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I'm not merciful or blessed. I'm just me. I've got a job to do and I do it....When the first living thing existed, I was there. Waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave.
~ Death.

Death, also known as Teleute, The Grim Reaper, or Mama Grim, is one of the Endless, being the second oldest sibling and implied to be the most powerful of the family. She is the personification of the ancient concept of all life and death.

Unlike most depictions of Death, she is actually pleasant, down-to-earth, and perky and enjoys the company of her brother, Dream. She is also capable of striking friendships with mortals, the most notable ones being Hellboy, John Constantine, and the Sons of Sparda.

Appearance

While Death is normally a formless entity, she is historically depicted as being a massive and hooded skeletal figure with a scythe in her hand and an hourglass pendant, which shows the time of death for each and every being in the universe. She is able to assume countless forms, and each form that is presented reflects off of the type of being that Death is reaping. While seen as a manifestation of death itself, Death is not a being, but rather a concept of which occurs at the end of life.

Death instead appears as an attractive, pale young goth woman dressed in casual clothes — often a black top and jeans. She also wears a silver ankh on a chain around her neck, and has a marking similar to the eye of Horus around her right eye. Sometimes she is seen sporting a black leather jacket and a black top hat.

Her true form is never revealed, for her true visage is basically indescribable. One account details that during the Great Flood, the prophet Noah witnessed what appeared to be a gargantuan mass of living darkness which was accompanied by a showing of two colossal feathery black wings that completely blotted out the sun.

Overview

Death of the Endless came into existence shortly after the first life forms appeared in the universe. She is destined to function as the embodiment of both life and death until the very last living thing is dead. After that, she was destined to put the universe to rest. As she likes to put it: "When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave."

When it comes to the affairs that involve the living or other events that occur within different realms beyond that of the norm, Death is only concerned with the task at hand and that is reap any and all those who are on the brink of dying or currently dying as well and does not interfere in the affairs of mortals. Even though it is implied that she admires humanity, when it comes her job she cannot be bargained nor reasoned with if one desires a second chance at life; although she stated that she might make an exception only once. Il Separatio describes her as a "true conceptual agent of the law".

Death apparently is also there at the time of one's birth and can infuse a body with life. She commonly does this at the time of birth or at certain times to give another a second chance (reincarnation) the criteria for the latter is not known. Death does not guide the soul of the dead into any particular afterlife, she is merely a gateway into what lies beyond. For other entities to claim a soul instead of Death herself, they usually have to have a valid claim on the soul; either a contract or the deceased worshiped the deity's pantheon

Personality

Death, despite her job description and to the surprise of many, is described as being delightful, sensible, nice, and even perky; which greatly shatters the facade of her appearance and position. She is sassy, laid-back, and her somewhat playful nature adds to the mystery of the character, and many have pointed out that there is always something behind her cool demeanor and gentle smile, as if she is aware of something that no else knows about making her somewhat teasing but also extremely wise in her own way as she was able to make her brother Dream and even Vergil see things in a much different way and have a better understanding of how things work throughout the natural order.

She is very fascinated about humans, admiring their growth and the developments they made on Earth. Out of all the Endless, she is the most affectionate towards humanity, and she is the one who is most able to relate to humans. Some have interpreted the statement on Death loving a mortal, and assuring their downfall as a reversed statement; since everyone will die at some point or other. Despite this affection, she never interferes in their affairs and cannot be bargained nor reasoned with when she is prepared to take to them to the other side.

Death is warm and caring and she has even taken the role of the mature maternal figure among her siblings. She can be frequently seen acting as a confident to her siblings, especially Dream, giving advice and pointing out their faults. She can also be seen doing so to mortals that she developed a particular close bond with, such as Vergil or Hellboy for example. She also has shown that her job takes a backseat when it comes to her family, especially considering how dysfunctional her family is thus forcing her to resort to have her siblings settling things in a more civilized and peaceful manner. This makes her the peacemaker of sorts among her siblings.

However, she is not above getting angry, though that in of itself is a rarity. When she exhibits annoyance or anger, she becomes very intimidating. While she is usually portrayed as smiling, it is when her expression drops and her smile fades that she can even intimidate individuals like Dante, Nero, Ghost Rider, Spawn, or John Constantine, whom engaged against extremely deadly and ferociously mighty beings. According to her brother, Dream, this side of Death is a glimpse of how she was in the beginning, described as being "hard and cold and brittle inside." It is a very rare occurrence for her to be angry and even though she is sometimes annoyed by those she finds herself interacting with, she is not known to be rude. While Death appears to be carefree of her job, she takes it seriously and is strict about balance still; especially knowing that it will make things easier for her.

Powers and Abilities

Death is perhaps the most powerful of the Endless and is undoubtedly among the most powerful beings in existence, possibly being the second most powerful, surpassing beings such as the Seraphim, being the anthropomorphic embodiment of a universal fact. She was once referred to as "she who trumps and defines all of existence". The only known beings who surpass her power are God, Asherah, Night, Azathoth, and Chaos. Moreover, despite her great powers, Death, like the rest of the Endless, is bound to a complex set of rules and customs. One which requires her not to spill the blood of family. She cannot and must not fall in love with a mortal or the mortal's downfall is assured.

Death has the power to free the soul of a body and send a soul to its appropriate destination (usually an afterlife or reincarnation). Reapers, whom are the servants of Death, state that nothing can escape the clutches of their master, for as it is written, there must always be death. She is there for the young, the old, the innocent, the guilty, those who die together or alone, carrying them to the world beyond worlds. Animals, plants, people, galaxies, dimensions, and even ideas and gods cannot escape her. She very rarely interferes in the mortal plane although she does make arrangements with the various chthonic gods and would intervene if a wager was involved with one of her siblings.

However, when it comes to beings who predated the universe such as the Ogdru Jahad or the Ogdru Hem, this causes a sense of frustration. Since Death is an enforcer of the Natural Order, beings like the Old Ones defy such an order and therefore desecrate the laws that was created in order to keep the universe and its 'wheels' in balance. The Old Ones gnaw at this wheel like dogs chewing on a tire, eventually rendering it damaged and improperly functioning. This is due to the fact that they predated the laws of the natural order itself and are not bound to its rules. Because of this, Death is unable to properly reap them, instead she waits out for other opposing forces to destroy such beings. Death is the one being that most Old Ones fear, especially given that they themselves believe that they are beyond death.

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