After the Sun Sets

A lonely sliver of a moon hung high in a cloud-speckled sky, not a star in sight. The night was black and bleak. Cold rain pattered against Chasner's leather jacket, the soft noise it made blending in with the steady thrum of the droplets hitting the pavement beneath his feet. The man was standing across the street from a small house in a quiet, moderately secluded neighborhood. The house was a faded yellow, the color appearing to have once been reminiscent of sunshine. The trim was a dull white, and a small porch and two medium sized windows faced the street. The house itself was dwarfed by the plot of land it sat atop. The nearest neighbor was at least a half mile away, with trees dotting the property line. The creature's red eyes were focused on the second window, which cast light into the dismal night, proving that there was someone awake on the other side of the wall.

The man weighed his options briefly. His ultimate goal was to create as much panic and trouble as possible. He had started out simply, by gathering souls prematurely from their fleshy hosts. He adored the pain and sadness he inflicted, which only proved to spur him on. He then began transporting vicious and violent souls from his realm into the human world. This was quite the tricky task, as he was not nearly as experienced as his father in the matter. And it wasn't easy for him to gain their trust. The souls had desires similar to his own, and viewed all Reapers and their spawn as the enemy. His father was the gatekeeper between the realms, and Chasner merely wanted to ruin the balance between the two worlds. He wanted Purgatory to rip open at the seams and swallow everything whole. He wanted utter destruction of the universe as he knew it. He wanted to see his father helpless, at the mercy of his son's hands.

But these plans would take some time to culminate into the ultimate ending, so for the moment, Chasner occupied himself with the smaller, more manageable tasks on his agenda.

Little by little, he was doing his best to wreak havoc upon the human world. He'd been working on his scheme for many months. He had to keep one step ahead of his father, who was catching on rather quickly. The spirits he so painstakingly gathered and brought back to this realm appeared to be easy for Azrael to track, much to his chagrin. It was frustrating, and exhausting.

Chasner spent his evenings collecting souls far earlier than their scheduled end date. He knew it had the potential to create a Butterfly Effect, as he was tampering with fate. And that was precisely his goal.

The light emanating from the window suddenly disappeared, leaving darkness in it's wake. The creature smiled, prepared for the pain and suffering he would cause that night. He approached the home, easily transporting himself into the domain. He took in his surroundings quietly, able to make out the shapes and contours of furniture and picture frames. He was not distracted for long, and quickly went in search of one of the men he'd end tonight.

Chasner turned down the dark hallway, his footsteps silent as he moved toward the first bedroom door. It was slightly ajar, and he simply pushed it further open, revealing a young man asleep in a moderately sized bed in a modestly decorated room. He tilted his head slightly, observing him for a mere moment before something caught him by surprise.

"I would leave him be if I were you," an unfamiliar voice said quietly, but firmly from behind him. Chasner spun around in surprise, his red eyes boring into the woman standing behind him. Before he could hardly blink, let alone react, the woman reached out and grabbed his forearm, transporting them out of the home.

The pair landed in a serene, empty field, not far from their previous destination, the rain barreling down from overhead now. Chasner was bent down on one knee, his hair matting to his head as he lifted his eyes to the creature before him.

The woman glowering at him was tall for a female, though shorter than himself. She had pristine, slightly angular facial features, with a body that appeared to be a good balance between curves and lean muscle. Her skin was on the pale side, and completely unmarred. Her hair bordered on white, with just enough golden strands flecking it to make it not so. It hung sleek and straight down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a strange blend of silver and gold, not appearing decisively as either color, but rather waving with a shimmery tint of both. Her pupils were nonexistent. Her supple cheeks nearly glowed, and her lips were a shade of pale red. She wore a tailored white blazer that was buttoned securely in the front, and she didn't appear to be wearing a shirt beneath. Around her neck hung a long, dainty silver chain, with an intricately carved blue stone dangling from it. The ensemble was completed with a matching pair of slim white dress pants that almost completely covered the nude heels she wore.

Chasner stared up at the woman, a bit astounded. He had never seen one of her kind before, and he had certainly never been this close to one. Growing up, he'd overheard strange rumors and tall tales about them from the wolves, and he'd always wondered of their existence. Somewhere deep inside, though, he knew that they were real. Without their kind, there would be no Reapers. They worked symbiotically.

