[ WP ] You tell Death that you will never tire of living no matter how long you live . It makes you a bet that you will and thus grants you true immortality . You 've just lived through the second death of the universe and show no sign of stopping . Death is baffled .

I watched from a distance of a few billion light years as all of the contents of the universe accelerated closer and closer to each other. It had been such a long time since I'd witnessed the glory of all energy and matter mashing together into a glorious culmination of infinite nothingness, an amount of time inconceivable to even the most existential mortal minds. Light and dark, good and bad, beautiful and ugly - at this moment, it did not matter. For everything eventually meets its end. Except for me, of course. Oh yeah, and one other guy. 
 
 `` A bit early, are n't you?'' a deep, airy voice questioned from behind me. 
 
 I turned around. Outlined by the light of trillions of suns was the face of the being with whom so long ago I had made my fate. Well, I use the term `` face'' loosely. In actuality, it was sort of a shadow of a face, two-dimensional at any angle yet always bearing the semblance of a human-like figure. Its hands took on the same pattern, protruding from an expensive-looking suit and tie. The suave appearance was completed by the spotless black dress pants and shiny shoes he dawned on his lower body. 
 
 `` Hey Death,'' I smiled. `` It's been a few lifetimes, has n't it?'' 
 
 `` Try a few billion,'' he breathed. `` While your out here floating around exploring the universe, I've been busy taking the life force away from every creature in it. It's called a job; you should try it some time.'' 
 
 I chuckled. `` You can stop anytime you want, you know.'' 
 
 `` Hm,'' he huffed. `` And be a useless sack of floating organic matter like you? No thanks.'' 
 
 `` I like your suit,'' I commented. `` Very fitting for the closing ceremony of another successful universe.'' 
 
 `` Well thanks,'' he said, his facial outline angling downward. `` I always rather liked the way you humans adorn yourselves. I usually go with something a little closer to the Renaissance period, but I made a special exception this time around.'' 
 
 We were both silent for a long time, standing side by side as we watched the closing of the universe. Suddenly, he spoke up. `` Speaking of taking away life forces, I'll bet you're finally getting close to a breaking point, eh?'' He nudged my arm with his elbow. `` Been about a universe and a half now. Ready to call it quits yet?'' 
 
 I gave him a smug look. `` You already know the answer to that, Death.'' 
 
 He stood still, the red tie on his suit staring me down. `` What the hell is wrong with you?'' he asked incredulously. `` I gave you mortals the incredible gift of death to end your suffering and torment, and you can never just accept that you were n't meant to live for an eternity. Most mortals would be at my feet begging to be killed by now. Your family, your friends, your planet, everything with which you're familiar and of which you've grown fond - it can not even amount to the tick of a second in the great clock of the universe. You could hardly blink your eyes before everything you thought you knew changes in ways you never thought possible. Your feeble mind could never hope to understand all of the secrets of the universe, the ever-changing and mysterious patterns of everything beyond the 3rd dimension. So why bother? Why go on living when you know full well that you could never even amount to a scratch in the space-time continuum?'' 
 
 I looked down at my bare feet. My eyes slowly traced my legs up to my torso, scanning over every hair, crease and color as they moved up. I looked out at my arms leading to my fingertips, giving them a little wiggle. I felt my lips form a smile over my straight white teeth, and I could see the image of my blue-eyed, brunette face in my head as clearly as if I were looking in a mirror. There I was, the end product of forces natural and unnatural, both an actor and a spectator in the great show of the universe that was perpetually set to repeat. 
 
 I looked up as the light from the stars grew brighter and the massive ball of existence shrank in on itself. In one great flash of brilliant white light, it was gone. There was nothing but darkness, and neither I nor Death himself knew when the next universe would make its debut. 
 
 `` I do n't know,'' I finally responded. `` I just like living.''
