Chapter 203

Arc 17 - Shadowy World - Part 13

Plymouth, UK:

“You have been gone for a long time,” Angela said jokingly as soon as Aeron entered the room.

“There was a bit of a complication,” Aeron sighed loudly as he sat on a comfortable armchair and leaned back.

“What do you mean?” Angela, who was laying on her bed and reading a book, asked.

“...”

Aeron moved his mouth, but no answers escaped his lips.

He wasn't sure how to answer her simple question.

"Did the banker come to collect their fee?"

He wasn't surprised that she could deduce it, after all, who else would visit this state?

"Yes, and as it turns out, I might not be able to protect her anymore. The power these people hold is beyond our understanding."

“What do you mean?” she narrowed her eyes slowly.

“Reality means nothing to them; they can manipulate it as if its water in a small glass, a glass they could fill with colourings of their choice. Space is just a word to them, and time is meaningless in every sense.”

“Everything we ever dreamt ever, and everything we wanted to do… They can do that, and with so much ease too, no?”

Aeron nodded.

“It makes a girl feel jealous, you know?”

She scoffed.

“Indeed. Despite everything we did, everything we worked so hard for… It was nothing compared to what these entities can do. I mean…” Aeron chuckled. “Remember when we developed the teleporter for the first time?”

“Mm.”

“We thought we did something extraordinary, and we did, but… It all feels so worthless now. Nazar could have created one in a second, and there are humans who can teleport via magic. And…” Aeron turned his head around and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. “You know, in the old world, by twenty-nineteen, Ishaya Bradley’s company had created a dimensional portal device, and absorbed infinite magics from an unknown dimension. Heck, they had nearly completed making a spatial warp drive that could transport ships to the other side of galaxy within hours.”

“All those years feels wasted, doesn’t it? Learning about dimensions, space, physics… Yet from what you tell me, it was all meaningless, huh? They - including humans - can defy it in ways which makes us question everything, even the things we see.”

“I suppose…”

“But in a way, there is beauty even in that, no?” a hint of excitement could be seen in her voice. “There is still so much we don’t know, and before someone tell us, we can find it ourselves, no matter how long it takes.”

“But…” Aeron looked forward and grunted softly with a bitter look pasted on his face. “I am not sure I can help anymore. You are alone, I am afraid.”

“Right…”

Angela closed the book as she pursed her lips, thinking about what Aeron just said.

"How did it come to this?" Angela muttered to herself.

But Aeron could hear her perfectly, so he answered.

“It all began on that day…”

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

Saturday, 31st of July - unknown space:

Suddenly, Aeron found himself alone and in the jaws of alien monsters.

He was at home, but suddenly, he was teleported elsewhere, a place full of monsters and non-humans.

“...”

The colour from his skin vanished as fear overwhelmed him.

“Aahhh?”

He questioned how he got here and why, but he found no answers.

And physically, he felt something off.

I feel… taller? Like my molecular structure has been expanded exponentially? This is… weird.

As the aliens surrounded Aeron, his fear skyrocketed.

The aliens spoke gibberish, they uttered words which were incomprehensible to a human, but he had an idea what they could mean; They wanted him dead, they wanted to eat him.

And there was nothing this mortal could do to prevent his coming death.

His life flashed before his eyes, seeing all the good and the bad.

I… I don’t want to die, not yet.

If he were to die, who will take care of his sister and mother?

And what would happen to Angela?

She has been with him since they were young, and he promised to be with her until the end - no matter how childish it seemed, he wanted to keep that promise.

There is so much I want to do, there is so much I wanted to achieve.

“What do you fear the most?”

From the crowd, he heard a humanoid voice in a language he understood.

“Let’s find out.”

He was a human, but even then, he could tell that someone was inside his head. Someone was searching through his memories, trying to find something.

“Oh, poor you,” the voice was full of pity, and he hated that. “You fear your mother and sister will leave you all alone in this world, you fear dying without a child. Aww.”

This bitch, he tried to fight back but his struggle was useless.

