Chapter 53: Jack

The ground felt hard like stone, but it was smooth like ice. 'Huh...' Jack slowly opened his eyes as he came to. The black sky was full of lights, slowly moving across a void of vibrant hues. 'Where am I...' Jack blinked at the world above him, he felt entranced. 'Is this a dream...' He reached for it with his left arm, the sky was at his fingertips, but too vast for his tiny hand to grasp. When he only saw his thumb, index, and middle finger, he remembered what happened on the dock of the Rafael Battleship.

"Ha....Ha..." Jack huffed in and out.

Each of his breaths grew louder, he tried moving his right hand and felt an uncomfortable lack of feedback. Jack turned his head slowly, and his heart started to beat even faster out of his chest. Everything below his right elbow was gone. 'Wasn't I just-' Jack's three remaining fingers quickly reached for his chest, and his mind came to a standstill when he remembered falling from the ship.

"What... Happened?" Jack asked himself in a state of shock.

He slowly looked down at his chest, bewildered at seeing the wounds on his hand being sealed by skin. Jack pushed himself up with his left elbow, he paused as his body felt normal. 'The wounds- Where are they?' Jack rolled onto his front, pushing himself up with his left hand. The scars that riddled his body had all closed. He looked up and observed the surface he laid on, it was a pale white, similar to the color of the Celestial itself. Behind him was a strange gate, Jack could see an endless number of towers beyond it. However, to the sides of the gate, the tower he stood on looked isolated. 'What the...' He slowly crept under the circular gate and toward the edge of the platform. 'What... In the...' Jack was awestruck, as he walked through the gate he found himself in a completely different location, upon turning around he saw a single massive tower, however through the gate he walked through, was the area he had awoken in.

"How in the..." Jack uttered.

Jack walked around the gate, and he was surprised to find that the back was sealed. As he walked to the front he shook his head as he saw a whole different location. 'What the fuck...' He peered off the edge and saw hundreds, if not thousands of towers evenly spaced out. He looked down and saw smaller towers surrounding each larger one, each layer of smaller towers was followed by an even smaller layer. It almost seemed like it descended endlessly.

"Are these all... Celestials?" Jack muttered to himself. "Where the hell am I..."

"Silence!" A sharp whisper echoed from somewhere in the dark.

"Huh- Who said-"

"Silence I say!" A dark creature yelled from below.

"Ah!"

Jack looked down and jumped as he noticed a small dark figure in front of him. It was barely even taller than his knees. Its skin was pitch black, making all of its features hard to distinguish. It looked like an oval standing on two thin feet, its round head had two wide white eyes gazing deeply at Jack. 'Is that a mask?'

"You are in the court of the Celestial King! Respect the silence! Or I will destroy you!" the small figure jumped up as he made the threat.

Jack took a step back, "What... What are you- The court of- the Celestial... King? What?! How did I get here? Where am I!"

"Silence I said!" The small bird-like creature suddenly grew to a large size, its massive eyes peered down at Jack. He froze as its tone and pitch enhanced as well. "His majesty seeks your audience, be honored, melancholic fool."

The dark figure bowed its head, from its oval-shaped body, a black feathered wing stretched and pointed through the gate. 'Melancholic?' Jack approached the strange gate, and through it, a large black tower stood in the center of the platform. Jack looked around, there was no other tower in sight around the one he currently stood on. As he walked toward the edge, he looked down and was met with the sight from before, hundreds of towers spread out infinitely. Jack turned back toward the tallest tower in this entire place, he gulped as he looked up to its peak.

A large set of white steps was suddenly lit by a floating crystal. It glowed a deep red despite the stairs reflecting a luminous white. He continued up the steps and more crystals lit up. Each stair seemed to make a faint noise when stepped on. Jack squinted at the next orange one, he continued forward and another lit up, a green one with a familiar luster.

"Huh..." Jack reached forward and felt the heat coming off of the green stone. "This is... Logorite?"

Jack continued up the steps, a yellow stone lit up, and then a blue one next. As he took another step, another familiar crystal lit up. A purple crystal, the same kind that came from Ajal's blood. Jack gulped nervously, he took two more steps up, and a pink crystal lit up, it was bright enough to almost glow an ivory white. The next crystal was red, followed by orange, green, and yellow again. The pattern repeated to the top of the tower.

"The Celestial...Has a king?" Jack looked off the staircase as he continued.

Upon reaching the top he looked up at the lights in the sky once again, the amalgamation of colors all blended beautifully. 'It's so mesmerizing...' Thousands of white dots of different sizes glowed with radiance similar to the sun, 'Isn't the sky supposed to be black during the night? Wait... What time is it... How long has it been...' Jack stopped questioning his surroundings as he noticed a red glow in front of him.

"Huh..."

A red orb was fixed to the end of a black hilt, attached to the golden guard of a bright red sword. It was embedded in the ground in front of a throne, and on that throne was a man. His skin was pitch black. It had white piercing eyes, similar to the creature from earlier. Its pitch-black limbs were massive, practically made solely from muscle. Draped over its shoulders was a white mantle, secured by a brooch that resembled the skull of a bird with a wide but flat beak, it had two wings behind it. The hood of the mantle covered its head, and overtop that was a shiny golden crown. The inside of the mantle was a strange black and white, it seemed to be swaying and reflecting light as Jack got closer. It looked like it wore a mask of some sort.

"H-Hello?" Jack called cautiously.

The humanoid figure didn't respond, Jack couldn't tell if it glanced downwards.

"Jack Eldritch..." Its mouth didn't move, but Jack was certain he heard a voice.

Jack stepped back, he looked around the peak for anyone else, but no one was there. He turned back to the throne, and the man sitting on it leaned onto his right hand. Just seeing it move made Jack's heart jump, 'It's... A person...' He sat behind the red sword embedded in a cross-shaped rock on the ground.

"Where am I?" Jack asked.

"The Celestial Nexus," he answered.

"Your... Court? That- thing at the bottom of the tower... It called you... The Celestial King?"

The massive figure didn't say anything, it simply glanced back toward Jack.

"Yes, I am the Celestial King. My courtier greeted you below."

Jack stared at the person sitting on the throne, he reared his head back as he squinted. 'What... What do I even want to say... What do I even want to ask?' Jack looked up.

"Do... Do you control the Celestials?" Jack asked awkwardly.

The king tilted his head, "No. I instill the will of each planet's Celestials. You seem to be asking the wrong question, what you should be asking is, what is it, that I did."

Jack froze, "The... The king of the angels kept all of my people enslaved... If you... If you are the king of the Celestials..."

"Hm..." the king put a thumb to his chin and looked up. "I suppose one could say, that, you and everyone else in the universe, are my prisoners..."

Jack felt his blood run cold.

"But don't compare me to that, annoying pest of a harbinger, I consider myself," the king put his hands on his chest. "A benevolent god," his arms opened.

As the king stretched out his hands and gestured toward everything, his tone had gone from lazy to one full of pride. Jack glanced toward the red sword before quickly looking back to the king.

"A... A harbinger? What?" Jack stuttered.

"Oh, you wouldn't have ever known... Leamas and Leazra were their names, the harbingers of Jalrog. On your planet, Grelt, you were given the titans you may know as Xenia, Yuria, and Zadia, greater versions of the pre-existing progenitor race which I also created. Jalrog's progenitor race were fiendish beings, and thus I created the great sylphs of order and chaos, two fools who boasted each other as the almighty rulers of the planet. Together, they lead humanity to overwhelm and conquer the creatures of the planet. Leamas and Leazra loved their power and wealth so much that they even tried to defy the fate I set out for them by living on through hosts. Hahahaha! But there was one catch, can you guess what it is?"

The king looked at Jack, who just stood there with a blank look on his face.

