Master of Death

Act 1 - Chapter 5

Death was working in his office when he was summoned by Hadrian. Frowning, he realized that his young master was in his room and not at Hogwarts. Death walked quickly to his room and entered without knocking.

"Help me," Hadrian whispered as soon as the deity entered his line of sight.

Death immediately sensed his headspace and wrapped him in a hug. "What happened, Hadrian?"

Hadrian explained everything. "Neville's probably explained to them by now," he finished softly. "I trust them to not say anything, but what if Dray is scared of me now?"

Death sighed. He could sense the feeling his master had for the boy. "If he is, then he's not worth you. You are not evil or wicked, Hadrian. You are beautiful and pure. You might be just a bit insane, but who isn't?"

Hadrian smiled up at him. "I need to kill something," he said decidedly. "You have any sinners that need collecting?"

Death smirked and summoned his tablet. "Let's see... What kind of sin are you looking for, my dearest master?"

"Child abuse," Hadrian said softly. "I want a list of every abuser in Europe and when they die."

Death winced. The list was long, but it would sate his sadism, which was good. Neither had thought that it would get so bad, but they had observed it mainly happened with a sin he had an experience being a victim of, such as abuse. Death tapped on his tablet to send the list to Hadrian's own. "Remember to only take the ones that don't interfere with your coursework," Death reminded Hadrian.

Hadrian nodded and picked up his tablet, scanning the list. There were three set to die that day. Hadrian nodded in gratitude before making a portal away.

Death frowned as he stood. He needed to speak with his brother. His master also got sadistic urges, but he seemed to be more able to cope. He had to ask his secret.

"Life, would you come here please?" he asked, his voice being projected to his location.

A moment later, a man that appeared to be his exact opposite popped into existence in front of him. "What's up?"

"My master is... struggling with his urges. How did you teach yours to contain them?"

Life tilted his head before laughing heartily. "You went about it all wrong, dear brother. Containing it makes it worse. You have to let it out. Hadrian just needs to learn to channel it."

Death had no idea how to teach that. He always just tortured rapists and abusers when he got his urges, but Hadrian couldn't do that. He hated to ask his brother for help because Life just was a jerk to those he was trying to help, but he had no other choice. "Would you show me how to help Hadrian?" he asked.

Life smirked. "Only if you let me mess with the Jackson kid."

Death gritted his teeth. Perseus was already going to have a hard life, but allowing Life to mess with it more? He took a deep breath. The demigod wouldn't die, but Hadrian just might if his sadism goes too far. "Fine," he growled. "Don't kill him."

Life smiled triumphantly and explained what Death needed to know. "Hadrian will need to regularly allow himself to feel the sadism. Perhaps let it out during missions like the one he is on now. Either way, you need to teach him to let himself go without going too far or feeling horrible afterwards. Torture would be a no-go, but perhaps a reaping every week or so would be good for him. This'll only last for so long before it stops working though."

"Is there any permanent solution?"

"True love," Life said. At the skeptical look he received from Death, he rolled his eyes. "Listen, Death, true love does exist and it is extremely powerful. If Hadrian finds someone who truly loves him, even the sadist part of him, he'll be able to control it. I don't mean a familial love, either Death. He needs to find someone to share his life with and soon, before the other methods stop working."

Death watched as his brother left without a goodbye. He sighed. The information was helpful.

When Hadrian returned, he explained the temporary idea of how to help with the sadism and Hadrian agreed. He said that he also had an idea. He wanted to see if training every morning would work.

Death agreed to train him before breakfast every morning and let Hadrian return to Hogwarts before heading to his office to finish up some paperwork. It was going to be a long night.

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