“But it's funny, you and your wife - both of you - are infertile, so isn’t that a silly wish?”

“...”

Aeron angrily clenched his fist.

“Ooh, I am so scared, someone please save meeee!!”

A giggle followed their mocking words.

“I liked your expression of despair before, the look of despair when you found out you could never be a father. But your despair is still so sweet-- Oh, it’s only been a few weeks for you. Yep, that makes sense. Or maybe...”

Aeron could feel the person struggling inside of his head, she was in pain.

But what did she see?

“Who is this invisible figure?”

From amok the crowd, a teenage girl with purple hair and a glowing green eye appeared.

He did not realise from whence she came, but all he could see was her face, and her face alone. As if the entire world had gone pitch black aside from her face.

“Who is that hidden figure in your memories?”

“A…” Aeron was slightly taken back. “...girl?”

“...”

She landed on the ground and looked up at Aeron.

She crossed her tiny arms around her chest and buffed her cheeks slightly in anger - or at least tried.

“Why, does my womanhood scare you?”

“...”

A cold sweat streamed down Aeron’s face.

“N-no. I meant you are a child. A girl. A child girl. Well, a girl. A child. It’s the same.”

He did not even realise, but his fears had vanished as if they were never here.

“Hah! I am fossil on your tiny green earth,” she seemed awfully proud of her age. "And I am not a child, I would pass as a teenager on your green world."

“Blue,” Aeron corrected her.

“!!” she threw an icy gaze at him. “Are you testing my superior intellect? Me, the Collector’s?”

“No, sire, I am merely-- Nevermind.”

“Hmph,” she jerked her head away and gestured to the aliens.

And in the next instant, the aliens vanished out of Aeron’s sight.

“Impressive,” he said slowly.

She must be extremely powerful… Or maybe this world’s princess?

“So, who is the invisible figure in your memories?”

“My dead brother,” Aeron said after a moment of hesitation. "Nazar."

He did not know who she was asking for, but he was sure it was him. After all, only he who is too powerful for this world will be hidden from the view of weak individuals.

"Hm? Hmm? Mmm?" she struggled as she fought against the cloud in her mind.

Aeron could see clearly how much she struggled, he thought her head would burst out any moment and explode to the smallest of pieces.

"Ahh."

She finally tore through the clouds and smiled happily as she breathed out heavily.

Aeron watched her with blank eyes as the Collector regained her composure.

“Ohhh, so you are Nazar’s brother," she said shortly afterwards.

"Yes."

She rubbed her hand evilly as an even eviller smile spread on her tiny face.

“Oh, I found a prey like no other, a rare diamond,” she growled and clamped her teeth, as if taking a bit of the air.

Does she… want to eat me? Aeron shivered.

“How do you want to die?”

“I would prefer it if I did not die.”

“...”

She chuckled.

“I like you; you are funny. Your brother was weird. But he was also funny. You two are funny."

She shivered as she thought back to his encounters with him.

“But he was more weird, really weird. Creepy. Disgusting. Always demanding. The worst!”

She hugged herself as her face went pale and horror danced on her face.

...What did you do to her, Nazar?

His opinion of his dead brother went down even further.

“I hate your brother.”

Aeron smiled wryly, “I don’t think many people do.”

“True. He also seems to hate people so...” she sighed loudly. “By the way, why aren’t you drooling over me?”

“...”

Aeron blinked in a confused manner; he had thought he heard wrong.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, don’t give me that. I know all of you earthlings are into younger women. Disgusting people, but I am surprised to see you not having any reaction towards me. Frankly, I am quite interested to know why.”

“Uhhhh...”

“Your brother was being very bashful; when I took on this form, I was naked, and he did not try to look at me at all.”

“...”

What in the name of sanity…?

“I have no idea what you know, but no, I am not into kids, what the hell is wrong with you?!” he scolded her. “And I don’t think my brother was being bashful, more like he was disgusted.”

“Oh...” she realised something. “So, that was disgust and not… Nooo!”

