Ferryman
Description: Failure is but a learning experience, and what better experience to learn from than Death. After all, Death is but another beginning, as Bell would soon learn.
Setting & Categories: Original Timeline/Alternate Timeline. Mature, Adventure, Angst, Romance.
Character & Pairings: Small harem. Bell Cranel x 2 Goddesses, a Renard, a Healer, an Elf, and a Berbera.
DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. This story is a fan-made depiction of a fan what-if route of the original work and the characters in it abide by the fictional laws in the setting.
Story Commissioned by a patr'on duo.
[Ch 1] Prologue: Mors Principium Est
Part 1
Bell Cranel was no artist, but his blood made for some fine paint.
His ichor; a cheerful red, steadily coated the grainy walls and path alike.
His body, torn and perforated, refused to break.
He refused the end.
Even when it stared back at him, through the eyes of a monstrous being, one that held no emotions except for the primal thought of destroying what was in front of it.
Bell Cranel grinned, through busted lips and chipped teeth, at the snarl released by the beast stamping its hooves.
His dreams laid past the defeat of the monster.
And the monsters prey laid past the defeat of Bell.
His hands held the instrument to complete his task.
Broken, sawed, hollow, but obstinate -just like it's user.
He did not seek death, nor did he seek glory; all he wished was to realize his dream.
Everything else would come in due time.
All he had to do was survive.
All he had to do was dodge.
That's all he needed to live.
But it was over.
The ground became the ceiling, and the ceiling became the ground—
No.
It was his body that was turned upside down.
Not even the entirety of it.
His legs, feet still in a steady stance remained glued to the dungeon floor.
—?
What remained of him, of his upper body hit the floor on its back, leaving him to stare at the ceiling coated with his blood.
It really made for a better color than the gloomy blue lights of the dungeon.
Something clattered next to his face; his dagger, the same as him- completely broken beyond repair.
It was all over before it even started.
Darkness peaked at the edges of his vision.
The need for breathing diminished.
His death, delayed, for not even the monster saw it fit to completely crush him.
He was left alone.
To struggle in vain.
"Someone…"
His fingers became the finest of brushes.
"…anyone…"
His voice, a tragic whisper, lost like many others.
"… Stop it…"
His vanity, his ego, his sense of self, disappeared.
"… plea—ghk."
Every dreamer needed be woken up.
But he—
Red irises shimmered and lost their light.
—He was laid to sleep.
Forever.
- 0 - Ferryman - 0 -
—?
"My little hope…"
That…
Long white hair, caring blue eyes…
A face he saw in the mirror, but gentler and more feminine.
"Live…"
She exhaled and closed her eyes.
And he…
He wept.
—?
"Live…"
This…
Black hair, twirled into a single long braid over her shoulder…
Violet eyes, swirly and profound, glimmered.
"Don't let her sacrifice be in vain…"
His fingers touched her face.
She wept.
—?
Light.
Bright.
White.
"Wake up, Bell."
Old.
Gentle.
Strong.
"Our time is running out."
He knew him.
He had lost him.
"Don't give your gramps more work so early in the morning, Bell."
He woke up.
—
No.
Not him.
A child -white hair, red eyes- woke up.
Grinning, smiling, not a care in the world.
It was him.
It was the old him.
It was his life.
It was his old life.
—
Like a river steadily flowing, his memories came and went.
Ones he remembered.
Ones he forgot.
Ones he treasured.
Ones he lost.
The stream guided him, floating him; whatever remained of him —His ego, a fragment of a light, swayed in the running waters without aim.
There was no light, nor was there darkness.
Only memories.
He felt at peace seeing them.
He felt at ease.
It was at the end that he learned of who he was.
It didn't matter since it was over.
But it had been fun while it lasted.
The coy smiles.
The flaunting displays of interest.
Words of promises and words of desires.
It truly had been fun.
—His soul flickered before being scooped out of the waters—
- 0 - Ferryman - 0 -
"—Huh!?"
Bell blinked several times, consciousness having returned in full, and his sight filled with…
"What the hell!?"
Water.
An ocean.
Endless, from horizon to horizon.
Without ripples or a sky above.
And he sat, on a—
"Interesting."
—a boat, rowed by a canine-masked man or woman wearing an earthly tunic, their back was to Bell, and he could see nothing beyond the curtain of dull-gray long hair cascading over their back.
"Wh-where am I!?" Bell immediately felt around his body in panic, "What happened!?"
