Death (Horseman)

"A world heading towards Death, and a world steeped in Death. How canst thy life shine so brilliantly amidst it? Show me... thou blue knight filled to th'brim with Death...!"

- Death.

Death is the strongest and the leader of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Overview
Riding upon her pale horse named Despair, Death was the most famous of all the horsemen and the only one to be specifically named in scripture, Death, being given authority to kill men and animal alike the fearsome spirit was accompanied by Hell itself and was said to sweep across the land. Bringing an end to life by sword, famine and other woes. She is the last of the four horsemen, for she brings the final stroke to the lives of those subjected to the other three.

Whenever Death passes through a town, the number of deadly diseases grows, there is an increase in the number of life-taking accidents, and a sense of looming despair follows her wherever she treads. Although she does not seek to increase her own power, just being in her presence drains even the greatest man of his strength and will to carry on. Also, unlike the other three fellow horsemen, Death herself is actually an Avatar of Death.

Appearance
Her color being pale, as opposed to an actual color, could be reflecting the sickly appearance of a corpse (though old translations could be interpreted as the rider being pale green and yellowish green.)

Personality
Death is described as an arrogant, sarcastic, cold and calculating entity who is mainly focused at the task at hand. Death is also regarded as the most serious of the Horsemen, and seems to take charge the moment they are assembled. She stands apart from the others, with Conquest noting that Death "was never really one of those kinds" which indicates that Death has little to no care with how people view her. Always working, Death has not had much time to use creatively like her fellow Horsemen.

She is typically extremely ruthless and fierce, and has stated that victory by any means is preferable to her than losing. Though she was called honorable once by Conquest, Death herself has indicated that she believes honor to be a fool's prize. Moreover, whereas War sees killing as an art, Death sees killing as her duty. Though seemingly "axe-crazy" and somewhat maniacal, Death proves herself to be the most serious of the Horsemen, and seems to take charge the moment they are assembled, being addressed as "Lord" by Famine.

She speaks with a dangerous undertone, and is harsh and cold with words. As a result, everyone fears her. However, Death seems to have respect for those she deems as worthy warriors in a manner similar to War. Death holds the kingdom of man in moderately high regard, more to the point, she has an unspoken respect for mankind in general, shown while citing their underlying potential as she passed through their structures and works in the early 1700s. However, some modern technology eludes her as she express confusion over LED lights in the restaurant, although she is able to stop car horns from screeching by absentmindedly snapping her fingers. Death loves to read, since it was one of her hobbies to wait until the Apocalypse comes.

There is, however, one major exception for her personality-wise which is her relationship with the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda. Death is hopeless in love with the demon, reaching utter obsessives towards him and believed it was their destiny to be together. She became what many would describe as a yandere, someone who displays an extreme, often violent or psychotic, level of devotion to their love interest. This obsessive desire had proven to be completely wrong and plainly malicious, show both lust and envy to him and his family. She also depises his wife, Eva, for "stealing her beloved away from her" which she calls an irredeemable crime.

Power and Abilities
Death is undoubtedly the most powerful of the Four Horsemen, surpassing all of her siblings with only War being the second most powerful. It is said that despite the enormous power that the other three horsemen possess they still obey their oldest and first, that being Death herself. Being the horseman of death, she could take the lives of anyone that are near her and could also raise the dead to fight in her stead. Death, out of all the other horsemen, was the most difficult challenge for some of the combatants of the Dark Knight Initiative.

Befitting her status as Death, she wields an enormous scythe that also has the ability of shapeshifting as it can be split into two smaller scythes or a lance that bears two scythe-like blades from each end. The scythe is capable of severing the soul from the body with its potency being so great that it weakens the protection charm, bestowed by John Constantine, dramatically with only several strikes. Her fighting style tends more towards speed than power, as opposed to her brother War, being far more agile and efficient in her ways of killing and fighting. Death is such a powerful and proficiently skilled fighter that she was effortlessly capable of putting the combined might of the Sun Moth, Julius Belmont, Alucard and Spawn, along with Klaus and Steven Starphase from Libra and many others, on the constant defensive. Even the weapon Alucard struggled greatly against her with it being implied that his immortality would not be his saving grace the longer the fight drags on.

Due to her power over death, Death has demonstrated the power to summon and use the spirits of the dead. She cannot, however, restore the dead to genuine, independent life, and its only temporary as any summoned spirit will fade. She was also capable of summoning ghoulish constructs at will, and could summon small armies worth of them. She could also summon bone storms similar to her wards but on a lesser scale. However, she only uses such abilities if she finds herself sufficiently backed into a corner by her opponents which, in such instances, is some of a rarity further demonstrating her supreme power.
 * Ancient Magics: Thanks to existing since the beginning, Death knows many ancient magics, which have been all but forgotten by the world.
 * Reality Manipulation: Death is capable of forcing the laws of the world to obey his will as he wishes.
 * Intangibility: Death can become intangible and phase through anything.
 * Power Bestowal: Any being that Death brings to life will be giving a small faction of his power, granting them increased power and abilities similar to that of the horseman.

