"I'll take you to a world that doesn't exist yet."
I didn't understand those words, they weren't spoken to me and yet, I felt something between fear and excitement. I wonder if Lady felt the same when Grim said that to her.
Lady hadn't moved much from where she was. Grim was sending wave after wave of that black mass but she was able to avoid all of them without moving so much as an inch.
Seeing as this wasn't having effect, Grim stopped and watched her silently. He then smirked. He'd realized her trick. Those black waves had served their purpose, now he could go all out.
Grim remained on the offensive for most of the fight, it seemed to me that Lady was being very cautious, or perhaps reserved is the word for it.
Grim raised his scythe towards the sky and seven portals opened up. Out of them, came black cubicle pillars. They were so overpowering, you could feel the pull of them. Like magnets...or perhaps black holes. Lady looked up at them as they
Everything before me seemed to be going by so fast and yet it didn't come to an end for god knows how long. I was so lost in there, it felt like I was the third person in their duel. Grim kept unleashing his pillars and Lady kept maneuvering through them to get close to him. For now, she hadn't succeeded in landing a blow. And although Grim looked like he was doing well, he hadn't had much success either.Eventually, perhaps when they got tired playing cat and mouse, their fight came to a halt. It was a decisive moment. This break would determine their next move and perhaps the rest of the course of this battle. Lady was on the ground, catching her breath while looking up at Grim with a stern look in her eyes.Grim was still floating midair, without attempting to hide his overwhelming aura. He was getting bored now, so he planned to take things to the next level in round two."Chopper-san", I asked, not having figured out some crucial things, "What is Lady's power right now?""You can
"So, you see Seraph, the sooner you realize it isn't about you, the more space you have left to take in everything", I'm sure she was going on about something that I'd been the culprit of starting."Ah...yeah. What was this about again?", I was a little on the verge of dozing off."Oi, oi! You weren't even listening, were you? God, you'll never be as good as Chopper!", she snapped."What? Lady, so you're just using me to replace Chopper, are you?""Oh, so you're awake enough for this? Well, of course! That idiot's up and gone missing again. For so long! This time I'll really-""Lady", I suddenly remembered something, "Lady, Lady! I heard you've got some really valuable treasure on you. Is that really true?""Treasure? Like the one that everyone has?""Hmm, well, I don't know. But it's something...err, what was it?", I pondered for a minute.While it looked like we were drunk, in all honesty, we weren't....says every drunk ever."Ah...that little box you got on your table. That jewelry
"So anyways, Seraph", Lady took a deep breath, clearing her mind, "You do remember you're out of time, right? I told you to solve the mystery or I'll kill you myself.""Oh, right", its not that I'd forgotten, "About Bardock's assassination."A new Commander in Chief had already been appointed. Bardock's era was officially over. The mystery remained unsolved, baffling many, but the top echelon of military didn't break their silence."By the way Seraph, I admitted this before and I'll confess again. I killed Bardock in cold blood", she smirked when she said this."Yeah, I remember you saying something along the lines.""But you haven't accepted that answer yet, have you? I wonder why. Is it that you can't accept it or is that you don't want to?", she was teasing me, knowing full well what it was.I didn't meet her eyes."When this thing with Grim is over...and if we all survive, then I'll tell you my answer", I said.She blankly stared at me for a while, then sighed."Alright, I'll be l
The dust was settling around the battlefield, there were no movements. Our eyes were focused entirely on the pillar that had buried Lady out of sight. As for Grim, he didn't move an inch. But the gaping hole in his chest and the carcass of his burst heart lying on the ground, didn't seem to have much effect on his vitality. He wasn't healing either, contrary to what I was expecting. Blood loss didn't seem to have any meaning either. But in his case, blood was as thick as pitch, so it didn't quite flow out of him either. "Lubbock, get moving", Chopper instructed him. Receiving this command, Lubbock sprang up and walked up front of the barrier that was holding us up. His eyes then made a whirring voice and seemed to be moving his lenses all about to get whatever it was that he was trying to get in focus. "Well?", Chopper asked after his eyes were geared up and doing their job. "Blood loss...hemoglobin is down to 9.8..." "Well, she's always been a li'l anemic. What else?" "Magic
Lady's impaled body just hung high up between the coldness of Grim's embrace and his sharp scythe.As if unable to believe or perceive her current predicament, her eyes were wide open in shock, digging into Grim's unaffected ones. Once she hurled a flood of blood that all too fruitlessly dropped down to the cracked ground, her pupils rolled back into her skull and she stopped twitching.A wave of peace ran over Chopper, as if he'd been saved. In the end, it turned out that not making any decision was the best decision after all."Now then, let me show you the world I promised. A world that doesn't exist yet."Saying so, Grim spared us a glimpse too. Sight then lowered his barrier and moved us to the battlefield. The fight was over. The winner was decided."I'll bring you all along too", Grim said, grinning.For a moment, he seemed to have turned back to his old self.By now, Lady had recovered enough that she was breathing heavily. With dilated eyes and a slightly open mouth that had
