A beach.
A strange and dark beach that was unlike any in the world.
With gray sands, and water as black as his blood that splash against the shores.
Above were skies just as dark. With no light in sight, no stars to twinkle and no moon to grin down at them. Only emptiness…a void.
Dark, darker, and just darker. An abyss that seems more than ready to shallow whole, all that exist. It's the kind of thing that people would call an actual 'hell'.
And yet, while in this dark place…stood a single spot of light. Not that wide, or even big at all.
But it was enough.
Enough for a small frail boy, wearing a black robe with white cuffs and a white collar. The Demon swordsman stood in this light…and he was not alone.
A beautiful girl was holding him close. The light seeming to just come straight from her. She wore an almost golden like dress that showed off her smooth skin arms, and flawless legs…but what was the most captivating thing of her…were her amazing eyes. That just seem to shine like they were emeralds.
Her name was Maka Albarn…and she was the definition of purity, modesty, and just…being all around too good for him. He wasn't worth her time, or patience. She was…too much for him. Too smart. Too Beautiful. Too…nice. She was just everything.
She is his everything.
And he is not even worth being a little smudge on heel of her sho-…a small gentle touch on his head snaps himself from his own delusions. Making him open his eyes…and look to his hope. She stood right in front of him, with a mere simple text book in her hand. Without a word, she places her book down on the sand, and looks back up to him with a smile…a simple small smile that sends quivers of through his entire spine.
Crona tries to stop himself from shaking…or just falling into a crying wreck on the sand. He sucks in a trembling breath. With a small shake of his head, he tries to say something. What it was he didn't know…either it be begging for forgiveness or just that she stop wasting her time on him. But Maka stops him before he could even let out a sound…by gently placing a hand on his cheek.
She gave him a knowing look.
Just like always…she can read him like any of her books, she was good at that.
Crona gives a sigh as he closes his eyes again, leaning to Maka's hand as he lays his own hand over it. Enjoying her warm touch on his cold skin. "Sometimes I just…think you are just dream. Like as if you've never existed at all and…I…I just made you up." Crona mutters out, barely recognizing his own voice. It sounded…older, deeper even…completely gruff…
Yet though with a voice like that…he still spoke as softly as he could. "And…like any dream, I am now in a living nightmare without you. Every breath I take, is of a world without…hope. Every step I walk in these perverted and broken roads only leads me to more terrors that I can barely stand…I don't have the strength to bare it all. You were…everything. My reason for living, my hope, my light, my…everything." His voice creaks slightly under its own weight, as he tries to fight back tears.
He shuts his eyes as tight as he could…only to open them in shock…as Maka pulls her hand away, and grips both of his in her own. She lightly shakes her head at him, before she moves close…leaning her head to his chest.
Crona feels a tear trail down his face at this. He knew she was worried for him. He could feel it…her compassion, her warmth, her…dare he even use such a word….one he still doesn't understand but…it felt like…
Love.
Watching as she was holding herself close to his chest, he sees as she moves his hand to her side…having him place and hold it there. She then places her own hand on his side. With her other hand, she holds up Crona's. Gently caressing it with her thumb as if to tell him….it was fine.
No words are given as Crona slowly shifted his hand to a more comfortable position for her to hold…before they both began to lightly sway in place.
A…slow dance. Just something meant for them to relax as they listen to the music around them. The music being, the sounds of the black ocean hitting the gray shores.
If this feeling wasn't love. The feeling of her…being his only light in the darkness of his soul, where even though he was a monster…she could care for him…and dance with him still.
This…all of this was love. Something that he'd always wanted….so of course it is ripped away from him, as he opens his eyes…and awakes from his dream.
Finding himself in a setting much like within the dream. A desert with little to nothing in sight, other than the large rock-formation that he was using as shade to cover from the bright clouds that still hung over his head.
He doesn't say any words as he pushes himself off the ground and dust off as much sand as he could from himself. He then turns around to survey the area and with nothing to go on as any kind of direction…He decides to head forward, continuing his journey to find Death City and the Reaper to ask him…just what happened to his hope.
Crona's quest
SOUL
Walking through the endless amount of sand in complete silence gave Crona almost too much time to think. Mainly on that of his journey and the world.
It had felt like days, maybe even months had passed already. Time just seemed to be one of the many things that have been ruined. The clouds above barely moved at all, and the light from above didn't even seem to change at all, no matter how long it seemed or where he went.
It was as if the whole planet was in an immortal twilight.
Just as he begins to walk up another incline of sand, he notices something in the ground by his feet. Crouching down to get a better look at it, he sees that it looked to be made of either metal or at least some kind of metal like substance. Small and slightly a sickly green in color, with rusted mostly covering it.
Crona takes hold of the object and begins to pull…his curiosity getting the better of him.
It was a mistake as suddenly the sand beneath his feet burst apart, causing him to topple on his back before he is quickly forced to hold back the jaws of a…'creature'. "Ah, get off!" Crona shouts as he shoves the creature off him and quickly rolls to his side to push himself back up to his feet.
The creature snarls at Crona with green slide dripping down its fangs, its many talons digging into the sand. Crona holds his hand up to try to ease it. "Wait, please don't-"Crona tries to warn it…it leaped toward him, trying to sink its fangs into his flesh.
He didn't even know why he tried anymore to communicate with these things.
…in a few seconds, he found himself inspecting its corpse. It's metal-like body was contorted into a shape like that of an insect. Simply just one of the many kinds of creatures that now inhabited the world. With all the time that Crona had spent walking through this ruined world, he had come across many of them…and so far, only one thing seems to be consistent with these creatures…
They all seem to at least be easy to kill.
A groan is heard within Crona's mind, a tired and annoyed one at that. "Uhh…" At his tone Crona inwardly prepares himself as he knew how Ragnarok gets after waking up. Even before the ruined world he was never a…'morning person'.
"Alright…fuck did you do this time?" Ragnarok mutters out, as Crona feels him trying to burst from his skin. His new morning ritual, that he tries every time he wakes up from another one of his naps. "I…I didn't do anything." Crona tells him as he continues to walk forward, heading down the other side of the incline.
Making sure to glance at around him, ever couple of seconds to be sure. Either in case of another creature trying to attack him, or maybe a clue in where he currently was. "Yeah…at least not yet." Ragnarok tells him, making Crona let out a tired sigh.
"Can you please stop asking me stuff like this after you take a nap?" Crona whines, getting really annoyed with the accusation Ragnarok kept throwing at him. "Oh, I'm sorry. But in my defense, I think you can excuse me on the bit of fear I have that I'm just gonna wake up one day, and find out that your dumb ass somehow got us stuck on Pluto!" Crona holds his hand to his face and lets out a groan.
