“There are no happy endings. Endings are the saddest part, so give me a happy middle and a very good start.”

-Every Thing On it.

Arcus woke up and saw an unknown ceiling above him. He sat up and wiped his eyes. As he looked around the room, he noticed his sister was gone and the whole place was pure white. The window that had been near the bed was covered with bricks. He wondered what had just happened during his nap. His body was cold and he took a look at himself.

“What the heck!? Is this a prank!?” he thought.

He noticed he was naked from head to feet. He also noticed the gift from his older sister, the watch, was gone.

He got up and fixed himself up first before he went outside. He tried to search for clothes around the room and finally found a white suit hanging inside the cabinet. He did not have any other options but to wear it.

As he opened the door, a deep dark forest appeared in front of him. He was confused because he thought it was just the way to the elevator to bring him down from the treehouse. He wondered if this event was another prank of his sister. He recalled the moment when she told him to act like a ‘victim’.

“Well, whatever. She is always doing some stuff like this, I suppose. I'll just go with the flow and admit my defeat this time.”

He put his hands in his pockets and started walking. He looked around the place while trying to stay in the same direction. It was too dark inside the forest but there was a bright light in the center. It would take him five minutes to get there.

When he arrived, he saw a beautiful girl in a lavender and white dress, barefooted, standing on a rock under the light. She danced and sang gracefully. Arcus marvelled at her beautiful voice and gestures. When he tried to walk closer, he cracked a twig in the ground, making the girl stop and look around.

“Who is it?” she asked.

He sighed and replied, “I apologize. I’m sincerely amazed at your performance earlier. I don’t want to cause a ruckus to stop you from doing that.”

The girl just stepped down in the rocks and moved closer to him. As she came closer, Arcus noticed her beautiful scarlet hair and a moon clip on the right side.

Arcus was confused when she examined his whole body. She just patted her right hand and confirmed it was him.

“Ooh my, it's really you. You look so handsome compare to the previous one!” she laughed, and hugged him tightly.

“.….”

She released him after she noticed his emotionless stare.

“Ooh sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Rumuel. Nice to meet you.”

She lifted her skirt into a curtsy. Then she offered her right hand waiting for him to shake it. However, he didn’t shake it and instead he stepped four steps away from her.

“Hey~, you meanie! Don’t you dare step away from me~.” She puffed her cheeks in disappointment.

“Hey, say something.”

As she stepped towards him, he stepped away from her even further.

“Well then, if you don’t even let me come closer to you, I have no choice but to catch you then!”

She tried to grab his hand but he managed to pull away. She then tried to make a diversion by tossing a rock at his face and trying to grab his upper body. Still, he was able to dodge it instantly and he quickly brought her down with a judo throw.

During his high school days in his previous world, Arcus had been the president of the Martial Arts Club and trained his body with different styles of martial arts such as Filipino Kali, Muay Thai, Karate, Ninjutsu, Judo, street fighting and other styles. It was still intact in his mind and kept it a secret to his family.

Arcus thought he had finally stopped the girl, but she was still clinging to his body. She stared at him in a seductive way.

“You have guts to hurt an angel, huh? But now I've captured you and I won’t let you get away from me.”

He tried to loosen her grip by pushing her away from him, but something was making him completely exhausted. It felt like his strength was being absorbed by some unknown force.

“Hey, c’mon, please stop now. I'm not going to hurt you,” she said as she tried to hug him. When she finally succeeded, she playfully rubbed her face against his chest.

“Kutshi kutshi kuu.”

Arcus kept trying to push her away from him. He didn't want to be thought of as some kind of pedophile.

He wanted to say, ‘Please stop, please stop!” But he had no other choice but to admit defeat and let out a sigh of disgrace.

“Alright, I give up,” he grumbled, raising his hands. “Well then, I guess you win for now, little girl.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, so you can let me go,” he replied with a smile.

Rumuel stared at him and she noticed his face looked suspicious.

“Hmm, if I release you, you may run away from me.”

“No I’m not.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Really really really sure?”

“Yes really really really sure…,” he replied.

She knew she could not trust his words because she couldn’t read his feelings. However, if Rumuel didn’t release him, he might get mad at her and tried to resist again. She decided to agree to his request.

“Okay then, I will release you now.”

As she released him from her hug, he immediately bolted away.

“What the heck!? You promised you weren't going to run away!”

“Sorry little girl, I don’t want to play with you any longer. Just keep singing and dancing in that rock. I'll be going now. Bye!”

He disappeared in the shadow that marked the forest entrance. Rumuel puffed her cheeks irritably, but she smirked and decided to walk around and wait for him.

“Fufu~, my love, you can’t escape from me. No one, in my entire life, has ever escaped from me.~”

Few minutes later….

“What the heck!?” Arcus shouted. “I thought I finally saw the exit but why the hell am I back in this place?”

“Hello~ even you’re exhausted you’re still so emotionless. It's very cute~” Rumuel waved to him.

“Tch.”

As Arcus continued running, he always ended up in the same spot where the little girl stood. Rumuel, in the other hand, always greeted him with a ‘Welcome back’ when he returned.

