III
Time. A simplistic four-letter word in the English language commonly defined as the indefinite continued progress of existence throughout events in the past, present, and future. This string of words encompassed by phonetic letter symbols comprises a singular concept within the human mind that, for many, escapes finite definition. What are the mechanics behind the unending and immutable passage of the fourth dimension? What prevents the manipulation of this dimension unlike the three preceding it? Why, simply put, is time cruel and unmalleable? A large portion of humans avoid this form of questioning and instead, mask their fear of an unplanned and happenstance reality behind self-serving human-centric religious imaginings. Despite the subsistence and popularity of these beliefs, there exists no grand plan for the universe. Humans are not the center of existence, and the possibility of any form of higher being behind the cruel passage of linear time is highly unlikely. Rather, as insignificant and powerless yet overly pompous and selfish beings secluded to a single planet within a single galaxy, humans are only left to wonder what exists beyond their grasp, while fabricating a violently foreboding historical record.
Some unsure allotment of time ago, a single mage sacrificed her life to save mine, leaving me with one command: to live. Immediately following her death, I entered a deep state of depression. The passage of time seemed nonexistent, as I struggled to find meaning or value within the arduous struggle of life. I remained isolated within the protective yet entrapping walls of my room, undisturbed by my uncaring drunk of an Uncle. I stopped attending school. I stopped enjoying menial online entertainment. Depression, loss, fear, and emptiness consumed and ravaged my mind. Along with the cease of function within my nerves from the eternity spent frozen in time, I lost all ambition and drive within myself. Nothing mattered anymore and, honestly, nothing ever did. Humans innately believe themselves special and unique due to the nature of the isolated reality each individual possesses; however, viewing the entire species as a whole, the lack of ingenuity and creativity within a normal person is frightening. Furthermore, the immense yet unfounded hubris of the species merely works to intensify their incorrect notion of a right to exploit and dominate everything before them. With this realistic outlook upon the method of trial and error that is natural selection and the “miracle” of human existence, the concepts of purpose and motivation completely abandoned my mind. Eventually kicked out by my Uncle and at a loss, I adhered to the mage’s final words and left home in search of nothing, holding no true objective.
Boarding a plane without knowing the destination and bringing nothing along with me, I somehow found myself in Cairo, Egypt. Now hungry, tired, broke, alone, and purposeless with no other options available to me, I begin to walk northeastward without a true reason for my continuation of subsistence. My exhausted muscles painlessly trudge along the poorly paved road covered in sand. The blazing sun relentlessly peers down upon my almost unconscious body stumbling along. Suddenly, a slight but notable breeze blows sand in my direction, but before the meddlesome particles burrow into the unreachable corners of my clothing, I freeze time. Whether by mastery or by the simple loss of feeling, the use of this ability no longer brings about unimaginable agony. The sand freezes in mid-air, as I halt my stride and remain motionless alongside the reality about me. I lifelessly gaze at the mass of random particles sent in my direction by the happenstance machinations of nature and manage an insignificant and empty smile.
“What’s the point anymore?” I audibly question my still surroundings without expecting a response.
“A fair question.” A mysteriously reminiscent voice calls out to me.
The voice permeates my mind, violently stimulating my every thought. That genuine curiosity masked behind smug sarcasm. Images begin to flash through my mind rapidly. The words spoken echo throughout my skull endlessly. The voice is undeniable. I slowly turn around, the world still frozen around me, and gaze upon nothing but sand caught and frozen in the wind.
Of course not, I think to myself, my final semblance of hope withering into nothingness. I’m losing my mind.
I continue my meaningless trek, occasionally hearing the voice emanate from behind me. I must be going insane. After countless hours of walking, the sun sets, and I arrive at an abandoned camp. Realizing my complete lack of planning includes a lack of a place to sleep, I decide to rest my worn legs by the unlit campfire. I lay cold, motionless, and unable to sleep, lost in thought and attempting to escape consciousness for even the briefest reprieve from reality. As usual, I am unable to rest and, subsequently, dream. Perhaps the latter is for the best, as the sight of her would only bring about pain. Time passes. The heat that encompassed my body as I walked has morphed into a dry coolness. The moon shines atop the landscape, providing the only light in the surrounding darkness. I slowly open my eyes and gaze upon the night sky, tired of this state of existence. Tired of living.
