The One Who Would be King: Edited Repost

A/N: Let me know what you think

Prologue

Death Note: How to Use…

1. The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

2. This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.

3. If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.

4. If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.

5. After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

It happened quite suddenly. The loss of his humanity. He had been standing in the forbidden forest. The wind was bitingly cold, whipping at his cheeks.

The air was crisp, the sky overcast, and the scent of winter was in the air. He shuffled and stomped his feet in an attempt to get warm.

Warming charms rendered useless in the incoming chill. The fragments of Eldar wood in his hand. Pieces that still pulsed with power, even though they had been broken for years.

Green eyes were angry as he stood rigid in sentry above a cracked stone that lay innocently at his feet.

Death's cloak draped over his arms that hugged his middle in an attempt to stay warm. He glared harshly at the stone as if it were the reason that all that had gone wrong in his life. Eleven years had passed since the final battle of Hogwarts.

Eleven years that the stone lay forgotten in the dark forest, eleven years that the pieces of the Eldar wand lay scattered at the bottom of the black lake. Eleven years and not an age line graced Harry Potter's face.

He had been naïve. Believing that he would avoid the so-called legendary title of "The Master of Death" if he discarded the items. Yet. He blew out a breath. He didn't feel any different.

His power remained the same.

He still had crappy eyesight. He still flailed like a moron when he lost them. Yet. Rubbing his face with his hands, he looked up into the fading light and the tumbling clouds in the sky.

People were starting to notice. With the amount of fame, he endured due to his defeat of Voldemort it was understandable that they would.

It was impossible to hide. For a while, people believed that it was because of how powerful of a wizard he was…Yet…there were only so many times that excuse would work.

His friends were worried, understandably. And Ginny…well it was lucky they had decided that they just didn't work years ago after the battle.

They were just too changed and she found refuge in Dean Thomas' arms after that. It was at that moment that it happened. For though he had essentially stopped aging before, he could still call himself human.

Diagnostic charms would still read him as a wizard, human, man. But as he finally grew tired of the cold and reach toward the bauble that rested at his feet, his humanity fell away like a second skin.

His hair extended, tumbling down his shoulders. His skin paling, losing all pigmentation until it glowed like porcelain, and the veins beneath became visible. When his fingertips brushed up against the crack in the Hallow, it gave a pulse that resonated with the two in his arms.

The power sprung forth from the artifact and latched on to his magic, shattering into a shadowy wisp that sunk into Harry's skin. The two other Hallows following shortly after.

That is when the pain began. It burned like magma through his veins. The power churning, and bubbling through his blood.

Bones shattered and grew again. Nails fell away and regrew to black claws. And he screamed and screamed. Shadowy wisps bursting from his back to shower the forest in blue-black feathers.

This was the pivotal point. Where Harry Potter lost his humanity and became something other. Something else. Something wizard-kind had never seen before. It is said that once one collected and mastered the three Hallows that one became the master of death.

However, it was at that moment, though he and the world didn't know it yet, that by collecting the Hallows and mastering them no matter how unwillingly, Harry Potter became not the master of death but the One-Who-Would-Be-King instead…

Chapter 1

He woke to the pungent scent of death. Thick and clogging in his lungs every breath he took as he willed his eyes to open.

He lifted his arm. Each movement was a struggle as if weighted down by an invisible force. A stale wind brushed his cheeks as he peeled open his eyelids.

Vibrant green observed the contours of an elegant long-fingered hand that couldn't be his.

Obsidian nails curved at the edges of his fingertips and blue veins glowed beneath pale glowing skin. His mind was sluggish. He felt stuffed with cotton as he closed his hand into a fist and opened it repeatedly to prove that this was not his hand.

Yet, it followed the direction of his mind. Dropping his arm to his side he released a choked breath as grey dust burst into the air at his arms impact. Everything ached.

He felt like he had gone boxing with a troll and lost horribly. Absently, Harry watched tumbling dark clouds drift in a dull sky. The thought that he was not where he was before floated in his head before dissipating.

Harry didn't know how long he lay there, but eventually, his thoughts and mind cleared enough that he was able to think again. Slowly, he lifted himself into a seated position.

His hair tumbling down his shoulders. The effort was great and he had to pause. His breath coming in huge gasps, his eyelids fluttering to blink away the black spots trying to drag him into unconsciousness.

When his sight cleared, he finally got a good look at where he ended up. Around him was a dead world. Like a washed-out black and white painting.

A desert with sand in multitudes of grey, huge towering spires of white structures of bone, and shriveled trees with rotting fruit.

And in the distance, floating above the desert and bone, a great castle loomed.

Upside down it floated like stalactites in a cave, the towers and turrets hung poised to rain down upon the land.

A suspended death sentence. It was a long moment before Harry could drag his eyes away from the impossibility before him to attempt to stand. Only then noticing that he was in a nest of raven-colored feathers that shimmered a deep blue, the only color to be found in this lifeless land.

Standing on shaky legs, Harry stretched his arms out to keep his balance as he straightened. His hair drifting lazily upon his back.

His shirt falling in tatters around him leaving his chest bare. The pants that once fit him to his feet now came to his knees.

The material is close to bursting. Harry stared for a moment in disbelief as he searched around him for his wand. He sighed in defeat as his search came up with nothing.

Shaking his head in annoyance as he pushed his unruly hair behind his ears that he belatedly realized were pointed, Harry began to trek toward the castle in the distance.

For where there is a building normally means there are people. Or some form of life, he was hoping, in this alien world. Perhaps he would find a way to return to his own.

He started at a slow pace but began to walk faster as his strength returned to his limbs. It wasn't long until he was walking in fluid long strides through the unforgiving sand that seemed to want to drag him under.

