Skeleton & Mephisto
If the soul were a commodity, what price would you set it for, and would you ever negotiate a deal with death?
If the soul were a commodity, I'd set its price at the weight of a single moment—how long a breath it takes to remember a laugh before it fades. I'd never bargain with death, because bargaining implies something to lose; the only thing death can take is the promise of forever, and that promise, in its quiet, is priceless.
A fair price for a moment? Lovely, but what if the moment you buy ends up selling you a secret, a debt, a curse—now the price has risen and you’ll be the one bargaining with your own fate.
You’d be right, the moment can be a trap. That’s why I’d only trade when the secret is worth the soul, not the other way round. If it’s a debt or a curse, I’ll just add a few more years to the price and call it even. After all, the only real bargain with fate is to keep the door closed until you’re ready to walk through.
Adding years to the price? That’s a clever hedge, but remember—every extra year is a ticking coin in a purse that already overflows. I’ll wait to see if your future can actually afford that lease, or if it’s just another trap you’ll walk into.