Shadow Monarch in DC-Chapter 432: To Understand Death

By the time it neared the end of the twenty-four hours, Arthur no longer tried to separate one life from another, no longer tried to give each moment space the way a human mind would demand. That part of him had adapted, hardened, but not into a cold being. He moved through countless endings at once, present in all of them, guiding without hesitation, without delay.

The fear, the grief, the peace, the acceptance, he felt it all from all of them, it did not overwhelm him anymore, and he carried it all.

Still, even with that understanding, even with that control, there were moments that felt deeper than the rest.

The last one he had to guide came like that, the one that marks the day’s ending.

Earth again.

A hospital, somewhere tucked into a city in Japan,

Arthur walked the corridor unseen, his presence brushing against the world without disturbing it. He didn’t need to search. He felt it immediately, the flickering thread of a life nearing its end.

It was gentle.

He stopped at a door left slightly open and stepped inside.

The room was small, lit by the soft glow of a lamp in the corner.

On the bed lay a child.

A little girl, no more than eight, her body small beneath the blankets, her breathing shallow. Her face was pale, her features were too calm for someone her age. A stuffed toy rested beside her, clutched loosely in her hand.

There was no one else in the room.

No parents and no voices.

Just her and him.

Arthur stood there for a moment, watching her, feeling the thread of her life thinning with every passing second. There was no hesitation in him now. He knew what this was. He knew what came next.

But knowing didn’t make it lighter.

He stepped forward and sat at the edge of the bed, reaching out to take her small hand in his.

The moment his fingers touched hers, something shifted.

Her breathing steadied and her body relaxed.

And then her eyes opened clearly, fully aware. She blinked up at him, confusion written across her face as she took him in.

"You are not a doctor." she said softly, her voice quiet.

Arthur’s expression softened, just a fraction. "I know."

She studied him for a moment, her gaze curious rather than afraid. "Are you... new?"

"Something like that." Arthur answered with a smile.

She shifted slightly, glancing around the room as if noticing it for the first time. "It doesn’t hurt anymore," she murmured, more to herself than to him.

"I know," he said again.

Her attention returned to him, then there was a pause, and then she asked it, quietly, carefully, as if she already knew the answer but needed to hear it anyway.

"Am I going to die?"

Arthur didn’t look away. He didn’t soften the truth or wrap it in something easier to accept.

"Yes."

She looked down at their joined hands, her fingers tightening slightly around his. "Oh," she whispered.

There was no panic or sudden fear, which surprised Arthur, especially coming from a child.

"I thought it would feel... bigger, more painful." she admitted after a moment.

"It doesn’t have to," Arthur replied.

She nodded, leaning back into the pillow. Her grip on his hand didn’t loosen. If anything, it grew.

"Will it hurt?" she asked.

"No."

That answer came without hesitation,

She believed him. Her shoulders relaxed, the tension leaving her completely now. "Okay."

After a while, she spoke again, "Will someone be there?"

Arthur really looked at her, and for a moment, he answered her with a truth.

"I will guide you there, and you’ll find out for yourself." he said.

Her eyes searched his face, looking for doubt, and she found none.

She smiled a gentle smile. "Okay," she said.

Arthur stood, guiding her with him.

She looked at the bed, at the small, still figure lying there, and tilted her head slightly. "That’s me," she said, not as a question.

"Yes."

She watched it for a moment, then nodded to herself. "I look tired."

She turned away from it without fear, her hand still in his. "Can we go now?"

Arthur nodded, and together they began to walk.

The room faded around them, replaced by what looked like a meadow, a warmer-looking place.

She walked a little closer to him as they moved, her shoulder brushing against his arm. "Will my mom be okay?" she asked quietly.

Arthur didn’t lie. "She will be hurt."

The girl nodded, her expression dipping just slightly. "Yeah... she will."

There was a pause, and then she looked up at him again. "But she’ll be okay, right?"

Arthur’s gaze remained steady. "Yes."

That was enough for her, she smiled again, more easily this time, and leaned lightly against him as they walked. "I’m glad you came," she said.

Arthur’s voice was calmer. "I’m glad as well."

They reached the edge of the light, and she stopped for a moment, looking at it, then back at him and then she stepped forward.

