Chapter 1

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

Friedrich Nietzsche

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A few years have gone by, passing cruel memories and terrifying events into oblivion... almost.

Sometimes Jeff thought of his family, those he loved, those that he had to leave behind and all those he had to abandon, only because he wanted to save them from doom, misery and terror. They had suffered enough because of him. And they didn't need that kind of horror in their lives. Already those surrounding him had been through a lot. Deep inside he knew it wasn't really his fault, but he also knew that most of the times, ignorance is bliss. He had fought tooth and nail to put the memories behind him and he tried to convince himself that he had done so. With the help of his only two remaining friends, Dave and Mark, and thanks to the passing time, the moments of fright were becoming rarer.

But there were times where the shear horror would take over… the remembrance of what had transpired… the pain, the humiliation, the dread and the guilt were sometimes too much. At those times, Mark had told him to try and focus on the good things in his life, no matter how hard it seemed.

'Because there ARE good things in your life.'

That train of thought sometimes lead to the faint memory of his mother and the ominous warning she had given him. Jeff didn't remember much about it anymore. He wasn't sure if he had indeed died back then and his mother had talked to him from the other side or if it had all been a dream.

Other times Mark would catch him staring into a wall, having severed all contact from the physical world. Talking him out of it was impossible. It was only with touch he was able to come back to reality, but with no memory of what he had been thinking.

'Was I lost again?' he would ask.

A nod.

'I' m sorry' he would say looking at Mark.

'What are you sorry for?'

'I'm not sure. It feels like I should be though'

Dave's absence those days only made matters worse. He had received a phone call informing him of his mother's sudden illness and since things had calmed down the last few years, he had left for a few days. He had been reluctant leaving Jeff and Mark alone, but it was in Jeff's insistence that he had decided to take a few days and go be with her.

'Just because I can't see my family doesn't mean that you have to as well. Our families are important and you should hold them close to you as long as you can.' Jeff had told him one night. They were in bed, late, sleep eluding them.

'I'm afraid of leaving you alone'

'I won't be alone. Mark is here and you won't be long… Mothers are important. You should go and see her… tell her how much you love her… now that she is still alive… trust me…. I know' Jeff's voice had trailed off.

Dave had leaned over and kissed him.

The next morning he had left them.

This separation now worried Mark. At first he didn't see anything wrong with Dave leaving, but since he had been gone, Jeff was more and more frequently getting lost in thought. And him, not remembering what he had been dreaming of, really worried him.

Maybe he had done a mistake giving him the feather back then. Maybe the feather was not so pure after all and maybe…

Mark would shake his head. It did him no good going down that rabbit hole again; too many possibilities and no answers. After the last events, they had spent many days, weeks even months searching for anything that would help them, show them a way to defeat the two remaining horsemen or even figure out what their plan was. They had managed to defeat two of them and Lucifer's angel but had they really stopped their plans for the Antichrist? What were they waiting for? Mark knew they had little hope of finding anything to begin with. This was, to the best of his knowledge, uncharted territory. They were making history.

Too bad no one would ever know.

Their situation was quite unique and he doubted mankind had dealt with this in the past. This was the reason they couldn't find anything to help them. They were the first…

And possibly the last.

And as time passed and the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months and years, they just stopped looking. But they didn't forget…

Jeff would never forget…

But time has a weird sense of humor. It numbs the pain, clouds the mind and gives hope. That was the price of mortality, Mark had told him one night.

"The mind cannot keep lingering on death and horror for too long without snapping. It is an automatic mechanism, one we are born with"

Mark didn't blame them for letting go. He was sure that Jeff hadn't forgotten. All the nightmares and the tortures he had suffered would forever stain his soul, but his heart had grown weary of the waiting and the searching. Mark on the other hand was trained for that.

But what really concerned him was Jeff and the times he would catch him in a semi vegetated state, non responsive to sound or vision. What worried him was what if next time, touch wouldn't be able to bring him back.

'Where do you go when you are getting lost like this?'

'I… I don't really remember… nowhere I guess'

'Do you recall thinking something before spacing out?'

Negative.

'No… nothing. I can't remember thinking anything. I have tried many times, but every time I do it, I keep getting lost again. It feels like I keep going round in circles. One thing I do remember…'

'What?'

'Darkness'

'What do you mean?''

'I mean I don't know if I'm dreaming of anything. When I wake up all I remember is darkness… numbness… like the void…'

Mark had asked for details.

'Well, I think of it as a memory. Real memories, I know how they make me feel, I know when they happened … but when I do lose time, there is nothing… no thought, no memory, no recollection what I was thinking or what I was feeling. At first I tried to think of it as sleeping… but… when we're sleeping we always have dreams…' Jeff had stopped for a moment, chasing the nightmares away.

'But when I get lost, I don't dream' he had finished.

Mark had frowned. He hadn't liked what he had been hearing.

XXX

Jeff woke up in his bed, in Mark's house. It was quiet as always but Mark didn't make any noise anyway. He got up, his head feeling a little heavier than usual. Had he been sleeping or had he lost time again? How long had he been out cold? His legs felt shaky but managed to steady himself and walk to the living room. He looked around but he couldn't see his friend anywhere.

"Mark?" he asked. He checked outside but he wasn't there either. 'Strange' he thought. When he was left alone, he knew about it. His friend would never leave without telling him. He picked up his phone and dialed his number.

Straight to voicemail.

