Earth

“I wanted her to suffer for leading my father to his death as you wanted her to suffer for not protecting your father from Kira. I never wished death on her unlike you. If that is what you wish, Lucca, write down my name…I can’t face them after all I’ve done. All I ask is that you spare my family. Let Earth decide their fates. They will give you the death note when I die seeing that you are serious with your threats. They won’t kill you…if captured then that’s on you. If you can’t promise me that, then I will kill you when I become a shinigami and make sure you perish when you become a shinigami.”

“Humph, as you wish. I’ll control your every movement before you die. Thanks for making this encounter ten times easier. Sorry my friend-it had to end this way. No matter if you or I or humans, shinigami or Earth kills them…they will die and I will survive. I will become God of the new world, I will become the King of Death and I will rule Earth…a new world of perfection will be mine, my rule absolute!” Lucca begins to write down his name and events leading to Taro’s death. Taro walks away and says to himself,

“No, Lucca. Earth has a plan for a shinigami told me so…you and I are just pawns in a game of chess, L and Light the knights, my mother and Near the rooks, my sister and Stephan the bishops, the King of Death and the Queen of Life. Our deaths will aid in a draw between Earth and Space before we destroy all.”

            Winchester, England December 21^st, 2020. Stephan chisels away at a headstone as Kiara plants flowers around the bases of the gravestones already there; blue, pink, red, yellow-colors that represent the person they cradle. Nate cleans the old stones by power wash while Roger brings them a tray of snacks and tea. Six new tombstones occupy plots in the family graveyard; Light’s and Soichiro’s were relocated to a plot beside L, while Teru’s is next to Light’s, Taro’s next to his father’s and Lucca’s lies between his father, Micca’s and mother, Ren’s graves. Stephan’s hand trembles as he etches the name of the sixth until Kiara places her hands on his’ and says,

“She told me that she hoped that moving Taro to Mantua would help Lucca have a friend he could bond with; telling me that both boys had terrible mothers-failed guardians and fathers who were victims of the death note ‘curse’ she called it. They did find each other and became friends…but that friendship was fatal. She always blamed herself for the actions others chose to take. I never blamed her, not once…she did guide us: me, Mello, Matt, Light, and Taro. I guess I was just a little more receptive than Taro, no I was just lucky I got to meet my father before he died.” Stephan sits back and hangs his arms off his knees.

“A boy needs his father, we need to know what kind of man he was so we can surpass them and be even greater. I tried to be that father figure but my influence wasn’t enough…I never realized how lost he was, how much he resented his mother. In the end he had change of heart but it was too late. Taro wanted us to die because he loved us and to save us from Lucca, he gave up his life instead. You’re right, we can’t blame ourselves for others choices; that’s my conclusion anyways.”

            Stephan heads inside to Sani’s old bedroom where she lies in bed. She sits up as Stephan opens her door to bring her a cup of Earl Grey tea. She scoots over to let Stephan sit beside her as she drinks it; he stokes her hair from her roots down her back to her waist feeling her body become warmer if only for a few seconds. She lets out a cough as the tea goes down the wrong pipe. He pats her back gently as she tries to catch her breath. When she does she lies back down and wraps the cover around her hoping to trap the heat from her body from escaping. Kiara and Near enter the room. Kiara pulls up a chair to her bed while Near stands behind her.

“Mom, do you think mankind will make it?” Kiara asks.

“If I died right now with a loved one by my side, I’d be grateful. Death will be kind to you once you accept it. Promise me though; if you survive…help make the world wonderful again. A world where it’s okay to make mistakes and be flawed, a world where the fear of death makes those want to live out each day to the fullest, where loss makes us love even more; a world where none can take the freedom of choice away and tyrant the justice of consequence. Promise me you will do a much better job than your father and I did.”

“Of course, mother.” Sani kisses Kiara on the forehead before she and Near head back to the UN meeting.  A few days later, Sani gets out of bed and heads to the roof of Wammy House with Stephan to see people scouring the streets trying to find shelter. An alarm sounds meaning danger is near. On the roof they wait; not many have felt the intense power of a tsunami especially in England. Stephan sits back, relaxed as if he was watching a movie or TV show. Sani stands up with open arm as the wave engulfs her favorite church. Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong.

