Chapter 30: Who Done It? ~ Unraveled Mystery of God
Now where was I? Ah yes! I was greeting our young little Phoenix of Destruction.
"This has been a long time coming, Alex Whiter," I say with the playful smile of a child across my face, all while wiggling a single finger around, "But I suppose we can skip the introductions, yes?"
He continued to glare at me with such ferocity that it might've scared a dragon. Hmmm, perhaps not a fully grown one, but a youngling? Certainly, it was possible.
I can tell his mind is hard at work, boiling down every last moment that brought him to this place in time, a place that exists beyond the sublime. His bones cracked with such a brittle sound that it was like his body was filled with autumn leaves, while his face was as plum red as them as well.
All this effort mustered just to nastily grind his teeth together and mutter a single word poignantly, "Why?"
'Why', he says. Such a lonesome sounding word when you get down to it. Its not a cry for answers, but a whimper of freedom from the excrutiating pain of confusion...I suppose I can relate to that pain.
I could tell from the way his body trembled violently that he was fighting the urge to kill me on the spot. The tiniest embers flickered in and out of existence between his fingers, which were coiled into a fist like an anaconda suffocating a poor rat.
So I shall bequeeth his request. Its not as though I had planned otherwise. For longer than I can recall, this moment had been my goal all along.
I stare at the dumbstruck boy straight in the eyes while laying stomach first inside my gap. Then I give him a show of respect for making it this far by gazing into those inferno eyes of his, and speaking with a dulcet tone, "Weren't you paying attention to that story I showed you?"
Hmm, might that have been a little condescending? Judging from the sudden slant of his brows, that's how he chose to interpret it anyways...Oh well!
"None of that made any goddamn sense!" He screamed, so fervent in his denial that he failed to notice how his lips quivered with hestiation. No one in their right mind would see all that they saw and claim it was a fabrication with a straight face. Though...I suppose he's not one with a right mind to begin with.
I gently close my eyes and continue to smile as I speak, "That was more for the viewer's benefit to begin with. But that's quite alright."
From that understandably puzzling quibble of mine Alex tilted his head and shook it, almost out of pity, "You're a goddamn lunatic, you know that?"
That stung. Just a bit mind you, but it was a sting nonetheless. In response I peer at him with a partially open gaze and giggle, pretending not to have felt a thing while turning his insult back in his face like I was performing a spike in volleyball, "Says the Phoenix of Destruction, destined to burn Gensokyo to ashes..."
He thrust a pointer finger tightly towards my face and yelled, "To hell with you! If I was destined to destroy Gensokyo, I would've already! But oh wait, what's that?"
He slammed his hands against the sides of his face and pretended to let out a gasp, performing a monkey-like display of mockery as he continued babbling like a baboon, "Gensokyo's still around? It couldn't possibly be because..."
"I have no goddamn reason to kill anyone besides the Lunarians AND you!" He punctuated by swinging his fists down and covering himself with a brief blaze.
But that's nothing to fear. Its the equivalent of a tantrum. Once he's settled down I look back towards him and remark, "But the vision I showed you proves otherwise. In many timelines, you destroy Gensokyo without rhyme or reason."
I watched as he immediately settled down and let out a tiring sigh. He shook his head, flummoxed to the point of not wanting to put effort into speaking. Yet he did so anyways, with great, great reluctance, "Fine...I'll humor you. Lets say your 'visions' were true, and you HAVE experienced this event countless times. Why not just kill me?"
"Tee-hee!" My innocuous giggle grates at his eardrums. But I can't help myself. I saw that question coming a thousand light years away. It does make for a good starting point in this discussion though, so I shall let his predictability slide just this once.
After wagging my finger loftily in the air for a bit I give him my best mischievous gaze and tell him, "To answer that, we'd need to start with our similar methodologies, Alex Whiter."
"We. Are NOTHING alike!" He growled at me with a scathingly bitter scowl.
I rest my head upon my tired, silky smooth hands and breech his angered facade with a simple inquiry, "Have you not tried to kill villains on other worlds before they've committed any crimes, only to run into failure on numerous accounts?"
