Chapter 38: Awakening (Ex Utero)

After I dodged her blade, I briefly looked at the white haired woman, quickly noticing her hate-ridden expression.

She was a Nephilim, a being who sought my death for reasons I still couldn’t understand. Yet, I felt uncharacteristically calm, as if I was watching a play—a performance broadcasted on my television.

“You…” she stared at me, madness etched into her blood-red eyes.

If looks could kill, I would’ve been dead long ago.

Still, my heart didn’t waver—fear did not possess me.

I felt better—I almost felt invincible.

Just as I thought that, she swept her blade in a swift motion, slicing at my throat, cutting right through the jugular vein.

Blood immediately spurted from my wound.

I gasped in shock, but that only worsened my condition.

As I choked on my own blood, everything slowly turned black.

…

I returned into Mnemosyne’s Antiques.

She stared at me as I sat uncomfortably on the floor, seething with hate.

“You…”

Knowing what would happen, I quickly rolled away from the range of her attack and repositioned myself.

She turned around, shocked.

“You can move…?”

I forgot about that paralysis inducement, I thought, a smile almost forming on my face.

I wanted to think of why I could suddenly do that, but I immediately brushed it aside, accepting my new-found changes without a second thought.

She lunged forward, her illusory rapier piercing the air, emitting a sharp, whooshing sound.

I shifted my body sideways, but her blade still sliced me.

Had I not tried to dodge, the blade would have pierced me cleanly, but because of my half-assed movement, she carved a pin-straight would all across my stomach.

The pain followed quick after, and let me tell you, it was one of the worst things I have experienced ever since becoming a Nephilim.

Some of the seemingly gentle moonlight left the blade to stick on my injury, absorbing my blood like a cloudy sponge, going for my organs quickly after.

I recoiled, hunching over.

She took advantage of my pain, thrusting her rapier straight inside my heart.

My eyes rolled back, and I died.

…

Once more, I found myself inside Mnemosyne’s Antiques.

As she lunged with her rapier, I threw myself over the display cabinets to avoid feeling that pain.

I couldn’t land perfectly, causing me to feel a tad-bit of a stinging sensation across my body, especially my hands and knees.

Still, it was better than dying one more time.

Although I had the power of Genesis with me, it was possible it wouldn’t last for long.

Because of that, I had to find a way to defeat, or if necessary kill her.

Since I could dismiss focusing on the defense, as my ability was doing all the work, I had to find a weapon.

She was still inside the square formed by the display cases; behind her, there was an ornamental sword.

While I was sure there were many other weapons around Mnemonsyne’s Antiques, I feared that, because she was actively hunting me, searching for them would be impossible.

Through gritted teeth, she leaped over the display cabinets.

She was fast, extremely so.

Still in mid-air, she swung her rapier in an arc-like motion, leaving a beautiful thin strand of moonlight behind it.

As soon as I back-pedaled, slipping away from her blade, I prepared myself for the next attack.

I waited and waited, but she after she landed gracefully, she didn’t move.

“How dare you…” she hissed.

Slowly, her expression became obscured by a cloud of illusory moonlight.

I wanted to grab the ornamental sword behind her, to try and protect myself with it, but I thought that her eerie behavior could be a ruse, a trap created to send me straight into the pearly-gates of heaven.

Just then, she started to tremble. And with it, she slowly hunched over, her body quivering and quivering.

As she gazed upwards, the illusory cloud thinned out, and I noticed that her mouth was drooling, waves of waves of saliva flowing downwards.

More than a human, she resembled a beast—a rabid monkey of some sorts.

Then I felt danger seep from her like a cascade of hate-ridden poems, hymns of madness and incantations of deliriums.

I slowly backed down like Casanova had wanted me to do when faced by that mantis.

I thought that, since I wasn’t possessed by fear, her killer instincts wouldn’t take over, allowing me to escape without any issues.

How could I possibly be more wrong.

Her rapier began to writhe, the moonlight inside it starting to mold into a new form.

It was anything but a good sign, prompting me to run away.

I was near the entrance of Mnemosyne’s Antiques, when suddenly, I felt a sharp pang of pain come from my neck.

The world immediately tilted, and with it, my vision spun.

As the world kept on twirling, the only thing I could see was my bloodied, headless body slumping on the floor.

…

As I returned to the shop, I felt a primal sense of anguish coming from an unspecified place, inside my soul.

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‘Casanova mentioned that the Nephilim possess Fragments of quintessence inside it. My Fragment might be struggling with all the revelations I’m having.’ I calmly formulated an hypothesis.

