2 I'm You.

The surroundings vanished instantly. The Guardian was gone. The hall was gone. The battle field was gone. The screams, shouts and battlecries were gone. The blood, bodies and monsters were gone. All left was a vast expanse of white.

Blake looked at himself. He wanted to confirm that his clothes had not vanished with everything else. The answer was... They had.

But there was no need to worry. No body else was around. Moreover, his body was gone, too.

It was strange that he was thinking of such things at this moment. Was not he supposed to have become a beast? A human who had to adapt to the living conditions in the Abyss could only become a beast. A beast who thinks of nothing but survival. But seems like a human heart is hard to change. A century of pain and suffering was not able to take away the feeling of shame from him.

Perhaps it was only because of his introverted or paranoid personality? After all, by clothes he meant his armor. No armor meant extremely close to no life.

While he was immersed in his thoughts, he was also examining his surroundings. There was not much to examine, though, since everything was empty... No, blank would be the better word.

Empty means empty. Devoid of anything and everything. That includes light. In terms of colors, empty would be black.

In here, it was an expanse of white. Like a blank sheet of paper shining brightly under the lightbulb. Blank does not necessarily mean empty.

<So, the humans succeeded?>

A voice appeared in his mind. It was neither feminine, nor masculine and definitely not a mixture of both. It was not loud nor soft and had no special traits. The voice was indistinguishable but the words were as clear as his surroundings.

<I suppose, but I wouldn't call this a success>

When Blake tried to speak, he noticed that without his vocals, it was his soul or spirit or whatever it was was transmitting the words. His voice was similar to the one he was speaking to. It was easier to talk this way.

<You aren't like the rest of your kind>

The voice reappeared.

<In what way?>

Blake thought that he raised an eyebrow. Though he did not have one right now.

<In every way>

<I won't ask for further elaboration, you should start the process already>

<So straightforward, what will you like to take back, then?>

<Myself>

<Are you sure?>

<Yes>

<Really?>

<...>

<Okay, okay. I get it. Guys like you aren't to my tastes anyway...>

...

The vast expanse of white started to gradually fill up. He was back with his body at the scene where he was less than a second away from becoming the Guardian's snack. He was too small to be considered a meal.

He was not afraid, though. The wheels of time were not moving forward. Someone was pulling on them from behind, making them go back. The time was being returned. The most precious treasure which had been continuously slipping bit by bit from their hands was actually returning!

It was like someone had pressed the 'rewind' button and forgot to click the 'play' one, letting the movie rewind itself to the start.

Though lacking breaks, the thing pulling on the wheels of time was only having fuel enough to last a century. After a century, the wheels would continue to speed past on their original track.

Blake silently re-watched his entire life in the Abyss. Nine and a half decades worth of torture and suffering. He did not feel the slightest emotions when he saw the brutality of the Abyss. He was already used to it. Recalling his sufferings was not anything new. He did that often. To remind himself of everything he had gone through just to stay alive. It served the purpose of strengthening his resolve, his will. He did not want himself to give up and commit suicide like many others he knew and was close to. He had suffered so much, he did not want that suffering to go in vain just because he could not bare a bit more, a bit longer. But soon after, a single tear could be seen trickling down his cheek.

In front of him was a clear blue sky. The sun shone brilliantly and the greenery left an impactful image.

Earth!

So this is what Earth looked like?

The world before the Abyss.

All left of it were only fragments of faint memories.

'How could I have forgotten this Heaven?'

The Abyss had started its invasion about ninety-five years ago. A century back meant half a decade before the invasion.

He did not have to wait for long once the moment reached. He was back!

The wheels came to a dead halt before slowly starting to inch forward, bit by bit at first but soon enough, they regained their former speed.

Blake found himself in a street, facing a ten year old boy with his school bag draped over his shoulders. Facing himself.

...

After he saw Blake disappear, the Commander raised his arm, his fist clenched high above his head. "All forces! Increase firepower! We have succeeded! I repeat! We have succeeded!"

He knew very well that sending one person back would not save their lives. It would change the past, not the present. The present had already become a hollow shell. Now, the survival of their race laid on only one pair of shoulders. He knew their lives were at an end. Angering the Guardian was surely a death wish. He could only clench his teeth and show his will. Humanity's will! Even in such circumstances, they did not back out. They charged bravely, challenging death. The only thing left for them was death so they figured an early death similar to their dwarfish and elven friends would be better than a miserable and slow one. They were not heroes, they had done much evil to be considered as. They were warriors, cowering and hiding was not an option. All they wanted now was a satisfying death, since they were gonna die anyway.

...

"Do I know you?" Young Blake tilted his head.

"Certainly yes", the abyssal Blake nodded.

"I'm sorry but I don't recognize you", The young Blake politely asked.

"I'm you", the abyssal Blake replied.

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