Author note: To those who read this I am sorry but this chapter might confuse you so I would advise you to read it carefully and clearly. I am sorry if this chapter does not make sense. All I can say is some of this stuff is not supposed to make sense as you as readers lack content and I am simply showing a piece of a puzzle.
ps: I am posting once a week from now on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. I have not abandoned this fic.
During a perfect dream, I felt the rain,
suddenly as it started pouring, soaked on through but I kept on walking,
my soul shook from the cold.
with these hands, I gathered the memories, though there losing color and fading.
I held on to the hope, they could maybe patch the hollow of my heart.
I would have kept this thing called love, had I known what I would have lost along the way.
quietly within the deciding rainfall and the night winds suddenly withdraw,
with my broken heart I stand alone, only silence on my side.
I wouldn't mind if it's a lie. if all of my rights turned into wrongs,
along as I protect the thing I held dear.
To find what I lost along the way
(?)
A tumult of crimson and purple flames lit up the night sky, casting a surreal glow over the desolation below. The air reeked of burning wood and concrete and burning flesh, a scent that clung to every breath. Amid the inferno stood a hooded figure, a teenager cloaked in darkness, navigating the sea of flames like an avenging angel. The once-star-eyed girl now possessed hollow eyes glowing with a sinister crimson, devoid of life and innocence, a mere shell of her former self. The moon's dark light bore witness to her solitary existence, seemingly the only form of life within the heart of destruction.
Everything was destroyed, Buildings crumbled and smashed by inhuman force, and its wreckage scattered across the landscape like a child's playroom. The ground bore massive craters, as though meteorites had pummeled the earth. The remnants of the fallen lay in pools of evaporating blood leaving a red fog that spread through the area, boiling, and poping with a sizzling sound thanks to the paralyzing heat. Unfazed by the devastation she had wrought, the hooded girl stood in silent contemplation. Her actions, once driven by a torrent of emotions, now seemed detached from their impact. Red and black magic energy swirled around her, a manifestation of power ready to obliterate anything in its path.
she questioned the necessity of her ruthless actions. A part of her still harbored resentment for senseless killing, but her collected thoughts rationalized it as a means to a justified end. The world she envisioned required sacrifice, and she was unafraid to take lives to reclaim what was stolen. that's currently the reason why she was in Legerdomain. After she had destroyed those who ruined her life, she turned her sights on her old home, no not home more like nostalgia Yet, it was not a place of comfort but a reminder of a past tainted by betrayal. This place was the final stage of her vengeance against those who had shattered her life. this was something she knew she would have to do eventually but not until recently had she received the chance to do so. She had shown these Anodites that their soft hearts would be their downfalls, how she would teach them pain.
The pained groans that came from her adversary took her out of her trance-like state. and her eyes moved above her to see a woman held in mid-air by the black magic tendrils, The woman was made out of energy evidenced by her glowing body and she would have broken free had it not been for the tendrils that held her in place. the woman screamed in pain as the tendrils dug into her body slowly ripping her apart, her arms, her thighs, her stomach, her chest all of it were merely places to ensure pain. the slightest movement would ensure agony as the tendrils worked to remake her insides.
The teenager advanced with a calculated gaze, her jaw clenched, her fingers coiling and extending like the tendrils of the dark magic that surrounded her. "Did you honestly believe you could stop me? prevent anything?" she scoffed, her voice dripping with venom. "You?, An Anodite Grandmaster? what a pitiful excuse. You were A wife, a mother, a mentor—yet you've failed at every turn. The position you hold is nothing more than a charade, and you are unworthy of it."
Closing the distance, their faces nearly touching, she continued, the words laced with a sinister edge. "Your power is a joke. Despite all your grandeur, you couldn't even save the slightest fragment of what you hold dear, Verdona. what a Pathetic excuse you are." A sardonic smile played on her lips as she mocked, " But You never grasped the concept, did you?, Love and family were supposed to be your concern but no You were Too preoccupied with your shallow ideals to save those who loved you— First Maxwell, Then Benjamin, and now, me."
Verdona's eyes met the hooded figure's with a flicker of recognition. In a swift motion, the figure unveiled herself, letting the hood fall to reveal short, spiky dark red hair and penetrating purple eyes. Her gaze remained steady, a calm and collected demeanor masking the chaos within.