"And who's to blame for that?" He volleyed back to me with an intense glare. Honestly, I wish he'd stop trying to be this way all the time. There's only so many ways I can describe something as dull and pointless as rage.
"You killed the Sorceress and the Evil Twins yourself, tried to destroy Justice, hunted Terumi down like a rabid dog, and nearly devoured Sigma. What I did had no effect on your behavior in those instances, nor was I responsible for any failures. It was simply not meant to be."
He went dead silent, but I could almost hear him cursing my name in his head. I'd repeat it, but I'm not a fan of such vulgar language.
"And my attempts on your life in the past ran afoot of similar issues. I'd say it was a matter of destiny dictating it as such, but lets not kid ourselves..." I pause to smile as wide as possible, "Its because of your...'benefactor' that my efforts were always thwarted."
"Benefactor?" His face twisted up as the cogs in his mind started to turn, "You mean...the original Overlord?"
...Of course that'd be the first thing he'd think. How could an encounter so fleeting in time that I doubt even you, the captive audience, would recall it ever have crossed his mind?
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt though, and presume a gentle prod of the mind will be enough to remind him, "You met someone before. I believe he introduced himself as 'The Chronicler'?"
His eyes sparked with life and he immediately responded, albeit with a glazed over gaze of confusion, "Yeah? What about him?"
"Did you feel anything...familiar?"
He sighed, feeling he was being dragged through the mud for some trivial nonsense...But he still humored me with a response as he scratched the side of his head, "I guess? It was like I had met him before then...It must've been because he was acting as a 'spiritual reflection' or some other metaphorical garbage like that."
I gently lay my hands against the sides of my face and kicked my feet back to get comfortable, then closed my eyes partway shut and looked towards him with a smile devoid of malice. There is no shame in knowing what I'm about to admit, Alex Whiter. You never had a chance of having any other life but this to begin with...
"The Chronicler...How trite a name. He has actually gone by many names, some I'd even feel a little guilty divulging publicly to our viewers...But if there's one name he cherishes above all others, its one you'd probably be quite familiar with..."
"God."
I let that single word be absorbed into his brain like a sponge. He's not deaf to its meaning. I refer not to a singular entity who just so happens to be stronger than everyone in his world. I do not refer to a deity worshipped and thriving off their miracles alone. No, I am invoking the name of the one above all, the pinnacle of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. THAT God.
And while the silence spread throughout the sparkling skies like a stiff breeze, I took it upon myself to break it by uttering a single sentence to the boy, "And not only is he God, he is also your true 'father', Phoenix of Destruction."
He snapped at me right away, lashing out as quick as a fire rising from a dry, barren land, "Shut up! Shut the hell up! You won't trick me with your deceit!"
He swung his arm out then snapped it back to the front of his chest, clenched in a fisted knot as he squeezed his teeth together and pained himself to say, "I had a father! His name was Abraham Whiter! No one else!"
Unaffected by his blistering fury, I pressed on without a dash of concern for my well-being, "Abraham and Lumina Whiter are your parents, that cannot be denied. But you were born not of flesh, growing fresh in the womb. Rather...You were implanted there, completely under their noses."
"Bullshit!" Alex grabbed the side of his head and fought back with a flustered denial, "They would've noticed a fucking child suddenly popping up!"
"Haaaaa, I see this won't be easy..." Starting soft, I then struck him with a glancing blow as rough as the grains of a sandstorm, "Why don't you be quiet for a bit, and you'll understand what I mean?"
Beyond even my wildest expectations, he shut up. Not out of any respect for what I had to say, mind you. A part of him might have been curious to know what bewildering nonsense I'd spew out of that "swamp of a mouth" I had. But I knew the truth. After all that he's suffered, hearing me bring up such insane ideas fueled his "justified" decision in wanting to kill me.
Its only with my utmost "pity" that I say he is wasting his efforts. I do not lie.
I sit up upon my gap and rest my parasol atop my left shoulder. With my silky, slender legs crossed and a docile smile, I take up the disposition of storyteller on a less metaphysical level, and churn a tale only I of such vastly deepened lungs could speak without pause.