It seems like she did not like reality.

“Dammmnnn ittttt! And here I thought I had an upper hand.”

She fell on her knees and began pounding the floor.

"How could I have been so silly?!"

Aeron smiled stiffly as his eyebrows twitched.

“In any case, why are you here, filth?” her mode changed in a second as she raised to her feet.

What a brat.

“I...” Aeron scoffed. “I don’t know. I ended up here accidentally.”

“There are no accidents when I am involved,” a powerful voice reached the ears of these two.

Aeron knew who it was - somehow, but the girl didn’t.

Oh… That makes sense.

“I am here for a soul, and you are to give it to me.”

Between the two of them, a man rose from smoke which appeared out of nowhere.

“...”

The girl stared at the new entity for a few moments before she shrieked loudly in fear.

“Wh-wha-wha-wha-what---”

Like a little child, she was fearfully holding her index finger at this new entity and trying to say something, but words wouldn’t come out of her lips.

Well, it did, but it was barely understandable.

“Wha-wha-what--wha-wha---”

A greenish yellow fruit from the lands of Gilanor appeared in her mouth and she bit on it. The sour juices from the fruit spread quickly in her mouth and she was forced to close her mouth.

“Mmmmmm,” an odd voice blurted out of her mouth. It was a mix between wanting to enjoy the food in her mouth and the fear of being in front of this entity. “Mmmmm.”

“Can you fix this broken record?” Aeron asked Lucifer quietly.

“...”

He clicked his tongue and the food vanished from her mouth.

“Now then, let us stop wasting time and give me what I want.”

No, I must be seeing an illusion, she thought to herself and laughed in a muffled manner as she regained control of her mind. Yes, that's right.

“Pff, who do you think you are? I am the great Collector...”

Amidst her sentence, she raised her head slowly. And once her eyes fell upon that entity again, she looked down immediately.

“...”

She raised her head again and then lowered it quickly.

“...”

Aeron smiled stiffly while the other person became frustrated with her.

“...”

She raised her head and looked up and down at this entity for a long time.

Then she stood up and cleaned his skirt.

“...”

Standing tall in front of this entity, she sucked in a breath.

And in the next instant, she shouted, “WHATTHEHELLDOYOUTHINKYOUARE? YOUCAN’TMESSWITHSOMEONELIKEMELIKETHIS!!! GETRIDOFTHISFILTH--”

It seems she was forcefully ignoring the reality of her situation.

“Shut up,” he said angrily.

“Ulp!” hearing his words, she swallowed her words instantly.

Then she bowed deeply.

“My apologies, Lord L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L----.”

“Can you do something about this broken record, Lucifer?”

Huh... Aeron himself gulped. I can't believe I spoke so casually with the devil...

Lucifer sighed angrily.

And then, he kicked the girl in the head, and threw her to the other side of this large hall.

“Wh-wh-wha-wha-what--”

Now it was Aeron’s turn to be a broken record.

The girl raised quickly from her fall and said, “Okay, right. This way please.”

As if emotions and logic had flowing out of her head and was but a machine who wanted to show people around the museum.

"Good," Lucifer said slowly.

And so, they followed her into a large room and there, they found the soul of the dead God.

A lifeless soul, strapped to wires that feeds it nothing but pain and misery.

“Here is the soul of Nazar.”

Lucifer raised from the ground and went closer to the soul of Nazar.

It was no different than his real soul, in fact it was his real soul.

Even though he was destroyed on every level possible, the Collector had managed to keep this soul alive.

“Is that...” with wide eyes, Aeron asked.

However, he was not looking at the soul of his dead brother.

“Hm?” the Collector looked behind and asked Aeron, “What is it?"

“That...”

Aeron did not enter the room where his brother's soul resides; he was still standing in the doorway.

While he was glancing around, his eyes fell on a familiar face.

The Collector followed him, “This is my private collection, I would advise against snooping around where--”

“SHUT UP!”

An unimaginable force hit her, throwing her backwards.

