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"Those who break the rules shall be subjected to a fate worse than death."
— Freed Justine, Fairy Tail
"Kars... was never able to go back to Earth... Becoming a life form between organic and mineral, he wandered for eternity into the endless void known as space. Being unable to die even though he wished for it, Kars eventually stopped thinking."
— Narration of Kars's defeat and sealing in outer space, Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Battle Tendency
Overhaul: Did you come to kill me?
Tomura Shigaraki: No. I thought of something you'll hate even MORE than that...
Tomura Shigaraki: No. I thought of something you'll hate even MORE than that...
"Don't look so displeased. Don't we go way back?... No, or should I call it a cursed and corrupted connection? The chain that binds us with this detestable triangular mark apparently never breaks no matter how many times I die, or even if I fall into Hell itself. But I'm happy from the bottom of my heart that we could meet. Truly."
— Ganondorf, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2016)
Comic Books
Shonchin: Steer off this course, son. The thing you seek would be the end of you...
Gustav Strobl: Ha! How many men like you have tried to drive men like me off the path to greatness?
Shonchin: You won't find greatness.
Strobl: You have no idea, the things I've seen.
Shonchin: I do, sorcerer. You damned your soul long ago. Persist on this path, and it will be more painful than you ever imagined... when you writhed in that hellish water.
Strobl: I see. Go back to your temple. Pull your robes tight 'round yourself, priest. Don't speak of power if you're too timid to wield it.
Shonchin: You might call me priest! But I know power - such as you could never control! We learned it from the last of the Hyperboreans. It was given to them by those great spirits who first vanquished Ogdru Hem; who cast them to the heavens, entombing those they couldn't kill in the earth and under the sea. You're bathed in darkness. That fire would burn you away. Turn your boat around. Or better, crash it on that jagged edge. Even now Satan's Hell would be a kinder fate than the one you so eagerly seek.
Gustav Strobl: Ha! How many men like you have tried to drive men like me off the path to greatness?
Shonchin: You won't find greatness.
Strobl: You have no idea, the things I've seen.
Shonchin: I do, sorcerer. You damned your soul long ago. Persist on this path, and it will be more painful than you ever imagined... when you writhed in that hellish water.
Strobl: I see. Go back to your temple. Pull your robes tight 'round yourself, priest. Don't speak of power if you're too timid to wield it.
Shonchin: You might call me priest! But I know power - such as you could never control! We learned it from the last of the Hyperboreans. It was given to them by those great spirits who first vanquished Ogdru Hem; who cast them to the heavens, entombing those they couldn't kill in the earth and under the sea. You're bathed in darkness. That fire would burn you away. Turn your boat around. Or better, crash it on that jagged edge. Even now Satan's Hell would be a kinder fate than the one you so eagerly seek.
—Abe Sapien: The Shadow over Suwanee
Hellboy: Okay, well, thanks. Don't want to take up any more of your time, so I'll get going.
Dr. Erckmann: You shouldn't.
Dr. Chatrian: It's true. You're gravely ill.
Hellboy: How does that work? I'm already dead. How much worse can I get?
Dr. Erckmann: Worse.
Dr. Chatrian: Much worse.
Dr. Erckmann: You shouldn't.
Dr. Chatrian: It's true. You're gravely ill.
Hellboy: How does that work? I'm already dead. How much worse can I get?
Dr. Erckmann: Worse.
Dr. Chatrian: Much worse.
Obi-Wan: I loved you, Anakin.
Anakin / Darth Vader: YOU'RE A LIAR AND A COWARD! If you loved me, Obi-Wan, you would have killed me.
Anakin / Darth Vader: YOU'RE A LIAR AND A COWARD! If you loved me, Obi-Wan, you would have killed me.
"The answer you're looking for is not what do I want FROM you, but what will I do with you when I'm done. There is something worse than death - wishing you were."
"Have mercy, don't have mercy on me!"
— Generalissimo Tapioca, Tintin and the Picaros
"Thing is, ya can't die here. But ya can sure change shape. So when we boil ya down an' funnel ya inta Lord Xa-Du's ecto-armor, ya spend yer life as melted jelly. Imagine it. I'd go crazier."
