90 Seconds Later
Zeke?Explosions. Bursts of flame, broken metal and flesh impacting flash. The violence that swooped over the skies parted the clouds. They all made way for the Seraph's attacks, colliding with dark energies from beyond. It was barely enough time to even start a waltz - but that didn't matter to these monsters. They couldn't stand eachother. Why else would they ha ve dragged their bloodshed across the entire district, swooping into the depths of the ocean's skies?
For but 90 seconds, they likely fought as valiantly and ferociously as demons. They were probably the brightest seconds of Zeke's life.
However, the burning impact against his chest sealed it all. For those were the last seconds of Zeke's life. Pinned against a circular obelisk in the middle of the ocean. Even if he tried to lure her somewhere, it didn't matter if he got killed before his plan came to fruition.
"Grgh...khr... rhhhaAAAAAAAAAHHHGH!!" He burnt, roared, gripped at the lance... then the flames stopped. It all stopped. It wasn't even something deserving of a conclusion.
They both knew that much, glaring at one another. And yet, why was Zeke smiling?
Ah, of course.
Those crystals erupting from him. The grace would just send his consciousness to a new organism. The cycle would perpetuate. Ivanna's victory, even now, was meaningless. What impact did killing something that could come back at any moment truly hold? Did it even hold weight?
Spoiler for Hiden:
A prayer of Joy
No one knows what exactly happened that day. That is because it never happened. December 32, the day where time itself trembled. A strange phenomena surely occurred, but people survived even now. So a calamity that'd have destroyed everything is surely impossible.
But it isn't so.
It is a simple concept. When a bullet is fired and goes past the sound barrier, a sonic boom forms. The same goes for time. When that thing activated, time boomed. And the ripples sent fragments flying and splitting in countless directions, stripping that world of possibilities.
Thus, even this is nothing more than a fragment.
The tower had malfunctioned somewhere along the line. No, it worked exactly as intended. The monument had two main functions - to absorb the souls and energy of beings from worlds outside the Nexus - smelt them into a godkilling blade, and to contain the living souls of those in this Nexus, to protect them from the fallout. A Noah's Ark of sorts, something that would make sure there were humans even after the Gods were destroyed. Of course, the remnants of this world would be ravaged, but after a few generations... it would surely be fine.
But it wasn't.
The process was somehow reversed.
The sword impacted with the Nexus, poisoning its landd and shattering the balance of energies it held in its atmosphere. And because of this sudden imbalance, the tower's Ark formed a vacuum that caused terrible things to pour into the world.
Humanity couldn't survive. Together, everyone fought. Many people died. Demons, humans, monsters, angels, gods, it didn't matter. Whatever befell them was simply too much for the collective beings of that time to handle.
They had to become something else. With forms that could adapt and survive to this hellish land.
That's right...!
Right now, we cannot forget the scars on our hearts, and together we have forgotten how to smile.
However, I believe that this would surely sadden those we've lost.
......Wouldn't it be alright if we could remember how to smile, if only a little bit at a time?
Of course, we can't do this right away.
We have to remember our forgotten smiles bit by bit.
That's why.....I've decided that from today on, I'll try my best to practice smiling. No matter what bodies we'll have, we won't forget eachother. The memories we've grown, the bonds we've forged. We'll be friends, together and always.
..............................That's weird...isn't it?
__________ , if you ever remember how to smile........please show me too.
I feel that if we do that, we'll be able to remember how to smile even more.
Right. Nevermind... there's no way you'd show a piece of shit like me something like that.
"That's right. You died on that day, along with the crewmates of yours. A boy always stuck in the past, reliving your vicarious adventures. But are you really fine with an outcome like that? Medaka, Shinobu, Nep... everyone will die you know? They'll be eaten by the gods and disappear, just like the old ones. What you're seeing is not a prediction, but a prophecy. Because that girl wished for you to come back, everything will be lost. So this is your responsibility too, as a captain and a man. You've got to make sure something like this doesn't happen."
But it's too cruel. Women, children... I can't just sacrifice these people to that thing.
[color=orange"You can't. But you must. You started this story, didn't you? If their bodies remain as originally made, they will be destroyed. You must become the ark that will hold everyone's dreams. It's what you never understood, it's what it means to be a captain. You can't be selfish forever. You'll need to find another Nexus, it might take a few worlds to consume, but it's the only way to prevent that thing from opening again. If you're the one consuming them, they'll keep being alive as part of you."[/color]
The dreamer looks down on the bones prepared for the ritual. He cannot accept such an ending. And why should he? No, he... his comrades... none of them will be pieces to some gameboard, created to be tossed meaninglessly.
He picks up his sword, a fiery phantom from the past.
The tower hadn't activated for so long. He'd have to paint a new tale for it, and countless souls to bring it back. It was the only way left to make sure some people could survive this fragment. He wouldn't just let them die.
For their sake, he'd smile brighter than anyone.
Tears fell down Zeke's cheeks. No. This wasn't Zeke. This hadn't been Zeke since this Ivanna so much as spoke to him. Zeke had been truly killed by another archangel. The dying man in front of Ivanna was just that, a man. The beings he changed were stripped of their bodies, sure, but it was all for a single sake. A single purpose.
As the Ezekiel of old saw prophecies of a great many things, he had seen the same vision the previous Zekes had seen. He was the first, no, the only one who truly rebelled against it. But now, all for nothing.
In the end, Zeke couldn't escape his fate. Neither could the disposable clone in front of her.
But that is why it was a shame. All of this was evitable, but they could never trust eachother.
The old world organisms Ivanna cut down, the ones she had just pierced inside Zeke... they poured down and melted down into mud... only for people to emerge from it. Corpses that were cut down. Humans, children. People Ivanna didn't even try to save, let alone understand. Their souls weren't originally human, as only the memory was preserved in those organisms. Because of that, there was no way these alien things could be accepted in Heaven. No, they would never become human again. If Zeke won, perhaps after a few generations, they'd have gained back what they originally lost. And she could see it, all of it, reflected in that mud.
But that's fine too.
She had vanquished the great evil and won. Now, while corpses kept falling from the sky, and the moon Zeke was pinned into activated for the first time in years... she could surely declare this with all her heart.
She was the righteous one.
"This is... the original... Xibalba. My homeland. Now... with our blood... the ritual can be... undone... but... it's too late... I needed your help.... to close it... why won't it close..." Mud kept pouring open from the white egg.
Now, the world could be saved!
