"Hey!", I had no intention of talking to Lucy but instinctively, I was bound to reply to Prophet if he called, "What are you doing getting up?"I frowned, not wanting to, but I also made no effort to hide it."What do you want?!"We had to yell at the top of our lungs to communicate. Prophet was pretty high up, you see."What do I want?! That ain't the question, is it? Just stay down and let me make this quick!"I agreed with her wholeheartedly. That was the only logical thing to do. I wish it wasn't."Screw you!"I figured I might as well go out with a bang.I wished I wasn't alone here. I really wished that, before remembering I had Prophet, and Nasty II too. Still, if only..."I'll make this easy for you!", Lucy yelled before lugging a stray mountain at me. I had to make a run for it. She was fast but not fast enough. Huge mass needs time to be moved around after all.That's right. And as such, that planet she was creating up there, I still had time before it came down on us.I had
"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.
"~This time...I've lost my own return, in spite of...everything I've learned~"I could hear the distant song playing among the constant noise. It sounded like it was seeping from a broken radio, pushing every muscle in the poor radio to break it outside. And even though the radio was barely breathing, the song was blasting its way out of it. I could almost hear the heaving sound of the poor radio as it just barely kept up with the song.I soon became aware of the predicament I was in. I wasn't dead, for one. But things were worse than just that. I opened my eyes, which made a crisping sound, more horrible than anything you can imagine. I could tell from the rubble digging into me that the ground was shattered, there was a lot of smoke and dust and I could barely see or breath. I felt extremely light, it was almost scary. I couldn't yet feel most of my body, but I could at least tell that I was in one piece."Here?!"I heard two distinct voices, approaching me. I wasn't in the right mi
"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
"~I can't be reached...I've only had one call, dragged underneath...separate from you all...~" "Seraph!" "Huh?", I broke out of my thoughts, "Yeah?" "Where's your head?", Deli asked. We were on our way back. It was rather windy today, we had left Wenus early in the morning. Valentine offered us a ride home but Chopper flatly rejected him. The four of us were now walking all the way back. We were crossing through a forest, it was high noon, but there was no sun. The sky was rather bland today. Or perhaps I felt that way after having become used to the crimson skies of that little hell. Prophet was back to normal. He looked really pale and weakened but otherwise he was fine. He couldn't properly talk to Chopper and Deli but I'm glad he wasn't nervous with me. "Are you sure you aren't angry with me, Seraph?", he had asked. "I was. It certainly wasn't uneventful down there but I guess...since we're out here now, that's all that matters", I looked his way as we walked side by side, f
"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
"Do you feel sorry for him?""...""Or do you feel remorse on being unable to protect your ideal world?""...""Say Seraph, are you...angry?""...""Why aren't you saying anything?...Do you hate me?""Cut it out already.""Well...that's better, ain't it?", she grinned.Indeed, I hated her guts, goofing around like that. This isn't what I was here for. I gritted my teeth, suppressing myself with every shred of constraint in my body. I bet it was visible enough, though she seemed to be enjoying this."Prophet isn't the one you should be feeling this way for, you know", she whispered.I guess that did it for me. I grabbed her by the collar, lifting her off the ground easily, as tiny as she was. I really meant to hit her really bad. I wonder what stopped me right there. I could feel the hungry eyes of Chopper on me, he was ready to rip my head off but Lady forbade him from interfering. He was standing at a distance, keeping an eye on me. "Its not a good view from here, Seraph", she final
"~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
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