You may wonder; What kind of world do we really live in? Some would say it's an unfair society where people only believe in the corruption of power, some would long for peace, pray to whoever they can pray to, and find solace in that. Here is the truth... The world we live in is beyond our understanding, as some would call it...
- [ A Mystical Divergence ] -
- [ A Mystical Divergence ] - [https://img.wattpad.com/08aebe09c9f40f1fb88d92b597d3c790c471efa8/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4c6a6a636a4b484b32466d3177513d3d2d313333313130323734352e313735326461303139313136356231623531353934363137343135372e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
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March 18, 2065 / Universe #1.
"..."
There he was, standing on the hill, looking down on me as his aura lit up the entire forest. It was as if I was standing before a God, who was talking to one of his pawns, trying to change whatever it can. But I could feel it, there was no violent thinking behind his pose, his aura felt warm, and felt smooth. It was like he was sizing me up, if anything.
But at the same time, it looked like he wanted to make me feel that nothing bad was to happen, that it was okay to talk to him, that it was okay to open up to him, and ask for help and receive that desperate thing I so need. Help.
Help, a strong word. It's the very thing that defines sympathy.
And then, my eyes met with his once again—and suddenly, something happened inside them. Something moved, from deep within. Like when you look into someone else's eye, and see yourself reflected back. The feeling came over me slowly, but eventually overwhelmed every other sensation: fear, doubt, even despair itself. And all this began to melt away until what remained were just two things left: hope, and trust. Trusting everything about myself.
"..."
The feeling was to great to even let me speak a single word. I was overwhelmed with such euphoria that all I could do is gaze into his highly illuminated, captivating aura. This man had given me hope, not through words or deeds, nor by any special abilities, but simply because he existed. This existence alone made me think that maybe, somewhere out there, life wasn't completely hopeless after all.
Then; he spoke to me.
"I am here for you. I will help you. Everywhere and everytime."
I have met him a couple of weeks ago, when I was in what could've been interpreted as the lowest point of my life. The constant attacking by Segumi Bunraku, a Magician I so despise, and the pressure of being the Second-Ranked Class 10, while also having to deal with Divo Aoyami's threats... I was about to crack under the pressure. He was there to talk to me whenever needed, but never really opened up, or revealed himself... until now.
He showed how he really looks like... and in return, I was to trust him. I didn't really want to trust him. In fact, I wanted to avoid him, whatever it took. But something about him made me feel that he was to be trusted, that he really meant everything he said.
"... Will you really help me?" I said, with eyes that spoke of hopelessness, while I looked up at him like I was seeking forgiveness from a God.
"Yes," he replied without hesitation, "I promise you."
With those simple words, I believed him. Not fully, perhaps, but enough to know that I should continue moving forward toward my goal. So I did. I walked towards him, leaving behind all the troubles and worries in my mind.
It was almost impossible to tell whether it was day or night, since the sky above us was dark and cloudy most of the time. There were occasional flashes of lightning between the clouds, making the atmosphere more eerie than ever.
We stood together, side by side, gazing upon the sea below. We weren't far from each other, close enough to reach out and touch, yet distant enough to maintain space between ourselves.
At some point, I just started crying. I don't know when I started crying. It could've been minutes ago, it could've been now... but all I knew that I was shedding lots of tears. Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of relief, and tears of regret. All kinds of emotions mixed up, forming a mixture of feelings that couldn't possibly exist anywhere except in the human heart.
As I cried, I heard a voice next to me saying, "Trust comes a long way, I know that myself. I've experienced just as much as you have. Which is why I chose you. You may very well be the one that will save all SPECs... Ourselves."
As I shed my final tear, I look at him now. He was blindfolded, and all that I could see was his nose, cheeks, and his heartwarming smile.
But...
...
No.
No.
No.
This is wrong.
I didn't experience all this! It's fake! It's not real!
Me? Trusting someone? Getting saved by him? That's all fake!
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
In a split second, reality warped around me. The heartwarming feeling I felt flew away, and all I felt now was despair, melancholy and... sadness. It felt like I was switching universes... The blue sky turned brown, and it was raining. I'm trapped in hell, surrounded by darkness and death. Everything feels so heavy, like lead weights are attached to my body. I tried screaming,
shouting,
pleading,
begging,
cursing,
swearing,
laughing,
crying...
... None of these worked. Nothing helped. No matter how hard I screamed, no sound reached outside of me. Even though I desperately wished for somebody to hear me, nobody did. Nobody would come to rescue me.
Nobody would come to rescue me [https://img.wattpad.com/53a9d572ecbe489d9568243198690ea4c7a92a84/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f486d3062796a6e4e4c58714875513d3d2d313333313130323734352e313735326461313030323138643164613836383334383830373739392e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
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March 18, 2065 -- Universe #16.
"Natsuha Inose, you had one job."
I hear a voice of the same person who comforted me a while ago, this time... it felt pressurizing, penetrating, outright angry and hateful.
"One job! Just how big of an idiot can you possibly be!?" His voice echoed throughout the entire forest, his aura engulfed him, concealing his real appearance. I... I don't remember what happened. Why is he so angry? What have I done? What am I not being told?
I can hear myself talk back to him.
"I can't be saved! Do you hear me!? It's done! I'm doing things my way now! I'm killing every single person who was involved with the project!"
