A Flash of the Past

After some thought, Will decided to skirt along the boundary of the magnetic vortex at the center of the Exploding Crust dead zone. Aria just shrugged and followed his decision.

After a grueling part jumping, part running contest of jumping from one exploding stone after another, Aria found a stone which didn't explode and Will also landed on that stone.

"Aria, why did you follow me? You fought for my sake, putting your life on the line... before this trip we barely knew each other." Will finally asked the question that had been bothering him. Aria had been extremely helpful during the journey, but her choice to abruptly follow him was extremely irrational and made little sense.

"I wanted to help you." Aria said simply.

"But why?" Will asked again.

"At Zaina's funeral, didn't you say you had to visit because you owed her one? It's the same for me. I am alive today only because of you." Aria said with an extremely serious and determined expression.

Will was dumbfounded. "I saved you? When?"

Aria shook her head with a bitter smile. "For me it was a life altering moment, yet you don't even remember it."

Will was stunned and he tried to remember, but he just couldn't seem to recollect when he saved Aria. Will was confused, he had never even spoken much to this girl during high school, she always remained quietly by Zaina's side when she used to pursue him.

"It was after the high school party thrown in celebration of the end of our freshman year. When I was returning home, I was attacked by a bunch of drunk men who wanted to rape me, but you suddenly appeared and beat them all up." Aria said as she recollected the scene.

Will was dumbfounded. In his high school days, he had often beat up thugs on the street. He didn't realize that one such incident had also taken place.

"Are you sure it was me?" Will asked with doubt. "It's been so long, honestly my memory has always been very poor regarding these matters." He honestly admitted.

"You were arrested on charges of assaulting innocent people because you did not reveal my identity to the police." Aria continued with a mocking smile.

Will raised an eye. "There was indeed such an event." But as the memories of the event once thrown at the back of his mind came flooding in, the girl whom he had saved looked nothing like Aria. "She... she was you? You looked completely different then!"

Will recollected his memories, the girl used to have long hair and her dress was incredibly fashionable. However, Aria had a bob cut and from all aspects looked like a nerdy girl, totally unlike that day.

Aria snorted in displeasure and ignored Will. Will shook his head with a bitter smile. How was he to divine that this was the same girl? "But still, for that reason alone you blindly followed me on a random journey to the dead zone? "

Aria did not reply, but in her mind she was reminiscing. "You may have never put me in your eyes, but you were always a shining star within my field of vision." She thought to herself.

Will saw that she did not respond and did not pursue the matter. He took the opportunity to practice again. He could feel that he was nearing the point where he could finally melt the life wheel completely and fuse it into his body as a liquid.

"A couple of days more, and I will have reclaimed my life back and set on a new path. Mon, Dad, I meed to know you two are okay. I have to find out the truth." Will murmured to himself as he clenched his fist in eagerness.

In the distance, the blue haired woman was looking at the two conversing. She saw the blood expelled out of Will's body and felt an overwhelming sense of disgust.

"Blood spawn? No, that is not that brat's blood!" How powerful was the woman's eyesight? She was calmly standing miles away from Will amd Aria, but could easily see Will's actions as if he were beside her.

"Curious. I didn't realize that this girl was mixing with such a curious brat. This blood scent... is definitely the most disgusting I've ever come across. Why does a human have the blood of those filthy creatures?" The woman wondered to herself. Her curiosity was piqued by what she had seen and she began walking towards the two people.

Her steps were slow and mild, but the air was twisting around her, propelling her forward like a rocket, but silent as an assassin.

On the other hand, Will suddenly had a stroke of inspiration. "The previous time I activated the blood red box within my mind, I had undergone a sublimation of my genes and my cells had evolved. Since then I underwent a second sublimation, but I never got the chance to check if that really caused the box to activated." Will thought. Then within an instant, he had appeared within his mind space and attempted to connect with the box like before, just to try.

To his shock the box began glowing and once again Will's vision began twisting and deforming. He suddenly had a feeling of a stone dropping down his throat. "I was too hasty! If I go unconscious at such a place, no, I can't!" He yelled within his mind.

However, it was too late. He found himself looking at the pale blue skies and the bright white cumulonimbus clouds adorning the ceiling of the heavens, as a bright yellow sun powerfully shined down on the vibrant forest and fauna.

Will looked at his reflection in the pond, washing the wild hair on his head and the scar ridden and dusty muscular brown body, whose every cell yelled out with incredible strength. He was Will. He was Enkidu, the twin of Gilgamesh, created by the ruler of the sky Anu to vanquish his twin.