I freed my arm to pull her close, leaning forward to rest my lips on hers. ‘I love you so much. I’m sorry I couldn’t avoid death, even despite everything.’
Her face scrunched in even more agony, prompting her to break our kiss and press her face against my neck, as if to hide her torment. ‘No, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I brought so much danger into your life. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you from any of this. I’m grateful for the few days we had together, but I still wish I’d just stayed away. Kept you safe from me and my world.’
I gently ran my fingers through her black hair, my other arm wrapped around her waist, knowing she was aware that I’d have rather known her. And knowing that deep down she was thankful she had the opportunity to finally know me, despite her words, even if only for a brief moment in time.
After a few minutes, I began sensing that the time was nearing – like a physical presence, I could feel a disturbance off in the distance, something horrifying that would soon be coming.
With our minds intertwined, the uneasy feeling prompted her to pull away slightly to look up at me. “There’s one more place I’d like to show you, if that’s alright.”
I nodded in agreement. “Of course. Lead the way.”
She nodded, pulling me back out the way we’d come, through the empty antechamber that separated our room from outside, and into the air. We flew a short distance towards the southern side of the castle, where the lake of fire wrapped around the makeshift cliff a little.
Descending from the sky, we landed right on the undulating surface, revealing that lava was pouring out of a cave, flowing much quicker than elsewhere – or rather, flowing just as quickly as the geyser off in the distance.
Miriam immediately explained my confusion as we began walking up the stream and entered the bright orange cave. “This geyser was originally much more powerful than the other one, so most of the lava pours out here – otherwise our room would be flooded. But the reason why I wanted to show you is just because this has become one of my favorite places to visit.”
I nodded, holding her hand tightly, understanding the appeal. The lava already felt amazing against the souls of my feet, but in here that warmth was prevalent even in the air, making it feel like we’d walked into a relaxing sauna.
It was much louder in here too, but the noise was again not abrasive, instead being relaxing.
The inside was also much larger than I initially realized, with there being midnight banks on either side of a lavafall a little further in, lit up brightly from the glowing surface of the molten rock.
As we neared the gushing lava, Miriam led me onto one of the shores, only to wrap her arm around my waist while gesturing with her chin towards the wall. I focused in that direction, seeing her name carved into the rock, written in the Ryujin language.
Without having to ask, I saw in her thoughts what she wanted, but she was quick to speak.
“I know it’s stupid,” she whispered. “But–”
I shook my head, reaching out with a bony finger of my wing to carve my name below hers. Then, once finished, I carved a heart around both of our names, not at all feeling embarrassed by the sentiment. Because as simple as it was, this small gesture was one of the many things she’d been wanting to do for almost two decades, like a couple of teenagers carving their names in a tree trunk.
But unfortunately, we couldn’t enjoy the sight long.
Because it was time.
I could feel it coming, and my heart began racing as every cell in my body screamed at me to run away.
But I couldn’t run away this time. I had to face this fear…I just wasn’t sure if I could.
It was one thing to be brave when an event was far off, or when it was theoretical, but being brave when face-to-face with terror itself was something else entirely.
Miriam tightened her embrace around my waist as we began floating above the ground and moving towards the exit in the air this time. I knew she wanted to beg me to run away like I’d supposedly done before, but she also knew the torment it caused me, knowing that the next her wouldn’t be her.
I also considered bringing her along with me, but was afraid that would make everything even worse. After all, there was only one me, but what would happen if Miriam stepped out of the midnight dome with me, while another Miriam was present on Earth. What would that do to her? How would that affect her psyche?
And if the universe was already trying to erase me, then how much more would it try erasing her from existence?
Granted, I knew that was about to happen with her and everyone else anyway, but I still couldn’t help but hope that the original Miriam in the original timeline might still be able to live…
And even if I did make that selfish decision, and even if it did turn out somewhat alright, that still left the rest of the world doomed to never have a future. So as much as I wanted to run away, the consequences of trying to live were far too great.
So I really had to die.
This was really the end…
Once we were outside, I hesitated briefly, truly terrified to face annihilation. I didn’t want to die, but I saw no other option. Thus, after wrapping my arm tightly around Miriam, we ascended straight up into the sky, clinging to each other in the thick clouds, only to pop out above the atmosphere, now exposed to the openness and vastness of space, unable to hide from what was coming.
I turned the two of us towards the sun, knowing that was the direction I’d begin to see it, though I could already feel it there, lingering behind the stars that were tens of thousands of light years away. The sun was a little larger from this distance than it usually appeared on Earth, but the difference wasn’t as significant as I would have assumed.
Panic instantly erupted in my chest when I noticed a few stars disappear, followed rapidly by several others, like the power going out in a city, a few houses at a time, the outage accelerating.
Miriam held me even tighter. ‘Michael, I love you so much. And I’m so sorry.’
