Dark Dreams

By: Neko-chan

A/N: Kon'nichi wa! Anyway, this is the first time that I've written for the original manga/anime section. So, I hope you enjoy my first chapter and the chapters that follow! I hope you enjoy this and I'll try and update whenever I can. So, without further adieu, I present to you, Dark Dreams.

Disclaimer: I own. Don't steal.

Chapter One

Almost every religion on the face of the Earth follows a set of predestined beliefs: Life, death, and (hopefully) rebirth. Every religion has a creation story and they're all true...to a certain extent. In the beginning, the Great One created the Universe, brining Life to everything It touched. But then, when It looked back at all that It had created, It realized that something was missing. Life was precious. But the things that It created didn't understand that because they would live forever. They knew that their existence would never end. So the Great One decided to create Death.

Death was feared greatly, probably even more so than it was meant to be. But eventually, over time, Death became a way to end Life when it became too tiresome. The beings that the Great One created no longer feared Death and all that it represented. So, with much sorrow, and tears that fell to planets as shooting stars, the Great One decided to make his darkest creation. No one would ever understand it; everyone would always fear it. The Great One created...Oblivion.

* * *

"It's your choice, old man," a dark shadow hissed from a corner of the small room. The figure lying prone on the bed slowly opened his eyes and searched the room, trying to place the voice. He was sick. Very sick. Sicker than he would ever admit.

"Who's there?"

"It's your choice," a second, softer and more gentle voice whispered from another corner of the room.

"Wh-What choice?" the old man muttered as struggled to sit up in bed, leaning heavily on his withered forearms. He trembled...hurt so much. Gasping for breath, he managed to sit upright. "What choice...is that?" he asked again.

With a derisive snort, the one of the shadows stepped closer to the old man. He was tall--easily towering over most other men the old man knew. His hair was a black so dark it had blue-violet highlights running through its length. Glaring at the man with cold purple eyes, the man stepped even closer to the bed. And the old man finally noticed...his wings. Huge black bat wings that were nearly bigger than the man themselves. He spoke: "A choice of Death."

"Life," the second voice continued as he, too, stepped closer. Together, the two looked as opposite as night and day. The newcomer had blonde hair the color of old gold and his eyes that looked so kindly at the old man were yellow--like a lion or tiger's eyes. And his wings were feathered, a white so pure it was almost blinding.

"Or you chose the Other," a third voice finished. Slowly, the third figure stepped out from the room's doorway. When the old man finally spotted him, a shard of fear so sharp it cut lodged deep within his heart. This new...man?...was similar to the other two. And yet...not. His hair was silver. Not the color white can sometimes appear to be. His was a pure, shining silver. The dark gray eyes that stared out from a curtain of his hair were expressionless, empty. But the thing that frightened the old man the most were his wings: He had two sets. The top set was like the first man's, black bat wings. The second set was identical to the paler man's, blindingly white in their intensity.

"Wh-What's the Other?" the old man asked, licking his dry lips in sudden nervousness. A feeling of...foreboding?...stole over him and he shivered despite the humidity of the jungle air seeping through his window.

The new man smiled slightly. "Oblivion."

The old man blanched, shivering, shudders wracking his body. "Purgatory?!" he wailed.

The strange man shook his head. "No. Something much, much worse." The old man whitened and shook his head in mute denial. "Yes," the silver-haired man continued. "Something much, much worse than your Christian purgatory. An end to everything. Nothingness. Forever..."

The old man tightly closed his eyes and leaned back against his pillows, tears slowly trickling down his face. "Anything...anything but that. Please, not that... Please, no. I chose either Life or Death. But, please....not that... Please..."

Life and Death regally inclined their heads. "As you wish," they said at the same time. In the background, Oblivion watched all silently.