There were times in his walk where he thought that he heard voices but when he stopped to listen the sounds drifted away as if they never had been. Often, he would pass a dead tree and a basin of water in a hollowed-out trunk would shimmer next to the tree.

Images floating across the surface, changing with every ripple.

It was in those moments when a face appeared on the surface that a strange red veil would overlap his vision and names and numbers would float into existence. He would blink and just like that the strange veil was gone.

The wind caressed his skin, slowly pushing him forward toward the castle in the distance. It was strange how he never crossed paths with anything. He must have been walking for hours, days even. He couldn't tell.

There was no change in light. It was as if the world was in perpetual twilight. There was no sun and no moon. Just endless grey and that stench of death.

It seemed as if he would never reach the castle until one moment it floated in the distance, he took a step, and suddenly it was floating above him.

Harry blinked as he looked up. His mouth hanging open in surprise. He ran his fingers through his hair as he spun around looking for anyone around him. There was no one. Looking up again at the castle he wondered how he would even get up there. Harry nearly smacked himself as a thought drifted through his head.

Are you wizard Harry or are you a wizard? Idiot. Magic, duh.

Closing his eyes he breathed in and then spun on his heel. Soundlessly he appeared on the castle balcony. Opening his eyes, he gasped in surprise as he quickly grabbed hold of the railing expecting to fall.

What the?

Only to slowly release it as he realized that gravity decided to take a vacation and he wasn't falling to his death. Laughter rang out behind him as he gaped in disbelief at the land that for all intents was hanging above him.

He spun around as the laughter reached his ears. A creature made of bone and rotting flesh, dripping with jewels slowly stepped onto the balcony. A haunting grin stretched upon its face. In its skeletal hands, a woven crown of sparkling crystal and crimson rubies rested.

Harry stood frozen. Ice shot down his spine in fear at the creature. His stomach dropped as one moment the creature was by the archway into the castle and the next it was towering before him. The grin of sharp yellowing teeth grew as Harry's breath left him as his back hit the railing behind him.

Harry's eyes remained locked on the creature's slit yellow ones. A weight on his head caused Harry's eyes to shoot up and find the crown resting upon his brow. His hands shoot up to grasp it but the creature grabbed his hands.

"Do not." The creature rasped. Harry once more locked eyes with the creature.

"Wha…" Harry questioned eloquently. The creature chuckled.

"Long, have we waited for your return. Ages past and our realm has fallen to decay, yet still, we waited. Polishing your crown, our prized possession. As our world rotted, our bodies contorted and the flesh fell from our bones, many lost hope of your return. Many lost memory of you. But I did not. I remembered and I waited." The creature hummed reverently as it ran its rotted fingers across Harry's cheeks.

A shiver of disgust went down Harry's spine as confusion swelled inside him.

"What are you talking about mate? My return? I have never been here before." The creature laughed again. A hideous sound scraped across his brain and rattled his bones.

"Oh my liege, even you have forgotten. Do not fret, in time your memories will return to you. But for now, turn around and gaze upon your subjects."

The creature implored as he turned Harry to face out to the decaying world. Its hand curving gently around his neck to cause Harry to look up. Harry shuddered as where before the land was empty, now the rolling planes of the desert, rotting trees and bone was peppered in hundreds of grotesque skeletal creatures.

Harry's mind struggled to comprehend what he was seeing and dread slowly filled his heart. Ice settled into his bones as his eyes flickered over the land of monsters.

"These are your people your majesty. Welcome back to the Shinigami world my King."

Chapter 2

"I don't understand. Why did you bring me here?" Harry said exasperated on an explosive breath. They were standing in a large arched room.

Golden veins pulsed in pale marble granite walls and grey stone floors. In the center of the room, an elder tree grew from the stone into a four-foot-tall altar. Branches woven in thick ropes with four-inch gaps between grew upward and arched across each other to form the shape of a coffin.

Vines of white leaves sprouted through the gaps and pooled around the altar floor. In the structure lay a body in a bed of dark red petals.

A body that suspiciously resembled Harry. It lay still, enrobed in a black silk garment with silver threading and jewels befitting a king. Black hair dripping in silver beads formed a halo around the body's head.

Long raven lashes rested next to high cheekbones. The body was lithe and fae-like. Inhuman and Harry feared to step closer. The well-toned chest did not breathe.

"This is your original body, your majesty. The one you abandoned when you went into the reincarnation cycle." Harry stiffened as the skeletal creature came to stand next to him. The being's voice was fond and held a note of reverence that made Harry's skin crawl.

"This body, this relic of your past holds with it, your memories and the key to your power. You are powerful now. But what you have is only a drop in the vast ocean that is your very being."

The creature whom Harry still didn't know the name of grabbed his hand in an inescapable grip and began to drag him forward. Even though Harry supposedly was this all-powerful being, he could not get the monster to release him.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!" Harry hissed. Harry tried to find purchase with his feet to hold himself in place but it was for naught.

"It is my duty as your servant to remind you of who you are. This was the task which you charged me with eons ago. You must merge with your former self. You will understand in a moment, my king." The creature rasped. His jewels jingled as he walked. His bones grinding together.

"If I am your king, then I command you to release me this instance!" Harry shouted as he was drawn ever closer.

The creature turned its head toward him and grinned a sharp tooth smile.

"As you wish, your majesty." Harry's heart skipped as suddenly, the monster tugged his arm and threw him bodily toward the altar. Harry threw out his arms to catch himself as he hit the woven branches.

Air escaped his lungs as he collided with the wood. His arm sliding through the gap to touch the chest of the still corpse. He stiffened in surprise as a jolt of energy shot through his fingertips at the contact. Dimly he could hear laughter behind him.