"From our perspective, our universe is real as real can get. But...did you know there's another universe out there? One that watches us from behind a monitor of glass and static? That universe considers itself real, and us to be 'fictional'."
"Works of 'fiction' are documented in movies, novels, video games, etc., and are all based on events that have or will transpire in this universe. Its a strange occurrence to be certain, but not one devoid of explanation. The truth is that the two universes were born closest to each other, bonded almost like siamese twins. Because of that, information from the 'fiction' universe has a tendency to spill into the minds of the inhabitants of the 'real' universe...But not vice versa."
"While the universes exist on similar wavelengths, the 'real' universe has a stronger pull. I cannot explain why this is. It is simply something meant to be beyond our understanding. Regardless, this flow of information can be abused."
"It can happen by accident. Or perhaps out of intrigue. Even malice isn't out of the question. The people who abuse this flow of information have a name. In their terms, they'd be called 'Authors', but to us they'd be referred to as 'God'."
"Think of our universe as a sort of computer. Like any computer, its code can be rearranged to suit the user's needs. Though for an 'Author', its as easy as typing in a few quaint words on a keyboard."
"But for the more major changes? That requires something a little more...immersive. An 'Avatar' so to speak. These 'Avatars' can go by different names. 'Self-Inserts', 'Mary Sues' or even 'Blanks'. It all depends on what purpose they're hoping to achieve with them."
"Many an 'Author' seeks to 'fix' and 'adjust' a 'fictional' world to suit their desires. Sure, they might start out with innocent enough intentions. Perhaps they just want to play make-believe with their favorite characters, or pretend they're helping them out on an adventure. They could be innocently seeking love, or want to avert a bittersweet climax."
"But some delve too deep into their role as an 'Author', and learn how easily it is to abuse such power. Without restraint to hold them at bay, they rewrite characters' personalities wholesale, kill people they hold the most irrational of hatred towards, or create a love that's unnatural as can be."
"The 'Blanks' of these kinds of 'Authors' are hoisted up as the be all end all for the worlds they're born unto. They're blessed with incredible powers devoid of flaw. They are loved by all, hated only by those whom the 'Author' themselves hate...Have you ever heard the tale of Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way? She is but one example of these tumors that have been a blight on our universe over the eons."
"By nature, the universe does not have a linear flow of time. It branches out in multiple directions, each one behaving as its own white blood cell to contain the corruptive influence of the 'Authors'. Yet there are times when the influence becomes too much for these timelines to contain, and the black, wretched venom spews out and roots itself in other timelines."
"Get to the fucking point already!" Alex yelled, having drawn out his patience for quite long enough. Though I suppose he may also be echoing the opinions of you viewers. That, I am uncertain of.
So with a floaty lean forward I smile his way and restrain a snicker of amusement whilst I ask him, "I believe my point's been made clear enough thus far. Don't you get it?"
He closed his eyes partway and dully bit back, "If the point's to make me so bored that I lose the will to kill you, then you're failing spectacularly."
...Fine then, so much for being gentle.
"You're a 'Blank' created by 'God', whom you refer to as 'The Chronicler'."
His face and eyes immediately turn as pale as snow, and the first droplet of sweat forms on his forehead a second later. He bit his lips together and swallowed, fighting a terrible urge to yell and claim that, once again, I was lying through my teeth.
But while he's busy suffering through the horrors of the truth, I shall continue unimpeded through my story.
"There was an 'Author' who was more ambitious than the rest. He wasn't content with just influencing one world. Nay, he wanted to make ALL 'fictional' worlds his playground."
"It would be easiest, in his mind anyways, to start with a world that was already composited of many other worlds. I believe in their universe, they refer to such a place as the land of Kingdom Hearts."
"But this 'Author' was reckless, and inexperienced. He chose not to influence the world through his own 'Blank', but through the hero of that world. With that hero's help, the 'Author' would traverse the universe and explore other worlds as though he was that hero."
"His actions in this instance had dire, dire consequences. The hero of that world was killed in an event he should've otherwise survived, and through a chain of events thereafter the Realm of Darkness breeched the universe and swallowed countless worlds whole."