‘If I don’t pay attention, I might die for real.’

I thought that, if I somehow could lead her away from the ornamental sword, the situation might tilt in my favor.

Had I chosen to thread through a different path of possibilities in the last revelation I’d gotten, I would’ve known the details of her attack.

I knew it had the power to sever an head cleanly, but I still didn’t know anything else.

I didn’t know if she herself had attacked me with one of her illusory manifestations or if she simply shot me with one of them.

If she had guns or things of that sort, I fear I would be a goner. Even with the power of Genesis—the power to reveal the future—resisting for much was just impossible.

She would shoot me over and over, and since I cannot dodge bullets with my body, Genesis may activate automatically with every future death, draining my Fragment with every use.

The only thing I could do was wait—wait until she manifested her weapon.

Then, if I died inside my future revelation, I would witness her modus operandi, granting me the knowledge of how to avoid her attack.

Of course, dying wasn’t a requirement.

Yet, it was the most probable outcome.

She was different from me. As far as I could understand, her ability was mainly focused on combat.

I mustered a bitter smile.

This really made her the worst opponent for me to face.

Her rapier was writhing, the illusory moonlight beginning to change shape, leaving thin strands of cold, ethereal light everywhere.

The blade of her rapier lengthened, curving into a crescent shape that resembled the moon. Its hilt changed shape, becoming longer and broader, seeming even more dense than before.

As soon as her weapon manifested completely, I understood what had killed me in my past itineration.

‘This will make things more difficult.’ I thought.

She now looked like a crystalline, moonlight filled reaper, the light of her enormous scythe reflecting and refracting within the misty air.

Before I even saw it, my right arm was severed. It flew into the glass cabinets followed by a long streak of blood, shattering them completely, shards of glass shooting everywhere.

…

As I threw myself aside, her crescent blade hit the walls near me, carving a long, curved cleave mark on the wooden structure.

I stood up and noticed that she was trying to remove the scythe’s edge from the walls, but to no avail—she was completely stuck!

She stared at me without even blinking, her mouth salivating like a rabid predator ready to slash, ravage, kill and eat everything next to it.

This was my chance!

I ran and leapt over the display cabinets, reaching where the ornamental sword was placed.

I could’ve tried to escape, but from seeing what happened last time, I couldn’t risk dying again, wasting Genesis precious predictions.

If she had any other trump cards, I had to observe them, absorbing their inner workings, so that if needed, I could use them in the next itineration.

I grabbed the sword, freeing it from the jade engraved sheath, revealing an half golden, half black blade. The hilt was comfortable, and a brown tassel was attached on its cross guard.

Although compared to her scythe, I only had a measly sword, I didn’t waver.

Although my fighting skills were nothing compared to hers, I still didn’t falter.

This was the confidence stemming from Genesis.

This was the confidence stemming from my knowledge of the future!

Just then, she freed her weapon from the wall, dust and wooden chips falling on the floor, causing the illusory air to rise up.

Carrying her moonlight ridden scythe, she swung it downwards, hitting the display cases!

I noticed one thing however—her weapon was slower than usual. Inside my past revelation, she had severed my arm cleanly, how could I now see her slash so clearly?

Shards upon shards of glass shot in every direction, destroying even more display cases, setting a chain-reaction of explosions!

Since I was completely surrounded by them, fragments of glass collided against my body, tearing my clothes apart, cuts and gashes appearing soon after.

I winced for a brief second, gripping the handle of my sword harder. Her move meant that she still possessed a conscience under her overarching hate, prompting me to pay even more attention.

And since Genesis hadn’t prophesied her attack, it meant that my ability wasn’t omniscient!

I looked downwards, inspecting my wounds.

Some shards were lodged deep inside my flesh, evoking a tad-bit of pain with every movement.

‘Kathy will kill me for this.’ I stifled a chuckle as I stared at my torn clothes.

Since I was still inside the square layout arranged display cases, now missing their reinforced frame, I was at disadvantage, for my movements were blocked by the many objects and shards of glass sticking on the floor.

She slowly walked towards me, her back hunched over, her scythe threatening me with its might.

I raised the golden sword and pointed it at her chest, wanting to fool her into thinking that I wasn’t a complete beginner at this.

But to no avail.

She didn’t stop her intimidating stride.

I quickly vaulted over the display cases, and when I landed, I was surprised she hadn’t attacked me.

‘Did she want a worthwhile fight?’ I asked myself, but it didn’t sound right As I looked at her rabid expression, it could only mean one thing.