“Hello?” a completely unknown voice calls out from the darkness.
I quickly sit up and fearfully freeze time, images and memories of the robed mages surfacing in my mind. A small figure is visible, frozen within the darkness. I cautiously move towards it to confirm my dreadful suspicions and am thankfully proven wrong. Unable to move thanks to the forcefully halted fourth dimension, a hooded female, about the size of an adolescent child, with deep red eyes peers over a rock two meters from where I was laying. Hoping and more so believing the red-haired child to not be a threat, I return to the ground and unfreeze time.
“...Is someone there?” The girl finishes her question with the continued progression of time.
“Not anyone of note,” I reply, not moving to face the intruder of my isolated state.
“Woah! I can barely see you,” she remarks, seemingly surprised by my words.
“Congratulations, you saw me. Now you can leave.”
“Hmmm…” the girl begins, struggling to compile her few options. “No, I don’t think I will.”
“Look, I don’t rea-” I exhaustedly begin but quickly stop myself upon fully sitting up and facing the child, whose poignant face appears much more solemn than when I saw it frozen in time.
“OH MY!!” she yells with fake excitement upon seeing my face and rushing towards me. “Could it really be you??”
“What are you talking about?”
“It truly has been ages, Anki,” she provides a clear line of reasoning to my question, sending chills down my spine. “I must warn you. The reincarnation spell has a mere 3.27% chance of success. Please, do not go through with it.”
“You’re a little late for that,” I manage to compose myself, while masking my fear. “I’m the reincarnated Anki.”
“Oh...my…” The child replies filled with distraught, struggling to process the information. “Then you do not know who I am?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Forgive me. I am Ersetsu, or at least that is the designation Anki gave me. What should I call you?”
“Max. I’m sorry, did you say the designation Anki gave you?” I restate her words as a question to confirm their accuracy.
“Indeed I did speak that just now,” she plainly replies. “Well before Anki ever thought about reincarnation, he created me from a derivation of his own consciousness to act as an assistant to his supernatural endeavors.”
I stare blankly at the small child before me, dumbfounded by her words.
“Have I offended you?” Eretsu inquires, tilting her head to the right. “I was created without emotions, so I often struggle to interact with others. I sincerely apologize,” the undoubtedly ancient youth suppliants for forgiveness for simply describing her situation.
“No, I…” I begin but struggle to find words to express my confusion. “How did I not know about you?”
“Upon activating the reincarnation spell, all memories of Anki had to be repressed within the appropriate vessel, you, so that throughout the natural biological growth process, the reincarnation would remain stable and undisturbed by a mass influx of memories and knowledge,” Eretsu describes my extremely complex situation in depth.
“I knew that...I mean, why didn’t Nidaba tell me about you?”
“Ah!” The girl emotionlessly exclaims, seeming to comprehend my understanding of myself more accurately. “Subject 001, designated Nidaba, is unaware of my existence under Anki’s orders. Reasoning: Nidaba would find my existence immoral.”
“An emotionless slave is pretty messed up,” I describe Eretsu’s existence utilizing a more negative connotation. “She would get upset.”
“Anki never treated me like a slave. He was efficient and grateful, unlike my current overseer,” the child scoffs upon mentioning ‘the current overseer’.
“Who do you mean by that?” I inquire of the derivation of Anki, while laying back and gazing upon the distant stars.
“Following Anki’s sudden vanishment, Anu pillaged our lab and now forces me to be his assistant. Although, servitude is a better suited term,” Eretsu defeatedly explains. “That’s why I’m here, looking for you.”
“Wait…” I start, terrified by her implications. “That means yo-”
“I do not wish to assist Anu any longer. He’s bothersome,”
“Does Anu have a way to track you?” I question the child, still filled with paranoia.
“None that I’m aware of.”
“Seems like a bit of an oversight on his part,” I jokingly comment, filled with an odd contentedness.
“I have searched all day today and require rest,” Eretsu abruptly changes the topic as if set on an automated programming. “Proceeding to sleep.”