Even with all the land that they travel, and monsters that they've seen that always seemed to be the first of many conversations that they would have. With the unchanging clouds hanged over their head, the only thing they had to tell time, would be the times they had decided to take naps.
Small reliefs to help get their mind off all that is happening…and of course Ragnarok would disrupt what little peace he had with either waking him up, or digging at that old wound of Crona's.
"…when are you not gonna hold that over me?" He asks, pausing to look around in case of another himself before continuing to walk forward. And just like it had been the last many times he looked around for anything…all he saw was sand.
He could hear Ragnarok scoff at him, as the demon sword ask. "Come on man, when have I ever been the kind of person to let something go?" Crona was about to try and say something to that…but then he quickly realizes that Ragnarok had a very good point.
From then on, the small talk just kept going, with Crona continuously walking onward through the many…many miles of sand that just seemed to infinity stretch before him. It was the only thing that could do to kill the time the massive amount of free time they had.
"Are we there yet?" Crona had to hold back a loud disgruntle moan, as he tightly closes his eyes. It's one of the 'games' that Ragnarok thought of to pass the time. The 'patience' game. Where the object was to annoy the other player as long as possible till they creak…Ragnarok being the self-proclaim champion of it, but only because he would never let Crona play. His excuse being 'you push what little patience I have, every day of my life as it is' or something like that.
"No." Crona answers the obvious question, as he feels a bit of pressure along the back of his ribs and head, like if Ragnarok was leaning on him.
"Are we there yet?" Ragnarok asks again, gaining the same answer as before from Crona. "No." But Ragnarok seemed persistent. "Are we there yet?"
Crona had shaken his head a little, while letting out an annoyed breath. "No…" He groans out. As Ragnarok continues to pester him. "Are we there yet?" He asks, with Crona almost feeling the grin he had on his currently non-existent face. "…no…" Crona says a bit more difficulty as he tries to keep his voice down.
A small chuckle is heard from Ragnarok as he hears Crona's tone. "Are we there yet?" He asks again, gaining silence. Crona just ignoring him at this point as he just angrily stomps forward. "…are we there yet?" Trying his patience, Crona stops for a moment to look to the sand, seeing the clouds above them still barely moving at all.
"Hey Crona, can I ask you something?" Ragnarok ask, making Crona feel much more relax now. "Can it please not be the phrase 'are we there yet'?" He replies back, hearing Ragnarok give another chuckle. "Hehehehe…Sure man." He says casually as his chuckling turn to snickering. "Have we reached out destination finally?"
Crona holds his face in both his hands and lets out a loud muffled groan. Ragnarok's loud laughter echoing throughout his skull. It was at a moment like this were Crona was really considering craving in his own skull…just because at least like that he could finally silence his partner.
After many more of these 'games', most of which seem to test more and more of Crona patience. After what had felt like a non-stop brutal assault, Ragnarok finally stopped as Crona found another landmark. An entire small area of trees. Though they were without leaves, and had no bark on them.
Crona was about to say something on the idea of having trees like this here, but stops himself. Remember that he needs to learn to stop question this world and how it works.
"Well this seems like a good spot for a nap. Better than freaking rocks or the sand." Ragnarok said as Crona presses his back up against one of the trees, before sliding down to a sitting position with his knees up to his chest.
It was part of the agreement that they had made upon coming to this desert. That every landmark that they would find would become a place for them to rest, usually in the form of taking naps. They had no deadline or really any idea on where their destination was, so really all they could do was kill time. It also proved them a bit of relaxing from one another. As due to Ragnarok's condition, with him not being able to eat or even hit Crona like he used too…all he could do was either sleep or talk.
And there was only so much Crona could take all at once without a break.
Crona stayed in the sitting position for a while, as Ragnarok drifted off to his nap. His eyes looking around to the trees around him. They were very old, and skinny…looking to just placed here with no real purpose. He could almost relate to them.
He closes his eyes as he tries to calm his mind. The dream he had still fresh in his mind. A painful reminder of what he didn't have and will never have again.
The loss of his hope.
He tried to avoiding sleeping as much as he can for that reason, ever since he had gotten the news of what had happened. He tried lying to himself about it. Trying to convince himself that maybe she was still out there, and maybe was waiting for him. It was a fool idea that he quickly rid of.
She has long since died, his only hope being that it was a quick and painless one. He had seen…very awful ways for people to die. Many of them slow, and just unbearable to even think about. And that was before coming here to this ruined world. Since leaving that destroyed city he had ventured to many other places.
There he found bodies of...things.
He didn't know their stories, or why they died in such ways…but they had died. And with each body, somehow it seemed to have gotten worst.
Medusa taught him many things about killing. How much pain something can experience. How fair you can push a living thing into sheer agony, before you decided to end it. All could range for a few extra seconds…to literally days. And if one is creative enough, they could make a death last years.
He had found bodies in different places, each with different ways of death. Be it from the frozen wastelands, where they died of the cold. The other wrecked cities where he found old blood spatters underneath small mountains of rubbles. Those being the least…messing that he could think of now. As something much worst could have happened.
Like she could have encountered the many different creatures and groups he had fought.
Shuddering at the memory, Crona moves to stand up to his feet. Thinking that he had enough of resting and thought it be best to just continue walking. He pats himself down, to rid of the sand while also checking his outfit.
It wasn't that different from what he Eruka gave him.
Aside from the many new cuts and holes it had, the only differences with his outfit were that he was missing the shirt, having gotten rid of it after it had become a tattered into small pieces of cloth, and that he had on several belts on his coat. His reason being that it was still too big on him, and had gotten a bit in the way of running and fighting several times. Though he…wasn't quite brave enough to walk around topless.
His solution was to use several, very old belts that he had found in his travels. It wasn't perfect, as it took about four to get it right. One tied to each arm, and two around his torso. And not to mention the whole uncomfortably feel of it.
Though he didn't seem in any position to complain about outfits. At least he had something…he wonders for a moment what she wore when she died, before smacking himself. "Stop thinking about her for just five seconds…you can do it, Crona." He mutters as he takes a sharp breath. He had a lot to walk…and just standing here think wasn't gonna do him any favors.
An idea comes to him for a moment, as he looks to the trees. Seeing that some of them had grown to be at least be several feet taller than him. A vantage point will be very useful to him about now, better than trusting his own eyesight, with all this sand things tend to just blend together.
Learned that the hard way after what felt like a thousand too many surprise attacks.
Seeing no comfortable way to climb the tree, Crona places a hand on his chin as he begins to form an idea.
