Kirito sat beside Vivian's body, holding her hand into his. He looked at her face as he squeezed her rough fingers. Vivian's soul and Lucus sat in front of him, staring at him. Kirito's face was expressionless.

"Kirito, let's go home now. It's almost morning." Mrs. Hiomi said.
"Vivian is normal now. She'll wake up in a day or so" Mrs. Garnette said.
Kirito just looked at Vivian.

"Brother?" Aoi looked at Kirito. He slowly got up and walked out of the room. Vivian ran after him barefoot as Lucus just stared at her. Suddenly, the book had a clock drawn on it and it began shining with the ringing sound of huge church bells. He looked into it and disappeared into black clouds.

The next moment, he was in the middle of a terrace, somewhere in Beijing, where a teen girl was ready to jump down. He sat beside her and the girl took a deep breath. He imitated her and finally she jumped.

"Some people beg me for life while some are wasting it like its no big deal. Mortals!" He stood up and looked at dead body of the girl.

"I seriously hate people who hate you." He disappeared into some clouds and appeared again at the bottom. He opened the book.
"Get up. Let's go home," The girl's soul came out of her body and stood before Lucus.

"Oh! I'm still alive?! But I jumped down from such a height!" She said in Chinese.
"Don't worry. You're totally dead, no doubt" Lucus said in Chinese as he wrote the date and time of her death into the book.

Then, the girl looked at her dead body laying behind her.
"Lee Min Wong, Age; 16 years, Cause of death; neck fracture and internal bleeding, died on 18th day of October, 20XX"

"Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm Lucus, the angel of death" Lucus said with a smile "Shall we go?" He asked as he brought his hand forward.

"Where?"
"On a journry to meet our creator" The girl held his hand and huge, white stairs appeared in front of them that vanished into the clouds with a golden gate guarding them. The girl moved back and Lucus turned towards her "Don't be afraid for you're already dead. I shall protect all who die."

They both walked on the stairs together as she looked at him. He looked back at her and asked "Is something wrong?"
"Are you really an angel?" She asked.
"Yes. Don't I look like one?"

"No, you're pretty. You do look like one. You must be popular among other angels"
"Well, it is true, in a way"
"So, why did you-- what do mortals call it-- Kill yourself?"

"I'm-- Rather, I was being blackmailed to do things I didn't wanted to by a twenty five-year-old man."
"You should've kicked him in the balls!" She started laughing.

"I'm serious!" He said.
"You are an angel! Act like one!"
"I can't believe a mortal is telling me how to act like an angel" He laughed.

"It's been a while since I laughed so hard-- That was so unexpected! Oh my God!"
"You wasted life" Lucus mumbled.
"What?"
"So, where do you wanna go? Heaven or hell?"

"Definitely heaven! I deserve some peace of mind!" She said and Lucus started laughing.
"What?" She asked.
"No, I just thought--Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die." She looked at him and slowly, they heard a pretty sound from a distance. Whispers and beautiful singing.

"Wow. It's so beautiful. What is this sound?" She asked. The stairs turned light blue from that point and Lucus stopped.
"This is as far as I accompany you." He said as he stepped on the final white stair.
"You won't come with me?" She asked as she turned towards him.

"I can't. The rest of the journey is for you to decide. Good luck, may you reach where you deserve to be." Lucus left her hand.
"Thank you, Lucus!" She smiled. She stepped on the first blue stair and turned back.
"Will we meet again?" He was gone.
"Oh, I guess we won't"

Lucus yawned as he walked on the footpath, somewhere in Melbourne. The book began shining again and he heard the bells. His blonde hair turned back to peach and his clothes changed into black. His eyes turned grey as he looked into the book "So, who is it now?"

Kirito reached home and closed the door behind him. Vivian passed through the door and followed him.

"I'm a ghost now. This feels like a horror movie, right Jericho?" She turned back but he wasn't there.
"Where does he go in a blink of an eye?" Kirito removed his shirt and threw himself on the bed.

Vivian stared at him as she sat on the sofa. Kirito lay on the bed as if he were dead for an hour or so and suddenly he heard the alarm on his phone.
"Oh, he couldn't sleep properly." Vivian got up. He got up and threw the phone aside. He walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

"I should cook him something!" Vivian ran towards the kitchen, only to realize that she couldn't touch anything. Everything went right through her.

"Oh right," She heard the bathroom door open and turned towards it. Kirito was wearing briefs and rubbing his hair with the towel. She blushed as she looked at him and quickly turned back. "This feels wrong to do."

He wore his shirt, pants and put on a coat. He wrapped his watch around his wrist. Then, he picked up his phone and walked out of the house.
"Wait-- He didn't eat anything!" Vivian ran after him. She stayed with him all day and watched him work.

His expressions didn't change much and he looked indifferent to everything around him. His work was precise nevertheless. He ate a melon bread in lunch and got back to work immediately. In the evening, he left office and drove straight to the hospital. He went and sat beside Vivian. Vivian's soul sat in front of him. Kirito held her hand and looked at her.

"So, will I spend the rest of my days like this? Only being his shadow which he can't see."
"Yeah" Lucus said in German as he looked into book while sitting behind her.
"You scared me!" She shouted as she turned back.
"I'm death, duh!" He looked into his book. She sat beside him and looked at Kirito.

"Is there really no way?" She asked.
"I am a being of nature so I must follow her rules. I've already broken one by twisting fate. I can't break more."
Vivian turned towards Kirito."Why does he keep staring at me for hours?" Vivian asked.

"He isn't just staring."
"What?"
"He's talking. A lot. Actually, I was about to tell him to shut up-- He's even more talkative than me!"

"You can hear him?"
"Yeah, I can hear the thoughts of mortals, their deepest desires and fears, their past, present and future. Also, their fate and faith"
"What is he saying now?"
"Say you love me, one more time" Lucus said as he looked inside his book.Vivian blushed and looked at Kirito as he looked at her, intensely.

"He really loves you, huh. I mean, I'd love to have someone look at me with those eyes" Vivian intertwined the fingers of both her hands together as she bit her lips while smiling.

"Aww, this is so cute." Lucus closed his book and it just disappeared into black clouds. His hair turned back to blonde and his eyes turned back to blue.

"What's the future for this, Jericho?" Vivian asked. He leaned towards her and pressed his fingers on her lips "No spoilers. You'll get bored like me, if you know everything beforehand."

"Okay" Lucus smiled at her. "Can I wish for something?" She asked.
"Name it"
"Make me stronger for whatever is coming ahead"

He clipped his fingers "Your wish was already granted when he made you. Discover yourself more, girl"

- To be continued

Lucus
My Heart Hates Me