The scarlet-haired child suddenly collapses on the ground next to me, concluding our estranged dialogue. Speaking with Eretsu allots an unforseen oddity to my cognizance. She seems entirely uninterested in everything, yet subsists with a familiar desire for understanding. The miniature assistant remains still to my side, fully asleep in a few moments. Silence permeates the atmosphere, and I, once again, am left alone with my thoughts.
What am I doing here? How the hell did Anki derive an existence from himself? Why is she a child? Why is she a she? I hope Anu doesn’t find me.
The pessimistically self-conscious thoughts continue to swirl about my brain, as the morning sun slowly peaks over the horizon line, illuminating the vastly barren landscape around the two of us. The deep blue hue about the sandy environment morphs into a pinkish red; all the while, Eretsu remains asleep, quietly breathing way too close to me. I slowly rise to my feet, unable to halt my mind with the gentle embrace of unconsciousness but am abruptly stopped by a familiar voice.
“Adorable as ever, Maxie,” she cheerfully proclaims to me.
The voice is painful. It echoes within my mind, bringing about memories I’ve strenuously worked to repress. Overwhelming sadness fills my being, as I quickly turn around, clinging to the slightest hope of envisioning her pale gray eyes once more and am, of course, met with the same barren landscape and sleeping child as before. Tears begin to well in the corners of my eyes, and I fall to my knees.
“Why?” I quietly interrogate the hateful machinations of the universe. “Just… stop.”
After a moment, I grip my face and wipe the tears from my eyes. I hate letting it get to me. Eretsu remains asleep, undisturbed by my movements. I feel empty. Lost. Alone. The ephemeral feeling of content brought upon by my conversation with the child quickly escapes me, leaving only a bitter outlook on the world. Hatefully aggravated thoughts and ideas soon resurface, and a horrendously frightening dread overwhelms me. I suddenly feel exhausted and overcome with sorrow and grief upon hearing the voice, quickly succumb to sleep where I fell.
I awake to the blistering sun blazing upon my pale skin, while laying in the same place I collapsed. As a paranoid precaution, I freeze time before moving and survey my surroundings. Eretsu is sitting with her back towards me, concentrating on a strange device sitting in her lap. The sun has risen a fair amount since I succumbed to exhaustion, as I look at my unmoving watch to learn the time is 10:38 AM. Realizing the lack of threats about me, I unfreeze time and begin to rise to my feet once more.
“Good morning, Max. Did you sleep well?” The scarlet-haired child turns to me and speaks.
“Not particularly, you?”
“I do not dream; therefore, sleep is a neutral state for me regardless.”
“Must be nice.”
“Strange. Anki once told me the same thing,” Eretsu remarks plainly.
“Well, I am hi-” I cut myself off, unsure of how to word the statement. “He is...? We are each other?”
“You share the same root of existence as Anki, but the two of you have fundamentally separate existences. To claim to be the same as him is inaccurate. Simply put, you are a reset version of Anki, labeled Max. An entirely separate individual of a brand new species.”
“If you say so,” I answer the convoluted explanation, turning away to begin walking once more.
“Where is your intended destination, Max?” Eretsu inquires from behind me.
“Don’t have one.”
“Interesting. A key difference between yourself and Anki lies in aimlessness.”
“How kind of you to say,” I sarcastically respond to the emotionless derivation’s comparison.
I restart my aimless trek through Egypt with the scarlet-haired derivation following close behind. The inquisitive yet somewhat comforting dialogue continues between us, as the warm morning air slowly reverts to the hot and dry climate with the rotation of the Earth. Each stride upon the sandy ground bears an indescribable weight. My legs feel heavy to the point of weakness, as the inescapable existential dread resumes within my mind. Eretsu continues to mark comparisons between myself and Anki, as I begin to lose my grip upon reality itself, lifelessly marching along. My thoughts instantly turn to my reasoning for embarking on this trip in the first place, or more accurately, my lack of one. I have no reason to be here. I have no reason for anything. I’ve felt entirely aimless for what feels like my entire life, and the single person to enlighten a semblance of ambition within my muddled and useless soul is gone thanks to my overall inability to do anything.
What’s the point? I summarize my thoughts into a single question in my head.
“Max!” Eretsu shouts quietly into my ear, returning my mind to the bleakness of reality. “Are you listening to me?”
“No, I wasn’t,” I barely manage to speak after taking a moment to snap out of the lull. “Sorry, I zoned out.”
