Along for the Ride (2)

I didn't expect today to turn out like this.

It is a familiar sight.

A person lies beneath my feet, passing from this plane onto the next one.

Was the expiration of one's existence in this world really the end of them?

Would they find peace? Or, perhaps, nothing awaited.

I point my finger at that person's head, hoping to ease their pain.

That person is, after all, one of my precious disciples.

And after the deed had been done, a peculiar light shone through my disciple's robe.

His eyes were hollow. The beat of his heart had been extinguished. No life remained in him.

So, what was this light?

Mystified, I crouch in a puddle of blood next to his body, which grew colder and colder as seconds ticked by.

The stench of fresh blood assaults my nostrils, but I pay it no mind. I had long ago grown accustomed to the sensation.

Exposing my disciple's bare chest, my eyes widen immediately.

A mysterious, complex tattoo decorated the left side of my disciple's chest, where his heart should be.

This was probably what I sensed from him when he first chanced upon me on that rooftop.

A tattoo depicting a silver hourglass stood out in particular, as the blue light came off the sand flowing within it. I immediately recognized this as an abnormality that could be caused by one thing, and one thing alone.

I can't help but speak my thoughts out loud: "A unique elemental!"

My comment also caused Anastasia, who had turned her back to me as I granted mercy upon my disciple, to walk towards me.

"Was he keeping it a secret?" I asked no one in particular.

As I touch the tattoo, which looked almost alive, something unexpected happens.

It turns upside down on its own, forcing the sand inside of it to also reverse its direction.

Before I can even react, the world transforms into a pitch-black void.

After an unknown amount of time passes, I open my eyes.

Did I pass out? That's weird. Not even the world's strongest alcohol could make me pass out this easily.

I stand up and wander around in no particular direction.

As I look around, I notice a faint blue light filling the endless space around me. It isn't as bright as the sky or as complex as the color of the ocean.

What exactly is it? No matter which direction I head in, it doesn't appear to be any closer to me.

That aside, I'm not exactly sure what happened to me. This space reminded me of my own soul realm.

My heart beats faster and faster in expectation. I haven't felt like this since the time Milo grew strong enough to beat me, his own grandfather.

This situation… it seems amusing.

I grin as sweat starts flowing down the side of my face.

After wandering in this space alone with my thoughts, I eventually spot a white dot on the far horizon.

With nothing to lose, I decide to head there.

As I walk towards it, the white dot becomes bigger and bigger until it takes the shape of an old man.

What I thought to be a white dot is actually a man sitting peacefully and holding something in his lap.

I recognize his silver robe as low-rank wind temple priest attire.

What was he doing here? I'm sure he can sense me from that distance, yet why are his wrinkled eyelids still held shut?

He seemed to be close in age to me, appearance-wise.

The closer I approached, the more curious I got.

I stop meters away from the man.

"Who are you?" I ask warily.

The man, as if stimulated by my question, smiles as he affectionately caresses the head of a blue, translucent object on his lap.

The object resembled the shape of a small child but had no eyes, no lips, no eyebrows, no nose, no ears, no hair, and no fingers.

I have a strange feeling of familiarity towards the object. What is it?

The man opens his eyelids and pierces me with a pair of blue eyes, brighter and deeper than any ocean, dispelling all of my current thoughts.

"If it isn't Mister Ellios in the flesh," says the man with a strange grin.

It feels as if a monster is licking my body from top to bottom, just to get a hint of how I'd taste.

I gulp and narrow my eyes in caution. How does this thing know my name?

Examining myself, I notice that my hands are more wrinkly than usual. I'm not wearing my disguise anymore. That must be how it knows.

Nevertheless, I must speak with it.

"Who might you be?" I ask, trying to keep my words short and to the point without being overly aggressive.

It places the index finger of its one free hand on its chin and looks away in contemplation. It seems to be as intelligent as a human.

"Hmm, it depends on who you ask."

"How so?" I probe further.