"The world of Kingdom Hearts existed close to the very center of the universe, and thus had the closest connection to the 'real' universe. Thus when the Realm of Darkness breeched the 'fictional' universe, it created a spatial rift in the 'real' universe so powerful that it dragged the 'Author' into our 'fictional' universe."
"He still retained the power of an 'Author', having basically fused with the computer of which he had operated from. But the Realm of Darkness was too powerful for him to handle without the power of a 'Blank' acting as his link. He should have watched as the universe was plunged into darkness, taking him along with it..."
"Tragically, luck was on his side thereafter. At the exact moment he had entered our universe, the 'Author' encountered the most powerful being in our entire multiverse. A single dragon, whose body could stretch out across entire galaxies, and was born from the dawning of the universe. Shedding just a single scale, he could create an entire functioning world. With just a humble breath, he could birth the stars. His name, Futanji Shinryu, is known only by a few."
"He is a god above gods, a being who can't even perceive humans as specks of dust...Yet the 'Author's' sublime presence intrigued him, a fact that the 'Author' could take full advantage of with ease. The 'Author' called himself 'God', Futanji's creator. Through no evidence whatsoever beyond this person's mystifying presence, the mighty dragon believed fully his claim of godhood."
"And thus the 'Author' easily convinced the dragon that the damage to the Kingdom Hearts world was caused by an 'Author', someone other than him. He had no idea of what an 'Author' could truly do at the time, but with his knowledge now he could look back at his claim of them being 'interdimensional invaders' and laugh heartily."
"With the 'Authors' help, the dragon came up with an idea to help contain the corruptive influence of the 'Authors'. They would form a group of three to overlook the multiverse, himself included, and upon detecting any signs of corruption they would delete that timeline entirely to prevent its spread so nothing like this could ever happen again."
"Thus the 'higher-ups' were born. And by abusing his position as 'God' the 'Author' used their powers to eliminate any other 'Authors' that may have one day usurped him of his role."
"But while it was empowering to command such omnipotent beings like they were toys, the 'Author' still longed for the pleasure of handling the universe in a more...direct manner. He needed a 'Blank', but who or what kind of person would they be?"
"Time became trivial for him in this state of existence. Because he'd become detached from the 'real' universe, he'd no longer age, grow hungry, or require sleep. And with just a blink of the eye, he could skip around through time as his leisure."
"Eventually he happened upon the birthlands of the Elemental Overlord, becoming instantly awe-struck by his powers. It was decided that a 'Blank' would be based off of him, but there was only one problem..."
"His greatest allies were also his greatest enemies. Were he to just craft a 'Blank' out of nothing right then and there, the 'higher-ups' would turn on him. They were already starting to grow far beyond his control as is, wiping out timelines and 'Authors' by the dozens out of a paranoia born from persisting in this role for so long. And the 'Author' couldn't permit being wiped from existence, for he was actually a real person."
"What a twisted view of the world. He's interacted and spoke to the inhabitants of this world, yet we're but a dream to him? That's what justifies his actions? Sickening, absolutely sickening..."
"So like the bug he is, he crept and crawled in the shadows, observing the Elemental Overlord's life until he could see an opportunity to strike and create the perfect 'Blank'. He thought perhaps the Overlord would have a child of his own, but his wife's particular circumstances prevented that."
"But there was another possibility to exploit. The Overlord's actions made it necessary to create a successor far, far into the future. The 'Author' sought to intercept this role for his 'Blank' by any ways necessary, and do so he did. He eyed the parents of the prophecized successor, and created his 'Blank' inside of the mother as little more than a fetus in the womb."
"S-Shut up already!" Alex chimed in as rough and roguish as usual. His eyes, so full of rage, were starting to tremble with fear as well. And it was upon this shaky foundation that he argued viciously against my truth, "Authors? Blanks? You don't have proof of any of this!"
He planted a hand firmly upon his chest and screamed his heart dry until his throat was hoarse, "And I'm one of these so-called 'Blanks'?! Where's your evidence?! Everything you're saying is baseless conjecture! A tale woven by a lunatic!"
