Those Who Cannot Die, Levi Bible [shoe dog free ebook .TXT] 📗

would become a lot easier. On a lower note, it wasn't the best that he tracked around the town covered in blood last night.

Isaac ran up the wall, grabbing a slightly worn away foothold in the worn-away stone, and using it to catapult him even higher up. He grabbed the next slight indent in the wall, keeping balance and strength, as well as holding his weight toward the strength. He pulled upwards, carefully choosing each of his footholds, and eventually ascending to the top of the building. Climbing up, Isaac used his foot, along with his shin, to gain and keep balance along the edge of the roof as he finished his ascent.

Now at the top of the building, Isaac looked in the Southward direction. He began walking along the roof, leaping the gap between buildings, staring at the building that remained prominent. The cathedral in the distance broke the horizon. He leaped down to the street, in an alley, walking out of the alley.

Isaac looked around at the people who populated the street; they went on with their normal life. He had to choose whom he would ask about Orpheus carefully. This was, after all, pretty close to where he had defeated the Silverblood. He walked around the street, remaining as inconspicuous as possible, listening for any hint of Orpheus. All he heard, however, were discussions about the oncoming drought, people arguing whether or not they were going to go to the cathedral today.

Isaac decided to draw the conversation he was waiting for out into the open. "Hey," he asked someone, pretending to be a scholar, "have you heard anything about that incident last night?"

Two people took notice. "Yeah, we saw the whole thing." The one on the right said, the one on the left punching him.

"Idiot! How do you know we can trust him?" he hissed.

"Right…sorry." The man said, holding his arm.

"I just need to know what direction one of them went." Isaac said, choosing his words carefully, remembering that he was pretending not to know much about what happened, much less a clear description of one of the Immortals.

"Well, one of them disappeared that way," the man on the left said, "the other went towards the Basilica de Morte."

"Church of Death?" Isaac asked, looking confused.

"A scholar surely would know…you are a scholar, correct?"

"Er…" Isaac muttered, now looking for an excuse to get out.

"Merda! I told you not to trust him!" the man on the left said, backing up. "Now the guardswill surely kill us!" he held his hands above his face in fear.

"I am no guard." Isaac said, realizing their reason for secrecy. "I am merely trying to figure out what happened last night." He began walking away, towards that abnormally large cathedral in the distance. "Church of Death…" he muttered, after determining that he was far from the two. "If that is where Orpheus went…if Death is what I think it means…" his head snapped up. "No! That means…" He ran into an alley.

"If he went to the Church of Death, then he couldn't be…" He ran up one wall for a few steps, gaining a few feet from the ground, then kicking off of the wall, landing on the wall parallel to it, and running a few feet up it. He grabbed an indent, pulling himself up and leaping to the parallel wall once more, grabbing a windowsill, pulling himself up. He looked inside, no one. Good. He leaped to the wall behind him once more, still climbing upwards, he ascended the rest of the way in a similar manner.

Isaac reached the rooftop, looking out to the cathedral. "Orpheus…you had better not…" he muttered, charging at full speed toward the cathedral, leaping across a gap between buildings. The air flew through his hair as the scenery blurred quickly from his foresight to peripheral and gone. He leaped one more building, charging Astral Power into his movements, easily leaping over the next building. Isaac missed his landing, falling into a somersault, continuing despite whatever might have stopped him. The cathedral was seemed bigger than what distance had portrayed it with.

Isaac leapt onto a gargoyle, looking into the cathedral. He panted, the run he had just performed was slightly tiring. He looked through the stained-glass window, seeing an empty hall. "Did that…" Isaac muttered, still out of breath, "…did that man lie…to me…" realization overtook him. He looked at the statue of Death inside. "I…I could've sworn…" he sat down on the gargoyle, leaning against the stained glass, "…Death…the Grim Reaper…he isn't worshipped, so it had to be…" He looked out before him, seeing the rest of Rimini. "Besides, why is there a statue of him in there?" he slapped his face. Why am I talking to myself?

"Because you have no one else. You are alone on this Earth." A cool, collected voice said behind him. Isaac sat up, looking at the stained glass.

"Who…?"

"You know me by many names. Death, Kronos, Grim Reaper," he said, calmly, "The Angel of Death, Silverblooded Demise, you name it." Isaac looked at the stained glass, something pulled him. He was jerked through the stained glass, falling for a few seconds before slamming into the ground. "But no matter what you call me…" Isaac looked up, seeing a man in a black cloak floating above the ground, wielding an impossibly large scythe that had to be powered by Astral Energy, "…I am where you stop, Phocas."

"…" Isaac said nothing, his eyes now narrowed. He stood. He clearly hadn't been called that in a long time. "…Phocas is long dead."

"Is he? I see him right before me." Death said, landing with great agility before Isaac.

"Phocas died in Rome. All that is left is a dying rose." Isaac drew his dagger, looking at his black cloaked foe before him. "All that is left is Isaac."