Arcus realized no matter what he did, he always ended up in the bright light with the little girl. He wondered if he had been bewitched by her somehow.

He finally gave up on his hundredth escape attempt when he felt his legs going numb from exhaustion.

Finally he collapsed in front of her. She moved closer to him and sat down, resting her face in her hands while staring at him.

“Fufu~, no one can escape from me. So my love, just stay still and listen to me.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Well just stay still. Don’t you remember the promise I made before you were transferred to this place?”

Arcus tried to recall everything from his past life and finally recognized her.

“Don’t tell you’re that little girl from back then? How is it possible?”

“Well~, it doesn’t matter, my love. You don’t need to know it well because you’re not in the right age.”

“What the heck?”

She let out a sigh and put her right hand on his cheek. “I told you, didn’t I? If I felt bored I'd interfere in your world to make your life better.”

“Huh? What do you mean, little girl?”

“Stop calling me little girl. Don’t be deceived to my appearance; I’m almost a trillion years older than you,” she replied with a wink.

“Huh…?”

“Oh c’mon, why would God give you such an emotionless character? I can't even tell if you’re too tired to speak or just too tired to move your face.”

She poked his cheek and he grabbed her hand to stop her.

“Please stop doing that. Sorry if I have this kind of lame appearance. It's just my true nature and behavior.”

He finally pushed himself upright and sat cross-legged.

“Oooh my, I’m in love. You look so handsome when you stare at me like that. You eyes, full of dismay and distrust. I love that.”

He was disgusted at the way she said those compliments. Even though she had said she was a trillion years old, she was still a little girl and he hoped there were no cops nearby to arrest him for being a pedophile.

“Hey, listen Rumuel.”

“Ooh my, he called my name. He called my name. Kyaaa~!”

He knew he'd made a mistake to be friendly at all to the girl.

“Hey, stop it will ya? I have several questions right now that I want answered truthfully. The first question is where the heck are we?”

“Ooh, this is a place formed inside your mind. An interdimensional field that lets its owner do what he pleases.”

“What do you mean by that? Who might be the owner then?”

“Oooh you don’t know, fufu~. Just try to guess it.~”

He stared at her seriously and she finally gave up.

“This dimension was made inside your mind. You’re the owner of this place.”

Arcus looked around and thought about it. Somehow he knew the little girl was telling the truth.

“Well then, if this is created by my own mindset, does it mean you’re also part of my dreams?”

“.….”

He grabbed his head and sighed. Maybe the little girl had been created by his desire for girls. Maybe it was saying he really did have a pedo fetish. Deep inside his heart, he wanted to throw everything away and die afterwards.

“Don’t worry, I’m not your dream creation. Haha, your face is so funny~.” she said, waving her hands.

Arcus was relieved to hear that and looked at her.

“Thank goodness, I’m not some pedo fetishist,” he sighed.

“Hey~, I’m not a little girl. Don’t compare me to you~”

She puffed her cheeks and glared at him angrily. He got up from the ground when he had finally recovered his strength. Rumuel took his hand and guided him towards the rock she had been standing on.

“Why’re you dragging me to that rock, Rumuel?”

“Ooh my~ kyaaa~, you call me by my name. Oh my gosh, I’m so touch~!”

He glared at her with disgust.

“Hey~, c’mon on don’t look like that. At least, I’m not a bad person.”

“What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“Here we are~”

She released his hand and climbed up the rock, spreading her hands as if she were making a grand speech.

“I present to you, this rock.” she said proudly.

He just stared at her silently.

“Hey~ don’t look at me like that. Don’t be like that. I will tell you why I guided you here to this rock~”

Arcus shrugged. “Go ahead.”

“Ahem. First of all, this dimensional field was created by your imagination. Remember the first thing you saw when you woke up? The white room represents your purity, while the dark side of the forest represents your darker behavior like hatred and sorrow. When someone enters it, they cannot return to their place. This big rock represents your dignity and sense of justice.”

“What about the white light then, Rumuel?”

“Fufu~, try to guess it… I will let you answer it three times. But… if you guess it wrong all three times, there will be consequences,” she said, covering her mouth with her left hand. She started to sing a song and resumed her dance on the rock.

He got mad but he just let out a sigh and tried to think. He looked up at the sky, where the light was beaming down. Only the rock was touched by the bright light. He recalled the time when he became the Top 1 in his high school days, the day he became the Financial analyst and manager of his company. But the memories were not enough to help him. He tried to recall his childhood memories from the second life, playing with his sister in the house. He remembered the time when his parents and sister went to a picnic at the beach. He also remembered becoming friends with with townspeople due to his sister’s charisma. He thought of everything good, like happiness, enjoyment, miracles and hope.

“Happiness I suppose?”

“Pffft…. Happiness? Happiness …. Hahahaha,” she laughed.

He was confused why she was laughing. He then just assumed that his answer was correct then.

“Hey, stop laughing now, Rumuel. It is taking us long time right now. Is my answer correc-”

“Wrong~! Wrong answer, my love.”

He was shocked when she looked at him again. Something about her eyes was terrifying. As he tried to figure it out, he realized Rumuel was not an ordinary girl, or even an ordinary angel. Somehow, he could feel that she had experienced death many times, and she had killed millions of others in her life.