"The blood of divine beings is the most powerful resource a civilization can acquire. Each of the seven divine beings possesses different properties within their blood, and the blood of Ragnarok specifically led them to discover an energy that allowed them to harness the power of anti-gravity. When the demons discovered this, they showed the angels what it was capable of. I specifically put it in Leazra's domain, making Ragnarok associate it with his home, but what I didn't expect was for Ragnarok to just do nothing at all. He remained dormant for over a hundred years, it was almost like he was in a state of meditation."

"Meditation?" Jack held his head.

"The demons and the angels both feared him, after all, Ragnarok himself was the biggest creature they'd ever seen. You may have noticed it with Oaraun and Ajal, divine beings may go against the will I instilled in them. It's that, humanity that develops, I, personally, think it's pure weakness. But with Ragnarok, it was different. Ragnarok, despite being the divine being of gluttony, he rather chose to remain still in a state that even I couldn't understand, eventually, some fools amongst the demons had the gall to cut Ragnarok as a sort of game..." the king just kept giggling in his seat.

Jack felt his head throb, he had read about this before.

"That's when Leazra and Leamas discovered it, the properties of the blood. Leamas immediately wanted to kill Ragnarok and harvest all of its blood," said the king.

"Why..." Jack asked.

"That fool was just afraid, it wasn't like Ragnarok did anything to warrant that, Leamas was just that much of a coward. He believed anything that could threaten the order that sustained his pleasure was a threat. Leazra didn't want to follow along, she thought the blood was valuable enough in small quantity and thought that wouldn't awaken Ragnarok. Despite being the sylph of chaos, the charisma of her host changed her. However it was Leamas who had become the chaotic one now, drunk on the prospect of eternal life, he attacked Ragnarok. And so as you may know already, the Divine Being of Gluttony went ballistic," the king started to giggle, and Jack raised an eyebrow. "And- and on my own name can I say that I did not expect him to split the planet in two without outright destroying it, but at the same time, separating it from the other half with enough force to send it straight for Grelt. I had never even thought of that, a Celestial going to a different planet with a different will, I scold myself at the fact that I didn't think of something like that sooner. But, you should be thankful it all happened, it's what made you."

"Thankful... You watched me all this time... You were watching everything... For entertainment?"

"Yeah, but don't get me wrong, I don't make any of them do this. I just watch, it's exciting to just sit back and let things play out."

"You just... Just watch?" Jack sounded confused.

"Yes, oh, of course until I brought you here."

"Huh..."

"What? Are you confused?" the king's tone slowed down, and Jack couldn't tell if he noticed him looking at the sword. "I created these seven beautiful worlds for all of you to live within. That was all I did, until several hours ago, when I chose to save your life, Jack Eldritch."

Jack's head couldn't move any further back, he blinked in disbelief. "S-save? How did you-"

"I wasn't ever going to, but just seeing the miraculous displays of luck bending around you, it was so mesmerizing," the king sounded genuine, almost like he couldn't believe the person in front of him was real. "It was like I was being shown fate and destiny guiding you... If you just made it... A few more seconds! You would've received your gift and lived!" the king let out a disappointed sigh.

"Seconds?" Jack uttered, his throat feeling sore.

"The planet Grelt, at the start of creation, I instilled the Celestials with a will, that manifested the potential of those who exhibit an aptitude to seek the truth, those who provide to others, selflessly or not, and those whose envy had grown out of control. Jack... The Celestial's favor shone brightly for you, you possess all three of these, but you crashed into the sea and broke every bone in your body instantaneously, starting with your skull."

"I... I'm dead? I was going to receive a gift?" Jack stuttered.

"You aren't dead, due to my intervention, however, I was excited to see if you could really do it, but that spoiled fool Leamas stopped you... Ah, you were so close!"

"What... What kind of sick and twisted... Why would you... What about everyone else? What about everyone else who was killed by the angels?! Why did you only save me?! What about Carol?! What about Lydia!" Jack shouted his tone filled with a mix of fear and anger.

The Celestial king tilted his head.

"Well, that's simple. Even while you walk into battle unarmed... Even while bleeding out on the ground... Even while falling to your death...You don't reach for the Celestial's aid... You don't even beg for mercy when being hacked apart by your slave master! You truly interest me, Jack Eldritch."

Jack felt like glancing back toward the sword as his head throbbed.

The king tilted his head. "I've watched so many universes go by, each consumed by the abyss due to sin getting the better of them, in fact, this is the longest any universe has lasted... If you are going to run for my sword, I suggest you recon-"

Jack turned and reached for the red sword with his left hand, and the Celestial king stood. The blade lifted from the ground and the handle soared into his grip. Jack stumbled forward as he missed the handle by just an inch, he looked up at the towering twelve-foot man in shock. The king swung the red sword down with one arm, it happened so fast that Jack could barely react. He shut his eyes and cowered out of fear but opened them as he heard the king walk away.

"There, now you won't think about doing anything... Unhinged," the king stabbed the sword back into the ground.

Jack looked down at his left arm, "Ah- Aah!" He screamed in pain, he fell to his knees immediately as he looked at both of his missing arms. "Ha, aaagh!"

Jack groaned, the searing pain of the cut made him breathe sharp breaths quickly. His head throbbed, and a mix of regret and pain overcame him. The arm he had lost flopped back down in front of him, red blood stained the white stone.

"You see! I've told you exactly who I am, and yet you still tried! You really are amusing!" the king chuckled.

"Aah!" Jack struggled to avoid falling over, an unnerving chill followed the extreme heat on his flesh. "Ack-"

Jack skipped a breath as he felt something come up his throat. He suddenly threw up from the overwhelming pain. The gunk splattered over the ground as he wheezed.

"I'm curious, did you really believe that would work? No one, even beyond this universe, can defeat me," the Celestial King declared. "That's why I sit on that throne, and why you... Are on your knees. I fought and conquered the old world, and took it for myself, my blade is stained red in the blood of millions... And you think you can take that throne?"

"Ah!" Jack grunted in pain.

Jack rolled onto his back and looked up at the stars as he tried to steady his breathing. Jack looked at the figure tower over him, before sitting back on the throne. What made the being even more unnerving, was the fact Jack couldn't feel any spirit from it at all. 'What the fuck! What the hell is this? He can't be real-' Jack looked up at the almost gleeful eyes on the king's face, the other features couldn't be seen. Its white eyes looked down at Jack, they were piercing, overwhelming, and soulless.

Jack gulped. "Why..."

The Celestial King tilted his head.

"How many people's lives have you toyed with... All of my suffering... All of everyone's suffering... You did all of this... Why?!" Jack asked hopelessly with tears in his eyes, his tone weak.

"Why? Well because it's entertaining?"The king looked down and tilted his head. "Well, not exactly, at least, not at first. Still, and to this day, I set out to make life assume its best form..."

"What..." said Jack.

"I shaped the old world to my vision after I claimed it, and then I left life to its own time and will... At first, I did it for me, to overthrow the previous order that controlled the old world. However, there were things I didn't account for or expect at all. The first is the connection between all things..."

"The- what?" Jack coughed weakly.

"I conquered the physical realm, naively believing that was all it would take. It led me here, The Celestial Nexus, once known as the great Soul Furnace. At first, I was confused and ignorant of the true connection between the mind, the body, and the soul. However, after the first epoch, I noticed a part of the world I couldn't see before."

Jack squinted at him, "Epoch?"

"Oh, right, you wouldn't know that term. Rebirths, resets, epochs, they're all the same... After the abyss consumes the universe and destroys reality, I simply start it again, and everything comes back to the way it was. The physical world, the Spirit World of Aka at the root of reality, and the Soul Furnace, now known as the Celestial Nexus will always exist in a balance that cannot be broken. Even by me."

"Resets..." Jack looked down, and his heart rate spiked as a haunting question came to mind, he looked up at the king. "How many times... How many times have you reset everything..."

The king stared at Jack for a few seconds, the silence made him even more anxious.

"How would you react if I said I lost count sometime after twenty?" the king asked with gleeful eyes.

"You..." Jack stuttered. "You mean..."

