[ WP ] The straw that broke the Grimm Reaper 's back

`` I reap. It's what I do.'' 
 
 I shift my scythe between skeletal claws, the blood-stained metal catching the fires light. 
 
 `` Or, it's at least what I used to do. Until your kind went too far.'' 
 
 Eyeing both my interviewers, I wait for a response. There is a pause in which they both consider what I've said. 
 
 `` So you take no blame in any of this?'' The man in the large oddly shaped coat swallows before continuing. `` Even though this is your doing, you feel you're not at fault?'' 
 
 I ca n't stand his arrogance. I ca n't stand *their* arrogance. They think they're above me? Death? Where would they be without my guidance? My cold embrace inspired their greatest inventions and art. The very essence of their culture is fueled by my actions. Without me they're not themselves. For I am them. 
 
 `` It disgusts me that you ca n't see the lesson I try to paint you.'' 
 
 The other man, tries to speak, his swollen tongue causing him to stop briefly. In that moment I raise my scythe and point it towards him, turning the blade under his fat, hairy neck. 
 
 `` Do n't you dare insinuate that there is no lesson here, that I'm being unjust. You're just an insolent pig like the rest of your kind.'' 
 
 I lower my scythe, he heaves a sigh of relief. 
 
 `` I gladly accepted that you were able to prolong your lives so many times. I celebrated reaping the first man to live two centuries. Hell, I did n't complain when you claimed to have found immortality and immunity. I waited millennia to reap you. You were able to enjoy the world more than you ever were supposed to. You got to do and see things no animal ever should. But was that enough? No. Of course not.'' 
 
 I pause, watching the two interviewers shift uncomfortably. I know they know I'm right, they're just too proud to admit it. I stand and face the fire, the flames lighting empty sockets. 
 
 `` You just had to go continue looking for more. You know you were the prized children of your god? He gave you the potential to live longer, do more, and be happier than most creators do.'' 
 
 I laugh. I need n't wait for a reply, though I've sworn off reaping they fear me. I command the room, and them, while I speak. Turning, I continue. 
 
 `` You know, I wish you kept trying to live eternal within the confines of machinery. It was so easy to reap while you hid within it. A simple'computer virus' or'malfunction' and you were mine. Of course though, you soon realized how idiotic living within a machine was.'' 
 
 I see the misshapen man watching his reflection in my scythe, it's cold blade showing his scars through the stains. 
 
 `` Once you learned the secrets of your creation and started your farms to grow and harvests yourselves, I knew you had crossed a line. That was still acceptable, though. I knew your need for life had perverted you and I accepted it.'' 
 
 I sit again, my blade resting on my shoulder. I ca n't smile, but if I could I'd be giving them one hell of a smile now. 
 
 `` Once you started harvesting your souls. That was it. You went too far. You broke the natural order. I mean, what kind of creature pulls it's essence out of a filthy, desolated flesh heap and gets into a specially grown meat suit?'' 
 
 My disgust evident, I wait till the tension in the air builds past even my comfort. I stand and walk behind them, resting my scythe on both their shoulders. The unevenness amuses me, with a chuckle I lean between their heads. 
 
 `` So, as you're obviously here to plead with me like your kind does every few decades, the answer is no. I will not bring back death. I will not continue reaping. You and all your kind will continue to suffer the endless pains of having your body never die. You will burn, break, boil, swell, bleed, and hurt. But your body will never die and you can never leave it for a new meat suit.'' 
 
 I turn to leave, as they sit there stuttering. 
 
 `` B-b-but... please! You ca n't leave us like this again! The agony... the torment... we're living in Hell... please Death...'' 
 
 I pause, amused at hearing such a request. 
 
 `` Maybe one day, after you're all laying there wounded, unable to heal. Maybe once you're all begging to have me back in your lives. Maybe then I'll considering reaping you pathetic wastes.'' 
 
 I walk into the abysm, to reap other realms where less arrogant creations tread. Before I fade away, I call back. 
 
 `` In the meantime, enjoy your cancer fleshbag!''
