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Description
“May?” Weiss and May were catching their breath a few hundred feet from the battle. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Why?”
Weiss sighed. “I brought you into this mess, didn’t I? It’s my fault you’re here…”
“No, Weiss!” May gripped his shoulders, staring intensely into his eyes. “Don’t blame yourself, that’s just stupid! It wasn’t your fault at all, just a crazy coincidence, right?”
“I guess so…”
“Now, Weiss. Don’t get all glum on my account. You’re always complaining about how boring your life is, right?”
“Uhh…”
“Isn’t this just the perfect opportunity to have a little fun? We’re in this strange place that nobody’s ever heard of, looking for a mysterious weapon with an equally mysterious pair of people! Isn’t that exciting?”
Weiss smiled. “Yeah, I guess it is. Just be careful, okay?”
May hugged him. “I will, Weiss. I wouldn’t dream of leaving you alone. What would you do without me?” She looked over his shoulder. “Hey! It’s Manfred!” Manfred was running in their direction from down the hall, panting heavily. May waved at him. “Manfred! What’s up?” He stopped and bent over next to them, catching his breath. He had a look of terror on his face, and he was shaking all over. May turned to him. “Is something wrong? Where’s Anemonae?”
Manfred didn’t say anything for a moment. After a while, he looked up at the two others and took a deep breath. “We were ambushed. There were, like, five curators… I got out fast enough, but Anemonae… she saved me.” He slumped over and started to pant again.
“Did something happen to her? She’s not…” Weiss trailed off, terrified.
“She didn’t make it, Weiss.”
“No… no, how are we going to get home? What happens if we meet another Curator?” He sat down, holding onto his knees, his voice trembling. “What are we going to do?” May crouched next to him and held him close to her.
“Uh, Weiss, May, I hate to break up this depressing moment, but we should book it. Those Curators could be here any minute, and we’re really screwed if they catch up to us.”
Weiss nodded after a slight pause. “You’re right; we don’t have time for this.” He and May got up. “Let’s go.” The three of them ran down the hall, blindly turning corners at random whenever they came to one. The thought of more than one Curator and no Anemonae kept them going, even though they had no idea where. The dark tunnels were all exactly the same. There were no unique markings on the walls, no maps, and the only light came from torches at sparse intervals on the walls. They stumbled across a few “exhibits,” some they had seen before, some they hadn’t. The trio saw nothing they could use in any of the rooms, so they moved onwards.
After what seemed like hours, they came across a dead end, of sorts. The dead end was a massive chamber, bigger than any room they had seen in the Museum so far. The ceiling was incredibly high, and the walls were decorated like a Gothic church. The room was made of the same black stone as the rest of the museum. An altar stood at the far end of the room. Two helix shapes spread out from either side of the altar, black on the left, white on the right, intertwining closer and closer as they rose to the top of the room. Surrounding the altar were curators. Weiss estimated about fifty of them were in a semicircle around it. One stood at the altar, a weapon in each of his hands. His cloak had more decoration than the others’, with white swirls on the sleeves leading to his hood, meeting at a point at the center. This, combined with the double helix, produced a very striking effect that made him the very centerpiece of the room.
His voice boomed throughout the chamber, loud and strong. “My loyal friends. Today, we break free from the chains that one bound us… the ones that kept Him in His own realm… Today, we achieve our ultimate goal. Today marks the beginning of the end. I would like to thank each one of you who brought us closer to this day. Some of you sacrificed yourselves to bring this monumental event to pass, and I thank those of you who did. We lost one of our number today, hopefully the final casualty in this battle. Ruhiel fell before an as-of-yet unidentified intruder.” He glanced at the weapon in his right hand, a long, curved, white blade, for an instant, then readdressed the crowd. “Let us begin the proceedings.” He turned around, facing the double helix above him. “The two halves are, in essence, one. One cannot exist without the other. Two hundred years ago, this balance was disturbed, but today, we right that wrong. The Scythe of Life,” He lifted the sword in his right hand, “And the Scythe of Death,” He lifted the one in his left hand, a dark, bloody weapon with a malicious row of teeth running along its length. “These two ancient weapons have long battled each other. We humbly ask that they put aside their struggle for just a moment, and bring back one of their long lost wielders.” The Scythe of Life opened a previously invisible eye at its base, and the Scythe of Death began to stir. “Samaiel Baedelith! We call you now from death itself! Become a servant of the Universe once more, as is your destiny!”
