Light shivered, "I apologise, I just thought there might be a possible solution to your conundrum, my lord."
Ryuk narrowed his eyes and quickly said, "Maybe we should give him a chance to speak. If he doesn't solve the problem, we might at least get another thing to laugh at."
A few Shinigami hoarsely chuckled at the statement, and then the king nodded. As Light was facing the opposite direction, he did not see the nod and just stood there motionless.
Ryuk used his dreadful hand to facepalm himself and shook his head. "He approved of your suggestion with a nod, start speaking and don't just stand there like an idiot."
While looking at the dreadful shinigami, Light gritted his teeth, 'How am I supposed to know what's happening behind my back? I don't have eyes on the back of my head like some of your creepy friends you damn emo Shinigami.'
He coughed and then spoke with a sincere tone, "Before I make my suggestion, can I ask if there are realms other than the human realm?"
There was no reply for a while. The king continued to rub his chin with the writhing tentacles. After a long time, he finally answered, "Yes, there are. They exist beyond the domain of death… I think I know what solution you want to put forward, but go ahead anyway."
'Outside the domain of death?'
Light cleared his thoughts and nodded with a slight smile and spoke precisely, "Because of the mistake I have made, I cannot be appropriately punished by suffering any other victim's deaths, as there are none, nor can I be reincarnated into the human realm due to being a death note user."
He took a deep breath and continued.
"But what if… What if my soul were transported to another realm? Another world or another universe… One similar to the human realm, but one that exists outside the… domain of death? That way I could get a fair second chance as an unsuspecting victim of the death note, but also be punished for being a death note user by not returning to the human realm, my home."
As he finished speaking about his suggestion, a few moments of silence veiled the realm of Shinigami. Only Ryuk grew a subtle smile that no one else noticed.
Then the king spoke with a satisfied tone while rubbing his chin with one of the many writing tentacles, "Not a bad solution, human… It's possible, I'll just have to improvise with certain powers."
Even the dozens of Shinigami who expected Light to say something stupid nodded with surprise.
'So more realms do exist… I guess the multiverse theory is indeed correct, in a twisted way at least. Doubt any scientists expected the universe to be as mythical as it is, though. Still hard to believe I am dead and standing in the realm of shinigami as a damned soul.'
"But there are still a few details missing." The Shinigami King's commanding words kicked Light out of his reverie.
Before he could ask what, the King continued, "A human death note user who killed himself is exempt from suffering another victim's death, but that does not mean he is exempt from the punishment for killing himself."
'Uhm, what?!'
"Suicide is a sin as much as murder is, to live is not only a human's right but also a privilege. Desecrating that privilege is unforgivable, even for oneself as much as for others. It's a punishment that should not be exempt."
Upon hearing those words, Light felt a chill run through his spine as he slowly came to a haunting realisation.
"Yes, I will do as you suggested, but you will still have to die your own death again in order to be reincarnated into another world."
'F***'
With that, the Shinigami King didn't waste any time and took out his own, superior death note and wrote down Light Yagami's true name and the fate awaiting him—to die again in the Shinigami realm and then reincarnate into a completely new and different world, a world outside of the domain of gods of death.
…
Light gritted his teeth and clenched his fist in the horrifying anticipation of his impending doom. He knew he was gonna be alive again; he had also experienced death before, but that did not make the experience of dying even a bit more tolerable.
He dropped to his knees and counted each second he had. He knew a minute was all it was going to take to kill him, so he had to mentally and physically prepare as much as he could.
But as he was kneeling down while violently trembling with fear and anxiety, he suddenly felt a hard surface touching his chest.
He opened his eyes and flinched to see the hunched emo shinigami with glassy black eyes—Ryuk was pressing his own death note against Light's chest.
For a moment, Light forgot about his issues and stared blankly at the emo Shinigami. It was as if the entire world had frozen in place.
'Is he… no, that can't be… but could he… could he really be trying to… comfort me?' he thought, his eyes full of confusion.
Ryuk, meanwhile, ignored Light and looked toward the Shinigami King and said in a nonchalant tone, "I want to see this idiot suffer for another lifetime. So can I embed my death note into his soul body, old man- I mean my lord?"
Light blinked a couple of times, then grimaced with rage, 'THIS DAMN EMO SHINIGAMI! Of course, he isn't trying to comfort me; he is the reason I am in this conundrum in the first place! I am gonna kill you when I get the next chance, you better believe it.'
The Shinigami King laughed, "Haha! Don't forget I already confiscated the other Death Note you took for yourself. So you'll have to put your own book into his hollow soul."
"But remember, without a death note to your name, you could not reap the lifespan of humans, so you would become mortal once again. No matter how many lives you have already reaped, your lifespan would still be finite. You'll die, and you should know better than any human could, death for a Shinigami is a fate worse than hell."
Ryuk grew an insane smirk on his ghostly pale face and answered, "Guess I am feeling brave today."
The King laughed, this time not stopping until the end.
Ryuk didn't linger and pushed his own Death Note inside Light Yagami's chest, inside his soul.
The Death Note and Ryuk's creepy hand seamlessly passed through Light's skin and bones like he was made of water. Ripples ran through his body as Ryuk's hand submerged deeper and deeper into his soul and body.
'Creep didn't even ask for my consent!' Light tried to goof away his fear and anxiety but failed.
Because just a moment later, he felt it, his last heartbeat. It was as if the whole world reverberated for one last time.
Then, sickening pain struck him deep inside his heart and flowed throughout his entire body. The veins in his limbs, neck and head bulged.
He gulped and shook violently. Then, finally, he gasped away his final breath. His chin fell onto Ryuk's shoulder, and his eyes grew lifeless.
Light Yagami died for the second time today.
…