However, that didn't stop the two species from abhorring one and other.

The woman before him was a Bringer of Life, more commonly referred to as a Bringer or Promethean, though the latter had various definitions attached to it. They worked in similar ways as Reapers, though they had the opposite function. Rather than end lives and usher souls into the afterlife, they created souls in the Expanse before the human realm, and started life on this plane.

Chasner slowly climbed to his feet, regarding the woman before him with a newly found wariness. Unlike his father, he did not bother to hide his true form in the human realm. His eyes were the color of fresh blood and his pupils were black slits. He was unnervingly tall and well muscled, and his teeth were in many ways similar to a wolf's.

"Between you and my father, I haven't a clue why everyone dresses as though they're in a perpetual business meeting," he said casually, a cocky grin spreading on his lips. He knew she was here to stop his rampage, but he had no intention to quit. He'd already released dozens of souls into this realm, while collecting many more prematurely. They were already headed down a path that would be difficult to return from.

The creature before him narrowed her pupil-less eyes at him, her lips curling into a scowl. She had no time for jokes, and she hardly found him funny. The rain had painted her hair to her scalp, and her reflective eyes danced in the darkness.

"You would be wise to cease your disturbances at once," she said tersely.

"Or what?" Chasner growled in return, his eyes darkening. His initial awe with the creature was waning, replaced by his typical all-consuming anger.

"I'll be forced to kill you, and your father would be quite unhappy with me."

Chasner couldn't help but snort at the statement, causing the woman to tilt her head. "He'd hardly be upset."

The Bringer smiled, "Then I suppose I have nothing holding me back." A long, thick glass blade appeared in her hand, as though it simply emerged from her sleeve.

Chasner frowned at the gesture, though he made no move to take up a defensive stance. "How did you find me in the first place?"

The Bringer tilted her head once more, "You're angry. People who do things in rashes of anger are sloppy. It wasn't difficult, Chasner."

The Reaper frowned as she spoke his name, "You've spoken with my father, I assume?"

The woman sighed, "Unfortunately. The Bringers and The Reapers have agreed that you need to be stopped." The two creatures were not fond of each other, but they had decided to see each other face-to-face for the common good.

Chasner gnashed his sharp teeth slightly, "And let me guess: you were the poor beast tasked with apprehending me? Hmm. It rather sounds like I'm a fugitive." He chuckled slightly, "My intentions have never been to insult your kind, dear."

"Your actions cast consequences upon those around you. You know what you've done." She raised the long blade so that the sharp tip was angled at the creature's throat, "This is your last chance to renounce your ways."

Chanser frowned, his red eyes falling to the glass pointed at him. "At least tell me your name first," he said cheekily. He returned his eyes to the peculiar beauty before him, raising a brow.

The woman scowled, stepping forward so that the tip of the sword pressed against the skin of Chasner's throat. "Aurea," she stated simply, no hesitation in her voice. "Now renounce."

Chasner smiled, "Now, Aurea, I would, but I have more souls to collect, and their shelf life certainly isn't up."

In one deft motion, the woman made a move to sink the final blow into Chasner's throat just as the man simultaneously sidestepped the action, grabbing the blade in the middle. He ignored the fact that it left two thick, deep gashes on his palm as he roughly broke it from the woman's grasp, the two grappling momentarily for control. Inevitably, the blade was flung from their hands, the sharp edge catching the woman's collar bone.

Chasner watched as a thin line of blood trickled down her chest, marring her perfect skin and bringing him some sense of satisfaction. He returned his eyes to Aurea's, who was already staring at him.

The Bringer decided to approach the situation a bit differently, slightly desperate now that she realized she’d underestimated his abilities.

"Chasner, stop. Stop this nonsense. It will accomplish nothing. Everything you do can still be undone. You don't have to do this. And I don't want to have to harm you. There are only so many of our kinds; your death would be a waste. We can work together on this. We can still fix it."

The man faltered, but only momentarily. He was not used to kind words, no matter how harshly delivered. The woman seemed to be trying to connect with him. But he didn't want anything to do with her feeble words and soft heart. He had gotten this far, and he wasn't about to stop now. He wasn't going to allow her to trick him.

"Then I guess I have more work to do," he stated viciously, before he blinked out of sight.