"Your failures have added up and become your undoing, your nation is destroyed, your students killed," she remarked with a detached composure. "Now, it's time to face the consequences of your actions. To reap what you've sown,"
Verdona's eyes widened as she muttered in shock at the sight she saw" Gwe-" She was immediately silenced by the tendrils piercing her neck from all directions before they twisted at a 90-degree angle creating a cracking sound. "There is no meaning in that name," she said hollowly as she looked into the fading light of Verdona's eyes." but. For the sake of what we had and what we were, go to the grave in peace knowing that this tragedy will never happen once my plans are complete." The magical power around Verdona dispersed, revealing her human corpse and the teen merely made the corpse hit the cold floor, the charms adorned on Verdona's belt glowed." and now the charms of bezel are mine," she said as she raised her hand and several charms removed themselves from the corpse and slowly placed themselves on the girl's left arm.
Instantaneously, power surged through her, the darkness within intensifying, entwining her essence with a more malevolent force. A grin spread across her face as she moved forward, her eyes now devoid of any iris, nothing but an endless purple void. yet what little of her remained beckoned her to look at the corpse one last time. she stared at the body with a blank face. her mouth moved on its own"I wish you let me die that day." she sneered"Why was I saved from death? just to watch this? to suffer? Everything would have been easier if you had let me die instead you made me live this life of mediocrity."
A hollow chuckle escaped her lips as she continued her monologue, seemingly indifferent to the gravity of her actions. "Now, I must resort to this," she declared, casually cleaning her black nails as if taking a leisurely stroll in a park. The disregard for the lifeless form at her feet was palpable as she callously trampled over her grandmother, a mere stepping stone on her relentless mission.
"Now for the Book of Archamada," she declared with a chilling certainty. Her steps echoed through the ruins, once a castle, now more akin to a crumbled academy. The air crackled with the newfound energy coursing through her, a harbinger of the impending chaos she was about to unleash upon the remnants of what had once been a place of learning and enlightenment.
The Book of Archamada was an ancient and forbidden tome, steeped in dark magic and eldritch knowledge. Legends spoke of its creation by The brother of Bezel the witch,the most powerful magic user of all time, The dark wizard Zeref, whose mastery over the arcane arts surpassed mortal understanding. The contents of the book were said to hold secrets that could unravel the very fabric of reality, granting unimaginable power to whoever possessed it.
Its pages delved into forbidden knowledge, unspeakable incantations, and the manipulation of forces beyond the comprehension of ordinary beings. The book was a source of both dread and fascination, coveted by those hungry for power and willing to risk the dire consequences of wielding such dark knowledge. For that reason, the book was sealed away.
Her footsteps reverberated through the echoing corridors of the chambers, each one an ominous beat that struck fear into those who heard it. The mere sound of her approach sent shivers down the spines of onlookers, who instinctively understood the immense power she wielded.
"Your leader is dead," she announced with an icy calmness that seemed to freeze the very air. Her voice cut through the silence like a blade, leaving no room for doubt. "Get out of my way or suffer my wrath."
Advancing toward the Eclipse Gate, a colossal door guarding the most dangerous magical artifacts in the universe, she encountered a group of guards— a defiant platoon standing firm, their faces marked by a mixture of terror and determination. Despite the looming threat, they chose to face her as warriors, not yielding to the cowardice that might have saved them.
"Have it your way," she declared, a cold smirk playing on her lips. The air around the guards thickened with dense magic of crimson and blackness, a force pressing down on them with an insurmountable weight. Helpless, they collapsed to the ground, unable to move. The force that gripped them was unforgiving, and their bodies burst like overinflated balloons, scattering blobs of blood in the aftermath of the hooded figure's ruthless display of power. she was an untouchable monster, a monster that spent 6 years honing her craft to become the ultimate machine, the darkness within her had long overtaken her, a rapid dog that was chained up and tied to the judge's podium now set to lose to devour all that crossed its path. Maybe this wasn't who she was before but it was Who she was now. Regardless of how much she hated it, this was who she was now. No amount of love, no amount of care, and no amount of good deeds would ever drive out the truth of this world or its side effects. She was the scarlet witch and that was all she ever would be.
The girl approached the imposing Eclipse Gate. The massive door, adorned with ancient symbols and inscriptions, seemed to emanate an aura of both dread and temptation. It stood as a sentinel, guarding the mysteries and malevolence within.
