"Remember me."Ah, that's right. I thought she said nothing this time around, but really she did. I wonder why I forgot about it till now. That day when Prophet and I left, she was standing outside alone. She was looking into the distance like she always did, thinking or perhaps reliving some distant memory. I observed her back from the distance like always. Then, as if feeling my gaze on herself, she turned her head slightly my way and returned the gaze with such cold and barren eyes. At times like this, I always had the feeling she was looking into the future. She watched us leave and just before we disappeared from her sight, she mouthed these two words to me. I cannot curse myself enough for having forgotten that all this time. It might have been too late to remember this now, under different circumstances. Fortunately, we were in the underworld. Ironic as it may sound, for a dying man like me, there was nothing better than that.The reason Lucy has the capability of killing me

"So what's next?", I asked after a disturbing length of silence."Nothing's changed", Lucy answered, "Nothing you say changes anything."I looked at Prophet, wondering if he was thinking differently. He didn't look back at me."I suppose it doesn't", I muttered.Lucy turned back into her material form with Prophet and went back up into the sky."I wish there was a wall between us...or something", I said as I looked at her building her weapon of destruction."What did you say?!"I didn't think I'd been loud enough to be heard by her."I said I wish there was a wall between us!", I yelled back at her."Hah!", she said mockingly, "As if a wall could save you! You are not escaping me, you damned idiot! There's nowhere here where I can't reach you. Try to run if you want. I'd like to see you snivel!"I had no intention of running. There was nothing more pointless than that right now.I began to consider my options. There was no place on land which was safe. Flying wasn't an option either.

"Oi...", the man came into my blurry vision, as the dust and smoke settled on my face, "Did you just grow...skin?"Now that I was seeing him clearer than before, he looked familiar, although I'm sure I'd never met the man before."Seraph, that's some regeneration you got.""Can you...", I was almost surprised to hear my own voice, "Can you tell me who you are? How do you know me and...what are you doing here?""Huh? Lose your bolts?", he sighed, "Well, I'll be damned. Just get up for now, you look plenty healthy."I cradled Nasty's remains in my arms and sat up. He was like a deflated balloon. I lay him down on a nearby rock and stood up."Hey Deli! Aren't you done there, dammit?!", he hollered to the lady who had arrived with him."Shut up, this piece of crack needs a piece of my brain!"I looked over at her. She was holding Prophet by his head, raising him above the ground. She was rather humongous herself, Prophet flailed like a ragdoll in her hand."Lucy...", I murmured. I had to

"None of us are strong enough to control whatever is inside him. For now, he's in control thanks to the restraints Deli put on him. You can tell just by looking at him even from here, he can't be salvaged, Seraph.""I don't get it at all. What are you even-""Oi!", Chopper interfered, "Don't be a chicken about it, you brat. This is on you-""Chopper!", Lady stopped him."Just tell him the truth, hag. He ain't a kid", he seemed annoyed."Get things going. Call Sight and Grim, we don't have much time. Tell Deli to bring him around the back. We can't let him in when he's like that", she instructed Chopper after which he left.I stood watching them, utterly confused. After Chopper was gone, Lady looked at me and sighed."We always knew...that a time like this would come. But I had believed when I sent you...that you'd be coming back alone. Still, I should have known better...it was you, after all."She turned her back to me and looked emptily into the distance, perhaps formulating her tho

"~I'm so tired...sheep are counting me~"I stood, staring at them wide-eyed."You've got to be joking", I muttered.But of course, they didn't look like they were. I had to wonder why I was the one who had to do it. This wasn't making any sense."This isn't the matter of whether someone else will or not. They simply can't. Besides, this is Prophet's choice. He is the one that picked you, wouldn't let him down now, would you?"That wasn't even an adequate excuse. Chopper looked right at me."You need a hand, kid?", his look made me go cold. I looked down, all the strength in me left me. The sun was racing down, I felt my spirit leaving along with it. My feet were heavy when I turned back and took a step towards Prophet.The sound every muscle in my body made as I walked over to him, the ground pressing beneath my feet, the air passing through my hair, drops of sweat on my forehead, the coldness of shivers running down my spine, my tongue running over my dry lips, my eyes struggling to