Cael woke up after everything he had just witnessed.
—What just happened?— he whispered.
When he got out of bed, he ran to the window.
—What is this?!…—
He was speechless at the sight before him. Shadows twisted. Eyes watched from every corner. He could see histories unfolding in every life. He was no longer human… but not an angel either. A being between human and the unnatural, between life and death. He could now see both faces of the same coin.
Everything. He could see everything. He could see who would go to hell or heaven. He could see when someone would die. And that… was his work now.
*Why me?* Cael thought. *Why now?*
His reflection in the glass was no longer just a boy's face. Shadows clung to his skin—the weight of all the human souls the Angel of Death had once carried.
Now, he carried them. His eyes, once ordinary, now held something infinite. Something no human should ever bear.
A scream pierced the distance—not from the living, not from the dead, but from the edge between both.
He felt it deep in his bones, a pull toward a place that should not exist. His instincts screamed at him to run, yet something far stronger compelled him to move forward.
He stepped onto the balcony, the city stretching beneath him like a living map of sin and hope. He could see choices etched in light and shadow: a merchant counting coins… a child laughing in the street… an old woman praying quietly in her home, praying for the lives of people suffering in war.
*Why can I hear their voices?* he thought. Each life radiated a path, and he saw their ends—some bright, some terrifyingly dark.
I am supposed to do this… he whispered. I am supposed to carry this burden.
Lightning split the sky, illuminating a figure in the distance—a shadow among shadows, wings folding and unfolding in impossible angles. Azriem.
Suddenly, memories struck him, and an unbearable headache pulsed through his skull.
—You see now,— Azriem's voice echoed in the air and inside Cael's mind —the weight of what you have inherited. Do you understand what it means to carry death and truth? To bear judgment and mercy alike?
Cael clenched his fists and knelt.
—I… I will learn. I will endure. I will act.
A cold silence fell over the balcony.
The city's noises dimmed, as if the world itself held its breath.
The dead waited. The living continued, oblivious. And Cael… he began to walk the path of the Reaper, the one who balanced life and death, the one who would face truths even angels feared.
This was only the beginning.
Hours passed—or maybe minutes, he could not tell.
The sky darkened unnaturally, as if the city itself had fallen under judgment. Cael's first test arrived in the form of a figure stumbling through an alley: a young man, panicked, clutching his chest. Death hovered over him, imminent.
Cael's heart sank. He wanted to turn away, but then he thought: This is my work now… I can't fail.
He leaped from the balcony, landing silently beside the man. Shadows flickered around his hands, stretching toward the pulse of life before him.
The man gasped, seeing him, but before he could scream, a calm force steadied him.
—Live,— Cael whispered. I decide now who dies…
The young man collapsed into his arms, saved. Yet Cael knew this was only the beginning.
Every choice he made from this point on would bend the scales of life and death.
As he stood in the alley, the city stretching endlessly in all directions, the weight of eternity pressed on his shoulders.
He was no longer a boy. He was no longer human. He was Death incarnate.
Can people see me? he wondered.
Suddenly, Azriem's echoing voice boomed in his mind.
—Not all of them can, Cael.—
Cael flinched. It was a surprise for him.
—Weren't you just a memory?— he asked, but there was no response.
Minutes passed.
He realized he could not be seen by all, and he understood why.
—This makes sense… I don't think they should see a Grim Reaper walking in the streets.
A scream tore through the distance. He could not ignore it.
It was a girl, trapped with a snake that was slowly following her. She was scared. Didn't stop screaming. She was trapped In a narrow alley in the outskirts of the city. The snake bited her. But No one else could hear her. So then. Cael saw her past. A kind and homeless girl. Who was afraid of beeing alone.
He clenched his teeth and thought: Why do the good always suffer? This child has been alone her entire life…
Cael wanted to help, but what he saw chilled him.
She had to die in that moment.
He could see it.
He was nervous.
He felt powerless.
He wanted to save her.
But he couldn't do anything.
He looked up at the sky and wondered,
"What do you want from me, Lord?".
—…Why?— he murmured.
Why does it have to be like this? I don't want to…
All at once, time seemed to stop.
Rivers froze mid-flow
Rain and leafs hung suspended.
He remembered Azriem's words: "Some truths are heavier than death, and some… will break even the strongest of souls."
He had to do it.
He stretched out his hand and placed it on the girl's head.
Then he saw all of her suffering.
Her life flashing before her eyes.
He could see what she was seeing and could feel what she could feel.
—Imminent Death.—
Her life ended peacefully.
She was no longer in pain.
Cael saw that her soul was meant for heaven.
Resting in peace, finally, she was free.
But he wasn't. All of the girl's suffering was transfered to Cael's body.
So then he understood: all the shadows below and above him were the lives that past Angels of Death had claimed.
He was feeling the weight but did not yet know the full measure of it.
—She was just an innocent girl… but well… I think Death is something… inevitable…— he whispered.
Then. Memories. Memories from everywhere struck Cael. Voices of grim reapers long gone.
He heard a voice he had never heard before
—"Are you crazy Azraim? Have you ever thought what could happened to someone who desobeys God itself?"
Then, without warning, Azriem's voice:
—"Don't worry about it. It will be fine. She has always supported me. Without her, my life would be nothing. At least I owe her that she rests in peace forever."
Suddenly, the memories faded.
—What was that?— Said Cael —It was like watching a movie... Was That Azraim?... Who actually is Azraim? Is he some kind of god or something like that? And if that's so. Why would he ever choose me?—
And At once. Azraim's voice strocked once more in Cael's head.
—Do you really think you were choseen?—
Cael's face was sweaty. His hands shook. He felt paralyzed. He couldn't talk *How can he do this to me just by talking?* he thought.
—I will say this just once. You were not choseen. You were Inherited—
Then. Azreim Allowed Cael to speak.
—But… why? I'm not from some kind of royal family…
With a trembling voice, he added:
— I... I miss my family... My mother... My brother... Are they even ok?! I didn't wanted this life!!... I haven't stopped hearing all of the whispers and thoughts of everyone around me... I don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to see when people will die... And It hasn't even been a day. How could I survive a life like this If I can't stand it for even an hour like this...—
Azreim sighed.
— Let me show you something—
Then. He showed Cael memories of people around the world, suffering. Some were meant for heaven but they felt the worst pain.
He showed how past Reapers had ended the lives of the innocent peacefully and the wicked with unbearable torment.
— See all these people? Death is inminent... It's something you cannot avoid. Something you cannot stop. Even you.. The Death itself... Can't stop it... So if you can't stop it you need to get balance between Life and Death right? Now you're in charge of that. Face it or not. It's your desición... But what do you think happened to the reapers of the past who refused to do their job? Nothing good, I assure you....For now on... You are alone on this... You have to face it... If not... There will be consequences...—
And Azraim voice faded away.
Cael's eyes lowered.
He wanted to save lives, to stop the world's suffering.
But this… this was the only way.
— So I think I have to move on... Is this really the way to do this? Is it correct?... I think I'll have to find out...—
The path ahead was uncertain. Full of temptation, suffering, and impossible truths. But Cael would walk it. He had no choice.
The Judgment Among Men had begun. And he… would be its executor.