Chapter 22: To Another Life
"What is this place?" My question echoes in unison with the ticking of a clock. "Is this the afterlife?" I make another inquiry as I see nothing but pitch black darkness in front of me. It took me a few moments to realize that my eyelids were shut, but it took me a while to open them due to how sudden my awakening was. My body was floating, feeling lifeless amidst a spiritual plain. The air was thin, and I could breathe it inward with ease. My immediate thought was "No, this can't be it…" And I tried to move to get my line of sight away from the distorted black and blue sky above. I was frozen in place though, unable to move even an inch.
"Do not despair, you are still alive…" A bright light is flushed through the area, radiating off of a gigantic, glowing white orb that appears majestically above me. It spoke to me in a wise, elderly tone of voice. There was a certain familiarity to this orb's existence, but I just couldn't put my finger on it as to who or what it might be. "Who…Are you?" I asked in hopes of an answer. "I am the origin, the beginning of the legacy of which you were chosen to succeed, child. I am the one who controls the balance of light, the purging of darkness, the embodiment of all things that keep the world in check. I am the original Elemental Overlord."
My eyes widened, pupils dripping with awe as a cold sweat trickles down the left side of my face. "T-The Elemental Overlord?" All I could wonder as I stuttered his name was "Why?" Why was he appearing to me now of all times. I had a lot of questions to ask him, but I could tell just by staring that the spirit knew everything I was thinking. "You are merely unconscious, waiting for your rejuvenation to go through…I realize my presence is sudden, but I had to come to give you a message. With the acceptance of your identity, you have taken a major step forward in averting the events that had transpired once before. Now you are just missing two other keys necessary to unlock the doorway to tomorrow, and if you continue down the road the same way as it was traversed before, you will receive them as needed."
"Wait, two keys? Event that have transpired before? Are you saying that something similar to this journey of mine once happened to you while you were alive?" As I calmly try to grasp the situation and divulge some of the details mentioned in the Overlord's riddle, the spirit orb goes silent. "…I cannot say anymore. I should consider myself lucky that I was even able to slip a bit of my subconscious into you, but if I go any further then I risk everything being unraveled. For now, just awaken and hear what your saviors have to say…" The Overlord's last words trail out as he retreats into the distance and my vision grows blurry.
I suddenly regain focus, only this time I can feel my eyelids creaking open while I realized that my arms and legs were laid out against the ground, my hands hanging off the side of a rounded edge. The first thing I noticed after that was the fact that there was no pain coming from my kneecap. I peeked my head upward, the stitching of my pant leg repaired with no traces of blood present in the place where I got impaled. "How the heck?" My body suddenly felt warm and I tilted my head in confusion, and I widened my eyes briefly as I heard the jingling of bells in the air along with some chimes ringing quietly in my ears.
I quickly raised my body up, finding myself sitting on top of an altar where water poured out from the sides below the circular, star ensignia'd platform. I was in a sanctuary, but not just any old sanctuary mind you. Above pedestals that radiated with the glory of the midnight stars, amidst the brightness whose purity rivaled that of any other were seven celestial beings whose forms were made comprehensible due to their star-shaped bodies. Each one had a specific feature that showed off their distinctive traits, and I chose to avoid describing them merely because it would take a while to do so. They were the Star Spirits, and they watched over the people of Plit, guarding the dreams and desires and granting their wishes with the help of the Star Rod, a sacred object of unimaginable power.
I could tell from their stares that they recognized me, but whether it was because of an experience before or after Alex created me was something I did not feel like asking. After a few seconds of keeping my mouth agape, I remembered everything that happened before I fainted in the Terra Cave. "Geno!" I blurted out the name of my friend in panic, hoping that he managed to survive the ordeal and would make his presence known soon. "What is it Mew?" His voice called to me, and after rushing onto my feet I turn around to follow the sound. Standing at the bottom of the steps with his arms folded confidently in front of his chest was Geno, his body having been cleansed of any mutilation and given a new sheen the likes of which I had never seen on it before.