“What has brought you to this location? I had a much lower probability of finding you compared to Anu and am therefore surprised to find you here,” Eretsu provides the rationale behind her question after asking it.
“Nothing brought me here but chance. I boarded a random plane and ended up in Cairo.”
“The likelihood of that occurring is insurmountably low,” the girl retorts my claim.
“Fate has a strange way of going about things, doesn’t it?”
“Do you believe in fate, Max?”
“I don’t believe in much of anything anymore,” I exasperatedly answer her vague inquiry.
“Interesting. You mentioned her earlier, and Anki and subject 001 were very close. Where is Nidaba?” Eretsu innocently asks, causing my throat to tighten and contort.
“Nidaba is-” I begin to explain what occurred all that time ago but am interrupted by a dramatically ominous shift in our environment.
Instantaneously, the blue sky morphs into a deep red and the yellow sun into a fully opaque black. The slight breeze is completely lost, as all movement and regular processes about the two of us freeze. Eretsu appears terrified by the change. I stand, staring directly into the dark pit that consumed the sun, in complete awe of the intricate magecraft cast upon us. Suddenly, a voice, seemingly emanating from every direction, bellows,
“Anki,” the name brings about memories from the attack of the mages. “There is no one to save you this ti-”
Upon hearing the foreboding words of the voice surrounding us, I freeze time. Other than Eretsu’s lack of movement, not much of the scene around me undergoes immediate change, as everything had already been halted by the mysterious magecraft. Fear consumes my being, but knowing a panicked state will only serve to assist this newfound threat, I calm my nerves and begin to formulate a vague outline of a plan. Before collecting my thoughts to discover an exit from this debacle, I am startled by the voice once more.
“You didn’t think your time magic would work on me, did you?” The mage mocks my attemptive precaution, appearing before me instantaneously. “Just because it’s unique to you, doesn’t mean it’s special.”
The mage stands at least fifty centimeters taller than me and carries a terrifying presence. Much like Nergal, he peers into the depths of my soul with deep red eyes. His snow white hair rests upon his shoulders, and adorned upon him is an ash gray robe. The man devilishly smirks upon realizing my surprise to his appearance amidst the frozen fourth dimension and speaks once more, his voice still emanating completely about me.
“I see your memories and mana are still suppressed,” he begins. “Too bad Nidaba didn’t have time to release the limiter. I suppose that’s my fault, though.”
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“Limiter? What are you talking about?” I suspiciously inquire of the white-haired mage before me, growing angry upon hearing her name spoken aloud.
“This may be entertaining yet! Your little project, Eretsu, is here as well, although you froze her,” he replies almost giddily, ignoring my question. “You may call me Anu. I sent the mages that caused Nidaba’s death; an unfortunate outcome I somehow failed to foresee.”
A seething rage encompasses my person. This is the individual responsible for her death. Aware of my ineptitude in magecraft other than the ability to freeze time and cast completely crippling expulsion arts, I realize the dire predicament Eretsu and I are in and attempt to avoid conflict, despite my hatred for the excuse of a creature before me.
“What do you want from me?” I ask, trying to prolong the conversation.
“An answer, Anki,” the towering mage responds bluntly. “Furthermore, I’m simply attempting to rid myself of boredom. A feat, I must add, you may just have the ability to achieve.”
“Why did you…” I begin but quickly stop, preventing myself from growing more aggravated. “Nidaba didn’t deserve to die.”
“Oh? Is that so?? Who determined that? You??” Anu sarcastically retorts. “Death is confirmed upon birth, Anki. Without a final end point, life, as you know it, holds no value. We all deserve death at one instant or another. I suppose fate had run its course with our silver-haired friend.”
“How dare you speak about her like that!? You’re the one that caused her death.”
“Struck a nerve, have I?” Anu remarks, clearly deriving pleasure from my anger. “If anything other than her stupidly selfless actions caused her death, I’d say it was you. I mean, she was protecting you, wasn’t she?”
“I KNOW THAT!!” I shout full of frustration, self-loathing, and general hatred for the world about me. “I know… I carry the burden of my inability to help her, but still, you sent the threat she was protecting me from in the first place.”
