Even though he knew the day he would die was fast approaching, Mikomi still felt that he had to complete Project: Serah. He concluded that no matter how many times he tried to change the world, the world would always just rebalance itself, making all of his efforts futile. Because of such, he knew that he couldn’t save anyone. With that evidence right in front of him, he knew that there was nothing he could do to prevent his death. He was going to die and his journey would come to an end.
The night went by quickly. Mikomi had trouble sleeping and spent the entire night looking up at the ceiling in the guest bedroom of Alice’s house. Two years later, Mikomi had become a permanent fixture there. Even though he easily made enough money to buy his own house, Alice asked him to stay with her. He was reluctant to do so, but he, for whatever reason, agreed. Perhaps he was afraid of what he would become if left alone in his current mental state. Maybe he felt that he owed it to Alice for taking care of him all this time but despite what his reason was, what Mikomi didn’t realize was that Alice had fallen in love with him.
Despite his lack of emotion and laser-focused attitude, Alice continuously prayed for the day when the Mikomi she used to know would resurface. She even did the unthinkable and asked him out just six months ago. She expected to be instantly rejected but she was shocked beyond belief when he accepted her confession. Even though they were officially a couple, you wouldn’t be able to tell, even if you analyzed them under a microscope. The feelings Alice had for Mikomi were completely one-sided. While she loved him with everything she had, Mikomi didn’t even think of their relationship as a romantic one.
He only agreed to go out with her because he felt that nothing truly mattered anymore. To him, her confession was simply what the world wanted for him and not what he truly wanted. After all, Mikomi’s heart still belonged to Serah and, in his mind, there was nobody on this planet that could replace her.
While his relationship with Alice seemed cold and emotionless, Alice still held onto the hope that one day, Mikomi would realize what they have. It was that hope that kept her going, that made her stay with him, and tolerate everything that he had become. She strongly believed that if she loved him long enough that it would snap him out of it. Just like how Mikomi was determined to see Project: Serah through to the very end, Alice was determined to see her own personal project through as well.
The sun began to illuminate the room when Alice knocked on his door and then poked her head in. Mikomi tilted his chin down, touching his chest with it. He stared at Alice as she stood there in the doorway looking at him.
“It’s almost time to go. We have a meeting with the press in an hour.”
Mikomi nodded and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. After getting ready, they took their usual silent drive to work. Alice sat there in the car with her hands folded in her lap. She glanced over at Mikomi several times, wanting to say something to him but just didn’t know what it was she wanted to say. Perhaps when she looked at him, she hoped that he would be the one to initiate the conversation but he never said anything to her. He simply kept his focus on the road and kept driving.
They arrived at the company together just in time for the press conference. Mikomi addressed the media about Project: Serah, which had been officially named Onyx A.I. As Mikomi answered the questions each of the reporters had, something felt off about that day. He quickly realized that he never spoke with the press in the other timeline as he was shot and killed the night before everything had happened. The fact that the press showed up on his death date made him quite suspicious. The realization sidetracked him so much that he stuttered over the answer to one of his questions. He realized this and quickly apologized and restated his answer more clearly.
Once the barrage of questions was over, Mikomi returned to his office where he sat down behind his desk and began to think to himself, something he hadn’t done in a while.
This certainly didn’t happen in the original timeline but I’m certain today is the day that I am supposed to die. Is this proof that my changes made an impact on the world or is this the way that the world has chosen to balance out my existence? The only X factor that hasn’t been solved yet is Ryan. Ryan was fired from his job here and I was nowhere to be found to defend him. Even though I don't know where he is at this moment, I have a good feeling about where he will be tonight.
Mikomi gazed out his office window at the parking lot down below. There was nothing he could do about it now. All he could do was go about his day as normal and wait for the moment to arrive. At the end of the day, he found himself behind his desk going through a stack of papers. He sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out quite an audible sigh. Just then, Alice walked into his office, wearing her favorite black business dress. She walked over with a cup of tea and placed it down on his desk.
“I know it’s been a rough day so far. You really should take it easy.”
“Alice… I know my…”
“limits…”
Mikomi stopped himself as those words seemed all too familiar. This was almost the same conversation he had in the original timeline with her but he realized things were much different. Mikomi checked the time and noticed that he had about thirty minutes left before he would leave for the night. In the next thirty minutes, he knew that he would be shot and killed in the parking lot. He decided that it was now or never.