So I rest flat on my stomach once more and bridged my fingers under my chin, smiling daintily as I tell him exactly what he does and does not want to hear, "What was the Elemental Overlord's prophecy again? That a certain boy would be discovered at these very, very exact coordinates, and take upon the Overlord's mantle?"
Then with a delightfully devilish grin I prod him further along the path I want him to go, "I'm sure you'd love to correct me if I'm wrong, but...were you actually the only boy lingering around your house at the time?"
He grit his teeth before me, sealing off the truth behind a firm wall of calcium and plaque. His lips squirmed to and fro, until finally giving way to a single name said with the utmost hatred, "Joe Dark...Joe Dark was there."
He closed his eyes and growled thereafter, "You...You can't seriously be suggesting that that son of a bitch...!"
"I am not only suggesting, I am outright saying it," I may have held the boy in ill-regard for reasons that weren't his fault, but even I will have to admit...That what I was about to say was too cruel to describe, "Joe Dark was the one prophecized to become the Elemental Overlord. Not you."
He began to cling unto the side of his head, and dug his fingertips in deep. Reality was catching up with him, slowly breaking through all the defenses set up to protect him. Now was the time to continue...
"Your 'birth' led Joe Dark to a life of suffering and loss. With a second child under their belt, Abraham and Lumina had no choice but to leave one behind for their own safety while keeping the other to fulfill their destiny as the Elemental Overlord. But they were on the run from Prometheus the whole time, weren't they? So because of that detour, they lost their advantage and were cornered, forcing them into a situation where they had to die. And because of that, you were taken in and experimented on by Prometheus. And even with you being on the other side of the continent, you continued to ruin Joe Dark's life."
"You were used as Prometheus' toy to silence the Dark family's attempts to uncover Prometheus' plan, and with Joe Dark as the lone survivor he swore vengeance against you...If he had even the littlest understanding of how much his vengeance was justified, would he really have had any right to be called the villain of your tale? No, because you are the villain, Alex Whiter. Through the simple act of existing you snatched away what was rightfully his. He could've gotten to know his real parents. He could have become a true hero. But instead he lost all that to a parasitic puppet."
"Joe Dark...w-was the prophecized child...He...he was...my brother too? No...no this...this can't be true." Alex was reacting about as well as he could have been expected to. He spoke coherently, clinging on to a fabrication of sanity with all the strength he could muster. He shook his head on occasion, and his skin was flushed of color. But I knew that he could still fight back. Though his determination was not his own, it was a powerful one nonetheless.
"No, that's wrong!" He yelled at me with a frightened look in his eyes, "Then his name would've been mentioned on the tablet! E-Everything else was so damn specific!"
"Specific as much as was necessary. The tablet wasn't created by the Elemental Overlord or the 'higher-ups', it was created by Auris Aurora," I glanced his way with a smile, "I'm sure you two have had the pleasure of meeting already. Twice, in fact!"
"...Her power of clairvoyancy."
Huh, how about that? Even with his mind beginning to fracture, he still pieced that much together. I'd be proud, if I was actually a charity for mercy.
"Exactly. See, that is one major benefit to creating a 'Blank'. As they are created by someone from outside our 'universe', they have no impact on the timeline until after they are born. Thus by the time Auris' visions of the future had changed, it was already far, far too late to slip away to the Mushroom Kingdom and rewrite the tablet."
"Ironically, for all the power the 'higher-ups' boast, they do not possess their own clairvoyancy. Had they done so, the 'Author's' entire plan would have been foiled before it began."
"The pieces were all in place. The stars had perfectly aligned. Now that the 'Author' had his perfect 'Blank', it was a simple matter of getting him to the Elemental Overlord's power and creating the perfect puppet to mess around with the universe as he wished."
"But why stop at one 'Blank'? Through this 'Blank' he could create others and not have anyone bat an eye, since there is a similar technique amongst the Aurians that allows them to create perfect clones."
"He used you to create the one you call 'Mew', giving him that name as a partial adoption of his own pen name, while also giving him an appearance similar to the hero of that world devoured by darkness. Then through 'Mew' he later created 'Riku', giving him that name for similar reasons to why 'Mew' had his appearance."