Since awakening in this world…he's felt different. Not by much, but with enough to at least noticed it. Though that was how he 'felt'. He has become much different than he used to be. He was stronger, faster, and extremely durable. Even with everything that was thrown at him, from this ruined world…not a single scratch was on his body…not a single scratch could even be left on him.
He's fallen down mountains, taken hits from large animal-like mutants with sharp claws…even being eaten whole in some occasions, burned alive, had' taken more bullets than all the rappers known' as Ragnarok commented, and had fallen into so many death traps that Ragnarok convinced he's gonna get a free Sundae if he gets in one more.
And yet even being forced through all of that, he's never gotten more than a paper cut…not even. It very much worried him. Before he relied on his black blood to harden and protect him, someone could try to harm him and while it would break skin, that would be as far as it got...allowing for Ragnarok to retaliate. Now, that wasn't possible…leaving him alon-
"Can you stop whining for five fucking minutes, I'm trying to sleep." Ragnarok groaning voice echo's in Crona's head, sounding like he was rudely awakened and was still tired. "B-but I haven't said anything." Crona tries to defend himself as he feels Ragnarok shifting along from his back to his chest. Like he was turning in his sleep. "You're always fucking whining about something…stupid wussy…can't see what he's got…nah…nah…nah…you bitch…" Ragnarok mutters to him, as his voice begins to sound more tired...before falling into a light snore and then becoming quietly.
Though it was in his…very mean sounding way…Crona thinks that it was Ragnarok being nice to him. He wasn't alone, that much was for sure. And he needed to focus.
Looking back up to the trees, Crona takes a deep breath as he mentally prepares himself. He had gotten into a lot of fights here, each proving how much strength he had. So…it was time to test just how much he could use it.
Crouching down slightly, Crona breaths in slowly…and then leaps as hard as he could.
Like a rocket that has taken off, the ground under him explodes as the black blood boy sore through the air…passed the trees, and further up then he would ever think possible with just a mere leap…he was reacting as one would expect. "AHHHHHH!" He screamed as he tried in vain to try and gain control of himself as he was being still being propelled forward, nearing to touch the very clouds that hanged above them…before he began to fall.
"AHHHH!" He continued to scream, the noise being more than enough to wake up Ragnarok as he shouted out. "What is with the screa-OH MY GOD!"
It was not a soft ending. Crona crashes through a large rock formation that were sticking out the top of one of the many hills of sand. His body skip down the slope like the rick along a body of water…before stopping as he hits face first into something metal.
A low moan escapes Crona's throat as he flops on his back. "Ow." He mumbles out as he tries to make sense of what had just happened. Ragnarok's voice was not helping him. "Ugh, that stung a bit. What the hell happened?" He spoke, sounding very annoyed and not happy at being woken up hundreds of feet in the air.
"I tried to jump up the trees…I missed the trees." Crona mutters before he begins to push himself up, spitting out a bit of sand that was near his mouth. As he moves up to his feet Ragnarok groans at him. "Ohhh, you missed a tree that was right in front of you…could have just climb it but you thought to jump. Man…you know usually I would have thought of a joke or snarty thing to say at this…but I got nothing…that was fucking dumb. You're fucking dumb." Crona ignores him as brushes off the sand from his body, before he presses a hand on his back to help straighten himself to standing up right.
As he looks up the nearby hill that he rolled down, seeing the rock formation that he crashed through. The entire top part of it being completely gone…with small rocks of it still crumbling off. "Oh look, time for nap time again…try not to kill us this time." Crona nods at that as he places a hand over his face. Feeling slightly sore, but mostly okay…before turning to look at what he had hit when he landed…and his eyes widening as he saw…a sign.
A wrecked, completely rusted and dented to hell old road sign that was buried slightly in the sand, which said 'Welcome to Nevada'.
Though it was barely readable, Crona became ecstatic upon seeing the name. "Ragnarok…w-we are close! W-we're in Nevada, we can probably see Death City if we keep going!" Crona nearly shouts as he tries to run…only for Ragnarok to shout back to him. "Hold on there, Mr. Hopeful!"
Crona's attention was grabbed as he reels his head back, placing his hands on his nose. Like he was punched in the face. "Think for a second. It would be hundreds of things. Like the sign being thrown around in a tornado, or someone stole it and lost it, or the sand itself moving it around, shit like that. For all we know, we're actually in Egypt and this just happens to be here." Ragnarok told him, as Crona slowly places his hands back down. He continues to stare at the sign for a bit longer.
He knew Ragnarok was right, as much as he hates to admit it. He couldn't let himself get too hopeful…it would only set him up to fail.
With a shake of his head he takes his eyes away from the and begins to walk up to the rock formation that he hit. Resting against the shade it provided, Crona began to check himself over. Happy to see no new tears in his clothing…and that his 'weapon' was okay.
Though it was a sad excuse of one, that he had gotten from a group of…as Ragnarok had called them, 'clowns'. They attacked Crona riding on the same kind of creatures with metal bodies as the one he killed earlier…only those were bigger. They welded weird weapons that were held together with straps, and prayers.
After taking care of them, Crona had taken one of the weapons as Ragnarok had suggested to him…that it might come in handy…though looking at it, one could tell it was a piece of junk.
It seemed like it was supposed to be like that of a firearm, a saw-off shotgun to be exact. But whatever that was just to make it was of poorly aged material. The metal being nearly all rust, the trigger being too loose, the straps looking close to ripping, even the bullets weren't normal…looking to be made of bone and other stuff Crona couldn't tell.
It was more likely to blowup in his hand then to actually be used to kill something. But, given the option…Crona rather have trash than nothing. Plus, Ragnarok really wanted to him to shoot it and scream that this was his 'boom-stick'. Not a day goes by where Crona wonders where Ragnarok pull out these references.
After another nap, and a…wondrous dream...Crona woke up and began to walk again, not even giving a second glance to the sign that still was buried in the sands. As he had walked for what had felt like a few miles, Ragnarok had awoken and it was time to play another game.
"I spy…something…sandy." Ragnarok said, with Crona uttering back to him. "Is it sand?" He could feel the demon sword within him shift in annoyance. "Shit, again. How do you keep knowing? Are you cheating somehow?" Ragnarok shouts at him, but there was a bit of a joking tone to it.
Crona couldn't resist the small smile it gave him. "Okay my turn, I spy…something bright, but not too much." He said, as he shifts his eyes to look above to the sky. "Oh man Crona, not sure if that is fair…that is nothing like sand." Ragnarok replies in a mocking fearful tone.
As Crona begins to walk up a tall incline, he stops walking for a moment to look around for any landmarks. "Hmm…I would have to be a daring man and say…the sky." Ragnarok says, with Crona giving a small nod. Tilting his head back down to look around him. "Yeah, alright my turn! I spy with my nonexistent eyes…something that looks like a tower…wait…WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY?!"
