recesses of his eye sockets.

"Do you know how these flowers got their name?"

The elderly man stayed silent.

"When the creator, I guess you Shinigami call them Kami-sama, made all the living things in the world, he named them too. But when he was finally done he had skipped over a tiny little blue flower. Forget me not, Kami-sama, the little flower cried out. And Kami-sama said: Then that will be your name," Gau said.

The old man's eyes gazed over the flower bed.

"I haven't forgotten about you. Bleeding your Reiatsu into these flowers makes keeping you alive any longer redundant. I guess I have prolonged your life long enough but, are you sure this is what you want?" Gau said.

The old man nodded. "Yes, it's been long enough. I dreaded the day my soul would be consigned to Hell, so I thought immortality would be a blessing. But I was wrong. I'm sorry I'm forcing your hand, I know that wasn't part of our deal. This is preferable to eternal suffering."

Gau nodded. "I understand. Pity, we did have many great conversations."

The old man grinned. "Yes, we sure did."

"I consider our contract fulfilled," Gau spoke.

The old man took in a deep breath. "Finally," he whispered and a teardrop ran over his wrinkled cheeks.

"I wonder what they did to my body," he muttered more to himself than the elderly man.

The old man smiled, this time all too genuinely and held his hands up to this glowing chest. "Only one way to find out," he said and closed his eyes. Then his body dispersed into Reishi which Gau quickly absorbed. The forget-me-nots also dissipated into Reishi and Hell lost its flowers.

"I guess we will," Gau said while his own body started shining light blue.

• • •

The doors to the Throne Room opened, it was busy inside and outside. Quincy were gathered to see Gau's arrival. He felt like a circus act and tried to ignore them by keeping a brisk stride. Mortal scum, he thought. Once inside, the doors quickly closed and Gau was surprised to find himself alone with the emperor of the Quincy.

"Gau Mephistoles, we meet again," YHWH spoke.

Gau stopped before the throne and at his feet, he cast a golden crown. "I brought you something."

YHWH looked down at the royal head ornament. "Defiant as always. I didn't expect you to come. To serve your Quincy brethren."

He grinned. "You mean, to serve you?"

YHWH remained quiet.

"I am here, and for now I'm really interested in what's going on. I think I'll stay for a bit," he said with a much friendlier sounding voice.

The emperor nodded. "No need for the blood ceremony."

Gau's grin grew wider.

"Gau Mephistoles, I grant you the honorary Epithet of C, the Chaos."

Gau made a dramatic, flourished bow. "Yes—, Your Majesty."