Beyonder Return

Death was… odd.

Or maybe it felt odd because death was gone.

The Beyonder stilled, looking on toward the stretching universes floating around him, folding and unfolding, starting and ending. He had seen the process too many times to count, but there was a weird, tiny difference compared to all of the previous times.

The universes kept rewinding. The Beyonder wondered if he should have thought twice before wiping death out of existence.

But he couldn't help it. Not when the opportunity to die and be reborn made itself known in his presence in the form of Molecule Man. The Beyonder had pulled a newly-formed-yet-a-thousand-year-old plan out of his own existence.

In all the strange, numbing feelings his body was experiencing, his head tilted a little to the left, only to be shown a blinding, sudden burst of light followed by the image of tiny rocks flying past.

A Supernova.

The Beyonder stared for a couple seconds (maybe more, maybe less, it was hard to say in the warps of time and space) before looking upwards again.

Even stars, big and bright as they were, died.

They mended again, though. Took time, but they did. Death was gone, after all.

Watching the universes was pretty nice. There were so many things happening, so many fates born, so many creatures crossing paths with each other.

But The Beyonder still felt numb.

It took him, admittedly, an embarrassing amount of time to finally realize the strange, itchy feeling somewhere deep in his chest was boredom.

The Beyonder raised a hand, blankly looking at it before snapping his fingers, the dark of the space warping and whirling around him.

Maybe he should check one of these universes out.

There was an uncomfortable feeling. The Beyonder looked around the place, not even bothering to find the source of the uncomfort, before years-worth knowledge (of life, of birth and war and death) flowed through his head, making place for themselves in the endless pit of

his brain. Feeling like he had acquired enough, he turned off his omniscience, wanting to see firsthand whatever was going to unfold in this world.

And The Beyonder realized, with the faintest bit of disgust, that he had placed himself in a bathroom, and that the uncomfortable feeling was the foul smell itching his nose.

Going out of the vile room, he was greeted by rows and rows of what looked like food, and some looks of… shock? And fear, and… disgust.

The Beyonder frowned—just a little downward tilt of his eyebrows—before realizing that he was without clothes. He reckoned going out naked was pretty frowned upon in many worlds and—

There was a clicking sound. The Beyonder looked at a person in one corner, one trembling hand holding a phone, whispering panicked cry of help to this person called "police"—

The Beyonder walked, the people around him slowly getting away, and he stopped right in front of the person holding the phone.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience" was all he said before raising a hand and snapping his fingers, loose clothes covering him in a second.

The people around him gaped, eyes wide and unbelieving. The Beyonder looked down on himself, checking his attire and comparing it with the ones in his knowledge about this world. A jacket and a loose pair of pants—both of them sporting a neutral white color— he decided that it was as good of clothes as any.

Without saying anything more, he went outside of the building—which his mind finally supplied as a convenience store—and took a deep breath of the air.

Polluted. Almost stinked. There were many tall concrete-and-glass rising high to the sky, the stars barely visible and the moon nowhere to be found. Just like many other universes, this planet—

Tap tap

The sound of footsteps brought him out of his reverie, and The Beyonder glanced up to see a black-haired, black-eyed young man clad in a tracksuit.

The Beyonder thought that, as this planet would be dying in a couple hundred years, he might as well try to interact with its dwellers.

So he took the steps toward the young man, a hand raised in a gesture he knew as a greeting, and said "Excuse me. Young man, are you—"

And the said man was no more.

No, the boy didn't die or anything. Just—gone. To another universe, it seemed, if the rippling feeling in The Beyonder's chest told him anything.

Something hot that greatly resemble anger bubbled from inside The Beyonder. He had tried to be friendly. Or decent, at least. And he had lowered himself by trying to initiate the conversation first, but the boy decided to just up and go, leaving him alone looking like an idiot.

Bewildered was an understatement to what The Beyonder was feeling of the sheer audacity.

No one could do that to him and get away with it. No one. And The Beyonder would make sure of it.

He raised a hand again, feeling and just knowing where the young man had ended up, and with a snap of his finger, disappeared.

ØØØ

This world was a slightly more dangerous one.

Not that anything could possibly harm him, but The Beyonder could feel the tiny sliver of energy this world had obtained from the whole of the universes, the inhabitants calling it magic. The sky here was a little clearer than the previous one, bluer with specks of white clouds. The buildings were shorter, too, with some exceptions at some corners. Its dwellings varied - humans, demihumans, elves and beasts and others. It made for a nice, harmonic view in The Beyonder's eyes.

There were other things, too. The same essence that kept the world running but was called a different thing, like the spirits, but The Beyonder didn't have time to care about those.

Because the man in the tracksuit, as weird as it sounded, didn't actually teleport himself here, it seemed.

The Beyonder watched, turning himself invisible to the naked eye and watching the young man spouting things that at first glance sounded like nonsense. The Beyonder, having acquired the knowledge of the young man's homeworld, was at least aware of what the boy was talking about.

The carriage almost running over an oblivious kid was the first red sign of this world, and The Beyonder 'nudged' a knight—not too kindly—toward the poor kid before the metal-clad man realized and fortunately solved the problem.