The king seemed to grin even more as his eyes narrowed further. Jack looked down, he started to breathe in and out rapidly.

"And that brings me to why I've brought you here. You may be able to show me something new, Jack Eldritch. I want you to seek out Aka, and destroy it."

"Huh..."

"Yes, the birthplace of Spirit Arts. I never intended for it to exist, after I created my universe, portals to Aka would appear on each world. At first, it frustrated me, the very fools I sought to destroy kept coming back. After a few more epochs, I found that I started to enjoy it, I admit, it is entertaining watching fools dance in the palm of my hand. But then I realized something was wrong. Someone like me did not exist within that world."

"What?"

"An individual, ambitious and motivated enough to defy life and fate, just didn't exist. That is why I was unsatisfied, it didn't speak the words I spoke, and it didn't represent what I believed was right. It wasn't me, it wasn't good enough... I learned what I really desired was never at the end of the path... I turned out the way that I did because of the struggle. In the pursuit of strength, I reached the absolute truth. I want everyone to find it, just like I did. That person would truly be worthy of overthrowing me, and taking this universe for their own and dictating life."

"You... You want to be overthrown?!"

The king looked at his right hand, "You and I aren't so different Jack, we're just two men that had everything taken from them the moment they were given life... Forced to watch as those greedy crows gluttonized themselves to their liking... I've seen it again and again countless times, heroes driven to their limit by the conflict, reaching this point, but they lack the hunger to truly attain everything, or they can't even fathom the scope of it. The fools lack the ability to set themself aside, I did not fight for power, not for money, not even to survive. But instead, because it is right, I will not allow the old world to return, I, will not, allow life to stagnate again!" the king clenched his fist and slammed it into the armrest of the throne. "Absolutely not! For that... That is the most horrific death... The death of potential!"

"What... What kind of stupid crap..." Jack rolled over onto his front, he winced as he did. He looked up as his chin barely lifted off the ground, his teeth gritting. "You want life to assume its best form?! Being a slave is my best form?!"

"You misunderstand, but that's understandable. As I said, I simply set the stage, and then observe the outcome. I've watched you for some time Jack, and I believe you'd be the perfect one for this," The Celestial King stood up, his red blade lifted out of the ground and flipped into his palm.

The king took slow, menacing steps, spinning the sword in his hand as he approached. Jack looked up at the red sword above him, the hilt hovering directly above his forehead. It started to glow a bright white.

"What are you doing-" Jack winced as the king stepped on his shoulder, "Agh!"

"I'll show you... The absolute truth... When you see the world from my eyes, you may understand..."

"Understand what?! Get away from me!" Jack writhed on the ground.

The king crouched down, hovering the red orb attached to the handle over Jack's temple. The blade lowered, and as it approached Jack's head, his heartbeat increased. He couldn't move, waiting was his only option as the orb approached him. He could hear a strange noise, a pulsing from within the gemstone. Jack struggled to get as far as he could. 'What is that thing?! Ah-' The red orb touched his temple and he felt a popping frequency echo through his head. The high-pitched frequency started to overwhelm his mind. Jack screamed, but the noise blocked out the sound.

***

Jack frantically opened his eyes to a white void, black dots were scattered across the empty space, and each one had a grey gradient around it. 'What is this?! Where am-' Jack touched his mouth, he couldn't feel his mouth or the tips of his fingers. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing left his throat. He looked down and noticed his arms had returned.

'What the...' Jack's eyes scanned his forearms, a scar remained where it had been cut off. His palms each possessed a single black diamond etched into the center. 'What is this?!' Jack tried to rub the mark off, but he stopped and squinted as he realized his skin was gray. 'What's happening!' Jack's heartbeat continued to rise as he observed his monochrome hand.

The white sky full of black dots started to spiral, and one of the dots expanded. Jack watched as the darkness seemed to spread out across the endless white sky, and then it moved downward as if dripping down walls all around him. 'What-' Jack looked down and then noticed the black dots moving toward his feet. 'Huh...' Jack lifted his foot and noticed the white ground lift up like a cloth stuck to his sole, it continued to flow into his foot. Jack's heart skipped yet another beat. The darkness wasn't spreading out above him. The white void was flowing into him. As all of it entered his foot, Jack was left in nothing but darkness. For some reason, at that moment, everything became clear to him all at once. It was a strange sensation he could only describe as being connected.

Jack sat there, in the black void of darkness, speechless. Until all of a sudden, the darkness felt like it was closing in on him. A tightness grew in Jack's chest, he couldn't move, and fear started to cloud his mind. He couldn't even think or comprehend his own thoughts, but the lurking presence of death was upon him. His body was crushed by it, but he felt no pain, only fear. Jack couldn't move, he sat there, writhing as his consciousness faded. Until the darkness cracked. It was only then, that Jack remembered to breathe.

A sharp exhale escaped his throat as he ran out of breath, and as he did, everything expanded outwards. The darkness, the light, colors between them seemed to stretch and expand infinitely. Jack felt himself get dragged with it until he landed face-first on a carpeted floor.

***

'Ah! Ha...Ha...' Jack huffed in and out, his heart beating faster than ever before over the conversation.

"The profits are still an overall negative, sales figures aren't going to break even this quarter, maybe even the next..." A woman spoke from behind. "It's been three months, we've laid off ten percent of our staff... Five percent of them left on their own... We should reconsider the platforms we-"

"Absolutely not..." the man sitting behind the desk scoffed his denial. "We can't shift to different platforms or else shareholders will hang us by our asses! They'll eat us like wolves!"

Jack turned left and right, in confusion. 'Who are you? Where am I!' Jack squinted as he reached for his face, but his body was numb. He couldn't feel his mouth or his fingers but he knew he was touching it. He had appeared in a cramped monochrome office. where a young woman and a man who looked to be in his forties discussed something he could barely understand.

What struck Jack as odd was the woman, her lips were colored a vibrant red, despite the rest of the room being black and white. Her dense black hair was tied in a braid resting on her shoulder. She held a short stack of papers in her hand. The woman gulped, the collar of her white dress almost looked like it was choking her. She wore a black skirt that reached past her knees, but Jack's attention was drawn to her stomach. The woman was a few months into pregnancy. Jack stood in the room between her and the man behind the desk, but the two of them didn't seem to notice him there. In front of the window was a rectangular desk, red light shone through the blinds, and illuminated the glass on the desk filled with ice and a dark liquid.

The man with short grey hair lifted the glass and sipped it, before rummaging through his drawer. Then got frustrated by something, pulling on his white collar and letting out a sigh. 'The way they dress is like the angels... Are they angels?' He pulled out two boxes small enough to fit within his grasp and slammed them onto the table. He shook the large box and a white tube slid out, one end was brown. He stuck the brown part in his mouth before pulling a stick out of the smaller box and striking it against the side. It lit up with a red flame, he brought it close to his face and lit the end of the white tube. 'What is that... Why is he burning it while it's in his mouth?'

"We'll be fine for some time, but if nothing changes now, then..." the woman's words trailed off.

"Then what..." he asked.

"Well..." the woman gestured by widening her eyes, she looked left and right as her mouth quivered awkwardly.

"Speak!" the man shouted, Jack's heart jumped. "What are you? Incompetent? Is everyone at this firm just fucking incompetent or something!"

"No, no- My apologies, I meant to say we'll go bankrupt sir..."

"Bankrupt..." the man behind the desk coughed as he brought the white tube to his mouth and sucked on it. "Get out of my office."

"Sir..."

"I said get out!"

"The deal with Lycan was only good in the short term! It won't support us in the long run, we have to..." The woman stopped as the man snapped his head to the left and kissed his teeth suddenly in a strange fit.

Jack watched in awe as the man behind the desk grabbed his glass, he gulped down the rest of the alcohol. Then stood up, and then reared his arm back. He whipped the glass, and the woman cowered in place. The glass went far off to the side of the room, shattering against the wall.

"Ah!" she screamed.

