Chapter 15: Regret

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An abyss. Nothing but a dark, purple-black sea of void exists. Then, there was a voice. Many voices. They cried out for redemption, but none came. So they gathered here. Slowly accumulating, until something had formed. They gained a single consciousness. And so, they acted. First, they made sure that none befell their fate. They built a wall, separating them from the world. Yet now, they are alone, separated from the world they held so dearly. But one of them had a thought. Why don't we make another world? One where no one feels pain. They naively thought they could build such a world. Right after their world was completed, the gods crushed it in anger. They could only ask: Why? Why will you not allow a world of happiness? What can we give to make one? The gods simply ignored them and returned to their castle at the top of their worlds. So they had another thought. Make a world that the gods could not touch, one without magic. Sure, there will still be suffering, pain, and other horrid things. But, the same actions that had caused the voices to flee here would not be present. So, they made one. A world without godly interference. After the deed was done, they went back to their solitude. Until one day, millions of years later, 3 people broke the barrier once again, and the worlds were plunged back into war, and they were forced to act once again. They are Regret.

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(14th, Iunius (VI), 1937 JCY; 20th, San-Yue (III) 4632 CLCY)

A dark plain. Daniel wakes up to find himself on a cold, black floor. The world around him is but a soup of darkness, not letting any light through. Stanging up, his eyes finally adjust to the specks of light that make it through the dark abyss before him. Noticing that most of what little light comes from behind him, he turns his head to look behind him. A dull, monotone image of the earth is emitting what little light there is in this place, whatever this place is. Scanning his surrounding, he finds his friends on the floor. His hand shaking, he checks both of their pulses. Both of their pulses are still there. Breathing a massive sigh of relief, he slumps next to them.

"Happy...? Are you happy?" A voice asks.

"Have you come to end us? Or are you the image of death, finally taking our souls?" Daniel asks back, not getting off of the ground. The voice is both pleasant and creepy at the same time. It's a mix of all the voices of the world, the voices of babies that had just learned to speak, mixed with the dying breaths of those whose souls had served in their bodies for a century.

"What are you doing...here?" It asks, not responding.

"I have no idea. If I do, I doubt I would be asking you that question," Daniel sighs.

"How did...you...break it?" It asks, apparently satisfied with Daniel's answer.

"I honestly don't. All I did was get run over by a truck. I doubt I did anything special," Daniel says while shaking his head.

"You...are wrong. The first, in how long? We do..not know," It says, saddened.

"Wait? The first? Are you not Death, then?" Daniel says, turning towards the sound of the voice.

"No, we...are...Regret? We...do...not remember," Regret manages out.

"Hey, uh, this might be rude, but can I have some light?" Daniel asks.

"Light? Yes...the light. Yes, have some more," Regret coughs out. Slowly, the area becomes ever slightly brighter. An image of the Earth behind Daniel also becomes colored. As the mist slowly recedes, Regret finally comes into view. Regret is a mass of shiny back material in the shape of a large throne. Noticing that Daniel had seen its body, they start to churn. The black mass expands and contorts, spasming and crumpling. Slowly, this contorting mass takes on a humanoid shape. A body of about 175 cm, with the black substance as its skin. Where there would usually be a face, there is only a round, shining material, with no facial features. A blank face, impossible to read. It slowly walks toward Daniel and his unconscious friends. Their steps echo through the empty space, each step louder than before until they stand before Daniel. Sitting up, Daniel stares them straight in the place where their face would be.

"So, what do you want?" Daniel asks them.

"We would like to be called by the plural pronoun," Regret corrects.

"Alright, what do you all want?" Daniel asks Regret again.

"Are you happy with the world that you lived in before?" Regret asks.

"Of course not. Too much to worry about, and not enough that I could do about them," Daniel sighs. "And I thought I would change the world too…"

"Would you like a second chance?" Regret asks, this time tilting their head in confusion.

"Would that mean loosing my memories?" Daniel asks.

"Why would you think that?" Regret asks back.

"There are many stories in my world that have the process of reincarnation involve a special stage where you forgot your previous memories," Daniel explains. "I just thought that there would be a similar principle, wherever the hell we are."

"Perhaps we made it too hard? Our power… It is waning," Regret splutters out.

"Why?" Daniel asks.

"The gods. They wish for us to return. To atone for our crimes. Thus, they restrict our power. They want the barrier to be broken. I believe that is why you have come here, Zao Wen-Jin. To finally break down the barrier and strike us down," Regret sighs.

"Why I would do that? Why should I follow what the gods want? Also, I haven't even met the gods yet," Daniel shakes his head.

"Truly…? Then why are you here?"

"I thought I made it clear. I died. No one has come back from death. I don't know what happens after death,"

"How do you know that your are dead?"

"I got ran over by a truck. If I survived that, I would be researched and my body torn apart by scientists,"

"Why kill the golden goose?"

"To replicate the process. Why do you ask?"

"We were just wondering why one would take apart a miracle,"

"Don't worry about it. We humans can be both incredibly dumb and smart at the same time,"

"Still, would you like to get a second chance, even if you lost your memories?"

"Of course not. Though I cannot speak for them, I certainly wouldn't like to do so. These principles that I hold should only be passed down to a person who has gone through what I have. If you are to pass my soul to a person without those experiences, they would fail to utilize my skills. However, I do not wish my fate onto anyone,"

"We see… That is quite a weird reason. We are not sure we even understand them, but I shall follow your wish,"

"I have a question for you all,"

"What would that be?"

"Could I reincarnate without loosing my memory?"

"If you wanted to move to another world, yes you can,"

"Great. That would be nice,"

"However, if we were to do that, you have to do something for us,"

"What would that be?"

"Kill the gods,"

"Deal,"

"That… Was fast. Would you like some time to think about it?"

"There is no need. I will kill the gods, or die trying,"

"Why do you have a grudge against gods?"

"Because they are above me. There cannot be a person above me. Gods deserve to die as they rule over people without doing them good,"

"They perform miracles,"

"Miracles that do not help most of the population. The gods do not alleviate suffering. Humans ourselves have alleviated our own suffering,"

"We see. Then we shall allow it. Go to this new world. We shall take away your ability to learn anything new excluding the topic that you are most suited for and the ability to learn languages. Now, go forth, and take revenge for all of our regrets,"