They didn't stay in the ruins long after Derrick vanished.
Greshina didn't say anything and Ely didn't ask. There was nothing to say that wouldn't feel misplaced. The lesson had already carved itself into Ely's mind whether she liked it or not and Greshina could tell.
Soon, they were inside a massive estate that screamed wealth from every polished surface and carefully arranged detail, except for the panic. They followed it into a wide, open room that led directly into a backyard where a pool shimmered under the midday sun. Near the edge of that pool was a small body of a young girl, maybe six years old. She lay on a soft surface as a woman—her mother—frantically tried to perform first aid as she pressed against the girl's chest.
"Call someone again! Do it again, I don't care if you already did, call again!"
"I already—" one of the men, probably the father, was shaking. "They said they're coming—"
"She's not breathing! She's not breathing!"
Relatives surrounded them. Some were crying, others were frozen and some were trying to help but clearly not knowing how.
Ely felt it immediately. Her Life wasn't there anymore. Greshina's voice came quietly beside her.
"She fell into the pool. Couldn't swim."
They saw her soul.
She stood a few steps away from her own body. Her wide eyes were filled with confusion and fear as she looked around, trying to understand what was happening.
"M-Mom?"
She ran forward, reaching for her mother but her hand passed right through.
"Dad?"
She tried again but nothing changed. Her breathing hitched as tears immediately started streaming down her face.
"I'm here! I'm right here! Why can't you see me?!"
She ran around them, tugging at their clothes, trying to grab onto something but her hands kept slipping through like she wasn't even there.
"I'm not dead! I'm not dead, I'm still here! Mom! Dad! Please!"
Greshina stepped forward.
"Hey there."
She turned immediately.
"You—you can see me?"
Greshina smiled gently.
"Yeah. We can."
Aurora grabbed onto her arm instinctively with her small hands trembling.
"Please help me. I can't get back into my body. They think I'm dead but I'm not! I'm not dead!"
Ely looked at Greshina. Greshina didn't hesitate.
"What's your name?"
Aurora sniffed, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
"Aurora."
"I see. Aurora, you can't go back to your body."
Aurora's face crumpled.
"What?"
"You're dead."
Aurora shook her head immediately, backing away.
"No. No, I'm not. I'm right here! I'm talking! I can feel things! I'm not dead!"
Greshina crouched down slightly so she was at eye level with her.
"Do you know what I am?"
Aurora hesitated with her tears still falling.
"Are you… Death?"
Greshina shook her head lightly.
"No. I'm your guardian angel. I'm here to take you somewhere new."
Aurora stared at her and stepped back.
"No. I'm not going. I'm staying here."
Ely watched that defiance and it felt so different from Derrick. This wasn't resistance born from fear. This was attachment from an innocent child.
"I won't leave them. I won't leave my mom and dad. I won't!"
Greshina watched her for a moment and sighed softly. Greshina said casually, standing up.
"Alright. If you don't want to go, then I won't force you. You can stay here."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Greshina shrugged. "But I won't help you either."
Aurora's expression faltered.
"What?"
"You can stay here, unable to touch anything, watching them cry, watching them move on, watching everything change while you're stuck like this forever..Or…"
She paused.
"…you can take a chance."
"What kind of chance?"
Greshina smiled slightly.
"Promise me something first."
Aurora hesitated again, clearly not trusting her fully.
"If you don't want help, that's fine," Greshina added, turning slightly like she was about to leave. "I'll just go."
"Wait! I promise."
Greshina turned back.
"Good."
She pointed toward the pool.
"It's time for you to learn how to swim."
"What?"
"If you can learn how to swim within one hour, I'll send you back to your body."
Ely's eyes widened slightly. Aurora stared at her.
"And if I don't?"
"I take you away."
Aurora looked at the pool, at her parents and back at Greshina. Her small hands clenched.
"I'll do it."
"Alright then."
She waved her hand as she activated her Codex. Time itself slowed down while the pool remained unaffected as if it existed outside of whatever Greshina had just done. A faint countdown appeared above it.
"One hour. If you lose, you're going to heaven with me."
Aurora took a deep breath, even though she didn't need to.
"I won't lose."
Ely stepped closer, watching carefully. Aurora stepped into the pool.
She flinched slightly as the sensation hit her. Her body reacted instinctively as if she was alive, even though she wasn't.
"I—I can feel it."
"Of course you can. Now move. Follow my instructions. However, learning how to do so depends on you."
Aurora listened to Greshina's instructions. At first, it was messy. She panicked almost immediately. Her arms kept flailing as she tried to stay afloat. The memory of drowning crept back in as she struggled.
"I—I can't!"
"You can," Greshina said calmly, stepping into the water with her. "I'm right here."
Ely watched closely and felt something was off.
Aurora wasn't sinking. She dipped and struggled but never fully went under. Even when she panicked, even when her movements were wrong, something held her just enough to keep her from completely drowning again.
Greshina guided her gently.
