Side Note

An unfamiliar roof, a weird feeling bed, and a hazy memory of what happened to me before. Am I in Hell? Man, I am ahead of Merida's schedule, if that's the case. I sat up to see the room I was in. Besides the bed I was on and the walls, there was next to nothing in this room. All there was to see was a window to my left, a random shackled bunny girl to my right, and a door to my front. 

The bunny girl is constantly trying to escape from her chains, pulling and tugging as hard as possible, her mouth wide open as if screaming. Yet, I couldn't hear a single thing. Not her chains nor her screams. I quickly clapped to see if it was me, but it wasn't. I could hear my clap. 

I turned to the window to see a vast expanse of nothingness. A long, endless sea of white. Every now and then, I could spot a black speck, but they were so far away I couldn't figure out what they were. Oh god, maybe I am in Hell. If I'm in Hell, where's Mel? We need to do that hot kiss.

I got out of bed, walked over to the door, and opened it to find myself in a cosy room with a campfire, a table, and a small kitchen area with tools I could use to make tea. Wait, I can make tea here. Maybe it's not Hell, but Heaven! 

At the table were two figures, a large skeleton covered in a black cloak, to his side a giant scythe, and across from it was a small, petite… person? It's completely blue, with no face or body features, and vaguely looks human, like the Lake Spirit, but with no detail. It was holding a thin metal sheet with glass on it, looking like she was reading. The skeleton noticed me and gestured to me to come closer.

"So you're the maid the little lass was talking about. She claimed you're the one who'll brew me a cup of tea I'll thoroughly enjoy."

"My tea making skills are out of this world! At least now it is. This isn't my world, is it?"

"That be right. You're in the Void. Fancy little place, nice and peaceful. Perfect for tea, wouldn't you agree, little lass?" The figure, which I guess is a girl, nodded. "Oh, yes. Before I forget, let me introduce myself. I be Croen, the God of Death of your world."

"That explains the skeleton. What's with the cloak? I expected you to wear something… cooler."

"It's me work uniform, as simple as that."

"Okay. I'm guessing I have to make the tea in the kitchen area."

"That be right. The lass said she left something there for ya."

I walked over to the kitchen area to find a familiar box on the counter. It's the one Rich gave Mel and me. I opened it to see the contents were still the same. Catgirl ears, a Cyst City ID, a mirror, a holy arrow, a teleport card, and… oh man, tea bags said to be Death's favourite. That's oddly convenient. Time to start making the tea.

While I'm doing this, maybe I could have some small talk. "So that room I woke up in, what's with the bunny girl?"

"The little lass says she's a meanie she found in the Void. She tried to do something nasty, and one of her friends warned her about it. Her friend also said you're gonna have to meet with her properly, sooner or later."

"That's ominous."

"Sure is."

"By the way, can the little girl not talk?"

"Nay, she can. It is just a small precaution due to her vast power and inexperience with it. I'm fine, due to Death avatars needing defence against all sorts of things, but you may not survive, even with Side Note."

"Side Note? What does it have to do with me surviving?"

"Ah, you have yet to find out, huh. Pretend I said nothing."

"Oh, okay." I finished making the tea and served it to Death. 

"There be some biscuits in the drawers. Be a dear and fetch some, then come sit down. We can share the biscuits."

"Okay!" I went and opened the drawers, which seemed to go on forever. That's straight up an entire tunnel. It was littered with jars of biscuits to the farthest point my eye could see. I know Death said it was the Void, but I think this is Heaven. I grabbed the jar at the very front and then sat at the table. "So why am I doing this? I get you want tea, but surely there's more to this."

Death took a sip from his cup… how does a Skeleton drink? "The lass is powerful but young. She needs to be taught many things, and this be one of those lessons."

"What is it?"

"The dead cannot be returned without a price."

"Are you teaching her how to bribe death?"

"Aye."

"Huh."

"This be fine tea. Little lass, good news. I shall let your revival of this maid and her friend pass. Do be warned. The bribe will be harder to fulfil next time." The little girl nodded with determination before gesturing for me to come to her. I walked over, then kneeled down to be level with her head. She quickly drew something on the thing she was holding, then showed it. It said, 'I'm a fan of your story.' Huh… reminds me of the weird stuff Mel says at times.

She put it down, then started drawing a magic circle in front of me. Is she sending me back? "Little lass, isn't there something you're forgetting?" She stopped the drawing and pondered for a minute. She then hit her palm with the bottom of her fist, looking like she figured it out. At that moment, eyes grew from her head to her toe, and they all simultaneous looked at me. Holy shit… I almost peed myself. Slowly they all closed until two remained on her palm, which she put in front of my face. I guess this is eye contact.

Oh. That's… I am speechless.

The little girl went back to drawing the circle, and with a tiny wave, I was sent away.

An unfamiliar roof, a weird feeling bed, and a hazy memory of what happened to me before. Am I in Hell? "My room isn't that hellish." I sat up to see who it was. A witch who was stirring things in a cauldron with Mel's unconscious body in it. What the fuck? "Welcome back to the land of the living, maid."

Character profile: Marigold

Sacred power: Omnipotence

Favourite biscuits: Lemon biscuits.

Description: A young girl who had awakened the Omnipotence Sacred Power. Due to its nature, it is a Sacred Power that ignores the typical rules, as it can only be given to a denizen of Mendass at the behest of the Creator. Why did he give a little girl Omnipotence? He meant to give it to her dad, well-known for being incorruptible by extraordinary power, but accidentally gave it to her. Due to his mistake, he sent Croen to kill her so he could give it to the dad, who he was planning on giving it to, but Croen decided against it. Due to barely paying attention, the Creator thinks Croen is just taking his sweet time with the killing.

Chapter name: Deus Ex Machina At A Young Age from Kirby Star Allies (Yes, it's a Kirby song. Of course it's a Kirby song.)

pojlk

I'm bored, so on a whim, I've decided we'll do a Q&A every 25 chapters. Feel free to ask anything, from something simple like "Who's your favourite character?" to something dumb like "What are the chances the final Sacred Power revealed is something extremely anti-climatic like Fire Breath?" I do post chapters at night for me, so if I don't get to your question immediately, it means I'm asleep, and so will answer it in the morning.

Oh yeah, just pretend there's an April Fools joke.