Chapter 29 - The Hero - Part 8

Planet Kryran - Sombrero Galaxy:

"EMMA!!!"

Nazar flew down and caught his sister who was falling down.

As he caught her, he noticed that she had fallen unconscious.

"EMMA!"

She was not responding.

"Blood is circulating in her body… the heart is still beating," Nazar muttered to himself.

Images flashed through his mind.

He has seen something similar happen before.

The dead body of his own sister. Was it real? Or was it a dream?

He cannot tell anymore.

Before he knew it, his emotions had been turned on by itself.

Emotion swirling up inside him.

He takes a deep breath but he cannot control it.

Before it is too late, he turns them off again.

He vanished into thin air once he confirmed that.

လလလ

London, UK - Earth:

Inside the London headquarters of Bradley Conglomerates, a blonde haired, green-eyed man entered a massive office. He was around 1.75 meters tall. He looked a little muscular.

Currently, he was wearing a tailored black suit which looked extremely expensive.

“Sir.”

As soon as he entered the office, the man sitting behind the desk stood up quickly.

“You said you had something for me? About Ion?”

“Yes, sir,” the man said as he gathered his thoughts.

The man sitting behind the desk moved and instead, the young and muscular blonde haired and green eyed man sat on his seat.

“Mr Ishaya Bradley, I think we are very close to figuring out who Ion is.”

Hearing that, a thin smile appeared on his face.

“Do you know why I want to find out who he is?”

The other man shook his head.

“Imagine what we could for humanity if we found the source of his power. Superhumans. Everyone will be super.”

Seeing the thin smile on Ishaya’s face, the other man gulped.

“Or super soldiers.”

A low laugh rang out in the room.

The man placed a tablet in front of Ishaya.

Ishaya picked it up and looked at the file inside it.

“His name Nazar Hall. Genius level intelligence in robotics, AI, and nanotechnology.”

Ishaya looked closely at the file.

"It says that he..."

"That's wrong. He pretends he is not smart but all of his projects and exam results show otherwise."

"Oh?"

He seemed very interested in it.

“A few weeks ago, we analysed that Ion’s costume was made of nanotechnology. Of course, nanotechnology is nothing new in this world.”

“I hear a but coming?”

“But do you remember the image which was sent from our Berne HQ. The picture showed a man who had white hair. Same with an image of Ion when his costume blew up when he a car blew up near him. We temporarily saw his hair. It was also white.”

“Okay?”

“During the recent exams at the London branch of BUST, we measured a massive surge in energy we didn’t understand. After many days of looking for it and analysing it, we narrowed it down to the exam hall at BUST.”

"What?"

“Today we figured out that it was coming from where this man - Nazar Hall - was sitting. And at that time, the devices were being manipulated to not record his movement.”

“If he is that smart and resourceful, why would he make a simple mistake like this?”

“Well,” the man paused before continuing, “Ion was flying towards the new superhuman. Once he got there, the same man from the first of January started to appear. The image got deleted but most people saw the image and it was the same man. However, it is not clear enough.”

“So, people remember it?”

The man nodded.

“We should have released it to the media,” Ishaya muttered to himself.

He then sighed deeply.

“I still think it might just be a coincidence.”

“Perhaps. But highly doubt it.”

"It just feels like a setup, honestly. Probably Ion did it himself to put us off? If he really is that resourceful, he wouldn't make a silly mistake like this. Oh well..."

Ishaya stood up.

“Good work. I say we should focus on the new superhumans instead. Especially the one from Afghanistan. It seems he has a power called ‘reality warping’ or ‘reality manipulation’... If we have him, we won’t need someone as weak as Ion.”

Ishaya started to walk away from the desk.

“And the more we have, the better.”

He left the room and reunited with his assistant, who was standing outside of the office.

“Sir?”

“We are close… Anyway, where is my next meeting?”

“MI6. It’s about exoskeleton suits.”

Ishaya sighed once more.

“Let’s go.”

လလလ

Many hours later, Emma opened her eyes.

"Where…?"

She slowly looked around and found herself to be inside a massive bedroom. It didn't look like her own bed.

She looked up and said, "It looks like a bed of some royal family."

She laughed a little.

