The Past (3)

"FUCK! I'm giving this one last attempt, and if it fails, then I'll accept the reality that I created with my choices." I said to myself as I kicked the gravel beneath me.

Time travel magic was a subject taught to me at a basic level, but I never practiced it since Zephyr only taught the first stage of the technique: a crude version that merely sends you to the past a few minutes prior to your death or significant events. As far as I knew, Ryder Williams, the master of dimensional manipulation, had perfected the technique, but he refused to teach anybody except Reagan. As I walked to the school for the 15th time, instead of attacking myself right away, I took a different method of attack. I would be patient, and I would strike when the time was right.

Once the afternoon was over, it was time for my final attempt to assassinate myself. As expected, past me was coming back from training. He looked slightly different, sporting a casual white t-shirt and black baggy pants. It felt unnatural seeing myself in those clothes; it reminded me of the way I acted and behaved as a kid. I approached him; this was the perfect opportunity to end this once and for all. "Hello, Sora Katayama." I smirked. His eyes widened at the sight of me; he was paralyzed with fear, like he had an instinct to be afraid of himself. "Why do you look like me?" The boy whispered, the color draining from his cheeks and his hands starting to tremble.

"That's not a question that needs answering, Sora." I immediately drew the scythe from my wrist and lunged toward my target.

However, to my surprise, he dodged effortlessly by spinning in place.

"What is this all about!?" Past Sora shouted angrily. It felt good seeing him react that way towards me; I probably would have done the same thing in this situation. However, at the same time, it was so bizarre. "It's a shame, really. Two years ago, I was in the same position that you were in, and I thought to myself, "How did I become like this?" Trust me, Sora, just let me kill you, so everything we have ever done can finally end." The young boy remained silent; his eyes focused on me and me alone. I knew that this would be the decisive moment in time that would determine whether or not I got my wish. If I could not accomplish it, then everything was wasted.

Past Sora remained motionless, staring blankly at the floor, completely lost in thought.

I ran forward and swung my weapon. Past Sora narrowly escaped, barely missing being disemboweled by a hair.

He stumbled backwards a bit before regaining his composure. I raised my palm and fired a black sphere at him; he screamed loudly and shielded himself from the attack by surrounding himself in a golden aura of protection. When the attack faded, the young boy threw his arms upward. A blue barrier materialized, shielding him completely.

This boy wasn't acting the way I expected; he should've already been beaten and unconscious. So what was up with the defensive strategies?

My mind clouded over, and I charged towards him at full speed. Before I could land another attack, I felt an overwhelming presence heading over to this universe. It was Rain; he was going to stop me from killing my past self. "SORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Rain screamed as he was descending from the sky. Before he could land his fist down, the space around me cracked and turned grey. Suddenly, the air became still, and everyone's movements ceased to exist. My mind was the same; my actions became locked within time.

"This is the end." A voice boomed in my mind: "Of all the endings you could've gotten, this will be the most gruesome. Now, I can finally grant your wish. Will you become the reaper of this reality and start anew, or will you perish?"

My eyes opened slowly as I was engulfed in flames. It burned everything within a 100-meter range and evaporated all water from its vicinity. My entire body was scorching hot; I could feel my flesh melting away and my bones melting. The pain was excruciating. I felt my head crack open like an egg, exposing the internal fluids to the environment around me. This wasn't an inferno or anything of that sort; it was a wave of heat emitted from nothingness, destroying anything in its path. Even if the pain was excruciating, this was nothing compared to the pain that I felt when I saw Leo die right in front of my eyes. Even if I have to go through all this suffering to achieve my goal, my pain is insignificant.

"Shut the fuck up." I smirked and approached him as my entire body was engulfed in flames. My entire body felt like it was going to stop working at any moment, but I refuse to let this be the end. Even if my heart stops, my soul will keep on fighting. That is the extent of my resolve. "Authority of Death: Ability Erasure." What was he about to do? I felt a sudden shift in the energy in my body, and that is when I was sent back to the present day. I tried opening another portal to get back to the past, but I couldn't. Rain removed my ability to travel through time. I was unable to make things right.

Now it has all fallen apart, and all I am left with are the memories I hold. All the hopes that had been lost were replaced by a sorrow that I have not felt in a long time. As I stood there gazing upon the infinite world before me, an entity descended before me, carrying a red aura with it. It was a mysterious figure shrouded in mystery, its form shimmering like light refracting through glass. "Please forgive me." I said as I dropped to one knee before the being, prepared for judgement. "What do you seek to do, human? Are you an idiot, or are you here to eradicate everything?" The creature asked coldly.

I didn't know the reason behind the hostility, but I assumed that it was because of my destructive nature throughout these past weeks, if that's the proper terminology. "All I wanted was to see the person I held dear one last time, not the darkness within that corrupted me. Am I being punished for altering timelines?"

The being paused momentarily.

"Even after my death, he kept using Void and corrupting the timeline. Once his resolve ran out, it all reset and was sealed away. By his own will, he disappeared from existence, no longer causing a burden on the fabric of spacetime." He looked away. "Sorry that you are the one left here; however, you aren't bound to fate or anything else. All your choices were freely chosen. There is no one left who can fix you."

I was perplexed by what he was saying. "Who got sealed?" I asked, scratching my head. "It was Rain Katayama that was sealed 1000 years ago after what he tried doing to the world. He is a man of pure evil who will do whatever he pleases to get whatever he wants. The two gods of balance, Yahweh and Lucifer, had to put a stop to Rain's evildoings and seal him since they couldn't simply kill him. He has a special ability that is passed on through reincarnation. There is no name for it; however, it's an ability that steals the entire lifeforce of an opponent that he kills, only making him stronger."

All this information that was pouring out of the man's mouth was fascinating and confusing. "WHY IS HE UNSEALED NOW?!" I questioned.

He grinned devilishly. "It was you that caused him to be unsealed; all of his machinations usually died before they could turn against him; you, however, have a very strong cling to life and have turned against him, which basically made him enraged enough to want to break out of his seal. It was really that simple for him; not even the strongest seal in the entire universe could hold him. That seal was holding both me and him." He gave her a dark look. "Those damn angels did us a great favor, putting him out of our misery." He growled angrily.

"So now you're telling me that all this misery, suffering, and agony is because of me?" I asked in disbelief, utterly appalled by the man. He just nodded his head, causing a few tears to roll down my cheeks. How can something like this happen to me?! How did it get so out of hand?! Why does such evil continue to exist in this universe? And most importantly, why can't the Authority of Death erase that being?

"The authority of death belongs to Rain himself; he is basically unkillable in this state." He chuckled; he found this amusing. "How did you hear my thoughts?" I demanded. He just tapped his ear, seemingly indicating that he was always able to hear my thoughts.

"Just what are you trying to accomplish here, demon?" I said it bitterly, thinking I may have some clue as to why this is happening. He ignored me and continued. "After Rain and I got unsealed, the universe became disordered." He smiled. "If you're wondering why I got sealed with him, there's one simple answer to that. I am Rain's Magnum Opus, his ultimate machination that couldn't be killed. My name is Erebus Katayama, or that's at least what people called me 400 years ago."