Not even caring for the screaming in his head, Crona looks to the thing that he caught at the corner of his eye…and he sees what may be…a tower. It was so far away though, that only the barest of the tips of kind of structure could be seen. And the style that it had…looked…familiar.
Similar like it was of…
Crona's eyes widen in full. "…run. Now!" Ragnarok says in a very serious tone, causing Crona to jump a bit in shock at its suddenness. "B-but what about what you said about being hopeful? It could be a-a trick or-" Crona was stopped as he feels pain surge at the back of his head. "Fuck what I said, just run!"
And with that simple command…Crona ran. The closer he got, the more of the tower he could see. Moving as quickly as he could, as if scared that if he was too slow then it would disappear right before his eyes.
Rushing up and down the inclines of sand as they came, Crona could make out…a city. A familiar looking one at that.
"Fucking A! Finally, something goes right for us!" Ragnarok excitedly shouts, as makes his way there. "Yes…I can't believe it." Crona says with him as he couldn't hold his own excited tone. His smile growing the closer he got to the city…answers could finally be found. He could see why this had all happened and if there is any-way that maybe…just maybe they could fix it al-
Crona digs his feet into the sand to stop himself…as he gets close enough to see…what's left of Death city. What small spark of hope of anything that he and Ragnarok could find was crushed in almost an instant.
Like most other cities that he saw, the buildings were wrecked…broken…worn down to the point that they look as if they could collapse at any moment, some have already had. But the worst thing…was how the city seemed to be buried halfway into the sand itself. As if the weight of the entire city was too much for the desert to bare. Crona began to slowly walk to it. "…how?" He quietly asks as he steps down the incline, and walk toward the city.
"I think that's obvious. The same way this happened to the rest of the world. The world ended…" Ragnarok said, his voice sounding to be unease as Crona begins to step into what might have been the city limits. Walking passed buildings that were just barely peeking out of the sand. "…I thought…Death would be like…the last place that would ever fall…you know….it just seems…" Crona pauses mid-sentence as he begins to walk upward…onto a road. The entire place seeming to be tilted at an old angle.
Like as if something tried to pull the entire city down.
A chill goes up Crona's spine at that thought. Thinking that with all that he and Ragnarok both seen, something like that wouldn't be too farfetched. "What…special? Yeah right. Last, I checked bad things happen, no matter where you are. Damn it…" The demon sword said in a tone that was a mix of disappointment and anger.
The two became quiet as they began to look through what was left. Walking through the many broken and empty streets, much like they had when they had first woken up. After finding nothing aside from broken bits of buildings, and a few destroyed vehicles…Crona then heard a noise.
A loud boom from above him.
Before he could look up to see where it was from…a large piece of ice falls right in front of him. Leading for Crona to mutter. "Nah…nuts." Before he quickly throws his hands above his head and began to run into the nearest place of shelter, as it began to rain large chucks of ice all around him. "Shit-shit-shit-shit!" Ragnarok shouts in his head as Crona rushes right into a nearby building, through what may have been a door at one point.
Crona gives a sigh of relief as he sees the hail really began to rain down, happy to not be caught in weather like this without shelter…again. "Oh, thank god." Ragnarok mutters, before he gives his own sigh. This was a normal thing for them, it seemed that whatever had happened to make the sky like it was, it had also seemed effect the weather around them. Not making any sense at all at times, like it is snowing in the hottest of areas, or like now…hail coming down in the desert. It would even change mid-way…Crona did not like when he was caught in the acid rain once.
Thinking that it would take time for the weather to return to normal, Crona decided that he might as well look through his shelter…though he was quick to regret the decision in picking this building to go through, the moment he looked behind.
He was in a store…a clothing one by the looks of the old, and very dirty rags that were either hanged up or left on the floor…but that wasn't what caught Crona's attention. It was something else.
Blood.
There was blood along the walls, and floor around him.
Crona was struck into complete silence as his eyes trace around the room. With no words spoke, he began to step forward, quietly and slowly moving as the only sound that could be heard was of the hail hitting the ground outside.
He makes sure to step his bare feet around the pools of blood, watching for any movement to come from it, and looking for any trail that it had...there was several of the latter. Either from the victims trying to escape danger…or of their bodies being dragged away.
The old question of...'how this could have happened' rang in his mind…but he had learned that there was little to no answer for that question…or rather too many possible answers from what Eruka had told him.
Walking up to one of the blood painted walls, Crona slowly brings a hand up and begins to trace the edge of where the blood spattered. He does this for a moment, before moving his hand over the dried blood itself…and that's where he noticed something.
The texture of the blood was…different. There was a small tringle within it. One he was familiar with, long ago. Another one of Medusa's many listens in his young age. "…this is witch blood." He says in a low disbelief tone. "It could be they did finally had gotten peace…only for all this to happen." He mutters, as he drops his arm, and begins to walk through the rest of the store. Having time to kill before the rain would stop, and allow him to continue exploring.
He stops for a moment to stare into…a mirror. A dirty, and creaked mirror, with a few pieces on the floor…but mostly intact.
It was…the first time he had seen himself in a while. Though he hadn't seemed to change at all since the last time he seen his own reflection…there was changes. One being that his eyes were bright blue, almost as if they could glow. Another would be while he was still very skinny, he could see that he had gain…weight.
Looking a bit bigger, muscle wise all along his body. He even looked a bit taller.
Though it was a small change…it was enough for Crona to feel…that he wasn't looking at himself. It was as if there was someone else in the mirror pretending to be him. With his changes, the strength he now had, how he reacted toward Eruka…upon saying the name of who he cared for most. Crona would believe that he really wasn't himself.
But before he could think further on that, Ragnarok's voice calls out to him. "Hey…you think that this is the same place where those blonde bimbos took you?" It was enough to snap Crona out of his thoughts, as he had to blink his confusion. "Yeah remember? You were invited to that party thing…and you needed something else to where…hehehe…I remember when they first got you to wear pants. OH GOD, remember when they started to argue wither you should wear boxers or panties, HAHAHAHA!"
As Ragnarok begins to laugh like a fool, Crona's face turns gray with embarrassment. The events of the day all coming to him, as Liz and Patty were both determine to set down the argument of Crona's gender as they back him into a dressing room to find out the answer themselves. "Ah…the look on their faces…priceless!" Ragnarok chuckles out, as he begins to shift within Crona…making the pink hair teen give a groan as he holds his hands in front of his face in a poor attempt to hide himself.
"Ragnarok please…" He whispers as he tries not to remember what happened when the two girls had…stripped him. It took all day for his 'hope' to convince him to leave his room after that…took even longer for Ragnarok to stop laughing about it. "Oh, shut up Sadako." Ragnarok said as he begins to calm down.
