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Intrestsofthemind — Reality Chronicles Book 5 Ch. 18
Published: 2017-11-28 04:04:27 +0000 UTC; Views: 444; Favourites: 0; Downloads: 0
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I swung at Owen as he blocked with his shield and took a swing at me making me duck and slash at his legs. He staggered backwards to dodge and I took the moment to move up and stab into his stomach with the right blades hilt making him cough before he hit me point blank with his shield. I backed up and move to defend as he seemed to prepare a move. He shot forward like a bullet breaking through my defense making me fall back but before I could even begin my descent I was suddenly hit from my back sending me face first into the ground. As I tried to get up I felt the wind pick up under my feet and was forcefully lifted into the air before being hit and crashing back into the ground. He had a full combo of moves to take me out apparently…but so do I! Quickly getting up I switched to single blade mode and reached for my holstered guns; I quickly replaced the clips and placed them back before rushing in at Owen as he touched the ground. Slashing at his back he groaned before his aura exploded making me jump back as he turned and threw his shield; I blocked but was swiftly punched in the gut making me fall to my knees and drop my gun. He grabbed me by my shirt and lifted me up as he gave me a cold look; taking the opportunity I reached for my gun and pointed it point blank at his face making his eyes widen as he maintained his angry look. I shot making him scream and clutch his face as the blunt round clattered to the ground with me upon his release. As soon as my feet touched the ground I grabbed my blade and slashed up along his body making him yell again as I pulled back and switched to blade staff mode. He glared at me with a snarl before picking his shield up and rushing towards me. He swung at me and I quickly blocked with one end before spinning to send his blade away and block his incoming shield bash with his other hand. Pushing it back I took a quick swing along his torso and moved to block again as he tried to get me during my attack; he pushed through trying to break my guard before I pushed up making him stagger for a moment giving me the opportunity to run my leg under his and send him crashing to the ground. As soon as he hit the ground I switched back to longsword and sheathed it before pulling out my explosion round pistol and facing it in pointing it, point-blank, at Owen.We stood there for a minute as I kept my eyes on him and he looked at me and smirked before I felt something coil around my leg; I looked down to see a vine had gripped around my leg from a magic circle just under my foot. In that moment I took to look Owen had smacked the gun out of his face and punched me in the face making me fall back as the vine kept me grounded to the spot. Before I could get up Owen moved on top of me and wrapped one hand around my neck as he used the other to punch me in the face over and over again. When he reeled back for another punch I wrapped my hand around his fist before it hit and thrust up sending his elbow into his face before I grabbed the vine; (Power x2) I yanked the vine tearing it to pieces and pushed Owen off making him fly back as I rolled backwards and grabbed my blade. As I got up and switched to dual blade he stood and placed his shield down before holding his hand out.
"Omega Fire!" Another enormous fireball launched from his hand and soared towards me; it was too big to dodge and too large to block fully. (Silence!) Slashing at the open air I sent a nullifying wave that make the fireball explode between us upon contact. In the leftover smoke I watched Owen appear from the other end of the fire and swing at me, gripping the blade tightly with both hands. I blocked with both blades and tried to push him back as he tried to break through my guard…and he was doing pretty good. (Defense x2) He pushed through breaking my guard and slashed horizontally across my chest making me fly back and crash against the dome before falling and crouching to the ground. I immediately got back up as he went for the thrust and clumsily stepped to the right as he passed by me and crashed into the dome. I took the opportunity and slashed along his side making him groan in pain before he back handed me with one of his hands making me skid back before he moved to slash at me. In the moment of pain and exhaustion I stepped back to dodge and tripped over my own foot making me fall to the floor. He moved to thrust at my chest and I quickly pulled out my blunt round pistol before pointing it directly at his chest and firing quickly. (Paralysis!) I unloaded every round I had in my clip at his chest and he froze in place going completely immobile as I took the moment to recover on the ground.
I watched him as I sat there recovering my breath; as I looked at him my mind wandered back to the origin world he was thrown into…the Netherworld of Disgaea. I pulled the picture Mary gave me out and looked at it again; sitting on the thrown was the Overlord Laharl with Etna his Vassal on the left and Flonne the Fallen Angel on his right.
"…In a world where the sacrifices made are heartfelt…it caused a man to lose his way…it's not fair." Owen has hurt many, killed many more…and caused suffering to more than I'd like to count, including us and his friends…but, "I still can't kill him…not when I could have easily become him myself." He was right, had I lost my friends I might have joined him to get a fresh start…honestly I'm shocked I didn't when I found out I had killed my sister and dad, "…Why didn't I?" I looked over outside the dome to see Lily healing Gareth and Alice to my relief. Up on the balcony I could see Jarek, Sukia, the twins, and Shifty all looking down at me…that's right…Jarek joined him; he joined him because he didn't have anyone to save him from jumping that edge…while I had Alice and the others to pull me back when I needed it. I looked back at Owen to see him shaking as he tried to break the paralysis…with all that struggling it shouldn't last more than a minute or two. Owen…he saved Nina…he cares about others, even loved the girl he saved; he's lost in a pool of grief, anger, ambition…all swirling into this moment right now. At the end of everything, when she died I'm guessing everyone was lost in a torrent of emotions…nothing could break through that shell of negative emotions; so it grew into a wall that we stand on the other side of trying to take down, "…And here I am still trying to break through it…heh, oh well…I'm not giving up yet…not on them and not on him either." I know there's an alternative to this situation…I just have to find it before I'm forced to kill him…although I'm very short on time now.