“Fair point. I suppose the credit should be split fifty-fifty between you and I,” the mage partly recedes his earlier accusation, attempting and succeeding to aggravate me further.
“Enough of this,” I shout, attempting quelling my fury. “Why are you here?”
“I believe I already answered that question, but to be more specific, you have the answer I seek. The truth behind this aimless existence that I replicated for you, Nidaba, and all the other worthless creatures on this planet.”
“The existence you...replicated??” I question the ashen mage’s words.
“You truly are clueless compared to…what did Nidaba call him? Maximilian?? The you before you idiotically performed that reincarnation spell. I mean I know mana is based upon one’s life force, but merely doubling yours still places you leagues behind my perfect existence”
“How do you know she… who...what are you?”
“As I said earlier, I am Anu. The original and, thanks to Nidaba, final mage.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I don’t have any answers to the grandiose questions you pose,” I attempt to dissuade the undeniably violent preconceptions Anu holds against me.
“Hmm? You see…therein lies the issue, you do possess them. You just don’t realize it. In fact, I’m sure you would reach the same conclusion as before even if I left your memories and mana repressed,” the mage deviously scoffs, displaying teeth better described as fangs. “I’m aware you don’t quite understand magecraft at this point, so let me describe the mystic repressing you simply. Maximilian formulated a conditional limiter alongside the casting of the reincarnation spell upon himself prior to his demise at my hands twenty or so human years ago. The limiter applies a set of conditions to unlock the dormant magical circuits within you. Maximilian did this so that upon rebirth, you wouldn’t accidentally activate your ‘inane’ amount of mana, destroying your surroundings.”
“That’s great and all, but I don’t know how to unlock the limiter nor do I have any desire to do so.”
“How dull. I feel we could have a blast if you’d let me release your mana. Say...like this.” The mage annonces, while gliding towards me at an inhuman speed.
Upon arriving directly before me, Anu places his index and middle fingers upon my forehead and chants in a foregin tongue before I am able to react. My nerves erupt in pain, a feeling lost to me since my eternity spent in frozen time. The agony is excruciating, and I can’t help but scream. Blood seeps from my eyes. My entire body feels enthralled by an inconceivably blazing heat. Anu quickly leaps backwards, landing at least twenty meters away from me. The dark pit in the sky vanishes suddenly, yet the scene remains sunlessly barren and devoid of the central source of life on Earth. The environment adopts a petrifying darkness, leaving nothing but the white mage full of anticipation within my field of vision.
“Come Anki!! Let’s have some fun!!!” he bellows, his curiosity morphing into excitement.
Losing focus due to the pain, I unfreeze time and continue to seize in agony on the sandy ground. Eretsu, now unfrozen, rushes towards Anu and begins to chant in the familiar foreign tongue, while I am barely able to remain conscious to watch them clash, no less help. Basqued in a crumbling reality, I watch as Anu drives his right hand through Eretsu’s chest. Unbridled terror encompassing my mind, I soon fall into a dark and empty pit, surrounded by abundant nothingness. Memories from my previous life flood into my head. I envision countless scenes between myself and Nidaba and am soon lost within my own mind.
I am surrounded by a vast forest with an uncountable number of enormous trees. Before me is a woman with silver hair. I am nameless, yet I exist all the same.
“Hello. I’m sure you’re confused, but this is secular existence. The existence you were gifted,” I speak to the woman with words that are not my own, as she stares blankly in my direction. “Come with me.”
Without speaking, the woman nods and grabs my arm. The act is unexpected and unnecessary, but I allow it. I begin to walk through the forest with a clear objective that I am unaware of. Eventually, we arrive at what seems to be a shrine made of clay. At the front is a large staircase that appears to go on endlessly yet has a clear destination. Starting up the stairs, the woman begins to slow her pace and peers upon the end of the incline with tremendous fear. I notice her terror but am unable to stop my ascent upwards, dragging her along with me. Upon reaching the top, a towering individual with white hair and deep red eyes greets us with a devilish smile.
“Welcome, subjects 000 and 001. How has this reality treated you thus far?” The man speaks with an ominous tone.
The woman cowers in fear behind me, grasping my arm even tighter, as the mysterious grip upon my actions is released, granting me free will. Fear, likely similar to that of the silver-haired woman behind me, fills my now uncontrolled being; however, an inexplicable curiosity overcomes the terror.