“Alice… I’m sorry.”
“Mikomi?”
“For the past six months, you have done everything in your power to love me. You took me in, you sheltered me. You stood by my side even though I am nothing like what I used to be. You never gave up on me and even now, you still stand here by my side. I’ve been the worst boyfriend in the world. Someone like you deserves so much better and yet, you’re still here. You just don’t ever give up.”
“I can’t give up, Mikomi. I still have faith that one day, I’ll get to see your smile once again.”
“That is why I’m sorry. I’ve made you wait so long for this.”
With that, Mikomi looked up at Alice with a genuine smile on his face. The tears immediately came to Alice’s eyes as she lunged forward and embraced him in a hug. She took a step back as Mikomi closed his eyes.
“A lot of things have happened. Things I couldn’t control even though I tried to. For better or for worse it has all led me here to this moment. I know you may not understand what I’m saying, Alice but I feel like if I don’t apologize now, I’ll never get that chance. So, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything and even though I haven’t shown it, I want you to know that I love you.”
“Mikomi?”
Mikomi stood up and grabbed his coat off the rack next to his desk. He still wore his father’s light blue suit, even to this day. He began to walk towards the door of his office when Alice stopped him.
“Mikomi? Where are you going!?”
“Not far. I have one thing that I need to take care of before we go home for the night. I won’t be long.”
With that, Mikomi left the office, leaving Alice confused. The fact that he said “before we go home” put her mind at ease somewhat but she still couldn’t help but feel that something was off. Alice waited a bit and then decided to follow him. By the time she made that decision, he was already walking out of the building. He slowly made his way over to his car. He had insisted on driving to work today just for the simple fact that he wanted his car there to recreate the scene of his death right down to the last detail. As Mikomi approached the car, he reached into his pocket and pulled his keys out. He went to insert them into the lock and that’s when Mikomi froze.
The faint sounds of footsteps could be heard coming up off to his left. Mikomi had arrived a bit earlier than in the other timeline. He wanted to give himself ample opportunity to confront his killer so he could at least know his identity before being erased from existence for a second time. As the footsteps got closer, Mikomi closed his eyes, not wanting to acknowledge the truth. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath and while keeping his eyes closed, called out to his killer.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“So, it was you, after all, Ryan?”
The footsteps got louder and louder until they stopped. He could feel Ryan’s presence standing there just a mere couple of feet away from him. Mikomi waited for a reply and he didn’t have to wait long.
“Ryan? I’m afraid you’re mistaken… my dear, Mikomi.”
That voice was one he could never forget. The soulless tone, the British accent. All of it was instantly recognizable to him. Mikomi’s eyes snapped open and he turned his head to see that the man standing in front of him wasn’t Ryan, but…”
“Sebastian?” muttered Mikomi.
Sebastian nodded his head to Mikomi as he stood there leaning on his golden cane as he held it in front of his body. As Sebastian stood there, Mikomi’s head began to hurt. It was almost as if the memories of the last ten years of his life began to flood his mind all at once. He gripped his forehead as the familiar pain surged through his skull. All the while, Sebastian stood there and grinned at him.
“Something the matter, my dear Mikomi? Are your memories playing tricks on you again? Don’t worry, that’s just the world rebalancing itself. You see, Mikomi… you made it. I must offer you my congratula-”
“YOU’RE FULL OF SHIT!” screamed Mikomi.
“Oh?”
Mikomi dropped to his knees as the pain in his head was blinding at this point. Through it all, he was forced to remember Serah’s death. The painful memory of that car crashing into her outside of her art class. He also remembered the phone call from his mother, telling him that his father had committed suicide. He remembered the falling out he had with his mother and the news of Ryan getting terminated from his job. After those memories came rushing back one after the other. Mikomi fought through the pain and slammed his fist into the side of his car door, trying to inflict a new pain to distract him from the one in his head. Mikomi gritted his teeth as he looked at Sebastian with disgust.
“The world never rebalanced anything. You told me that you would protect the world I created and yet, here I am kneeling inside of a broken world that I couldn’t change. There’s no way the world could rebalance itself if a Custodian of Time were doing his job. You lied to me, didn’t you?”
Sebastian remained silent causing deep anger to swell up within him.
“DIDN’T YOU!?”