"Get! Out!" he growled with grit teeth, breathing in and out heavily as he swayed in his spot, pulling the white stick back to his mouth.

The other end of the tube lit red and started to move down its length, leaving a gray crumbling form in its path. Jack looked around the room, it was a complete mess. The glass shards couldn't even be seen in the piles of junk. Jack turned back to the two adults, the shadow of the man in front of the window covered her entire body and the door as she walked out. However, as she closed the door, Jack watched her come back into the room with a confused and concerned expression on her face.

"Sir... What... What-" the woman stuttered.

"You should know what to do already, none of you are pulling your weight anyways, what the hell do I pay you for?" said the man

"You're laying us off?! Half of the senior staff?! Half of those who've been here since your father ran this company!"

"People who aren't willing to make sacrifices don't belong here, we need fresh young blood," the man lifted the glass and gulped the red wine all in one sip.

"Sacrifices?!" The woman's head reared back in disgust. "Do you... Even know! How much I sacrificed for this company!"

Jack watched him continue to pull on another white tube, puffing smoke out of the sides of his mouth as he exhaled toward her. It almost looked like he made sure to breathe the smoke into her face. Jack squinted as he smelled the smoke, it itched his nose with an acrid, earthy scent. He coughed as the smokey texture itched his throat. The woman's hands shook as she waited for him to say something.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get out!"

The woman shivered as she turned, her hands tightly gripped on the stack of papers she held. She walked through the double doors and left the office. As she did, the same woman opened the other door and walked in, followed by a crowd of faceless people in suits.

"I don't recall organizing a meeting- Wait, what's going on?" the man stood, but then backed up into his chair, causing it to slide backward.

Jack gulped as he saw them walk forward, each of their faces obscured by darkness. 'Why is the room so much redder-' Jack gasped silently, crawling back instinctively as his heart nearly stopped. There was a massive red eye outside the window, watching everything in the room.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"What's the meaning of this?!" The man behind the desk looked at the woman with red nails peering at him across the room. "You! You're all the ones I got rid of, aren't you? You think you'll scare me into- Hey, let go of me!"

Their steps hastened as they surrounded the table.

"What- Stop! Stop it! What do you think you're doing!" the man behind the desk struggled.

They split off into two groups, one opened the window, and the others held the boss down and wrapped a red chain around his neck. Jack backed up into the wall as he watched the man writhe and struggle, screaming for mercy as the chain gagged him. The boss suddenly glanced toward Jack, and his eyes widened. The fear in his eyes was burnt into Jack's mind, it was almost like the man could see him. The group of men grabbed his feet and hoisted him overhead, then threw him from the window.

"Aaarh-Guh!" the scream was cut off.

'Holy shit!' Jack looked away as the bone-chilling scream ended with a weak gurgle. The chain jerked and rattled. The woman walked forward and picked up the box. The others exited the room slowly, silently. The woman emptied the box, the white tubes fell past her boss and toward the ground. Jack sat silently, the woman turned and made her way out of the room. She opened the door, and as she left, the other side didn't open. Jack watched the door slowly close, as the lock clicked and the door shut, the setting changed.

***

The single door suddenly became a double door, the change was so seamless Jack almost didn't notice it. 'What!' He turned his head quickly only to discover the office had changed into a larger space. He was seated at a table arranged with cutlery over white cloth, everything was monochrome, 'It's like when Ajal does that thing with his third eye...'

Across the table, a well-dressed man walked into view. Their suit was very formal, another outfit similar to that of the angles. Jack looked at the man as he pulled out a chair and set his black coat on it. Then several more people showed up, a woman, accompanied by a little girl no older than ten. The man pulled the seat and gestured with a comforting smile, the woman sat down.

"Why this table?" The little girl asked.

"We can sit at any table Enna, they are all the same," said the man. "Let's not be picky now, we don't get to go out so often, so I don't wanna hear none of that!" the man grunted the last part, poking the girl's nose.

"Hey!" the girl raised her hands in immediate retaliation, but with a bright grin.

"Come on you two, we came here to eat, not play," the woman advised, she could barely hide the happy smile on her face, to Jack, it seemed like she didn't even try to.

An uncomforting warmth washed over him as he watched the family. 'I never had any of this...' The little girl climbed onto the seat, getting onto the cushion with her knees before shifting her legs off. She then looked to Jack, his somber eyes locked with her wide ones. 'Huh...'

"But is it okay to share another table with a stranger?" the curious girl asked her father while staring at Jack.

"What? There's no one else at this table? Don't be silly Enna..."

"But... He's right there..." Enna pointed to Jack. "The boy with red eyes and white hair."

'White... Hair? My eyes are red... Does she see me? Hey, do you really see-' Jack tried to speak, but still couldn't hear his own voice, just his thoughts. The father squinted, but his expression displayed confusion. Jack stood up from the table, the chair didn't move back, he just phased through it, but the little girl's eyes followed him. Jack sat down as he tried to process what was going on, he felt out of place.

"Enna... There's no one there?" the girl's mother asked.

"Hmmm..." Enna squinted at Jack. "You two must be playing a prank on me again."

An orange light flooded in through the wide windows on one end of the room, 'I can still see some color...' Outside the window, was a sea of orange liquid rolling up a hill of white sand. The light shimmered as it reflected off the water, Jack watched a multitude of sparkles shift with the sea's sway.

There were other people around, all adorned in black and white as they all stared at the same thing. Jack squinted 'What is this supposed to be... He said this is the truth... What about this is-' A sickening moan escaped an overstuffed mouth. Jack turned his head away from the window, toward the noise everyone else was focused on.

A large man with an even larger stomach stuffed his face with slabs of meat and bread. Jack's head tilted as he saw vibrant oranges in a fruit basket, an abundance of them, all untouched at the same table. The horrid noises that came from the man were disgusting. The tear of meat, followed by two or three bites with an open mouth before swallowing. He stuck his fingers into his mouth and pulled out a bone still covered in meat, throwing it behind him carelessly. The bone landed on an empty table, however, it was so repulsive to see it caused the people at the next table over to get up. That group just silently exited the room.

Jack raised an eyebrow in disgust as the orange liquid dripped off the slab of pork and down the slope of the obese man's stomach. He chewed it for a short time, and before he swallowed that piece, he dipped another slab of meat in more of the liquid and took another bite. He chewed and swallowed food almost consecutively, each of his heaving breaths made him sound like he was dying.

"Rgh! Ack! Mm! Waiter! Waiter!" he coughed chunks of the chewed-up food onto the table, his drool dampening the white table sheet. "Simply, exquisite... The fat marbling in the pork is second to none!"

"I'll be with you in just a second," a man with a white apron walked past the obese man's table and toward the one Jack sat on.

The waiter looked at everyone at the table and then at Jack. "Hi, how are you doing this... Evening..." the waiter tilted his head, raised a finger, and pointed with an unsure look on his face, "Mr. Clover, right?"

"Ah, yes, that'd be me..." the man answered.

"Oh, I've seen your billboard around! You've really taken the housing market by storm! Oh, and you helped my in-laws when they were moving! I'm- getting ahead of myself! Haha!"

The waiter laughed heartily, and the little girl looked at his wide smile with a look of awe. He glanced at the other two at the table before lightly slapping his scruffy beard. Jack tilted his head as the waiter shook his head, then lightly adjusted the delicate combover he had. The waiter pulled out a book from his back pocket and flipped it open to a new page. He skillfully yanked the pen out of his pocket, it flew into the air only for him to catch it with the same hand.

"How can I start your beautiful evening here at Orca? Can I interest you in some beverages?" the waiter asked with an inviting smile, the luster in his eyes felt genuine.

"I think we could all use some water to start us off," Mr. Clover nodded.

"I want the Orange juice!" the daughter asked with a bright smile.

"Our orange juice is freshly picked across the Balae sea, the best drink we have! If you look out the window, you can see the ships bringing in more right now," the waiter spoke with serious enthusiasm.