I whispered "Thank god…" before I sighed, hanging my head down slightly with a breath of relief following that afterwards. I composed myself though, looking up with a fluster in my cheeks and an innocent grin on my face. "Sorry, I was just-" "No need to worry about it young Overlord." Geno interrupted me calmly, raising his head and smiling at me as well as the limitations on his body allow him to. To be able to even convey emotions in such a wooden body is a gift the Star Spirits provided to their herald, and I'm certain that he is thankful to them for that. "I thank you for beating my…Well, 'Shadow', and I'm glad that I was able to quickly return the favor."
The comment caught me by surprise, since I had assumed that the Star Spirits had saved us all on their own. "Wait, so you mean to tell me that you told them to rescue us?" I asked just for the sake of direct confirmation. "That is correct." The answer did not come from Geno, but from the eldest of the Star Spirits, a bushy white mustached yellow star with the appropriate name of Eldstar. He floated behind me, waiting for me to turn around and acknowledge him with my surprised glare. "Your liberation of the Terra Cave returned our consciousness and restored Star Haven to its former glory. After that, Geno contacted us telepathically and told us to call you both back to Star Haven before the temple collapsed."
As expected from one of his wisdom, Eldstar gave a quick and reasonable explanation to how we were saved. I nodded my head and thanked him and the other Star Spirits for their assistance, gazing over my shoulder so Geno knows that my thanks extend to him as well. But then I flinched, quickly looking back at Eldstar as another question popped into my head. "What happened to my leg exactly?" "I healed it up by using a fraction of my powers." A feminine voice called to me from the left, and I turned my head to look at the only pink star of the group, whose extended eyelashes matched the golden, silky ribbon wrapped around her arms. Her name was Misstar, and she winked at me innocently as a way to show that she was glad to help.
"Anyways…" Eldstar coughed to grab my attention, which was stuck on Misstar for a period of time that was obviously longer than necessary. I snapped out of it and turned to the elderly star, who had his eyelids creased in annoyance with a vein slightly protruding from the top point of his body. "Now that you are here, we need to talk about something…Well rather, a few things to be exact." After Eldstar had calmed down, someone else took up where he left off, this Star Spirit having his eyelids closed and an overall calm demeanor on his brown, mustached face. Fittingly, his name was Kalmar. "We've been alerted of everything that has transpired on the ground since the alien known as Mr. Reality appeared, and now we wish to ask you something…"
"With only two temples left to restore, do you have any idea as to what you can do about Mr. Reality's powers?" Eldstar inquires. But the answer was the same as it always was. No progress has been made, and with the subject being brought up once more I was beginning to worry that no solution would ever be discovered. I shook my head, refusing to go into major detail since it wouldn't prove fruitful. "Wait…" I realized something important and murmured to myself with my eyelids slightly creaked. "Why don't you guys use the Star Rod? Isn't the power of wishes like reality bending?"
"…Though what you say is true, we are forbidden from doing anything." Eldstar responds with a regretful sounding tone. "Huh? Why?" I blurt out each word in rapid succession, but a response comes from Geno, not the Star Spirits. "A year ago, when your original, Alex Whiter, fought Joe Dark, the Star Spirits intervened twice in mortal affairs, once to give the seven of us heroes a fraction of their power to stall Joe Dark, and another time to used the excess energy built up in the Star Rod to restore Alex to full health so he could stop Joe Dark before he destroyed the planet. This angered the higher-ups, and a probation was put on their powers. I was then placed in charge of the planet's affairs, though admittedly this matter will be absolved in about nine months if I'm not mistaken."
"Well we don't exactly have that long to wait, do we now?" I say bluntly, gesturing to the doll with my body turned and my right hand extended outward. "No we don't." Geno says in agreement. "Is there something else you need to ask me?" I decided to try and change the subject, especially since this conversation wasn't getting anywhere. "Actually…No. But if you have any questions, now would be a good time to get them out of the way." I guess Eldstar didn't really have "A few things to discuss" like he said he did. Whatever, doesn't really matter. "First off, I want to ask…Geno just called Alex Whiter 'the original', so does that mean you guys know about the fact that I'm a clone?"