“Who are you?” The words spill from my lips, holding no true meaning to me.
“I am Anu, your creator and, if all goes well, your friend. You must have many questions, but these are for you to answer. Trust me, it is much more satisfying to discover than to be taught.”
“What do you-” I begin to further my questioning but am suddenly interrupted by the snap of Anu’s fingers.
“Now, begone. Return when you have answers.”
Upon speaking these words, the shrine around us vanishes, and I am left alone with the woman in the single clearing of the forest where the structure once stood. I turn to face her pale gray eyes and cannot help smiling. The vast and empty world is open for us to explore, unperturbed by outside forces.
“Who are you?” She speaks to me with genuine curiosity.
“I have no name. Who are you?” I respond with the same question.
“I don’t know. We should give each other names.”
“Nidaba,” I reply with the first string of syllables that come to mind, uninterested by her desire to vocally label each other. “That work?”
“Mhm,” she quickly replies, averting her gaze with bits of red in her face. “...Max?” She shyly asks searching for approval.
“If that’s what you want, it doesn’t matter to me.”
The memories following this initial root of existence continue to flood my mind. I recall the subsequent creation of more creatures resembling but not identical to the woman and myself. I recall our discovery of the arcane ability to manipulate and control elements and matter. I recall the other creatures attempting and succeeding to change my vocal designation to Anki. I recall conflict on violent and nonviolent scales. I recall camaraderie. I recall animosity. I recall our initial failures. I recall our initial triumphs. I recall the creation of the achithymia, humanity, and countless other derivations of Anu’s consciousness all for the sake of an empty question. I recall everything.
“That Anu has always been overly cocksure, hasn’t he?” The voice echoes through my mind.
“Nidaba?” I question the surrounding darkness, but soon remember the impossibility of my hope. “Please...no more. Just stop,” I beg for my isolated mind to cease.
A warm hand touches my face and the voice continues, “It’s okay, Max. You’re whole now.”
I slowly lift my head and envision her comforting eyes. Her silver hair. Her comely smile. Tears begin to swell in my eyes, and my throat tightens. I embrace the figment of my mind, trembling within the warmth of her warm chest. I know she isn’t real. I know this is secluded to my head. I don’t care. Nidaba is here before me. Alive. The tears refuse to stop, as she speaks, caressing my messy hair,
“It’s okay, Max. I’m here.”
Time holds no meaning in this dark pit about the two of us, thus I’m unsure how long I hold her due to my fear of her definite ephemerality. Eventually, I collect myself and gaze upon her face, as she stares through me just like she always used to.
“What is this? How is this possible?” I finally speak.
“This is the collective subconscious of life itself. All things, past, present, and future, are kept here,” Nidaba speaks in her usual intellectual manner. “I’m not a figment, Maxie. It’s the manifestation of your perception of me while I was with you via the collective mana source of life itself.”
“Then it is a figment,” I defeatedly translate her overly complex explanation.
“If that’s how you wanna look at it, pessimistic as ever,” she replies in a playful tone, rolling her pale eyes.
Her response comforts and pains me simultaneously. Death is irreversible. I know that, and even still, I had held a semblance of hope that it was truly her. The encompassing darkness is terrifying, yet I feel secure in the presence of Nidaba.
“Sooooo...who’s the redhead?” the mage inquires of me curiously.
“A derivation of Anki’s consciousness?” I unsurely indulge her inquiry, repeating the words Eretsu spoke to me. “I don’t really understand her myself.”
“I can’t believe that idiot actually went through with that. Unbelievable.” Nidaba scoffs through concerned frustration. “More importantly though, do you really remember everything?”
“I do. I didn’t experience these events, but I recall them perfectly.”
“Then you need to listen to what I’m about to say,” the silver-haired woman quickly switches to a serious tone. “Despite what he might tell you, Anu is not a perfect being. He is just like you and me, except he doesn’t know who created him or why. In his pursuit for entertainment and an explanation for his existence, he has gone insane. He believes you have the answers, as crazy as that sounds, and will attack you regardless of what you say to him. This is why you performed the reincarnation spell: to duplicate and effectively double your mana supply, so you could defend yourself.”