"Oh yes, I heard the orange juice is lovely, the girls at the salon couldn't stop gushing over it," the wife added. "I'll have a glass as well."

"After hearing all of that, how could I say no to a glass," said Mr. Clover.

"Right, I'll have your drinks ready right away, it's on the house too," the waiter mentioned as he turned and walked away from the table.

"Woah, wait, you don't have to do that... Ah..."

The waiter was too far away now to hear, he walked toward another table where guests had just sat down.

"Waiter! I called you just now! What's taking so long!" the obese man slammed his fists into the table he had made dirty.

"I'm sorry give me a moment," the waiter turned to the obese man. "I'll be with you shortly."

"Waiter!"

The waiter turned and the obese man immediately called again. In the corner of Jack's eye, he noticed a shadow on the ground, multiple shadows. Jack turned back to the window to see multiple people standing at the window. Their silhouettes had all been evenly lined up, and each of them peered through the glass. They all looked extremely skinny, their rib cages were clearly visible, and their slim fingers and skinny limbs shook.

"Ugh! Waiter! Bring me more meat!" the man shouted.

The waiter turned and hurried to the gluttonous man's table, he looked at the unfinished heaps of food.

"Sir, are you- finished with all of these dishes?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, I want all the same orders, and some lovely orange cake as well, two orders of orange cake to go as well..." the man added with a serious tone, he really looked like he wanted the order to be right.

"Uh... Yes, I'll- get that for you immediately... What are-"

Jack squinted as he tried to see the plates of food, most of what was left behind appeared to be meat as well, but it was strangely shaped, Jack hadn't seen it before. But Jack's attention was stolen, as he raised an eyebrow at the obese man wiping his dirty hands on the waiter's white apron. The waiter looked down at his apron with a blank stare, as if in disbelief at what just happened. He stood there looking down at the obese man, Mr. Clover and other patrons of the store all turned their heads as they watched it happen.

"Well, what are you just standing there for? Get on it with it, I'm hungry!" the rude man ordered.

"Right away..." the waiter whispered.

The waiter walked off back to the kitchen, and Mr. Clover's daughter looked at her parents with a puzzled face. A man from a separate table stepped up and approached. He stood about half a meter away from the table as he said something quietly to the obese man. It must have upset him, as the obese man immediately grabbed the untouched orange and threw it at him.

"Who do you think you're talking to? My family will buy yours if you think you can tell me how to behave!" the obese man scoffed, the other guest quickly walked away as he shook his head with a disgusted face. "Waiter! What's taking so long!"

Jack shook his head at what he saw, he looked back to the window and noticed something rise from the sea. 'Huh...' A large black figure, almost rectangular rose from the depths and opened a single orange eye, it peered into the restaurant. The light from its eye suddenly washed over the scene.

"Why is he so nasty?" the daughter asked her parents.

"Don't look at him, dear," said the mother.

The waiter walked back out of the kitchen, his face blank as he walked forward with two plates of food hidden under silver domes, and a tray of drinks balanced on his white shoulder. His entire white apron was now washed orange in the light. The waiter placed the food down at the dirty table, opened the domes, and revealed plates. However, each plate was just the meat associated with the dishes he had ordered. The exception was a large orange-colored cake.

"What... What is this?" the obese man looked up at the waiter.

"You only ate the meat, left the organs, the salad, the garnish, so this time I just brought you what you wanted, please, enjoy your food, sir," the waiter turned and walked toward the table Mr. Clover sat in.

The obese man's face twisted, distorting in rage as he reached for an orange. He threw the orange, barely making a full swing of the arm. The fruit glided through the air, past the waiter's head, and instead hit the tray with the drinks. The entire tray flipped over, the orange juice flew out of their cups, and the waiter's face turned to panic as the drinks all approached Mr. Clover's daughter. Jack stood up and backed away, while Mr. Clover quickly shielded his daughter. Several cups shattered against his head, and his daughter cried in fear as his wife gasped in shock.

"Oh my goodness!" the wife cried.

"Oh my- Mr. Clover! Are you- I'm so sorry! I'll get this cleaned up imm-"

"Waiter!" the obese man called with an obnoxious tone. "I did not ask to eat like a pig! How dare you serve me these ugly dishes! How am I supposed to enjoy such boring food? Take them back, properly plate them like you were taught, and then bring them to me! Stupid punk..."

"Are you alright Mr. Clover..." the waiter asked calmly, his eyes wide.

Jack knew the look in his eyes, he almost empathized with them. Mr. Clover shook the glass and juice off his head, he reached for his own apron in his back pocket and wiped any that spilled on his daughter. Then he attended to himself as he took off his shirt, revealing just a white top he wore underneath. Despite the whole room being covered in orange light from the creature's eye, his shirt was a pristine white. Mr. Clover sat down.

"Hm... Wealthless coward," the obese man scoffed as he watched Mr. Clover, he brought a piece of the orange cake to his wide maw and swallowed it whole, even sucking on the fingers holding it, he just continued stuffing it into his mouth.

Jack felt his head throb, he walked toward the obese man with a clenched fist. However, without even making more than two steps, the obese man suddenly curled forward quickly.

"Rgh-" the obese man gagged.

'Huh...' The man reached for his throat, trying to breathe, but just scoffing up food. The people in the restaurant turned and watched. He stood up, immediately falling forward as his massive stomach pulled him down. 'What the fuck!?!' Everyone watched. The man reached forward, his eyes full of fear, he looked right at Jack as if he were asking for help. Jack just shook his head at the man. The obese man's eyes rolled back, and he fell backward slowly. As he hit the ground, the nostalgic sound of a pick-hitting rock replaced the thump.

***

Jack watched as the entire room shifted into a larger expanse within a cave, the tables were all replaced with a strangely shaped rock. It jutted out of the ground, but the top of it was concaved upward. Jack looked up and noticed that there were hundreds of these rocks, however, across the room, the tops were not empty, they held a glowing green orb within the depressed section of the rock. He felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he looked up at the ceiling and noticed a cluster of green lights at the top of the room. 'Logorite?' A small bunch of them, about eight large gems embedded into a low-hanging rock. 'Everything is still black and white... And there will be one color... What is this... What was that place, those seemed like... Real people...' A slap echoed through the cave. Jack turned to the sound.

"Ah!" a boy cried.

"What do you mean you want to go home? Keep mining! We're almost there!" the man huffed as he swung the pick down again.

A skinny child in baggy overalls, he had the fading red mark of a hand on his back. He reached for it with a pained look on his face. The boy held a small hammer and a chisel. 'Kids who couldn't lift a pick had to use that kind of tool to mine...' The boy had green hair, it was similar in volume and density to Jack's hair.

"I can't- it hurts, I don't want to do this anymore..." the child replied.

"We need to get up there! If we can get those gems up there, each 'ill be worth more than any of the tinies! You can be anything when you have money... You'll be living rich like the nobles!" he whispered.

Jack felt his head throb as he heard that, he felt empathetic toward the child. 'Don't listen to him...' He tried to speak but he couldn't. Jack couldn't see the man's eyes but he looked slimy from his crooked yellow teeth and fake grin as he asked the child to keep working. He couldn't see the child's eyes either. He seemed to at least be thirteen years old, but it was hard to tell from how scrawny and weak he was. Jack felt like he was looking at himself.

"You stay here and keep mining, I'll- be back soon. We'll get up there in a jiffy!" The slimy man walked off into the darkness.

The boy looked up at the eight gems above him, he sniffled as he looked down at his hands. They were covered in scratches and bruises, and the skin of his palm looked torn. 'Yes just leave... It's not worth it... It's-' Jack froze as he heard a set of taps above him. The green lights became brighter, Jack froze as he looked down at the ground and realized there were thin shadows almost forming the silhouette of a web on the ground. The boy turned around and started towards the darkness the man walked toward. However, a single green gem in the set of eight large ones slipped from the rock and bounced against the ground.

