Heavy footsteps echoed with its rhythm thrumming along with Artem's heartbeat, Artem pulled away from the Scythe with the messy beard. He didn't budge.

The one with the uneven glasses spoke with sudden urgency:

"Rem Watchers. They're coming!"

The raven-haired woman clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"I don't have time to explain it to you so you have to listen very carefully." She paused for a second, searching Artem's face if he was taking in her words.

She sighed when she saw he looked dumbfounded, scared, and stupid.

"Listen. Artem Ender. This is a real world. This world exists. But at the same time it already happened. But right now this place is also a Memory Plane. Now, whatever happens in the Memory Plane will not kill you no matter what. Think of yourself as if you are a piece of a soul disregarded after serving your purpose. I repeat, you will not die no matter what happens to you."

"I don't think I have the capacity to understand you!" Artem shouted in panic.

He could not follow her words. Not that he couldn't, he just refused to do so. Because allowing himself to believe that would make him feel insane.

The rhythmic footsteps were coming in closer. Making the Scythe's edge a little closer to the cliff.

"Your family were always great houses. In every timeline. In every reality. You, Artem Ender will always be born in nobility. And your family will always put the same Supreme Ruler in power. Ender's will eternally make that tyrant divinely invincible no matter what because that is your family's purpose. And the timeline does not deviate from its purpose. The utter destruction of humanity."

The time did not go back. Artem could see how the snow never hits the ground even if minutes had passed. He was starting to acknowledge her words.

"Remember my words. You will not die. You are the last Ender, Artem. Now fall."

And then she pushed him.

And he fell into the winter abyss.

Then time resumed. Snow hitting his face violently.

His body fell into the rocky edges down below. It was worse than dying. He felt his lungs burning, his entire body aflame. His neck, arms and legs twisted in different angles.

Artem wished he would lose consciousness. He wished he didn't recognize the pain of falling a thousand feet.

He wished he just died from the impact.

Artem wailed when he felt everything all at once.

He remained conscious the whole time. Hours had passed and no matter how much he tried to close his eyes, wishing for death, death refused him.

Dried tears and repeated pain hammered his thoughts.

He had so many questions.

And then hours became days. And days became years.

She never came back. The winter never stopped. The same place remained the same. Nothing made sense.

For years he was stuck at the same place. He could feel his broken body but he did not have the power to gather them and put them back.

He waited but nothing happened. The sun will rise then the night will come.

Artem felt like he died a couple of times from the first year he was stuck in the same state. Strange thoughts and nightmares visited him. He felt like going insane. He would scream endlessly just so he could feel a little better. But it did not make him feel better.

The second year was the same except he slept the whole time. Trying to see if his slumber would lead to his death. It did not.

The third year. He was losing hope. But he tried to see if he could do something. There was no way out of this, he realized.

The fourth and the fifth year felt like a dream. He was helpless. He had no tears left to cry. To his surprise he did not lose his mind.

The sixth year, he just stared ahead. At the skies. Wondering why he had to go through all this. And looking for a chance to end this once and for all.

The seventh year, he rested. He slept the entire year. Not strange to the fact that his body could remain alive after not eating and drinking water.

Finally the eight year, its symbol resembling an infinity; Artem wondered if he would go on like this for eternity. He didn't like the idea. So he laid still like he did for the past years.

Artem's eyes opened hearing careful footsteps.

Until finally, she came back.

Her first words were:

"You didn't try to see if you could stitch your body back?"

Years of being stuck in an endless pain and suffering, of not being able to get up, of not getting the answers he deserve, of not getting back from being a victim of confusion, he only had resentment to offer.

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Years had passed and he wanted nothing but vengeance against her. He wanted them to pay for what she did to him.

Leaving him here consciously aware of the fall, of the pain, of being young and stupid.

"Oh, so you did not have an affinity to heal your own wounds. You cannot fix broken bones. You cannot make yourself numb. All these years, you stayed the way you are the day you fell."

"You pushed me! I did not just fall." His voice, older and sharper, he retained the same tone he had when he was nineteen.

Though his voice held years of frustration and suffering, she did remove her gaze at him.