— Mook, Escape from the Phantom Zone
Fan Works
"Too many souls have been wrongfully stolen away and... stuck, in a state of living death. To die is to be held once more in divine darkness, the Mother Darkness from which all Life was born; the body returns to earth as sustenance and the soul forgets, one day returning to Life as something new. But these thousands of little ones are kept prisoner, and the Mother Dark aches to hold Her children and comfort them."
— Mothra's perspective of the Many, Abraxas (Hrodvitnon)
"'So, ma sister,' breathed Pinkie Pie, 'she... she's alive?'
The Lost looked at her. Pinkie and Applejack were both sharing that same hopeful expression. He wanted to lie. God, he wanted to lie so badly. Just tell them that their sisters were dead and gone and spare them both the horrible truth of the matter. Just let them remember their sisters as who they were, just a bunch of cheerful fillies trying to get their cutie marks. But...
'Maybe,' he said. 'There is a very good chance that all three of them are still alive.'"
The Lost looked at her. Pinkie and Applejack were both sharing that same hopeful expression. He wanted to lie. God, he wanted to lie so badly. Just tell them that their sisters were dead and gone and spare them both the horrible truth of the matter. Just let them remember their sisters as who they were, just a bunch of cheerful fillies trying to get their cutie marks. But...
'Maybe,' he said. 'There is a very good chance that all three of them are still alive.'"
"'I think Kenna is missing too,' Fawkes replied. 'She hasn't slept in her bed. I just hope she has been killed and not abducted.'
Kat nodded. Death at OFUM meant spending time at the Halls of Mandos before being sent back (though getting a few lessons first, of course). Being alive could quite often mean a fate a great deal worse."
Kat nodded. Death at OFUM meant spending time at the Halls of Mandos before being sent back (though getting a few lessons first, of course). Being alive could quite often mean a fate a great deal worse."
"The senior members of SEELE and his father were imbedded in the walls, ceiling, and floor of this place, screaming in agony, their souls trying to claw their way out of membranes of unreality that would trap them for all eternity."
"'This is all your fault. You and your damned rebels needed a living breathing being operating your prison at all times. It was only supposed to be a three week assignment before I was rotated out,' he said seemingly on the verge of tears. 'NOW'S IT ALL GONE!' He stepped off to the side and Kara finally saw what he was talking about. A massive debris field of planetary rubble rested in the foreground, it's green glow lighting up the room. She didn't need to be told what it was. Kara already knew. Her uncle warned that this would happen but the Council wouldn't listen and now the origins of the great Kryptonian people, the seat of their space empire, and their home since the dawn of their civilization was gone.
Beside her, other pods were beginning to open and release their contents. 'I should have been here then I would have died with my family. But because of you people I was forced to see this and now I want you all to suffer just like me. The ship's supplies are limited and may last you a week at best. I also took the liberty of disposing of all the firearms on this ship except for the one I'm holding and it only carries enough charge for one more shot. The rest of you will starve to death but for me this is all over,' the jailer said before putting a pistol to his head and pulled the trigger."
Beside her, other pods were beginning to open and release their contents. 'I should have been here then I would have died with my family. But because of you people I was forced to see this and now I want you all to suffer just like me. The ship's supplies are limited and may last you a week at best. I also took the liberty of disposing of all the firearms on this ship except for the one I'm holding and it only carries enough charge for one more shot. The rest of you will starve to death but for me this is all over,' the jailer said before putting a pistol to his head and pulled the trigger."
"Don't... don't let that happen to me, Shinji. Don't let them do that to me. Or you. I'd rather die."
— Asuka, Advice and Trust
Film — Animated
Abis Mal: But genies can't kill! You said that!
Jafar: You'd be surprised what you can live through.
Jafar: You'd be surprised what you can live through.
John: Pleasure Island? But the law, suppose they...
Coachman: No, no. There is no risk! They never come back...as..BOYS!
Coachman: No, no. There is no risk! They never come back...as..BOYS!
Film — Live-Action
"'Man Lives Through Plutonium Blast'. [laughs cynically] That's a great joke, isn't it, Sergeant? They call this living!"