But then she remembered something.

"Nazar is a king, right?"

She was not sure if he was telling the truth.

Her laugh soon vanished once she remembered why she fell unconscious.

“I remember...”

A sad smile appeared on her face.

“A whole life...”

She held her head in her hand once more.

“I don’t think it's real… It can’t be, right?”

After a few minutes, she heard the creaking sound of the bedroom door opening, so she managed to get the sad expression off of her face.

"Oh, you are awake, Your Highness."

She looked at the person who entered.

It was a tall and muscular maid with blonde hair and blue eyes.

It was the head maid of this castle, Ella. She was holding her hands in front of her.

Emma point to herself with her index finger.

"Your Highness?"

She couldn't help but feel a little happy on the inside.

"I just came here to check up on you. I will let your brother - the majesty - know that you are awake."

She bowed slightly.

She was about to walk out but Emma called out to her.

“Wait!”

The maid smiled as she looked at her.

“What is it, Your Highness?”

“Uh… Um...”

Emma was not sure what she wanted to say.

To avoid an awkward situation, she asked a simple question.

“Wh-what is your name?”

“Oh, silly me. I apologise for forgetting to introduce myself,” she said as she bowed slightly. “I am Ella Noah.”

Emma was taken back a little when she apologised.

“Nice name.”

“You humble me, Your Highness.”

Emma was feeling a little uneasy when she was called ‘Your Highness’.

“Please call me Emma.”

“If that is your wish, Mistress Emma.”

She felt a little embarrassed being called ‘Mistress’.

“Just Emma will do.”

“As you wish, Emma.”

Emma sighed lightly.

“So, who are you?”

“I am the head maid of this castle.”

Emma was amazed at how she always had a smile on her face and immediately answered her with respectful manners.

(I wish I could be half as good as her...) she thought to herself with a bitter expression.

“Wait!”

But then she noticed something.

“Did you just say ‘head maid’?”

“Yes,” Ella said as she nodded.

(Maids, huh? That’s pretty cool. She is dressed like a maid too.)

Emma looked at Ella up and down, which made her a little uncomfortable.

“Anyway, is Nazar really the king?”

Ella nodded as she said, “Yes, he is.”

“How did he become the king?”

“It’s a long story,” she said as she looked down.

A little bit of sadness was mixed in her voice.

“O-oh.”

Emma felt bad so she didn’t ask any further.

She wanted to confirm something else.

“What… What kind of person is he?”

Ella looked at Emma in surprise.

“I… I don’t understand?”

“S-sorry. Weird question. Anyway, can you get me my brother.”

"Certainly."

Ella smiled and bowed slightly before she left.

လလလ

A few moments later, Nazar teleported into the room.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“I remember.”

He knew what she remembered before she even said anything.

“A whole life… Can you believe it?”

“How?”

She looked at him and chuckled once she saw his expressionless and emotionless face.

“I remember when you lived in the same house with me for years and didn’t know I was your real sister with the parents we thought who loved us. And I remember that expressionless and emotionless face of yours. A forced smile. You murdering people. Everything.”

“Emma… How do you remember?”

She wrapped her arms around her knees.

“I don’t know how or why… But I remember.”

Nazar knew who brought it back.

(I am 99% sure its that ‘Goddess’ person or whoever she is… But the question remains, why? Why her? Why now?) Nazar thought to himself.

“I asked the maid what kind of person you were. Do you know why?”

Nazar didn’t answer her.

“It is because I wanted to see if you were like this in this life too. With us, you had put on a mask so I wanted to know what kind of person you were here.”

“Do you want me to get rid of them?”

Emma shook her head.

“No. That was my life. And it still is.”

She unwrapped her hands and looked at Nazar.

“What happened to Emily?”

21 years ago, when Nazar defeated the Nameless One, he went and stole abnormal energy which was within Emily Jones. And that was the last time Nazar saw her.

“Where is she?”

“She is… I don’t know.”

“Why? Was she not your best friend?”

Nazar let out an emotionless laugh.

“Do you really believe we were ever friends? Yeah, I saw her like one… but she didn’t see me as one. And frankly, I don’t care anymore.”

“Is that so?”

She narrowed her eyes as she got up.