The canine-masked being stopped rowing for a second, giving Bell a moment to admire the golden paddle in its heavily decorated and feminine hands.
"You died."
The being pointed with the golden paddle at the horizon, endless as it was.
"And you're in the afterlife."
"—!?"
Memories rushed at him, of his body separated at the waist by the horns of the minotaur in the dungeon —his stomach twisted, his throat protested—
"—BLRGH"
"Very interesting." The canine-masked being hummed, yet still refused to look at Bell who emptied his stomach at the edge of the boat.
Bell did not find it interesting at all; his body crumpled down, leaving his upper torso to lean precariously over the boat's edge and for his eyes to stare at the peaceful and transparent ocean.
And in those transparent waters, he saw—
"Wha?"
—Memories.
Countless memories.
The ocean was full of life —Every life, a colorful fish, which once his irises landed on, a memory played in his mind.
Of events, similar to his, but by others.
Of death, of sacrifices, of glorious promises in the afterlife…
—No.
It was not life that he was seeing.
The ocean was full of death.
"I wouldn't suggest staring at the abyss for so long."
Bell recoiled from the edge of the boat; his back hit the other edge, yet his weight and movements did nothing to the stability of the small vessel.
"If you would be so kind as to sit tight until our journey is over…"
"Over?" Bell glanced at the being at the helm of the small boat, "Where are we going?"
"To the end."
It did not respond, or he didn't understand.
"Who are you?"
"…"
It chose to not respond.
Bell sighed and laid fully on his back, tired and trying to understand everything that had happened. He became an adventurer in the morning, met some kind and interesting people in the evening, went into the dungeon at noon and…
...
"I died… huh…"
"You did."
Bell huffed at the nonchalant response from the being… responsible for him, "What happens now?"
"We sail until we reach the end."
"Right." Bell's occiput thunked against the boat, "And where's that?"
"Over there"
"And that's wh—" Bell sat up and noticed the environment around them had changed in a split second, incredibly so.
Where before, it had been water as far as the eye could see, now at either side of the boat was land: arid, dry, as if made of clay with crumbling walls as tall as wherever the 'sky' of this dimension floated above them.
Bell crawled to the edge of the boat again, seeing that they were still on water except it was a stream –downstream seeing as the sudden current made their boat speed up.
"Um, aren't we going a bit too fast!?"
"You were starting to get on my nerves."
Bell finally looked at the masked being at the helm, one whose arms were rowing at inconceivable speeds and making Bell fear for his safety —or whatever remained of it. He was already dead, but he did not want to find out if there was a worse fate than it!
"I suggest you hold on tight, mortal."
Bell did.
"I would suggest you slow down!"
The ferryman didn't, instead it laughed coyly.
"And miss the fun part?" It pointed the golden paddle ahead, "I don't think so."
Turns.
Twists.
Spirals.
Mountains.
Valleys.
The canal of running water connected them all, passed through all, in loops de loops that made Bell's face turn green just from counting the amount.
"Wooohoooo!"
"NooooOOO!"
- 0 - Ferryman - 0 -
"BLRGHHH—"
"It was not that bad."
"—GRLHBB!"
"Come on, you wished to see where our journey ended, did you not?"
Bell weakly raised one arm from his kneeling position, one finger up and making the motions of 'one moment please' before emptying whatever remained inside his already empty stomach.
The masked-being exhaled loudly, obviously displeased that Bell was making them wait. So, it grabbed Bell's hand and without giving the still-dizzy boy any chance to recuperate, pulled him up to his feet.
Bell immediately wobbled, still green and pale in the face, but he was caught in the arms of the masked-being who pulled Bell into their—
"There, better?"
—Her* bosom.
"W-wha?" His previous ailment disappeared as if it never existed in the first place, giving Bell a chance to fully grasp what was happening again, and try to understand who was holding him.
"I'll take that as a yes, now." The canine-masked woman patted his crown twice before turning Bell around and started dragging him along the arid sand, "Move along."
The environment changed again before Bell even had a moment to get his bearings, one moment they had disembarked the boat, he puked his guts out, and the next moment they're traversing through a sandstorm that appeared out of nowhere and left nothing beyond arm's length visible.
Were it not for the strong grip of the masked woman, Bell was certain that the sandstorm's winds would've sent him flying somewhere far away already.
"Where are we!?" Bell screamed; his voice almost lost in the tempestuous ambient.
