Unwritten Destiny [Yuri/Sapphic, Isekai, LitRPG]

They say that the best laid plans.. blah, blah, blah. As I stared down at my dead body, I wondered if death had made me pretentious. And then I collapsed into a giggling fit, because I was definitely always this pretentious. Oh, hey! The pain was gone. That's a nice change. I knelt down beside my body for a closer look.

"You are dead. It happened when you pushed yourself up to go outside. The mind was willing, but the body reached its limit. Although.. it shouldn't have been possible. Mortals gifted with astral projection come along every so often, but not like that. Not what you did. Certainly not after they were already dead. Most intriguing."

My blood ran cold as the familiar voice dragged me back to that place. I didn't remember the words they had all spoken, but I remembered the sound of their voices. And their overwhelming presence.

Wait. I don't have blood anymore if I'm a ghost. Well then, it was like someone walked over my grave. Which, as an expression, never made any fucking sense to me. I'm gonna say that it came from Charles Dickens or something like that. But, I digress.

I turned to Zikteiel, floating serenely in the corner of the room. "Do I have blood?"

The dark cloak fluttered in a befuddled way. "N-no? It's all on the ground there." Their empty sleeves gestured to the crimson pool surrounding my body.

"Ahh, yes. That makes sense. Because I'm a ghost." As much as anything makes sense in this world. We heard shouting, running footsteps out in the hallway, and the smashing-in of doors.

They inclined the hood of their cloak toward me as the shoulders rose and fell. "Not a ghost. A mortal soul. When you're ready, the next life awaits."

"When I'm ready?" I glanced back to the door as footsteps drew closer.

Zikteiel spread their sleeves. "Every soul moves on in its own time. Some more. Others less. However.." Their hood turned to the door, following my gaze. "Your loved ones will arrive soon. You may not wish to see their pain."

Paz. My heart clenched and tears welled in my eyes. "They will suffer either way. The least I can do is be here, in spirit if nothing more." The sleeves of Zikteiel's robe folded together as they waited quietly with me.

Pounding footsteps screeched to a halt outside the door and Moira peeked her head inside. "Oh, holy fuck! PAZ!! Get over here!"

More thundering steps followed as Paz dashed into the room. "NO! No. No. No." She ran right through me and hurled herself down beside my body, tears already pouring from her eyes. "Alexis, baby. My love, please!" She checked for breath and pulse, her actions ever more erratic as she descended into panic.

Sterling skidded into the doorway and gasped. Moira pulled her into a hug against her chest. "Is she?" Moira shook her head and pulled her girlfriend even closer. "I don't understand. She was just outside with us."

Paz collapsed on top of my body as heavy keening sobs shook her. I knelt down beside my love and tried to hug her, but I just passed right through her like the shadow I was. I wrapped my arms around myself and cried my eyes out.

Moira disentangled from her girlfriend, trudged over, and knelt beside my love. "Paz. Paz, we need to get out of here. There's probably more soldiers coming."

"I'M NOT LEAVING HER!" Paz snarled at Moira and collapsed back over my body.

"You and her?" I felt Zikteiel's presence move up behind me.

"I.. I-" My nose was running and I angrily swiped at the tears. I slowly stood up and nodded. "Y-yeah. We're in love. Were, I guess. I hope she finds someone else. Someone better." My eyes lingered on Paz for several more long moments. "I love you." I ripped myself away, rasping sobs tearing at my throat as I dragged myself over to the gods of Death Below.

"This, perhaps, explains much." The floating cloak held an empty sleeve up to their hood as they pondered.

Moira shook Paz's shoulder. "If we can't leave her, then we have to take her with us!"

Paz nodded numbly and wiped at the tears running down her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. "Y-yeah." She coughed and took a ragged unsteady breath. "Yeah." She sounded a little calmer, but no less fragile as she climbed to her feet. "I'll.. uh, I'll use my last Shape. You can lash her to me." She ever so delicately pulled the Magic Bag of Stuff out from under my body, crimson blood running off it in rivulets.

Moira caught the bag as Paz doubled over, heaving her dinner all over the floor and shaking with fresh sobs. Sterling moved over and rubbed comforting circles on my ginger's back as Moira dug through the contents of the bag.

The younger ginger pulled out my rope and gazed down at the mess on the floor, lost in thought. "She saved us, you know. The way she moved through those soldiers made the rest of them scatter. We would have been far too out numbered and overwhelmed without her. It was... I've never seen anything like it."

"Nor I." Sterling added as she and Moira started wrapping and knotting the rope around my body.

Without another word, Paz resumed her panther form. The young girls draped my body over her back and secured it with the rope.

"I'll lead the way, you protect them." Moira hugged her girlfriend who nodded and fussed with the position of my body.

The three of them forlornly marched out of the room, leaving me alone with the gods of Death Below.

I sniffed and wiped away my tears again. "I'm just going to follow them. They'll bring me back. I know she will."

"You can not follow. This is where you died. You can not leave this room."

I crossed my arms and pouted. "Then I'll just wait here."

"Again.. most unwise. There are creatures which feed upon lost souls. You are momentarily protected because we are here with you, but we can not remain."

"Oh. Alright then. I guess I have to go wait in the afterlife."

Be safe, my love. Until we are reunited.

"Then we depart." A sleeve reached out and their massive black scythe shimmered into reality. They slashed the air, sundering a rift in space and time. On the other side, I could see the vast beautiful fields of Elysium.

The gods of Death Below took my hand and we stepped into the rift that would lead me to my next life. And maybe a little rest, at last.

I squealed as everything pressed down on me from every direction. I turned sideways and tried to squeeze into the rift. But I didn't fit. Zikteiel turned back to me and yanked.

"Fucking ow! Are you trying to pull my arm out of the socket?" I huffed and glared at them.

Their hood cocked to one side. "Hm." A short sharp breath of consternation. "You're too heavy to fit."

Excuse the fuck out of me?!?