What would happen if the world was without Death? Would people no longer die? That seemed unlikely. Riley considered this and realized that his sacrifice would not prevent the Fates from ending mortals’ time on earth. They could live for only so long before their souls passed to the penumbra. Despite everything he believed about Death, he was not responsible for the transition from life.
No, Death served one purpose, and that was to defend the lost and wayward souls from creatures of the Pit. It was a hard job title to understand as Riley had encountered only one such monster, the Ahemait. He made things worse with his poor performance in causing so much death and destruction with a first attempt to save one soul. He hadn’t saved anyone. The demons destroyed three, and he endangered four
