Reaper Chronicles

The Reaper.  Guardian of thresholds, who walks unseen, but carries the weight of every ending. His form was vague, a ripple against the gray sky, but she felt a warmth as if the sun had broken through the clouds just for her."You shouldn't be here, " he said, voice low and rough as thunder rolling over distant hills."I'm already here, " she replied, eyes steady. "I can't unsee you. And I don't want to."He looked down, the cloak around him fluttering like black smoke caught in a breeze.
"This world is not for you."She smiled softly, a wistful curve of lips. "And yet, I walk it every day. Maybe I'm not meant for this world. Maybe I'm meant for the one between."He took a hesitant step closer, so close she could see the faint shimmer at the edges of his form, the way his shadow softened and flickered like a dying flame."I have lived centuries alone, " he said. "Always watching. Always waiting.""And  hoping, " she  added gently.
He said nothing. Only the rain, steady and soft, answered. What could Eternity say to a flickering flame?As the city slept, the Reaper returned to his hidden mountain home, a place woven from moonlight and stone, veiled from mortal eyes by ancient magic. Eyes heavy with centuries of loneliness. There, under a sky crowded with stars, he stared down at the glowing city below, and for the first time in centuries, he felt something new stirring inside.
Hope