He couldn’t move as she approached him slowly. But she only hugged him and rubbed his hair gently, as if she was comforting him.

He came back to his senses and pushed her away from him. She then lower her head and stared at him, tucking her hands behind her back.

“Well then~ shall we continue then, you have two options remaining~”

He wiped off his sweat pouring down his face. Arcus had never felt so terrified in his entire life.

He let out a deep breath to make himself relax and calm his mind and heart too. He racked his brain for the right answer.

“Is it Miracles, then?”

She stared at him for a moment, and then started clapping her hands and congratulating him.

“Does that mean my guess is correct?”

“Pffft, you think I congratulate you because you got it right? Hahahaha, sorry I just congratulate you because you guessed it wrong again~.”

He was horrified to feel the bloodlust coming from her. He stepped back as the presence grew stronger. Suddenly, her aura changed when she sensed something around them.

“Oooh no, its happening again. Darn it, I have no time. Hey~”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Playtime is over, I guess.”

“What?” he asked, confused.

A few seconds later, the ground quaked. The ground began to split open. Arcus wondered what was happening to his dimension.

“Hey Rumuel, what’s going on? Hey, answer me!”

Suddenly a burst of wind swept the whole area. He was thrown through the forest by its power. As he was dragged by the force of the wind, he saw the branch of a tree and tried to grab it. Rumuel was still standing on the rock, looking sad, and her eyes were filled with tears.

“Sorry for this, I need to go back again. Although this is our first reunion, I’m very pleased to see you my love~. I just hope to see you again and interfere more in your place, but first I need to get rid of the pests that interrupted our romantic reunion. I hope you find the real answer in our next date.”

“We don’t even have that kind of relationship!” he yelled. He was still flying while clinging to the branch of the tree.

“Oooh, my love~. I hope you will love me as you love your ex-girlfriend and parents. And I hope you’ll be able to withstand every suffering, sorrow and sadness this time.”

“What do you mean!?” he asked.

The gusts of the wind became stronger and finally dragged him towards the door of the white room. He disappeared a few seconds later.

“Ooh so cute, even in those words he is still emotionless... cutie pie~. Well then, time to meet them all~ for termination!”

White wings appeared on her back and a halo of fire surrounded her whole body. The heat made her glow with power. She flew towards the sky with a powerful war cry as she approached the Unknown.

Inside the Room of the Tree House

Arcus woke up in his bed and accidentally rolled to the ground. He was still in the room where Catalina left him. The old watch that she had given to him was hanging around his neck.

He tried to get up and look for her, but he couldn't find her. He went down the ladder and out of the treehouse, but when he arrived at the exit, he was shocked.

Strategic bombers were circling the town and a column of smoke was already rising. Without thinking, he ran back towards his home.

“W-What is happening!? That place…. That’s the location of our home! Papa, Mama, Sis, I’m coming!” he yelled.

He suddenly slipped in the ground and struck a big rock.

“Gyaaaah! My leg! Uuuururgh!”

He grabbed his leg and started to roll over. When he checked it, the area was bleeding badly but it was not broken.

“Darn it, why now? Why now? Oh God, it hurts!”

He cut off a piece of his clothes to make a temporary bandage and covered the cut. He started to walk and didn’t think about the pain. He just wanted to find out what happened to his house.

He used the nearby trees to support himself as he got closer. Arcus could hear the bombers destroying the city. The strong smell of gas and napalm filled the air.

He immediately ran as fast as he could and ignored the pain in his left leg. The whole forest started to become darker as the smoke clouds covered the sun.

Citizens started to run amok as the incendiary bomb spread across the entire city, killing innocents.

Arcus didn’t know what was happening. All he wanted was to see his family safe from the bombers.

As soon as he got out of the forest and to their house, he gasped for air. The fog and smoke made it impossible to see. When it dissipated, he started to stand up.

“Ma, Pa, Sis, we got to get away from here! I have co-”

His eyes turned blank. He didn't want to believe what he saw. Arcus began to weep as the rain started to fall. He collapsed to the ground but able to remain conscious. The sound of the bombs exploding, the screams from the citizens, and the sound of rain seemed to fade away.

The home where he had felt comfortable and made good memories with his family, where he had loved and talked and fought with his sister… It was burning in the aftermath of the bombs. The bricks collapsed as he watched.

“Nooooo!”

He ran around to the backyard and found his parents almost buried in the rubble. Their faces were unrecognizable, but he knew it was them.

“P--a, Ma, N-N-N-Noooo!” he screamed loudly.

“Sis, wait where is Sis? Sis! Catalina! Catalina, where are you!?”

He tried to search for her, praying for her safety, but to no avail. He screamed even louder than before and tears burst from his eyes. He couldn’t look the scene. He didn’t want to see. He recalled every childhood memory with her, from the day they’d met until their last picnic.

Catalina's butterfly hairpin lay in the dirt nearby. Her burned body rested next to another corpse of a boy. Arcus lost consciousness and fainted. The saddest part of his entire life become even worst than he thought.