PHASE 18 - A BLURRY WAY

The more that I stay in the past, the more I’m convinced that I’ll become Aeternos. And that’s what angers me the most. I bit my lip, suppressing my anger towards that man that is supposed to be me in the future. Asumi noticed me, and he put her warm palm on top of my hand. When I looked at her, she was giving a reassuring smile.

“It doesn’t have to be that way, right?” She said. “What I saw is just a path that destiny forced you to walk upon. The future is never truly set.”

Hearing those words brightened my face.

I hate to admit it, but Asumi is a genius. I nearly forgot who I am. I’m Alaric Eisenhower, the fighter of destinies. I have prevented deaths and sometimes delayed them. I am the owner of my own fate, and fate will never own me.

“Yeah.” I clenched my hand and stood up. “I’ll definitely get back!”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Asumi pumped her fists jollily as she cheered me over and over again. “You can do it, mysterious pedophile!”

“Thanks, Asumi!” I shook her hand. “I never thought that you’ll be the one to help me out.”

“I’m a genius after all! Hahaha!” Asumi held her hips as she laughed like a winner in a spelling bee contest. “I just gave out a few words, and your soul is fully healed! Now go and destroy your destiny!”

“Right!”

“Hey, don’t be so energetic!” Asumi grabbed a scroll from her sleeve and presented it to me. “If somebody here from the past discovers your real identity, the space-time continuum would break. So take this.”

“W-What is this, Asumi?” I muttered.

“It’s a Spell Note that contains . Use it to cover your whole appearance.” Asumi smiled.

, huh? Aeternos also had his whole body blurred. Now I’m getting more and more like him. It’s not like I have a choice anyway, so I took the Spell Note with me.

<>

Before I go, I went in front of the girl who is my future lover. I looked at little Tiara’s adorable puppy eyes. She looks so confused and has no idea who I am, so she just ignored me. But still, I can see in her eyes that she loves me. She just didn’t know because her memories of the previous seven million timelines have been wiped out.

This adorable Tiara is busy playing her ball. She’s shaking it like a bag of flavored fries, which makes me wonder if that’s really how you play that thing.

“Magic 8-Ball! Magic 8-Ball! Y-You, contain all the answers to all questions! H-Heed thou question and unleash a true answer!”

Tiara vigorously shook the ball as she started her ritual. Then she finally asked an obvious question that everyone could answer.

“Am I stupid?” Tiara asked.

There was silence.

The Magic 8-Ball did not answer. It did not answer for the simple reason that she’s not holding a Magic 8-Ball, but a rubberized bowling ball.

Tiara is so stupid that she does not even know that she’s holding a completely different ball. And I’m crying. This is the classic Tiara that I love, her stupidity and her cuteness!

“Tiara.”

I assaulted her with a gentle hug. Little Tiara made an “Eh!?” sound, but after hearing my throbbing heart, she finally calmed down. She must have realized that our hearts are connected. I stroke her long silky hair as I cried.

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“Wait for me, Tiara. I’ll definitely get back to you.”

“I-I d-don’t know w-what you’re talking a-about, M-Mister, but…” Little Tiara stuttered. It’s clear that she’s still not used to speaking to people at this age. “W-With determination, please refuse to give up!”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” I said with a smile.

Refuse to give up, huh? That is so like her. Hearing those cute words from my lover really pumps me up.

<>

I went on the bus going back to Myrrh City. I have finally planned my actions on how to get back to the present.

I remember what type of God Fragment Aeternos used to me. He said Chronos, which is the Greek primordial God of Time. If a fragment of Chronos’ divine power can be used to open a Gate to the past, then it should be easy for a God Core to send me back to the present.

To get information on the whereabouts or possessor of the God Core of Chronos, I will have to go to the biggest archives of the Gate Guardians: The Black Cross Mansion. That’s why I will have to ride back to Myrrh City again.

It's getting late so the archives must be closed. I need to visit it tomorrow. Looks like I have to sleep on the Solstice residence again.

Or not.

Because I will never have the chance to sleep tonight.

<>

The apartment where the Solstices are supposed to stay is now engulfed with flames. It’s not just your regular fire, because it has a shadowy tint in it. It’s black fire.

The people are already crowded in front of the burning apartment. That peculiar black flame must have gathered their attention. I can hear the loud sirens of the incoming fire trucks.

I pushed my way on the crowd of people and finally made it to the front. From this, I had a clear view of the apartment or the remains of it.

Rubbles. Everything on that house has been turned to charcoal debris. There’s no sign of life in that collapsed building.

I looked around, and noticed that some people had their eyes hollow and crying with blood; which is a sign that there is an Eidolon or a Cursed Guardian nearby.

I think I know where they are.

I hid on a nearby wall and opened a Gate.

<>

Yami.

This dimension is much similar to the Earth Realm. There are abandoned buildings nearby, and the house where the Solstices are supposed to reside are burning piles of rubble in here. But still, traces of them cannot be found.

I can detect immense energy on my back. I turned around, and the white sand beach welcomed my eyes. The ocean waters are dark blood, and at the horizon is the crimson moon.

I saw a silhouette of a crawling man in the shallow part of the sea. He’s struggling to get back on his foot, but he seems too weak and injured to stand up.

“Please… not my son…” A familiar voice cried. It was Mister Solstice, wounded with cuts and bruises all over his body. Even his jacket and jeans are tattered and burnt. “Please… not Diadem…”

I immediately bolted forward with extreme speed. As I close the distance, I saw a faint shadow, standing at the center of the ocean. It was a silhouette of a man carrying a kid on his collar.

“Dad!” Little Diadem cried. “Help me! Dad!”

“Diadem!!!” Mister Frederick cried.

“!!!” I shouted. Then my whole body became pixelated. Now that my body is blurry, my identity is perfectly concealed. Then I finally made it to Mr. Solstice’s side.

Mr. Solstice crawled and held my wrist. His face is full of blood, and I can see that his right knee is broken and the left shoulder is ruptured.

“P-Please… save my son…” Frederick Solstice cried.

“Wait here,” I said. I crouched, focused my prana on my buttocks, and unleashed electricity on my feet. “!!!”

I bolted forward with the speed of lightning. With my speed, I am able to run on the red sea without drowning. Diadem’s cries became louder and louder as I finally get in close.

The one who is carrying him…

Brown hair, crimson red eyes, black jacket, and a red scarf.

There is no way I can forget that appearance. He’s the one who butchered my best friend and colleagues after all. He’s the one responsible for giving a curse to Gate Guardians, and the proximate cause why Tiara has been trapped to be the Frozen Soul.

“Y-Yohan!?” I muttered as I had my eyes open wide.

“So, you have finally come.” The Fake Outsider smirked. “Alaric Eisenhower.”

H-How did he know my name, even if I have hidden my appearance with ? And he sounds like he has been waiting for me the whole time!

I don’t have time to hypothesize. I have to rescue little Diadem quickly!

But suddenly, everything became black and white. Everything froze, including me and my body. Time itself stopped. Now I can be seen as a panorama of a teenage blurry man running on top of the bloody sea. That damn Fake Outsider used his ability .

“Alaric Eisenhower… No… Aeternos. Finally, you have come to the turning point.”

“W-Why y-you….!!!” I used my willpower to force my mouth to move. I can wiggle my fingers, but I can’t still have my body in motion.

“I see that you’re still in denial of your own destiny.” The Fake Outsider laughed. “That is why I’ve been waiting for you… to make you believe.”

The kidnapper swiped his finger, opening a Gate. The portal to another world made an echoing pulse, and it exploded with the brightest light.