"If you were to ask Luke," looking down at the object on its lap, it continues, "I'd be Wilfred, a childish old man with lots of useful knowledge."

Is that thing in its lap Luke? How'd we get here? I have to keep it talking.

"And if I were to ask anyone else?"

At my question, the creature's face twists into a vicious grin, striking fear even into me.

"I am simply the keeper of eternity. Many names were given to me during my recluse among the mortals… Some called me Kali, while others designated me as a monster. There were also those who worshipped me."

As it spoke, a look of nostalgia surfaced on the thing's face. The expressions this creature made seemed so genuine that I was almost fooled.

Whatever this thing is, I've never heard of a "keeper of eternity" even once in my long life.

But for some reason, I don't think a single word it said is false.

Wait… It mentioned Luke as it looked at the child-like object.

"How do you know who Luke is?"

The creature slowly shook its head in disappointment.

"How would I not know the name of the one I chose?"

"What does that-" I tried asking, but the creature cut my question short.

"Silence. I will tell you the reason you are here."

Not just anyone could make me stop talking with words alone, not with the amount of dominance and pride I carried.

Nevertheless, it's exactly what the creature did. I'd better listen to what it has to say.

"Unintentionally, or perhaps intentionally, you interfered with the process of activating the hourglass. As such, you will face punishment."

Without even being able to think about what the creature posing as an old man said, I felt a sharp pain from my chest, as if a hundred thousand blades had bored into my flesh.

I'm being forced to my knees without even having the chance to utter a single sound. Is this what my enemies feel like when I use my gravity elemental on them?

I see a transparent ball of light silently floating out of my chest and towards the creature's outstretched hand.

If I focus my sight on it, I can barely see it.

But this can't be happening. That elemental is mine.

Glaring at the creature, I force myself to stand against the huge pressure.

I feel my muscles and tendons tear from the resistance, but I walk after the ball nonetheless.

I cannot reach it. It's faster than me in my current condition. But it doesn't mean I'll just let it fall into that thing's hands!

I keep pushing onward and stretch my hands out towards the ball of light.

Using my wind elemental, I let out a barrage of strikes at the creature. No, I attempt to, but nothing comes out of my hands.

It appears like this really is a soul realm. I have to change my approach.

Making a twisting motion with my hands, the ball seems to falter. It doesn't lose its speed, but I manage to chip away at its size using precise mana strikes.

Blood starts pouring out of my eyes.

Before it gets into the creature's hands, I manage to reduce it to around one-fourth of its original size.

The creature grabs hold of my elemental, and as it does, I collapse to the ground. With my strength sapped, I can no longer move. I hear the creature speak once more.

"Don't feel too bad about it. It's not like you'll remember any of this anyway."

Leaving me with those words, I feel like my body is starting to float through the void.

Something is pulling me along with it, but I lack the strength to see what it is.

Just as I'm about to lose consciousness, I blink.

…

…

…

"…taur this time. Is that… clear… Huh?"

I stop speaking in the middle of my sentence. What just happened?

I was inspecting Luke's tattoos just a moment ago. His reaction to me asking about his tattoos in the past was strange, and it definitely ended up being justified, as he had been hiding a unique elemental.

And now, I'm suddenly sitting in the embassy building in Naiccos.

I look around the room in confusion.

This scene is almost the same as the briefing I gave Luke this morning.

But that ended up in failure, as he had died while fighting the minotaur. And yet…

Luke is sitting right in front of me. Just as I thought that he was fine, he rushed out to the terrace and started to vomit.

That's not what happened in the morning. It's different.

Think back to what happened… The hourglass tattoo that rotated and the sand flowing in reverse. Vivid déjà vu bordering with a hallucination… Did I… somehow travel back to the past due to Luke's elemental?

My argument is weak, but for some reason, I'm sure that this is the case. I am unable to tell why that is.

My heart starts racing. This changes everything I've known until now.

As Luke walks back into the room, my expression can't help but be filled with dread as I look at him and ask, "You… Just what are you?"