22 Meeting Her; Meeting Him

Reed summoned his full might and carved out a massive spatial tear of considerable size. It towered above him, several dozen meters tall. It was a desperate attempt of banishing the spear into the void that he thought up on the spot.

Naturally, such a moronic plan was bound to fail and he instantly regretted his decision the moment the spatial tear opened up.

As soon as he tore the fabric of space-time, the gaping maw of the void began pulling him with an irresistible force that he couldn't fight against.

Reed admitted that it was probably one of the dumbest plans he'd ever made, but couldn't think of anything else that'd work against the damn spear.

(I'd already been warned to hell and back about the dangers of an amateur attempting to warp, but I didn't think it'd be this goddamned dangerous! I can't escape the pull of the spatial tear! Fuck, now I've really shit the bed this time...)

"Oh, shiiiiiiit!! I regret everything!! Violett, save m-" he screamed as he was pulled into the abyss, but his words would never reach their recipient.

In the blink of an eye, the boy melted into the darkness and the spear struck the ground. A terrifying explosion rocked the ground and a deafening boom echoed across the island. Violett rushed to the scene and found the remnant of a spatial tear that had almost healed itself. She instantly understood what the foolish boy had done.

Her body reflexively moved as she attempted to reopen the fading spatial tear, but she arrived too late. Had she arrived a couple of seconds sooner, she could have salvaged the situation -- that was what angered her the most.

Violett groaned as she stared at the vanishing spatial tear and felt like pulling her hair out in frustration. She'd messed up and there was nothing she could do about it this time.

She knew all too well that the boy often acted on instinct when he was cornered; he always acted without thinking when he was pressured too much. The damn idiot warped even after she had explicitly warned him of the danger.

He could be anywhere in the infinitely expanding void, which made it nigh-impossible to locate him even if she entered the flux now. The only solution she had was the spatial tear he created; if she had followed him through it, she could have brought him back, but it was too late.

It'd grown unstable and had already repaired itself beyond use -- even if she used it now, it'd lead into a completely different entry point in the Flux. He was gone. Where had he gone? Perhaps only God knew the answer.

He would have to come back by himself now. Violett was slightly worried but she felt that'd he be fine no matter what happened to him. After all, he'd already become skilled enough to escape from her clutches more than once.

At the very least, he wouldn't die even if he got in trouble with a mediocre conqueror, much less any trifling contenders...probably.

"Argh, goddamnit. I shouldn't have lost my cool like that," Violett mumbled. She chastised herself as she warped back to her ruined villa and hurriedly began working on repairing what she had destroyed during their fight.

The last time Violett destroyed Reef property, she was fined a sum of money so large that she was almost disowned from the royal family. It turned out that even immortals could be driven into debt in this world...

Reed's first impression of the Flux was that it was a seriously contradictory place; he saw an unchanging landscape that stretched out infinity, and yet he felt somewhat claustrophobic. The longer he gazed at the endless plane of darkness, the more he thought that there was something hidden about the place that made him feel uneasy.

The whole place was far, far too twisted for his human senses. The ground rung hollow as he walked across the empty landscape.

(I can't tell how far I've been walking, or how long I've been in here. There isn't even a sky in this godforsaken world -- just an empty void that's covering the earth.)

"It's almost as if it's been broken, or perhaps...incomplete? Why would such a half-assed place exist naturally?" he mumbled to himself.

Something was off, that was for sure; Violett's explanation of the Flux didn't mention any of this. She depicted the Flux as a nightmarish realm that only the most experienced conquerors could traverse, but here he was fine and well.

(Why does it always have to be this!? I don't understand why I keep getting thrown into these unpredictable situations. Nothing ever works out the way it's supposed to when I'm around, for better or worse...)

Reed should have already been snuffed out of existence; that was what common sense dictated. Even conquerors weren't supposed to remain in the Flux for more than a couple of seconds, but he was positive he'd already been in the Flux for several minutes at the bare minimum.

(Oh, no. It's happening again, isn't it? I did something that shouldn't be possible in theory. I'm getting really tired of these repeating events. Every time this happens, I end up with another dangerous secret on my lap.)

He felt both relieved and exasperated at the same time as he gazed at the bleak and empty world. A part of him wondered what it all meant; he understood that all of these peculiar events had some kind of meaning. Any simple fool could figure that out in a heartbeat.