            “I kissed you on the forehead and you left, but you are here now, I’m glad.  It was a beautiful way to die though.” she says to her family as she lies in bed telling them of the dream she had. Ryuk stands over as an angel of death while Kiara, Stephan, Near and Roger are at her bedside. Softly, a heart attack takes her last breath away. With eyes still open, she sees Teru and L reach for her as a white light shines upon Taro’s smiling face that greets her.

“This must be heaven.” Sani sees heaven the way she believes it to be.

             Ding. Ding. Ding. Church bells ring as a wedding guests gather in a church. They all stand as the bride walks down the aisle. Her grandfather walks her down the aisle trying to hold back tears of joy. In the crowd is her family and friends even some people she never met; orphans from Wammy House, people from law school, people from the law firm she worked at, some members of the International Task Force and their families, her uncle, aunt and her cousin’s son, Misa, Takada, Micca, Lucca, Reiji, Roger, Avon, Bran, Matt, and Mello. Standing on one side of the alter is the bridal party while the other side is occupied by the groom’s. Kimi, Halle, Sayu, and Kiara wear matching purple dresses and flowers in their hair. Kiara holds a box in her hand with the ring for the groom. Through her veil she looks at the groom’s side. Near, Light, Teru and one other man stands before her. Something she said a long time ago comes back to mind as she smiles at this man,

“One day I will get married in that church. I will hear the bells chime. Ding-Ding-Ding. Promise me, you will be there. I want you to hear the happy bells too and not the sad ones.”

            L holds in his hand the ring for the bride. Watari gives her away to Stephan as Reverend Solomon Divine marries them. They passionately kiss as their guest throw up flowers and clap. Kiara twirls Near’s hair for him as Matt hangs his head in defeat and Mello laughs at his failure. Light and L give each other a firm handshake before Misa sneaks in a hug, becoming sandwiched between them. Taro hugs his father for the first time-finally seeing the face of the man he longed to see. It’s all Taro ever wanted, to know who his father was so he can judge for himself the kind of man his father was. Taro smiles at Sani as everyone bursts into light becoming thousands of tiny fireflies that fly to the sky to join the blanket of light that covers Earth. At its core is a child made of water, fire, air, plants and rocks. Stretching out from her fetal position as the lights wake her; she regains the energy to dance again. As she dances, life returns, nature is reborn and seasons change. Smaller than her mother, Terra now revolves around the sun where Earth once did. She hopes that one day she will be just as great as her mother and repair the relationship humans have with her.

            Sani eyes open to see a world devoid of life and color. Ryuk kneels over her holding her hands as she sits up.

“Ryuk…where am I?”

“He wants to see you before you die.” He picks her up and carries her away in his arms. As they fly she sees other shinigami flying behind him as they all make their way to The King. Arriving, Ryuk sets her down before joining the rest of the shinigami who look on from the sky. The massive being known as The King of Death speaks,

“Sani Wammy, you have read the origin story but there is more you need to know.  Earth drew its energy from the plants that nurtured her, the moon and the stars that die near her. Humans and animals were created by Space or better known as the Galaxy to kill Earth for being a celestial body unlike any other-a threat to the Solar System. Human used animals for their own survival so their threat wasn’t as major. When humans die their energy returns to Space and not Earth; the more energy going to Space, the weaker Earth becomes, the more likely a major catastrophe will happen that will kill Earth. The death note may be unlimited in pages but its power has a limit; if humans were killed by the masses by another human the energy would be lost to Space; killing humans in smaller quantities with the death note over time helps Earth steal energy gradually for constant protection. Her strength is dwindling with this world war and she doesn’t have much time left…even Earth has a lifespan. You hold much energy from all the people who died at the hands of the death notes Ryuk gave me, your life is extended much beyond your time. Sani, please relinquish that energy to myself and Earth."