Crona feels his face calm down, and slowly pulls away his hands…pausing for a moment as tries to think of what Ragnarok just said. "Wait…who? Is that another reference?" It was Ragnarok's turn to give a groan as he Crona could feel another surge of pain in the back of his head. "Forget it…fucking swear…"
Though he didn't like the pain…it did bring a small smile to Crona.
Suddenly the sound of hail hitting the road had stopped, letting Crona know that the weather had return to normal for now. He walks back to the entrance of the store, and look to the sky for a moment. It looked just as it always had so there was no way of telling if it would rain again. Giving a sigh, Crona thought it worth the risk as he began to step outside and head down the street, toward what might be what remains of the academy.
They were silent for a moment as they looked around them. They saw collapse shops, homes, and even complete parts where it looked like places themselves were missing. Crona held a stern look as his eyes scan around him.
It was awful.
Seeing someplace…where he felt at home. Where he had walked these same streets with 'her'. Now it was nothing more than waste…all of it.
"Hey…Crona?" Ragnarok asks as he sees Crona walk alongside the wall of a building, sliding his hand on it as he continued to walk forward. "Aside from the obvious answer, being you know who, what do you miss most about the world pre…shit getting fucked?"
Crona shifts his shoulder a bit at that. Thinking back to all the memories that he had from his life before waking up here. There was one moment that made Crona very happy…though it was rather foolish in retrospect. "...you remember when we were really young…and we went into that Ice cream shop?"
Ragnarok gives small confused grunt, before suddenly perking up with a sound of realization. "Ohhh, I think I know. It was when Medusa left us alone the first time." He said in a pleased tone, Crona was giving his own as he says. "Yeah…sitting down, and just watching the firework show the town was having…no killing, no darkness…that is what I miss most. That feeling." Crona finished as he looks up to the clouds above them with a sober look.
"...So much has changed…almost makes me think if there is a way to change it back anymore." Crona says as he began to walk away from the building and down through the street, taking careful steps to avoid the bits of ice on the ground. He hears Ragnarok give a low hum at that. "Hey, remember that one time when you and I went to that Zoo, and I got curious to see what would happen if I punch a bear?"
The two continued to reminisce for a time. Crona's voice echoing across the empty town, unknowing be heard…by something around them.
As Crona arrive at the old stairway, he silently walks up. Looking up to the academy where he was given his second chance, now old…broken…and forgotten. The cartoonish skull castle design of it had lost all color, became faded and not but crumbled rock. "Man…and I thought this place looked like shit before." Ragnarok mutters as Crona looks around him, seeing that the usual front entrance had collapsed in on itself.
He begins to think, or at least to try and remember if there was another way into the building, one that didn't include climbing on it and risking it falling apart even more. Taking a few steps back he could see just barely see the old balcony. The same one where he and his 'hope' had sat and talked to one another. "The balcony might still be there…maybe I could jump it, it seems to be in somewhat of a good condition. I can possibly jump at such an angle so that I am able to land and not cause too mu -" Crona muttered to himself, while holding a hand to his chin and also tapping his finger slightly in thought.
That thought was stopped though…as a sound echoed across the area around him…and it wasn't from himself. Slowly he turns to look around. There was an. alert look in his eyes, as his muscle tense…ready to move in case of an attack.
But nothing was there. He still stood alone still, with no other living thing around him.
It provided no comfort at all for him.
"We need to move." Crona whispers as his eyes continue to wander around him, as he starts to bend his knees. "Well where exactly are we gonna move to-OH SHIT, NOT AGAIN!" Ragnarok voice screams in a…rather un-Ragnarok way…as Crona uses all his strength to his legs and launches himself upward. Crona fiercely throwing his arms around as he attempted to grabbed the edge of the balcony. "I got it, I got it!" He shouts as he nears his target…unfortunately realizing too late that he was coming in too fast…as his body slammed right into it. "Ugh…told you I got it." He groans as the old concrete had slammed against his chest and stomach, making him give a few coughs. His arms were tightly around the stone to hold himself.
He could hear Ragnarok angrily growl at him. "You're a stupid fuck, you know that?" He tells Crona as the boy tries to pull himself upward, his grip being hard to keep as the stone was wet. The hail from earlier. As he tries to pull himself further up, a crack is heard…before Crona found himself falling…from the balcony…holding the wet and old stone bit of what used to be part of the railing. "Oh poop-" Crona manages to make out, before he his body bounces off the front skull of the Academy and lands on the ground, head first.
"…ugh...should have seen that coming." He moans as he pushes the large piece of granite off him. "Asshole, do me a favor…stop fucking pretending to be a Mexican jumping bean." Ragnarok groans as Crona holds a hand to the back of his head. Feeling his skull throb in pain from the landing.
"I was only trying too-" Crona tries to defend his action but stops…as he looks up from his position…and saw something raising from the many creaks on the floor. His eyes widening in panic, Crona pushes himself back to his feet as fast as he could.
His eyes quickly looked around him as he could see that it wasn't just behind him…it was surrounding him. Not just near the Academy…but as far as he could see. They were leaving the ground, old buildings, and even from the school itself.
A howling echo whispers in the air, sounding to be right behind his ear. Crona had to fight the urge to wildly swing behind him. It was moments like this where he needed to be calm. If he acted out rashly...then that might cause them all to attack him…and he really…really didn't want to deal with that.
Though that didn't mean he wouldn't prepare himself. He closed one of his hands into a fist, another he held close to hip…where his sad excuse of a weapon was hanging from, under his coat. His eyes scanned around him, and he bended his knees again. If they had decided to attack then he needed to be on the move.
Though…they weren't moving themselves. Whatever they were…they just stared at him. They were semi-transparent in a way, constantly shifting in and out of his sight. Their shape wasn't like anything normal. Just long shapes of greenish gas color. The only real feature that they had on their 'body'…were the two blank see-through dots…it was their eyes.
The only sound being made were the howls, at least that was till Ragnarok spoke. "Please tell me that we are suffering from a concussion, and are now seeing shit." Crona shrugs his shoulders silently as a response, slightly hoping that was the case…but he knew his own luck enough to know that it wasn't.
He stood for what felt like minutes staring at the things around him, but they didn't even move after coming out of the ground. They just…continued to look at him. Keeping his wits about him, Crona decided to move…slowly sliding his foot forward toward the nearest of the things.
There was nothing. No movement, or addition sound to the howling. Just stare.
Crona moved himself again…still nothing.
After several more slow and tedious little bits of movement, Crona stood right in front of one of the…things. And upon closer inception…is where he found the truth of them.