There was no Nicole in the military records. It is to be expected. After all, despite all the years of fighting, women were never sent to the front. Even when they did, most of them were snipers, stationed at safe distances.As long as women were safe, the country could keep on fighting. Perhaps the reason the war lasted so long was because there were still women who could lose their sons and husbands.But even so, when all hell broke lose and people couldn't find food anymore, many young girls ran off or were forced by their parents to fight in the war. It was easy to send them to certain places where screenings weren't exactly strict, simply, because no one had time for it. New recruits served as a meat shield. Runaways usually bribed screening officers with their bodies and ultimately, it was the pits for everyone.By the time it came to light that those recruits weren't men, they'd already be dead. Those who got discovered were swiftly carted off back home. By then, they'd mostly
The red of the sky looked like it was beginning to coagulate into much more vivid shapes. At first what was a fiery blur, transformed rather quickly into giants of flame.The meteor shower covered the whole sky. It was an overwhelming sight, like we were about to get buried by the sky itself.We all watched the calamity descending upon us, agape."Lady", Deli broke the tension, "What will you have us do?"Lady remained silent. Her stomach wound was open and she looked exhausted, but she stood beside me, firmly, gazing up at the sky.Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she spoke."Protect Valhalla", she murmured."Lady!", Chopper yelled but without paying heed, she rushed back.Her treasure, I thought, she must be worried about keeping it safe. She was one crazed up woman after all.When she'd disappeared, it fell on the rest of us to make a move."There's no need to hold anything back anymore", Chopper muttered, "Take one direction all of ya and don't stop til ye'r dead."Ther
The calm that place held in its arms was screaming home to her. She laid there high up on the mound, with her arms sprawled beside her. The deep blue sky, cold grass and the distance rustling of trees, accompanied with the gentle caress of cool wind; it was just the kind of place she had been looking for.The sky was so far away, she felt like reaching out to it. But she hadn't had the chance to rest all day so she didn't want to move right now in this moment of peace."Oi, Lady!", Chopper's head appeared in her view, "Quit dawdlin'!"She pouted, pulling herself up, and sat cross legged, staring at the grass now."Well, is this alright? Ya sure?", he asked, looking about with a scrutinizing eye."Hmmm...", she mumbled."Oi oi, why are ya turning yer head like that?", Chopper raised a brow.Instead of answering him, she just went on doing it. She'd slept in the wrong position last night and when she woke up this morning, her neck hurt a lot. She could only keep her head straight all da
I would like to think to myself that this isn't the end. But seeing as her story went back to where it all started, I realized that my role wasn't saving her at all. I just made sure she'd continue to exist, eternally.In eternal suffering and forgetfulness and new encounters and the last times, in every world, she'll continue to exist.As for me, I couldn't bear to live in a world knowing she was somewhere out there, helpless and torn, just as she'd been when I first found her.When did I first find her?Who can say? I had always been talking about how I wished I'd met her sooner. In fact, I had always known her. Our existences were intertwined so much that I don't think either of us could just pull away and be happy all on our own without thinking of the other.After I'd returned Lady's power to her, I floated away in an empty space for an eternity. I was foolish enough to think that the sorrow would fade away one day. But no matter how long and far I floated away, the memory and th
It was the coldest I'd felt in ages, and there was an aching heaviness in my head that I simply couldn't seem to shake off no matter how much I walked. I don't know when, how, or why I was walking through the snow towards the top of some hill I didn't even know.For that matter, I didn't remember who I was, how I'd gotten there, or where I was going.And just like that, before I knew it, I had collapsed in a den of wolves. Luckily, it looked abandoned, so I didn't get eaten off right away. I figured it'd be a long, slow death. I found the idea of such a gentle death appealing, despite the fact that I was walking mindlessly just seconds ago.I must have passed out, for when I came to, I was stiff as a rock. And yet, I wasn't that cold anymore. I lifted my head to find myself covered in a bear pelt. Someone had been so kind as to cover me up. And yet, the pelt was rather old and shoddy. Who cared as long as it could keep me warm?I stood up, looking around, getting accustomed to my surr
"I didn't imagine we'd ever come to a crossroads such as this", I let out a puff of smoke, standing opposite her."But, as a matter of fact, I always had a feeling we would", Lady answered with her signature smirk."Sure, you did", I said sarcastically.It was surprising at first. But things made sense soon enough. Lady had sent all of us away on a mission. She'd isolated herself at Valhalla. Chopper had left of his own accord. She'd sent Sight to look for him. Deli had gone to see her children. And she bid Lubbock and June farewell. She'd even given her fur coat to June. Grim was on a mission, too. And I was looking for Jean V. to deliver her letter.It was all exactly as it had been back then. When I'd return from meeting Jean V., Lady would already be beyond saving. Back then, all I knew was that the person who sent her that blank letter was the one who came to kill her. I never ventured to find out much else.It all made sense now as I stood be