"Kick your legs."
"I am!"
"Not like that. Slower."
Aurora tried again. Her movements were shaky but improving.
"Use your arms."
"I'm trying!"
"Focus, Aurora."
Time passed.
Aurora cried at some points. Her fear kept resurfacing. Her body remembered the moment she lost control in the water but every time she started to spiral, Greshina stabilized her again and again and again.
Ely stood at the edge, watching everything unfold. There was no trick here. Greshina didn't rush her and didn't coddle her either, but she stayed close. One hand was always just beneath the girl's back to keep her from sinking completely.
Aurora shook her head with her tears mixing with the water after the 30th attempt.
"I can't! I'm gonna sink!"
"No, you won't," Greshina replied, adjusting her hand slightly under Aurora's back. "You're not alive right now. You won't drown here. This is a lesson, not a punishment."
That didn't make sense to Aurora but the tone did. The certainty in Greshina's voice wasn't something a child could argue with. So she tried again. She learned how to let her body rest on the surface instead of fighting it. She learned how to kick in a rhythm. She learned how to move her arms in a way that actually pushed her forward instead of dragging her down. Every small success lit her up, even if it was followed by failure again.
"Again," Greshina said when Aurora stopped, panting. "You're getting better. Don't stop now."
"I'm tired…"
"You have time but not forever. You said you wouldn't lose, remember?"
That hit something in the girl. Aurora clenched her tiny fists, wiped her face, and nodded.
"I won't lose."
And she didn't.
By the time the countdown neared its end, Aurora wasn't flailing anymore. She pushed through the water, kicked properly and kept herself afloat without Greshina's support. When she reached the other side of the pool, she turned back.
"I did it…"
Her voice broke halfway through, like she couldn't believe it herself. Then it hit her all at once and she beamed, that pure, unfiltered joy only a child could have lighting up her entire face.
"I DID IT!"
She splashed toward Greshina, laughing now. Her fear was completely gone.
"I can swim! I can actually swim!"
Greshina reached out and caught her gently, lifting her out of the water like she weighed nothing. There was a small, smile on her face that she didn't show often.
"You did."
Aurora hugged her immediately without hesitation.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! You're really a guardian angel!"
Greshina placed Aurora down and patted her head.
"A promise is a promise."
She raised her hand and the Codex dissolved. Time snapped back into place so suddenly it was almost jarring. The sounds of panic, shouting, and crying flooded back into existence as if they had never paused.
Aurora's body lay where it had been. Her mother's hands kept shaking as she tried to do anything to bring her daughter back.
Then Greshina revealed something Ely hadn't seen before. Above Aurora's body, the amethyst numbers appeared on the Deathwatch. They were all zero but Greshina waved her hand, causing the numbers to changed.
840:34:28
"Ill give you seventy years for your effort."
Aurora looked up at her, still smiling.
"Do I get to go back now?"
"You passed. You earned it."
Aurora's face lit up even more. "Really?!"
"Yes. This is the last time we'll meet."
"What?"
"Next time," Greshina continued, "it won't be me. Someone else will come for you. That's how it works."
Aurora didn't fully understand that, but she nodded anyway, gripping onto the important part.
"Okay. Thank you, Miss Guardian Angel…"
Greshina paused for a fraction of a second.
"I don't have a name, you know."
"Everyone has a name."
Greshina didn't respond to that. She simply placed her hand lightly against Aurora's forehead.
"Go back, my dear. Have a good life and don't forget how to swim."
Aurora's soul dissolved into light that was back into her body in an instant. For a split second, nothing happened. Then, Aurora's body jerked. She coughed violently with water spilling from her mouth as her lungs forced themselves back into function. Her mother froze in shock before immediately grabbing her, crying openly now.
"Aurora? Aurora!"
Her father dropped to his knees beside them, as he touched her face like he needed to confirm she was real. Aurora opened her eyes slowly, blinking up at them in confusion before everything rushed back.
"I'm back…"
Her voice was weak but it was there.
Her parents broke completely after that, pulling her into a tight embrace, crying without restraint. Aurora clung to them, then suddenly remembered something. She looked past them and her gaze landed exactly where Greshina and Ely stood.
Even though they were already fading behind the mist, Aurora saw them.
She smiled brightly and waved. Greshina lifted her hand slightly and waved back once. The mist swallowed them completely, and the world moved on like nothing had happened.
Ely stood beside Greshina as they appeared somewhere else. She stayed silent for a few seconds before finally speaking.
"Why did you save her?"
Greshina didn't look at her.
"Innocent children are different. They don't understand life or death properly. They haven't lived long enough to make choices that define them."
"So you give them chances?"
"I give them trials. If they fail, they're taken away. If they pass, they get more time. She endured hers. That's why she's alive."
Ely exhaled slowly, processing that.
"And the others?"
"They don't get that kind of mercy, unfortunately. All beings of Death do that to innocent people. Now then, off to settle a debt. This one might resist though."