Pale Rider

"It's for the greater good. Once you consider that, this makes all the sense in the world."

- Death

The Pale Rider, also known as Death and Vigil Richings, is the infamous Nephesh tasked with the duty of heralding the Armageddon and was recorded in the Book of Revelation. He is the leaders of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Later on, it was revealed that he is one of the Archreapers, representing the Despair of Death, and the only Archreaper not to be created by Azrael.

Overview
"Origin: Middle East. One of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He is Death incarnate, riding a pale horse. Some sources say the Four Horsemen will kill 1/4 of the world's population."

- Compendium about the Pale Horseman

The Pale Rider, or Pale Horseman, is the fourth and final Horseman of the Apocalypse, according to Christian scripture. The rider traditionally represents Death and bears a scythe of death.

Despite typically being portrayed carrying a scythe as his weapon (much like the Grim Reaper), in the Book of Revelation, he is described as bringing Hades (Hell) wherever he rides as his symbol. His 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).

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 the Devil and all his followers and places them in the Lake of Fire for all of eternity.

Appearance
Death has the appearance of a young man, with a beauty that can only be described as morbidly beautiful and divinely handsome. He has short and neatly combed brown hair that looks like he has just come out of a funeral, and mournful light-brown eyes.

Unlike the Grim Reapers, he is dressed in a dark, expensive-looking business suit and wears a long black topcoat over it, as opposed to the black coat and skull mask which the Grim Reapers often clothed themselves in. He also carries with him a cane tipped with Empyrean Steel and was first seen wearing a black fedora.

According to Dean, there was just something wrong about him, almost like a giant black smudge over a perfectly drawn picture that made others despaired over the destruction of such a masterpiece, or a single hidden secret that would destroy someone's reputation beyond any salvation. Without his enchanted ring, he severely reeked with the smell of decaying corpses and funeral pyres.

When he first appeared as the detective Vigil Richings, he wore a simple tan suit, red tie, and dress shoes. A silver ring embedded with a garnet was put over his left ring-finger to block his scent from other celestial entities.

He is also mentioned to possess a total of six feathered-wings, each with a wingspan of around 2-meter, which resemble that of a swan, with all the wings on his left side is black while those on his right is white.

Personality
Due to his immense powers and his incredibly advanced age, Death is completely detached from the rest of Creation, even among other Archreapers, rarely showing himself connecting to the people or beings who live within it.

He is indifferent from the events unravelling around him, showing no signs of being impressed or even interested by anything, and considered everything outside of his duties as insignificant. Additionally, he cares very little for whatever the Heavenly Council commanded him to do, and despite being coerced by his siblings, he only pays the events vague interest, resulting in his tendency to wander off from his assigned targets.

Unlike his siblings, he is shown to have a more civil and calm manner when dealing with his "opponents", as shown with his polite and respectful tone when dealing with the Winchesters, in addition to inviting Dean Winchester to join him at the table to discuss the Armageddon and even went as far as to share his pizza with him, which War angrily noted that he never did that to any of them.

Despite being callous and uninterested at times, he has a respect for the natural order of the universe, explaining that while there would be times when it is difficult, in the end, breaking the order in even the smallest way can cause untold chaos through Creation.

While he does not hate those like Team DxD or Team Free Will, he feels that the pair are affronts to the natural order due to their "constant need to be some big damned heroes". However, he seems to genuinely like, to a certain degree, Dean as the two share an almost familial bond, as shown with how he temporarily made Dean his avatar for a day to teach him about the quality of soul and the consequences of disrupting the natural order, and even when he lost their wager, he was satisfied enough by the fact he had learned his lesson to do as Dean asked anyway.

He doesn't have as much of a low view of humanity as his siblings, simply thinking of them as another insignificant species among a nearly-infinite list of other species from across Creation that he has to reap. However, it is implied that he has some begrudging respect for them, or at least, for the human souls, saying that they are much stronger than what many believe and can suffer much and be broken but can't be destroyed, not even by a powerful Nephesh like him.

Along with the other Horsemen, he's looking forward to heralding the Armageddon and bringing forth the end of Earth and the mortal world. However, he claims this isn't because of cruelty or anything, but rather because Earth is "an old planet on the verge of destruction" and should "have its plug pulled out for mercy".

History
Death was one of the first Nephesh, alongside War, Famine, and Pestilence - ancient beings born directly from Raphael's despair over the sinful actions of humanity. He, in particular, was born the moment Abel took his last breath after he was killed by Cain, though he only came into form during the funeral for Abel by latching on to the sorrow of Adam, Eve, and their remaining children, giving birth to himself alongside Pestilence.

The moment he came into existence, he and his siblings were summoned to the Abrahamic God and they were tasked with the duty of heralding the Armageddon, releasing END onto the mortal world so that the world may be born again more beautiful, which they accepted with the greatest of honor. Azrael, in particular, was able to sense the massive potential within him and invited him to become one of her Archreapers, the Celestial Prince's primordial creations tasked with the duty of maintaining the natural order by reaping the souls of those whose time in the Mortal World have come to an end, similar to how she had personally reaped Abel's. And much to no one's, saved for possibly Raphael's, surprise, he agreed, gaining the mantle of the Despair of Death.

Their first mission was on Tellus Mahte, with them marking the end of the Edenith era. However, due to the fact that several Nephilim managed to survive the Great Flood despite the Angels' direct order, their mission was deemed unsuccessful. Embarrassed, the four of them vowed to one day kill the last of the Nephilim and end the remnants of the Edenith civilization once and for all.

Afterward, they continue their duty, heralding the end throughout Creation, bringing forth the end to countless planets and universes, as well as the species and civilizations living within them.

At some point in history, the four of them founded the Apocalyptic Alliance, consisting of gods and mythological figures associated with the apocalypse within multiple mythologies and civilizations across the mortal world as means of minimizing the paperwork for both themselves and the Abrahamic Heavens. They also created the Lesser Horsemen, who act as their envoy and each embodies a concept that would ultimately lead to the Apocalypse.

Abilities
TBA

Powers
TBA

Equipment
TBA

Harming, Trapping, & Banishing
TBA

Killing
TBA

Quotes
"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

"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 to Dulio Gesualdo

"This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Dean. Very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you."

- Death to Dean Winchester

"You have an inflated sense of your importance. To a thing like me, a thing like you, well... Think how you would feel if a bacterium sat at your table and started to get snarky."

- Death to Dean Winchester

"Try to bind me again, you'll die before you start. Nice Pickle Chips, by the way."

- Death to Dean Winchester

"You've met, Vigil, right? Nice kid. He's got rules. Clean hands. No interference. Well, no direct interference anyway."

- Gabriel to Team DxD

"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, the Grim Reaper will seize it and drag into the apocalypse."

- Sun Wukong to Team DxD

"Many times he died, Many times rose again, A great man in his pride Confronting murderous men Casts derision upon, Suppression of breath, He knows the Grim Reaper to the bone, Man has created the Grim Reaper."

- William Butler Yeats

"When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come." I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth."

- Revelation 6:7 - 6:8

Trivia

 * Death's appearance is based on Light Yagami from "Death Note".
 * His name Vigil is a reference to a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance, usually either at eves of religious celebrations or at times of death.
 * His last name is a reference to Julian Richings who played Death in "Supernatural".
 * He has an appreciation for human food, especially junk food.
 * He owns a pale-gray 1959 Cadillac Coupe Deville with a license plate reds "BUH BYE" in addition to his green motorbike.
 * He is the only Archreaper to be known as Death, even though he's not the oldest.