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Jason drained his glass and set it down with more force than necessary. The kitchen was warm, comfortable, maddeningly calm—the complete opposite of the storm raging inside his chest.
"This is fucking stupid," he muttered.
Death leaned against the counter across from him, her dark eyes sparkling with amusement. She looked at him the way someone might look at a particularly entertaining pet—fond, indulgent, just this side of mocking.
"Hey." She swirled her drink. "I did tell you. You'd bring unwanted attention to yourself."
"I haven't done shit since we talked."
"The events in Hell are enough." Death shrugged, taking a slow sip. "You killed a Demon God. Took the throne. Changed the nature of demons. Did you think the cosmos wouldn't notice?"
Jason ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the strands in frustration. "So what do I do now? Just wait for these hunters to come after me? Randomly, on a daily basis? And kill them?"
"Guess so?" Death pushed off from the counter and walked around to his side, her hips swaying with deliberate ease. She leaned against the counter beside him, close enough that he could feel the cool stillness that radiated from her skin.
"What if they start attacking my family? My people?" Jason's voice tightened. "I can't be everywhere at once."
Death smiled. She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, her fingers cool against his skin, stroking slowly.
"Oh," she murmured, "you're worried about your people."
Jason's eyes narrowed. "Hey. Don't fucking mock me. I'm serious."
Death's smile softened. Something genuine flickered behind her ancient eyes. She moved without ceremony, settling onto his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world, her weight light against his thighs.
"I'm not mocking you." Her hand continued its slow path through his hair, soothing, grounding. "I may be Death, but I'm there for every birth as well. I know what it's like to worry about people."
Jason stared at her. The warmth of her presence....if Death could be called warm....pressed against him, steady and strange.
"I can help you," she said.
"What?"
She rose from his lap and walked back to the bottle, pouring herself another measure before turning to face him. The light caught the curve of her smile.
"I can call in a favor. From one of my siblings." She paused, letting the weight of the name settle. "Dream."
Jason sat up straighter. "Dream? As in...?"
"Dream of the Endless, yes." Death returned to his side, pressing a fresh glass into his hand. "But Dream can't defeat the Empty Hand, if that's what you're thinking."
"Then what can he do?"
Death settled against the counter, crossing her arms. "The Empty Hand is doing this for fun, as I said. But generally speaking, he cannot do anything to the waking world. He is a part of the Darkness, and the Darkness struck a deal with the Presence....step away when existence was made. It will return eventually, but that..." She shook her head. "That is far from now."
Jason listened, his mind racing.
"So generally speaking, he can't influence the world. But..." Death held up a finger. "He found a small loophole."
She began to pace slowly, her bare feet silent on the kitchen floor.
"There is a world of dreams and imaginations. Creatures that were never born or were long gone. Beings from different multiverses....dead ones, or ones yet to be created." She glanced at him. "The two you fought came from such worlds."
"The Last Sun. Rogol Zaar."
"Both pulled from the Dreaming's deeper layers. Forgotten realities. Failed timelines." Death stopped pacing and faced him. "My brother, as the Lord of the Dream World, has access to those spaces. He knows where the Empty Hand is keeping his toys."
"But Dream can't fight him."
"Dream is not foolish enough to challenge the Empty Hand." Death's voice carried a rare edge of warning. "Nor should you. So he won't fight. What he will do is open a portal for you. Send you there." Her eyes met his. "You go in. You kill all of the Empty Hand's toys. And you escape. Before the Empty Hand decides it's no longer fun."
Jason frowned. "Didn't you say he can't kill me? Rules, and such?"
"Rules stop existing in dreams." Death's voice was quiet, serious. "In that world, the Empty Hand can probably do something. He's ancient. Powerful. He might find another loophole." She held his gaze. "So you have to be quick. And careful."
Jason absorbed this, turning the pieces over in his mind.
"And Dream... your brother... will help me?"
"Not usually, no." Death allowed herself a small smile. "But he owes me a favor or two. He'll listen to me."
Jason nodded slowly. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
Death tilted her head, her smile widening into something almost mischievous. "In exchange... when the day comes, you take me on a date."
Jason blinked. "The day? I can take you anytime. If you do this for me..."
"Sorry, love." Death cut him off, her voice light but firm. "But I have work. I only have one day where I can be... out." She winked. "So wait for me."
She didn't give him time to respond. Her fingers snapped once...sharp, final....and the kitchen dissolved around him.
Jason found himself back in his office.
The space station hummed around him. Earth glowed through the viewport, blue and peaceful and completely unaware of the cosmic forces aligning against it.
....
After a few hours, Jason had the entire Earth on lockdown.
The people didn't notice, of course. Life continued as normal...cars moved through streets, offices hummed with activity, children played in parks. But beneath the surface, every camera, every satellite, every angle of the planet was being monitored. His people worked in shifts, eyes glued to screens, waiting for the telltale ripple of a dark gate opening somewhere on the globe.
He prepared himself. Warned everyone who needed warning. Hastened the creation of the Cursed Rings, pushing Zatanna and Raven to work faster, harder, because if an invasion came, he wanted an army ready to meet it.
But nothing came.
The hours passed. The sun set. The sun rose. And still, the world remained quiet.
Jason sat in his office, staring at the viewport, waiting for a threat that refused to arrive. The silence was worse than the attacks. At least when something was happening, he could fight it. Could punch it. Could kill it. This...this waiting, this anticipation, this endless watching....was its own kind of torture.
Then the door to his office was knocked upon.
Three raps. Measured. Deliberate.
Jason didn't look away from the viewport. "Come in."
The door opened.
The person who entered was someone Jason had never seen before. Tall. Pale. Dressed in black that seemed to absorb the light around it. His face was angular, ageless, beautiful in the way that old things were beautiful....worn smooth by centuries, yet carrying the weight of eternity in every line.
But it wasn't his appearance that made Jason's hand pause mid-reach for his glass.
It was his presence.
Or rather, the lack of one.
The man standing in the doorway had no presence. No existence. He was there...Jason could see him, could hear the soft rustle of his clothes, could feel the faint coolness that radiated from his skin...but every instinct Jason possessed screamed that this man was not real. That he should not be here. That he defied the very concept of existence itself.
Looking at him, Jason understood immediately who he was.
"You must be Dream of the endless."
The man inclined his head. His voice, when it came, was soft. Distant. Like something heard through water.
"Yes."
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If you Like this story! Check out my other story ! Shadow Monarch in Danmachi!
AND
If you wish to read more or simply support me just because ? than check out my patréon at
"https://www.patréon.com/Riadooo"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want !