“Where is this part-time job of yours?”

“...”

“I know where you work. And I know the reason behind it.”

“Hm?”

She tapped his chest with her index finger.

“You couldn’t go away from the life you built for yourself in the other life. No matter how hard you tried to crawl away from it, you went back to the hole you have dug for yourself. That is your other life. No matter how much you want, you will never crawl away from it. And I don’t think you want to.”

She sounded a little angry.

“No, not really. I have--”

“Oh, really? Then do you have any other reasons?”

Not having an answer, Nazar just clicked his tongue.

“Go home. Don’t tell anyone about this,” Nazar said as he started to turn around and walk away. ”About going to another planet or remembering the old life.”

“I want to know something...”

Emma held his had and stopped him.

“Why did you not tell us earlier? Why did you put on a mask just for us? For me?”

Nazar lowered his gaze.

“I get that you were scared of mom and dad and didn’t have a good relationship with Aeron… but why me? Why did you put on a mask for me? Did you think that pretending to be happy or to be with us is better than not telling us… me the truth?”

“You don’t get it, Emma.”

“Yeah, you are right. I don't get it. I don't get any of this... but I know that deep down you did it because you cared about me. Or am I wrong?”

Nazar could not deny that.

She was not wrong.

“You saw me die and you didn’t want that happen here again. Am I wrong?”

Nazar slowly shook his head.

“Then what kind of god… What kind of person are you that you can’t even protect those close to you? What is the point of your power? Is it just to show off? To be the strongest… But for what reason?”

Emma shook her head.

"No, you don't want to be the strongest. You want anything but being the strongest."

"..."

“I know that you hate your powers. You think that’s the only thing that makes you special… but you are wrong,” she said out loud as her eyes teared up.

Nazar slowly looked back.

“You are smart. Smarter than anyone I have ever met. You are mentally strong. Anyone would have gone insane if they went through the same thing and I am surprised that you are still here. After being betrayed over and over again by those closest to you… You are kind and caring and funny.”

Nazar smiled.

“I… I am not kind at--.”

“What you told me today… I finally understood it. You mercifully killed that man. But that was not all, you saved so many more. Is that not kindness?”

Nazar was not sure if that could be called kindness.

“You care deeply about those closest to you. When Aeron came back, he was not in the right mind and he was definitely evil… You could have killed him in an instant but you didn’t. You saved him and pretended to try and kill him but you didn’t. You thought you wanted to kill him but deep down, you really didn't want to kill him.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Then what about Aarin? And Alice? Remember how you reacted when they were in trouble? You… I don’t know most of the things that happened in space or hell or heaven or anywhere else for that matter, but from what they told me, you cared deeply for them. You protected them as much as you could.”

Nazar noticed the streams of tears coming down her face.

Nazar let out a sigh.

"I really didn't care ab--"

“Then what about Laura? If you didn’t care about her, why did you let yourself nearly die for her? You didn’t know you will survive? So, why? Was that not caring?”

“That was guilt.”

Emma was taken back a little.

She clicked her tongue.

“Your power doesn’t make you special. If you think like that, you will be stuck in this mud forever. You make the powers special. Not the other way around.”

“...”

Nazar lowered his gaze.

“You are stronger than this. You shouldn’t be stuck at the same level for the rest of eternity. If you believe that you are nothing without your powers… then… Then please change that about yourself.”

Emma let go of Nazar’s hand.

“Think about this: what if someone else had gotten the power?”

Nazar has thought about this many times.

What if someone else was chosen for this power?

Not hearing Nazar’s answer, Emma decided to say something else.

“Let me tell you something.”

She wiped the tears off her face.

“No matter how you badly you think of yourself… I will see it differently. You are special, not because of your powers but because of who you are. You are special because of what you went through and not your power.”

She shouted on top of her lungs.

“So, please… Please stop thinking so low of yourself. Stop thinking you are worth nothing!”

Emma doesn’t know Nazar that well in this life but she knew him better in the other life. She had heard stories from others. And the memories Nazar gave her.

She didn’t believe what Nazar told her once, so he gave her his own memories.

And that’s why she knew him better in that life than she does in this world.

“Stop trying to kill yourself the first chance you get.”

