Led by Lanterns

Prologue

It's a cold, moonless night when a blue flame flickers above the swamp. Obscured by fog and rain, a figured dressed in white sits by it. She's young, barely a teenager. The flame near her comes from a torch in her hand, while a smaller flame resides above her head in a cilinder that's attached to her silver headband.

She pulls blades of grass from her hair that's no longer its original colour but a pale blue and when she looks at her reflection in the water, she finds that her eyes have a similiar colour and lack pupils.

"Has it really been that long?" She whispers, before getting up. Mud and water cling to her legs, but she pays it no mind. She clenches a fist over her chest "How dare they...?"

She spots a light from the corners of her eyes, noticing the lantern of a traveller that passed by. Had they gotten lost or been abandoned too?

The girl slowly approached the traveller, curious to see what was in their heart.

~*~

Gasping for air, a young man wakes up in total darkness. He clutches his chest with one hand. He can hear the shifting currents of a nearby river, the trickling of water past stone eases his nerves a little.

He knows this place.

A pale hand reaches out to him and his gaze meets eyes of fire "We've been waiting for you. Come on. You have a lot to learn."

Not wavering for a moment, the young man takes the outstretched hand and allows himself to be pulled up, accompanying the Ferryman to the river.

~*~

A girl carrying a scythe enters the darkness, letting the weapon vanish once she has stepped foot inside. She looks at the figure with eyes of fire and the young man standing next to him.

"I heard everything was ready." She says, blue butterflies with black markings fluttering around her. As she talks with the two, people slowly begin to appear and walk towards the sound of water in the distance.

The figure nods "My time has come. The dead will be in good hands when I'm gone." He pats the head of the young man next to him, who smiles awkwardly. The figure hands him a paddle "It's up to you now."

"I won't disappoint you." The man responds, taking the paddle and holding it in both hands.

"I know you won't. You'll make a fine ferryman." The figure turns back to the girl "It's time, Guide. Release me from my task."

The girl nods, stepping forward to touch the figure's chest with her fingertips. She takes breath and utters the words "I release you of the chains that bind you to this body. Go... and be at peace..."

The figure's chest were her fingertips make contact glows a gentle blue and the figure's body turns to ash, leaving nothing but a soul behind. The soul takes the shape of a person who lived long ago, during ancient times. Making eye contact with them, he smiles briefly before he finally turns around and walks away, leaving them behind to blend in with the crowd of souls.

She turns to the young man who's eyes have begun to resemble those of his mentor, smiling "I worked hard to deliver all these souls to you, so make sure they make it to shore safely, okay?"

"I will." He responds, turning around towards the souls still waiting for him to lead them to the river while she watches, now surrounded by white butterflies.

~*~

A young woman awakens to water flowing around her when her body is raised from the river. She gasps in shock, but finds that the water filling her lungs doesn't suffocate her anymore. It's just cold, cooling her body and bringing her a sense of discomfort. Regardless, she coughs violently once she breaks through the surface and clambers on top of the nearby rocks. Somehow, her body is still dry.

She looks up at the full moon, standing in its light, and whispers "Why? I'm not supposed to be here anymore..."

She takes a breath and picks up a pebble, throwing it into the water while trying to ignore the light shining down on her. More pebbles follow. She heaves a sigh and looks back over her shoulder at the moon.

"Let me be." She mutters "You should've just left me on the bottom of the river."

She makes a final throw before walking away, turning her back on the moon as the wind picks up around her, tugging on her hair and clothes.

~*~

"What do you think?"

"Marvelous! This tomb looks undisturbed. Everything must still be exactly as they left it."

Voices disturb his rest. The man slowly opens his eyes. Barely able to see through the bandages, he can vaguely make out a blue glow on his torso before it dims again. He quickly clambers out of his grave, away from the voices.

Upon making it outside, he untangles himself from his bandages, taking a while to do so. Once he has been freed from his linen prison, he finds his body clean and perfectly preserved, a little too perfect. He touches the Shen amulet that dangles around his neck, finding it warm against his cold skin.

The desert wind picks up around him as he observes his surroundings, seeing more people arrive at the pyramid's entrance. He prepares himself to run again when they come close but they just ignore him.

He frowns "Hello?"

They continue to ignore his presence, even when he comes closer. When one of them walks right through him, realization begins to dawn on him.

"They can't see me..."

~*~

Dragging his body across the sand, the man with teal hair finally makes it to shore. He falls onto the sand, heaving and coughing as he tries to expel the salt water from his lungs. He rolls over to look at the sky while the moonlight shines down on him.

"Where am I...?" He asks, voice still hoarse from the sea water.

He doesn't get a response, figuring he must be an idiot to try talking to an object in the sky.

"Excuse me, do you know who I am?"

His next question remains unanswered as well, so he remains still to listen to the gentle crashing of waves onto the shore. Lost and alone in this unfamiliar world, it seems the sea is the only one who understands him.

With him staying on the beach for an uncertain period of time, it soon begins to rain.

~*~

Underground, far below the earth's surface, in a place that always remains untouched by the sun and where no mortal dares to tread, a light begins to flicker. The orange of the flame is reflected in yellow eyes that almost appear to glow in the dark. A lantern that was put on the ground before is picked up by a sickly pale hand.

The figure rubs his wrist with a groan, shackles lying on the ground behind him.

"It's been too long." The light of the lantern he holds up to guide his way is reflected by his grin "I'm coming for you, Death. But first... I have a bone to pick with someone else."

He walks through the tunnels, casting the shadow of a man wearing a pumpkin on his head on the wall with his light.

"I'm sure the Guardians will be happy to see an... old friend. But first... I need to gather some new recruits."