She raised her hand, and the gate responded to the pulse of dark energy coursing through the charms of bezel she wore. Slowly, the colossal doors creaked open, revealing a chamber shrouded in shadows and filled with the ominous glow of ancient artifacts.
The girl entered the sanctum, her eyes fixed on the arcane treasures that lay within. The air crackled with latent power, and the artifacts seemed to resonate with the newfound darkness that now surrounded her. Each step she took echoed with purpose as she approached a pedestal at the center of the chamber.
Upon the pedestal rested the Book of Archamada, she picked it up and smirked when she placed a red charm on the book's cover causing it to come alive with a red glow, its pages whispering forbidden secrets to those but she was not tempted no she wanted one thing in this book only. her fingers brushing against the ancient tome. As she made contact, the room seemed to tremble, as if acknowledging the union of a potent force with its long-lost master.
her eyes fixated on a specific section of the ancient tome—a passage that held the secrets of time manipulation. Her fingers traced the arcane symbols on the page, and with each touch, the air around her seemed to warp with potential.
In the river of ages, let my presence grow. Beneath the tapestry woven by destiny's hand, I beckon the currents, let time understand.
Rivers of moments, past and future gleam and part for me like water in a waking dream. Moonlight whispers, and sunlit chimes, Guide me through the river, traversing space and time.
Eons wrapped in secrets, stories yet unsung, In the flow of time, where all tales are strung. Temporal waters, weave my pathway clear, As I utter the incantation, let my journey near.
From Archamada's grimoire, wisdom so prime, I draw power to navigate the river of time. Stars as witnesses, in celestial mime, Grant me passage through this flowing paradigm.
Threads of destiny, entwined and divine, In the river's embrace, my fate aligns. Words are spoken true, in this enchanted rhyme, As I will it, so mote it be, through the river of time."
The air tingled with arcane energy as the girl's words resonated, the glow of the book brightened as the words on the pages warped and contorted. The Book of Archamada responded with a spectral whisper, its ancient pages rustling with unseen energies. The words inscribed on its ancient parchment seemed to resonate with a voice of their own:
"Seeker of the river's timeless embrace, In the chapters of destiny, find your place. Through the corridors where pasts entwine, A journey begins, by this spell, by this sign.
Yet, heed the echoes of temporal law, For every shift in time demands a flaw. A consequence is a debt to be paid, In the Rivers of causality, decisions are laid.
The river, an unforgiving stream, Reflects the choices, both foul and pristine. For every ripple, a price is claimed, In the cosmic ledger, destinies are framed.
As you tread the river's winding bend, Remember, that time is both foe and friend. What is altered, what is undone, Bears the weight of what is to become.
Time grants passage, but demands its due, A sacrifice, a cost, forever accrued. Choose your steps with wisdom in tow, For in the river's flow, consequences grow."
The chamber resonated with the book's mystical response, and an intangible weight settled in the air.
The charms of the bezel glowed with a golden glow prompting the girl to raise her hands, opening a portal to the ever-shifting currents of the temporal river, ready to carry her through the torrents and flow of history.
(?)
"How can an unstable world like this hold itself together," the Watcher mused as he observed the current state of reality. In this surreal realm, one could witness the past, present, and future simultaneously, a place where individuals from different times and dimensions could converge, provided they possessed the knowledge of its existence."It boggles the mind indeed" he said.
The Watcher's curse was a heavy burden to bear. Eternity had trapped him in a cycle of remorse, and the guilt that had accumulated over the years had transformed him into a bitter and desolate being. Witnessing the relentless repetition of the consequences of his actions, with no hope of altering the outcome, had taken a toll on his very soul. He knew intimately the frustrations of temporal loops and the crushing weight of time itself.
Even though it was doomed for destruction. The Watcher couldn't believe his eyes, witnessing the birth of something entirely unexpected. "Yet somehow, that boy did it again," he muttered in astonishment, his voice tinged with disbelief. The watcher had deemed it impossible, an act that should not have been achievable, and yet...
"Fascinating," he whispered as he observed the omniverse reshaping itself. Shattered fragments of time collided, forming a colossal super-universe. For the first time in eternity, the Watcher felt a glimmer of hope. The hope that all could be restored, that his past actions might be undone, started to take root. But just as he began to feel that hope, it was brutally crushed.