The light from the green gem lit up the dark cavern, illuminating the whole section in a green light. The boy walked towards it and picked it up with both hands. As he raised the source of light, Jack looked up and saw a matrix of threads near the ceiling, and just past them was a creature, unlike anything he'd ever seen.

'What the...' It looked like it was a part of the rocks, but big enough to almost seem trapped. With eight massive armored legs that looked like pillars, its seven remaining eyes looked down at the child holding its missing eye. Its face resembled two ovals that seemed to move as two tendrils near its mouth silently weaved webs. Jack watched as they entangled the clueless boy, he tried to reach for the child, but the webs surrounded him too. 'What the...' Jack looked up and the creature's eyes were on him as well.

"Like the nobles..." the boy whispered to himself excitedly.

Jack shook his head as the boy returned to work. The creature was silently watching over the child, ensnaring him in more of the invisible threads. The creature's eyes hung from the ceiling, but it was so dark up there that it almost looked like it was a part of the cavern. The child climbed up the large stone structure the creature was on, with a small pick and a tiny hammer, he slowly started carving a step toward it.

It felt like hours had passed, Jack watched the boy meticulously carve a path into the rocks. Until he had finally reached the mouth of the massive creature. Still unaware that he was in the range of the beast, he reached for one of its seven remaining eyes. The boy grunted as he couldn't reach it, it was just inches from his fingers, but he was too small. The boy gave up, he fell back on the dark step, the light didn't reach it.

"Like... nobles..." the boy whispered as he lay on his back, still reaching for the light.

The boy's hand fell limp, and he lost consciousness from the exhaustion. The eyes of the creature blinked several times. Footsteps approached, and Jack turned to see that the slimy man had returned.

"Well, I'll be damned! Ye really did it, boy! We'll be living good-" the man stopped as he looked up at the gems. "One, two, three, four... No that can't- One, two, three..."

Jack squinted as he watched the mischievous man's expression change. His teeth were grit and his hands shook with fury.

"You Grimey thief... Heh, you really took one without me knowing, I knew I never shoulda have given you a share... Filthy thief, hehe!" the cunning man almost sounded like he was aware of his own hypocrisy.

The man climbed the rugged and uneven path the child made. Jack shook his head as he listened to the man hum a distorted tune, hopping with each step up.

"I'll make a killing if I sell this to Orechnid... Hehe, I can almost smell the money..."

The slimy man reached the platform the child slept on, he walked past the child without even noticing him on the ground. Too focused on the seven eyes he believed to be gems. He reached forward, having no problem as he was much taller than the child.

"And now, the treasure..." he said as he touched the green eye. It closed immediately. "Is mine- Huh?"

The slimy man tilted his head, and he reached for another eye, and the same thing happened. He continued to touch them as each vanished immediately. Once they were all gone, he looked up with a confused expression. The seven remaining eyes of the creature all lit up and opened, the pillars moved at a lightning-fast speed and grasped the man.

"What the- Ah! Aaah-"

The man's scream of terror echoed through the cave as the massive creature skittered away vertically along with him. They were gone in a heartbeat, a light from outside shone through where the creature lurked. The circle of light surrounded the boy. Jack couldn't even feel horrified, he felt like he knew what was going to happen. 'What the hell is this guy showing me...' Jack looked up at the child, and to his surprise, the boy was standing up and looking up at the light. He glanced down at the green eye on the ground. He slowly knelt down and lifted the gem, bringing it towards his chest, Jack noticed his clenched teeth.

"Liar... Liar! Liar! Liar! They're liars!" the boy screamed, looking straight toward Jack, both of his eyes, glowing green.

Jack was taken aback by the sudden emotion, but then he noticed something about the boy. His hair was green and short. Jack's heart skipped a beat as he jumped to his feet and backed up into the wall. Only to crash through the rock and fall backward.

'Alexander-' Jack stuttered as he fell further than he expected, right through the wall. 'Huh- Aah!'

***

'Aah!' Jack screamed as he fell through the darkness, he came to an abrupt stop on solid ground as he fell through a pile of dry rustling leaves. 'Huh?!' Jack's hands crushed and crumpled gold leaves as he rolled onto all fours and observed the surroundings. The air was slightly cold, and it was dark. The sound of movement around him made him rise quickly. Dead trees surrounded Jack, their leaves were scattered over the ground.

"Who are you..." a soft feminine voice asked.

Jack turned to see two bright yellow eyes in the darkness, it frightened him. However, the sun started to rise and a yellow light washed over her. The leaves on the ground were also gold in color and reflected the light. She had long black hair and small facial features, Jack was taken aback. 'She's... Really pretty...' Her body was shrouded with black robes, but her face was so beautiful Jack was mesmerized. Her narrow eyes looked uninterested in him, despite that, her gaze was piercing. 'You can see me?' Jack's mouth moved but no words came out, he touched his mouth again with a frustrated look.

"Ghost boy can't speak huh? Well, that's boring, the first ghost I've ever seen and he can't tell me what it's like..." The woman frowned. "I didn't notice you there, but it's too late now, the updraft is coming... You'll get caught in it, don't fight it."

A sudden gust of wind shot through the trees and knocked the leaves off the ground, Jack turned and noticed the sun rising. 'Huh...' He leaned forward and squinted at the sun, it didn't hurt his eyes, but it rose through the sky quickly. That's when Jack saw the silhouette in the night sky behind it, a large creature with four wings, and an eye on its head looking down and shining light upon the forest. 'What is- huh-' The thunderous flap of its wings sent even more strong winds through the area. Jack returned to looking around for any way to avoid it, as another gust of wind swept through the trees, Jack held his ground.

The massive winged beast soared above them elegantly, its wings wide enough to cover the entire sky. Its white feathers rained over the ground like snow, Jack was entranced by the majestic beast as its wings lowered once more. Jack glanced to the left as all of the ground started to shake, a wave of debris was launched by just the displacement of air. The woman's hood flicked off as the waves of the wind both struck each other. Everything suddenly rose, Jack was scooped off of his feet by the force, flipping through the air, losing his orientation immediately.

'Aaah!' Jack screamed, he shut his eyes as he spun out of control. He flipped and tumbled through the air, what was up and what was down felt irrelevant. The tornado of force flung Jack's body. He opened his eyes as he was spun through the vortex, however, the moment he opened his eyes it was like the world froze again. The woman twirled elegantly through the eye of the storm, Jack could hear her delighted cheering as if she was waiting for this. 'Is she playing with this monster?!'

Jack looked down, he glanced towards the ground as he fell back toward the plain of dirt that was once a forest. He looked back up at the woman, she soared back to the ground at a similar speed while looking off to the sun with outstretched arms. Compared to the other visions Jack just watched, this felt blissful, almost fun. Her laugh as she watched the winged beast fly off into the distance reminded him of Carol.

"Hahaha! Again! Again!" she cheered.

The massive creature started to turn, it descended below the horizon. After several seconds, it flew in front of the real setting sun, his eyes widened as he saw it. He had flown up high enough to see beyond the horizon itself. Jack felt a smile crack onto his face, he had forgotten where he was as he just felt the excitement. A massive silver bolt fired from the ground, impaling the beast.

"Adura!" the yellow-eyed woman cried.

Jack gasped as he watched the bolt pierce straight through its wing, it fell through the sky spinning, crashing into the land. A quake echoed through the land full of forests and tall trees. 'What the hell?!' Its painful wail echoed through the sky.

"No!" the woman screamed out loud, her voice filled with anguish.

Jack hit the ground and rolled down a hill, to his surprise, it didn't hurt. He quickly glanced back to the woman, however, his attention was drawn to a cheering crowd nearby. There was a group of figures standing around a strange ballista.

"What a shot!", "Nice one!", "That's the kind of skill I'm talking about!" a group of men cheered at their successful hunt.