The Star Spirits all nod their heads in unison, and I proceed to fold my arms in front of my chest and give those words a bit of thought before I continued talking. "How?" I grinned brightly and held a few of my fingers against the bottom of my lips after bluntly saying just that one word. "After all, I thought you guys could only observe Plit. Earth isn't part of your domain." "…I guess we can't keep a lid on this one." Eldstar reluctantly admits. "Mew." Geno calls to me to once again get my attention, and I turn around to face him while resting my arms against my hips. "Its rather simple really. The higher-ups told us about your creation, explaining in layman's terms that 'Your existence would one day prove fruitful for the planet'. That's the thing about higher beings, they give details that are so vague you don't realize what they are referring to until the very moment it occurs."
"Boy, you got that right." I think to myself while rolling my eyes and calling back to the things the original Overlord's spirit said while I was unconscious. "I guess that's an adequate enough explanation…Sounds like those higher-ups are in league with the Chronicler, since they both are claiming that I'm going to be the one to save this planet as it is now." My comment leaves the room in silence, and if any of the Star Spirits had arms they would be scratching the tip of their bodies to further emphasize the confusion on their expressions. "Who?" Eldstar finally asked.
"You…You guys don't know who the Chronicler is?" Suspicion was the first thing that came to mind after my bewildered, stuttered question. "No, no we do not." I thought that perhaps they were having a lapse of memory, or maybe Mr. Reality did something that made them forget after his discovery. In hopes of jogging their memories somehow, I told them everything I knew about the Chronicler from beginning to end. But the end result was the same, and the Star Spirits still shook their head, the being remaining unknown to them. However, Geno interjects after I sigh in disappointment, offering an explanation that may answer just why they don't know about the Chronicler.
"Just because there are a bunch of higher beings in the world doesn't mean that they are all collaborating with each other, nor does it mean that we are all aware of each other's existence. For example…We are aware of the higher-ups because they made their presence known to us, the Elemental Overlord because of his envoy bringing me to the Star Spirits as a peace offering, and the Master and Crazy Hands due to the events that dragged Mario and a few other people out of this world. HOWEVER, we didn't know anything about Tabuu until he actively interfered in this planet's affairs. What I'm getting at here is that the Chronicler probably makes his presence scarce on the mortal plain, and is only showing himself to you because its relevant to the disruption of his duties."
"I guess that makes sense." I said in full agreement of Geno's statement. "Either way, the good thing is that he is on our side in the end, right?" Everyone nodded their head simultaneously. We then stood and floated still for a few seconds, waiting for one of us to say something else to continue the conversation. But I guess the topics have run dry by now, which is rather surprising to me all things considered. "So…Are we done here?" I asked. "Yes. Now, without further ado, we shall teleport you back to the Mario Bros. house so you can rest up for tomorrow…" The Star Spirits raised their hands into the air, but before they used their magic I blurted out a quick "NO!", thrust my right hand out urgently to stop them.
I wasn't ready to go back to see the others, not now anyways…After all, I hadn't come up with a decent enough way of apologizing to all of them, and I didn't want the entire thing to be awkward because of it. When I finally go and say sorry to them, I want it to be said with a genuine sense of confidence. "I-I'm sorry…I'm just not ready yet…However, I do have a request to make to you Geno…" After apologizing to the Star Spirits for my sudden outburst, I looked down at the wooden doll, as he looked up at me with subdued curiosity in his eyes. I began to walk down the steps, moving so I'm beside Geno without his gaze turning to follow me. I lower my head and whisper to him "If it is possible for you to get a message out to the others, let them know that I'm alright and that they will see me again someday…"
With a nod of the head to show that he will honor my request, I pass Geno fully and continue on my way through the Sanctuary's exit. Outside there is a miniature, sparkling pond, the water flowing gently off the side for a few feet before it mysteriously vanishes. I take a look at it, then gaze up into the bright, starry sky. "Everyone will get to see this again…I just have to take care of the last two temples." Speaking of those actually, I began to think about what I was going to do next. I felt like my strength was restored in full, but should I really set out and tackle another temple this soon? I did it with Nature Castle and Aqua Palace, but that's because they were both early ones and thus rather easy. Each inner guardian was getting tougher and tougher as I went along, and I knew Alpha's "Shadow" was going to provide the hardest challenge for me considering his wide array of weapons.