She didn’t care about honor or anything like that. She just wanted to make my suffering last longer, so that even death could be a mercy I would hope to attain.

I reminisced about Casanova’s words, feeling that the man analogy about the many fates of Nephilim was wholly correct.

As soon as I brandished my golden sword, she swung her scythe, cutting the air that separated us!

Clang!

I barely stopped her scythe by targeting the part where the handle and curved blade were connected; my hands and arms trembling from the impact.

Thanks to my composure, I could prepare, formulating a plan I could follow, unbounded by sentimental feelings such as fear.

Her trembling, curved blade was right next to my eye, seemingly ready to pierce it.

I used every ounce of my strength to forbid her from doing that, but it still wasn’t enough.

During our brief struggle, she managed to slash me right under, gashing and scarring my face. I gritted my teeth in pain, but didn’t lower my composure.

Just then, the light of her scythe started to retract and refract within the illusory air. As if a divine giant had placed his hand on her, her scythe grew heavier and heavier, until I succumbed to its pressure.

‘The light coming from the scythe…! It heightens it…!’

Its curved blade stabbed me right into my cheek, evoking torrents of pain upon my being. I fell onto the ground, the shards of glass inside my flesh lodging even deeper, causing me to stifle a scream.

Yet I wasn’t dead.

She forcefully removed the curved blade from my flesh, waves of blood flowing from my wound, dyeing my face blood red.

I shrieked in agony, clutching my face in distress.

She then threw it away, her weapon quickly disintegrating, returning to the misty moonlight where it originated from.

Just then, she sat on my chest.

I opened bloody eyes, seeing her animalistic face unbounded by the haziness filling them. She forcefully removed my hands from my face, and with an aggressive flick of her wrist, she broke them.

The air immediately escaped my lungs—I wasn’t even able to cry out in pain.

I tried to somehow, get her off me, to strike her with my floppy hands, but I simply couldn’t. After an expression that I could only figure to be annoyance, she broke my arms too.

Now that I couldn’t protect myself in any way, she gouged my eyes out, so that I couldn’t even see what would happen to me.

Soon after, amidst the echoes of my despair, she tore my flesh apart, devouring it like a starved animal. Sometimes she ripped chunks of meat with her bare hands, while for others she sank her teeth into my body.

My agony was infinite.

Every senses if my being screamed only one thing.

Pain.

I felt it over, and over, and over.

OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

I wanted only thing.

To make it end.

…

I felt my Fragment wince in torment.

I didn’t know precisely how many revelations I had left, but I knew there wouldn’t be many.

Five if I were generous.

But if I decided to be pessimistic…

It was only three.

The view of the scythe holding, white-haired woman reflected in front of me.

For the first time ever since I’d awakened Genesis, I was afraid—truly afraid that the future I’d just seen would come to occur.

As her blade carved me right under my eye, suddenly, with a primal, fear-ridden strength, I knocked her scythe away, using every ounce of my being.

Using it as an opportunity, I slashed right for her throat!

Just as soon as I thought that the fight would be over, she moved her head, barely dodging my pain-stacking attack, only receiving a faint, superficial cut!

I tried to slash her again, to try and profit off my parry, but she leaped backwards, completely avoiding my attack, heeding no effort to it.

Now, the exit of Mnemosyne’s Antiques was right behind her.

If I wanted to escape, I would have to kill her.

I ran towards her, gripping my hilt even tighter.

As fear quickly drained from my body, as my mind gradually returned to my previous state of calmness, I formulated a plan.

Since her scythe had a greater range than mine, I had to enter inside her domain, risk my life by dodging her weapon, and then, once she was defenseless, to slay her!

Her scythe wasn’t as fast as before, it wasn’t ‘charged’ yet!

The fragments of glass that were lodged inside my body were tearing deeper and deeper inside my flesh with every movement, increasing my torment with every passing second.

She flourished her scythe, her weapon spinning and spinning. If she thought that her threat would make me not want to attack her, she would be damn wrong!

‘Not now…’ I thought as I stared at her, gradually lowering our distance.

‘Not now…’ I gritted my teeth. In the face of adversity, in the face of the Death herself, I could only wait!

As soon as I stepped inside her domain, she swung her weapon at me. Having previously prepared for it, I dodged her incredibly quick attack!

Her hate towards me—her insatiable hunger for my death would be the reason for her defeat!

Now, she had no means to defend herself!

My mind then buzzed; an high pitched screech came from somewhere higher—from some distant cosmic place, hailing from the beyond.

“Ṣalmu Erebu Ša Sahar—The Shadowy descent of the Moon.”