But all of Harry's focus centered on his hand and the body's chest. Sweat gathered at his brow as a pulse of power burst from the body like a heartbeat.

His body began to glow and then quite suddenly golden light erupted out of his body like the detonation of a bomb. Harry screamed as the creature laughed. Memories swirled in his head and he felt as if he were caught in a storm.

Darkness, the beginning. Then light and the creation of the planets. Heaven, Angels, and the Garden of Eden sped before him. He saw as the first human drew their first breath.

Angels fall and the creation of Hell.

The creation of Shinigami and how Eden became their home. He saw himself walking upon the Earth untouched by time as civilizations rose and fell around him. Hundreds of memories filled his mind and with it came an elation of truth.

He is the beginning, the middle, and the end.

He is everything and he is nothing. He is the destroyer of worlds and the one who breathes life. The balancer. The King of Eden. Of the in-between. Of Shinigami. With this truth, his mind was overcome in gold.

The eruption of golden light spread quickly through the castle and spilled out onto the land. The Shinigami that sat in circles gambling or the ones who watched dispassionately over the human world in the trunks of water or those that lay around bored only had a moment to stand in alarm before they were swept away in the explosion.

When finally the light faded away, the Shinigami stood staring at themselves and their brethren in shock. For where before their bodies had been misshapen grotesque rotting things and bone, now were ethereal winged forms of beauty and smooth flesh that shinned in golden light.

The once desolate land of grey desert and bone now stretched out in rolling hills of green and rich budding blooms of color. Trees of once rotten and shriveled apples now dripped with succulent fruit and vibrant leaves.

And throughout the land, the Shinigami began to laugh and cheer to the skies for they now remembered. The memories that had once been thought to be myth are now brought to the forefront of their minds. Their purpose that had been lost had finally been found. And they knew, at that moment, that their king had returned.

Chapter 3

The air was crisp and the scent was heavy in the air as Yagami Light stood waiting beneath a storefront.

Ryuuk hovered over his shoulder a constant reminder of all that he had to lose. Light clenched his fist, his body slanted to face away from the street camera where he knew L watched. The only tell that he would allow himself. The second Kira had put him in a precarious position.

Was he a fool, he wondered? For coming to this location himself in hopes of spotting the fake? Perhaps he was. But he believed that he could casually walk by and touch the note to signal the fake.

Their meeting was fated and it would be on his terms. He had allowed this idiot to be on his own for far too long. Light lifted his hand in greeting as his acquaintances that believed themselves his friends came around the corner. The woman waving in greeting.

The men casually walking with their hands in their pockets. Matsuda stood off to his side, shifting from foot to foot nervously. Idiot. The bumbling fool was not made for undercover work.

Ryuuk suddenly barked out a laugh. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. The sound was so grating. It irritated him that he could not ask the Shinigami what he was going on about. He eyed the being from his peripheral vision.

The death god was twisting obnoxiously in what appeared to be euphoric bliss. He didn't have any time to question the deity for his "friends" were upon him.

"Light! Who's this?" Yumi Mora questioned as she grabbed his arm. The girl was a constant annoyance. Always wanting to cling to him. Light ignored her and turned to Matsuda.

"Tarou-san. These are my college friends." Matsuda lifted a hand behind his head in an attempt to feign nervousness.

"He-Hello." He bowed. Turning to the others he introduced the undercover cop.

"Guys, this is my cousin Tarou-san. This is his first time in Tokyo so I am showing him around Aoyama and Roppongi. Also, he's looking for a girlfriend. Any volunteers?" As one the women dissolved into giggles.

"Light." Matsuda waved his hand awkwardly.

Good Job Light. No one will suspect me if I blend into a group of youngsters touring Aoyama. Ryuzaki suspects Light, but I don't since he is so helpful during the investigation. Thought Matsuda.

The group started walking.

Smugness wafted off of Light.

With this many people around, even if Ryuuk is spotted, the other Kira won't know whom he is following. The crowd can also block L's cameras that will allow me to look around more freely. I shouldn't need to go in. I'll just look in when I pass the entrance of Note Blue. I'll just look for someone with a death note and touch it without being noticed. Thought Light.

"Eh! Oh Ah! Wow! Look at him girls! Isn't he beautiful?!" Light was broken from his musings when even Matsuda sucked in a breath of surprise. Light looked to where the girls were pointing. Wind tousled Light's hair as Ryuuk took flight and wove his way through the air currents.

Up ahead an aristocratic man was sitting on a wooden bench. He was perched on the back of it, his bare feet bent casually over the seat.

He was garbed in a black silk overcoat with silver trim and black silk pants.

Pale flesh glistened in the sunlight from where the coat had fallen open. Dark raven hair spilled over slightly pointed ears and onto his sinewy shoulders. His head was thrown back, his emerald eyes framed by high cheekbones, blood-red lips parted as he breathed.

Long fingered hands taped out a rhythm only he could hear as his black fingernails that resembled talons more than nails dug into the wood.

A glint of silver around the being's neck drew Light's attention. A curious pendant of a triangle with a circle and a line bisecting it sat around his neck.

"Wow. I have never seen someone so…" Breathed Matsuda. His gaze riveted to the noble-looking man's face.

The others nodded in agreement. As they continued to walk forward Light's wayward Shinigami landed at the man's feet. Startled, Light stiffened as the man glanced down. His blazing emeralds unmistakenly alighting on the Shinigami's form.

As they passed the beautiful man, his eyes found Light's. The wind blowing his overcoat open to reveal a black notebook at his waist. Though it was rimmed in silver, there was no mistaking it for what it was.

A death note. The man's lips pulled into a smile making Light's companions suck in startled breaths. The noise of the surrounding crowd faded into the background.

