The anger that surged through Mikomi’s body was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He couldn’t even think straight as Sebastian stood there in front of him, grimacing at the sight of Mikomi losing all sense of control over himself. Knowing that the past ten years of his life were manipulated by Sebastian for such a petty reason shook him down to his very core.

Mikomi began to hyperventilate as he stood there looking at Sebastian. His fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles had turned pure white. Blood trickled down the palms of his hands because his fingernails had dug that far into his skin. Sebastian was delighted with the sight in front of him. Everything Sebastian had orchestrated culminated at this very moment and he looked as if he took immense pride in his work. Sebastian tilted his head to the side with that grin on his face while still holding the gun in his hand.

“That’s it, my dear Mikomi. Give in to your rage! Entertain me further!”

Mikomi lost all control over his body. He simply lunged forward at Sebastian, screaming at the top of his lungs. He swung with the entire weight of his body behind him but his fist connected with nothing but air. Sebastian had disappeared and reappeared by Alice’s body. The force of Mikomi’s punch sent him staggering forward, losing his balance. Mikomi fell to the pavement on his hands and knees. Meanwhile, Sebastian took his cane and began to poke Alice’s body with it.

“Poor thing. If only she had stayed in the office where she belonged. She loved you, Mikomi. More than you could ever know but you were too busy blaming yourself for Serah’s death… for your father’s death… that you couldn’t see just what was laid before you. The tender, sweet love of a woman who deeply cared about you. It’s amazing just how blind you have become.”

While on all fours, Mikomi turned his head and saw Sebastian poking Alice with his cane. He gritted his teeth so hard that he slipped and ended up biting his bottom lip. Mikomi tasted the blood that trickled down his chin and pulled himself up to his feet.

“YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!”

Mikomi ran at Sebastian and, once again, swung for the fences, hitting nothing but air once again. He stumbled and tripped over Alice’s body, face-planting right into the pavement next to her. Blood oozed from his nose and right cheek where it scraped against the ground. Despite the injuries, he was too blinded with hatred to feel any of the pain. He could only pull himself back up to his feet.

“I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t enjoying this, Mikomi. Watching you struggle like a worm on the end of a hook stimulates every bit of my senses. Despite that… knowing that you’ll never hit me is quite boring so what if I were to give you a free shot? No more tricks, Mikomi. I’ll let you have one. After all, it’s the least I could do seeing how I’m going to kill you. I might as well make your final moments worth it.”

Mikomi didn’t hesitate. He charged forward and swung his fist, aiming right for Sebastian’s face. Sebastian grinned but that grin turned into a look of shock when the punch connected! Mikomi buried the full force of his fist right into Sebastian’s mouth. The impact knocked him down to the ground with a sickening thud. With his vision hazy, Sebastian gazed up into the night sky. All he could see was a blurred image of Mikomi standing over him.

“But how? I should have phased…” Sebastian muttered to himself.

Just as Sebastian questioned how he was able to land a clean hit on him, his attention was caught by the sound of footsteps growing closer and closer. The footsteps also caught Mikomi’s attention and he averted his gaze from Sebastian albeit momentarily. Sebastian looked over and his eyes widened when he saw the figure that stood before him.

“Caliel?”

There stood a man, roughly six feet tall. He sported a white suit similar to Sebastian’s. Instead of a royal blue undershirt, he wore a dark lavender shirt with a white tie. His medium-length black hair slightly hid his purple eyes which made contact with Sebastian. Soon after, Caliel averted his gaze and looked at Mikomi with a look of sympathy. Mikomi didn’t know what to make of this but he would soon find out as Caliel began to speak.

“Mikomi Saigo. My name is Caliel and I am a Custodian of Time like Sebastian. However, unlike Sebastian, I have not cast aside my duties to protect my timelines. We’ve known of Sebastian’s betrayal for quite some time but tracking him down has been rather difficult. No doubt you have questioned why he would only show up sporadically. He was preoccupied with erasing his tracks, making it quite hard for us to pinpoint his location. Needless to say, his arrogance had finally caught up to him.”

Caliel turned his attention back to Sebastian who looked up at him, quivering in pain from the harsh punch Mikomi landed on him just a few moments ago. Suddenly, everything became clear to Sebastian and he began to feel a whole new emotion: fear.

“Sebastian. For your betrayal, I have stripped you of your title as a Custodian of Time. With that, you also forfeit any ability and privilege that comes with that title. My job here is to pass judgment on you; however, there is someone more suited to that task.”