The man in the tracksuit, however, was doing a pose that The Beyonder didn't have any idea what.

It was… a little entertaining, he supposed. The boy was relatively calm, being teleported to another universe and all, and even a little excited at times. His mood changed a lot, though. Being hopeful for a minute and miserable the next.

The Beyonder knew he shouldn't interfere much, that fates should run its course without ever being twisted by him, but even just him being there was undoubtedly already changing a lot of things.

So, in a whimsical spur of thought, he decided that staying for a little longer and watching the young man would do no one any harm. He only needed to be careful.

ØØØ

It didn't take long for The Beyonder to realize that the young man was… intellectually-challenged. He was brave, in a way, but also unbelievably oblivious to things. Whomever just walked into buildings without at least trying to find out what they were beforehand?

The Beyonder watched in mild annoyance as the young man—who identified himself as Natsuki Subaru—got told off by an appa merchant, slapped by a lady, and kicked out by a demihuman.

It was almost… pitiful.

But that wasn't the worst of it, it appeared, as another problem popped up yet again when the young man was complaining in an alleyway. Three goons strutted up to the raven, sharp metals hiding just beneath the folds of their clothes, ill will and unadulterated greed flowing off them.

The Beyonder did a millisecond calculation of what would happen and knew that there was no way the young man would win this fight.

And just like all his other calculations, it turned out to be right. Natsuki Subaru put up a decent fight at first, only to be beaten to the ground as soon as the weapons were out.

The Beyonder hung his head and let out the tiniest of sighs, his black curls bobbing along the movement as he glanced out of the alleyway.

He shouldn't interfere but… he can still do so, indirectly. This time, at least.

Looking at the young man one more time to make sure he would hold up for at least a couple more minutes, The Beyonder felt the presence of a young lady—veiled by the blessings of the wind—and upon seeing the golden hair and red eyes, identified her as Felt the thief.

The Beyonder was pretty sure she wouldn't be willing to help the young man, but she might give him some more time, which was good.

The Beyonder creeped out of the alleyway, the sunlight falling on his skin but somehow leaving no shadows, as he tilted his head up, feeling the flowing of energy around him.

There were two strong presences the nearest from them, pulsing and sticking out amidst the other hundred ones. One of them heavy, sharp and consuming, carefully concealed in a well-trained body with a similar, smaller yet no less strong circling of aura next to it. The other was bright, pure, and clear, flowing like a river, a small essence of life—a spirit?—sticking near.

The Beyonder looked down on the cobblestones, calculating which one he should try and guide here to help Natsuki Subaru, because for all the differences the two presences have, they were both strong and warm.

The Beyonder thought about it, and as stupid and incomprehensible as it was, decided that the young man would appreciate the help of a female more.

Going away in a swirl of dust, The Beyonder brought himself next to a lady with long, silver hair, her positive life energy practically flooding off her. He noted the spirit on her shoulder, before retrieving what knowledge he had of this world.

As far as he knew, the girl—no, she was a woman, he guessed. Not as old as him of course, but way older than she looked—was ungodly selfless, bordering on naïve. Or, if he would use the friendlier term, kind.

The Beyonder closed his eyes, his curly locks dropping in front of the eyelids, before he blinked them open, revealing a pair of golden yellow irises that shined even under the sun. Quietly, he

led the woman to Natsuki Subaru, unknown to even herself, The Beyonder twisting fate and knitting one fit for his own will.

It was… fairly easy, actually. Almost too easy, he wondered if the half-elf was meant to meet Natsuki Subaru in the first place.

And it went pretty well. The goons backed off—too scared and wimpy for the show of power— the young man unconscious but alive, and the silver-haired woman still waiting patiently with her spirit.

Waiting was always boring, but the Beyonder had already had much practice on it, so he leaned on one side of the wall, crossing his arms in front of his chest. If he got too bored, he could always just—

There was a chill running down his spine.

And no, that wasn't fear—it had been too long since he had felt it—Just one of the primal realizations of feeling eyes on him. That was… strange. No one should have been able to see him, much less realize his presence, so how—

A pair of big, aqua blue eyes was blinking at him, the now-big body of the spirit still holding Natsuki Subaru on its thighs. Huh.

"What's wrong, Puck?"

The woman asked, and the spirit—well, now that The Beyonder felt closely, it didn't wholly feel like one—slowly shook his head, "Nah, nothing. Just thought I felt someone there."

So the spirit was able to vaguely—and for however short—felt his presence, huh? The Beyonder felt like he should give the little guy some props for that.

The half-elf and the spirit chatted between themselves, talking about how they would try to get back the woman's insignia. The Beyonder was aware of what importance an insignia holds in this world, and he wondered how they could lose it in the first place.

The image of a golden-haired girl and a pair of crimson eyes came to mind, and The Beyonder knew the answer.

Well, it wasn't like he had any hand in stealing the insignia, but it probably was partly his fault that the half-elf had to postpone looking for it, all the while the item could be getting further or worse, passed around.