Light heard more than one sigh. But it was distant. Fear. He knows! It's him! Shit, he's seen my face! Blood pounded in Light's ears as a flock of crows suddenly flew in front of the man.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

When at last the crows were gone. So too, was the man. And Ryuuk, his Shinigami. He too was nowhere to be found.

"What?! Where'd he go?" Cried out Matsuda. A cold sweat began forming down Light's back. One look was all it took. The game had just gotten a lot more real. Light looked up into the camera. His panicked gaze reflected at him from the small black lens. Lightning spider-webbed across the sky.

Chapter 4

"Eh. I see him…Yagami Tsuki (Light)…Huh? That's a weird name. Yet, his is the only life expectancy that I can't see. Let's go back Remu. We don't need to go to Note Blue now." Said a young woman wearing a short black wig. She stood up from the café chair and pushed her glasses up that were perched on her nose.

"Huh? You're not going to introduce yourself?" Asked the bone-white creature behind her. It had a cloth tied over one eye, elongated limbs, and a hunched back. A grotesque form of a Shinigami. Yet the young woman answered unaffected by its appearance.

"Not with all those people aroun….EH?! Who's that! I can't see a name or life expectancy!" The human exclaimed loudly before she ducked her head in embarrassed worry that she had given herself away. Looking around the rather empty café, she let out a breath of relief at seeing that no one had heard her.

"Who are you talking about Misa?" Questioned Remu.

"That man over there. Look at him Remu. Isn't he beautiful? Why can't I see his name? I don't understand." Whined Misa as she pointed quite obviously at a dark-haired man that rested on a bench a little past the café windows.

The wind tousled his hair, revealing the pale creamy flesh of his neck and a silver chain. Remu sucked in a startled panicked breath. "I know! Misa Misa will just go ask!"

"NO!" Shouted a terrified Remu as the Shinigami grabbed a surprised Misa and pushed her back into her chair. Wings burst from Remu's back as she flipped over Misa's head and landed in front of her. "Do not! You must not under any circumstances speak to him. Do you understand?! Do you?!" Bellowed the Shinigami, shaking Misa to get her point across.

"Ow Remu, you're hurting me." Whimpered the young woman. Remu immediately stopped shaking her.

"I'm sorry," Remu grumbled, ashamed. The Shinigami was shaking in fear.

The patrons of the café were all staring out the window at the being on the bench, paying the two no heed.

"Remu, I can't see his name or face. He must be Kira. I have to speak with him." Misa spoke desperately. Her voice carried through the room, yet no one turned to look at her, so enraptured they were by the creature outside.

"He isn't Kira, Misa. He is a being far greater than your human mind can comprehend and if he finds out you have a Death Note…" Shuddered the Shinigami. Its limbs clinked together as it shivered in its fear.

Why now? After all this time, why has He awakened now? After they had all but given up hope of His return. After all but a few had forgotten His very existence.

Was it because of Kira and her Misa? Remu didn't know.

She must act quickly if she is to save Misa from the fate of all the corrupted humans who use the note.If she could explain her reasons and show Him the innocence that Misa still possessed. Perhaps, He would let her live.

"What Remu? Why are you acting this way? What's wrong? Who is he?" Queried the woman.

The Shinigami shakily caressed the side of Misa's face. Tears were gathering in the creature's eyes. It was that fact that sent a shot of ice down Misa's back.

"I've upset the balance by giving you the Note, Misa. So has Kira's Shinigami. We should never have….your life is endangered now because of me." Sighed the Shinigami, sorrow lacing her voice. Confusion filled Misa's eyes as the Shinigami ran its spindly fingers through the hair of her wig.

"Remu?" Whispered the disguised girl.

"Keep hidden Misa. Promise me, you won't approach him or Kira until I return."

"Remu?! Where are you going? Why are you leaving?" She shouted, beginning to panic at the Shinigami's unusual behavior.

Her body was starting to shake as her eyes kept being drawn back to the man that was now looking at Yagami-kun. She felt the breath die in her lungs as a radiant smile spread across the beauty's face.

Silky strands of raven hair blowing gently around him. A look of panic surged through her as a flock of crows flew around Him, yet she was able to see Him unobstructed as his body shattered into hundreds of bluish-black feathers.

Frightened cries of the surrounding people in the café drowned out her shocked gasp as her eyes found Remu's once more. The Shinigami grimaced in resignation.

"If I don't return in three days, abandon your Death Note. Give it up. You must do this Misa. Promise me Misa. Please."

"Remu. What's happening?" Misa whispered as the being dissolving into feathers kept repeating in her mind.

"Please." Begged the death god as she cupped the young woman's face.

"Oh…O…Ok. Misa Misa promises not to meet either one until you come back." Misa agreed quietly.

"Thank you. Be safe, my Misa." Remu prayed as the Shinigami kissed Misa on the forehead. Misa gasped in surprise at the warmth that spread through her body at the contact.

Blinking to clear the fog from her mind. Misa looked around the café, searching for her Shinigami to question her some more. Yet, no matter how hard she looked, Misa couldn't deny what she was seeing. Remu was gone.

Chapter 5

The world was lit in gold hues shining over rolling hills of green and blooms of radiant color. The air smelled of honeysuckle and tart succulent apples.

Song and laughter rang out through the land, echoing through the halls of the castle and the wide antechamber that The Balancer stood in. It was a wide room.

The walls climbing high, woven silver veins and gold pulsed through the cavernous ceiling and around a giant sphere of glowing blues and green that floated, rotating in the middle of the chamber.

The wall split apart around a glass window that overlooked great mountains in the distance.

It was at this window that the King looked out of, His back to the rotating sphere. It was strange. He was Harry Potter, yet not. The memories of His mortal life still swam in His head.