With that, Caliel turned toward Mikomi and looked at him for a moment. He then turned his back to the two of them and reached into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette. He lit the cigarette and took a deep puff of it before folding his arms. It was as if he were using his body language to tell Mikomi that Sebastian was all his. When Mikomi realized this, he took a step toward Sebastian which caused him to panic.

The impact of Mikomi’s punch caused Sebastian to drop his gun. He knew now that it was his only hope. Sebastian turned and scurried for the gun but as soon as he laid his hand upon it, Mikomi stomped down on his wrist, the sheer sound of the crack it made suggested that it broke on impact. Sebastian screamed out in pain as Mikomi bent over and picked the gun up off the ground. He stared at the very instrument that took his life ten years ago in the original timeline. Beads of sweat mixed with the blood on his face and drooled down his cheeks. He began to breathe heavier and heavier the more he looked at the gun.

Mikomi then slowly looked down at Sebastian and pointed it right at him. Sebastian begged and pleaded but Mikomi would hear none of it. He pulled the trigger, the bullet going right through Sebastian’s right shoulder. Sebastian yelled out in pain once again as Mikomi had an emotionless look on his face. He aimed the gun slightly to the right and fired again, shooting Sebastian in his left shoulder. Sebastian’s white suit began to stain itself red.

Mikomi aimed a bit lower and pulled the trigger, blowing a hole in Sebastian’s right knee. At this point, he knew that there was nothing he could say or do that would cause Mikomi to spare his life. Sebastian’s only hope was to escape. He knew that he had been shot multiple times and had a broken wrist but that was the furthest thing on his mind. Fight or flight set in and he turned over onto all fours and began to crawl away. Mikomi fired the gun once again, shooting Sebastian in the back of his other knee.

The blinding pain caused Sebastian to stop in his tracks. Mikomi slowly walked over and stood over him. The gun held six bullets. Mikomi had fired four. Subtract the one that was used on Alice and that meant that Mikomi only had one shot left. He aimed the gun right at the back of Sebastian’s head but he hesitated in pulling the trigger. He knew that this bullet would end everything. It would become the symbol of his redemption but in the end, Mikomi couldn’t pull the trigger because he felt that it just wasn’t enough.

Instead, Mikomi dropped the gun and knelt next to Sebastian. He grabbed him by his hair and pulled his head up off the ground. Sebastian turned his eyes and looked at Mikomi with an expression of fear on his face. His eyes almost begged Mikomi to spare him but he knew that he had no mercy anywhere in his body for him. Mikomi began to speak and Sebastian hung onto every word that came out of his mouth.

“As you lay here writhing in pain, I can’t help but think that what you’re experiencing is nothing compared to the pain I’ve felt. Everything I have done, I did to save the ones I loved. ALL I EVER WANTED WAS A FUTURE WHERE I COULD BE WITH THE PEOPLE I LOVED.”

Mikomi twisted Sebastian’s head to the point where his neck was at its limit. He wanted to look Sebastian directly in his eyes to make sure the message was delivered loud and clear.

“You took my future away from me… and you took away everything that I worked so hard to build. That’s why I’m not going to shoot you. A bullet would be showing you mercy and you don’t deserve any of that. Besides… I’m bored with shooting you. I need something that’s going to entertainment… something that I can feel.”

With that, Mikomi turned Sebastian’s head and shoved straight into the pavement. Mikomi did it with such force, he could feel the crack as Sebastian’s skull broke on impact. Mikomi wasn’t satisfied and pulled Sebastian’s head up

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“That almost put a smile on my face. I think I should do it again. What do you think?”

“N..N…”

Mikomi slammed it back down into the pavement with tremendous force before he could even give his answer. Mikomi lifted his head once again revealing a bloody mess that made Sebastian’s face almost unrecognizable. A small smirk formed in the corner of his mouth.

“Can you see it, Sebastian? I’m finding my smile once again! I’m almost there!”

With that, Mikomi put everything he had into this last one. Upon impact, Sebastian became completely motionless. It was only then that Mikomi realized what had just happened.

Mikomi killed Sebastian with his bare hands.

Mikomi stood up and staggered backward. He would have fallen had his car not been nearby. Mikomi trembled as he looked at his hands, stained with Sebastian’s blood. Caliel closed his eyes sensing that the deed had been done. He turned around to see that his suspicions were correct. He looked down at Sebastian who was lying face down in a pool of his own blood, his shoulders and knees stained with the blood from where Mikomi had shot him... He knew that this was a delicate situation but he also knew that Mikomi shouldn’t need to be involved with this any further. He took another drag of his cigarette and let out a puff of smoke.