The time was late. It looked like he had slept throughout the night and the next day. It was almost night again. He guessed he had another hour maybe before sunset and that worried him. A nagging feeling started to grow in his heart; a hint of fear. He thought of calling Dave. Talking to him always made him feel better, but he decided against it. There was no reason in worrying him. He decided he would wait for Mark.

He walked to the bathroom to take a shower. Removing his clothes, he looked at his refection in the mirror. The face that looked back seemed unfamiliar. Hollow eyes with dark circles surrounded by long blond hair that had a long time ago returned to their natural color; tattoos that run from his fingers to his neck; skin whiter than usual. He shook his head in disappointment. He found it harder and harder to like what he saw. Lately he seemed to be the shadow of the man he used to be.

Lately a new fear had started to grow in his heart… a fear that something was closing in on them; that the end was coming. But he hadn't spoken to Mark about it. He didn't want to because talking about it made it real. And although he wanted it all to end, not knowing how it would end left a bitter taste in his mouth. Even if, against all odds, they won, then what? Could he go back to the way life was before? How could he? He was way too damaged for that. He had passed the point of believing in happy endings.

There would be no happy ending for Jeff Hardy.

Of course no one knew about those thoughts, but he had a suspicion that Mark understood more than he led on.

He rubbed his face and hunched his shoulders, feeling them stiff. He felt all energy leaving him. He wanted to go back to bed… sleep and don't wake up.

Feeling disappointed of himself, he started to turn away, when a spot caught his eye. He turned his back to the mirror to see better.

There it was. A spot on his back. Right in the middle, under his tattoo. He couldn't reach it, but he could see it clearly. It looked like a bruise.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed. It didn't hurt. Maybe he had hurt himself in his sleep. He shook his head, trying to chase the bad feeling away and got in the shower.

It didn't help much.

He had hoped Mark would be back by the time he had finished.

He wasn't.

He got dressed and decided to wait until nightfall outside.

He sat on the porch, his eyes looking at the dirt road that lead to the house. The sun was beginning to set casting a magnificent deep orange glow to the entire sky. Jeff thought this was the best part of the day. The colors in the sky varied from season to season. Sometimes it was yellow, sometimes red, and sometimes a hint of blue lingered long enough for the sky to look like a rainbow. Those times he liked the most.

But the moment came and passed, and the sun disappeared. He called Mark again.

Voicemail.

It had been a long time since he had felt so alone. Dark was coming from the distance, night consuming everything. It looked like blackness was eating rapidly at the world and it was coming for him. The realization that all sounds of nature began to die down made him shiver. He didn't want to stay outside anymore. Mark had told him about darkness. He should be inside, closing the windows and locking the doors. A gust of wind blew, cold and sudden, making his skin crawl. He stood up and as he entered the house a thought passed his head.

What if he didn't come back?

What if he was all alone?

He heart started to beat faster.

No… his friend wouldn't leave him alone.

Would he? His skin crawled again and although he was inside, he could swear he felt the same gust of wind enveloping him, like a whisper.

He locked the door and the windows fast, like Hell was chasing him again, a sense of emergency filling him. Locking the last window, he turned and looked at the empty house.

What was this terror all of the sudden? Why did he feel like this? His mind told him he was being ridiculous but his heart was being consumed by fear all the same.

With his back to the wall he walked to the corner of the room and sat down, hugging his legs, making himself small.

'Come on… where are you?' he thought as he closed his eyes trying to make himself small.

He thought of getting up and turning on the lights, but that would mean he would have to step away from the corner he had decided to hide. So he stayed put.

He had no idea how long he had stayed like this, his head buried in his arms and legs, when he heard a noise.

Footsteps… two people, right outside the house. He held his breath fearing the worst. His back arched back trying to disappear in the wall. Someone unlocked the door and two shapes entered.

"Jeff? Are you there?" a familiar voice echoed.

A sigh of relief escaped Jeff's lips and he stood up.

Mark turned on the lights.

"What are you doing in the dark?"

Jeff froze, mouth agape, eyes wide open.

But no answer came. Speech was not something he was capable of at that moment. It wasn't the sight of Mark that had taken his breath away, but that of the man that stood beside him. He found his back was againt the wall again, wishing again all this was a dream.

Mark realized this and took a step forward, his hand reaching out to Jeff.

"It's alright. Don't be afraid" he said although he wasn't sure if he himself was not.

"But…" Jeff mumbled "he can't be here… he is dead" he said pointing at the man.

"I know… but I am here… and I won't let anything happen to you. Come and we will figure this out. Please Jeff, I can't do this without you"

Mark extended his hand, pleading Jeff to take it.

The man had no malice in his eyes. He looked lost and confused.

"He has no memory of who he is" Mark said. "He needs our help".

Jeff took a few reluctant steps forward, his eyes never leaving the man beside his friend.

"He will not hurt you"

"How is this possible? He died years ago" Jeff whispered. "You said that dead men don't come back… so how is he back?"

"I don't know yet… I went to sleep last night and I woke up on the beach. I don't know how I got there or how he got there, but I found him… and I couldn't leave him there. For good or bad, I feel he has some role to play in all this, and I couldn't let the other side take him"

"The other side?" Jeff said through gritted teeth "What if the other side sent him?"

"What other side?" the man finally spoke. "I don't even remember who I am!"

Jeff took a step closer to the man, his anger erasing all traces of fear.

"Your name is Adam Copeland… and ten years ago, you were murdered"

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For those of you out there who don't know, Adam Copeland is WWE's EDGE.

In the "Paces" trilogy, Adam was brutally murdered by some very disturbing individuals.