Everyone stood in the clearing, staring at Blood Reaper like she'd just rewritten reality.
The sun flickered.
Birds returned hesitantly.
The orb shimmered weakly from the Titan's attack.
Kenna clutched the human baby close, tears brimming.
Finally she snapped:
"BLOOD REAPER—WHY DID THAT THING LISTEN TO YOU?!"
Blood Reaper turned to her calmly.
No fear.
No hesitation.
No regret.
Just truth.
"Because I made a deal with him."
Everyone froze.
Dyren's smile vanished.
Constant's wings flexed tight.
Cyrus dropped the axe head to the ground.
Benjamin whispered, "No… what did you do?"
Blood Reaper walked forward, hands behind her back, talking like someone giving a weather report.
"Ash-Morrow wanted to devour Earth. Now.
I asked him to wait."
Kenna's voice cracked.
"WAIT FOR WHAT?!"
Blood Reaper's eyes glowed faintly.
"For me to do what I must.
If I fail…
he gets to devour this planet."
Silence.
Absolute, ripping silence.
Then—
Kenna exploded.
"WHAT KIND OF DEAL IS THAT?!" she screamed.
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
"This planet is DOOMED later in the future?!
Then why even protect it now?!
Why save ANYONE?!"
Blood Reaper blinked once.
"Well… there is no point saving Earth. Not truly."
Everyone went still.
Big Jim's voice rumbled:
"…What would happen to me if there is no Earth?"
Blood Reaper didn't soften her tone.
Not even a little.
"You all die.
But in peace.
It will not hurt."
Kenna sobbed.
Big Jim stepped forward, shaking.
"And what about you?
I bet you live even when Earth is gone, don't you?"
Blood Reaper tilted her head.
"Yes."
The group reeled.
Destiny covered her mouth.
Benjamin looked down at the dirt.
Cyrus stared at her like she was breaking his heart.
Keuirseu sat on the ground, hugging his knees.
Kenna stomped her foot, furious.
"So you're okay with it?!
With EVERYTHING ending?!
With US ending?!"
Blood Reaper shrugged slightly.
"I have fought for thousands of years.
I have seen planets die.
This one will die too.
Nothing lasts forever."
Kenna looked betrayed—gutted.
She held the human baby tighter.
The tiny silver spider crawled up her arm and sat protectively on her shoulder, hissing at anyone who got too close.
Blood Reaper watched it quietly.
"You and your spider will be safe until the end," she said, voice almost gentle.
Kenna's voice cracked.
"I don't WANT safety—
I want a future."
The word "future" hung heavy in the air.
Blood Reaper's flames dimmed.
Future was something she had never considered.
Dyren stepped forward, breaking the silence.
He pointed at Constant.
"You see?" Dyren said sharply.
"She's being honest. Something you angels aren't good at."
Constant bristled.
"SHE JUST SAID THE WORLD WILL END—why are you acting like this is a win?!"
Dyren shrugged.
"I don't care about Earth. I care about her.
Where she goes, I go."
Constant stepped forward until their foreheads bumped.
"You need to shut up."
Dyren leaned into him harder.
"No. You need to get out of her way."
Blood Reaper turned around just in time to see the two idiots headbutting each other like angry goats.
Keuirseu whispered loudly:
"They're like toddlers fighting over a toy."
Cyrus: "I can't stand either of them."
Destiny: "Should we stop them?"
Benjamin: "Absolutely not."
Blood Reaper sighed.
Deep, ancient, and tired.
Her voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Both of you. Stop."
They froze mid-headbutt.
Dyren smirked.
Constant glared.
Blood Reaper stepped past them, heading back toward the house.
"We don't have long before the Titan returns," she said quietly.
"We need a plan.
Soon."
The group looked at each other, terrified.
Because now they understood:
Earth wasn't just in danger.
It was on a timer.
And Blood Reaper was the only one who could stop the end of all things.
Or fail trying.
Everyone gathered in the clearing, still shaken from the Titan's retreat.
Blood Reaper stood at the center, her flames low and quiet — the calm before a cosmic storm.
Constant stepped forward, voice trembling.
"Reaper… what do you have to do to stop the Titan?
To stop Earth from being devoured?"
Blood Reaper looked up at the sky.
Then she said it.
Calmly.
Coldly.
As if speaking the weather.
"I must die."
The words crashed through everyone like thunder.
Constant went pale.
"What—
NO. No, absolutely not."
His voice cracked.
"You can't just—just give up the planet! We need you—YOU'RE the one who can fix this!"
Blood Reaper didn't look at him.
"You misunderstand.
My death isn't giving up Earth.
It conserves it."
Dyren stepped forward immediately — possessive, furious, wings snapping open.
"No. Absolutely not."
He glared at Constant.
"Do NOT encourage this human-loving nonsense."
Constant shoved him.
"You think she's some toy you get to keep?! She's trying to DIE!"
Dyren shoved back, snarling.
"It's better than watching her rip herself apart for a doomed planet!"
Constant grabbed Dyren by the collar.
Dyren grabbed him right back.
Blood Reaper didn't even look at them.
"Both of you," she said flatly.
"Shut up."
They froze.
Her aura flickered.
"I can stop the Titan. But only by ending myself before the deadline."
She looked at the sky.
"I was never meant to live long, anyway."
Constant shook his head violently.
"You're lying. There has to be another way."
Dyren stepped closer, voice low and shaking with real fear.
"I won't let you die.
You hear me? I won't."
Blood Reaper ignored both of them and walked away.