Heck, "Shadow" Geno nearly killed me the way things were going. "Then again…" I murmured to myself and folded my arms in front of my chest. The biggest problem with Alpha comes from his ionic beam, which can burn through pretty much everyone and everything with little difficulty. However, I'm going to be in my Earth form for the battle, which means if necessary I should be able to conjure up a wall made out of something strong enough to hold the beams off. Perhaps going in right now wouldn't be the best idea. I felt as though I needed some prep time against someone like Alpha's "Shadow", but at the same time there was a part of me that felt confident about going to the Frozen Palace now.
"Having a bit of trouble there, child?" I lifted my head up, snapped out of my train of thought by the words of a familiar voice. The Master stood before me on the glowing walkway, his arms folded in front of his chest as usual. I had actually almost forgotten that the Master had a connection to the Star Spirits, but to see him up in Star Haven so suddenly like this was surprising yet at the same time rather foreboding. "Umm…Not really…Wait, what are you doing here?" I first answer his question, almost forgetting about my own inquiry until I snap back into that thought with ease. "Why wouldn't I be here now that Star Haven has been restored? Hahaha…"
The laugh was obviously forced, and the Master closed his eyelids and leaned his head down silently. His skin looked a bit pale compared to the last time I saw him, and through his nostrils his breathing was slow and heavy. He then composes himself, standing firm on the ground as he moves his arms into his sleeves once more and opens his eyelids to look at me. "I came here to talk to you." He says. "Oh! That's right, I got a new element and you probably have a lesson to teach-" "No, that's not it at all…I don't need to waste anymore of your time with such tripe lessons…" The Master's voice grew hoarse, becoming more befitting to his elderly demeanor with each further sentence he spoke. "Why do you say that?"
"Simply put, you are more perceptive than I had imagined you to be, especially considering your age…Anything I could teach you I feel you will learn at a much faster pace as you dedicate yourself to your training…And I can only imagine the excitement you'll experience as you discover each new thing will just motivate you to continue forward, learning more and more until you are just as wise as the former Overlord was…But anyways, that's not what I came here to say…" The Master roughly coughed after his sentence had ended, pressing his right fist against his mouth until it stopped. I didn't like this, I didn't like seeing him act this way at all simply because I knew what it was leading up to. My heart beat began to slow, and I felt some stress in my head as my pupils shrunk and a cold chill crept down my spine.
"I…I just wanted to say thank you…" The Master mustered up the strength necessary to say those seven words sincerely without pause, closing his eyelids again as his head began to lean forward and he looked ready to collapse at a moment's notice. "I know that you've learned about the truth about your existence, so now its time you knew another truth…The person who I wanted to teach before, the child I wanted to make my apprentice but failed due to a brief lapse of judgment…Was Alex Whiter…And that's why I want to thank you. You allowed me to teach you, even if it was for a little bit, you accepted my advice, even though you didn't need to….In a way, it was if I owed up for my past mistake, it was as if I apologized to Alex himself through his successor…"
"I will admit though…Perhaps I shouldn't have kept the truth from you about your identity, but you have grown to learn just why that was a necessary lie, haven't you? …Heh, the guilt and shame I wore on me over the last year was heavy enough to keep me tethered to this world even though my time was drawing closer, but now that the weight has been lifted…Its time for me…To…" The Master suddenly stops talking, his body collapsing onto the ground face first in what feels like an eternity of seconds. I wasted no time in running over to him, each step carrying the weight of the sadness welling up inside of me as tears began to form in my eyes.
I kneeled down beside him, lifting his small, limping body off of the ground and turning it around gently so I could look straight into his lifeless face. I tried to fight back the tears, but that was a foolish and impossible notion. Before I could cry, I had to press my left cheek against his chest to see if there was a heartbeat. I heard nothing, and as the skin of my forehead made contact with his chin I felt his temperature declining rapidly. His body's functions had ceased, and it wouldn't be long until rigamortis set in and cause the wrinkled flesh to decay. I pressed my face against his chest, sobbing in a muffled tone of voice for a prolonged period of time to mourn the Master's sudden death.
