Written by Menonono
The primordials of Void, Order, Time, Eternity, and Life had begun to enact their duties within the cosmos. Each primordial worked in harmony with each other to create The Architect’s vision of a “perfect universe.”
Despite this harmony, there was one problem that existed within the mind of The Architect which kept them from feeling satisfaction; a discordance in the otherwise perfect melody. This problem, a conundrum of an esoteric scale, eluded the mind of The Architect for ages. They observed the grass that grew, the rain that fell, the creatures that thrived in their ever-existing states, and The Architect thought.
And The Architect dreamt.
The Architect dreamt of the end of rainfall, the ceasing of the waves, the darkness of the night taking over the day.
Time passed. Seconds turned to days turned to eons. Within the confines of the infinity in the mind of The Architect, universes were born, fires burned, love began, rocks tumbled, wind blew.
And in it all, there was a consistency.
And The Architect awoke.
“Terminus.” Uttered The Architect. Their voice bellowed throughout the cosmos, sending ripples throughout the very void. “For there to be value in existence, there must be the finite.”
Their words, understood by all things from the Primordials to the very atoms in the air understood this statement. For there to be meaning in life, there must be a limitation to it. An end to all things, the finite.
Thus, The Architect reached their hand beyond. They brought their hand into the sands of existence and scooped a line, creating a separation in all things between their eternity and the next. From this sand, The Architect pressed their hands together. They compressed the sands of existence until the pressure became too great, and a new form was created. The Architect then reached outwards into the echoes of creation and plucked a string of thought from it. They inserted this string into the existence glass and called upon the final breath of a star to light the string aflame. With their final act, The Architect breathed cosmic energy into the glass, giving it consciousness.
The Architect called the primordial of Life to join hands with the new creation, sharing in their very essence to eternally link the two together.
“You are Death; The End of All Things.” Said The Architect to the newly awakened primordial.
From that moment, in a fraction of an attosecond, several things happened. All of life, from the fly on the wall to the giant that stands on the tallest mountain gained a new part of their existence. A soul. An eternal, immortal part of an otherwise withering construction now resided in the halls of all living beings; sculpted to match the will and spirit of those that they resided within. The lame may have a soul that can walk, the strong may have a weak soul, the dark may have a soul of light.
Then, the new primordial, named Death, exhaled. They exhaled before they inhaled, giving a new air to existence. Their form changed from clear crystalline glass to darkness. A black, billowing cloak appeared around them, obscuring their face in infinite shadow.
And within the bodies of all finite beings, their hearts began to beat. A permanent countdown to their inevitable conclusion.
“Yes…” Uttered Death, their voice a warm embrace. “I shall take this charge.”
The Death primordial is distant with the other primordials. Though the other primordials observe Death as a respectable member of their coalition, they also understand that Death oversees the end of all things. They reside over all souls in all things, abiding over a plane of existence of their very own.
The Death primordial is one of the only primordials who have ever taken to speaking to the finite kind, often appearing in folklore and other such concepts as a phantom or a ghost. The other primordials, though they accept it, do not fully understand what drives Death to behave in this way. Each has their own working theory, but Death has never given a clear answer. Perhaps even they do not know why they behave in such a way?
Nevertheless, Death is the loneliest of all the primordials. Often dedicated fully to their work, the other primordials rarely interact with Death. The only primordials who have any reason to interact with Death are Life and Fate, but even they keep their distance. This has inadvertently led to Death becoming an isolationist in their own regard, often avoiding the other primordials when not absolutely necessary. It can be said that the other primordials look down upon Death, and the same can be said for the other way around.
Void - Though Death and Void rarely interact, Void is one of the few primordials whom Death considers to be a true friend. The two often argue about the nature of the After Death plane, but both understand and abide by the other’s station.
Order - A relationship built solely out of respect. Order and Death seldom interact, and quite often go out of their way to avoid each other.
Time - Death and Time are, in a sense, interwoven. Though Death believes that Time must work alongside Death, Time does not particularly see a need to interact with them. The two are cordial, and rarely speak otherwise.
Eternity - Death observes Eternity as the exact opposite of their very existence. Death was created to give a finite to the everlasting, and Eternity is an objection to this concept. Though Eternity views Death favorably, Death does not feel the same. Oftentimes Death will avoid Eternity when Eternity is looking for them.
Life - Through their very nature, Life and Death are interwoven. Life observes Death as the “little brother” in their relationship, a nuisance that interrupts their perfect drive forward. Life is commonly trying to lord over Death, arguing and disagreeing with even the most benign decision of Death. When the two are in agreement, the other primordials stop and observe.
Destiny - The only primordial who Death was adamant was their friend. Destiny and Death would commonly work alongside each other, often collaborating on their beliefs and stations. When Destiny fell to Chaos, Death followed soon after. Death believed in Destiny, and followed them until their end. It was only after The Architect was gone that Death understood the error Destiny made, and vowed never again to partake in such an event.
Fate/The Creator - Death and Fate have had a long, conflicted relationship. The last of the primordials, Death views Fate as somewhat of a nuisance. Death does not respect Fate’s title of “The Creator” and will oftentimes ignore it and insist on calling them Fate. Fate begrudgingly works alongside Death, as their stations commonly intertwine.