He clenched his faded fists, "How many times do I have to see it end like this?" those were his thoughts for the longest time until one day, a purple portal formed.
The Watcher's eyes never left the ominous purple portal as it formed and exuded dark and rageful emotions. He had watched countless events unfold, repeating in endless cycles, but this had never happened before and it had made him weary. The arrival of this new presence through the portal filled him with both curiosity and trepidation.
As the portal solidified, a figure emerged, breaking through the barrier like shattered glass. The Watcher observed this newcomer, trying to discern their intentions and the purpose of their arrival in this timeless, shattered place. A person stepped into this existence, like the shattering of glass.
It was a very special person, whose actions had an impact on any timeline they were in. The watcher had its eyes on the newcomer; he had seen her face countless times, and the success of that universe normally depended on her. It was a teenage girl who stepped out, and her jaw clenched as she observed the place she did not expect to see. "This is not the past," she said in mild confusion as she looked around at gateways to different events. "What is this place?" she asked to no one in particular.
"This is a place between the past, present, and future, little girl," the watcher answered as he observed her. The girl had bright red hair and emerald green eyes. On her waist was a black book strapped to the side of her belt, with a green hourglass symbol at the center of the belt. This symbol was one the watcher had seen countless times, but this time it was cracked and had burn marks. The girl looked at the watcher and narrowed her eyes, "Clockwork?" The watcher shook his head in response. "I have no name, girl, for I neither exist nor have the will to live. I am a ghost, unable to die and unable to live," he said as the girl looked at him with interest.
"I am merely a watcher of sorts, that is all," the watcher added. The girl nodded and replied, "Whatever." She then walked past the watcher.
"Where are you going, young one?" the watcher asked. The girl sneered, "Nothing that concerns you. I don't have time to waste on you."The watcher chuckled, "Please, by all means, we have plenty of time to have a quick chat." The girl raised her hands, and a purple portal opened up again. The watcher continued, "I know what you're trying to do, girl. You're attempting to undo that tragic day you got the Omnitrix." He was referring to the bandaged muscular arm with a black, clunky watch adorned with a green hourglass symbol.
The girl looked over her shoulder with hollowed eyes. The watcher continued, "Doing so will undoubtedly destroy your world, along with the billions of lives that reside there." The watcher warned her, but the girl sneered, "Does it look like I care? her expression hardened. She turned slowly to face him, the purple glow in her eyes intensifying with determination. "I'm aware of the risks," she retorted, her voice edged with defiance. "But I won't be bound by the failures of the past. I'll break free from the cycle that shackles me, no matter the cost."
The portal behind her shimmered with an otherworldly light as she continued, "This time, I'll ensure that my choices don't lead to the same mistakes. I'll forge a different path, one where I control the strings of fate. No more living in the shadows of regret."
The watcher regarded her with a solemn gaze, "Changing the course of time is a perilous endeavor, Niccole. The consequences ripple across existence, and you may find yourself facing unforeseen challenges."
She met his gaze unflinchingly. "I've faced challenges before, and I'll face them again. I'll mold the future into something I desire, even if I have to carve it out with my own hands." "I don't care if I have to kill millions or burn reality itself to achieve it. The future is already dead anyway so why should I bother with it?. I am doing a favor for everyone by removing it."
The watcher chuckled"Is it truly a favor for everyone or is it just for your own personal gain?" he asked as he observed the girl who reached for her book,"You gonna try and stop me?" she asked as her whole body began to glow in a dark purple aura as her eyes went from green to the blackest mixture of crimson and purple the watcher had ever seen, and the watcher could feel the killing intent emanating from her. Her magic aura twisted in red and black tendrils.
The watcher replied calmly, "Peace, be still, traveler. I have no intention of stopping you." "Realities die all the time; such events are nothing new to me," he observed the girl. This one was different from all the other wearers of her face. This one, the current one, had a zeal in her eyes, a mission, a reason to continue. It was no different from the look he had all those years ago. She had a look of cold rage and unbearable despair. It was a look that told a story, a look that was crafted by endless failures.
The girl scoffed and went through her portal, and it would be a long time before he saw her again. The Watcher shook his head "Foolish girl, she has no idea what the ripples are about to unleash, this world is so unstable right now, and jumping through time is not making the recovery any easier."