"Very well, 'Isaac'." Death said, amused. "But to the High King Ambrose, Phocas is still very much alive." He lifted the scythe, and readied for battle. "We can avoid this, 'Isaac'." he warned keeping the scythe in a neutral position. "Ambrose will still take you back. Come with me, I will take you to Elysium, the Final Colony."

"Elysium…huh…" Isaac channeled his Astral Energy into his dagger, projecting a two-sided blade. "…I'll have to say no, Death."

"Very well. Then your soul shall make a nice addition to my collection." Death said, swinging the scythe, readying to attack.

Isaac stood there, still looking at the floor. Memories of who he had been flooded his mind. Phocas, the great Roman Soldier. Death charged, Isaac ducked under the attack, rolling to his side. He returned to his feet, Death's black cloak still swaying with the action of swinging the scythe that was bigger than him.

"Interesting. You aren't even trying." Death noted, looking at Isaac. "I won't attack unless you do."

Isaac scoffed, looking at Death. "Fine." He charged, slashing at Death, who avoided the airborne assault easily, slamming him in the gut, winding him. Isaac slammed into the ground, looking at the stained glass shards. A barely visible reflection of Death could be seen. Something in him clicked. He remembered Rose.

"I…can't die. Not today." Isaac said, standing up. "Death…you will fall, just as Chaos had." He pointed the Astral Blade at Death. "Talk is over." Death nodded, twirling his scythe overhead, then stopping the swing, the staff was on his back, the wood of the staff going along his spine, and alongside his arm, then on until the blade of the scythe was visible.

They charged at one another, Isaac slashed forward while Death slashed downward. Isaac's attack connected, but so did Death's. He had been caught on Death's scythe. Death swung Isaac in a circle for a few minutes, letting Isaac become dazed and confused, then slammed him to the ground. He stepped on Isaac's back, leaning his weight onto him. "Phocas could have taken it. What does that say about Isaac?" He placed the blade of the scythe next to Isaac's temple. "So? Are you going to give up and come to Elysium, or are you going to resist and force me to seal you where you lay?"

Isaac placed a hand on the ground, pushing up. He gritted his teeth, pushing against Death's weight. He glanced at Death, looking at the hood which concealed his face. Red eyes could be seen.

"Very well, Isaac." Death said, grabbing Isaac by the throat, lifting him into the air. "I shall seal you now." They were already in the center of the room, midair. Isaac could barely breathe, Death had been crushing him from within. There was one way out, he knew it. Isaac kicked him in the ribs, using his height to push his neck out of Death's reach. The image of Rose kept him going. Isaac grabbed Death's wrist, twisting his entire body using Death's chest, forcing Death to let go.

Isaac fell, landing on his back. He quickly rolled to his side, starting to sprint towards the statue of Death after accelerating from his shins to his feet. Death flew at him, scythe outstretched. He somersaulted, avoiding his attack, grabbing the butt of the scythe, and taking momentum from the attack to leap onto the statue. Using the statue's stone scythe, he flung himself around the stone figure of Death, avoiding another attack. He quickly began climbing up the statue, leaping to the stained glass window. Death attacked him from above, however, sending him plummeting downward. Isaac grabbed the stone blade of Death's statue's scythe, using it to pivot around to the front of Death's statue. He climbed to the top of the statue, making a second attempt to escape.

Death swung downward, sending Isaac into the wall, rather than through the window. For whatever reason, the Grim Reaper was determined to keep Isaac in the cathedral. Death grabbed Isaac by the back of the head, tossing him back to the center of the cathedral, landing on the brilliant, red carpet, shards of stained glass embedded themselves in Isaac's chest. Blood began to pour from him. He stood, looking at the shining crimson. Blood.

Death charged at him again. Blood. His scythe coming down. Blood. That blade drawing even more from Isaac's body. Blood. Isaac flew into the wall, Death swinging the scythe. That was it. Blood. Isaac imagined the blood of Rose, he forced the image of Cyrus onto Death. He wasn't fighting Death. He was fighting Cyrus. The man who drew his blood and slashed at his emotions. Blood, that was never his, and was never meant to be spilled many times over.

Isaac flew at Death bare-handed, socking the being in the face, who, in return, swung his scythe. Isaac ducked, shoving his hand forward again, into his opponent's bony chest this time. Blood; that was all he needed. He channeled his Astral Energy. Avoiding a few more attacks from Death, Isaac pelted him with more blows from his fists, which began drawing his brilliant, crimson, blood. The white of his knuckles were hidden by his blood. He avoided more attacks from Death and began piston-punching him, harder each time. A brilliant silver began leaking from the dark man-like creature. He leaped backwards, out of Isaac's range.

"Fool." Death muttered, holding the scythe before him, "Now you die." The scythe began charging with Astral Energy, the power making the Earth slightly tremble. Isaac stared at Death's face. No. This wasn't Death. This was Phocas. This was Orpheus. This was Cyrus. This was Isaac. He charged at Death, his mind fading away due to blood loss, punching Death, again and again. Death avoided