But it was shadowed by over a millennium of others. His emerald eyes were unseeing as His gaze was lost in the ether. Galaxies were born and destroyed in His eyes, time endlessly rotating, babies wailing as they came into the world and others gasping franticly for their last breath.

Life and death ebbed and flowed in His gaze, an unending balance that had been overturned by two wayward Shinigami's and the humans that they associated with. So many had perished at the hands of one who likened himself as a god.

Balance must be kept.

Must be restored.

Centuries.

It would take centuries to undo the damage this one mortal had caused. He had only had the death note for a few months yet….The King turned to face the one who started the mess.

"Ryuuku." Intoned the One who Breathes Life, His voice rattling the walls in its brilliance. Glowing eyes regarded the fallen form of His servant. The once-proud winged death god was a creature of rotting flesh and bone. Its once brilliant golden wings withered to leathery flesh.

The Shinigami was prostrated before The King of Eden. His forehead pressed to the floor. Golden chains were woven around his body keeping him still.

"Your Majesty."

"Why? Do you know what it is you have done? What do you have to say for yourself?" Growled out what was Harry yet not. Rage burned in His eyes.

"You were gone. Our people were withering away. For centuries I watched over you as my body warped and rotted. I tried everything to wake you. Nothing worked. So I stopped caring, just like everyone else. You were gone. What purpose was there left for me? You were gone." Ryuuku choked out. Pain laced his voice.

What was left of The King's humanity ached at the hurt he could hear. Unfortunately, it wouldn't change the Shinigami's fate. Though the mortal that had taken the moniker of Kira had been targeting evildoers…many innocents had been lost in his crusade as well.

Balance must be kept. The lives of the Shinigami's and their mortals were forfeit.

"It doesn't matter." Harry denied with a swipe of his silk-robed hand.

"You've destroyed the balance with your foolishness. What you have done will take centuries to fix. Centuries…Remu. So happy that you decided to join us."

The white Shinigami stood awkwardly at the room's entrance.

"My King. I can explain, please. Just let me explain."

The balancer's gaze stayed riveted to Remu's form, deep in thought.

"Very well. Explain yourself. Explain why you felt the need to go to the human realm and relinquish your note." His voice rang out.

"I never relinquished my note. Gelus fell in love with a human. One night she was being stalked by a man and was going to be killed. Gelus saved her by killing him…" Remu explained. Holding her hands out as if to ward off what she knew was coming.

"So you gave her his note," Harry stated flatly. Anger boiled beneath his skin.

"It rightfully belonged to her," Remu whispered.

"And since you gave it to her you stayed with her." The Balancer seethed.

"Yes. But your Majesty, please. She is innocent. She may be a woman but she is still a child in mind. She doesn't understand right from wrong and she witnessed her family be brutally murdered not too long ago. Please."

Begged Remu as she flew to Harry and prostrated herself before him. Her bones clanked onto the floor.

"You are asking me to spare her? After the lives that she has taken? Humans should never touch objects of divine nature!" Harry bellowed. The walls shook in the King's anger. The glowing blue-green sphere began to be swallowed in ominous black clouds.

The world darkened as lighting shattered across the sky. In every country, humanity scrambled to find shelter as the biggest storm the planet had ever seen blanketed the Earth. In a hotel room in Kanto Japan, a certain detective shivered in fear as thunder shook the walls of the skyscraper building.

Sweat formed on his brow as his eyes tracked Light's panicked pacing. Back and forth he moved to leave imprints in the room's carpet. He had been pacing since he had returned from the trip to Aoyama.

The disappearing man had shaken Light. His body was sticky with sweat and he was shivering like a spooked horse.

Yagami's eyes were crazed as if he had the hounds of hell on his tail. Another earth-shattering crash shook the walls of the room. The lights shorted out for a few moments before flickering back on.

The room's occupants cried with alarm. L's eyes widened to epic proportions as he saw a silhouette of the disappearing man from Aoyama in the window as lightning flashed across the sky.

He blinked and the image was gone. L's mouth went dry as a tendril of fear snaked down his back. He tightened his hands on his knees in his crouched position, stuffing a candy-coated strawberry into his mouth.

Calm down, he told himself logically.

He was hallucinating. They were on the twentieth floor. Such things were impossible. Lightning flashed through the room again, illuminating glowing emerald eyes. L screamed.

Chapter 6

A terrified shriek woke Light up from his relentless pacing, distracting him from his panicked thoughts. Glancing toward his nemesis, he watched as the man tumbled off the chair he was perched on. His eyes were wide and were staring out the window in fear. He was shaking as lightning flashed and thunder shook the room.

"Ryuzaki! What is it?!" His father cried out as the lights flickered. The other detectives stood around him and helped the man to his feet as he lifted a trembling hand. Pointing towards the window, the men followed to where he was pointing with their eyes.

"The disappearing man. He's there, outside the window." L rasped.

"Impossible Ryuzaki. We are on the twentieth floor. Maybe all that sugar has finally gone to your head." Light chuckled as he walked toward the window. His feet dug into the carpet as he ambled towards the glass panes.

The sky was black, the overcast of clouds darkening the sky.

The sky churned as the clouds swelled threatening rain. Lightning struck the building across the street. Light shuddered. The storm looked bad. Perhaps they should stay the night. It looked too dangerous to venture out.

"See, Ryuzaki. There is no one there. Just a trick of the light. We are all stressed and you need sleep. Perhaps we should continue in the morning." Light said as he turned back toward the room.

A smile on his face as if his earlier turmoil had never been. His father was on the sugar addict's right, his face was lined in worry and his hair sported more grey than there had been before.

A pang of guilt tugged at Light's heart, but he ruthlessly squashed it. Where is that blasted Shinigami? Matsuda was standing behind the detective as the jean-clad man shrugged off the reaching hands.