It was impossible to tell time in this place, for time neither moved forward nor backward. But eventually, the girl returned not as a teenager but rather as a younger woman, about 18 or 19 years old, and this time, she was darker than usual. She had black lipstick on, and her left eye was a deep shade of green. her bright red hair had a slightly darker shade to it and it cascaded to her back. countless charms adorned her left arm and her right arm had a green Omnitrix gauntlet that glowed purple. She wore a torn skin tight plummer suit that covered her hourglass figure. She also had a black eyepatch covering her right eye.
The watcher raised an eyebrow. "I take it things didn't turn out well if you still exist." The slightly older woman appeared confused for a moment before nodding and looking around. "This must be the place the other me spoke about," she mumbled. It was then that the watcher realized he was talking to the new, current version.
He snapped his fingers, and the woman's eyes glowed before she stumbled back, clutching her head. "What? Why am I suddenly remembering three lives...?" She mumbled as she went quiet.
"what the hell?" she said with a frown as the memories of the first timeline clashed with her duel set of memories she got from this new timeline. "I thought bringing them to the future didn't change anything and yet the multiple lives in my head prove otherwise" she hissed out in anger, her aura glowing violently. She let out a hollowed laugh, one filled with agony and despair, and tears fell from her face as she clutched her forehead."why does this damned world always take what's mine?. why can't I ever be happy?"
The watcher looked at the women's crazed episode and asked, "So I take it that your little time travel quest didn't turn out as planned?" but the girl remained silent as she tried to organize the three different lives she currently lived. She looked at the clockwork alien and asked, "What did you do? I thought the previous me's was erased from time." The watcher chuckled, "This is a place where time collapses on each other; it's the only place where the past, present, and future interact. It is a place that holds remnants of countless timelines and dimensions. Those who dwell in this place for long end up living another life they never had."
The woman narrowed her eyes at the machine as she observed the surroundings, glitching and floating patches of different landscapes that looked like different papers glued together. "Why are you even in this dreadful place? how can you even survive in this place?. The density of magic residing here is so strong that it should crush anyone without the charms of Bezel and the book of Archamda," she said, observing the countless ruined landscapes and civilizations in desolation. Those without the book were crushed mercilessly, she had seen it countless times in her first life. She looked closely at the structures, and they were familiar. In fact, they looked like...
She froze at the thought. In front of her were their headquarters, or what Ben in one timeline had built, no more like it was countless structures of cities smashed together. She saw a crumbled mountain with shattered faces on it, and floating structures that were all too familiar. "This... what?" she muttered in confusion.
"It wasn't always like this," the watcher said as he followed her gaze. "The future was never supposed to be like this, but sadly someone brought it to ruins."
Gwen clenched her fist in anger. "Vilgax!" she said in a cold, dark tone as flashes of fire overtook her and the cries of her children. The watcher looked amused and chuckled. "No, Vilgax was merely the result; he wasn't the true cause."
Gwen's eyes viewed the mechanical alien from the corners of her vision. "Then who?"
The watcher stared directly at her. "Me," he said, and Gwendolyn jumped back. She reached for her book and pulled out a silver sword, a silver sword once noble and pure, now stained and blackened, soaked in the blood of all its victims, a blade that embodied the very concept of hatred and despair itself, Ascalon. She knew Chronosapiens were difficult to kill because they could stop any attack or erase you from existence, but she had this sword, this sword that destroyed entire worlds with a mere slash and if she was decisive enough and focused then an opening would show itself, they all ways do. her muscles clenched and coiled, ready to strike. she was determined to drive it deep into this alien's chest. The black blade glowed with purple energy, and its runes encrpted on it glowed with a twisted crimson.
Her mind was overtaken by rage, the crushing need to destroy, to take what was hers and destroy everything and everyone to get it, and she was ready for an attack. The watcher looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Fear not," the watcher said. "This was a long time ago... I once had a plan that turned out to be flawed. What I considered to be the blight of the omniverse turned out to be its lifeblood."
He looked up into the sky. "I turned against everything. I was punished for it," he said sorrowfully. Gwendolyn held her blade at the watcher's neck. "You destroyed the future," Gwen said, but the watcher cut her off. "I destroyed the omniverse, every timeline, every future. Everything, I am afraid," he looked down to stare into her eyes. "No matter what, everything in this omniverse leads to the same dead end."
