PENANCE

A bizarre room with nothing inside it. It could be called eerie or disturbing in a manner of speaking but the white room accentuated by the sleek walls could also be divine.

I have no idea where I am and my memories are extremely fragmented and peering into them is as if I was looking at an incomplete movie with flashes of random moments here and there.

I see a handsome man running towards a woman with his blade at the ready. I'd think they were filming a scene or something if it wasn't for the very real heaviness in my chest – a testament to the amount of bloodlust in the immediate vicinity.

The man stopped running as soon as he got a good look at the woman.

The man seemed like an exceedingly handsome gentleman but he had a darkness inside of him that seemed to draw me in closer. He's dangerous.

The woman on the other hand seemed very familiar to me but her beautiful figure is obscured by a sickeningly bright light.

"It's been years, my love."

The woman seemed to be saying something as she drew closer to the man. She steadily removed her gloves as she inched towards the dumbfounded man – I get him because I too was dumbfounded. She was every bit graceful as she was beautiful.

The man took a good look at his surroundings as he spat out, "This has been a long time coming."

The grip on his sword slackened as he approached the woman. After a short exchange of words that I could not fully hear, the man sprang forward and stabbed the woman right through her heart.

In a fit of panic, I run as fast as I could muster towards them. I kept running and running but it seemed as though I couldn't get close at all. Each step I take is similar to them taking one step back – but they weren't moving.

The man was crying tears of blood as the woman lay powerless in his arms. She seemed to be comforting him in a very affectionate manner but I simply could not understand the absurdity of the situation.

I kept running even if my legs were screaming in pain and my lungs felt like that were collapsing inside of my body but even then, I could not come closer. It seems as though they were in their own beautiful but twisted world.

A sharp pain ran through my chest. "Haa. Haa. Haa."

My breath ragged and my clothes soaked in sweat, I stop and hold onto my knees for support. I tried catching my breath but I ran for what felt like an eternity.

As I started collecting myself, I checked my body for any clues to my identity or why I'm even here.

I clicked my tongue, "As expected, nothing huh?"

A sudden burst of energy pulled me back from my own world as the man lay dying with his heart carved out of his own body.

The woman and the man each had a smile on their face but one was filled with serenity while the other was filled with regrets.

The white room started collapsing around me and a huge part of what I assume to be the roof nearly crushed me.

"Oh shit!" I jumped towards the man and the woman but I fucked up my landing. I started crawling on my belly but to my surprise, I felt as if I was actually closing the distance between us this time.

I crawled for what seemed like an eternity but I didn't feel anything wrong with my body, I just couldn't stand. I felt a sharp pain behind me and as I turned to look, a voice inside my head told me to keep moving forward.

The room was still slowly collapsing all around me and after pulling myself with what little strength I had left, I finally reached the man and the woman.

"What is with these appearances? How are they so perfect?" I mused to myself.

As I felt my consciousness fading, I put my hand on the man's sword and after that, nothing. I simply lost consciousness.

After an uncertain amount of time, I opened my eyes and I found myself in a majestic looking room. It was filled with marble pillars with a trim of gold here and there. It was suspiciously gaudy.

"What a rude young woman."

A soft but powerful voice pulled my attention towards the center of the room. There was an extremely over-the-top throne lined with the most beautiful jewels and engravings imaginable.

"Oho. You think nothing of the room but find yourself enchanted by my stool. How fascinating."

I found myself starting eye to eye with a silhouette. No, it wasn't a fancy way of saying that I was looking at a bright person or anything like that – the person(?) sitting on the throne was literally just a silhouette. Oddly enough though, I found myself thinking that this person was quite beautiful – probably.

"You have good taste, rude one. But how long are you going to keep gawking?" the silhouette asked.

I hastily pulled myself up and bowed. "I apologize but…" I give the place another look. "..where am I?"

The silhouette laughed and to my surprise, it seemed as though the place shined as if responding to their delight. "You are both here and not here so to say. You are and you are not. Does that make sense?"

I pull on my hair in exasperation!

No, it does the fuck not! What the hell is that existentialist shit? I try to regain my composure by breathing in and out.

"Fufu, it seems you are not satisfied with my answer." The silhouette crossed their legs and seemed to be smiling at me. "Where you are or what you are does not matter."

Again. I do not understand.

Seemingly understanding the blank look on my face, the silhouette continued. "What matters is what you do from here on out."

A small galaxy appeared on the silhouette's hand. It was an intoxicating sight but I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I took in its appearance.

"Do not try to comprehend what you are seeing, child. It is beyond your existence."

The gentle voice explained, "this is the world where the story of despair between the man and the woman you saw earlier but they are not of that world. Neither are you, now that I think about it."

The silhouette opened her other hand and another galaxy appeared right in the center of her palm.

"This is their original world. It is on a higher plane of existence than the small world I showed you earlier." A dazzling lightshow appeared out of nowhere in the majestic throne room. I found myself drawn by the pretty lights dancing about the silhouette's hands.