"Must you leave without fulfilling my wish, Seraph?"He had some guts to ask. I looked up at the red sky. There was nothing but barren, burnt land all around us."What else could you ask for?", I looked back at him."You look so old, Seraph", he chuckled, "What exactly did you give the others?"I looked behind me without answering his question. There was no one and nothing."What? It's a long story", I answered without looking at him."We've got time to kill", he grinned."I don't", I said, but went on to answer him anyway, "I gave everyone what they wanted.""Really?"I glared at him, "Yes, really, Grim. I took a fee, of course."He laughed."And what will you take from me?", he asked, grinning.I looked around and then rested my eyes on him."There's really nothing."He seemed to agree."So how'd you manage?""Well, Grim, you could almost call it travelling back through time. Though, it really isn't that. I split the worlds to create new ones. Time doesn't exist for me anymore. Ever
"I will take death in any way and form it comes to me, anywhere and anytime."That had to be the most brazen statement I'd heard. It took me a bit to take that statement in."You really have no special requests? If I can, I'd like to make it up to you", I sat down and stared at his bloodied face.He shook his head."Make up for what?", he asked.He didn't know me yet to call me "boy" but I suppose that's the way it had to be.I had become better at rewriting the reality. I could write quite far back in certain cases. For example, in Sight's case, I made it so he never met Lady and Chopper on the night he killed the prima donna, Czarna Dalia.Before meeting them he didn't know anything about what he'd been doing. He didn't know what an outcast was, even though he himself was an outcast. Ignorance is indeed the greatest of all blisses. And I thought for Sight, it had to be the biggest saving.Lady was right. People who see things differently are the most dangerous of all. Especially tho
"This isn't what I asked for, Seraph", she complained, fixing her glasses on her tiny nose."I don't get what the hell it is that you want exactly, June", I was beginning to get tired."You don't understand at all", she folded her arms."You're damn right, I don't. What kind of crazy a-""One thing.", she looked at me sternly, "One thing I'm asking for is a place to be happy. Not a mother, not a wife, not a hero, not any of the other things you're trying to come up with.""What'll make you happy, exactly?", I folded my arms and leaned against the wall of Valhalla.Everyone else was off to fend the red sky off. June had been left behind in a protective barrier.She fell silent."How about Lady? Isn't she your favorite?""I could care less about her", she answered, bluntly, "I hate her.""Huh?", I wasn't sure I'd her heard her right."She does everything on a whim. She claims to understand everything when rea
"They are waiting for you, Monsieur Lubbock", a dark woman poked her head into the dressing room, "It's almost time for the show."The bajillion young ladies that were powdering his nose scattered away.His face was pink with heat and he wore a long fancy coat. It almost looked odd on his somewhat small figure."I'll be right there", he answered, gussying up in the mirror."Aww, you're leaving already, Monsieur?", some of the girls came up to him.He chuckled modestly."What can I say? The life of the greatest singer in the world isn't so relaxing, my dears.""You might be the greatest singer, but Monsieur is also the life of all women's hearts", one of the cheekier ones commented.Lubbock laughed. He didn't try to hide how much he loved being pampered like this."I'm sorry, girls. My audience awaits!"Saying so, he shot out of the room and hurried towards the stage. Backstage was always heated just before his shows. He was the one star that every theater wanted to have. But he was a
"Do you blame me for mother's death, father?", she asked, placing the empty cup of tea on the little side table.Her father wasn't facing her. He was still locked up in his study, reclining on his chair and looking out of the window at some distance lands.She sat straight, with her back erect. The weight of her gown was enough to tire her but she was made up, as befitting of a noble. She had to look all the more perfect since she was visiting her home for the first time since her marriage."Blame you?", the lord of the house spoke in his grave voice after a while, "I simply don't think you were worth her death. Esme was a wise woman. A level headed, understanding, noble woman."Faye looked at her lap."You refuse to carry out the will of the house of Vlad. You'll go as far as to commit a heinous crime to that end. I'm disappointed beyond measure."Faye pursed her lips. No one but she herself had been hurt the most by what she'd done."Vlad was born to you twice. And yet, you ungratef
"Tell you what, Seraph, this one time, I met a girl and she had these enormous scars all over her arms and legs. I couldn't help noticing her, of course. When she told me she did it herself, I couldn't help it. I killed her then and there", he chuckled to himself, "I didn't want to do it, of course. Something just came over me. It wasn't that she told me she did it herself. It was how she said it. She was smiling.""I'm sure she wasn't smiling because she was happy", I answered, with a solemn look on my face."I'm sure of that too. I was sure of it back then too. That's probably why I killed her. But do you know how many people I've saved?"He looked at my face. I stayed silent."I've saved more people than I've killed. I've been counting since the beginning. I know, for sure, that my atonement is over. At least, it ought to be. But does it look like I'm still repenting?", he asked, smiling vaguely, knowing my answer."You do.""That's because I am. No matter how many I save...the ato