            Sani stares into the exposed light from the King’s core scared of its blood-likeness but amazed by how gentle it is to the eyes. She walks towards the small light and begins to see two figures in the distance. As she gets closer she sees a figure of a woman of great radiance holding a heart made of rock and water with air and fire encasing it in her hands. She cradles the heart as the elements around it crack, become polluted and extinguish slowly. The other figure is man holding out a red apple to her with a serious face. Behind him is the previous King of Death who has shrunken in size but holds the new King’s conscious inside his boney cage.

“Light…you’ve been watching over me all this time. Sending Ryuk and Teru to protect me so I could help you save the world. You got what you wanted, though…you are a God.”

“I did become God of a new world to me- the shinigami realm. I needed your help with correcting my mistakes. When I became King I allowed the shinigami to go into the human world to cause havoc, but Earth informed me of the damage I was causing forcing me to hunt down the rogue shinigami and retrieve energy for Earth.”

“How did you become the King or better yet a shinigami?”

“All shinigami including the King were once humans. As you know the King was The Messiah, Nu was “The Virgin Mary” or mother of the human who became the King of Death, Justin was the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II (The Great), Daril was a Chinese princess named Changping, Rem was Amalasuntha- queen of Goths, Zellogi was a Native American chief Tenskwatawa, Ryuk was a Roman emperor Nero, Gukku was an African leader of the Zulu called Shaka, Sidoh was Cyrus the Great of Achaemenid Empire, Midora was empress Suiko of Japan, Deridovely was King Leonidas of Sparta, Calikarcha was the Indian King Chandragupta II , Kinddara was Queen Isabella of Castile and Aragon, and Gelus was King Tut-the boy king of Egypt. All were humans who were given a death note and used them for different reasons and motivations, but all killed humans for Earth. Being as smart as I am, I saw the weakness The King had to a human on its way to becoming a shinigami…as you can see however, he still has a hold on me.”

“I never thought God would exist in a place like this...so he’s the Old Testament and you’re the New?” Sani places one hand on the apple and the other on his chest where his heart would lie under. Strangely, she feels a heartbeat. She looks into the former King’s red eyes feeling warmth coming from his bones like he had flesh.

“I hope my actions can start making up for the trouble I caused but in no way am I seeking forgiveness.  No more death notes will be let into the human world and the shinigami and I will abide by the rules Earth and the King before me set in stone. However, I still don’t mind killing more criminals than the innocent though.” 

            Light smiles at Sani as the apple and his being take away the energy, the added years onto her lifespan until they are all gone. Sani lifts her hands from the apple and his chest seeing that it has become transparent.  Light gives the apple to Earth and she eats it; the heart in her hand grows in size until an immense red light beam from it. Some of it swirls around Sani and forms a path so she can find her way out. The King of Death, Light Yagami gives Earth the energy to create a great catastrophe to severely reduce human populations by a natural disaster, allowing Earth to recover while the humans do the same; no one is safe from the inevitable that is death and yet most try to prolong its advent.

“God is Earth and a messiah is the King of Death. There is no heaven or hell; death is equal for all besides the ones cursed with life sustained by death. All live, all die and all can cease to exist when the cycle is broken; Earth’s greatest burden is sustaining the lives of the very things that threaten its life. A perfect world can never be created for humans weren’t born to be perfect or to create.  There is no true justice, no right or wrong and trying to justify what is-is pointless. Absolute power corrupts absolutely-always.” Sani says to Ryuk as she leaves the shinigami realm. Following the red lights, she sees two shinigami who are smaller than the rest and knows they must be Taro and Lucca. They talk to Justin hoping to learn more about the death note having no recollection of their human lives. Sani can’t help but to feel happy that her son is in a better place with his best friend and both are free from their fathers' legacies. Sani continues walking and as she does, Ryuk stops following her as the red lights fade away.

“Go on, Mu is up ahead…everyone is waiting for you.” She kisses him on the cheek. Ryuk blushes and tries to let her phase through his body but she isn’t there anymore. She laughs and walks into the blackness as a transparent; no energy of Earth or light or darkness of Space present.