“I know, Nidaba. I remember everything. Didn’t I just tell you that?” I reply with a smile after letting her provide exposition one last time.
“Okay, smartass.” she insults me. “Then why’d you let me explain all that??”
“I just wanted to hear you talk.”
“Heh,” she exasperatedly sighs and then grants me her beautiful smile, saying, “Adorable as ever, Ma-”
I open my eyes and view the bleak, sandy reality from before, filled by a bleeding Eretsu and somewhat anxious Anu. The scarlet-haired child gazes upon me with relief, blood spilling from the hole in her chest. I freeze time, preventing Eretsu from continuing to bleed out. Anu also freezes, but as if breaking free from an icy captivity, slowly begins to move again until finally speaking,
“That one…” he begins while still attempting to free himself from the motionless fourth dimension. “...was much stronger. It appears you may be entertaining after all.”
“I feel I should thank you. If you hadn’t gotten rid of that limiter, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
“Oho?? And now you do???” The mage remarks through confidently assured laughter.
“There’s really only one way to find out.”
Anu displays his fang-like teeth in a foreboding smirk and begins to chant flame magic in the Runic tongue. The aura is overwhelming and far exceeds my own, despite the doubled mana supply and removal of the limiter. Overpowering him with strength is out of the question; I have to find another way. Realizing this, I begin to chant an identical spell to meet his in order to stall him for even a brief moment. The mystical masses of pure red fire collide in an explosion that can only be described as fantastically spectacular. Immediately upon their collision, Anu leaps through the dissipating flames and rapidly moves in my direction. Mimicking Nidaba who was originally mimicking me, I assume the uncanny stance and summon the dual-bladed dagger, bracing myself for a flurry of attacks. As if he was a tiger finally closing in on its prey, Anu pounces upon me, clashing his eerily sharp claws with my manifested obsidian knife. Aware that the spell I began moments ago will require more time to activate, I attempt to match his unmatchable speed, blocking and countering his incessant attempts to tear into my vulnerable flesh. Despite succeeding to a manageable degree, Anu rips open my left forearm and wholly pierces my lower right abdomen. I panic and halt the spell in process to cast spatial disruption about me, forcing the ashen mage to leap backwards, avoiding the obliteration of matter.
“Is this all??” He disappointedly questions me. “Sixty five million years in the making and this is all the strength you can muster???”
I ignore his comments, keeping my focus on the challenge before me. The destroyed matter would normally form a vacuum resulting in a black hole, but thanks to the frozen fourth dimension, the matter seemingly vanishes. Unsure if Anu is aware of this, I attempt to utilize the dangerous theory to my advantage and quickly unfreeze and refreeze time, creating an encompassing pit of nothingness about me. My reality begins to fall apart, as I place the entirety of my focus upon reformulating the time art I halted in a panic. My limbs begin to stretch and my vision becomes distorted due to my proximity to the even horizon, so I close my eyes, hoping Anu remains distracted. My hope was unfounded.
“Did you think a black hole would frighten me!?” Anu shouts, as a horrendously icy hand pierces through my chest.
Blood rushes into my mouth and soon seeps through the corners of my lips. I feel no pain, but my body is quickly enveloped by a terrifying cold. My head falls back. I gaze upon the arbitrary movement of the clouds strewn across the sky and despite how easy it would be, refuse to let my mind wander from the spell I’ve been amassing.
“I can’t...focus,” I manage to mumble, still in a daze from the hand firmly planted through my torso.
“What’s there to focus on?” Anu pompously remarks, quickly pulling his hand from my person, opening the wound, and allowing red ichor to gush from my torn organs and tissue. “I missed your heart, so you have a few minutes until you fully lose your grip on existence. NOW, tell me what you discovered with Nidaba all those years ago.”
“There’s no...not…” I ramble, falling to the ground in a pool of my own blood. “Nothing...there’s no point to any of it.”
“ANKI!!” Anu screeches filled with pure, unreasoned hatred. “ANSWER YOUR CREATOR!!!”
Having forgone every aspect of the world about me, I continue to amass the perversion of the fourth dimension until it finally reaches completion. Completely out of options, I unleash the untested ability, unaware of the dangers it may cause.
“What are yo-” Anu begins but is cut off by the complete breakdown of reality apropos to my releasing of the time art.