Gwendolyn bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as she restrained herself from ripping the machine into pieces of scrap metal. The aura around her grew more violently and twisted like tendrils. You... you... my life... my kids... you took away everything from me," she sneered as her eyes glowed dark purple and her hair turned dark blue. "Tell me why I should not decapitate your head right now. The watcher chuckled, his voice gruff, as he turned on himself in self-loathing. "You can do that if you want, but this is a place where there is neither life nor death," he continued. "I had a mission to fix this flawed reality... turns out the only flaw was me."
The watcher chuckled in despair. Gwendolyn narrowed her eyes as the blade was pressed directly to his throat. "Who punished you then? How could anyone spare a mass murderer like you?"
The watcher chuckled, "The one who locked me in here is the same one you're trying to save." Gwen raised her brow, "Ben? Impossible... he's dead." The watcher nodded, "You are correct. The Ben of this omniverse is dead. He was the last survivor of the previous reality, the last Ben Tennyson who came so close to undoing my sins."
Gwen clenched her fist hard. She dared not to hope that Ben was alive. "Ben is not the sparing type. He would never let you live after what you did." she said with a glare
The watcher raised an eyebrow. "Just like the previous versions of you, so too were there previous versions of him." The watcher looked back into the sky of nothingness. "That man, no matter the countless reboots and restarts, always ends up the same, always carrying the burden alone."
The words made Gwendolyn sneer in disdain and venom as she dragged the sword deep into the machine's gut in a swift motion. " SHUT... UP," she said with a chilling darkness in her voice, free from any remorse or empathy. As she twisted the sword to deliver the most intense pain imaginable, she continued, "Give me one reason not to obliterate you? One reason not to make your last moments a living nightmare—one reason not to let you savor the exquisite agony."
She leaned in, her eyes gleaming with a malevolent intensity. "You see, I thrive on the echoes of despair, relish the screams of the wretched. Your feeble pleas mean nothing to me. But convince me, just once, that your suffering has a purpose beyond your own pitiful existence."
Gwendolyn's twisted satisfaction oozed through her smirk as she looked around, the shadows playing on her face. she purred, "You said this place has no concept of death, no time, right?" Her eyes sparkled with a twisted grin.
"That means I get to kill you again and again for all of eternity," she said, With a sudden burst of sadistic delight, she seized the neck of the machine, her eyes turning a deep shade of purple crimson. The dark purple shadows seemed to dance around her as she pressed on, her tone dripping with menace, her black lips twisting in a soft husky tone, resembling a kissing motion. "I could end you without a second thought, but the prospect of drawing out your torment... that intrigues me." she purred into his ear.
"Now, if you don't want to experience my fun," she whispered huskily, her voice sending shivers down the machine's metallic frame, "then speak. Convince me there's a reason to keep you around, something that might amuse me more than your death." Her grip tightened, a dark hunger evident in her eyes as she awaited the machine's response, relishing the power she held over its fate.
The machine chuckled, a sound that echoed with a haunting resonance. "I would appreciate the company if you want, but be warned. The longer you stay here, the more your sense of self fades. The more you fade, and eventually, you'll become just like me—a ghost."
Gwendolyn stared with hollowed eyes, a momentary pause in her relentless demeanor. However, the hesitation was brief, replaced by a surge of disdain. Without a word, she unleashed a blast that sent the machine hurtling into the ground. As it lay there, the machine's form flickering with fading energy, Gwendolyn looked down at it with a mix of disgust and satisfaction.
"I think leaving you here to wallow in your meager existence is a better fate than torment," she sneered, a twisted smirk playing on her lips. With a final disdainful glance, she turned around and began to walk away. The echoes of her footsteps mingled with the distant crackle of the sand." tell me...if you had all this power, why did you do nothing?, You watched the world burn around me so why didn't you do anything, if you knew?"
Her voice was cut off by the machine. "I did try to bring things back to the way it was. There was a time when I had control over time, but as I said, I am a time loop, unable to change anything." the watcher said unaffected by the lingering wounds of his inners." no matter what I did, it all ended the same way." Gwendolyn scoffed "I should really kill you when I come back here."