We may not have known each other for long, but he was the first person there for me when I had arrived in this world that, unbeknownst at the time, I had never actually visited before. He didn't act awkwardly around me even though he had every right to considering the memories of failure that it must've brought up to see someone similar to his…Fallen…I lifted my head up slightly, remembering many things at once about what the Master had brought up about Alex, specifically that Driad had disliked him because he believed that it was because of his mistake that he was…Dead. That last word ringed in my head for a few seconds. I had wanted to know what happened to Alex Whiter after learning that he had returned, but I had never imagined that the answer would've come in such a way, nor that the revelation would be as unpleasant as this was.
"Alex Whiter…Is dead?" With a broken tone of voice I said that in the form of a question for reasons I couldn't explain. Amidst the silence that followed a familiar voice called to me "Look up, young Mew…" I did so after a moment of hesitation, and floating in the air with a holy white glow coming off of a similar luminescent glow was the Master…Or rather, his spirit. He looked rejuvenated, his spiritual body having the same life to it that it did before his death. "M-Master?" I stuttered in surprise, my heart nearly skipping a beat as I looked at him in utter awe. "B-But you…" "Died? That I did…But I had a few more things left to say, so I was given a few minutes to project my spirit down here to speak with you."
"First off…Yes, Alex Whiter is dead, but in what sense of the word is something you'll have to discover on your own…Second, I wish for you to not mourn for me from this point on…" The Master's spirits holds his left hand out, and after surrounding his body with a spiritual aura it turns to ashes instantaneously and it disperses into the winds, leaving my hands extended with nothing in them. "I do thank you for showing sadness even though our time together was short, but my death was a natural thing, and it was for the best that I died with a fulfilling life to look back on. I've done good, and have been allowed into Heaven for my deeds…I will get to see my family again, holding their hands with a warm embrace as we walk into the bountiful gardens of the afterlife together…That happiness of ours will be eternal, and its only because we did the right things…"
"Do not take my words as a sign of me being a braggart…I am merely giving you hints about what awaits those who travel the right path like you and I have…Even as we grow old, we are merely babies so long as we stay in our mortal shells…It is only when we depart in our spirits bright and strong do we enter our true lifetime…" The Master takes a moment to pause and reflect once more on his mortal life. "Mew…The planet needs a hero…Nay, the universe as a whole needs one who is selfless, determined, brave and strong…Keeping growing stronger in both body, mind and spirit, and when the day finally comes for you to depart this mortal existence, make sure you look back proudly at your achievements with a smile as bright as the stars in the sky…For now though, I bid you…Farewell…" The Master's image grows dimmer with each passing second, and at the crescendo of his message he vanishes completely, leaving behind an insightful poem that echoes in my ears.
"I was born into this world, young and foolish
My parents raised me to be strong, that was their wish
The fires that took them, they made me ruminate
I became insightful, sparing me from a similar fate…"
"I traveled the world, always remembering what was lost
I was driven to help, making sure no one else would suffer such a cost
And now as I rise into the heavens, high and afar
Gaze into the night sky, I'll be looking down upon you as a glowing star…"
I looked up into the sky, notice a twinkling light that was not there when I had looked up before. It shone brightly, the luminosity decreasing after an extended period of time. I stood up, wiping my arm across my eyes to dry off any of the remaining tears. The last act of sentimentality was a light sniffle while I smiled and look up into the sky, my watery eyes glistening against the bright lights that numbered it. "I will respect your last wishes Master…But know that I will never forget you." I said to him as my final words towards him. I then looked away from the sky and towards the side of Star Haven, leaping into the air and flying off to my next destination without hesitation. "Fear, death and betrayal…I've seen them all throughout this journey. Well from here on out, none of that's going to happen…Watch out Mr. Reality! Its time for me to finish your game once and for all!"
Next Time: The Hero's Chosen Deat