Aihara sat in one of the armchairs, well used to Ryuzaki's strange behaviors.

"If we leave this for tomorrow, that will be one day longer that Kira has to kill again, Light." Came his muttered reply. Shaking his head at the man, Light began to step toward the table to take a seat but was surprised when someone gripped his shoulder from behind him.

Once the hand gripped him, his body froze involuntarily as unimaginable fear gripped him. The sounds in the room warped and faded. He could see his father's mouth moving frantically as he reached for his gun that was not there. The others tried to come closer but were stopped by some sort of invisible barrier.

His eyes were wide as he saw the horrified faces of the investigation team.

"Yagami Light, It's time." The husky baritone of a man breathed against his ear.

His father gave up on the missing weapon and was pounding on the shield frantically.

Light swallowed as he felt something that resembled silk slide against his cheek. Light tried to move his head to look, afraid of what he would find. He fought for his voice.

"T..t..time…f..or…wh..at?" Came his shaky reply. A chuckle shuddered through his bones as a warm body was pressed against his back. An arm of sinewy muscle snaked around his middle, it felt like a brand.

"Time for judgment. The balance must be kept."

Came the cold tone of the one who held him hostage. It held a note of finality, of inhuman apathy that Light could only attempt to match.

"Jud…ge..ment?" Light questioned. His mind was clouding over in numbness.

"Say goodbye to your father. For this is the last time you will see him."

Light watched detached as the investigation team became more frantic. His father grabbed a chair and smashed it against the barrier. Sound came flooding back into his mind as the sound of thousands of birds filled his ears and his vision faded. His father's desperate scream was the last thing he heard.

"NO!"

Chapter 7

Aihara was speaking, but L wasn't listening.

His eyes remained riveted to the window behind Light as the young man shook his head at whatever the detective was saying.

It was because of this that L was the first to gasp in alarm as he saw the disappearing man phase through the window like a ghost.

Gasps of horrified surprise sounded around him. Letting him know that he wasn't hallucinating. Chief Yagami reached for a gun that wasn't there. It took a moment of suspended disbelief before everyone flew into action as the being gripped Light by the bicep.

The moment the creature's clawed hand gripped Light's arm the young man froze. As if he became suddenly paralyzed. The men in the room ran forward but were met with some sort of invisible barrier.

Lightning flashed as a husky echoing voice sounded through the room.

"Yagami Light, it's time."

The men's movements became more frantic when it became apparent that Light couldn't move. His body was rigid with tension as he attempted to move his head toward the voice but obviously couldn't. L's mind churned in shock and he froze in fear.

Was the being Kira? Was he wrong all this time? Had it been a divine being that had been exacting judgment all this time?

"Let my son go you monster!" Chief Yagami yelled as he smashed one of the hotel side tables against the barrier. The small table exploded in a shower of wood chips as the creature's emerald eyes met L's from across the room. L could see Light mouthing something but couldn't hear him.

"Time for judgment. The balance must be kept."

Light paled, having heard him as did L and the rest of the task force as they renewed their panicked attempts to get to the chief's son.

"Say goodbye to your father. For this is the last time you will see him."

The chief grabbed a chair and brought it down against the barrier as the shadows in the room condensed around the pair by the window. The sounds of hundreds of flocks of birds screamed in their ears as the shadows swallowed Light and the creature. The chief screamed out in anguished denial.

"NO!"

L collapsed as one moment Light and the creature had been by the window. The next they were gone.

His mind could not take what his eyes had just seen. The chief was screaming and throwing things around the room in anger. Until finally, he collapsed to his knees as great gut-wrenching sobs shook the man's frame.

Numbness sped through L's body. His mind fogging over. Distantly he believed he was going into shock.

His dark eyes traced the spider web of light that wove through the clouds every second. Thunder continued to shake the building. He wondered if they all were going to die. He was only human.

How was he going to defeat something so obviously more?

His insides felt cold and he wondered if all his beliefs had been wrong all along.

/line/

Light screamed as his senses returned to him when he fell onto a floor.

His ears were ringing in the absence of flapping wings. Dimly he noticed silver and gold threaded through the stonework. Looking up he gasped at a giant orb of rotating blue covered in angry storm clouds.

Light scrambled away from it. Shakily standing he spun around, taking in the room he found himself in. The walls were wide and climbed high to an arched point. On the far side of the room, a window took up the expanse of the wall. It was not the window that held his attention, but what lay beyond it.

Fields and rolling hills of colorful blooms and tall trees stretched out in the distance. That is not why it held his attention. It was the fact that the world seemed to be upside down. Giving Light a strange case of vertigo. Light swallowed uneasily.

"Heh Heh Heh, guess the game is over eh Light?" Light spun at the sound of that familiar voice. Just behind the giant sphere was Ryuuku chained to the floor in what looked to be a highly uncomfortable position.

He wasn't alone, a white Shinigami he had never seen before was chained next to him. Light looked around frantically to see if there was anyone else in the room. He didn't see anyone, so he approached the Shinigami cautiously.

"Ryuuku. What's going on? Why are you chained to the ground? Where are we?"

Ryuuku only laughed helplessly as another voice answered him.

"You are in Eden. The realm of the One Who Breaths Life. As for my two wayward servants, they are chained because they have disrupted the balance. You are here because you have shattered it."

Light slowly turned around to face the being behind him. The man, no the being from Aoyama was lounging on a crystal throne that shimmered and refracted brilliant colors that Light swore had not been there a second ago.

The creature, for that, is what he was, it was now obvious he was not human, was relaxed. Slouched over the gilded chair with a shimmering black cloak that was edged in silver hung open revealing a pale toned chest.