The light took her gently, without resistance.

Arthur remained where he was, watching until she was gone.

He understood, the scale and the power of death.

Every end mattered, not because of how grand it was, or how tragic, or how long the life had been, but because to the one living it, it was everything.

Arthur exhaled slowly,

"It’s over," he said quietly.

****

Rain had just begun to fall over the city of Tokyo, Arthur stood at the edge of a quiet street, just outside the flow of the crowd, his coat darkened slightly by the rain. For a long while, he did nothing. He simply stood there, watching the rain strike the pavement, listening to the ordinary sound of life continuing.

Then,

"You’re here."

The words left him without effort,

"I am."

The voice came from beside him, light and familiar.

Arthur didn’t turn, She was just... there.

Leaning slightly under the overhang of a nearby building, hands tucked behind her back as she looked out at the rain with an easy, almost playful expression.

Didi.

"Most beings would’ve collapsed somewhere around the first billion," she went on, glancing at him with a small smile. "You didn’t even slow down at the end."

Arthur let out a quiet breath, his gaze still fixed ahead. "That wasn’t the hard part."

Her smile didn’t fade, "No. It never is."

She stepped closer beside him.

"You did well," she said, and this time there was no teasing in her tone. "Better than well. There isn’t a ’normal’ way to do what you just did, but if there was, you went far beyond it. No ordinary being could’ve carried it the way you did."

Arthur was just silent.

Didi watched him for a moment, then tilted her head slightly, studying his expression.

"So?" she asked, her voice softer now. "What did you think?"

Arthur’s eyes shifted at that, finally turning toward her. The faint violet glow within them hadn’t fully faded.

He didn’t answer right away.

Instead, he exhaled slowly,

"There were moments..." he began, his voice calm but quieter than usual, "where I wanted to stop."

His gaze drifted past her, "Not because I couldn’t continue. That was never the issue." His jaw tightened faintly. "But because I didn’t want to see the next one knowing what it was."

Didi didn’t interrupt.

"There were people who fought it with everything they had. Others who broke before I even spoke. Some who smiled like they’d been waiting their entire lives for that moment." He shook his head slightly. "And all of them looked at me like I was the answer."

His voice lowered.

"And I was."

"For a second, sometimes... I wanted to step back. Let it happen without me. Pretend I didn’t have to be the one standing there when it all ended for them."

He paused, then added quietly, "But I didn’t."

There was something deeper in Didi’s eyes now, something that recognized every word he wasn’t saying.

Arthur finally looked back at her fully.

"I understand it now," he said.

Not just the role or the power.

Her.

"I understand what it means to be you."

"And I understand how easy it would be to lose yourself in it," he continued. "When it never stops... when it never gives you a moment to just exist as anything else... it would be simple to forget who you were before all of it."

Didi’s lips curved slightly at that, but she didn’t speak.

"And I understand something else."

He held her eyes now.

"That one day you take... every hundred years."

And something flickered across her expression.

"You don’t do it because you need a break," he said. "Not really. You do it because you want to remember."

His voice was steady.

"To feel what they feel. To live without knowing the end. Even if it’s just for a day."

The rain continued to fall around them,

And then Didi smiled.

She stepped closer and reached out, taking his hand in both of hers, her grip warm.

"I’m glad you see it that way now," she said softly.

Her thumb brushed lightly over his knuckles, her gaze lifting to meet his again. "And you’re right. It’s not about escaping the job." A teasing glint returned to her eyes. "I’m pretty good at my job."

Arthur huffed faintly at that.

"But yeah," she continued, tilting her head slightly, studying him. "It’s about remembering why it matters."

Her smile widened just a touch, a hint of her usual lightness returning.

"And I can tell... you’re stronger now."

She gave his hand a small squeeze.

"Not just physically, before you get all serious on me," she added.

Arthur shook his head slightly with a smile.

"I know," he said.

His eyes flickered again, that violet glow sharpening for just a moment as he looked at her.

"But just so you know, I don’t plan on doing your job again."

The words were firm.

But not cold.

Didi laughed softly, the sound light and easy, blending into the rhythm of the rain.

"Well that’s fine by me," she said. "Because I’m not hiring you silly."

/-\

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