"In the afterlife!"
Bell really, really, really wanted to smack someone after the masked woman responded.
If it could be her, then all the better.
She suddenly stopped, "Stop."
—He didn't, couldn't.
She was dragging him, so he had never recovered his balance.
He stumbled and fell forward.
As if passing through an invisible barrier, his upper body was no longer buffeted by the sandstorm, instead Bell barely had a second to admire the giant temple with several gold decorations before his face impacted against the solid brick floor.
And lost conscience, again.
- 0 - Ferryman - 0 -
Bell laid on something warm and soft, it smelled heavenly too; A soft breeze caressed his cheeks every so often, accompanied by the clinking of accessories, heavy ones or made of metal rather than cloth. A light hum echoed a bit farther away, a tune; sad and tragic…
Yet soothing.
One stray thought of never wishing to wake up from his current comfort enveloped Bell, restraining his mind from giving orders to his body despite wishing to open his eyes and find the reason for his eerie calmness.
Then his fringe was caressed, so gently that it reminded him of—
"…my little hope…"
—Crimson irises snapped open, finding a muddy-colored palm covering his vision and being the source of the current flutters over his forehead and fringe.
"-ah?"
The palm jumped before receding, allowing Bell to gaze more and more of his surroundings, and find the reason behind his comfort.
"Interesting."
The first thing Bell noticed was a golden bikini bra barely keeping the owner's breast from piling down his face; A second blink was required for Bell to— Nope, the golden bikini and breasts were still blocking his vision of everything. It took his mind processing his body's position to understand that he was laying on his back, with his head resting on someone's lap…
"How are you feeling?"
Besides comfortable, and slightly preoccupied that he was being cared for in such a way, "Very confused."
"Hehe, very interesting response." The breasts bounced with her laugh and in the name of all that was holy, how did they not— never mind, she was talking again. "Can you stand?"
He could, but they— She was in the way.
He did, anyways.
"…soft…"
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Bell glanced around after having fully sat up and saw that they were… in a temple? "Where are we?"
"In the afterlife."
Bell's eyelid twitched, "I… see."
He didn't, it looked more like they were in an incredibly old temple, and a rather ominous one too, for the light beyond the pillars and statues was an eerie gray, as if the world had lost its luster; were it not for the flames lit at the hands of every giant statue around them, even the temple would've been devoured by such dreariness.
The statues themselves were nothing giddy to look at, either. Massive block of stones, carved in the shapes of humanoid men and women except their heads were replaced by those of animals, with quite a few having precious stones embedded as their eyes.
"If…" Bell looked away from the statues, "If this is the afterlife—"
Green irises.
Speckled in so many shades, surrounded by a dark circle.
Wide, filled with life.
Thin pupils, speckled in so many shades of gold.
Long hair, gray and slightly dull, so contrasting to her eyes and emotions.
"Yes?"
Bell forgot entirely what his question was, instead he stared, more.
A heart-shaped face.
Skin of an umber tone.
Delicate brushes of makeup.
"If this is the afterlife?"
A veil hid their nose and mouth, but he still saw beneath.
A curious smile, thin lips tilted upwards.
A petite nose, barely lifting the veil.
"Mortal?"
An arm, decorated with gold armlets and intricate golden bangles, rose until her feminine fingers pressed against Bell's chest, at the very center, on his very heart.
"What were you going to say?"
He forgot.
The presence of someone so divine made him forget.
The body of someone so divine made him forget.
The divine being wasn't bare, but his mortal eyes still saw much of her umber skin.
A sleeveless black tunic, heavily cut for skin exposure and tattered at the cuffs of the shoulders, with the torso entirely on display, the graceful curves of the midriffs on show, and slit at the hips for the smooth thighs displaying her muscles being smothered by her golden accessories.
Her thighs shifted, crossing over one another, her accessories clanking together —There was nothing under, it was but a second, but he saw nothing, before it was her toe with black nails that prodded Bell in the stomach and sent him toppling backwards.
"Ah." Bell let out after his butt hit the ground and the spell cast by the divine was broken, "Who are you?"
She seemed amused, her lively irises sparkling with joy at the prospect of something, "You should know by now."
"Death?"
She laughed, a quiet giggle, filled with grace and happiness, "Close but not quite."
Then she stood up; a simple jump from her stone seat but one that made her tunics flutter and confirm what Bell hadn't seen earlier.