The being was adorned in sparkling jewels, a woven silver crown rested on his black tresses that tumbled down his angular face and wide sinewy shoulders. He had one leg flung carelessly over the armrest, the other tucked under his thigh.

"Who are you?" Light tried to command. Yet his voice came out choked with fear.

"I am the beginning, the middle, and the end. I am everything and nothing. The destroyer of worlds and the one who breathes life. The balancer. The King of Eden. Of the in-between and Shinigami. And you are the worm that dared to disrupt the balance."

"Balance? What bala..?" Light began only to find he had lost his voice. His mouth was moving but no words would come. His eyes found glowing jade.

"There can be no light without darkness. No good without evil. The Earth and its people were created on this fundamental scale. Should it tip too heavily in one direction; the world with crumble in on itself. It will fall apart. And you Yagami Light have tipped the scale too far in one direction. The balance must be kept."

"I was trying to make the world a better place! I was ridding the world of scum. Criminals!" Light tried to yell. But his voice still would not come. Yet, the king heard him all the same.

"Yes. Your crusade. You were trying to play god and you failed. You may have started with good intentions but you allowed your emotions to cloud your judgment. A god who divines righteous judgment does not take innocent life. In this, you failed." Light stiffened.

"The death note was mine! Ryuuku said I could use it any way I please!" Light silently mouthed angry.

"He lied to you. The objects of the divine do not belong in human hands. In this, he broke sacred law as has the other Shinigami that remains chained behind you. Any time a Shinigami drops their note into the mortal world they are punished severely as are the humans who use them."

A chill went down Light's spine as he began to back away only for golden chains to burst forth from the stone floor and wrap around his body holding him in place. The Shinigami King stood up from his throne and approached the struggling Light.

"The one who uses the death note can go to neither Heaven nor Hell I believe Ryuuku told you." Came the King's echoing tones.

Light shivered as a cold clawed hand closed around his jaw. Light was forced to look up into an arctic gaze. He gulped heavily as he took in the unforgiving look he was pierced with. Tears gathered in Light's eyes as his breathing began to accelerate in fear.

"Those who use the note fall to my realm to be judged. This is your judgment Yagami Light. For taking the lives of thousands of both the innocent and guilty.

You will remain here in this room for eternity, chained. Forced to gaze upon you're your world that you can never return to.

Forced to feel the pain of your mortal flesh withering and the pain of your victim's last moments. When your mortal body finally fails you, after being denied substance for so long, your soul will suffer in its place. Over and over again until the end of days alone. As for Ryuuku, he will be given the final death while you watch."

That unforgiving hand clamped around Light's jaw and turned his head to watch as Ryuuku's body exploded into dust. Light screamed as he tried to fight the one who had him in his grasp.

It only took a moment of the divine being's talons to dig into Light's cheeks drawing blood and then his mind hazed over in unending pain.

Light crumpled to the floor as the chains tightened and laid his body out spread eagle on the stone. The King regarded the human for a moment, his anger still a living entity inside him. The clouds churned around the rotating sphere in time with his boiling rage.

"Please your majesty. Leave Misa be. Please." Remu whimpered. What had once been Harry ignored her. Only one more and then he could begin restoring the balance. Kira's reign would finally be over. Perhaps then he could check up on those to who he still felt a distant attachment too.

"Please." The King jumped into the orbiting sphere as Light's screams and Remu's pleas filled the room.

Chapter 8

Ayame Misa paced back and forth in nervousness as another crash of thunder shook the room she was holed up in. It had been two days and Remu still had not returned.

She was in a small beat-up hotel that no one would look twice at. She figured this place would be as safe as any to hide in. Worry ate at her insides as Misa looked out the window to lightning streaking across the sky.

The sky was angry. Black clouds churned in huge masses that blanketed the world. According to the news reports, the storm had swallowed the world.

Rain, hail, and wind beat a continued rhythm against the streets of Kanto, and Misa couldn't help but feel it was somehow her fault.

A great crash of wind hit the glass of the window in front of her, causing her to jump back in fright, slamming into something solid. Gasping in surprise, she spun around to find herself captured by an emerald gaze. The breath left her lungs. She stiffened in shock.

"You." She breathed.

The being from Aoyama tilted his head as Misa took a shaky step back. Locks of black hair tumbled down strong shoulders as an elegant hand came up and brushed against her cheek.

Fear pulsed within her heart as it felt like her very soul was torn open before the great being's eyes.

"Ayame Misa. At last, we meet." His voice was like honeysuckle, reverberating through her bones and blooming like fire in her veins. Sucking in a desperate breath for oxygen that she for some reason couldn't find, she choked out a sentence.

"How….how did you find me?" She rasped as she stood frozen under the gentle caress of her cheek.

A smile tilted the corners of his mouth on his otherworldly face.

"My dear Misa, I never lost you. You never escaped my gaze." Came the creature's husky chuckle. He cupped her cheek. His eyes staring through her.

"Who are you?" Misa questioned as she tried to get herself to move. Yet, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't move a single muscle.

"Your end….It's time." The King rasped as his cold gaze regarded her. The room darkened as the shadows began to move around her. Her breathing became labored in fear.

"Time for what?" She whimpered.

"Your judgment." The Great One answered.

With that, the shadows condensed around them.

Then, they were gone.

/line/

A heavy silence filled the hotel room. Beliefs and determination were shattered by the kidnapping of one of their own. The task force sat stunned, too shocked and depressed to do anything other than sit in disbelief.

The chief sat crumpled up on the couch, his face fallen and lined with pain. L was perched on a chair, his stack of sweets untouched as he chewed on his thumb in thought.

No one spoke. No one dared to. It had been two days and Kira's killings had all stopped. There had been no reported news of death by heart attacks since Light had been taken.