“...”

“If you can’t live for yourself, then live for others!”

Nazar’s eyes widened.

Even though he does not have emotion, his expression still changed.

“If you think you are worth nothing, then see yourself from someone else’s point of view.”

Nazar had heard similar words before.

Aarin had told him similar words a long time ago.

“See yourself from my point of view. Or Laura. You are not worthless. We love you. I do. Mom does. Dad does. Aeron does. Aria does. You are everything to us…”

Streams of tears started to flow down her face once more.

“So, don’t do this to yourself. Don’t try to kill yourself. Don’t hurt yourself. You might be fine with it but it hurts to see you like this. You didn’t have to hurt yourself like this. You didn’t have to kill yourself... today...”

Emma slowly started to trail off.

She noticed something.

What was she talking about? She was not there when Nazar died today.

“How do you know about that?”

“I… I don’t know...”

Emma looked at him with wide eyes.

“So, it wasn’t a dream…?”

“What are you talking about, Emma?”

Emma sat down on the bed as she thought.

“Before calling you… I saw you die. There were thunders and a... and a beam(?)… but then I woke up from the nap. So, I didn’t think too much about it… but then I called you. I didn’t have any reason until I remembered that green energy, so I used that as an excuse to call you… but when I met you, I totally forgot about the dream.”

(Memory manipulation.)

“But now I remember all of this… Do you know why?”

Seeing the confused look on her face, Nazar clicked his tongue.

“There is something...”

He thought about how he should say this.

He didn’t want to let her know about this being who is messing with him.

“It’s complicated.”

Why would she target Emma? - Nazar thought to himself.

“Anyway, just go home for now. I will figure something out.”

“Wai--”

Before she could finish, Nazar had waved his hand and she had vanished into thin air.

Nazar just sat on the floor and pressed his back against the wall.

(When Rina said those words to me... I remember that woman... the goddess as Michael called her... who can mess around with me said "I love you, hero♡.” and that's why my emotions started to go out of control... Why did I not remember those words before today? How much of my memories are missing?)

He started to think about what happened.

(And now Emma... What is her role in this grand cosmic scheme of the goddess? Why her? Who else will be involved in all of this?)

Nazar stared at the ceiling.

(Why... Why do I not hate this situation as much as I should?)

He formed a gun gesture with his index and middle finger.

(People around me are getting hurt one way or another... But why do I not hate it? Why am I forgetting a lot of things these days? Why do I remember it in a situation when it hurts the most? Why...)

His hand turned into energy.

(Why do I feel so happy about this situation?)

A smile appeared on his face.

He tried to remove the smile but it won't go away.

"Bang!"

And just like that, a beam of energy shot from his hand and his brain splattered across the bedroom.

လလလ

In a faraway place where no one knows about, a silver-haired woman with purple eyes in a black dress clicked her tongue as she watched Emma and Nazar's conversation.

“This is getting boring to watch,” she said slowly. “If he somehow changes with that speech… that will be even more boring.”

She let out a sigh.

“The dragon is getting closer. In his current state, it should take him a few months to get here. So, I need to speed things up.”

“Is that for real?”

Hearing Michael’s voice, she smiled thinly.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well… I mean… What will happen once--”

“Nothing. Don’t worry.”

Michael’s shoulders tensed up a little.

“I will enter this dimension,” she said as she slashed her hand and a portal appeared, “don’t disturb me for a few weeks.”

“Okay.”

“And carry out the tasks I told you, which are not much.”

Michael nodded.

“Keep an eye on the Seven Deadly Sins.”

“And my powe--”

“You will get it soon. Don’t worry.”

Michael was not sure how seriously to take her immediate reply.

“Nazar will be very busy until I am done. So, don’t worry. You won’t have to do much. Just take care of a few people. Teleport them from one place to another. And have fun.”

She threw something to Michael.

“This has everything you need.”

Michael caught a black energy orb.

“Don’t disturb me and do your thing.”

“Okay.”

The woman smiled as she entered the portal.

“See you later, lover♡. You will receive your present soon.”

Michael watched as the portal closed.

He let out a sigh.

"These creator type are the ones we angels and Gods hate the most. They are the worst."