I woke up a changed person. Accepting my role as martyr, I gained power beyond imagining and used it to leave a scar on this world. There were no powers beyond my grasp — the methodology and rules were all at my fingers. All I had to do was exploit them. And then, as I reached the heavens, I—

A predictable story. My story. The story of this world and the story of those who came before.

“—Fuck off.”

It was so disgusting that it made me smile.

Grimm stared at me, confusion evident in her dull, glossy eyes. My cobalt blade scarred the icy ground above her head and cost me my arm to swing.

At long last, my heart and mind was clear. I laughed, a deep, breathy laugh that burbled up from the depths of my being.

“You won’t get your way.”

You can only play a game if you know the rules. Otherwise, you’re just a pawn.

I finally figured it out and was kicking myself for not doing so sooner. Grimm was right. How much more did I need to endure before I took action? There wasn’t anything stopping me but myself, right?

That woman. That fucking woman. This was all a challenge, a game. A game to see who would break first: me, or this world she left behind.

She assigned me my pieces. My powers. Told me the prologue and held her hand over the curtains. She sat patiently on the other side of the board, waiting for me to make my move. It was a story game, with set protagonists, antagonists, themes and plot devices, and a rigid progression.

I looked down at the pitiful pawn underneath me. A sacrifice intended to promote another piece and gain an advantage.

My first move would be to flip the table.

I leaned forward and placed my lips over Grimm’s. She struggled. Her mouth was cold and tasted of mint. I pulled back and smiled at her panicking expression.

It was the first time I thought anything looked cute.

“Thanks for the push. You’ve made a terrible mistake.” I pushed the hair out of her face. “Now you’ve really fucked up.”

I was now irrecoverably broken. But to enter the world, a bird must first break free of its egg — it must struggle and find the strength to push through everything it once knew. I took the clues and made them my strength, my hope.

“You said your wish was to die, wasn’t it? Give me your everything instead. Your heart, your mind, your will — I’ll make much better use of it.”

I would’ve never reached this conclusion on my own. However, one of my latent powers was the inheritance of memories and emotion.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I was carrying so many burdens, and the most recent influx from Grimm and the memories locked within myself caused my mind to buckle momentarily. But only from such a large stream of data could I draw a clear conclusion.

Mere animals tried to preserve their world. A man gave up hopes of rescue and left behind information in hopes of a better future. A woman overcame herself, even if it took hundreds of years. In thousands of years of pain, hope shone alone and was not carried by great heroes and legends, but those who stood up in the right time and right place and fought for what they believed in.

I could already see where my current path led. There was nothing but tragedy and loss ahead, some sort of perfectly conducted orchestra that had a point to get across.

That woman placed the wrong person in this story.

“I see it now,” I mumbled. “Can’t you see it too? We can escape this. We don’t need to experience any of that. Let’s take back what was ours.”

I had gotten far too used to the darkness. What was I expecting?

“Fool.” Grimm spat. Direct hit to my cheek. “You’re insane.”

I smiled. “And?”

Was it too early to reach this conclusion? Maybe. Had I been a mere resident of this world and already used to its mechanisms, I would’ve been forced to watch this show until its conclusion. And I have to admit, there were some fine twists and turns up ahead.

“She’s a hypocrite,” I said, laughing even harder. “She said life was sacred and then she goes off and does this. Makes people die and suffer. Give me a fucking break. I’ll show her how it’s really done.”

Gears that welcome tomorrow. A wind beyond the skies.

A storm that ravages today. A flame that burns brighter than tomorrow and yesterday.

The world around me crumbled under the strain of the rising winds. It wasn’t so overpowering after all.

“I can’t believe it took this long to sharpen my mind,” I said, between fits of giggles. Then I stopped and caressed the side of Grimm’s face. “Thanks for showing me your heart, but I’d rather you keep it. It would get awfully boring if it ended here.”

I really did appreciate the final push. I didn’t expect her to be the one to get me out of my eternal state of ennui, but now I knew better.

I was afraid of the future. But now I saw.

No matter what I did, I couldn’t make the world worse than it currently was.

From pain and the blackest despair, the most beautiful song would begin.

To begin, her heart was cold. I kissed her forehead and waited for her reaction.

“You…” Something like tears welled up in her eyes. “You’re a monster. More than anybody else here.” She wiggled out from underneath me and scrambled away into the blizzard, probably fearing for her existence. I think I made enough of an impression, so I didn’t give chase.

There wouldn’t be anybody left behind, I vowed. I'd make sure there would be a happy ending for everybody involved. I couldn’t change what I was in the real world, but I sure could plant a few seeds here to start.

Grimm suffered a terrible life as well. The images were murky and fragmented, but I saw the pain she was hiding inside of her heart. She was doomed to repeat the same mistakes, along with Owl and the rest of the gang.

I wouldn’t accept it. With my feet planted firmly on the ground, I’d take my turn and steer this disaster in an entirely different direction. Now I had a pretty good place to start, thanks to Grimm’s botched hijack.

She called me a monster. No shit. I was stuck in a rock for the longest time and I’d be there for a while longer.

I felt Grimm trying to sever the connection between us. I allowed it. I needed to check up on Owl when she woke up — I wonder what Grimm was planning on doing with her.

As the blizzard intensified around me, I quietly thanked that damned woman for making me as fucked up as I was. Had I been forced to think in conventional terms, I would’ve never thought of this new way out.

Open up the guts of any organization and people come spilling out. Is it truly so hard to treat other people as fellow humans?

Whatever. I had more immediate things to do than deal with waxing about society and the world.

This was a new board, a new game. I wouldn’t let it end the way she wanted.