Sebastian grinned from ear to ear.
“There’s that rapier wit of yours again, Mikomi. I’ve told you from the very beginning what I thought about it. Your suspicions are very much correct, indeed. The world was not rebalancing itself. No, no, no. That honor would belong to me and me alone.”
Sebastian tucked his cane up against his body and took a bow as if he were proud of that fact. Mikomi’s eyes widened as he stared at him in disbelief. Sebastian stood back up straight and looked Mikomi dead in the eyes.
“Oh, how much fun have I had these past ten years? It was so delightful taking in your expressions of hope and joy, I just couldn’t help myself. It was like you were this little marionette flailing ever-so-happily in the air without any realization whatsoever of the strings that were controlling your every movement. All the while, the puppeteer standing high above, looking down marveling at the hypnotic movements being made by the marionette. It has been a truly wonderful performance! Needless to say, I enjoyed it so very much.”
“What are you saying?” growled Mikomi.
“You were having so much fun changing the world. Every time you accomplish a goal it filled you to the brim with satisfaction, joy, and happiness. The light in your eyes was the true marvel to behold. One would say it was simply captivating. But, it wasn’t interesting one bit because what fun is happiness without despair? To truly live, one must feel pain and heartache... which is why I sent that car plunging straight into your pretty little girlfriend.”
Mikomi’s eyes widened, his mouth agape. He couldn’t believe the words he was hearing from Sebastian right now.
“I thought that would have ended your journey for change right then and there but you were so so defiant! You lit that flame of passion anew and tried your luck again! Imagine my shock when your pop believed what you had to say and underwent the knife for life-saving surgery! With him fit as a fiddle, I had to use a more… direct… approach to taking care of him. That’s why I took a quaint little ride with him out to the woods and threw him over the side of a ravine. I mean, when you leave no sign of a struggle or any physical altercation, the only conclusion one would draw is suicide. It was quite a convenient situation if I do say so myself but don’t worry. I told your father the truth about everything right before I sent him plunging a hundred feet down to the ground below.”
Mikomi couldn’t even budge. He was frozen in place by Sebastian’s words. Sebastian tilted his head to the side and smiled.
“The funny thing is that I praised you for your rapier wit, but I was sure killing your father two years early would have sent up a red flag. It seems that I was mistaken. It makes me wonder that if you could regain your memories when coming in contact with Serah and not your father, does that mean you loved Serah more than your own flesh and blood family?”
“W-w-what!?”
“That’s right, Mikomi. You asked me a long time ago if there was anything else I had done to your memories but you don’t think I would have given you an answer straight away, did you? That would have ruined the entertainment value of this whole situation. You even said yourself that your father passed away two years ago but when you reached college, you were convinced that the day he died was four years ago. Now, why is that? Well, my dear Mikomi, there is only one way that was possible and that reason stands before you now.”
“I had hoped that you would have realized the error beforehand. I threw the biggest clue right in your face and you failed to realize it. Surely you felt the stinging pain in your head shortly after your father’s death, did you not? That pain is only felt when you try to put back your scrambled memories into the proper order but somehow you weren’t able to do so. That was quite interesting and it makes me wonder just how and why you weren’t able to. Sadly, I don’t think we’ll even find the answer to that question but it just means you have far exceeded my expectations!”
Mikomi remained speechless. That’s when Sebastian reached into his coat pocket and pulled out something very familiar to Mikomi. It was the gun that had shot him at this point in the original timeline. Mikomi’s eyes widened as much as they could when Sebastian gripped it with his right hand.
“And now to finish off the trifecta. I’ll be sure to enjoy this as much as I did the first time around.”
“MIKOMI!?”
A voice screamed out from behind. Alice had found her way out to the parking lot and saw everything that was going on. She had no idea what was happening but when Sebastian saw her, he grinned from ear to ear.
“My, my. What good fortune I have! Alice had appeared after I had shot you in the original timeline but here she is before the deed could be done! I wouldn’t have this any other way! Now I can make this situation even more interesting!”
With those words, Sebastian aimed and squeezed the trigger. The gun went off with an ear-shattering bang. Mikomi closed his eyes fully expecting to feel the burning pain of having a bullet tear through his flesh. After a moment, Mikomi realized that he had felt nothing. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sebastian standing there grinning with smoke pouring from the end of the gun’s barrel. At that moment, Mikomi’s heart sank as he slowly turned his head to see Alice laying there on the ground with a pool of blood forming underneath her abdomen.