— Glenn Manning, reading a newspaper, The Amazing Colossal Man
Kirk: Khan. Khan, you've got Genesis. But you don't have me! You're going to kill me, Khan. You're going to have to come down here. You're going to have to come down here.
Khan: I've done far worse than kill you... I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her... marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet. Buried alive... buried alive...
Kirk: KHAAAAAAAAAN! KHAAAAAAAAAN!
Khan: I've done far worse than kill you... I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her... marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet. Buried alive... buried alive...
Kirk: KHAAAAAAAAAN! KHAAAAAAAAAN!
"Don't bother to buckle up, you may not want to survive this."
— Qualen, Cliffhanger
Professor Plum: What are you afraid of, a fate worse than death?
Miss Peacock: No, just death. Isn't that enough?
Miss Peacock: No, just death. Isn't that enough?
— Clue
Kassandra: Why couldn't he just kill me? Nothing could be worse than this!
Giles Redferne: His very thought.
Giles Redferne: His very thought.
"If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he cannot find you! You think you know pain? He will make you long for something sweet as pain."
— The Other to Loki, The Avengers
"Oh my God, these marks were made with ... fingernails. This man was buried alive. And he left a message: 'Death is only the beginning.'"
— Evelyn Carnahan, The Mummy (1999)
"I've got a message for you, and you are not going to like it: Pray for death."
— (the mass of bugs masquerading as) Wyndham, Prince of Darkness
"That is what 'To the Pain' means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever."
—Westley, The Princess Bride
"For too long I've been parched of thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starving to death and haven't died. I feel nothing. Not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea. Nor the warmth of a woman's flesh."
— Hector Barbossa, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
"Buried in the island of the dead that which cannot be found except by those who already knows where it is. Find it, we did. And there be the chest... and inside, be the gold. We took them all! Spent 'em, traded 'em and fritted 'em away, for drink and food and pleasurable company. But the more we gave them away, the more we came to realize. The drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, nor the company in the world would harm or slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner. Compelled by greed, we were. But now, we are consumed by it."
—Hector Barbossa, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
"No one ever really guessed what Hell is. It's watching the people you love, in pain."
— John Hartigan, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Hobb: Kill me...
Matthew Quigley: Where's Marston's station from here? How far's the nearest town?
Hobb: Why should I tell you?
Quigley: 'Cause if you don't, I'll let you live. Y'know, I'm new here, so I'm kinda curious. D'you think the dingoes'll get you first, or the ants?
Matthew Quigley: Where's Marston's station from here? How far's the nearest town?
Hobb: Why should I tell you?
Quigley: 'Cause if you don't, I'll let you live. Y'know, I'm new here, so I'm kinda curious. D'you think the dingoes'll get you first, or the ants?
"In Vietnam Fai was like a wild animal, you know why? A bullet in the head... why couldn't you shoot straight? Why make him suffer so much?"
— Ben, Bullet in the Head
Batman: Why didn't you just... kill me?
Bane: You don't fear death... You welcome it. Your punishment must be more severe.
Batman: Torture?
Bane: Yes. But not of your body... Of your soul.
Bane: You don't fear death... You welcome it. Your punishment must be more severe.
Batman: Torture?
Bane: Yes. But not of your body... Of your soul.
Prince of Gaza: By the sacred pillars of the temple, we demand his death!
Delilah: I want his life. Chain him in the gristmill; let him grind our grain like a beast. Let the people mock him and make sport of him until he draws his breath in agony and every word he speaks is a prayer for death!
Delilah: I want his life. Chain him in the gristmill; let him grind our grain like a beast. Let the people mock him and make sport of him until he draws his breath in agony and every word he speaks is a prayer for death!
"Death comes for us all, Oroku Saki, but something much worse comes for you. For when you die, it will be... without honor."
— Splinter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Count Dracula: To die, to be *really* dead, that must be glorious!
Mina Seward: Why, Count Dracula!
Dracula: There are far worse things awaiting man than death.
Mina Seward: Why, Count Dracula!
