Repeated Cycle

Behind the thick snow-covered forest, two people wearing fluffy jackets and wool gloves walked on the snow. The starry night sky illuminated the path towards the dense trees. The moon was hiding behind the darkened clouds, unable to get out of that cloak.

"The snow is getting thick. How much longer do we have to stay here?"

"A bit more," the woman's voice shivered as her breath turned into little white clouds.

"We belong in the cold. The world is but a cold and harsh place. It lives to be destroyed."

"Can't we live peacefully in another world? We'll keep jumping into a new world and do our best to preserve it," the man spoke under his breath to keep his throat from freezing.

"What about your friends? Are you going to abandon them?"

The man contemplated for a while as they walked through the forest. He picked up a fallen branch under a tree and lit it on fire. 

"Are you scared?" the woman asked solemnly.

"Not really. It's something we have to do. But I have to ask..." The man looked at the sky that was covered with foliage with teary eyes as if this was going to be the last time he saw nature's beauty.

"I don't want to keep being regretful. I want to end it all. I want to return to my original world. No. Our world. But I also can't abandon you either. How have you been able to endure this?"

"I had no attachments... At least until you appeared in my life. No matter what happens, I vow to protect you. Even if I go berserk because of my curse, I'll protect you by believing that you can subdue me." 

The woman brushed her hand against the man's cheek. She smiled happily for the first time in a while.

"I'll also go with you to the ends of heaven and earth."

"No need to be so serious. Even if you don't say it, I know you will."

The smile that lightened up the dark snow. Even the luminescent light of the moon couldn't compare with the woman's innocent and beaming smile.

The wind caused her hair to flutter. The snow had blended her hair white, begging her to become one with nature.

"We're here."

They arrived at an empty plot where the sky could be seen clearly. The moon was still running away from the chasing clouds. The time was almost near, so they had one last conversation. 

"How many 'last conversations' have we had?" The woman sat down on the large boulder nearby.

"About eight. Do we count the last time? It happened too suddenly."

"Eight then. This is our ninth. Doesn't this get repetitive? It's no fun at all. I want to drink whisky and smoke."

"I tried so hard to make you quit, yet you still think about it." The man also sat down next to the woman. Both of them watched the darkness as it engulfed the world. Not a single sound could be heard. No birds. No squirrels. No owls. 

"It's all in my head. I won't go back to my old ways. Don't worry."

"We should only make new ways since we only have each other now. I wonder when can we return."

"Hmm. Good question. I can't answer that." The woman gleefully laughed. It was a wry laugh to mock their situation.

"Now then. Hug me. Half of it has escaped."

The man reached in for a hug. The warmth shared between the two proved the unbreakable bond that they had. No one could break it. Their cold breaths blew into each other's ears.

The woman narrowed her eyes and stared at the man. "Again, you're not scared, right?"

"I told you not to worry. It's our ninth, remember?"

"Well, find me quickly, okay? I'll wait for you, Hiryu. My only pride. My life."

Hiryu nodded in silence. The moon revealed itself, staring at them. This would be the end of this moon, but the start of another moon.

'Time to kill you.' Hiryu unsheathed his sword and pointed to the moon, declaring its demise.

***

I've traveled countless worlds and encountered countless friends and foes, yet my life still lacked meaning. I picked up my precious ink pen lying on the crooked wooden table. The outside was covered with white particles and violent winds.

I wrote in my diary, 'Day 1892: We're getting closer to the truth. I'm fine. She's probably fine. I had soup again, and it was delicious as always. The frost is running more rampant, but my fire burns stronger than nature. Until my blade can cut the moon, the days will flip over incessantly.'

The old pages were wrinkled up because of the constant weather changes. The stained tears on the beginning pages seemed to forever etch their souls there. I wished that those tears could appear again, but I was numb to everything. 

The recovery process was slow. I got tired of it. I was stuck in a loop of regressions, finding my way back to her and to my world. I lost track of how many worlds we had journeyed. I just knew that we needed to save every world. 

Maybe because it was our sense of duty or our sense of regret, but we continued without much thought of the end. Our hopes and dreams were crushed under the snow long ago.

'Day 1895: I found signs of her again. I hope I'm not too late and made her wait for too long. She might get lonely.' 

'Day 1900: I found her.'

"I was getting lonely playing with leaves and birds. Come here," her voice lingered under the daylight. It was warm beyond comparison. 

I walked into her embrace, feeling the coziness that I'd been missing. "This is one of the better worlds we've seen," I unenergetically spoke.

"Yeah. I wish we could enjoy the sunset here longer than a month."

There wasn't any snow in sight. It was replaced by the scene of a beautiful sunset. The sun slowly dove into the deep waters. Its light reflected into the sky, creating a divine prism of colors.

"How did you even find this beach house to stay in?" 

I still hadn't fully gathered my senses yet because of her appearance, but now that I looked over the surroundings, I was perplexed as to how nice this place was.

"You know what this reminds me of?" she paused momentarily to admire the scenery before continuing, "Home. The only place I could call home."

Home. We were stuck in a vicious cycle, but we could never forget home. I reminisced about those memories every second. The days when I marked off every day of March in my calendar. I missed the flagrant smell of spring and the warm touch of summer.

"I missed it."

She hugged me even tighter as if she wanted my tears to pop out of my eyes. "I missed it too."