“Mikomi. There is nothing I can say that can make up for what has happened to you. My deepest regret is not being able to find Sebastian sooner. I’m afraid that I cannot reverse any of this and offering an apology would feel more like an insult than a genuine emotion at this point.”

“Send me back….” muttered Mikomi.

Caliel met Mikomi’s request with silence.

“Send me back! Sebastian was able to send me back… surely you can do that, too, right? I don’t care! I’ll live these last ten years over again! I’ll save Serah... I’ll save my father… I’ll make sure Ryan has a purpose in life… I won’t leave my mother alone… Alice won’t have to die… just send me back so I can do it all over again!”

The desperation in Mikomi’s voice was heartbreaking. Caliel closed his eyes and let out a painful sigh. He sympathized with Mikomi to the point where it even hurt his own feelings. That’s why he couldn’t bear to say what he had to do next.

“I’m sorry, Mikomi but that’s not possible.”

“What do you mean that’s not possible!? It happened before… just grant me another second chance! Why isn’t it possible!? I need to go back... I HAVE TO GO BACK!”

“Being granted a second chance is a one-time thing. Even if I used my ability to do so, it simply wouldn’t work. You would still be standing right there in that very spot with nothing changed.”

Mikomi fell to his knees. The look of fear on his face said everything that ever could be said. His lips quivered as the tears fell from his eyes. Reality had set in that even in death, Sebastian had won. There was no way out of this world and he had to live with the fact that Serah, Ryunosuke, and Alice were dead. He had to continue knowing that he abandoned his mother and that his best friend Ryan had abandoned him as well. It was the worst life Mikomi could have ever asked for and all thanks to Sebastian, he had no choice but to live it.

That is until something caught Mikomi’s eye. Caliel instantly realized what Mikomi had seen and raised an eyebrow.

“Mikomi… you don’t want to do that. If you do, it only means that Sebastian won.”

“Sebastian… already won…”

Mikomi reached forward and grabbed the gun off the ground that still contained one final bullet left in it. He stared at it as if it were the one ticket out of this personal hell and brought the gun up to his head.

“Mikomi, stop! I can’t send you back but there might be another…”

Before Caliel could finish, Mikomi pulled the trigger. His world instantly went black. The sound of the world around him quickly faded. His mind could no longer process any thought. Mikomi felt this sensation before. It was when the doctors were struggling to save his life at the hospital. Only this time, the sensation washed over him almost instantly.

Just as soon as he felt peace, his vision slowly returned. He gasped for air and it quickly filled his lungs. Mikomi began breathing heavily as he looked around seeing the same parking lot he had just shot himself in. Alice’s body was still there as was Sebastian’s. Mikomi was extremely confused as to what was going on. He looked up and saw Caliel standing there in front of him, his purple eyes aglow.

Mikomi got back to his feet and looked around. The moonlight cast a reflection of himself in the windows of his car and his image immediately caught his attention. All of the blood, the scrapes, the gashes… all of them were gone. There wasn’t even a hole in his head where he had shot himself. Just then, Mikomi noticed his attire. He wasn’t wearing the light blue suit that he normally wore anymore. He was wearing a white suit with a light blue dress shirt underneath and a white tie. Mikomi staggered back at the sight of his appearance and immediately turned to Caliel.

“What… what did you do to me!?”

“Needless to say, Mikomi, you were a bit hasty. I was trying to tell you that I couldn’t give you another chance by sending you back but there was another way to make things right… but it does come with a bit of a sacrifice, I’m afraid.”

“What are you talking about?”

“With Sebastian’s demise, we need another Custodian of Time to take his place. I couldn’t think of a better candidate than yourself.”

“You mean with this, I could….”

“Precisely. You would be in charge of the same timelines Sebastian was in charge of. You can travel to the past, present, and future at your leisure. You have the ability to save those who you want to save.”

“So… what’s the sacrifice?” asked Mikomi, not easily forgetting Caliel’s words from a moment ago.

“The sacrifice is yourself, Mikomi. No matter what timeline you visit, you will cease to exist. None of the people you know will recognize you. You would be a complete and total stranger to anyone you come in contact with; however, the tradeoff here is that you can make a difference in the lives you couldn’t save. I believe that, alone, is worth the sacrifice.”

Mikomi stood there deep in thought. He recalled back to his time with his father in the hospital when he told him the etymology of his name. Mikomi Saigo meant Final Hope and by becoming a Custodian of Time, Mikomi knew that this was his true final hope of making things right. As he stood there, Caliel interrupted his thinking.