I didn’t respond.
I couldn’t respond.
Everything in me was screaming to run away.
This thing…
It would destroy everything, erasing it from existence.
I was terrified. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to stop existing. And the stars were blinking out even faster, over half of them now gone.
I felt Miriam reach down then and grasp my hand, intertwining our fingers together.
‘Love, focus on me.’
I wanted to do as she asked, but I couldn’t look away from the horror. It was an absolute force that was truly unstoppable.
Her hand gently tightened, squeezing, urging me to turn my head.
‘Love, you are my world. My everything. If this has to happen – if there’s no alternative – then I want your gaze to be the last thing I see.’
Her words unexpectedly filled me with warmth, tears blurring my vision, filling my chest with desperation. I finally broke my gaze to focus on her crimson eyes, finally remembering this moment occurring numerous times over.
Previously, in most of the renditions of these events, we didn’t know about the time loops or even that I could warp, but we always ended up here. We always ended up in this moment, melded in body and mind – as one – facing this as one.
I was about to respond, trying to see Miriam’s face past the tears, when something in the distance caught my attention.
Just a tiny speck, in the vast nothingness of space.
A small blemish that flickered like an invisible flame.
I blinked a couple of times to clear my vision, trying to see what I couldn’t see, but my extreme curiosity vanished the moment the light from the sun disappeared.
Just like that, there was no light.
Miriam and I both urgently clung to each other, knowing we had less than a second left.
‘I love you so much,’ we both said desperately in sync.
My heart was racing, pounding in my chest, throb
bing in my throat. This was it.
Everything was over.
Unexpectedly, a pair of thin arms wrapped around my torso from behind, forcing their way in between me and Miriam, an infuriated and frantic voice filling my thoughts.
‘No! I won’t let you do this!’
Instantly, I was ripped away from Miriam’s grasp, feeling like I was falling down an infinitely long tunnel as my love all but vanished from my sight.
Just like that, Miriam was gone.
Chapter 23: Intertwined Fates
‘What have you done!’ I practically screamed in my mind, turning around to face my sister. ‘I can’t keep going through this! I can’t keep losing–’
My thoughts came to a halt when I realized no one was there.
I was alone.
Confused by what I was seeing, I blinked a few times as the world before me came into focus.
I was floating over a grassy field, the sky bright blue above me, the sun far from the horizon, the world serene.
Except, it wasn’t serene. It was empty.
There was no life, other than plants – no birds, no insects, no animals at all.
My brow furrowed as I focused on a black cord lying on the ground, feeling as if it looked familiar, prompting me to begin moving in the air to follow it, watching it grow thicker and thicker, almost like the root to a tree leading to the trunk.
Except there was no trunk in sight, only offshoots of black tendrils going in every direction, seeming to cover everything below, the tall grass hiding much of it.
Continuing to fly, I searched for the source of these midnight roots, only to come to a dead halt when my eyes returned to the horizon.
I recognized this place, looming high in the sky like a city of death – because there were only two people inside, only two living beings on the entire planet. Not to mention, the entire structure almost seemed as if it was made of condensed blood, though I doubted that could possibly be true given the sheer size, never mind the impossibility of a liquid maintaining any kind of form on its own.
However, unlike last time, I also noticed a cluster of black towers off to my right, stretching for miles and miles, like midnight thorns stabbing into the sky. I had no idea what they were, but had no desire to investigate them, given that there was nothing living over there.
Moving faster now, I quickly approached the behemoth structure, the black material twisting everywhere like a monstrous castle made from the vines of a midnight plant, a wet sheen to its appearance. At the very least, the place felt ominous, but I knew I’d been in there once before.
Finding the balcony I’d entered previously, far too high for someone who wasn’t capable of flight to reach, I retraced the path I’d once taken, remaining in the air. I couldn’t be sure why, but the idea of touching the black material felt extremely dangerous, like it was a monster that would come to life and swallow me whole.
But floating in the air wasn’t a problem either way. The dark tunnel was easily the lengths of two semi-trucks wide and possibly four tall – a ten story building could easily fit within.
As I drifted further into its depths, I sensed my goal in the distance, prompting me to accelerate my pace. However, I’d forgotten how massive this labyrinth was, or how it had felt like I’d flown forever the last time, navigating tunnels higher and higher in the structure.
But finally, after what felt like hours, I reached the center.
Entering into the enormous empty cathedral, with massive midnight hallways exiting in every direction, I felt two familiar presences.
Cautiously moving closer, I looked up at the behemoth cross made of those thick tendrils, focusing on the girl with dark brown hair, who was buried at the center, the shape mimicking her hidden posture as if it were an extension of her body – her feet close together, her arms straight out to either side, her body suspended in the permeable midnight vines.
Madison.
It was definitely her. The girl from the plane, even appearing to be the exact same age as I remembered her, despite the insurmountable time that had likely passed.