The people in the room could feel the air pulsate with a dark energy. The space between the helixes began to ripple, then tear in two. From the tear emerged a man. He was tall, with pale skin and sheet white hair. Although he physically looked young, perhaps twenty years old, there was something about him that made him seem much older. Perhaps it was his eyes. They were cold and black, regarding everything in the room with utmost scrutiny. As he walked out of the rift, it closed behind him. The Curator at the altar bowed before him, offering the Scythe of Death.
“Pathetic as usual, Zephyr.” Samaiel took the Scythe. “You really thought that this would work out, did you? That I would follow your little plan?” His voice was mocking, condescending. “Actually, it’s working out quite well for me, and I suppose I should thank you for that. Your talk of ‘balance’… Don’t you know, Zephyr? There is no balance in this world.” He swung the Scythe up in the air, causing Zephyr to flinch backwards, dropping the Scythe of Life. Samaiel brought his Scythe down on the other, breaking it in two. “Power shifts, all the time. Balance is simply an illusion. Right now, I have the advantage, and I plan on using it.” He paused for a moment, as if considering something. “You’ve got something here. Something I want. In this room…”
He sprinted through the crowd of Curators, pushing them aside and heading towards Weiss, Manfred, and May. Weiss moved in front of May, trying to protect her, but he was easily pushed aside. Samaiel grabbed May by the neck, lifting her up to his level. “You! You are her incarnation, are you not?”
The girl struggled to speak. “What… Weiss! Help!” Weiss was lying in a heap against the wall, dazed and unable to move.
“You’re a bit young… but that’s no matter. Who would have thought that I would be so close to being complete… within the last five minutes?” Samaiel laughed, a chilling sound. “Come, girl. You’re giving your soul to me…” He placed her on the floor, then wrapped her up in his cloak. Long, bony wings burst from his back, and he shot upwards, breaking through the ceiling.

Manfred shook Weiss awake, while chaos broke out around them. “Hey! Weiss! Snap out of it!”
Weiss rubbed his head, groaning. “What happened? Where’s May?”
“That crazy scythe dude took her! Get up and follow me if you want to save her!”
Weiss did as he was told. The two of them pushed their way through the crowd of Curators who were rushing around, trying to control the damage done by Samaiel. As they got closer to the double-helix structure, they noticed that there were stairs on each of them, leading to a trapdoor on the ceiling. They ran up the steps and reached the roof of the Museum.
Under any other circumstances, the view would have been incredible. From the top of the Museum, one could see everything for miles around them. The structure itself spanned a mile, giving the illusion of being suspended in midair. In the center of the roof stood Samaiel, holding an unconscious May Emerson. The Scythe of Death was strapped to his side, exactly as tall as he was. Hearing the slam of the trapdoor, he slowly looked at Manfred and Weiss. He chuckled quietly. “You two… you care about this girl? You care about her enough to confront me?” He slowly began to rise, the stones underneath him becoming a floating platform. “Do you know who I am? No, I don’t suppose you do. Let me make it plain and clear to you simpletons. I am Death. Your ignorant Realm has many myths about me, in fact, you may have heard of a few. Shiva? Satan? The Grim Reaper? They’re all me, after a fashion. And you wish to take something from me. Well then…” He laughed as more stones from the roof of the building rose up into the air. “Come take her!”
The stones hurtled towards Weiss and Manfred at breakneck speed. Weiss jumped out of the way of one, which punched a hole into the roof, crashing into the Museum below. Manfred deftly dodged a few, then yelled at Weiss. “Weiss! Get underneath him! I’m going to get her down, you’ve gotta catch her!”
“Are you sure you can-“
“Just GO!”
Weiss ran as fast as he could towards the two figures in the air, dodging the stones hurtling towards him. He got in position underneath the platform, looking at Manfred desperately. “What now?” He had to shout at the top of his lungs to reach Manfred. It only took a second to answer his question, though. A huge stone flew towards Manfred, and he readied his blades. “What are you doing…?” Weiss cut himself off, realizing what was about to happen. “Manfred! No! Are you crazy? You might hit-“
It was too late. Manfred aimed precisely, but he didn’t expect Samaiel to dart away, right as he struck the boulder. It flew towards them, with the combined momentum of its original force and what Manfred added to it. After several seconds, the rock struck the girl, and completely missing its original target. Weiss could almost hear him laughing, as May plummeted to the ground, hundreds of feet below.