Dracula: There are far worse things awaiting man than death.
Alcott: Escape? You're out of your mind. You're never gonna bust out of this place. You'll get yourself killed.
Bodine: Could that be any worse than this? And what about you? You're never gonna see the outside again. Without the possibility of parole - that's what it says.
Alcott: No. Life is always better than certain death.
Bodine: That's where we disagree.
Bodine: Could that be any worse than this? And what about you? You're never gonna see the outside again. Without the possibility of parole - that's what it says.
Alcott: No. Life is always better than certain death.
Bodine: That's where we disagree.
Literature
Voldemort: You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore? Above such brutality, are you?
Dumbledore: We both know there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom. Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit—
Voldemort: There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!
Dumbledore: You are quite wrong. Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness.
Dumbledore: We both know there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom. Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit—
Voldemort: There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!
Dumbledore: You are quite wrong. Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness.
"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Rather, pity the living; and above all, those who live without love."
— Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
"You put yourself in an awkward position, setting the bar at 'killing me' with our first meeting. Now you've got to top that, which means jumping straight to fates worse than death. But where do you go after that? I mean, it's hard enough threatening fates worse than death without sounding like a deranged fuckwit."
— Blake Thorburn, Pact
"Your family could still be alive, you know."
He looks up. "They could?" Andrea? Jason? "Alive?"
The void laughs again, unfriendly: "There is life eternal within the eater of souls. Nobody is ever forgotten or allowed to rest in peace. They populate the simulation spaces of its mind, exploring all the possible alternative endings to their life. There is a fate worse than death, you know."
He looks up. "They could?" Andrea? Jason? "Alive?"
The void laughs again, unfriendly: "There is life eternal within the eater of souls. Nobody is ever forgotten or allowed to rest in peace. They populate the simulation spaces of its mind, exploring all the possible alternative endings to their life. There is a fate worse than death, you know."
— A Colder War, by Charles Stross
If I told you my last name, the Yeerks would be able to find my friends and me. And if they ever find us, it will be the end.
They might kill us. Or worse.
Yes, there really is something worse than death.
I've seen it. I've heard the cries of despair from those doomed to be slaves of the Yeerks.
I've watched as the evil gray slugs writhe and squeeze in through the ear and take over what was a free human being.
They might kill us. Or worse.
Yes, there really is something worse than death.
I've seen it. I've heard the cries of despair from those doomed to be slaves of the Yeerks.
I've watched as the evil gray slugs writhe and squeeze in through the ear and take over what was a free human being.
"What possible use is there in keeping my brain alive if I couldn't talk or see or hear or feel? Personally, I can think of nothing more unpleasant."
And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
—The Bible, Revelation, 9:3-6 (NIV)
"Sir, I am here in sanctuary, is it not so? Well, sir, I see by your bearing that ye are high in station, and I read in your countenance the marks of piety and justice. To you, then, I will yield me prisoner, and that blithely, foregoing the advantage of this holy place. But rather than to be yielded into the discretion of that man—whom I do here accuse with a loud voice to be the murderer of my natural father and the unjust retainer of my lands and revenues—rather than that, I would beseech you, under favour, with your own gentle hand, to despatch me on the spot. Your own ears have heard him, how before that I was proven guilty he did threaten me with torments. It standeth not with your own honour to deliver me to my sworn enemy and old oppressor, but to try me fairly by the way of law, and, if that I be guilty indeed, to slay me mercifully."
— Richard Shelton, The Black Arrow
Evazan's work is nothing short of a nightmare. His Decraniation
process strips a subject of all free will, turning them into living droids carrying out the whims of their owners. It is a crime far worse than slavery, for at least slaves can be freed. The only freedom that awaits the Decraniated is the release of death.
process strips a subject of all free will, turning them into living droids carrying out the whims of their owners. It is a crime far worse than slavery, for at least slaves can be freed. The only freedom that awaits the Decraniated is the release of death.— Star Wars - Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious
Roberdyck: [after Momonga orders Shalltear to kill Arche] You promised you will be merciful! Is this your mercy?
Momonga: A priest! Well, let me clear this one thing with you. Death... is a mercy in my Nazarick.