People don't normally hatch out of eggs, master Anima's inner workings, or unwittingly receive ominous tattoos overnight. It all pointing towards something, but he didn't know what that was.

Once in a blue moon, he'd awaken in the dead of the night in a cold sweat out of pure fear. His tattoo was particularly unbearable on those nights; it felt like someone had put a red hot brand on his chest. It was a lingering nightmare that he couldn't shake off since arrived in Mulia.

Every time he tried recalling that awful dream, his chest would tighten as if his heart was caught in a vise and his breath became ragged.

Reed's body would adversely react before he could even conjure up the thought of that dream and he'd enter a state of panic. Something was there, but he didn't dare to seek it out properly. The overwhelming fear was too much for him to handle.

He had a gut feeling that he couldn't shake off -- that the nightmare was something he'd have to face, sooner or later. There was something in the air that told him it was going to happen whether or not he wanted to or not...

"...."

"Yes, it is your destiny to face the truth and make your will known to all, Ka'an. But it is still too early for you to bear the weight of it all," whispered a feminine voice.

Reed quickly turned around and found a girl behind him; she looked no older than him. Her long brown hair, almond eyes, and gentle, smiling face gave him a disarming impression. He secretly admitted that she was his type, but he wasn't about to trust anyone that came out from this godforsaken place.

As the old saying went, "once bitten, twice shy," Reed thought. He'd properly learned his lesson; Astrid and Violett had taught him enough. He wouldn't fall for another beauty's charms, no matter what they said or did.

"I have always existed for your sake alone. That is why you have no reason to fear me, Ka'an," she replied.

"...!"

Reed backed up a couple of steps when he heard her profess her dedication for his sake. She was coming off way too strong and it was starting to make him uneasy. He wasn't about to jump for joy in this strange situation because of a girl's confession of love(?).

(How'd she do that? What's up with that supernatural accuracy!? Is she peeking into my mind right now!?)

"I'm not peeking into your mind if that's what you're thinking, Ka'an. It's only natural that I understand you. It'd be a serious issue if I wasn't able to do that," she stated. "This has always the true nature of our relationship -- that of the mirror and the shadow."

"I'm no good with riddles. I'd appreciate if you could speak less cryptically, milady. Preferably in a way that an idiot such as myself can understand," Reed replied. He couldn't get a reading on the girl at all; she was far too strange and couldn't keep up with her. It was like they were having two completely different conversations, which left him exasperated.

"In any case, what can I call you, milady? And why do keep referring to me as 'Ka'an'? Where'd you come from and why are you here?" Reed had a lot of questions and very little patience at the moment. He was out of his depth in this situation, again.

"You already know my name, Ka'an. You've always known it. Speak my name and see for yourself," said the girl.

(Oh man, she's one of them, isn't she? I'm dealing with a loony here, aren't I? There's no way I'd just know.....)

A gear suddenly turned as if by coincidence and the words left his lips before he was able to recognize them.

"You are Lu'um, the crux of the path towards the other shore at the end of the sea. The emissary from beyond the sky and guidepost to the inevitable end."

The girl nodded in approval and said, "See? You already knew. The only thing you needed was a little push in the right direction." She walked towards Reed, unconcerned with her pace and the distance between the two of them shrunk.

Lu'um closed the space between them in the blink of an eye and stood in front of Reed before he even realized it. She put her right hand atop his chest and said, "This is where I've been the entire time and why I've appeared before you."

"Neither you nor I can escape it; the only thing we can do is make our peace with the truth. No one can stop the great and cruel wheel from turning, not even us. It has given us both our purpose and at the same time, has decided that we will bear the responsibility of creating it anew."

The girl sighed. She embraced Reed gently and said, "But worry not, Ka'an. For I will be with you for eternity as we work upon the great weave from the other shore of time. That is why I do not fear the truth, unlike you. I am content carrying any burden as long as you are with me..."

"..................................................What?"

(What are you even talking about!!? Did I not ask you politely to stop speaking in riddles? Ugh, how did she get into my arms like that? That's fucking scary!! Personal space, please!)

This girl completely lived in her own world, it seemed. She hadn't properly listened to a single thing he'd said since they started talking. Another beauty that gorgeous on the outside, but twisted up on the inside...

Reed felt a big headache coming on as he struggled to get out of her embrace and regretted that he had woken up today. He was beginning to regret a lot of things as of recently, he thought...