“A-Alice?” muttered Mikomi with a quiver in his voice.
Mikomi rushed over and knelt beside her. He immediately checked her pulse, only to find nothing but silence.
Alice was dead.
“Why?” muttered Mikomi under his breath, his tone getting louder and fiercer with each repeat of the word. “Why? Why!? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME!??”
Mikomi turned his head and gave Sebastian the biggest death glare he could. Sebastian scratched the side of his head with the barrel of the gun and shrugged.
“Boredom can do many things to a man, I guess.”
Mikomi knelt there in disbelief. He couldn’t make sense of what Sebastian had just said. Sebastian sensed Mikomi’s confusion and tilted his head in bewilderment.
“I’m sorry, my dear Mikomi, but were you expecting a loftier reason? Perhaps something along the lines of the artificial intelligence you created would cause an apocalyptic scenario and the only way to save the world would be to kill you? Or perhaps… and here’s a more interesting one… that you, yourself, were a ripple in someone else’s timeline and I had to do this to balance things out for someone completely different? Those are wonderful well-thought-out scenarios but I’m afraid they are a bit too convoluted for my tastes. Even though it’s probably the most disappointing reason I could give, it is the truth. I was just simply bored one day and you looked like a lovely candidate for me to have some fun with.”
Sebastian paused for a moment and began to pace back and forth as he continued his explanation.
“What kind of boredom could drive a man to such lengths, however? I’ll tell you why my dear Mikomi, although I’m afraid you wouldn’t understand unless you have walked in my shoes for nearly all eternity.”
“You see, as a Custodian of Time, I am charged with watching over a specified set of timelines. Since there are infinite timelines, one Custodian can’t watch over all of them. There are countless others like me, each with a group of timelines that they oversee. Do you know how many people die daily in this world? Can you imagine those people dying throughout every single timeline over and over again for all eternity? Sure, I can go backward and forward through time and see those who had died alive and well again but in the back of your mind, you knew that there was nothing that you could do to change their outcome. After all, changing the timelines is against the rules for a Custodian of Time. What fun is there in just observing… especially for as long as I have?”
“That’s why I decided to start having some fun. Since all mortals are to die anyway, I would pick one at random, kill them and feed them some rhetoric about being given a second chance and what have you. Surprisingly, most of them just relived their lives and nothing more. I called those my failed experiments because they lacked creativity and ambition. However, some of them tried what you did… They tried to make a better life for themselves. Those were the most interesting ones because you got to see the hope and joy in their faces and at first, that filled me with a sense of warmth. I felt that if I bent the rules, I could make a difference in someone’s life but then I began to think “Where’s the fun in that?”
“It wasn’t until I gave them that hope and then snatched it away that I realized that I had found a cure for my boredom. Seeing countless others squirm and claw their way through their second chance at life and end up in the same spot filled me with a certain feeling I had been missing for the entirety of my existence. An emotion you refer to as joy. You were just my latest experiment and, I must say, Mikomi… you did not disappoint me one bit. The amount of hope I filled you with and the despair that replaced it made my heart race! It was hard staying back in the shadows this entire time but I can safely say with full conviction that it was well worth it. I had cultivated everything perfectly and now your ultimate despair is nothing more than the fruits of my labors! Absolutely splendid performance, Mikomi!”
“I… ll...u….” muttered Mikomi.
“Come again, lad?”
“I’l….k...l….u…..”
Sebastian tilted his head as if he were trying his hardest to discern Mikomi’s words. Mikomi looked up at Sebastian with a twisted, sadistic look on his face.
“YOU SON OF A BITCH! I’LL KILL YOU!”
With those words, Mikomi clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Sebastian cracked a grin as he stood there, propping his golden cane up onto his shoulder.
“Oh? Can you do that?” asked Sebastian in a mocking tone.
Mikomi was ready to strike. All of his emotions were about to explode. All he could think about was all of the pain and suffering that Sebastian had put him through over the past ten years. All of those emotions began to bubble up to the surface and boil over. Before Mikomi knew it, he had lost all sense of reason. He stood up and let out a terrifying scream filled with hatred and anguish. All the while, Sebastian simply smiled.
The final confrontation between these two had begun.