A punch. Just a single punch is enough to make my heart jump. I manage to dodge it and try to throw my own, but of course, I miss as well. The thing chuckles. I feel its hand smack the back of my head, nearly knocking the damn thing off. I hack before getting a knee to the face. My broken nose sprays with blood as it grabs my face, raising me off the ground. I struggle in vain, looking down at the thing. It seems to be looking me up and down, despite its lack of eyes. Finally it sighs with disappointment.

“To think I found you appetizing. Clearly I was desperate.” The words would sting if they weren’t so demented. I try to bite his hand, only to realize most of my teeth are still gone. Another one of it’s disgusting cackles signals my coming end when I watch a blade slam through its chest. The thing grits its teeth before throwing me to the side, turning to face his original adversary. Maria, despite seeming mentally much worse for wear, still seems undeterred. She screams, ready to throw another slash before getting smashed in the face. Falling back, she lays still. “I thought I already told you, you’re not doing shit to me. Are you stupid?”

I struggle to my feet, stumbling forward while it’s distracted with Maria. No potential weapons, besides my own desperation. Once I’m close enough, I quickly wrap an arm around the thing’s neck. My last gamble. I hold it in the tightest chokehold I can muster as It starts struggling against me. I feel it shredding at my arm, tearing apart my meat and skin. Please, god, no, whatever being is on my side, let this be enough. I close my eyes tight as I squeeze my arm against this neck as hard as I can muster until a point. That point was punctuated by the sudden puncturing of my stomach. I open my eyes to see that it’s stabbed itself through the stomach, just to get me.

My strength almost immediately fades as I fall off him. For a moment, its form shifts back to that horrific form from before. Was that too much for it to take? It doesn’t seem to matter much now though. Watching the thing with my blurring vision, a sense of palpable failure fills me up, mixing with the pain of my abdomen. Damn, and I really tried this time too. I guess I’m destined to fail at helping people too. What a worthless life then. I let my vision fade completely. There's nothing here I wanna see. For a moment, I think of Rei. Working hard at her laptop as her son is dying here. How long will it take for her to notice? She probably never will. Poor me. Hehe. Goodbye Rei.

Goodbye R…Re…

…

“Poor thing. Didn’t stand much of a chance at all. You, on the other hand, clearly you’re a tough cookie.” The thing turns away from the dying boy to the girl who was standing up with shaking legs. “Hey, you wouldn’t have happened to have been visually impaired for the last few moments, would you have?” The thing cocks its head. “Or is that too much to ask for?” Maria doesn’t answer, seemingly too busy in her head. The thing grumbles. “Hey, I asked you a question! I expect an answer!” It yells at her. She doesn’t respond. Not to that, anyway.

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“I’m sorry Christopher.” She whispers. “I promised…I promised…and now…with my own blade…” The blade used to kill Christopher vanishes. “If you had to die, I have no right to leave this fight alive myself.” She looks forward, reaching out her hand. “To the one who loves the feel of steel, I give you my right eye. So give me a blade that will kill any angel.” She asks. For a moment, there’s nothing. Then, her right eye explodes causing her left to widen in agony. She screams as a blade forms from a rampaging red light. The thing, confused, starts to back away.

“Where the hell…do you think…you’re going?” Maria asks, panting hard. The longsword in her hand crackles with an energy that demands fear. The thing starts to panic visibly, it’s muscles twitching. Maria rushes forward, only for the thing to hop away. “Hey! Don’t act like a coward now! Not after what you’ve done!” She screams, slamming her sword into the ground, causing energy to flow through the concrete and explode around the beast. It screams, rolling away and trying to circle around her. She grits her teeth, the blood pouring from her empty eye socket feeling more like an hourglass as each second passes.

“You bastard…I won’t let you run…” Maria whispers, holding her sword as best she can. “This is exactly the fate you deserve, and I will deliver it to you. I promise!”

…

In that endless sea of black, I feel as though I can see everything. Everything that mattered. Memories of a mother that loved me. Of all my favorite books. Of the boy who said he liked me, who was surely still waiting for me to message him at this moment. I’m sorry. I guess that’s just another person I’ve let down. Though, I was gonna let you down anyways. I was always gonna be some form of disappointment to everyone. What am I even bothering with this life flashing before your eyes shit? Just end this already. Just as I think that, I find myself in another memory. One I…don’t really recognize.

Standing on a hill, I look over a set of woods I can really only recall some small amount of familiarship with. The sight is some level of calming to me. I reach out my hand, acting like I could feel the pines if only these arms were just a bit longer. Suddenly, my thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of fireworks, exploding high in the sky. The sight is magnificent. I feel my heart almost stop. More than anything, I wanna exist in this moment forever. As I think this, I notice the presence of someone next to me. Turning my head, I see…my father. Not angry, not disappointed. Looking…so happy. So content.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so happy. It’s a bewildering sight, but one I can’t say that I am not fond of. I find myself smiling as well, before turning back to those fireworks. This moment, more than any other, even if it's with this mystery of a man, I want it to last forever. As I begin to feel myself giving over to that peacefulness, a voice calls out. Gently, but firmly. His voice. He has to tell me something. Those words repeat as my vision begins to tear, like pixels of one commercial peeling into another. Ah, there they are. All those reasons for loving this man that I so desperately chose to forget. I found them.

“I have to tell you something.”