It was a Soul…a soul of someone that had died here.
Looking closer, he saw more features within it gassy bodies. He could make out ribs, muscles, tore bits of flesh…and so much more. Its face…had a permanent look of terror on the face. Crona couldn't even tell if it really was a human being, or used to be a mutant like with the witches….and other creatures he 'met'.
He moves himself to a more relax position as he sees the soul didn't even flinch at how close he was. Still be cautious, Crona slowly walked to another soul. It looked just as misshaped as the first one had. Walking to another he found the same…and another and another.
Each of these souls were killed, in some fashion or another…that much was obvious. The question of 'by what' didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that they were in such poor shape even as souls…and were taken to the afterlife at all. If this place was somewhere in an isolated space, that would make more sense…but here in Death city, home of a reaper...
Crona holds a hand on his chin in deep thought.
With no Reaper to lead them anywhere, the souls here must have to undergo much horror in the many…many years they have been here. There is still much things left unknown, so much secrets that were not spoken. Crona had seen a lot in his travels in this land, so he couldn't even imagine what must have happen to turn the souls of all the people around him…into mere apparitions of past lives. Past deaths…made as gassy tombstones.
"Dude…what you waiting for? Ask them something!?" Ragnarok blears out, nearly startling Crona into jumping in the air, before he nearly shouts back. "D-don't do that!" He then looks to the closest soul to him and says. "…I don't think they are in the mood to talk…ever. They would have said something by now. I'm sorry for what happened to you, for all of you…but I'm not a reaper…there…isn't much I can do for you…I'm sorry."
Crona apologizes, as he brings his head down to look to the ground…and the howling stops.
Looking back up, Crona found the souls gone, with not even one of them in sight. Crona closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, while giving a small nod. A tad bit of respect to the dead, the very least he could do for them.
As Crona turns back to face the front collapse entrance of the School, Ragnarok started to talk again. "Well that was weird." Crona begins to take a few steps back as he agrees with his partner. "Yeah. It was." He then leaps up again, this time only landing on the cracked middle skull the school had, before leaping up to the balcony. "How long you think they were there for? Or rather…have been there for?" Crona ask as he looks back down to the spot where he fell too, and then all around the city.
He remembers briefly again of the old memory of himself and his…
Before he pushes the thought away. "Don't know…probably when this all started? But even then, that doesn't make much sense. You think this would be the last place that would ever get hit with something. I mean…shit." Ragnarok says as Crona lays a hand on the unbroken part of the railing and stares out to the city a bit more.
He remembers all he learns of the soul. How tragedy can mold them in such ways. Even the strongest of them had weakness to pain, and fear. Just how much of those two simple things were forced upon all these people that day…when the world decided to end. All life was changed….be it Kishin, Witch, Meister, Weapon, and maybe…even Reaper.
Giving one last sigh, Crona pushes himself away from the railing and turns his back to the city…entering the opening that lead inside the school. Hoping to find answers…for everyone that had lost their lives in this place.
Walking through several empty halls, and moving aside numerous collapse pieces of the ceiling, Crona was still looking for the answers. "Oh my god, is there anything here!?" Ragnarok shouts in annoying as Crona kicks open a doorway…finding another classroom.
He wasn't alone in his annoyance. Crona has had about enough of this as well. The building was a thousand times worst inside than out. Having him must take detours, one after another to try and get to the Death Room. Be it through classrooms, going to different floors entirely to try different stairways…them being intact if he was lucky…or having to leap through holes in the ceiling and/or floors.
There was nothing inside to help him get any info, any piece of paper that was around was aged to the point of dust if they are so much as touched by the air Crona breaths, and even if by some miracle he manages to keep them together for more than a few seconds…the words couldn't even be read at all. The ink, or writing being blending to a mess of some kind.
The chalkboards were completely covered with dust, as with everything else but these especially, and as Crona once tried to wipe the dust away he swore the board was close to falling apart on him. Not to mention the complete lack of light in this place. With only the windows to provide him any…Crona most had to fumble around in the dark in hope of reaching a door…and not falling through the holes into the hallway.
Which had just happened for the fifteenth time, as Crona tries to walk out through the classroom's other door…only to fall down a hole that right there. His chin slams right through the edge of another hole, as he continues to fall…and fall…his body repeatedly slamming and bashing his way down what felt like multiple floors, with each conveniently having a hole for him to fall through right after the other…until finally he lands, face first, right on floor…most likely the ground level now.
"When did our fucking lives turn into fucking slapstick?" Ragnarok quietly groans out, as Crona pushes himself back up to his hands and knees. The dark, barely lit place couldn't show Crona face. Not that it was a nice sight to see as Crona…was extremely frustrated now.
The thought of having to traverse the many caved in halls, and multiple floors with holes leading down…enraged the teen as he tightly closes his hands. He just wanted to try and see if he could speak to Death, yet it just felt like this entire place was just making a mockery of him and his goal.
Crona tightly closes his hands into a fist. The thought of just being treated like this…again, a mere plaything by anything. To have any progress he would make, even something as small as a few floors set him back. "Damn it!" Crona shouts as he punches the ground in anger.
His eyes widen as he hears a creaking noise beneath him. "…not a word." He mutters in a low tone to Ragnarok, before the floor under him breaks apart and Crona falls down another floor, this time landing on his back.
His eyes were tightly closed, as he raised one of his hands up to hold the bridge of his nose tightly in annoyance. He takes a long deep breath to try and calm himself, ignoring the smell of dust that assaulted his sense of smell as he pushes himself up to a sitting position, and open his eyes…and sees the he was no longer in some dark hallways of the ruined school…but instead were a in a very familiar place.
The DWMA's dungeon.
"…don't feel too proud of yourself, that was still dumb." Ragnarok tells Crona as the teen pushes himself back to his feet. Crona couldn't even give a reply as he was too stun. The entire academy was destroyed on the inside and outside, with everything falling apart…but aside of the hole that Crona just made, the dungeon looked EXACTLY as it had before.
The grey-ish bricks that littered the walls, the same candles that poorly lit it, the small black lines that section each wall with the black spiked patterns at each corner of those…everything was the exact same. Crona begins to take small careful steps as he begins to walk down the hall, looking around himself as he does. "Um…c-could this be a dream?" Crona asks as he continuously walks forward, placing his hand up to one of the walls…not even a bit of dust on his fingers.
"Unless your dumb ass manage to knock us both out, I doubt that." Ragnarok mumbles back, an unsure sound in his voice. "I promised myself I never use this pussy word…but this place is fucking spooky." Crona gives a look at confusion at that, but before he could ask, Ragnarok continues. "Look, whatever hit this place…hit it HARD. So hard that I could definitely believe it if this entire underground was all caved in. Yet look…" Crona looks down the hall in front of him at Ragnarok's command. "There isn't even a pebble on the ground. This is even cleaner down here then when we lived in it. I'm not sure what the hell is going on here…but I got a not so strange sense that someone is fucking with us. And I don't like it."