"And thus he had three perfectly functional 'Blanks' to spread his influence across the universe, but at a grave cost. His influence waned thin amongst the three. 'Authors' rarely extend their reach beyond one because it becomes more difficult to keep them under their control. And if separated from an 'Author' for too long, a 'Blank' becomes their own person."
"Avarice and pride was to be the 'Authors' undoing. His first attempt to balance all three ended in failure. Either he'd lose control of Mew, the Phoenix of Rebirth, or Riku, the Phoenix of Balance. This left the third, Alex Whiter, the Phoenix of Destruction, as the only one he could feasibly rely upon."
"But one was not enough for him. If he could not have control over all three of his creations, then he'd just simply wipe the slate clean and start over. He still saw the universe he was in as little more than a dream to play around in. There was no care in those maddened eyes of his. He was a hollow husk of a man, a soul with its skin shed. And our universe would soon pay the price for his sleighted ego."
"Under his command, the Phoenix of Destruction instigated universal genocide, attacking so swift and suddenly that no world had time to save themselves. Even the strongest of warriors became as brittle as ashes and floated daftly into space. The 'Blank's' sense of self was erased, his body burning bright through the night skies as an effigy of terror that wiped all creation from the universe without pause. And his first target, was Gensokyo..."
I closed my eyes and trembled at the memory of seeing my world burst into flames from but a single touch. Millions, billions, perhaps trillions of times I've bore witness to that event...And still I want to cry. But not even the singlest droplet of liquid could form from a desert. A curse, but perhaps a blessing too.
"Of course, most of what I say regarding the Phoenix of Destruction's rampage beyond Gensokyo IS the only true conjecture from my tale. All I know for certain is that at a point, everything was gone, and the universe had to reset. But perhaps that was the natural end of everything? Entropy is not exactly something that can be stopped..."
"It is truly bewildering why my world is always the first one chosen though. I have never been able to deduce why through all my observations of the 'Author'."
"But what I did watch was the desperate struggle of a megalomaniac as he tried so hard to maintain the power he so desperately craved, even as billions died from his actions. He's welcome to call himself 'God' all he wants...but no one should ever bow their head in reverence of him."
I have been alive so long, but this is by far the longest I've ever gone talking without stopping. This kind of body doesn't necessitate breathing, I suppose. But I am almost done. There is just one last thing to say. The metaphorical 'icing on the cake'.
I gently close my eyes and murmur in a dulcet tone, "And I have been fighting a battle against 'God' through six iterations of the universe, where I have finally determined the secret to defeating him once and for all. The circumstances behind the Phoenix of Destruction's personality cannot be repeated through the other two 'Blanks' at this point in time. So if you are stopped, Alex Whiter, then the 'Author' will lose his ability to interject in the universe's affairs as much as he'd wish. The cycle of destruction will die, and Gensokyo will be saved."
"It has not been an easy process though. Using my Border of Fiction and Reality, I have been able to briefly override the 'Author' over the last two years and three months, using that position to slowly separate you from the 'Author's' control. But I have also had to maintain a perfect sense of continuity regarding the 'Author's' recollection of events. Even the slightest major deviation would make it impossible for me to attempt this trick again."
"To help in this matter, I had purposefully stalled for time on other worlds you visited by using the artifact pieces in conjunction with the villains so it'd take you just long enough to get them. This was for the sole purpose of ensuring that your journey would be in perfect sync with Riku's, whom the 'Author' would be focusing on at the time."
"The 'Author' was so self-assured that you'd go through the necessary steps to become the Phoenix of Destruction that he saw no reason to intervene as much except to re-establish his control. But because my presence doesn't linger in your mind, he's failed to recognize that his control of you is slipping away. And once that is accomplished, then he will have lost."
"...Let it be said that I bear no ill will towards you as a person, in spite of what I may have said in the past. But if Gensokyo is to survive, then you have to be dealt with, Alex Whiter."
"Heheh...hehehe!"
...Here we go. The breaking point.
"Hehehe! HAHAHAHAAHA!" The boy's head lurched back and he swung his arms out, his mouth spread wide open as the cries of a broken mind ruptured forth with a resounding echo of laughter.