Taking pity on the woman and partly as a thanks for saving the young man, The Beyonder woke the human up, sending just a jolt of awareness. Natsuki Subaru woke up and started his own brand of panicking. The half-elf was doing a pretty good job holding up the conversation.

And as The Beyonder had expected, the human had the stupidest yet the most interesting reactions, and the woman was too kind. Kind people like that usually—

"—end up wasting their whole life!"

The Beyonder blinked, a little surprised at the young man for voicing his same thought out loud. The pair—along with the spirit—had come out of the alley, now talking in the middle of the street.

The Beyonder paid a little more attention to their conversation, and by the end of it, decided that the both of them were just as stupid as each other.

ØØØ

The search for the insignia was… entertaining. If he pushed it, he could call it funny. The Beyonder thought that he could certainly help them to find the insignia faster—he could still feel the Felt girl's presence, after all—but he guessed it was more interesting to see what strategies the pair decided to come up with next.

"You have no idea where you are, you have no money, you can't read, and you have no one who can help you" The Beyonder heard the woman muttered in concern, at one point when they decided to take a break on top of one of the unused buildings overlooking the city "You might be in an even more precarious position than I am…"

The Beyonder supposed he also admitted that the young man had a surprisingly strong mental capability.

Or, just, intellectually-challenged.

The Beyonder could practically feel the affection and romantic interest the young man had on the woman, and he could almost taste the ash of the half-lie when the half-elf told the human her name.

The Beyonder often wondered about other creatures' decisions and ways of living, and lying was definitely one of them. Wasn't it much more of a trouble to talk not of the truth?

He didn't have time to think more of it, however, as the trio decided to continue on their search. ØØØ

A lost child.

Normally, The Beyonder could just 'nudge' a knight toward the kid's direction, leaving the rest to be taken care of by others. This time, though, it seemed the half-elf decided to take a detour of solving her problem and help the poor girl instead. The Beyonder wondered what was it about the kid that felt familiar—

Natsuki Subaru protested, but as the Beyonder had expected, ended up helping anyway, with his show of… weird tricks or something.

The Beyonder followed them as they walked through the market, talking and laughing while keeping an eye and an ear out for the kid's parents.

The fact that the girl's dad was the previous green-haired appa merchant—so that's why she felt vaguely familiar—was a pleasant surprise, as well as the fact that the man now was willing to throw out information as a sign of gratitude. And The Beyonder felt a sense of relief when the information was actually correct, and they wouldn't be going around in circles without much of a clue anymore.

Though, The Beyonder felt like they should have thought more about it before going to the slums so close to the setting of the sun. In not long, the light would all disappear along with

the dusk, and since the people there couldn't afford electricity, there would be nothing lighting their path.

And the spirit was nearing his limit, finally going back and calling it a day, leaving the rest to the human boy. The Beyonder looked on as the spirit left in a flurry of little lights, only to be snuffed into a small, blinking stone, the once-clear life source reduced into a small pulsing of it, faintly felt.

When the half-elf summoned and talked to the lesser spirits, The Beyonder couldn't help but compare it to the beauty of the death-and-reborn of the universes, so curious and consuming, holding an endless mystery in its depth.

The young man was also captivated by it, or more like by the woman, and The Beyonder felt another red string of fate forming.

Fate that looked to be so dark and precarious the more it took form, but one that The Beyonder didn't feel the need to interfere on.

Yet.

ØØØ

The pair continued going deeper into the dwellings of the lesser, not much minding the way they could see only half of what was in front of them. The moon was just peeking out of the clouds, its shine overpowered by the chill of the night and the shadows of the rustling trees.

Maybe The Beyonder should have stopped them then. Should have remodeled their fate and made them decide to just come the next day, but upon hearing 'loot house', the Beyonder knew that it could only be a matter of time before they lose the insignia completely.

The next drop of doubt came when the young man knocked on the door, pushing it open when there was no answer. The Beyonder could feel the slightest red of danger coming out of the building, but it was so faint that he wondered what he should do.

The second the smell of blood hit him, though, he knew what his next action would be.

The Beyonder slipped past the doorway as the sickly-sweet voice of a woman resonated in the space. He could see, in slow motion, the shadow blurring past and the glint of metal making its way to cut through Natsuki Subaru.

The smell of blood exploded.

The Beyonder glared, eyes shining golden in the room, what pieces of furniture and loots left reflecting it.

And the next thing he knew, the woman was dead, sprawled right next to the counter, pungy blood pouring out of her.

Clack

"Subaru?"

The half-elf walked inside, calling the human several times, trying to find her way in the darkness. The Beyonder stared at said human, seeing his life force steadily draining out of him like a river.

…The young man wouldn't make it. As much as The Beyonder hated to admit it, he was too late.

But then again, death was gone, and Natsuki Subaru would rise again.

At another point in time.

"..Who… are you?"

The voice was hoarse, like it took everything in the boy to say it, and The Beyonder took pity on him, removing his invisibility spell slightly. His shadow came tall and dark in the moonlight.

Natsuki Subaru would be reborn, and The Beyonder would be ready to help even for the hundreds and thousands of people next time.

"I am from the Beyond."

ØØØ