Crona nods his head, completely agreeing with Ragnarok. With no words spoke he continues to walk down the hall. He looks around himself for anything that would seem off, been they the walls, candles, or even the tiles that he walked on.
As he walks down the hall, it…began to look even more familiar.
He couldn't quite get the feel of why it was familiar, but there was a serious case of familiarity. Crona didn't know why this was the case…till he came upon a set of doors. They were both completely identical as they had a large steel door, which looked fitting to keep something trapped in, with a sliding slot that was eye-level. Carefully opening one of them and peering inside…Crona was in awe as he saw…his room.
It was the same exact room, with even the same exact furniture. The small dresser, the table with a single chair, the small bed, the sink and mirror, the lamp that was screwed on the wall. Placing his hand on the door frame, Crona holds himself as best he could.
The breath could barely reach his lungs at this point. Nothing…nothing changed. Even the window was still fully intact. Ragnarok didn't say anything…he was shocked too. The two just stared at the far side of the room, just…trying to process it all.
Being back here…in this spot. This is one of the places…where Crona hated himself the most. This prison turn dorm room, was a reminder of his mistake. He looks to the window…and he sees a memory of Eruka talking down to him. How he felt Medusa's hold on him begin to show again, how he just followed what she did…he was nothing but a tool to her, and yet he still followed her.
This room…is NOTHING…but a reminder of that, of his failure as her friend. Crona's imagination goes out of control…as he imagines the look on Maka's face when she found out he betrayed her…and as the image comes…so does the rage.
Just as it had before, long back when he was taken and nearly devoured in the swamp, something in Crona leaped into action.
Outside the DWMA, everything seemed normal at the moment as the unchanging skies just continued to loom ever so slightly, and no sound could be heard from miles…that is…until suddenly two black pillars burst out from the entire lower side of the academy, the two lines of destruction cut clean through everything in their path, causing large clouds of sand to erupt as the hit outside the ruin city to the desert...it was moving in a wide pattern, cutting from the bottom of the academy and further to the ground.
And as soon as it arrives, it began to rapidly shrink in size before disappearing.
The souls of those that had fallen in the city had risen once more, looking to the academy for the second time. While before it was of warning, to draw away any that may enter…they now thought differently. A feeling began to emerge within them. Something that they had felt gone after their lives had been taken out of their mortal coils.
Like an old withered flower that had been given fresh water and sunlight…and this flowers name…was Fear.
Within the academy's dungeon, Crona was on the floor. Resting on his side and propping himself up with his arm as he rubbed his eyes…feeling them be completely sore. The moment of complete rage he felt had seem to…become subdue for now.
He gives a small shake of his head to help clear his thoughts as he opens his eyes…and saw what he had done. "…oh my god." Ragnarok mutters, with Crona slightly nodding his head in agreement as the two looked on in what had happened.
They were back in the hallway again, this time on the floor… with Crona's back pressed up against the other door in the hall that was opposite of his room. He could see two long lines of broken floor leading to…what was left of his room's door…and to a large 'opening' in the wall.
It was like as if a bomb had gone off right inside the walls.
Crona could see out at the city, buildings were missing parts of itself…even more than before. Like as if they were simply erased away, like as if they were part of some drawing. Crona stayed his position for a moment longer to regain his sense at what had happened, while Ragnarok was having a more…active reaction to it.
"Okay…holy shit, I mean…HOLY SHIT!" He shouts out in amazement as Crona slowly moves back to his feet. "Dude…oh my fucking god, what…why don't you do that more offend! Hahaha, oh man, I actually forgot you can do that! How the fuck did I forget that, it is so awesome!" He continues to speak as Crona rubs at his eyes again, feeling them start to sting a little now.
"I…I didn't mean to-" Crona tries to say before Ragnarok stops him. "Just because you didn't mean to do it, doesn't make it any less badass." Crona places his hand down and rolls his eyes in at Ragnarok's attitude. It had been a very long while since he had used that…only about up to six times now since he was attack by the plant monster when he first arrived.
Out of all those times, he only really meant to do about two of those. One to test it…which cause him to propel himself off a cliff, due to immense force that the…'lasers' had, and the second time when he was forced to chase after a creature that had...annoyed him a lot.
Crona then begins to walk into the room itself, or rather what was left of it. The entire backside of the room that had his bed, table, and dresser was all gone now. Looking out the large hole in the wall, he could see much more than before. The hole was bigger than himself.
His 'lasers'…something he realize would have to find a new name for…were never this powerful. They were usually small, like two little lines…then again…he never was…angry when it used them. Crona gently grips the edge of the large hole he created as he mumbles to himself. "…just what am I becoming?"
He then turns around to leave…but stops…as he looks to a certain spot in the room. A comforting memory came to him, as he remembers back to the first time his hope had come to visit him…he was right there at that spot.
Walking to it, and kneeling down…Crona just stares at the corner of the room. "…Hi…Roomsky Korner- or um…Mr. Corner. I don't think I'm allowed to say your full name anymore. S-sorry for…breaking a lot of you." Crona says, with a bit of a sadden smile. Though it doesn't last long as Crona looks to the floor with a lost look in his eyes. "…you think that after all this time, I finally be able to deal with…everything you know…yet here I am…talking to a corner of a room…still not knowing what in the world I am actually doing…ah…" Crona finishes with a sigh, as he places a hand over his eyes.
He must stop himself.
A mental image forces its way into his mind. He could see the himself in this room, in this very spot. Scared, indecisive, and most of all…weak. He pushes the image away from his mind as he moves back up to a standing position.
"I'm sorry, but I am in no position to take anymore childish comforts." Crona says, before he leaves the room and walks back to into the hallway. "…did you just fucking break up with a corner?" Ragnarok asks in a confused tone as Crona turns his attention to the other door that was in front of his.
There was a large dent in the door, most likely from when Crona was thrown against it from his own by his own blast. "Ragnarok…did, we have a door in front of us when we lived here?" Crona asks as he feels his partner shift within for a moment…before answering in a still confused tone. "Actually, no…no, we didn't. It was just like a series of doors going down only one wall."
Crona nods, and opens the door to find an answer…
"…no…fucking…way…"
Ragnarok took the words right out of Crona's mouth…as the two see…Crona's room again. The same…exact…room. Complete with a feature, and even a window. It was the exact same.