Similarly to the night Nidaba died, the fourth dimension appears before me, entirely malleable. The cold feeling brought upon by the hole in my chest instantly dissipates, and I rise, completely enveloped by darkness. I grasp the circular motion of time and begin to move with it without actually moving at all. My surroundings are a mystery to me, and my collection of sensory information feels limited and expansive at the same time. I trace the cycle to its beginning only to find its end and visually manifest whatever it is I discovered. A frightfully gorgeous scene of cosmic emptiness appears before me with a single point containing everything that has, is, and will exist. The speck is unimaginably dense with an absurd amount of matter packed into a space no larger than a Planck unit. My consciousness innately drifts towards this area of everything, attempting to escape the vastness of nothing about me.
Traversing from nowhere to somewhere, I arrive at the point of existence itself. The purpose of this speck of unnecessary matter lies in its lack of one. It has no reason for subsistence. It has no cause for existence. It simply is. The point is beautiful and hideous. Hopeful and apathetic. Organized and in shambles. Good and evil. Light and dark. Balanced. All of it is clearly defined and melded together, creating no room for connotation or prejudice.
“There is no answer. No real point…” my thoughts emanate in the nothingness about me. “That’s the horrifying beauty of it all. The freedom from machination beyond control. The freedom of a creatorless existence. The only purpose is to find a purpose. To find a reason for subsistence.”
Knowing my purpose without ever being told, I set the speck into motion, causing a wondrous explosion of matter around the vague outline of my existence. The nothingness is soon replaced by ever expanding matter, and my consciousness is sucked back to the void, the fourth dimension before me once more. I remain motionless in the pit and ponder my newfound options. Eventually, I rise and move towards the cycle of time, grasping it, and locating my initial root of existence.
The vast forest instantly appears before me, the temple of Anu not far from where I stand. Before me is a woman with silver hair. I am nameless, yet I exist all the same. Unable to control my own actions, I repeat our dialogue and lead Nidaba to the temple, until I am finally freed from Anu’s control. As soon as I am able to, I freeze time, and everything, including Anu who’s mana supply merely matches mine at this moment due to his more recent creation, remains still about me. I quickly rush towards the integral of the derivative of life, terrified that he’ll manage to break free from the bounded fourth dimension, as he so easily does in the future, and snap his feeble neck like a twig. I unfreeze time and his body falls to the floor lifelessly, as Nidaba screams in terror, bearing witness to the first murder on Earth. I look down upon my hands and at the corpse before me, as the temple vanishes, leaving only myself and Nidaba in the empty clearing where the clay structure once stood. Overcome with joy and satisfaction but completely drained of energy, I collapse into the grass and lose consciousness instantly.
Soon, I awake to a dark sky filled with specks of infinitesimally distant light. Overwhelmed with terror, I rapidly sit up and survey my surroundings to find a single silver-haired woman about thirty meters away from me, rocking back and forth to amass a semblance of warmth within the sunless atmosphere around us. She notices my awakening and fearfully covers her ears, burying her face into her knees. I slowly approach the mage and sit across from the terror-filled woman with my legs crossed. I deeply exhale, still rattled by my earlier experience and actions against Anu, and speak.
“I’m sorry for frightening you, but I had to do that for both of our sakes. I’ll explain it all later. For now, I am Max, and I want to be clear that I mean you no harm.”
The silver-haired woman lifts her head from her knees and gazes directly into my pupils. Her pale gray eyes pierce my dull brown irises, and she manages a scared but genuine smile. She’s beautiful. Tears begin to well within my eyes, as I am overcome with emotion by the sight of her face. She’s really here. Alive. Unable to formulate any words, I embrace Nidaba and continue to sob, while holding her fragile person. Undoubtedly surprised and confused by my actions, she remains motionless for a moment before accepting my embrace and comforting me.
“I’m not...sure what’s happening,” she speaks with her wondrously curious tone. “But, I trust you, Max. Max...hmmm, Maaax,” Nidaba repeats my name as if searching for something within the arbitrary construction of the syllable. “Something about that feels off. How about Maxie?”
I finally relent my tears and loosen my grip upon the silver-haired mage before me, saying, “You can call me whatever you want, Nidaba.”