In the boundless expanse of Ortoonis, celestial beings of unfathomable wisdom sculpted the universe, creating different races: Grim reapers, Demons and Humans.The Grim reapers served as custodians of balance, guiding lost souls and maintaining the cycle of life and death.
Until the demon race threatened to overthrow the celestial decree by killing everything on sight, in a bid to resolve this problem seven sigils were created to split the universe. However, something unexpected happened. The sigils awakened hidden powers in some humans. Exposure to their energy altered their bodies, allowing them to manipulate a different form of energy called mana, the same energy wielded by Grim reapers and Demons.
The demons still remained relentless in their pursuit of chaos, discovering methods to create dimensional fissures in the skies, resulting in entire cities succumbing to demonic onslaughts.
Present day, Seoul, Korea.
The city illuminated with life beneath a sky heavy with rain. Tall buildings stretching into the sky. Bright lights from billboards and street signs lit up the night, reflecting off the wet roads.
The rain poured nonstop, drumming against windows and rooftops. Water streamed down the sides of buildings, making everything look like a blurry painting of lights and shadows. The city was busy as always, but the storm made it feel colder.
Away from the towering skyscrapers, in a quiet corner of the city, stood a small hotel. Its old walls were damp from the rain, and the dim glow from its windows gave a weak promise of warmth. Inside Room 106 of the small hotel, a girl named Han Ye-rin sat at her desk, staring blankly at her laptop. Her messy orange locks covered her face as she clenched her fists. Tears blurred her vision, but the video playing on the screen was painfully clear.
Her ex-boyfriend, the man she once loved, was kissing her sister at an art gallery. The video had gone viral, and thousands of people were laughing at her humiliation. "I know... he's every woman's dream… a top model, an ascendant… but how could they do this to me?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
Anger welled up inside her. in a fit of rage, she grabbed a ceramic vase filled with fake flowers and threw it at the door, a way to release all her pent up anger. The vase shattered into pieces, and the impact shook the brass "6" on her room number.
Ye-rin slumped into her chair, a hollow sigh escaping her lips. "I've lost everything. Is there a point to this life anymore?," she said to herself, her eyes wandered tiredly towards the kitchen.
At the same time, a young Grim reaper hurried through the hotel hallways. He wore a dark ragged cloak that moved even though there was no wind. He had a unique white hair that peeked out from under his hood, and his bony fingers tightly gripping a gleaming scythe.
This was his first mission, a task he knew he couldn't fail, and he was determined to succeed.
"Seo Ji-ho, this is your first mission, don't fuck it up," he muttered to himself. The young Grim reaper was still arguing with himself when he noticed something. "This energy," he said as he took in the fresh air, "feels similar to ours," well no matter that is not my concern right now," he muttered to himself.
His grip tightened around his scythe. "Room 109," he whispered, checking the parchment in his hand.Time of death:11:45 p.m cause: unknown.
Ji-ho frowned at the details but shrugged. Doesn't matter. A job is a job.
Reaching the door labeled '109,'. He hurriedly phased through the door, eager to complete his task. Inside, Ye-rin was screaming, not in fear, but in frustration at her desktop monitor. "After our history! And he does this with my sister?!" she yelled, slamming her fists against the table. Her voice had become hoarse from shouting.
Ji-ho watched her in silence for a moment. Humans, he thought. Always so dramatic. Why can't they just die with a little dignity I guess she's one of the ordinary humans, explains why she can't see me, with a sigh, he stepped forward and materialized before her.
His white hair became visible, his face was split into two halves, a human-like face and the other half, a pale black mask. His hollow eyes locked onto hers.
"I am the Grim reaper," he announced, trying to sound intimidating. "It is your time to die!."
Ye-rin froze mid-rant. Her tired eyes scanned the cloaked figure before her. For a moment, she muttered to herself, "I've become so bitter I'm hallucinating death now. Well, go on then. End it."
Ji-ho swung his scythe in a clean arc without hesitation, but stopped himself instinctively. The very tip of the cold scythe pressing gently at her neck. A single push was all that was needed but it never came.