The watcher observed Gwen with a mix of guilt and pity. "Tell me, girl, why do you persist? What fuels you to continue on like this? what gives you the will to commit the deeds you committed? Your family? And your friends? Is it perhaps your—"
But he was cut off as Gwen hissed in anger, "All my friends are dead, my family failed me, miserably" she said, remembering her parents, Ben's parents, and her grandfather.
(what drives me to move forward?) . she mused as she pondered the question, her gaze distant and contemplative. "Only revenge fuels me and the desire to take back what was stolen from me." The weight of Ascalon's strain, the allure of her charms of bezel, and the consuming darkness of her Anodite core had left her teetering on the brink. It wasn't just a struggle for power but a battle against the potential loss of self. Her goal was the only thing that drove her forward.
she acknowledged the thin thread that connected her to the person she used to be. "Normalcy was a luxury I could not afford, not in the future I found myself in," she mused, her voice carrying the burden of her internal conflict. "To move forward, I embrace the chaos within. Insanity, by conventional standards, is just a label for those who fear the unknown. I navigate the shadows of my mind and dance with the demons that linger there all for him. It gives me the strength to move forward."
A bitter smile touched her lips. "So, I move forward not by reclaiming what's lost but by evolving what was lost into something new. I embrace the darkness and find strength in the fragments of the person I once was, and the memories I held of us. Forward isn't a destination; it's a continuous transformation."
With that, Gwendolyn walked into the unknown, a fusion of power, darkness, and the remnants of the person she used to be, determined to carve her path through the chaos that awaited.
The watcher sighed" You truly are just like that Benjamin boy, always doing whatever it took to achieve your goals." he said as he turned to look at the countless grains of time, they were like recordings, lingering messages that could be perceived."his suffering was truly great and yet he still managed to restore what was broken, to delay the inevitable. but his mistake was underestimating time. The more you mess with time, the more time messes back."
Gwendolyn stopped walking and scoffed but had an interest in the words he said."I already came to that initial conclusion." she said as the watcher replied, "But Have you ever considered the cause and effect?." he asked amused.
Gwendolyn looked annoyed and she scowled "Of course." she said as she looked into the deep black sky filled with ruins of destroyed realities." By the fall of a single domino, one can cause a chain reaction, that's what I have been doing ever since that summer".
"But have you considered the ripple effects?, the equal and opposite reaction of actions caused by the result of interference?" he asked once more and Gwendolyn looked confused"What are you on about?" she said annoyed.
"haven't you ever wondered why the events that took place in the present were so different from the original Timeline? why the things ended the way they did?" he asked and Gwendolyn scowled" Because time was a bitch to me for changing My grandfathers 60 th birthday and the mistake that cost me everything."
The watcher chuckled"Yes that is true but you not entirely to blame for that?"
"stop dancing around in circles and just get to the point?"Gwendolyn said with venom
The watcher snapped his fingers as the whole world changed, "You're not the only one that mingled with time." Gwendolyn observed the endless sea of white sand before her."what is this place?" she said as she looked at the sand in confusion"What the?" she questioned as she moved to pick up the sand but the watcher stopped her"don't do that or you will lose whatever sanity you have left."
he said sternly, "This place is the sands of time, every grain of sand represents countless memories, countless possibilities, countless histories all merged into one" he said as he held her hand tightly" Falling into that place of madness will destroy you". Gwendolyn immediately stood up and carefully backtracked away from the sand." listen carefully" he said as he pointed to a massive white tree that stretched into the never-ending sky. Gwendolyn looked on with an unimpressed look" What is this?".
"This was the representation of the omniverse, every branch was another world, another life, another possibility.
Gwendolyn looked unimpressed "This is the representation of the omniverse?"
the watcher nodded "Yes that tree is the different dimensions and the ocean above us is the past present and future." "Ocean?" Gwendolyn asked as bubbles came out of her mouth, it was only then that she realized they were underwater. She was about to freak but the watcher held her shoulder." be still, this is merely a memory," he said gruffly and continued "This was the omniverse but the actions of countless fools destroyed it." he said all it took was a mere blink of Gwendolyn to see the state of reality now. The sea of sand, the ocean they were under, and the tree was gone. the only thing that was there was a massive reddish whirlpool and in its center was a black hole. Gwendolyn saw fragments of sand clashing with each other destroying themselves as they fell into the black hole.