“Of course, I understand that seeing the people you know and love would be painful knowing that they wouldn’t know who you were. That is why the pact isn’t completed just yet. Should you decide that this isn’t worth it, I will revoke the pact. Because you had already gone and shot yourself, this would mean that revoking the pact will return you to your previous state before it was made. In other words, you will die, Mikomi. Should you accept, however, I will finalize the pact and bestow upon you the rights and privileges that come with being a Custodian of Time. You will then be free to oversee the timelines as you see fit… within reason, of course.”

Mikomi closed his eyes for a moment. He began to weigh his options to see just which path he wanted to take. On one hand, if he rejected the pact he knew that he would die but to Mikomi, maybe that wasn’t such a bad option after all. He wouldn’t have to deal with the pain of knowing that everything in this world that he loved was gone. He could finally have eternal peace

Mikomi then thought of the other option. If he could control the timelines, that means he could save the ones he loved but it would be at the cost of them never knowing who he was. Either way, he would cease to exist but there was only one option that he could use to make a difference. To him, making that difference meant more to him than letting Sebastian win.

Mikomi then looked up at Caliel with a burning determination in his eyes.

“Finalize the pact,” said Mikomi in a clear and decisive tone.

“Very well then.”

Caliel walked over and placed his hand against Mikomi’s forehead. His body instantly became light as a feather as this warm sensation flowed through him. The sensation only lasted for a mere moment and it faded as quickly as it came. As soon as the sensation was over, the world around Mikomi began to distort and warp. Soon, he felt his body being pulled away from the world in which he stood. Before he realized it, he was in a vast emptiness. Thousands of blue lines surrounded him. There was one blue line in particular that had a red line running parallel to it. As Mikomi looked down the line, he noticed that the line branched and joined with the blue line next to it.

Without even having to think about it, he knew that the blue line was his original timeline and the red line was the one created by Sebastian. With the knowledge of knowing that he didn’t exist in any of these timelines, Mikomi came to a decisive decision. He peered at his original timeline and saw exactly where he wanted to go in it. All Mikomi had to do was think about the time and the destination and he quickly found himself there.

Upon entering the timeline, Mikomi looked around. He recognized the street he was on as well as the all-too-familiar house that stood in front of him.

“I’m home,” Mikomi muttered to himself.

All of a sudden, he saw his mother’s car pull into the driveway. It was only natural to assume that she would be coming home from grocery shopping. She stepped out of the car but then he saw the passenger side door open as well. He thought it was his father but instead, a girl around eighteen years of age stepped out. She had long black hair and blue eyes, looking almost like a feminine version of himself.

“Don’t go in yet, Daphne. I know you just graduated but you still need to help me take in the groceries.”

Mikomi’s eyes widened. As soon as he heard Karoline speak her name he instantly realized what had happened. Since he never existed, it meant that time had changed and Daphne survived at birth, becoming his replacement here. While it pained Mikomi to know that no matter what, his mother wouldn’t recognize him, he still felt a sense of warmth knowing that she wouldn’t end up alone.

Mikomi looked down the sidewalk in the direction of Serah’s house. He chose this day because it was the day that he had graduated from high school. He would have been eighteen at this time as well but he knew that in this timeline, Serah had also received the news of her parents’ deaths, and that drove her to commit suicide. Mikomi knew that it was probably over at this point but that was something he had intended.

Mikomi closed his eyes and disappeared from sight. He quickly reappeared in front of Serah’s house, stumbling upon doing so.

It’s going to take a bit to get used to this…

Mikomi walked up to the front door of the house and slowly opened it. When Mikomi looked inside, his suspicions were proven correct. Serah had already killed herself and her body lay there on the floor, her wrists slit. It pained Mikomi to look at her in such a state but he came here knowing with full intent what he wanted to do.

He walked over to Serah’s lifeless body and knelt next to it. He grabbed her by her arm and suddenly, the wounds on her wrists began to close. Color returned to her face and she gasped for air as the oxygen returned to her lungs.

Serah immediately sat up and looked around, not knowing what had happened. She instantly saw Mikomi and became frightened, pushing herself away from him.

“W-who are you!?” she said in a panicked tone.

Those words were like an arrow straight through the heart. He wanted to burst into tears knowing that the girl he loved had no idea who he was. Then again, he knew that this was to be expected. He knew that this was the way it had to be if he wanted to save her. With those thoughts in mind, Mikomi reached his hand out and cracked a pleasant smile.

“My name is Mikomi… and I am a Custodian of Time.”