"You may call me Anput, for now." 'Anput' offered her hand again.
Bell stared at it, recognizing the same accessories that the being rowing the boat possessed, "You're the ferryman, err, ferrywoman?"
She laughed, another quiet, graceful giggle, "I am, now… Stand up, mortal; it is your turn to answer my questions."
Bell took the proffered hand which lifted him up quite easily and he noticed, Anput was… smaller than him, a head smaller in fact, which seemed to not bother her at all despite having to look up at him.
'Anput' battered her long eyelashes, "What do you remember?"
What did he remember?
It was all there.
At the back of his head.
His birth, his early days, his short but interesting adventure of one day, and… his death.
"Everything."
'Anput' green irises sparkled again, dancing with so much joy and life that Bell forgot entirely that they were in the afterlife.
"Very interesting." 'Anput' took hold of his wrist, a strong grip that defied her femininity, before she was dragging him deeper into the temple. They walked, past the silent statues, past the eerie scribbled walls, past more flames and torches.
They stopped in a room, lit by a single candle set on the floor and at the very center of the room, and a broken throne right behind it.
'Anput' dragged him to the candle and with a simple touch on his shoulders, his legs lost strength and he crumpled down; his knees hit the ground, his hands barely stopping his torso from collapsing on top of the lit candle that…
It had no warmth.
From the edges of his vision, he saw 'Anput' bare feet circle around him until she was ahead; his head rose, she sat on the throne with her legs crossed.
Again, Bell was left speechless by the sight of her irises glimmering so lively in the darkness of the room, then he was robbed of the ability to speak, as a certain canine-mask formed from the darkness and hid 'Anput's' face from view.
"Do you know where you are?"
Oh, he knew.
He knew very well.
Bell smirked, "In the afterlife."
'Anput' had made that quite clear, after all.
"Hehe," Her laugh, distorted, still retained its grace, "Then do you know what will happen to you now?"
He didn't know.
But it didn't matter.
It was over.
His life was over.
"I don't," Bell forced his body to move so he no longer knelt over the candle's flame, instead he sat as comfortable as he could without the ability to feel his legs. "I can only guess what happens."
'Anput' shifted again, her chest inching forward in interest, "And that is?"
That is…
"That is…"
…
The candle's light flickered and blurred—
—No, it was his sight that blurred.
"That is?"
…
"I'll be put to sleep, forever."
…
"Could you tell me one thing, Anput…"
…
"Did… did the Renard back there… did she make it?"
"Why would that matter?"
…
Right.
It no longer mattered.
Bell exhaled and looked down at the flickering, blurry, flame.
"Her companions found her, protected her, and took care of your remains."
—!
Bell immediately glanced up.
Anput was taking off her mask, an old tome in her hand that her green irises focused on, "In fact, it was your presence that set her death back ninety years from that point in time."
—!
Anput smiled, a lonely, tragic, yet soothing smile, "In fact, it is because of this small act of yours and your dreams… that your soul was not immediately devoured by the abyss back there."
—?
Anput snapped the old tome shut, it disappeared in a black puff of haze, "However, your soul still found its way to me."
A balance made of gold appeared from thin air in front of the candles.
Anput stood up before kneeling, the glow of the candles giving her an otherworldly light in Bell's eyes.
"As interesting as you are, you too are… but a soul, and this… is the weight of everything that you've done."
Bell felt something disappear from his chest.
Something incredibly important.
Something that left him hollow.
Something that set on one side of the scale.
A tiny, fragmented, speck of white light.
"And thi—Huh?"
The balance did not move.
Despite there being nothing on the other scale.
Despite the tiny fragment obviously having weight.
The balance did not tilt at all.
"Huh?"
Curious, Anput put her finger on the other side of the scale.
It still did not move.
Curious, Anput put a feather —The feather on the other side of the scale.
It did not move.
"It's… it's not supposed to do that."
Anxious, Anput put a golden light on the other side of the scale, an otherworldly, frightfully, glowing light.
"Why… isn't it moving?"
"It…"
Anxious, Anput returned the fragmented speck of white light to its owner.
The balance moved, tilting in the golden light's favor.
"Um," Anput scratched her lovely umber cheek; she giggled so lively and smiled so gratefully again, "You wouldn't happen to be interested in living for a bit longer, would you?"
- 0 - Prologue / Ch 1 End - 0 -
Author's Note: Same, but different, still the same, but different~
- Jas / Shiiva