Gwendolyn's confusion and terror mounted as she gazed at the countless realities tearing themselves apart and cascading into The black hole. When she questioned the watcher about the chaotic scene, he explained, "This is the remnants of time, the fragments of time overlapping with each other to form your universe, which I dub Universe 0."
"Universe 0?" she asked with a furrowed brow.
"Yes, this new timeline was born from the actions of the last surviving member of that Time war. Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. It's your timeline formed from the remnants of shattered dimensions," the watcher responded.
"Wait, time war?, shattered dimensions? What are you talking about?" Gwendolyn asked with a skeptical stare.
The watcher sighed, looking at the colliding pieces of worlds. "It is a long story, one better left forgotten in the flow of time. All I can say is that the actions of the first Gwendolyn sparked a series of events that led to that war. This is what you call the butterfly effect."
"Currently, the flow of time is in a state of extreme instability, think of it like a raging sea desperately attempting to hold itself together. It seeks stability through the constant overlapping of past, present, and future. Due to Benjamin's actions, the entire present flow is one big mess. This is why Gwendolyn's current life differs significantly from her initial one, a consequence of diverse realities colliding to stabilize.
A prolonged silence hung between them before Gwendolyn sneered and turned away. The watcher observed her as she raised her hands in a circular motion. "So, what is your plan now?" he inquired. Gwendolyn glanced over her shoulder with a purple glow, wearing a scowl, and conjured another portal. "To rectify my mistake for the second time, and change the flow of paths and overcome it" she declared as she took a step forward. Her movement halted when the watcher interjected.
"Are you intending to repeat the same course of action? Those who persist in such repetition often create time loops that lead their world to a dead end. Be cautious, girl," the watcher warned.
Gwendolyn turned around with a sneer and declared, "What am I supposed to do? I don't want to exist in a world without him!" She continued with frustration, "The first time I succeeded in stopping the first Gwendolyn's future, but I never imagined that it would lead to Ben's death. So I desperately learned the time travel spell the first Future Me used. When I did, I went back in time and stopped his death. I succeeded, and we lived different lives..." She paused, reminiscing about the shared moments.A soft smile played on her lips "Somehow, I managed to convince the doofus to part with the watch, and I gave up magic. Together, we started a..." Her expression shifted, a blush touching her cheeks as she affectionately held her stomach, only for it to vanish into a cold, stone-cold demeanor.
The first Me was miserable with her life and the way she hated the current state of their relationship, the way her life turned out pushed her to her breaking point. The actions of the first Gwendolyn created The 'me' who saved Ben were both erased from existence. She mentioned this place in her fading breaths, but the point is that my world, our world, was led to destruction. That's the reason I came here in the first place and now that I remember all 3 lives I am more determined to restore the future than ever before."
"My wish is almost" she shook her head and glared ahead." I don't care about any anomalies, I will keep moving forward until I get what I want. I don't care how much I have to dirty my hands in order to achieve it, "My world"...she bit her lip and shook her head, "I will do whatever it takes to see the future I want."
"That's why you wish to change the past?" the watcher asked. "And if your efforts are in vain, like this place?" he continued.
Gwen glared at him. "I did it three times, and look," she said, pointing to herself. "This current me lived the life the previous two wanted. So I don't care how long or what I have to do." The shadows of her hair hid her face, making her even scarier. "I will build a new world, one where my dreams become reality. I am the scarlet witch and I get what I want."
The watcher's chuckle resonated through the void, a sound that echoed with both amusement and a touch of somber reflection. As he looked into the sky, his red eyes glowed with an intensity that seemed to pierce through the fabric of time itself.
"I wonder," he murmured to the unseen forces as if addressing the very essence of the universe. "Benjamin I wonder if you knew what sort of damage this would have done to Her, If you knew this was how Gwendolyn turned out, if you knew she would become the most powerful being of her Generation, hell-bent on destroying everything and anything simply because of you, would you have done what you've done?"
Author note: yeah I know, some of you might think this chapter was unnecessary but all I can simply tell you is that it set up things for the future of this story. I promise we gonna get back to Ben and Gwen in the next chapter or the next one. BUT keep in mind that this story is built from time travel and if any of you have questions I would be happy to answer(i won't be giving spoilers though). Oh and tell me what u think...