Chapter 22 - Kairos

...

Suddenly you feel your consciousness come back to you, as if a loud sound startled you awake.

You try to stand up but the dizziness from the sudden awakening grips you, forcing you to close your eyes and breathe slowly for a few minutes.

Eventually the sensation disappears allowing you to half open your eyes again.

You look around and can't help but let out an impressed whistle as your gaze becomes dazed.

You find yourself on what appears to be a large piece of floating land in the middle of space, curiously, there are also other pieces of floating but of different structures, some look like a desert whose sand falls endlessly, in another you can see an inverted waterfall, a building on fire with green flames, and so on.

It is a bewildering sight.

The strangest thing of all is the "black background" that reminds you of outer space, only instead of a cold and infinite void, it looks more like some kind of crystals that expand in all directions, constantly changing its every time you turn your gaze a little.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" replies an amused voice that makes you jump back to look at the source of the voice. "Hehe, you look like a cute little scaredy kitten."

You turn your head to see a teenage girl about your height looking at you with amusement, but you can tell her voice sounds a little exhausted. She was dressed in a short dark blue hoodie, she was wearing tight black sweatpants that outlined her curves, on her hands she was wearing black gloves and on her feet blue sneakers.

The most curious thing was that her face was hidden behind the hood of the hoodie and an orange gas mask, despite that you could notice a bit of brown hair falling down her neck.

'Is she an anime protagonist or what?' you thought as you rolled your eyes, before your brow furrowed. 'Her clothes look pretty worn... there are some cuts and stained areas on them'

"And... who exactly are you?" I asked cautiously, while taking a low stance in case I was hostile. "You're not another villain are you?"

"Um, interesting..." Murmured the girl with interest in her voice before shaking her head slightly. "Nah, you could say I was just passing through, I was walking quietly... and suddenly you appeared out of nowhere, and like the good citizen I am, I took care of sleeping beauty without disturbing her nap."

That makes you let your guard down a little but not enough for you to drop your stance. "Do you know where we are?"

"Maybe, maybe not, who knows?" Replied the girl teasingly before sitting down on the floor nonchalantly. "Life is a mystery to be solved."

"Don't wax poetic, where are we and who are you?"

"Sheesh, and I thought you were going to be more laid back..." Sighed the girl regretfully before lifting her head and looking up at the shifting crystals. "You can call me Kairos."

"And where are we?"

"Pa pa pa, it's your turn to introduce yourself? Don't they teach you manners?" Kairos replied with a mocking chuckle that irritated you at how familiar it sounded but unable to place where you heard a similar chuckle. "Well?"

You finally lower your posture and sit down on the ground next to Kairos reluctantly, she doesn't seem to have any ill intentions. "My name is Lena, nice to meet you, I guess."

"See? That wasn't so hard" Kairos said as she spread her arms wide with exaggeration. "Now my question: what's the last thing you remember?"

"The last thing I remember?" You asked rhetorically as you squinted your eyes, as if to help you remember. "I-"

Suddenly a headache assaulted you and as quickly as it came just as quickly it left. But the pain lingered in your head, it felt like you had been hit with a metal bat.

As you massaged your temples, you turned your gaze to the ground in disbelief. "I... I was in USJ when some villains assaulted us, I went with... with who?"

"Take it easy, we have all the time in the world" Kairos suggested as she tapped my shoulder with concern.

Nodding at her suggestion you tried again to remember, but there were missing parts as if someone had filled your head with static. You knew it was someone important, but you couldn't remember anything about the person.

You finally gave up with an exhausted sigh. "I can't remember... the last thing I remember is pushing someone away from getting shot in the head-"

"What's wrong?" Asked Kairos as she tilted her head as she saw your look change to one of fear. "Are you feeling alright?"

You brought a trembling hand to your face as your breathing faltered by the second.

"I...died?"

The realization hit you like a truck, you could feel the blood escaping from your face until it was pale.

"That's the afterlife?...I thought it would be nicer haha... does that make you God or The Devil?, no wait, this won't be like those Isekai novels?"

Silence falls over you, before Kairos shakes uncontrollably and lets out a giant laugh. "Hahaha!"

"What's so funny?!"

"Oh god, I think you're the Lena I like the most so far" Kairos replied between guffaws, it took a few minutes before she half calmed down.

"To answer your question, nah, I'm not some weird and edgy incarnation who will give you powers because she felt pity or some shit like that. I'm just a completely normal beautiful girl who's out for a stroll around here."

Lena lowered her head in defeat as she closed her eyes. 'I had already thought of my wishes and everything...'

"Mind you, I'll help you a bit with your situation..." Kairos replied before extending a finger in your direction, you suddenly felt a wave- no, a tsunami of energy flood you from Kairos' direction. "I'll give you extra as I haven't laughed so hard in years. Mind you, don't open second chances."

You wanted to ask what she was doing to her, but the sheer tide of energy barely allowed you to think. You felt the energy swirl through your body as if you were the center of a tornado.

After what seemed like years it finally stopped, and as your vision began to blur, you felt yourself quickly losing consciousness.

Not before you realized that Kairos' hood had fallen down her back revealing her face which gave you an empty and tired look.

And you realized why the laughter sounded familiar.

The laugh.

It was yours.

Before you could do anything, everything went black, leaving your mind drifting...

***

"Whew, that cost more than expected..." Kairos sighed as she wiped imaginary sweat from her brow before stitching herself on the ground. "And that's Lena number 456..."

Kairos looked up at the crystalline sky gloomily, watching as the crystal constantly changed and the islands floated aimlessly. Suddenly the crystal changed to show countless Lena versions, some talking to other people, some hugging their Father or Mother, some simply laughing while watching TV.

Staring longingly and longingly at each version of Lena, she can't help but feel empty.

Closing her eyes wearily Kairos let out a whisper barely audible to her ears. "I hope this is the last time... otherwise I will end this, I wonder if indeed fate can't be avoided..."

The crystals changed again, but this time, showing fire, buildings collapsed to their foundations, corpses lying on the ground.

Among the many versions, several can be seen where different versions of Lena hold different people in despair as she drops tears of loss.

"I guess I'll go back to sleep..." Opening her eyes she watches as the crystals change, showing different versions of her loved ones. "I'm sorry, but I can't go through with this..."

At the end, all the crystals change to show a black flag with a red symbol that looks like a T.

Kairos simply snorts before letting out a hollow laugh. "I guess they won... congratulations..."

And without realizing it, Kairos falls into a deep sleep once again...

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