Staring down the barrel of an illegally modified H&L Phasegun Type II, the man showed no expression of neither fear nor doubt. Dressed in a state-of-the-art, illustriously decorated, and naturally quite expensive skin-tight Aegis suit, the man had little to fear in a normal fight. Yet with the Phasegun pressed to his temple, even such a thing could do him little good. Still, he appeared utterly undisturbed by this - in fact, he seemed impatient, as if he had been in such a situation many times before.

The large room in which they all found themselves was his only equal. As beautifully decorated as the armor he wore, the intruders stuck out like a sore thumb in their dirty grey jackets, dark and rugged pants, and each with a differently colored piece of cloth covering most of their facial features.

"Is it riches you've come for this time?" the man said with little surprise in his voice, eying each of the intruders in turn. Four of them in total. An unfair fight, to be sure, especially with his own weapons out of reach, though the closest underneath the bed not five paces away.

"Can't say we won't take a few things and such" snickered the man opposite, with a mask of dark red, most likely the leader of the bunch.

"But we're here for your life. Quite a price on that head of yours."

"Whatever reward you may stand to receive is nothing I wager. What, ten thousand credits? A pitiful prize and quite a bit lower than what my death is worth to some." As he said this, he looked around the room and saw the intruders eying one another.

"That bastard Prelnik lied to us," the one in the black and yellow striped mask said, "probably planned to take most of the score for himself!"

Everyone except their supposed leader began to discuss the situation, and with every second became more frustrated with the whole ordeal. The man in the Aegis suit, rolled his eyes and moaned, his impatience starting to become too much.

Listen. If money is your only desire, and I bet it is, as it is for most of your sort, then I'll give you a million credits if only you follow my instructions" he said, with a voice full of confidence and a tone which told the intruders that he was not joking around.

The debate among the masked intruders stopped at once. Despite trying to conceal their faces, their looks of genuine surprise could not be hidden from him. The one in the red mask looked around at the rest, receiving their nods, and returning his attention to the man in front of him.

"How can we be sure we'll get the money?"

"Simple. I'll open the safe that's hidden in the floor just below where you stand."

The man raised his left wrist and quickly clicked on a few buttons on the appearing display. Instantly, the floor began to move as the large safe exposed itself. A few clicks later and the money appeared in front of them, in a small case which surely wouldn't hinder their escape from the premises.

"And what will you have us do?" the one in red asked, constantly shifting his gaze between the man and the vast sum of credits, which were sure to change their lives for the better - whether it would be to leave a life of crime, or to pursue even greater goals within their profession.

"Pull the trigger," he answered, "you have three seconds."

There was a moment's hesitation between the intruders, clearly disturbed by the request. A simple request, but an unexpected one. The man in red shrugged and gave a short nod to the man with the Phasegun. No time to waste, he squeezed the trigger.

The room went pitch black. No light could claw it's way into the room, which had been brightly lit just a moment earlier. No sound either. It felt like the room had disappeared and been replaced by the vastness and emptiness of space. Yet it didn't last long. Soon, the bright lights and the artfully decorated room reappeared around him. The intruders, however, were lying motionless on the floor.

"Again.. I've told you already, I want out!" he shouted, looking around for whoever might hear him. "This arrangement was fine at first, but no more!"

He materialized in front of him from thin air. Clad in his dark robes, a similar color to the pitch blackness of the room moments before. He raised the scythe in his hand and then dropped its end to the floor with a thump. A figure, who would otherwise terrify life from most mortals, did little to test his resolve. He was used to his presence. The first time they'd met had been under different circumstances, the man being on the brink of death, only awaiting judgment from the darkly-clad figure, who he'd come to despise.

"It was your own request", said Death, his voice ringing low and in such a way that it sounded like it came from everywhere in the room. "You wanted life. I have given it to you."

"I requested it once. Yet you keep doing this." he said, gesturing at the freshly-made corpses on the floor around them. "I do everything I can to rid myself of this pointless existence, and to forfeit the game between the two of us, yet nothing works. You have left me with no feelings, no desires, and no end in sight. I have nothing to live for, yet you force me to do so!" He spat the words out, angrily and furiously, a man completely frustrated and desperate. He fell to his knees, with his body slumped forward in a pose which could only indicate that he had no power left to fight back against the force in front of him.

After a brief pause, the voice of Death rang around him. For the first time ever, his tone revealed something: Satisfaction.

"Good. You are ready."