I could really only sigh at this display of insanity. I am proud of myself for not lying even once, but this was never a problem that'd be resolved just by talking. Had it been that simple, I would have dissuaded the 'Author' himself from continuing this madness. But I suppose you can relate to the difficulty of such a task, eh, XXXXX XXXXXX?
He lashed forth, hunched over like a hungry, snarling werewolf, and told me with a now brittle attempt at denial, "FUCK YOU! Everything you said is bullshit! I'm not a 'Blank'...! Or a 'Phoenix of Destruction'! My name...is Alex GODDAMN Whiter, the REAL son of Abraham and Lumina Whiter, and the TRUE successor to the Elemental Overlord's power!"
"I'm pretty envious..." I admit with some degree of pity as well, "If I could have such a staunch denial of reality like you, perhaps it would have eased my suffering for all this time. Alas, this might just be for the best that you only accept reality as you describe it until the moment you're gone."
"You're the one in denial!" He yelled at me, quite insultingly to be honest. I'm just trying to help, but he's intent on being this way to the very end.
"You've crawled so far up your own ass that you believe your own bullshit! Nothing, NOTHING you say is true no matter how hard you try and convince me otherwise!" His body went ablaze, a fire with little spark, if I'm being frank.
He then cracked his knuckles clenching them into fists and swung one up, his eyes so red with fury that they looked purely black. I suppose he takes after his father and brother in that regard...
"But you made on fatal, FATAL mistake you goddamn witch...You dragged Shina into this, and I'll NEVER forgive you for that!"
…
"Fufufu. How interesting. In other iterations of the universe you never loved that girl this much. Such love would never have been possible while you were a slave to the 'Author'."
"Shut. UP! Like you deserve ANY praise for what you've done! There was no reason Shina had to suffer because of me! So tell me why you did it! Tell me before I burn your tongue to ashes!"
…
"Fine," His rage cooled into a simmering, quiet fury as he tugged the bottom of his leathery glove and glared at me with empty eyes, "You'd only be digging yourself a deeper grave anyways. I don't want to hear another word out of your putrid, lying mouth Yukari Yakumo. I'll eliminate you from this world, down to the very last atom, so that not even your dust will be able to make Shina cry again!"
"She'll only be in danger as long as you're around. Do you not get that? The 'Author' only cares about his 'Blanks'. The people around them can just die if they aren't bolstering his precious, fragile ego."
"And so that makes you our savior? A savior doesn't ally themselves with the BAD GUYS and wreak havoc across other worlds!"
He had something of a point. I am not proud of the methods I had to use, but I did them with full confidence that everything would work out accordingly. I made these sacrifices, but that is only weight to be placed on my shoulders. I wish the boy could understand that, for we are ultimately of similar minds...But a bridge with a rocky foundation is one that can never be crossed, unfortunately.
So I shall impart unto him one final truth, one that shall unravel everything he believes is real.
"The 'Author' is the greatest evil this universe of ours has ever faced. He not only torments its people, but writes these details down and transplants them as stories to be read in his universe. The name he chose, 'Clash of the Elements', holds a second, more sinister meaning. The abbreviated form, COTE, also stands for Computer Operated Terminal for Existence."
"I don't give a shit!" Alex drew his sword at me and I could tell exactly what he was thinking. He wouldn't be satisfied with just wiping me from existence. No, he wanted to see me completely humiliated as well. That's what his grizzly smile spoke to me.
"Before you die...I will beat you at the one thing you cherish most in this world."
"A Spell Card duel...?" I playfully respond, sitting upright atop my gap with a card already called to my limber hand.
"Heh. I've been looking forward to this for so long, you detestible witch," Alex gripped his sword tightly in both hands and roared, "You'll pay for EVERYTHING!"
"Kill me? You must be kidding me. There's no such 'God' who can, cause I have killed them all in the warped space," I quietly boast, but then gently close my eyes and let out a sigh, "But I'll believe you, so let's get started. It has been a long, long story...Our eternal, Endless Fantasy."
Next Time: Versus Me, Yukari Yakumo
A foolish attempt to erase your fate, Minjo Master.