Momonga: A priest! Well, let me clear this one thing with you. Death... is a mercy in my Nazarick.
Live-Action TV
Immortal: I can't swim. What do you think would happen if I fell in the water?
Middleman: Well, I suppose you'd drown, come back to life, and drown again, for all eternity.
Immortal: Yeah... I'm not getting on the boat.
Middleman: Well, I suppose you'd drown, come back to life, and drown again, for all eternity.
Immortal: Yeah... I'm not getting on the boat.
"You are home, Counselor, and I'd rather be dead than you."
"If he had died, it would be easier. But he didn't. They took him from us a piece at a time."
— Guinan, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Best of Both Worlds: Part II", on Captain Picard's assimilation by the Borg
[Talking about Belle]
Regina: I could've killed her. But I didn't.
Gold: You did much worse than that. You kept her alive so you could kill her when it suited you. A fate worse than death. Which, incidentally, is exactly what I've got in store for you.
Regina: I could've killed her. But I didn't.
Gold: You did much worse than that. You kept her alive so you could kill her when it suited you. A fate worse than death. Which, incidentally, is exactly what I've got in store for you.
[Talking about House's self-treatment for Amber's hallucinations]
Wilson: Heart attack, stroke, seizure, death, or worse.
House: Worse? Double death?
Wilson: You live, but you damage the only thing you care about: Your rational mind.
Wilson: Heart attack, stroke, seizure, death, or worse.
House: Worse? Double death?
Wilson: You live, but you damage the only thing you care about: Your rational mind.
— House
Illyria: This fate is worse than death. Condemned to live out existence in a vessel incapable of sustaining my true glory. How am I to function with such limitation?
Lorne: Have you ever tried a Sea Breeze?
Lorne: Have you ever tried a Sea Breeze?
— Angel
Griff: Haven't you ever seen a war movie? The black man always get it first!
Al: What do you mean?
Griff: Jim Brown in The Dirty Dozen?note Laurence Fishburne in Apocalypse Now? Bubba in Forrest Gump? Any black man on Star Trek? We go in, test the waters, get killed, and you white guys go home to your families.
Al: See? We both lose!
Al: What do you mean?
Griff: Jim Brown in The Dirty Dozen?note Laurence Fishburne in Apocalypse Now? Bubba in Forrest Gump? Any black man on Star Trek? We go in, test the waters, get killed, and you white guys go home to your families.
Al: See? We both lose!
"There will be no finale for you."
"He wrapped my father in unbreakable chains forged in the heart of a dwarf star. He tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy, to be imprisoned there forever. He still visits my sister, once a year, every year. I wonder if one day he might forgive her, but there she is, can you see? He trapped her inside a mirror. Every mirror. If ever you look at your reflection and see something move behind you, just for a second, that's her. That's always her. As for me, I was suspended in time and the Doctor put me to work standing over the fields of England, as their protector. We wanted to live forever. So the Doctor made sure that we did."
— Son of Mine, Doctor Who, "The Family of Blood"
Music
"They say, this city, she's been dead for years now... for years now,
So death is not something... not something that scares me... that scares me
There's worse things than death here..."
So death is not something... not something that scares me... that scares me
There's worse things than death here..."
— Joe, Keep Quiet
"Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying"
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying"
— Eric Bogle (or The Pogues, for you younger viewers), "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda".
Podcasts
I hope my brother is dead. He must be dead. [...] If not, I can’t even begin to comprehend how dreadful a fate that would be. Some fears can only be endured for so long.
— Stephen Walker, The Magnus Archives, Ep. 75 "A Long Way Down"
Tabletop Games
"There is a fate reserved for those who betray the Emperor's trust. It is not death. It is not life. What is it when flesh and mind are taken into the body of the Golden Throne? What is it when organs are absorbed slowly into the flesh of the living machine? Is there a mind that suffers for eons as the Emperor suffers, or does the personality fade and melt away as the flesh that houses it dissolves into nothing?"
"Pray they do not take you alive."
— Warhammer 40,000 on the Dark Eldars
"Now, my dear,
That you know how one can die
Do you really wish to know
What comes after?"