She wouldn't show it but there was something in her eyes. Something close to guilt.

Artem despised her. If he could crush her right now he would've done so.

The raven-haired woman kneels before his broken body that hadn't changed ever since she pushed him 8 years ago.

And then she caressed his face. His eyes snapped shut, Artem wished he didn't crave human warmth. He hated that he almost leaned into her soft touch.

"Artem. I told you, you wouldn't die. But you have to experience this. Because there had been gaps between your memories in the Memory Plane."

"But you left me here. I was conscious! I could feel my broken bones. I could feel the pain every single day!"

He wanted to lash out. He wanted to pull her hair and drag her to the ground. He wanted to hurt her so bad she'd experience the same thing he did. But he wouldn't.

"I'm sorry."

Artem was stunned to hear those words. He did not expect her to apologize.

And then she touched him again, this time trying to remove his long hair away from his face. To see his face clearly.

"We always have to fight against time," she murmured.

Artem's brows furrowed.

"I pushed you because it would be harder to put you in extreme torture to unseal your abilities. Pushing you down a cliff is the easier way to awaken the Ender's seal."

"Do you actually expect me to just accept everything you say?"

Artem was impressed that she paid no mind to the harshness of his tone. Maybe because she understood where the resentment came from.

"You literally have no choice but to move forward. Artem Ender's in the other timelines aren't like you. They were very different. They were born leaders. They weren't emotional. Unlike you. You deviate too much from your character design. This is why you're the only chance."

Too tired to even curse her. He didn't speak. He just stared ahead. The winter never stopped. Nothing changed in this place except the time he spent here.

He just let her speak.

"There's no time now. We have to go to the arena."

"For what? Are you killing me this time now?" Sarcasm lacing his tone.

"No. We have to test what ability you have."

"Go fuck yourself."

She sighed.

"Artem Ender. You might not like your fate. But you're destined to do this. This is your purpose."

His eyes swelled up from the helplessness he felt being stuck in the same state for years. Even before that, he felt so lost when he lost his parents, from the sudden downfall of their house, from becoming a slave of the Empire, hearing that he had a purpose sparked something inside him.

"What do I have to do?"

Her face lit up. She never changed. She was as beautiful as the first time he had seen her and that annoys him.

"You will enter the arena in a few days. And all you have to do is fight."

"Fight who?"

"Who else? Of course. Every Artem Ender we could find."

"What?"

"You will fight different versions of Artem Ender from different timelines."

Nothing made sense to Artem after that.

"All were pushed. Other's already awakened their abilities so they didn't have to go through the same way you and the others did. You have to fight versions of yourself. It wouldn't be hard."

He stared at her in disbelief.

"After killing a version of you. You will gain their abilities."

She started playing with his hair as if she wasn't telling a ridiculous story to him.

"Not every Artem Ender had the same face like yours. You were all born different. So it wouldn't be like fighting a clone or a twin. But you were all born male and had the same name. It's just that in all the timelines recorded in the Memory Plane, all Artem Ender are the ones left behind by their family. All came from the same Ender lineage."

"To The Never Rise. All Artem Ender was the chosen one."

"You said before. That everything in this world already happened, that this is just a Memory Plane. Then why do you have to go all through this to find the real Artem Ender to fight the Supreme Ruler?"

"Now you're asking the right questions."

"Just answer."

She tried to hide a smile.

"Although everything already happened. There were different paths, different versions because of different choices of people and circumstances. The Never Rise believes that the timeline should only have one original path."

"What does that have to do with me?" He knew the answer; he just felt like venting out his frustration.

"Because you are an Ender," she said more gently this time.

"No matter what you do. There would be different paths. Because of the probabilities of choices. You won't succeed."

"Well, I for one, wasn't doing this to eliminate other versions. I was doing it for something else."

"For what then?" If his neck was still connected correctly on his body he would have titled it in curiosity.

"I'll tell you when we stitch your body back."

"I don't think stitching is enough to mend broken bones and shattered souls."

And then she laughed at his sarcasm.

"You can call me, Misha."

Misha offered her hand. Artem didn't mind.

"Then you can call me The Chosen One."

She laughed so hard that he almost broke a smile.