The aura got bigger and bigger, and started showing signs of red colour. Red lightning. Red sparks. I feel out of place. Why am I angering him, and why is he so hateful toward me?
"I told you to wait, to hold on a little longer. But you just won't listen, will you!?" The voice became gradually louder. I can feel myself getting closer to him, as if he's going to grab me by force. I start panicking. I try to run away, but my legs aren't working properly. My hands shake uncontrollably. "!!"
"You had one job to save your little sister. I gave you the most humane option possible, but you gave in to your own incompetence, you inconsiderate fool." Those bashing words made my heart sink deeper than it has already sunk. It was like pouring gas to the flame. It... It wasn't my fault.
It wasn't my fault that I killed Nazuki.
It wasn't my fault that I doomed Tsuki.
It wasn't my fault that I failed you.
It wasn't my fault.
It wasn't my fault.
It wasn't my fault.
It wasn't my fa-
Before I realize what's going on, I was flying. I felt an excruciating amount of pain on my right head. "HGH-" He punched me, with full force. I was flying through the forest, crashing onto trees and more trees, until a bigger tree broke my velocity. I would fall to the ground, coughing blood onto the wet grass. My right head would be bleeding. I would feel dizzy. Am I concussed?
My vision is blurry. I can see him walking towards me. I try to utter something, but it came off as mumbling instead.
"W... wait... Please..."
"Natsuha Inose. It seems that I must smack some sense into you. Or no... I believe that you are far too gone to be of any help to me. I will beat you up to the point where you will rethink everything."
I felt a painful knot in my stomach. I am scared, and I am sad. I am terrified of what he will do to me... No. No, it won't end here!
As I grow hateful of him, and my strength elevates, so does my power. I kick off the tree and accelerate towards him, with immense speed. Those blindfolds... It is still a mystery to me. How does he exactly know what I do, what I see, and what my next actions will be while his eyes are completely devoid of perception?
He doesn't move. I was expecting him to dodge, or at least defend himself somehow. Instead, he simply stood there, watching me approach.
I was only meters away from him, and then unleashed an energy wave towards him. But... much to my dismay, he phased through it. I was left in shock and confusion. I was supposed to hit him with a powerful attack, but it wasn't strong enough. He was on another level.
What's worse is the fact that he didn't even flinch after I attacked. He was standing there, as calm and composed as ever, waiting for me to strike.
I kept rushing forward, trying to find a weakness in his defense, but he simply evaded my attacks. After a while, he finally decided to counterattack, but not with his bare fists. He kept his arms behind his back, and simply used his legs to block my attacks. He's... he's downplaying me!
It was like a game of chess. He was the master, and I was the pawn. I couldn't get past his defenses, and he wouldn't let me hurt him. I was losing the battle, but I wasn't ready to give up yet. But, he was atleast a hundred times better than me. Every attack that I had in my locker, be it energy waves, energy blades, teleportation, Dark Matter manipulation... nothing worked. He was simply faster, more durable.
I continued attacking, with every bit of power I could muster, but he never stopped blocking, never stopped dodging, and never showed any sign of fatigue or injury. He was like a rock in front of me. A stone wall.
Eventually, I lost all hope, and started crying. I was exhausted, I was frustrated, and I was just about to throw all my remaining power against him. I would charge up my fist with all my energy, and extended my arm towards him, accelerating faster. I would discharge my energy at him. It hit him directly. I thought I had won...
But...
I felt a sharp, cold sensation in my chest.
"I'm sorry, Natsuha Inose." He would say to me, as his entire arm walked through my guts. He would retract his arm, revealing a huge hole in my gut, enough to leave me for dead.
"A... gh... gk... hhh..." I look at him with immense fear.
I couldn't breathe.
I could barely think.
I couldn't scream or cry.
Why...
He extends his own arm and aimed it just in front of my face. Without a moment of hesitation, he fired an energy wave at me, completely blowing me away from the forest.
After a full minute of freefalling, I fell onto the cold, cold pavement. Tumbling over the earth, before I crash landed in a building. Blood was flowing out of my mouth, and from somewhere, I could hear a cracking noise. My gut was blown open, as my leftover intestines started seeping out of my body and around my legs. My body was mutilated.
I couldn't think. All I could see is red, all I could feel is pain. I couldn't hear anything. All of this was happening in slow motion, which was strange since I'm dying anyway. As I lay there on the floor, slowly fading away from existence, I looked up at the ceiling, thinking about what I could've done. All the things that I could've accomplished, all of the things I could've taken back. I guess people weren't kidding when they said that life flashes before your eyes when you're dying... It's scary... I don't want to die.
I don't want to die!
I try to utter the word 'Help' with my remaining strength, but all that comes out of it is a pathetic wheeze. Nobody is coming to save me. I really am going to die. I can't stop myself. The last thing I saw were those words.
-- "I'm sorry, Natsuha Inose." --
I wish I didn't have to see them again. I'm not worthy of that kind of apology. I fucked everything up. Everything that you wanted to protect and save. Eight... I'm so sorry.
As my eyes started to close, I see some kind of deity standing above me. It looked at me with his 12 or so eyes. It didn't look like the Grim Reaper... and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if I did see him. I'm withering away anyways.
The deity looked up, and then back at me again. He would utter something in a language that I didn't understand, and grabbed my face.
"..."
"You are an interesting individual, Natsuha Inose."