Description
“May?” Weiss and May were catching their breath a few hundred feet from the battle. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Why?”
Weiss sighed. “I brought you into this mess, didn’t I? It’s my fault you’re here…”
“No, Weiss!” May gripped his shoulders, staring intensely into his eyes. “Don’t blame yourself, that’s just stupid! It wasn’t your fault at all, just a crazy coincidence, right?”
“I guess so…”
“Now, Weiss. Don’t get all glum on my account. You’re always complaining about how boring your life is, right?”
“Uhh…”
“Isn’t this just the perfect opportunity to have a little fun? We’re in this strange place that nobody’s ever heard of, looking for a mysterious weapon with an equally mysterious pair of people! Isn’t that exciting?”
Weiss smiled. “Yeah, I guess it is. Just be careful, okay?”
May hugged him. “I will, Weiss. I wouldn’t dream of leaving you alone. What would you do without me?” She looked over his shoulder. “Hey! It’s Manfred!” Manfred was running in their direction from down the hall, panting heavily. May waved at him. “Manfred! What’s up?” He stopped and bent over next to them, catching his breath. He had a look of terror on his face, and he was shaking all over. May turned to him. “Is something wrong? Where’s Anemonae?”
Manfred didn’t say anything for a moment. After a while, he looked up at the two others and took a deep breath. “We were ambushed. There were, like, five curators… I got out fast enough, but Anemonae… she saved me.” He slumped over and started to pant again.
“Did something happen to her? She’s not…” Weiss trailed off, terrified.
“She didn’t make it, Weiss.”
“No… no, how are we going to get home? What happens if we meet another Curator?” He sat down, holding onto his knees, his voice trembling. “What are we going to do?” May crouched next to him and held him close to her.
“Uh, Weiss, May, I hate to break up this depressing moment, but we should book it. Those Curators could be here any minute, and we’re really screwed if they catch up to us.”
Weiss nodded after a slight pause. “You’re right; we don’t have time for this.” He and May got up. “Let’s go.” The three of them ran down the hall, blindly turning corners at random whenever they came to one. The thought of more than one Curator and no Anemonae kept them going, even though they had no idea where. The dark tunnels were all exactly the same. There were no unique markings on the walls, no maps, and the only light came from torches at sparse intervals on the walls. They stumbled across a few “exhibits,” some they had seen before, some they hadn’t. The trio saw nothing they could use in any of the rooms, so they moved onwards.
After what seemed like hours, they came across a dead end, of sorts. The dead end was a massive chamber, bigger than any room they had seen in the Museum so far. The ceiling was incredibly high, and the walls were decorated like a Gothic church. The room was made of the same black stone as the rest of the museum. An altar stood at the far end of the room. Two helix shapes spread out from either side of the altar, black on the left, white on the right, intertwining closer and closer as they rose to the top of the room. Surrounding the altar were curators. Weiss estimated about fifty of them were in a semicircle around it. One stood at the altar, a weapon in each of his hands. His cloak had more decoration than the others’, with white swirls on the sleeves leading to his hood, meeting at a point at the center. This, combined with the double helix, produced a very striking effect that made him the very centerpiece of the room.
His voice boomed throughout the chamber, loud and strong. “My loyal friends. Today, we break free from the chains that one bound us… the ones that kept Him in His own realm… Today, we achieve our ultimate goal. Today marks the beginning of the end. I would like to thank each one of you who brought us closer to this day. Some of you sacrificed yourselves to bring this monumental event to pass, and I thank those of you who did. We lost one of our number today, hopefully the final casualty in this battle. Ruhiel fell before an as-of-yet unidentified intruder.” He glanced at the weapon in his right hand, a long, curved, white blade, for an instant, then readdressed the crowd. “Let us begin the proceedings.” He turned around, facing the double helix above him. “The two halves are, in essence, one. One cannot exist without the other. Two hundred years ago, this balance was disturbed, but today, we right that wrong. The Scythe of Life,” He lifted the sword in his right hand, “And the Scythe of Death,” He lifted the one in his left hand, a dark, bloody weapon with a malicious row of teeth running along its length. “These two ancient weapons have long battled each other. We humbly ask that they put aside their struggle for just a moment, and bring back one of their long lost wielders.” The Scythe of Life opened a previously invisible eye at its base, and the Scythe of Death began to stir. “Samaiel Baedelith! We call you now from death itself! Become a servant of the Universe once more, as is your destiny!”
