My Farewell to You

—To the one reading this, I know this letter may just seem like an excuse, but I thought that some explanation is better that nothing.

I relived hell too many times. Too many times to count. Too many times to forget.

I don't know why, but I knew that I couldn't outrun The Finality. No matter how many times I reversed, no matter how far I reversed. I ran and ran for forever but,

The One that announces the End was always waiting for me.

Again, and again. Again, and again. Everything and everyone stolen, found, and then stolen again. I was trapped in that Infinite Hell.

When I finally broke free I was too shattered to care. Too broken in mind, body, and spirit.

No longer could I hold on. No longer could I withstand their cries. So within the worst moment of my life, I made a horrible decision.

What I did was stupid, I know that. What I did was pointless in the end, I know that.

Even after everything they've done for me I was the one who cut them off, no one would have taken that, especially not them.

I know that.

Yet I still made that choice, for them and for me.

Maybe it's a bit stupid, but I don't really mind if they eventually move on without me. As long as they're still smiling in the end, that's all I care about.

It was a betrayal, there's no other way around wording it. They gave me their lives, their goals, their love, and I cut it all off. Stupid, right?

I remember floating within the dark abyss of space, not able to breath but still somehow living.

I remember being embraced with a familiar warmth. That warmth grew, turning into a hot and destructive flame. I opened my eyes to fire so bright that I couldn't see and brimstone so hot that I felt my soul melting.

"Why did you return?"

I could have just left this universe; the Stars skin the Gods— beings called Aeons— were solely part of this universe after all. They governed only this universe.

But I feared for a possibility. The Aeon that announces the End despises me with every fiber of its being. Maybe I'm a being that defies the "destiny" that the Finality "foretells", I can only assume that's the reason why.

And the Aeons only pertain to this universe…

But what if they didn't?

I've seen what desperation and dedication does to people; I've seen what a pursuit to power does to people.

I've seen the Hero that was left to rot, abandoned by history and left to his own devices. His pursuit of power solely for his revenge— he'll word it differently but he knows exactly what his goal is, revenge against the force that wronged him.

I've seen the man who destroyed the world for one single woman. A devotion so strong that it defied natural law. A mind so distraught that he would commit multiple atrocities just for a single chance. But I understood his reasons better than most others in my world, I was once a close acquaintance to him after all.

I do not believe that Gods will make decisions that are "smarter" or "better" than humans, even if it's impossible to comprehend them.

The Immortals will call themselves above humans, but they were mortal once, right?

A being that exists solely for the End of the Sea and the Tree, that'll be interesting to see, wouldn't it? But such a being can't exist, such a being shouldn't exist.

So, I made my decision, even if it's just for a slim possibility— it's a possibility that I can't risk.

Or maybe I'm just petty. Maybe this is just my way of coping for everything it did to me. Maybe I'm on a warpath for revenge. I don't know anymore.

"I understand."

I don't remember if I had spoken all my thoughts out loud or not, but the flame spoke. Through that flame a form appeared.

A man with dark skin, blazing golden eyes, gray hair, and floating limbs.

"I can help you, outsider."

It was a stupid decision, but it was one I made anyway.

I accepted Destruction's accord.

—To the one reading this, I understand your decision.

I'm furious for your betrayal yet I can't find it in myself to hate you. I despise the actions you took but I understand the reasons why. I can't call myself "the good guy" in these scenarios anymore— I was the one who hurt you first, after all.

I have no reason to write this. Maybe I just wanted to get something off my chest, I haven't been close to anyone for years until I met you after all.

I know that you're going to go through with your decision, and I understand. Even if we meet again as enemies, I still want you to know that our friendship wasn't fake.

If you still have at least a shred of humanity left within you, I just want you to know,

I'm sorry, Elio.

(A/N)

Changed to be the Final Prelude, the next chapter will be when the story truly starts.