That you know how one can die
Do you really wish to know
What comes after?"
"Death will only be the beginning of your eternal pain, mortal. Beyond the grave, there awaits a world of horrors that you could scarcely begin to ever imagine..."
"No. No! Not the sarcophagus... Khorne damn you, you disloyal curs, just kill me! JUST KILL ME!"
—Khalos The Ravager, last words prior to Helbrute internment, Warhammer 40,000: Helbrutes
Video Games
"...and if you are listening, that means you really are a lucky bastard. You apparently won the genetic lottery, and can't catch the Green Poison like 95% of the rest of humanity. Oh, no, you had it good! You got to sit around eating bonbons watching people you love wither and die and get wrapped in Hefty bags, and dumped into a mass grave with no funeral or gravestone or nothing! Yeah...we got a Golden Ticket, didn't we? It's like the fucking 80s all over again."
"Shinnok was an Elder God. Impossible to kill. There are fates worse than death."
— Dark Raiden, Mortal Kombat X
Geras: Drowning cannot kill me, Raiden.
Raiden: That is unfortunate for you. The Sea of Blood is bottomless. You will fall forever.
Raiden: That is unfortunate for you. The Sea of Blood is bottomless. You will fall forever.
Raziel: As your agent, I am beyond death.
Elder God: There are fates worse than death, Raziel.
Elder God: There are fates worse than death, Raziel.
"Did you not recognize the creatures that moved in the shadows? The Apes too had served the Dark Master, but more for their own greed and thirst for power than any true loyalty to him. This is how Malefor repaid them... doomed to remain in the dark... feeding off the power of others, never being fulfilled."
— The Hermit on the fate of the Apes, The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
Fenris: I still can't believe Hawke saved you.
Isabela: You've been saying that for years. Would you have turned me over to the qunari?
Fenris: No, but I know what they do to their prisoners.
Isabela: You've been saying that for years. Would you have turned me over to the qunari?
Fenris: No, but I know what they do to their prisoners.
"Not even a thousand deaths would be fitting punishment for thy sins! I shall smite thee, and in hell I shall torture thee over and over! After an aeon, I shall reincarnate thee, and thy lives shall be those of endless torment, thy bodies tortured in life and thy souls in death! The same shall come to thy children, and thy children's children, throughout all eternity until the end of time! Feel the wrath of my divine lightning, and plummet into the bowels of hell, burning in its unending flames!"
— YHVH, Shin Megami Tensei II, Neutral Path. The next game implies it happens.
"The weight of your blasphemy is too great for death. Eternal suffering is the only suitable punishment!"
— YHVH, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, Bonds and Massacre Paths
"Always looking to pervert and subsume tradition and common beliefs, the Aten cultists conducted a different kind of burial ritual than the customary one, constructed to quicken the dead body in this world rather than in the next, to forever live in the glory of their dark god. Death could not be an escape from the duties of their faith. Rituals and symbolic ceremonies were twisted into something cruel, embracing death instead of life. Funerary texts and magical spells were altered to restrain the deceased rather than guide them to the fields of Aaru. These undying would be the the voice of Aten, a voice made of preserved flesh.
Imagine them, sweetling. Bound to the table, still alive, as metal tools enter their nose, stirring their brains, souls torn apart, and what was left, gibbering and mad, held together by bandages and wards - denied the scales of Anubis or the cycle of Maat."
Imagine them, sweetling. Bound to the table, still alive, as metal tools enter their nose, stirring their brains, souls torn apart, and what was left, gibbering and mad, held together by bandages and wards - denied the scales of Anubis or the cycle of Maat."
—The Buzzing, The Secret World
" Do you know the biggest lesson I learned from what you did? I discovered I have some sort of black box quick-save feature. In the event of a catastrophic failure, the last few minutes of my life are preserved for analysis. I was able - well, forced really - to relive you killing me, again and again. Forever."
