Machinations

      Were a glass to break on the opposite side of the planet, those in this room would be able to hear it, as silence was not the lack of sound, but the totality of its absence. Everyone was standing, looking at everything possible… everything besides Eve.

      “This is too much. Too, too much. What could I possibly say to such a ridiculous story?” My voice cracks and waivers.

      Just then, Loyalty coughs violently and falls from his chair. Before anyone could possibly reach him, he falls to his knees. On all four, he scrambles to crane his neck to the others. Tears pool in his eyes and shimmer as they fall.

      “I believe in a better future for you, my Lord. But to achieve it, Queen must be stopped. Or this planet will be eradicated with you and the entire Family on it. You musn’t let that happen.”

      He starts to cough; again, I can see blood sputtering out. Is this the result of his other half being destroyed? A part of me doesn’t feel for the man and his deceitful lies. But I know it to be true, those deceitful truths. I don’t remember a word of what he said. But I feel it within me, the reality of it all. I look down at my hands, those of which look so foreign to me now.

      Glancing back up at Loyalty, he’s looking at me expectantly. He’s dying and all he wishes is words from me. He is fading, I can tell.  Half his soul is gone. I have no idea how he has even held on this long. I hesitate to offer the words he seeks. I am not worthy, and I’m not sure that he is. I wish to make him squirm until the end as penance for bringing this down upon me. In the end, I was right. It really was all my fault.

      “Rest now, Loyalty. We will meet again. As before, and so shall continue to be, your job is not yet done.” I speak words so unlike my own.

      He offers a small, sad smile to me. He mouths a thank you, and fades into dust. Behind me, I hear Mimi sobbing. I try to offer her my shoulder, but she looks towards me with unfamiliarity and distrust. The others are not so dissimilar. I don’t blame them. Learning you’re nothing but a pawn in a selfish, cowardly god’s excuse at running away… they can surely never look at me the same.

      I know when this is all over, regardless of how it ends, I will never be able to look at myself the same either. There are no winners in this game of life, only losers at different points in time. After all, we all end up in the same place.

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      "You're all so full of yourselves. Such cowards!" Fennis spits out and walks away. His receding back can't be ignored and so we all follow him in silence.

      Each heavy step is one of acceptance; every step is rejection. I can't say who feels what, but I know I feel both. The paradox rages inside of me with each feeling vying for control.

      As we approach the boat, the heavy feelings within us presses down harder as the noticeable maleficence appears before us. The silence is deafening. Our army and the remains of the consulate, they're all gone.

      The ship stands barren and hushed. An evil, but recognizable, laugh glides on the wind. Gehenna's twisted smile warps the air around us and mocks us. It goads us to the sky. There high above, is a lonely island.

      "'Tis the highest you've ever seen me, to greet me. But a moment more and one of us will cross over the edge."

      "That harlot has brought the end of our world." Fennis spits.

      "Then is there a reason to go on?" I ask, much to everyone's chagrin.

      He looks at me with disdain and speaks thus: "I will fight until literally nothing remains. I am the Zeroth."

      I look over at the others. Their sadness seems enlightened when he speaks. Charlie makes her way over to me and places her hands on either side of my face. "Look. What we do here now may be pointless. If what… Loyalty said is true, nothing is going to happen to the five of us. But Fennis…"

      "Ah." It dawns on me.

      "He doesn't have a role in the way we do…" Kay mumbles.

      I try and fail to choke down the rising bile at what that means. Not just for him, but for the countless other lives lost. As I vomit to the side, I understand. They're gone. No matter what we do here, Fennis' life is over as well, and he will disappear for good. However, he still marches on. Is that him? Or is that Rei?

      "We are survivors by happenstance. We don't continue this for ourselves. We do so for them, the ones we've lost. If Gehenna isn't stopped, she's just going to do this all over again at the next world." Rose stares into the sky with a look of melancholy as she speaks.

      "I agree," Mimi responds to Rose.

      "What say you, Eve? Will you deny your lovers their last request?" Charlie speaks in a manner between chastisement and teasing.

      "Never. Let's end this."

      We board the ship as Fennis takes the helm, and soars us to the sky and the limit of this world. There… is the end of it all. A final fight.

      We will have to kill a friend… all because she couldn't handle the curse I placed on her. I suppose I can't blame her. Just a single moment gone astray, and anyone's life can derail.

      But we are all responsible for our actions in the end. Even if we have no control of them. That's what it means to be alive.