Memories are fickle. Lives can start and stop. Nothing will stay forever as Ecolo knows all too well. Requested by a tumblr anon!

Eternity

Ecolo lived for so long that they had forgotten how they came to exist. They thought it happened in some off kilter, unknown dimension where they opened their eyes and breathed. Without any memories to look back upon, they moved through dimensions seeking enjoyment, aimless and curious.

Their goal was simple, if a tad cruel. Pleasure and satisfaction kept them alive. There was nothing greater than seeking thrills and playing with the inhabitants of various worlds. Watching their expressions churn in a vibrant set of emotions, observing their rash decisions because of their threats, it gave them a purpose.

They wanted fun. Anything that sought to destroy their fun would be eliminated. They had once been much more vile, but no one would ever know that. No one had any reason to know that about them as their eyes sparkled and smile remained still.

Playing Puyo was a way to enjoy themself with people who would eventually forget them. The rush of spells at flowing down his palms, the thrashing their opponent received, it had all been for them. Bonding over a fun game, one that they had once manipulated, it really gave them a no perspective on humanity.

Still, loneliness plagued them. It was like a poison that slowly spread in their deep blue veins. If they had surmised on their misery at the slightest hint of boredom, then the poison would seep in and paralyze them. They would be forced to find someone or something to amuse themself before panic settled in their thoughts, warping them to commit something sinister for the sake of acknowledgement.

At the same time, they really did like bothering others. Teasing those on the verge of forgetting them was another pastime. During the time when their existence almost fully faded from someone's mind, they would spring back into their life with a smile, laugh, and a new way to play with them.

If they fully forgot about them, then they would hide the crack spreading in their heart and toy with them as far as they could. Initially, sorrow consumed them with each uncertain face and narrowed glare. Sharp words hissing out that they weren't known had once been like a knife to their chest. Now, they were just fuel for a fire, one that burned within them to continue forward and leave behind a boring world.

Ecolo still pondered at times why they were alive. They lived for so long that years and cataclysmic events blended together, but they never forgot. They remembered every single person they met and witnessed events no normal human could comprehend. Watching galaxies implode into fiery stardust, laughing as entire worlds were sucked into a warping black hole, or if they were frisky, they smashed worlds into nothingness with the help of bouncing Puyos all for the sake of a good, jolly, wicked cackle.

Sometimes, during the rare times they dreamed, they heard the fading screams of the crushed world's people, but they were quickly, quickly, quickly abandoned when their eyes snapped open and stared at the twinkling stars dotting the inky velvet space surrounding them.

In recent days, Ecolo found themself at a crossroads. With decades, centuries, millenniums of under their belt and enough memories to fill hundreds of thousands of storybooks, they stopped. They had met countless people, remembering their names and faces. Every single one of them, Ecolo cemented into their thoughts and fondly looked back on them regardless of whether they were good or bad.

They never cared for their wellbeing. It was all for the sake of their amusement. They were the ones who gave them wonderful times to reminisce upon before loneliness could seize them. Easily, they could have followed down that road, the one they knew like the back of their hand.

Devoting time and attention to people, genuinely caring about them, that was something they never dreamed of happening to them. They wanted to trek down that path, carefully inching their way down with uncertainty finally startling them.

It was an unknown, terrifying emotion that left their innards twisting. They were young, carefree, belovedly wonderful people. Ringo and her all her friends, Ecolo had come to treasure them.

It scared them. It left them writhing when they were by themself in the dark cosmos. Wanting to be around them, hoping they would still remember them, those unfamiliar feelings were a far cry from the traveller he used to be decades ago.

Though, they could also admit something else that made their smile etched to their face. Ringo and her friends made them happier than they had ever been in their long life. They were the best, honest and loving people who rose far above the cretins and desperate beasts he had met eons ago. They treasured one another and even cared for someone as mischievous and devious as them, someone who had done nothing but trick them upon their first meeting.

Eventually, they would grow old. Eventually, they would forget, and they would be alone once more.

"Hey, Ecolo," Ringo said, sitting on a field overlooking Suzuran, "will you ever forget us?"

"I haven't forgotten a single person, Ringie. I never have," he replied with a shrug. "Think you'll forget me?"

She laughed. "No way! Not after everything that's happened between us. I could never forget you."

When everyone's time comes, and it always does, at least Ecolo will have their memories.