—GLaDOS, Portal 2
"I shall not slay you. No matter how much you entreat me, how pitifully you lament, you shall not die. I grant you the rights accorded to an enemy of the gods: you shall live for now and forever, in an endless cycle of rebirth, condemned in each life to be hated, feared, scorned, punished and obliterated! Always with the screech of insects buzzing within your skull, ants gnawing at your eyeballs for ever and ever!"
— Lezard Valeth, Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
"Do you even know what Joker did to me? The games he used to play? This is MERCY compared to what he put me through!"
—The Arkham Knight aka Jason Todd, Batman: Arkham Knight
Mimir: First, you need to cut off my head.
Atreus: Wait, what?
Mimir: Odin made sure that no weapon, not even Thor's hammer, could free my body from these bonds. But, fortunately, you don't need my body. The trick is, we need to find someone who can reanimate my head, using the old magic.
Kratos: Old magic... There is a witch of the woods, she knows the old ways.
Mimir: And she'll help? She might do. Worth a try!
Kratos: But if she fails, you will be dead.
Mimir: ...He tortures me, you know. Every day, brother. Odin himself sees to it personally, and believe me, there is no end to his creativity. Every. Single. Day. This... this isn't living.
Atreus: Wait, what?
Mimir: Odin made sure that no weapon, not even Thor's hammer, could free my body from these bonds. But, fortunately, you don't need my body. The trick is, we need to find someone who can reanimate my head, using the old magic.
Kratos: Old magic... There is a witch of the woods, she knows the old ways.
Mimir: And she'll help? She might do. Worth a try!
Kratos: But if she fails, you will be dead.
Mimir: ...He tortures me, you know. Every day, brother. Odin himself sees to it personally, and believe me, there is no end to his creativity. Every. Single. Day. This... this isn't living.
"Anyone swallowed up by that world will live there for eternity, undying. They will haunt that realm as a spirit. How can our Lord forgive such an abomination?"
"This fallen Paladin is cursed to 'live', forever damned, at Cylostra's side. He doesn't even like music..."
— Flavor Text to Robert Barthelemy, Total War: Warhammer II
"Legend of Quirce.
The horrifying flames consumed Quirce's body as he cried out in unbearable pain. But these were not ordinary flames: they were the flames of the Miracle. The flames burned him to ashes and, before the eyes of the inquisitors, the flames brought him back, time after time, in unparalleled torture. Burning and burning again. Screaming and screaming again. Quirce, the son of the bonfires, knew what his penance was going to be."
The horrifying flames consumed Quirce's body as he cried out in unbearable pain. But these were not ordinary flames: they were the flames of the Miracle. The flames burned him to ashes and, before the eyes of the inquisitors, the flames brought him back, time after time, in unparalleled torture. Burning and burning again. Screaming and screaming again. Quirce, the son of the bonfires, knew what his penance was going to be."
— Quirce's Scorched Bead Flavor Text. Blasphemous.
"You won't die, but you'll wish you could."
— One of Scrap Baby's Have a Nice Death quotes, Ultimate Custom Night
"Some fear death. Others pray for it."
—Silent Hill 2 tagline
Web Animation
Hideo Kojima: He's eliminated now! All eliminated players have to... join our PlayStation All Star Game!!!
[Cut to Bob inside PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale]
Bob: Oh no, somebody kill me! Kill meeeeeee-!
[Mass "Oh, Crap!" by many of the remaining participants, who who try to escape the game out the entry doors]
[Cut to Bob inside PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale]
Bob: Oh no, somebody kill me! Kill meeeeeee-!
[Mass "Oh, Crap!" by many of the remaining participants, who who try to escape the game out the entry doors]
Webcomics
"She tore me into twenty pieces and stitched me back together with my nerves. I wonder what she’ll do to you."
— Toby, The Property of Hate
Red Mage: Maybe eternal torment is fun.
Black Mage: That's your alternative?
Red Mage: It's all we've got left.
Black Mage: That's your alternative?
Red Mage: It's all we've got left.
Klaus: I suppose I really should just kill you.
Othar: Ohh. didn't see that one coming.
Klaus: But in fact I have a job for you.
Othar: (Beat Panel) Why do I think I'd prefer to be killed?
Klaus: Good heavens. It's possible that you really are smart.
