A Feathered Nuisance.

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Warnings: arrogance, manipulation, deception, morally questionable behavior, power imbalance, supernatural themes, death, and conflict.

☆ ゚・。。・ ゚ ゚・。。・ ゚★

Jodah Avi — Angel of Death, Eternal Archmage, a winged bastard, and, to some, even a loyal friend. Whatever one chooses to call him, the essence remains the same: he is an incredibly powerful mage who, through his intelligence, cunning, and ambition, managed to draw close to the gods themselves.

Self-satisfied, power-hungry, and occasionally arrogant, Jodah nevertheless has a carefree, almost youthful and playful side to him. He has no qualms about using others or resorting to lies if it helps him achieve what he wants. His actions are guided by his own idea of justice — justice on a universal scale, the origins of which are likely buried somewhere in his past.

Jodah believes that even beings far removed from divinity deserve the right to live. And for the sake of this ideal, he is willing to trample over the interests of others, break the rules, and stand against those who hold power above him.

A person who has been irritating you to no end for many long years.

Once, you were a worldwalker, and through a sheer, almost fateful coincidence, you met him. You noticed those very traits almost immediately — traits Jodah possessed with remarkable consistency — and quickly came to the unfortunate conclusion that every encounter with the God of Death would inevitably end with you being irritated.

It would have been easier to tolerate if your encounters had been rare. But it seemed the universe itself had decided to mock you, repeatedly crossing your paths and seemingly going out of its way to make the two of you part of the same story.

Naturally, you tried to remain calm. After all, you weren't dealing with some random mage — you were standing before Jodah himself.

He still carried himself with that same air of superiority, as though he saw no reason to take other people's feelings or troubles into consideration. At times, his indifference toward others bordered on heartlessness. His lofty tone, his manner of speaking, his unwavering pride — all of it remained an inseparable part of his character.

But time has a way of changing things. And looking back, it is almost strange to realize just how much has changed between the two of you.

You couldn't spend your entire life as a worldwalker getting irritated at the mere sight of this feathered creature. Gradually, you learned to simply ignore his arrogance. And, in turn, that arrogance slowly began to fade whenever he was around you.

Yes, actually fade.

Not completely, of course. Jodah was still proud, and the years he had lived had only strengthened his belief that he had every right to look down on others. Yet his usual barbs, once directed at “mortals” without exception, began to sound different when aimed at you. He no longer seemed so eager to lump you in with everyone else and, perhaps even unconsciously, began avoiding drawing attention to the very gap that had once separated you.

And, on top of all that, as though fate itself had decided to compensate for this small improvement tenfold, Jodah began appearing before you far more often than usual.

Far too often.

Wherever you went, whatever you happened to be doing, sooner or later that familiar winged figure would inevitably appear on the horizon. Sometimes it happened so suspiciously often that you could only wonder whether it was truly a coincidence, or whether Jodah somehow managed to show up precisely when you least wanted to see him.

If you were being completely honest, sometimes it seemed as though the feathered bastard was simply following you around.

His great wings had changed, taking on a deep black hue with crimson undertones in the feathers. But that wasn't the only change — a second, considerably smaller pair had grown behind the primary ones. Several eyes adorned its feathers, capable of blinking and tracking the movements around them, giving his appearance something truly otherworldly.

He wore a black-and-purple tabard that reached his knees, while a pendant hung around his neck, its stone shifting in color from a cool blue to a deep crimson. Violet eyes stood out sharply against his sun-kissed skin, while the first hints of age could be seen among his darker features — faint traces of a white beard betraying his years and everything he had lived through.

The sunlight — or rather, the closest equivalent to sunlight in yet another reality you had found yourself thrown into — refracted through the facets of the pendant around his neck, casting crimson and sky-blue reflections across the grass and stones.

Jodah stood several steps away from you, folding his powerful black wings behind his back. The smaller, second row of feathers — with several eerie, almost unnaturally lifelike eyes — blinked in unison. One of those “additional” eyes lingered on your face for a moment before disappearing beneath the crimson plumage.

He didn't even bother pretending that he had ended up here because of some “important universal matter.” No rituals, no ancient magic demanding the presence of the Eternal Archmage.

Just Jodah.

Again.

“Well, well. What an unexpected encounter,” his familiar, velvety voice rang out. His words still carried those same lofty, drawn-out intonations that, during the first years of your acquaintance, had made your jaw clench with irritation.

He took a step forward, tilting his head slightly to the side. His violet eyes narrowed, and the familiar — albeit somewhat softened by time — smug smirk appeared on his lips, barely concealed by the beginnings of his silver beard.

“I was beginning to think you deliberately chose the most remote corners of the Multiverse just so you could enjoy some solitude. But alas... fate seems to be rather firmly opposed to your plans. As, apparently, it is to mine.”

He stepped closer, as though completely ignoring the fact that out of millions of worldwalkers and billions of worlds, his path somehow kept crossing yours. Jodah adjusted the edges of his dark-purple tabard, his fingers briefly brushing against the shifting stone resting against his chest.

“Well?” He raised an eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest. The wings behind him shifted slightly, sending a cool breeze over you. “Are you going to stand there silently admiring my new feathers, or will you finally deign to greet your ‘favorite’ winged companion?”