The End Is Where We Begin
Amy's Arc
Chapter 9: Astraea
Seeing myself like this, was a whole other matter entirely. Something was changing me, morphing me into a completely different being, into a completely different existence. It was unnatural, an oddity, if I may add.
My energy was draining away, fading into the void that my universe has become.
What did that figure say it was? Curse of the Banished Angel? Did he say I was a reincarnate? What did he mean by that? Wait, how do I know if the figure was male or female? I couldn't tell by the voice; it was neither that of a girl or a boy. So how did I know anything at all? What knowledge was real, and what was fake?
"Yes, what's real, and what's fake?"
Even though my eyes were open, it was hard to see anything at all. I could tell that someone was there, obviously, but the "who" and the "why" was still an unknown. This person, this being, was one that seemed very unfamiliar, yet familiar at the same time.
"Unfamiliar and familiar? My, you have quite a way with words."
Even though I could hear someone's voice, no other sound was heard, as though I was deaf, with the exception of that voice, that sound. The voice echoed, as if it were in my head, though I knew it wasn't. It made no sense in the least, that much I could understand, but still...
"I see. It truly does make no sense in the least. To you I seem real, but at the same time, I seem like a fantasy, a creation of your mind. You really do have a way with words. You would make an impressive poet."
"Sh-shut up, you." I barely manage to choke out, I'm so exhausted. My muscles are numb, my limbs feel like pins and needles are piercing them, and I can't move a single bone in my body.
"Oh, not only is your grammar enchanting, but you are willing to resist. How much better will this get, I wonder?"
The world is spinning. I wonder why. I wonder how I know that, since I can't even see, despite the fact that my eyes are open. Wait, are they?
My left eye is numb. Is my eye even still there? It was cracking like glass, so who knows? Well, the figure probably knows, but I don't. Maybe I do, and I'm just hiding it deep within my soul. Do I even have a soul? Shadow did say I was an exact replica of someone, and the figure said I was a reincarnate, but still, all these questions still have no answer.
"Oh my, you've just realized that? You're quite smart too, since the others couldn't understand a word I said."
Others? Who are these others?
"Indeed, who are these others? Why, if you are willing to become my puppet, I just might tell you."
Puppet?
"Like hell, bastard." I try to muster up some sass, some resistance, but the soreness in my throat prevents me from doing so. It instead comes out as a weak, rocky cry.
"Tsk. I guess that's what I should expect of you, my dear reincarnate."
There it is again. My dear reincarnate. What could that possibly mean?
"What it could possibly mean is correct, Amy Rose. Or should I say, Astraea. That is your true name, did you know?"
Astraea? My true name?
"Yes, your true name."
How is he able to know what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling?
"That's because your thoughts are so easy to read, Astraea."
"Don't..." I croak, "Don't call me by a name I don't go by. I am Amy Rose."
"How do you know that?"
And then, my eyesight focused, the blurred colors becoming sharp lines. I realized I was on the ground, laying on my side. My hands were laying in front of me, limp. The glowing crimson stripes still remained.
Some of my flesh was cracked, some parts empty, as though a shard had just fallen.
I saw a pair of feet. Or at least, that's what I think it was. It was shaped like feet, but who knows?
"Now do you see?"
The figure knelt down next to me, trying to create eye contact with me. I spotted a devilish grin on his faceless, well, face.
"There's a difference between you and I."
"Go figure." I cough out, eyeing the blood that stained the ground. The same metallic taste grew in my mouth.
"I have no soul, no being, no spirit to create my existence. Yet you, you have a soul, a ghostly spirit that allows you to live." The person continued, ignoring my talking back. "Not only that, but your soul..."
The figure's tongue appeared, and he licked his lips. "Your soul holds more power than that of the goddess that you were named after, you have so much strength. Astraea, the goddess you were named after, held power. She was a goddess of purity, who could destroy darkness with the touch of her finger. Yet she, compared to you, is nothing. The chaotic, frantic power that only reveals itself with the consent of your heart, belongs to you and you alone. As long as your heart is beating it will continue to exist."
I squeeze my eyes shut the moment I felt the person's hot breath against my skin. With a chilling voice that sent shivers down my spine, he whispered, "But once you die, the power born in you will cease to exist. Time will rewrite itself, changing history and creating a future where that power was unknown, where that power was never birthed into this world."
Sucking up whatever strength I had left, I slammed my forehead into that of the figure, before I fell back to where I found myself.
"Oh? You still have the strength to move, even after I drained so much of your energy, even after I drained so much of your very life force?"
"Beat it, you damned piece of sh*t." I swore, making sure the figure every word I could handle.
"Language, language, my dear Astraea."
"I told you not to call me that." I told the person again.
The figure lay down in front of me, in order to make eye contact once again.
The moment his eyes made their appearance, I glanced at my reflection in them, just as I had done to Shadow.
And I screamed.