A powerful yell filled the air as Owen broke free from his paralysis and swung at me in my defenseless state making me fly back and bounce along the floor before skidding and crashing into the dome. Getting up I moved forward and swung at him as he dodged and socked me in the face before kicking me in the gut making me fall to the ground. His attacks are getting more desperate, more primal and survival instintcish. Quickly rolling back before his next strike I jumped up and moved to power slash down with my left blade; he blocked in a rushed manner giving me the power to break through it as he staggered to the side. Taking the opportunity I slashed along his side with my right blade making him clutch it before he stabbed my center making me slide back a few feet. He rushed forward and grabbed my shirt before pulling me forward and crashing his skull into my face making me reel back and hold my face giving him the opportunity to kick me back and onto my back. As I got up I watched the black sheen of my aura slowly drain from my body; my shield was gone meaning each attack I took would cause much more damage and even wound…sounds like Hyrule all over again….guess it's time to switch it up! (Speed x2) I got up and dashed around the battle area to disorient him as he tried to keep his eyes on me; luckily he had no luck with that. Once I had a clear shot at his back I went in for a quick slash and moved out as he reeled around to slash at the air where I had been. Taking a page from Gareth's, and even Owen's book, I dashed in taking a long slash before turning around and going in for another moving a little faster each time I hit until I was a bullet passing by and dealing damage before he could even know what to do. Going it for the final blow I switched to single blade mode and gripped it tightly with both hands before coming up to Owen, right in front of his face, and taking a long powerful slash along his body and making him go crashing against the ground as his red aura drained from his body.
I panted heavily as I fell to one knee and tried to keep my breath in check so I wouldn't cough and hack from how much energy I had just used to pull that off; even my stomach was threatening to send the contents of my last meal back up form how much I moved around. I heard a low groan and looked to see Owen getting up slowly as his body shook from the intense beating it had just received at the end of my blade. Standing back up I looked Owen directly in the eye as he looked me back with a mix of anger and…nostalgia?
"Even after all this time…after everything I've learned, every trick I've mastered and the power I've attained…I still can't handle what you throw at me." That's right…he met me in his reality.
"Owen…it doesn't have to be like this…please. Let's just put down our weapons down and talk this out." He didn't yell at me this time; despite his hands clenched into a tight fist he just looked at me before sighing deeply.
"I've already told you Soren. There is nothing else I want, nothing else that could sway my decision to reset existence beck to its beginnings…that's all I'll ever want."
"Don't you have anyone else you care about? You're friends up there don't want this anymore…they just want their friend back." His fist clenched tighter as his arms trembled…not from exhaustion though.
"When I lost her…when I lost my mind…I took everything with me. Our home, our world; everything and everyone we had ever met was gone, reduced to dust…there's nothing left for any of us…nothing to go back to." No home…
"Gareth doesn't have a home." I said making him look up in confusion, "But you don't see him giving up. He's willing to see what the future looks like regardless of his past."
"…I've been here too long to just go somewhere else."
"Alice has lived her whole life in a hospital room, but she's here because she wants to get out and see what else is out there. She's excited to see where else she can go."
"…I'm prepared to do this…for her."
"So was Lily, she was ready to give up her life for this…but she knew it wasn't what those who gave up their life for her would want…she doesn't want to squander what was given to her by others."
"…What are you trying to do?"
"I'm trying to show you that maybe you'll go through some strife in life…but that doesn't mean it's all over. There are those who you care about and want to protect now…it's why I'm here, it's why Nina gave her life for yours. But even if that doesn't convince you then think about this." I pulled the picture out and handed it to Owen who just stared at it.
"Those friends you had…would they want this for you?"
A moment of silence filled the air as I waited for his answer; it seemed to last an eternity but after a while he looked up at me…but not with tears, with anger. I took a step back in surprise before he gripped me tightly by the neck and threw me across the room making me crash against the dome and create a tiny crack.
"W..What the-"
"You thought that would work? You thought you could resonate with me by trying to compare our pains and handing me a fabricated picture!? You almost had me…but I have NOTHING left Soren…so I'm not ending it here. I will succeed for Nina…and for everyone I had destroyed with my power."
"Fabricated?" I asked trying to get back up; I felt a few things trying to break as I stood, "What do you mean fabricated?"
"Flonne was never dressed like this…she was an angel trainee…she was never dressed in red or had a tail like this with bat wings."
"Wait…what about-" Wait…is it possible…could it be…only one way to find out. Finally standing up I pulled out the orb from my pocket and took a deep breath, "…Owen…you believe travelers have the power to destroy existence right?"
"I know it. I've experienced it with my own powers. When that orb breaks, all the energy inside will obliterate everything to zero across existence. Every universe will end, time will cease, realities will crumble…and everyone will disappear." I looked at the orb before gripping it tightly.
"Well then let's see if your right!" I raised my hand and threw the orb at the ground shattering it to pieces as the energy released in a giant white explosion. As it consumed me and Owen I heard him laugh maniacally as the energy overwhelmed both our senses turning everything black as I passed out from the intensity. Time to see what happens.