"You can complete your job however you see fit." Aster said, regaining my attention. "I already have a guess as to how you will handle yourself, but I'll keep it to myself for fear of bias." He smiled a crooked grin, and I caught sight of sharp pointed teeth.
"Do we eat?" I asked, trying to catch another glimpse of his chompers. Why would he need those if not to tear into something?
"You are not required to for survival, but your taste buds and digestive system still work. We make sure to keep taste in the tongue we give you. You don't have to sleep either, but you still can, and it will make you feel rested." Aster explained. I let out a small breath I didn't know I'd been holding. It would suck to still be able to feel starvation, but I also didn't want to never taste mint chocolate chip ice cream again. Kind of the perfect deal, to be honest. I would have a lot more free time, too. With the whole, not needing to sleep thing. I would be taking advantage of that. Even as a human, I had a weird annoyance with how much of my life was wasted sleeping. I know how petty that sounds, but eight hours a night or I'm a cranky asshole? I was glad to be rid of that, to be honest.
"Now what's up with this replacing my body parts shit?" This was the part I was most worried about.
"I can hear the fear in your voice, and it is warranted. The procedure is not painless and is a sort of payment for eternal youth and power. You will have bones and body parts removed while you are awake. But you will survive, and we will work as fast as possible, so you won't have to be in pain for longer than necessary."
"We?" I tried to not focus on the fact that it sounded like I'll get to feel every part of this transformation.
"Me and two others, Banks and Cole will be working on you at the same time. Hopefully you'll pass out from the pain, but we all agree it's better to get everything done at the same time so it's over and done with." I nodded and swallowed heavily.
They're going to replace my eyes. And I'm going to feel it? I was fucking scared, I couldn't lie.
Is this worth it? I didn't know anymore.
"Please don't think about it too much." Aster said. I looked into his eyes. How can such demonic eyes look so worried? He definitely didn't want me to change my mind.
"Why can't I be under for this?"
"Unfortunately, drugs of all kinds do not affect us. We can't even get drunk. Before we start surgery, we replace all your blood with curated Reaper blood. As soon as the new blood circulates through your tissues and muscles, you'll be considered a Reaper, and drugs will make no difference. Your blood must be replaced first, otherwise your body couldn't handle the procedure."
I can't stop thinking about my eyeballs being scooped out and me being awake for it. "We'll start with your knees and elbows, then the hands, and most of us have passed out before that, and never even felt the eyes or ears part. I can see two things I would like to change about you, and there's a very good chance you won't ever have to feel those things happening." His eyes flicked over me like he was planning out how he's going to mutilate me. Which, I guess he kind of is.
"Why exactly do you have to replace these things?" I stood up then, ignoring York's gaze on me as I begin pacing around the room. I stopped in front of a desk pushed against the wall opposite the door we came in. There's an open book on it with scribbles in the columns. I wondered what he was studying in here.
"We replace your knees, elbows and your smaller joints in your feet with tungsten, so when you jump or grab things you won't hurt yourself or get any wear. Mostly the same for your hands, we replace the joints for better grip, and we remove any fingerprints. Your eardrums will be replaced with artificial ones so you can hear for miles. They will also translate any language for you, same with the tongue we will give you. It will allow you to communicate with any soul you need to. Your new eyes will be... all black I'd say. Don't you agree?" Aster glanced at York, who looked me over and nodded.
"That fits him." I furrowed my brow a little. All black was so creepy.
"Your new eyes will allow you to see in the dark and for miles on end. You will again be able to read any language, you'll be more perspective to things like deception, inhuman beings, and human emotion. It's supposed to make it easier to do your job, give you an idea of what the soul you're dealing with is feeling."
"So, you don't take advantage of that power?" I glared at York who is laying on his arms and pretending to be asleep.
"Just because other people have emotions doesn't mean you have to get involved with them." I mean, I guess? I suppose he was just being very fucking impartial. Was this how I sounded to people my whole life? Like a douche?
"What else are you going to change about me?" I asked Aster. He looked over me again before answering.
"Well, your lungs for sure. Those things wouldn't have lasted you another six years as a human. And your teeth are quite blunt. They need some point to them, at least your canines."
"Why?" I raised a brow.
"In case you need to draw blood from yourself and are without a blade." I shook my head a little at the matter-of-fact way he says it. Like, duh, why else? But then I thought back to when York cut himself to draw a door when we were in the cavern and decided it made sense. There's no telling what uses my blood will hold if York's could do that.
"Did you say there was something wrong with my lungs?" I asked, suddenly realizing he had said they were shit. I absentmindedly grabbed at my chest like I'll be able to feel something.
"Oh yeah." York snorts from his lounging spot. Aster glared at him, then softened to look back at me.
"It's true. They're filled with cancerous lesions that would have killed you in a few years' time. It's a miracle you haven't been able to tell."
"Huh." I looked down at my shoes. The same squared black ankle boots I always wore to work. I hope I'm not stuck in these forever. "I never even smoked. Never vaped. Nothing." I shrugged. What bullshit. I guess I'm kind of glad I died for that girl. At least I didn't end up coughing up blood in a year, only to go to the doctor and find out I was dying from one of the worst kinds of diseases you can get. I would've rather sacrificed my life for hers, then to have it thrown away for no one and nothing. "Where will you get the replacement parts?" I asked then, moving back to the bean bag I had been sitting on. I flopped back into it, leaned my head back and stared up at the ceiling.
It seemed more and more like I was going through with this.
"Don't worry. They're created specifically for this purpose." I squinted my eyes a little. So, there's some factory out there pumping out tongues for Reapers? That would be funny.
"When will it happen?" I sat up and met eyes with Aster again. He looks a little surprised. I guess they were having a really hard time filling that Z spot. I wondered why? They had filled all the others, but I guess I don't know how long it took them to do that.
"I can have Banks and Cole here within the day." Don't want to give me time to change my mind, huh?
I sighed and flopped my head back again to close my eyes. "Fine. Call them or whatever. Let's get this shit over with."