My Love, Darkness

Chapter 1

Present, 1999

IF there's one title that can be called Titus Dmitriadis, it's The Scythe Swinger. And now, everyone was calling him that, but he's not paying attention. It's not the attention that he wanted. But the forgiveness for what he has done in his past life.

"Great job, Titus. You're still one of the 26th Division's best soul collectors, and everyone is cheering for that," the division's chief said to him in a grim face, and he just nodded.

Does being one of the ace reapers of the 26th Division is something Titus to be happy about? No, it's not. He doesn't care about anything.

I am a grim reaper.

He doesn't have any other jobs than to collect the souls of every mortal that he can sense. Being a grim reaper has its own perks to him. He doesn't need to please anyone. He can do things that mortals can't do, and he doesn't need anyone to be with him.

What he only needs is forgiveness. There's nothing more. Titus has been living as a grim reaper for too long, and it's been ten decades since he was destined to the division he was reporting at. He witnessed many soldiers' death in the two World Wars and was one of the grim reapers selected to collect souls in those years.

It was tiring and boresome collecting souls of those souls who live to kill or to be killed. Wala naman siyang magagawa do'n dahil iyon lang din naman ang kinakailangan niyang gawin bilang grim reaper. He lives to collect and make sure that those souls must get to Charon's boat before the souls of those mortals became missing or a disturbance to the living world.

Titus sighed as he opens his closet and chooses what to wear. Lahat ng damit niya ay itim. Not like all the mortals wearing that is colorful and trendy. The color black complements his pale complexion, after all. He wore off his black fedora and put it beside his bed table. He then takes off his long black coat and inside garments.

Naglakad siyang hubo't hubad sa bathroom ng sariling barracks at nag-hot shower.

The water feels good.

It made him remember those kinds of souls he has collected. He remembered four types of them. The worst sinners, the aristocrats, the lovers, and the ordinaries. All those souls became a part of his job to collect.

Most of them gave him headaches for denying that they are already dead. There will be times that needed to be aggressive to intimidate the souls who tend to be delinquent.

Good thing he is not a newbie anymore. Ilang dekada din ang nagdaan bago siya nasanay at naging mahusay sa kaniyang trabaho. Hindi na siya nahihirapan. He earned The Scythe Swinger for his effortless style of collecting souls.

But he doesn't care about the title. What he needs is to put his self at peace. He has taken thousands of souls already. Sometimes, he's wondering if he will really be forgiven. Grim reapers become grim reapers for violating themselves. Grim reapers can't even remember their past.

He doesn't know if he violated himself for something hurtful or something he should feel conscience about.

After making his self comfortable, he laid his self on his bed.

There will be more souls to collect for tomorrow.

He will need the sleep and energy for it.

THE sinner shook his self in disbelief as he looks at Titus' grim face.

"Hindi ako puwedeng mamatay! Hindi pa ako tapos sa gagong 'yon pagkatapos nila akong lokohin ng asawa ko, they deserved to die!" The mortal exclaimed in anger after realizing that his soul was already apart from his body.

"Hector Castillejo. You killed your wife for infidelity, and you died because your son shot you," Titus stated.

He knows what happened to this family. Actually, he knows the story of a mortal he's collecting in just one look. Being a grim reaper made him easier to see a mortal like an open book.

"No. You can't take me. I'm not done yet!" Hector shouted and quickly ran away from him.

He sighed. He teleported his self in front of Hector and swing the scythe swiftly around on his body, making the soul shocked and intimidated by his black silver scythe that is hulled with black smoke.

"You died exactly 4:32 of the afternoon. You should be on the boat with the others in this minute," He said coldly before taking off his fedora and showed it to the soul.

"A-anong..." Kinakabahan na ang kaluluwa.

Bakas sa mukha nito ang pagkataranta matapos makitang may lumabas na itim na usok sa fedora ni Titus. The mortal's body is trembling making him smirk.

"Hindi." Umiling-iling si Hector.

The black smoke wrapped the soul's full size. "Hindi!" Hector shouted as the smoke grabbed his soul and entered Titus' fedora.

Titus sighed while hearing the soul's pleas and screams until it totally faded.

"It's my 64th on this day." Titus thinks that the soul could be inside the boat now.

He started to walk. The only way to find souls is to wander and blend in. Kaya naman halos lahat nang parte ng bansa na ay napuntahan na niya. It wasn't hard, though, because grim reapers can sense death. That made him more agile because he has his own way of reaping.

Also, a hundred thousand individuals die each day. There will be times that he needed a squad to catch a group or more, but because he has the skill to collect, he can catch more than five souls even if they try to escape at the same time.

He changed his appearance. He made himself visible wearing a black long sleeve and dark denim jeans to make himself like a mortal.

Habang naglalakad, napalingon si Titus sa babaeng kaniyang nalampasan. The woman showed a face of admiration and lust for him.

A sinner.

He shook his head.

The woman will be dead after a few days.

He sensed it. And whatever the reason she's going to die, he doesn't care. Hindi naman siya ang mangongolekta ng kaluluwa nito.

He could kill a mortal if he encountered the mortal at its time of death. Pero habang hindi pa nito oras, hindi niya pa ito kayang anihin.

Grim reapers, like him, had a big part in the balance of the living and dead. They collect so that the life of the soul will be judge by Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus in the Underworld.