The people in the room could feel the air pulsate with a dark energy. The space between the helixes began to ripple, then tear in two. From the tear emerged a man. He was tall, with pale skin and sheet white hair. Although he physically looked young, perhaps twenty years old, there was something about him that made him seem much older. Perhaps it was his eyes. They were cold and black, regarding everything in the room with utmost scrutiny. As he walked out of the rift, it closed behind him. The Curator at the altar bowed before him, offering the Scythe of Death.
“Pathetic as usual, Zephyr.” Samaiel took the Scythe. “You really thought that this would work out, did you? That I would follow your little plan?” His voice was mocking, condescending. “Actually, it’s working out quite well for me, and I suppose I should thank you for that. Your talk of ‘balance’… Don’t you know, Zephyr? There is no balance in this world.” He swung the Scythe up in the air, causing Zephyr to flinch backwards, dropping the Scythe of Life. Samaiel brought his Scythe down on the other, breaking it in two. “Power shifts, all the time. Balance is simply an illusion. Right now, I have the advantage, and I plan on using it.” He paused for a moment, as if considering something. “You’ve got something here. Something I want. In this room…”
He sprinted through the crowd of Curators, pushing them aside and heading towards Weiss, Manfred, and May. Weiss moved in front of May, trying to protect her, but he was easily pushed aside. Samaiel grabbed May by the neck, lifting her up to his level. “You! You are her incarnation, are you not?”
The girl struggled to speak. “What… Weiss! Help!” Weiss was lying in a heap against the wall, dazed and unable to move.
“You’re a bit young… but that’s no matter. Who would have thought that I would be so close to being complete… within the last five minutes?” Samaiel laughed, a chilling sound. “Come, girl. You’re giving your soul to me…” He placed her on the floor, then wrapped her up in his cloak. Long, bony wings burst from his back, and he shot upwards, breaking through the ceiling.

Manfred shook Weiss awake, while chaos broke out around them. “Hey! Weiss! Snap out of it!”
Weiss rubbed his head, groaning. “What happened? Where’s May?”
“That crazy scythe dude took her! Get up and follow me if you want to save her!”
Weiss did as he was told. The two of them pushed their way through the crowd of Curators who were rushing around, trying to control the damage done by Samaiel. As they got closer to the double-helix structure, they noticed that there were stairs on each of them, leading to a trapdoor on the ceiling. They ran up the steps and reached the roof of the Museum.
Under any other circumstances, the view would have been incredible. From the top of the Museum, one could see everything for miles around them. The structure itself spanned a mile, giving the illusion of being suspended in midair. In the center of the roof stood Samaiel, holding an unconscious May Emerson. The Scythe of Death was strapped to his side, exactly as tall as he was. Hearing the slam of the trapdoor, he slowly looked at Manfred and Weiss. He chuckled quietly. “You two… you care about this girl? You care about her enough to confront me?” He slowly began to rise, the stones underneath him becoming a floating platform. “Do you know who I am? No, I don’t suppose you do. Let me make it plain and clear to you simpletons. I am Death. Your ignorant Realm has many myths about me, in fact, you may have heard of a few. Shiva? Satan? The Grim Reaper? They’re all me, after a fashion. And you wish to take something from me. Well then…” He laughed as more stones from the roof of the building rose up into the air. “Come take her!”
The stones hurtled towards Weiss and Manfred at breakneck speed. Weiss jumped out of the way of one, which punched a hole into the roof, crashing into the Museum below. Manfred deftly dodged a few, then yelled at Weiss. “Weiss! Get underneath him! I’m going to get her down, you’ve gotta catch her!”
“Are you sure you can-“
“Just GO!”
Weiss ran as fast as he could towards the two figures in the air, dodging the stones hurtling towards him. He got in position underneath the platform, looking at Manfred desperately. “What now?” He had to shout at the top of his lungs to reach Manfred. It only took a second to answer his question, though. A huge stone flew towards Manfred, and he readied his blades. “What are you doing…?” Weiss cut himself off, realizing what was about to happen. “Manfred! No! Are you crazy? You might hit-“
It was too late. Manfred aimed precisely, but he didn’t expect Samaiel to dart away, right as he struck the boulder. It flew towards them, with the combined momentum of its original force and what Manfred added to it. After several seconds, the rock struck the girl, and completely missing its original target. Weiss could almost hear him laughing, as May plummeted to the ground, hundreds of feet below.