Jack looked around to spot the girl in yellow, but she wasn't anywhere across the field of cleared trees. Jack looked up and his eyes widened. The woman stood in mid-air, and yellow bolts of lightning crackled around her. The group of men packed their belongings and started toward where the beast had fallen. Thunder crackled through the sky and landed in her palm.

"Let's go harvest the feathers, it's what we came for after all," "We'll save thousands with the medicine it can produce," the group spoke between themselves.

The woman raised her hand, and a bolt of lightning twirled off of it, and through the sky, the group was completely unaware of the incoming projectile. The vicious lightning bolt impaled one of the men, obliterating his body. 'What the fuck!' Jack stepped back in shock as the chunks of flesh and blood spread out, and the other men were blasted off their feet without a clue as to what happened. After a few seconds, they slowly stood up.

"Huh, what the hell... Is everyone okay? What was-" The man noticed the severed foot in front of him.

"What happened... Where is he? Where is-"

A bolt of lightning passed through his chest, and with another thunderous roar echoed through the clearing, his body was also blown to pieces.

"Aaah!" the last man screamed in terror.

Jack watched the man reach for him, his eyes begging for help. Jack shook his head as he tried to crawl forward, only for the woman to fly down at an immense speed and land in front of him.

"Please, please help-" the man paused as he noticed the yellow bolts crackling around her, she grinned mischievously as another bolt of lightning struck the ground.

Jack fell backward and shielded himself. He was shaken as he slowly glanced up at the seemingly innocent girl. Only to freeze as he listened to her giggle, holding her sides as if ecstatic about the horror she had just caused. Jack felt himself sink, he looked down and noticed the ground ripple like water.

'Huh-'

***

Jack sank into the ground, he held his breath instinctively, but he opened his eyes as he felt himself elevating. What he saw for a brief few seconds was haunting, an abyss of darkness far beneath the water. He floated helplessly over it, what was worse, was the blue eyes deep in the abyss peering at him. Jack breached the surface, and the sound of a horn blew through the air, Jack opened his eyes slowly as he felt the cold. He rose above the water and grabbed hold of a silver metal pole fixed to a concrete coping. Jack pulled himself up out of the blue water and rested on his back as he looked up at the gray sky through the large windows around the ceiling.

"What is this? Are you wearing makeup? First, you can't swim, then you start getting wearing girls' stuff? You're such a loser!" a boy mocked his classmate.

"N-no..." another child timidly replied.

"What was that? Speak up!" another child shoved him.

The large indoor pool was full of children swimming for the edges, they all crawled out of the water after hearing the horn. Jack watched several children glance toward the loud scene playing out. The room was lit by the ambient blue glow from the pool, made by the creature's eyes at the bottom.

One of the children, with dark blue hair, simply watched. Jack stood behind him, he could see his back, but he was focused on the group of kids around the corner. The boy with dark blue hair turned and looked up at Jack for a moment, his expression was blank.

The one being picked on wore glasses and was in a full set of clothing. The rest of the kids only wore shorts and they were drenched in water. Behind the sound of chatter and banter, Jack could no longer hear the exchange going on.

"You too scared to show off your makeup? Is that why you couldn't swim today?" one of the bullies laughed.

"They're bruises..." the boy replied.

The shirtless boys continued to tease and pick on him until he tried to run away. They chased him down and shoved him to the floor, and then immediately stomped on his face and broke his glasses. Jack felt an unreal anger building within him, the dark blue-haired child simply continued to stare. 'Help him! What the hell are you doing?!' Jack tried to shout at the boy but he didn't seem to hear.

Jack looked back to the bullies. The boy on the ground was being beaten bloody, it was disgustingly brutal. 'Are these... Really kids?!' The crack of a bone was followed by a blood-curdling scream. 'Help him!' The blue-haired boy turned to Jack, his face appeared lazy and confused toward Jack's anger. Jack just shook his head and walked past the useless boy.

"You aren't leaving until you explain yourself!" one of the boys laughed deviously.

"Aaah! Hel- Ack!"

Jack stopped as he remembered where he was, 'I can't do anything anyways...' At that moment, the creature breached the water's surface and landed on the concrete. It stood on all fours at a height of fifteen feet. The creature looked like it had a mix of scales and fur, a cat-like face with striped patterns on its face and torso. The creature had ten thin tails and a final one that resembled a long snake with a wide head. Two massive spikes stretched out of its back like horns. The cobra and the tiger's heads peered down at the group with blue pairs of eyes, before extending their blue wings and letting out a haunting roar.

"Ah- ah-" the boy with glasses looked up weakly in utter fear of the creature.

"Ah! Run! It's Kimeron!" the bullies all ran at the sound of its mighty roar.

Jack hurried to his side, he tried to grab his shoulder but his hands slipped through it. 'Shit!' Jack turned to the blue-haired boy from earlier, 'Hey! Help-' Jack's eyes widened as he saw the blue eyes of the boy, he wasn't terrified, he looked unnervingly calm. Jack thought he was too scared to help before, but now he really didn't understand.

"Ah!" the weak boy tried to crawl away.

The massive beast took one step. Jack stood up and tried to shield the boy, 'Don't-' The cobra's head lunged forward at a lightning-fast speed. Jack hesitated as he watched its maw widen as it flew right at him. The snake's head phased right through his chest seamlessly.

"Ah! Aaah!" the child screamed as he was yanked up into the air by the snake.

Jack watched him dangle in the air helplessly before the beast jumped upward and locked its jaws around the boy. It swallowed him whole in a single bite. Jack listened to it chew and smash the bones in its maw, he turned to the blue-haired boy with wide eyes. 'Why... Why did you do nothing? Why the fuck did you just watch it happen! You son of a-' Jack cursed at him but stopped as he made eye contact with him, he was looking right at Jack. Only to turn, and make his way for the exit.

'Hey...' Jack reached forward, but his hand lowered as he felt like it'd be pointless. He listened to the sickening gulp behind him. Jack turned back to the creature, only to see a tear falling from its eye. 'Huh...' The creature stood on two feet, flapped its wings once, and then jumped off with its two back feet. Slamming through the ceiling of the room, and causing rubble to rain down on Jack. He shielded his head.

***

As the rubble passed through Jack's head, he felt nothing but opened his eyes to a new scene. He was in a room made from dark stones, it looked like a dungeon of sorts. The sound of a single child playing caught his attention. Jack turned to the sound, only to see that the dungeon's wall was broken down. Through the hole, Jack could see a playground where a child with long black hair played on a creaky swingset. Other kids played with her, and their bright faces made Jack feel unnerved. 'What now...'

"Ugh... We can't test the test device properly for Ryugal while they're playing..." a man in a white coat and black glasses stressed.

"It's alright," they'll leave on their own soon, then we can test it," a woman seated next to him, advised.

The two within the dark stone room wore similar clothes. It reminded Jack of the alchemist's uniforms he wore with Carol back when they tried to destroy the mines. The man was bald, and the woman wore a cap on her head that covered her short hair.

'This one is definitely the weirdest...' Everything was black and white, there wasn't a single sign of color. The strangest part of this scene was the varied setting. Part of it looked like it was taking place within the cold stone room, but at the same time, the bright and warm open world was visible as well.

"Ugh... We're trying to make real change here... The closer we get to the truth, the closer we get to escaping the hells we must face..."

'Hells... We must face?' Jack listened to the punt of a ball, the rubber flapped and echoed as it distorted from the force. It bounced outside, coming closer and closer before it flew into the room and hit the table once. The equipment on the silver platform all rattled, and the scientist with black glasses looked shocked as he scrambled for the ball. He finally caught the ball after a few seconds, taking a deep breath as he looked at the table. None of the equipment had been touched, everything was still the same.

"Those- Those meddling-"

"Calm down doctor... Nothing happened yet..." the woman advised.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about that... My son didn't mean to-"

"Shut up! All you've done is make this more difficult! You insolent fools! Playing and enjoying yourself while we struggle to improve things! Don't you know we have no time before it's all over!" the man snapped, he pulled off his glasses and revealed black infuriated eyes.