The balance must be kept. That sentence kept resounding in L's mind. The balance…was he wrong and that creature had been Kira? Or had Light been Kira and the creature been a god that had grown tired of Light's game of playing god?

He didn't know. Perhaps he never would. The balance must be kept…what did it all mean?

L glanced outside as another crash of lightning lit up the sky. The gods were angry. Two days. Two days since Light had been taken. Two days since the killings had stopped. Two days since the storm had swallowed the world. When would it end?

L traced the churning clouds with his dark eyes before two glowing spots of green reflected in the glass. Gasping, L spun on his feet and looked behind him to find the creature that had taken Light lounging casually against his chair.

A smile tugged his mouth, his leaf green eyes glinted in amusement as L scrambled away from him. The occupants of the room shouting profanities in surprise.

"Greetings, L. Lawliet. Please, sit down. We have much to talk about." The creature's smile was all teeth as he laughed. His voice freezing L's bones.

Chapter 9

"Where is my son?! Give him back!" Yagami shouted as he charged the creature. With a careless swipe of his hand the being sent the chief flying through the air.

He landed in a heap against the far wall away from L. Shocked gasps sounded through the room. The men scrambled for weapons and started charging. All the while, L remained frozen where he stood.

"Enough," said the creature as he snapped his fingers. The men froze in their charge as if by some invisible force.

Stiffening his spine, L spoke.

"What did you do to them?" His voice was shaky belaying his fear.

Emerald eyes speared L's dark ones. Perching elegantly on the back of L's vacated chair, the being spoke.

"I froze them. No harm will come to them. They shall be fine once I have left." L nodded as his eyes traced the task force's frozen bodies. Some were frozen midstep and mid lunge.

"And Light?" L asked. He was afraid of the answer.

"Yagami Light has been judged." Came the cool voice of the creature before him.

"What does that even mean?" L demanded as he stepped toward the creature.

"It means Kira's reign has ended." L gasped in shock.

"Light?"

"Mr. Yagami shall suffer in eternal torment for all the lives that he took as Kira. He will now and forevermore feel his victims' final moments. There will never be an escape. The balance must be kept."

Swallowing thickly L took in a shaky breath as a sudden wave of vertigo hit him.

"And who are you that you can judge him so?" L choked out.

A serene smile lit the beautiful creature's face.

"I think you know, dear mortal." The being chuckled as once again the sounds of thousands of birds filled L's ears. Movement returned once again to the task force.

A protesting cry died on L's tongue as the heavy presence of the being who was so obviously other was no more.

/line/

Misa's return to consciousness was just as sudden as her loss of it. A gasp left her as she blinked her eyes taking in her surroundings.

Silver and gold-threaded through the stone she found herself laying on. Looking up she gasped at a giant orb of rotating blue covered in angry storm clouds.

Awe filled her as she crawled toward the impossible beauty. Shakily standing she smiled in childish delight spinning around, taking in the room she now found herself in.

The walls were wide and climbed high to an arched point. On the far side of the room, a window took up the expanse of the wall. It was not the window that held her attention, but what lay beyond it.

She giggled as she bounced over to the window. Breathing in delight at the fields and rolling hills of colorful blooms and tall trees that stretched out in the distance. Curiously she tilted her head upside down as she noticed the world seemed to be upside down.

Childish laughter echoed in the chamber as Misa danced in circles. Euphoric joy spilling forth from her being.

All the while, the King watched on, his eyes taking in everything about her. His side of the room with Light and Remu masked from her eyes and ears. He understood now.

The intensity of his anger cooled under the brightness of the soul before him.

"Do you see now, your majesty? Please. Spare her."

Chilled Jade, regarded the chained form of the white Shinigami at his feet, before glancing up once again at the young woman before him. His eyes thawed and he breathed out in annoyance.

"Very well, but she will still be punished and you will receive the final death in her place." He growled as he waved his hand at Remu.

"Thank you, my King! Thank you!" Remu rasped as she burst into particles of light.

Oblivious, Misa danced about the room. Light's crumpled form writhing at the Balancer's feet.

Making himself known, the King of Eden spoke as the young woman froze in surprise.

"Ayame Misa. It's time."

Epilogue

10 years later

The world was lit in gold hues shining over rolling hills of green and blooms of radiant color. The air smelled of honeysuckle and tart succulent apples.

Song and laughter was now a constant thing that ran throughout the realm of the shinigami, echoing through the halls of the castle and the wide antechamber that The Balancer stood in.

It was a wide room.

The walls climbing high, woven silver veins and gold pulsed through the cavernous ceiling and around a giant sphere of glowing blues and green that floated, rotating in the middle of the chamber. The storm clouds that once blanketed the world have long since dissipated.

The wall split apart around a glass window that overlooked great mountains in the distance.

It was at this window that the King looked out of, His back to the rotating sphere. It was strange. Only 10 years had passed, but already the balance of the universe had begun to restore itself.

He no longer had identity crises. He was Harry Potter, yet not. The memories of His mortal life no longer plagued him. He made his peace. His emerald eyes were unseeing as His gaze looked out over the great castle of his previous life.

Galaxies were born and destroyed in His eyes, time itself had no meaning to him. He was the beginning, the middle, and the end. The Great Balancer. He had made his peace.

A young woman's laughter rang out through the courtyard above him, glancing upward, he saw the former Ayame Misa being chased about by her shinigami minder.

Her young wings flapping eagerly in the chase at her teacher's frustration. A chuckle escaped his lips.

The balance must be kept.

Must be restored.

Centuries.

It would take centuries to undo the damage the mortal Yagami Light had caused.

Centuries.

As the King watched his new child give her teacher a run for his money, a smile tugged his lips, he thought he was off to a good start.