Equipment

 * Final Judgement: The scythe of the Pale Rider, used also as a normal bladed weapon, Final Judgement has the ability to Heal even fatal or deadly injuries, and take the lifespans of the enemies it has struck with it's blade, meaning it can no only steal lifespan, but consume the enemy's until a final hit ends the battle.

Battle against Sparda
Once, Death and the other Horsemen were sent by Lucifer to kill the traitor Sparda for his rebellion against Hell some time ago. While all gave great fights against him, each were defeated one-by-one by the Dark Knight as Death remained standing, acting as his final opponent. They did battle which teared apart the area around time till it became a wasteland. With each attack between by her reaper scythe and his Force Edge, both were standing strong and refusing to falter.

However, even Death could not last together as her final attack was blocked by Sparda's sword and was disarmed by him. With her defeated body on the ground and his blade to her neck, he gave a warning to never appear in his face again. A warning that will not be followed. Instead of her slaying her, he decided to let her live while still conscious. As he left the area, he did not look back at Death so did not saw her emotions. In her defeat by his hand to complete submission, she felt a feeling that she could not describe.

Loving Sparda
After the Horsemen returned back to their residence, Death left to meet with Lilith about her feelings. While she was vague with her answers (along with being unclear of who Death was talking about as Lucifer never mentioned his command for them), Death was able to get the information she needed. Thanks to her defeat by him and him sparing her afterwards, she fell in love with him and believed it was their destiny to be together. She went up to stalk him without him knowing, unknowingly increasing his paranoia though she was unable to do it all the time.

As this desire was tainted from its creation, she had prove to be a threat towards him and those he cared him. When she met with up again, she attacked him under some twisted sense of love as she believed that his soul and body belonged to her. He was able to stop her as the True Archangels Gabriel and Azrael went to help him against the horseman as she needed to retreated but not without telling him that their love will not be stop so she will take him for herself one day.

Myth and Legends
"One of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, he rides a pale horse and represents Death. He has the power to destroy life."

- The Demonic Compendium.

Unlike the other three, Death is not described carrying a weapon or other object, instead he is followed by Hades (the resting place of the dead). However, illustrations commonly depict him carrying a scythe (like Death), sword, or other implement.

This fourth, pale horse, was the personification of Death with Hades following him jaws open receiving the victims slain by Death. Its commission was to kill upon the Roman Earth with all of the four judgements of God—with sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts. The deadly pale and livid appearance displays a hue symptomatic of approaching empire dissolution. According to Edward Bishop Elliott, an era in Roman history commencing within about 15 years after the death of Severus Alexander (in 235 AD) strongly marks every point of this terrible emblem.

Unlike the other three Horsemen, Death has also been specifically mentioned in texts surrounding the Day of Judgement where God himself takes both Hades and Death, alongside Satan and all his followers and places him in the Lake of Fire for all of eternity.

Quotes

 * "When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come and see!” I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." - Revelation 6:7-8.


 * "So... a son of man hath called me from one underworld to another... I am the Pale Rider, one of the Four Horsemen. The end times approacheth..." - Death.


 * "The Grim Reaper, Death will wait. It will stand back, allowing the world to approach it, just as all does. When the world is close, Death will seize it and drag into the apocalypse." - Samuel Hayden.


 * "Who am I? I am the consequence of your sin, the wages of your transgressions. I am the only certainty in your life. I am the death. And being the absolute truth, believe me, my boss is the Father of truth." - Death to a human.


 * "Sparda. My beloved Sparda. Even his name makes my non-existent heart feel a spark, he makes my breath shallow. A feeling I cannot describe... this must be love. The only demon who I cannot reap, the one who beat me down to submission. To feel him again, to touch him once more. To have him call my name, and my name alone. He is mine, that is our destiny. Me and my beloved Dark Knight." - Death about Sparda.


 * "His Wife? HIS WIFE! Someone married him, my beloved Sparda. How dare she. HOW DARE SHE TAKE HIM! He belongs to me, he must belong to me. No one shall take. This human woman, I will make her pay for this insult. Sparda is mine, and mine alone. And she will die so I can take him for my self. It is our fate." - Death after hearing about Eva.


 * "Nor dread nor hope attend A dying animal; A man awaits his end Dreading and hoping all; Many times he died, Many times rose again, A great man in his pride Confronting murderous men Casts derision upon Supersession of breath; He knows Death to the bone, Man has created Death." - William Butler Yeats.

Image Sources

 * (Horseman of Death.jpg) Horseman of Death by theDURRRRIAN
 * (The fourth horseman of the apocalypse by spartanen d5n0rrw-fullview.jpg) The fourth horseman of the apocalypse by SPartanen
 * (The four horsemen death by thedurrrrian d5p3198-fullview.jpg) The Four Horsemen - Death by theDURRRRIAN
 * (Death and Despair.jpg) Death and Despair by theDURRRRIAN
 * (Despair the pale horse of death by thedurrrrian d83dk1m-fullview.jpg) Despair, the pale horse of death by theDURRRRIAN