Ye-rin blinked, finally realizing this was no hallucination. The figure before her was real. Someone or something, had tried to kill her. She screamed, grabbing onto the edge of her desk for support. Thunder roared outside, drowning out her cries as the room plunged into chaos.
Ji-ho couldn't understand what was stopping him from killing this girl, he wasn't sure why, but one thing was certain he didn't want to kill her.
"A-are you... are you an actual Grim reaper?!" she demanded, "Yes!" he barked, though the confidence in his voice wavered. His mind raced. "I..." his words were cut short when the girl suddenly collapsed in a cold sweat. Facing death itself had taken a deep toll on her mental health, something she had thought to be fiction.
Ji-ho not knowing what to do sat on the cold floor and began to think. After a few minutes, Ye-rin slowly began to sit up, her orange silk hair scattered messily across her face. As if peeking, she raised her head up a little, her eyes met Ji-ho hollow eyes. "epp" she squirmed as she staggered back.
"Why aren't you just a figment of my imagination," she wailed. "B-but, Grim reapers are nothing more than stories meant to scare children" she screamed, trying to understand the horror before her.
She kept on talking, but Ji-ho was still lost in thought of what to do, then his train of thought was interrupted by a tug on his cloak. He looked down at Ye-rin's hand gripping the hem of his cloak. "Hey! What's the deal?!" she shouted, her voice a mix of fear and anger. "You tried to kill me!"
Ji-ho yanked his cloak free, accidentally dropping his scythe in the process. The blade's tip stumbled upon a shelf, sending a stack of books tumbling to the floor. Ye-rin watched the commotion with wide eyes, an absurd excitement creeping into her expression. "So... it's true," she murmured. "You are an actual Grim reaper."
"Of course, what do you think I am, the tooth fairy!? Ji-ho shouted in irritation "Sooo.. are you going to kill me?" She asked, albeit a strange question. Instead of answering Ji-ho returned the question back to her, Do you want to die?" He asked.
"Uhhm, I don't know maybe," she said her voice dropping into a whisper. " I would still have killed myself eventually so what's the point maybe it's my fate," she said averting her gaze.
Ji-ho traced her eyes towards her desk where she was watching something, a sudden feeling welled up within Ji-ho at that point, it wasn't pain, or pity, it was something he hadn't felt in a long time. Smack! The sound echoed in the room like a gunshot.
"W-what the hell? Why did you slap me?" Ye-rin cried. "Why would you want to throw your life away, for something so stupid Ji-ho questioned an unusual question from a Grim reaper.
"Well it's something stupid I know," she said, "but even if I don't want to die, it's not like I can change my fate?" She asked her eyes boring deep into Ji-ho.
Ji-ho pondered again, he couldn't kill her, or rather his body sub-consciously refused to kill her, a thought crept into his mind, a single thought that would change everything.
"Yes your death is inevitable, but what if we came to an agreement, like a contract," he said plainly. "A contract?" "Yes a contract, I'll let you live for a year in exchange you will teach me the ways of this world," This was Ji-ho's condition.
"I-I see," she stammered, it was a selfish one but he was also giving Ye-rin a limited time to live longer. Ye-rin hesitated for a while then swallowed loudly, "can I add a condition?" She asked.
"A condition," Ji-ho mused, "well, say it then," he said urging her to speak up. "I want to get revenge on my ex-boyfriend and my sister," she said wiping away the tears from her eyes. Ji-ho gave it a thought then responded, "it's done then."
With that he stretched his bony hands towards Ye-rin, albeit reluctantly, Ye-rin did the same and shook the hands of death. Three tiny symbols shaped like a black polygon appeared on her wrist.
Ji-ho could feel a little bit of his energy flowing into her, and with that the contract was done. A contract forged between death and a human.
The once troubled Ye-rin had slowly started relaxing, her focus now on Ji-ho's appearance, it was now she had noticed the long white hair attached to his unique face. "I thought Grim reapers had a skeletal faces," she said staring closely at Ji-ho.
"Why is your face split in two?" She asked, "It's almost like your body is refusing to acknowledge itself," unknown to her, she was subconsciously caressing his face. Her words weren't that of pity, malice or mockery, but a genuine concern, "b-but Grim reaper sir, why are you crying?" She asked.