Crona quickly looks back to the other room, he could see the massive damage he made was still there, everything was still in place…so why…how…
"Bail." Ragnarok commands in a quite…dare one think…frighten tone. Crona had to blink his eyes in confusion of what he meant before the demon sword shouted. "Fucking bail man, this is…this is too freaking spooky here! I say we get the fuck out, cause I swear if two little girls are suddenly gonna show up in that hallway and ask us to come play with them-"
"Is this really the time for one of your reference!?" Crona shouts back at Ragnarok as he too was clearly disturbed by what is happening to them. "I'm trying to remain calm, CAN YOU HEAR HOW GOOD OF A JOB I'M DOING!?" Ragnarok shouts, causing Crona to hold a hand to his head in slight pain of the sheer volume that his partner spoke.
Giving a small groan of annoyance, Crona ignores Ragnarok's pleas and walks further into the room, and looks out the window. "…is…is that painted?" Crona said in realization as he sees the…rather fake looking sky painted on the window. Ragnarok was with him on the confusion as he asked. "Wait, painted?"
Crona nods his head. "Yeah…it's painted. You could tell cause…will look." He says before looking back outside through the hole in the wall he made, and back at the painting on the window glass. "None of the clouds are slightly moving…and color is even wrong." Crona says as he walks to the bed, though very old…it was not even touched by dust, and was perfectly made to look like Crona's own…even the dresser, and table looked the same…even the sink, and corner.
His fear had quickly turned into confusion. "Wait…who would go this far to make such a copy of a room…when it is like right in front of the other one. Heck…I think it's even the same material, and color…like exactly. None of this makes any sense." He asks as he tilts his head a little.
"Hold on a second…Crona go into the hallway." At Ragnarok's words, Crona walks back out into the hallway. "Just start looking around for a bit, I want to test something." Although confused by what he was saying, Crona begins to look around the hallway as best he could.
After looking around for what felt like a few minutes, Ragnarok spoke up. "Wait…look down at that corner, right next to your old room…" Crona looks where he is told and it was upon that small spot where he had saw…a creak.
A long skinny laceration was along the very bottom of the wall, like a blade had moved through it.
Crona kneels in front of the cut and begin to run his hand along it. Feeling that the edges of it were…uneven. Like whatever had done this, did it with something like claws or…someone was trying to dig a blade into it.
With a shake of his head, Crona rids himself of the thought as he asks. "Ragnarok, what are you trying to prove here?" He feels something of a grip on the back of his head as Ragnarok just mumbles something about him needing glasses. "Just turn around, numbnuts." He says in an annoyed tone.
Turning to look, Crona at first didn't see anything…that was till he looked to the exact other side of the wall as himself…and sees the very same creak. Right there, right next to the door of that…room copy, a small spot right along the very bottom of the wall.
Were it not thanks to the damage he had done, the hallways would be completely…
"Symmetrical." Crona mumbles as his eyes widen in realization, followed shortly with a smile. "Kid...Kid, he…he's alive!" He happily says as he moves up to a standing position. He was giving a breathless chuckle as he holds a hand to his mouth.
"Uh…Crona, hang on…" Ragnarok tries to say, as he sees how Crona is walking back and front. Looking down the hallways for something. He could feel his excitement; his heart was literally racing right now. "No, no Ragnarok…this is really him. He is alive and around. He's somewhere here, m-maybe in the dungeon somewhere." Crona says as he walks to one of the rooms. "L-look, there isn't any dust…he cleans it. He can't be far. We can talk to him, ask him about what happened to the world…about what happened to Mak-"
Crona suddenly is nearly thrown off his feet by what felt like the hardest smack he had ever felt. "Crona! Listen to me!" Ragnarok shouts as loud as he could. "Look, I don't mean to be an asshole right now, but I need you think for a bit here." As he spoke Crona back away, holding the back of his head as it ached in pain. "We do not know shit. Okay, remember what's her name?! The frog bitch! She was mutated into some literal frog bitch, and tried eating us! Those souls outside used to be normal, till WHATEVER happened to them made them look like god damn horror shows. For crying out loud, not too long ago we saw a giant cow…beetle…thing, with T-rex arms, and fur that was permiantly on fire!"
Crona tightly closes his eyes as he lets his hand drop back down. "And what you are trying to tell me…is that Kid could be-" "-a little different than you remember." Ragnarok interrupts him, with Crona feeling him shifting around in him, like he was crossing his arms. He was giving a very serious tone, one of which Crona doesn't hear that often.
"…that's not him. It never was, he is not like the Eruka-" He tries to say back, back he feels his head begin to hurt now…as if a hand of gripping his head. "Sure, he isn't. And what do you have to go on for that? It's been about 2,000 years…I mean it's not like it is possible he got a personality quirk or two right along the way, right?" At his words, Crona's eyes are drawn back to look at the two rooms that face each other. A part of him wanted to deny it…but, Ragnarok was right.
"Look…I am not trying to be a buzzkill, I know you are more than happy to see one of your 'friends' again…but trust me, time changes people. It certainly changed you…" Ragnarok finish, releasing the hold he had on Crona, and speaking in a more…understanding tone.
Crona knew very well what he was referring to, that being his 'changes'. The two can very well remember the first time he had snapped with Eruka….and the several times after that he did something similar to others…
"And judging by the fact that while as OCD cray as that dumbass was, he was never crazy enough to change entire hallways and rooms to look-a-like…it changed him too. So…knowing this, how exactly are we doing this?" Crona looks to the floor, holding a hand to his face. He weights the options in his head.
He could leave now, never turn back and just either try to look for answers elsewhere. But…he couldn't do that. Unbelievably luck had struck him when he came upon this ruin city. It could take him, who knows how long to even find this place again, to have another chance of getting any answers.
With a glance, Crona sees the destroyed wall of his own creation…he sees what remained of the city, he remembers what remains of the souls here. A realization hit him then…souls were right outside the building and a reaper might be inside…so why were they reaped.
Someone has been slaking at their job.
Crona began to walk down the hall. "We're gonna met him and we are gonna have words with the reaper." He tells Ragnarok as the move pass the doors and further down the barely lit halls. His partner staying silent, only giving the briefest feeling of what have been a shrug in response.
…how such a grievous mistake was made.
(Okay, this is gonna be the ONLY Author's notes this entire story, so I am gonna make it count, Please listen. This story is NEVER gonna die. I keep work on it everyday as best as I can, but I want you to know that it will take time to be made, and I still have other things to do, I have had to slit this part into two parts so that you all know I am not abandoning it for sure. I really do not like the idea of doing that cause I wanted to have this story be about 8 chapters. If you prefer if I give two half's of each, or I give one whole thing please tell me. I am only gonna make a expectation for the this chapter and the next, till someone says otherwise.)