"The small world I showed you is a result of a fragment of a God's soul they discovered on their original world and it shows naught but a forgotten memory. A fleeting moment to a God, I suppose."

The silhouette closed her hands and the galaxies full of life suddenly disappeared. Seemingly closing her eyes, her gentle voice warned "While it is but a whim of a God akin to a fart in the echoes of the universe, it was still a world that existed."

Filled with confusion once more, I asked with a small voice "I don't understand. Did the man and the woman live? Did they truly exist?"

I could feel the silhouette smiling at me. "You could say that they did live and that they did exist. In fact, the man is still alive and is waking up at this very moment."

I scrunched up my forehead as I mustered every brain power I could. "But I thought that it was just a.."

The gentle voice interrupted me with a laugh. "A dreamer dreams but a god creates. A whim is a moment but it could also be seen as an eternity depending on whose eyes you see through."

I really hate talking to this silhouette. Why does it enjoy speaking in riddles? It's not as if I couldn't understand but the implications are just…beyond me. She's right.

"Fufu it seems you do understand – to a certain degree."

I still don't understand what's happening but at least we're getting somewhere. It's time to get to the bottom of this.

"Ok I do understand that there are a lot of things that I do not understand but…where do I fit in all of this?"

The silhouette seemed to smiled at my question and crossed its legs. "You were but a whim but now you are you."

Pausing for a few seconds as if in deep thought, the silhouette continued. "A woman died a horrible death. She died begging. She died screaming in agony. She died cursing everyone around her. The people she loved. The people she hated. The people she admired."

I felt a sense of unease fill my heart but I continued listening. The silent echoes of the gentle voice seemed very ominous but it was better than complete silence.

"We currently exist on a plane where neither time nor circumstance matters. That woman died an unjust death. She was adorned with a crown of blood and regaled with humiliation and pain – it was truly saddening. "

The silhouette finally stood up and walked towards me. Each step filled its empty body with form, as if a blank caricature suddenly coming to life.

Black hair sprouted from her head. A full bosom that would make any woman jealous. A slim waist. A noble disposition that would not be defiled and an aura befitting that of an empress.

She was, quite frankly, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. The only problem that I could point out was that she has an extremely cold face with sharp features that reminded me of a dragon appraising its prey.

Her eyes were dark as the night sky but instead of feeling empty, they felt like a world of its own. The twinkle of her eyes gave her the impression of possessing sage wisdom but her heart felt cold yet bearing the capacity to love.

What kind of woman is she? It was as though she was a walking contradiction.

Lost in my thoughts as she approached me, she placed her forehead on mine.

"You will go through the Grand Quickening. You will be reborn in that woman's body 10 years before her demise." She pushed some form of energy inside my body. "I will give you a seed. This will form your mana core and if you train it, it will be of use to you. You have the will to accomplish this."

"What? This is way too much information all at once! What Grand Quickening? What do I need to accomplish?"

I could feel the woman laughing softly as she placed her hand on my head as if to soothe my anxiety. This feels nice.

"The Quickening is a magic spell that allows your consciousness to go through the boundary that separates planes so that you may be able to enter fragments that Gods leave behind. What I did was a little bit more special. I'm sending you through eons of time and space – this may very well be the last thing I do before I slumber for thousands of years."

I could barely believe what I just heard but it was better than simply doing nothing. I felt her sweet breath on me. Her chest rose up and down in sync with her calm heartbeat that I could feel through our closeness.

She felt like a mother. Is this what unconditional love feels like?

I tighten my fist and wrapped my arms around her. "I understand. Send me in. I'll change her wretched fate."

I could feel her smiling despite not looking at her. I pressed my head a little bit tighter closer to hers as I whispered, "I want answers. I'll take it from that world. Who I am. Who you are."

I separated from her and gave her the brightest smile I could muster. "I'll save that damned woman and the whole world too while I'm at it."

The woman chuckled as she placed her hand on my cheek. "I look forward to that day."

I looked her in the eye and I nodded. "I will come back for you. We still have a lot more to talk about."

"It seems we do." She shook her head in resignation and gave me a gentle push. "Go, my child."

I watched my body scatter into fragments of light. As I dissipated into nothingness, I smiled at the woman until I completely disappeared.

A few moments later, silence reigned in the place which once housed two souls.

The beautiful woman staggered and slowly walked towards her 'stool'. With unsteady legs, she carefully sat down and chuckled at the tenacity of the child she just sent away.

"What a beautiful soul."

Remembering the state of ruin the soul she discovered was, the woman rested her chin upon her hand.

"Her legs rotted off due to the powerful prana reaction that Arthur willed into existence as he stabbed my chest and her body started to disappear."

The woman tapped her temple with her slender fingers, "but if she is who I think she is then she is a woman of great will." The woman smiled, "I look forward to the miracle that you will bring about in this world, Alagarassi."

The Quickening – End.