I didn’t stare for long though, as movement from the base of the cross caught my attention, Noah standing up to leer across the empty cathedral.
His glowing red eyes, a stark contrast to the midnight depths of his sclera, narrowed in suspicion, seemingly at an unseen intruder behind me. His body was encased in what looked like black armor, as if someone had poured lava over his body and let it harden, though he seemed unhindered by the material.
After a moment, he spoke up.
“Who’s there?!” he demanded, revealing that he didn’t seem capable of seeing me. “I know you’re there! I sensed you before, and I can sense you now! Show yourself!”
Surprised by his words, by the fact that they were different this time – that he was implying he’d sensed me previously – I deliberated, having already planned on trying to speak to him, but now a little confused.
Had the previous time been prior to this point? I assumed this was like the time loop I’d come from. That this would essentially be the first time we’d met – at least, for him. But maybe I was wrong. I mean, I must be wrong, unless someone else had visited.
However, now I was hesitant for another reason as well. Because, despite my previous intentions, being here in person reminded me of the threat I sensed from both him and the entire building itself. Granted, I was confident I could always just escape by warping, but I still felt like it’d be a horrible idea to provoke this guy, much like provoking the Dragon had been a poor idea.
Finally deciding to respond, I unexpectedly discovered I was unable to, my words instead only coming out telepathically.
‘I mean no harm.’
Much to my surprise, he still reacted as if I’d spoken out loud.
“Who are you?!” he demanded. “How are you speaking into my head? Are you like Amelia?”
‘Amelia?’ I replied in shock. ‘You know my sister?’
“Your sister?” he repeated in disbelief, his eyes scanning back and forth, as if he was really trying to find me now. “You’re her brother? Michael?”
‘You know of me?’
“Only that she’s trying to save you, as well as a close friend.”
‘Riley,’ I agreed, surprised to realize that I knew exactly who he was referring to. ‘She’s one of my best friends.’
But how had I known it was her? My sister was also friends with Grayson, and she could have made new friends in the future. And yet, I was absolutely confident it was Riley he was referring to.
“So then, did it work?” he asked, sounding almost eager, though there was still a hint of somberness. “Did she save you? I mean, she must have, since you’re alive.”
‘Not exactly,’ I admitted. ‘I exist right now, but probably won’t for long. To put it simply, she tried to change time. And, in doing so, she accidentally made it so there isn’t a future…’ My thoughts trailed off though, when I realized that the very fact I was here contradicted my statement.
Obviously, the future still existed.
However, Noah nodded in agreement. “Yes, that part is true. This place doesn’t exist like how it used to exist. It’s like a separate dimension or something. Your sister moved both me and my love here after I agreed to try to help her change the past.” He gestured to the girl buried in the cross. “To try to save her.”
‘Madison,’ I thought automatically as I focused on her unconscious form.
“How do you know her name?” he said in surprise.
‘Oh, well, you said her name the last time I was here. But also, I think I saved her life once. There was a bomb on a plane and she was basically sitting right on top of it.’
His crimson eyes widened in shock. “That was you? The guy with glowing purple eyes?”
I groaned internally.
Seriously? That was how I was remembered?
‘They’re red like yours. I was sort of transforming at the time. Becoming like how I
am now. But yeah, that was me. I guess she must have told you.’
“She did, though no one except me believed her story – no one believed any of the passengers’ stories. But then, what are you now?”
‘Sort of like a demon? We’re called Ryujin in our language. And what about you?’
He hesitated then. “I’ve been called many things. But I suppose the one I like most is ‘Keras Demigod,’ although ‘Keras Human’ is probably the most accurate.” His tone then became somber. “I’ve spent far too long believing I was a god. And now I’m helpless to do anything for the person I love most.”
‘And what exactly is wrong with her?’ I wondered.
However, I didn’t receive an answer. Instead, I blinked, only to be floating over the grassy field again, the sky above me bright blue, the sun far from the horizon.
Confused by what had just transpired, I considered trying to go back to the behemoth cathedral, but was stopped when someone called out my name.
‘Michael?’
My head snapped towards a forest I hadn’t noticed before, relieved to see a familiar face with white hair and bright green eyes.
‘Amelia!’ I replied, immediately descending and moving closer to her.
However, the moment I set my foot on the ground, the sun vanished, the world disappeared, and I found myself in the middle of a pitch-black forest, with Amelia now standing between two trees, being the only source of light as her body glowed brightly.
‘Michael, what were you thinking?!’ she scolded. ‘I can’t fix things if you’re dead for good!’
‘Can you fix things?’ I asked seriously, causing her expression to drop.
Obviously, I’d struck a chord, ending her would-be lecture in an instant. I tried to take a deep breath, only to realize there must not be air here, since I was unable to. But I didn’t focus on it for long, instead continuing the conversation in our heads.
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