Othar: Ohh. didn't see that one coming.
Klaus: But in fact I have a job for you.
Othar: (Beat Panel) Why do I think I'd prefer to be killed?
Klaus: Good heavens. It's possible that you really are smart.
Web Original
SCP-1440: Should you choose to challenge Death to a game of cards for your life, there is one thing you must never do.
Doctor: And what is that?
SCP-1440: Win.
Loudspeaker: Welcome, future crybabies of America, to the Millennial Escape Room.
Tanner: Oh, come on!
Tori: Don't you think the whole "millennial" thing is just a little bit overplayed?
Loudspeaker: If you don't find all four participation trophies by the time the clock runs out, you'll all die.
Tanner: Okay, we didn't even ask for participation trophies. We were children. You just gave 'em to us, okay?
Garet: Yeah, and jokes on you old timer. Death is the only sweet release from all of our crippling debt.
Tanner: [claps] Boom!
Loudspeaker: No, you'll die socially. For every minute you don't find a trophy, we'll like an old photo of your ex on Instagram...
[everyone gasps]
Loudspeaker: ...and add money to your student loan, ensuring financial instability into your forties.
Tori: Oh, no no no.
Tanner: Okay. Your empty threats mean nothing, spooky voice.
Loudspeaker: And post every cringy pick-up line you've ever used on social media.
Tanner: [beat] ...Yeah, we've got to find the trophies right now.
Tanner: Oh, come on!
Tori: Don't you think the whole "millennial" thing is just a little bit overplayed?
Loudspeaker: If you don't find all four participation trophies by the time the clock runs out, you'll all die.
Tanner: Okay, we didn't even ask for participation trophies. We were children. You just gave 'em to us, okay?
Garet: Yeah, and jokes on you old timer. Death is the only sweet release from all of our crippling debt.
Tanner: [claps] Boom!
Loudspeaker: No, you'll die socially. For every minute you don't find a trophy, we'll like an old photo of your ex on Instagram...
[everyone gasps]
Loudspeaker: ...and add money to your student loan, ensuring financial instability into your forties.
Tori: Oh, no no no.
Tanner: Okay. Your empty threats mean nothing, spooky voice.
Loudspeaker: And post every cringy pick-up line you've ever used on social media.
Tanner: [beat] ...Yeah, we've got to find the trophies right now.
—Studio C, Millenial Escape Room
Western Animation
Finn: Is everyone in Ooo like a zombie? Is everyone basically dead?
Ice King: Everyone is not dead. It's much worse.
Ice King: Everyone is not dead. It's much worse.
— Adventure Time, "Bespoken For"
Zuko: If the Earth Kingdom finds us, they'll have us killed.
Iroh: But if the Fire Nation finds us, they'll hand us over to Azula.
[Beat]
Zuko: Earth Kingdom it is.
Iroh: But if the Fire Nation finds us, they'll hand us over to Azula.
[Beat]
Zuko: Earth Kingdom it is.
— Avatar: The Last Airbender, "The Cave of Two Lovers"
"They say if Finnegrin captures you, he flips a coin. Heads, he drowns you in the icy depths. Tails, you'll wish it had been heads."
— Villads, The Dragon Prince, "Sea Legs"
Cecil: He's not dead, he's just back in Hell.
Donald: Isn't that... Isn't- Isn't that worse?
Donald: Isn't that... Isn't- Isn't that worse?
"Together forever. I can't think of anything that they would want less."
— Discord, regarding Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow being Taken for Granite for their crimes against Equestria, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic," The Ending of the End - Part 2"
Duke: You motherfucker! You killed everything I love! Take me too! TAKE ME TOO!
Fumbles:note No. No, you live with it.
Fumbles:note No. No, you live with it.
"You have no idea what you've unleashed here today...There are some things far more frightening than death."
— The Grand Inquisitor's last words, Star Wars Rebels
"From an Evil Genius to another, Mojo, I can say this won't kill you... although you will probably wish it would."
— Dr. Flug, Villainous
Real Life
"At the door of life by the gate of breath, there are worse things waiting for men than death."
— Algernon Charles Swinburne