Jack looked down at the little girl, and his eyes widened in shock. It wasn't a girl, the woman's child was a boy with long black hair, a boy with three eyes. Jack started to breathe heavily, his heart was beating fast as he looked down at the purple third eye on the child's forehead. 'Ajal!? No, that's not possible!? Is this... If that was Alexander earlier... Is everything I've seen...'

"Laya, apologize for kicking the ball here and ruining their work, apologize for it this instant..." the mother asked the three-eyed child.

"I'm-"

"You think a simple apology would have fixed our years of ruined progress! Get fucking real!" the doctor whipped the ball at the mother.

Jack stepped back in shock as the ball struck the head of Laya's mother, she stumbled backward and tripped on an uneven stone. Laya watched in shock as his mother fell backward and hit the ground with the back of her head first.

"Ma?" Laya ran to the side of his mother. "Mom! Mom!"

"Why would you do that? They didn't do anything?" the female doctor groaned.

"I- They shouldn't have done that in the first place!"

"Mom! Mom!"

Jack watched with wide eyes as the child who closely resembled Ajal, Laya, shook his mother's body. A purple light started to glow from his head. Jack felt anxiety come over him, he knew what was coming. 'Oh, shit...' Jack stepped back, but then he froze as he saw what appeared to be a purple skull in the sky. 'Huh...' It had three eye sockets and a purple light within the third shone down on Laya.

"Hey... Calm down, she's probably alright-" The doctor who threw the ball tried to calm him, but he noticed a pool of dark liquid spread out from her head.

Jack's eyes widened, and so did the two scientists.

"Mom! Mom get up! Mom-" Laya pulled his hand away and saw the blood on his hand. "Ah- Ah! Aaaaah!"

The kids from the playground walked over and hesitated as they saw Laya scream hysterically. Jack felt like he was watching something he shouldn't have seen. The pitch of Laya's scream started to lower as their third eye grew brighter and brighter. A wave of purple energy was released in a single second. The kids, the walls, the plants, Laya's mother, the scientists, and their equipment. All of it disintegrated in a single second. Laya's sobs were the only thing Jack could hear, he stood in the purple inferno, unaffected by any of it. Jack looked at his own hands, the purple flames phased right through him. The light slowly faded as Laya's cries came to a stop.

"Huh..." Laya uttered, and their sunken eyes glanced around the scene for a survivor.

But no one had survived, the silence was proof of it. Laya looked down at her mother's body, all that remained was a black burnt figure on the ground.

"No... No! I didn't mean to! I didn't-" Laya looked up and saw Jack.

Laya stared at him with a broken expression and guilt-ridden eyes. Jack just stood there with a blank look on his face. The world went dark, Laya looked around for a moment in fear. The boy reached for Jack, only for Jack to shake his head and turn around. 'This can't be... This can't be real...'

***

Jack turned around to a bright gray sky and a barren darkened earth. Jack looked around with weak eyes, a feeling of hopelessness engulfed him. But he didn't know why he felt that way. He looked around and saw men and women all around him with similar expressions. The waves from the sea struck the shore, bouncing against jagged rocks and falling back down. Jack and the group of monochrome people stood on a single small aisle.

However, Jack raised an eyebrow at the sight of a massive red-eyed dog in the water, sitting calmly to the north and watching. 'That eye... From the window...' It was covered in dark brown and black fur, it reflected a red light with its coat. Jack turned to the right as he saw a figure rising in that direction.

The whale with an orange eye rose from the depths, its body pitch black. It opened its mouth and let out a roar similar to the sound of a horn blowing. Orange water sprayed out of its spout. Earth-rumbling steps came from the southeast, causing Jack to turn again.

A giant spider crawled over the horizon, each of its green eyes peering down. The massive creature was haunting, but for some reason, despite seeing it for the first time, Jack knew what it was called an arachnid. It had sharp armored legs, made from what appeared to be made of rock.

The giant bird with wing beats of thunder glided overhead from the opposite direction and landed next to the spider in the water. Its white feathers shone in the sunlight as its big dumb yellow eyes looked down on the people, twitching all the while. Its four wings curled into its back as it rested on the surface of the sea.

A mighty roar came from the southwest, and the water burst open. The giant creature from the pool breached the surface with a mighty roar. It sat just like the dog as it looked at the aisle. The cobra head behind it swerved around and gazed at Jack, he looked back at it with an intense glare as he remembered that vision.

A giant purple skeleton rose from the sea, it had three eyes and it was covered in ragged black cowls. It let out a silent roar, however, the entire island and sea rippled from its quake. It floated upwards and remained still in the sky as it looked forward.

The clicks of steps drew Jack's attention back to what was in front of him. A woman with long black hair stepped forward, her body covered in a white outfit. Jack watched as she approached a throne, she wore a white cap on her head and a white mantle. She looked strong, mature, and dignified, but most of all, prideful in each of her steps.

"From this day forth, we set forth to save mankind from its own sin! Today, your lives are given meaning!" the woman turned and clenched her fist, she had pink eyes. "You will build the Celestial Tower! And the Celestial King shall bring about a new world! And with it our prosperity and salvation!"

'What kind of bull-'

Jack turned left and right as he watched them move forward. 'Why...' Jack's shoulders slumped as he was left alone. The crowd all got to work obediently, like slaves. He looked past the woman, and toward the throne, where he sat. The Celestial King's eyes looked gleeful, Jack's head throbbed, it hurt so much it felt like it would burst. The rage he felt was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Time sped up, Jack watched the construction of the tower go by in seconds. As it finished, an ivory light lit up the world. Jack looked up and saw a massive pair of trees sticking out of the water. As he looked up, he noticed the ivory eye of a massive beast, tall enough for its head to hover above the clouds. Jack watched the giant as the ear-popping frequency returned to his head.

***

"Ah!" Jack panicked as he rose, huffing in and out.

Jack took short deep breaths as he suddenly felt like he could breathe again, he looked at the sky full of white dots known as stars. The Celestial king no longer pinned him down, he was seated in the chair. Jack was about to get up but stopped. 'What the...' He turned his right arm and felt his hand touch the cold ground for the first time. Jack quickly sprung up and looked down to see two new hands. His palms were dry, untouched even, however, for some reason, the diamond marks on his palms were real.

"What'd you do to me..." Jack asked with wide eyes looking down at the ground.

"I gave you what you wanted, the power you would need to stand against the Celestial, far more powerful than any Celestial gift, and in the right hands can even best the divine beings... However, you are my card now, I believe I'll play more of a hand in this universe, it is getting quite interesting. Go forth Jack, the battle of Helios is still ongoing..."

Jack stood there silently, and he looked at the king with wide eyes. Jack clenched his teeth as his eyes narrowed on the king.

"Oh, what's the matter?" the king asked.

"What did you show me..." Jack gulped.

"I told you, didn't I? The truth, the truth of everything, the meaning of life, some might call it."

"No... No, you're wrong!" Jack snapped viciously.

"Am I? Sin, begets sin, Jack. Ajal tried to tell you, he tried very hard," the king laughed.

"I'm not the same! I'm different! I-"

"You're lying to yourself."

Jack fell to his knees, looking down and feeling his hair touch his eyebrows. He punched the ground as he couldn't clench his teeth any harder. He took one step and rose. Jack raised his palm towards the king.

"Hmph, I admit you are far stronger now with that gift, but if you were to fight me here, the outcome would be the same..." The Celestial King spoke calmly.

"Why... You have the power to change everything! Do something... Anything! End this madness and let people live peacefully!"

"I just showed you the peaceful option, and you saw what it brought it about..."

The Celestial King's sword lifted out of the ground as he stood, he lifted his hand and grasped it, swinging the blade while the white cape flapped upwards. Jack gritted his teeth. 'Power...' He clenched his fingers as he felt something in his hand he hadn't felt before.

"Well, this should help you learn how to use it..." The Celestial King laughed. "That is assuming you don't give in to despair..."