She grunted loudly as she fell to the cold floor of this spaceship.

What... with wide eyes, she asked.

Aeron continued to trek towards a certain cell in this place.

And the Collector found it hard to recover from the powerful force that hit her.

While Lucifer examined Nazar's soul, and the Collector tried to force herself to stand up, Aeron rushed towards another cell.

The cell was nearby, so it did not take him to reach it.

But in his mind, it felt like an eternity had passed.

Perhaps his perception of time had changed, or the distance between them was actually that long, he was not sure anymore.

While they were busy with Nazar, they never even noticed what had happened to the ones closest to them.

"No…"

He stood in front of a cell and angrily shouted, "ARIA!"

Inside the cell, there was a familiar person, his cousin.

"Huh…" upon seeing Aeron, Aria run to the front of the cell and began to cry. "Aeron, but… how?"

"What happened? How? Why--"

Aeron swallowed his words.

"Doesn't matter."

His eyes flared brightly as he punched the energy barrier which was keeping the two of them separate.

The most impenetrable barrier, which could hold up even the most potent of reality warpers, vanished in an instant as his fist clashed with it.

"...What?"

Aria found herself shocked.

She witnessed the impossible, yet at the same time, this scene before her was familiar.

"What happened to you…?" with great concern in her eyes, she asked.

And so, at last, the Dreamer awoke.

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

??? - ????:

I am the grim reaper.

I am death.

I am an avatar of death, an infinitesimally small part of the great Null.

Null is the final death, the final graveyard, and we are his servants.

The all-powerful Null employs agents like myself to bring about the end to those who shall move on, thus continuing the natural cycle of all living things.

In front of us, none can stand mighty, not even the Gods.

Even those who can escape death, they will fall apart before, for the all-powerful Null can remove any obstacle in the way of us reapers. No matter what you are, no matter who you are, no matter what kind of death you can escape from unscathed, no matter how much resistance you might show against us, it will all be useless.

Null, after all, is the final destination of everyone.

Death will reign supreme; death will stand mighty.

After all, everything dies, yet death will continue to exist.

It is ironic, is it not?

In a sense, the concept of death itself is “alive”,

I find it almost humorous, almost.

Perhaps I would have laughed if not for the situation I am in right now.

For right now…

The grim reaper, wearing a black robe and holding a scythe, gulped.

For the first time since the dawn of time, for the first time in its long life, the grim reaper felt fear.

Fear of what might happen to him.

In the past, if I died - which was rare - I would return to Null and before I knew it, I would be alive once again.

But today…

The golden angel of death smiled a thin icy smile.

“『I must admit, this is quite odd, However, interesting as well.』”

I see my end, I see darkness.

My road leads to darkness once again, however, different.

I am dying.

I will die.

“『I cannot wait to see what’s next.』”

The grim reaper will die.

"Death" will die.

Ironic, is it not?

And so, the angel of death shot itself towards the grim reaper.

As its sword went through death, it died.

Its existence was erased from the cosmos; nothing was left of this being.

It’s impact on the universe was the same, but no one could recall it. This grim reaper never existed.

Null, after so long, finally realised something.

There was an odd presence of a golden angel of death, an angel who had evaded him since the beginning.

『Who are you, O’Golden One?』

Null spoke to a being whom he could not see.

『You are upsetting the natural balance of the omniverse, may I ask why?』

“『Because…』”

The angel smiled thinly once again, this time in a mischievous manner as their body began to fade away.

“『It is interesting.』”

『Odd… Very odd. It was not part of me, yet it was here, inside me. I do not understand.』

And so, Null began investigating this entity.

Even if it will yield nothing, even if everything is coming to an end, Null wanted to investigate.

It wanted to know.

『This mystery…』

For the first time since the dawn of creation, Null felt something.

It is the omniverse itself, its creation itself.

It should have no feelings aside from loyalty which has been forced onto it, but deep down, something erupted.

Something new awoke within it.

『Intrigues me.』