A scene of a train flashed before my eyes. I saw Evy sitting there, talking about Obiwon and the enlightenment program. She was so sophisticated when talking about it, mature for her age just like me. I saw a big sister introducing me to my new life. When I died, she was one of the only few people I wanted to see again. I mourned her memories which disappeared once I reincarnated, but still felt genuine happiness when I saw her.
Even in my third life, I had no problem meeting her again and making friends with her. She was enlightened now, a higher being on the same level as me. So why... Why did she have to go this time?? What did I do wrong, why couldn't it be me instead of her?
The crackle of fire woke me up from my daydream. Anchoring me to reality was the only source of light in this life, right from Hell itself.
I wasted no time as I saw my burning demon head for the Dreamer. Amon was using an impossible amount of mana, preparing a nuclear attack. I too rushed at him, my thoughts being only blank static. There was a single word inscribed in my mind, the only command to follow.
Kill.
I jumped upwards as Amon released a tsunami of Hellfire that burned everything in front. The Dreamer teleported again, but this time I was ready. I slashed downwards, my magic also becoming stronger from the sheer amount of rage powering it. A fissure was dug into the ground as the Dreamer almost lost his life. Almost! When will I be able to finish this?
He needs to die, as the source of all my agony is incarnated into this pink devil.
The real fight starts now, as we don't have to hold back. We're not protection anyone anymore. The levitating pink hair waddled around while the Dreamer dodged giant explosions and crescents of light. "Did I make you mad? Your little friend died because you were careless! Haha!!"
He mocked us, now showing his insanity. We only stayed silent, attacking him with all we had. He couldn't make us any more agitated, as our wrath reached the sky we couldn't see. Raising his purplish hands, a spell was activated.
In front of us stood my mother, Kleopatra. She was alive and well, with her arms spread out. This obvious trick was an illusion cast by dream magic. I pushed through it, with Amon following along. I wonder what he saw there.
The Dreamer jumps back. "Fine, how about this!"
The demon from my mother's treasury is summoned, as everything around us darkens. Just like that time, we become incased in a layer of impenetrable shadows. A sense of powerlessness and unease set in, but it was combated by my unquenchable desire to kill. It had a fatal flaw, I could sense its aura, something I couldn't do in my first life.
The darkness was burnt away by Amon's flames and rays of light shooting from me. The Dreamer kept running backwards, his useless tactics failing miserably. "How?? How is your mind so strong!?"
I gave no answer, rather throwing the Sunsword into the air. The Dreamer saw this, preparing another spell immediately. As I gripped the handle of my weapon, he clapped his hands together. The environment changed in an instant, as I was transported into another part of his domain.
"Spear"
My full power bore through the many walls and complex architecture this dimension had, creating a tunnel towards the battlefield I was fighting at previously. I ran through the tunnel, resurfacing in the giant room while flames danced all around. Hellfire was eating everything up, as two figures danced in a deadly duel.
I joined the battle again, embracing this fight to the death. There was no other option, either we die or he dies, and I'm not letting the former happen. We wordlessly played cat and mouse, fully focused on each of our moves.
"Light prison"
The Dreamer could escape any tricky spell I conjured up, as he was the magician here. I looked at Amon and nodded, continuing our straightforward onslaught. It was a test of stamina, who would falter first. A trickster made in another realm, or two friends fighting to avenge their friend.
After almost losing his head, the Dreamer put a giant amount of mana into a spell. "Mirrored"
Suddenly, we were placed inside a maze of mirrors which reflected sound, light and mana. We couldn't sense where the Dreamer was, but I could see his frame in one of the mirrors. Amon launched a hellfireball into that one, but it ricocheted off of it, into another mirror and so forth. It still left a burn mark on the mirror, a sign that this spell isn't perfect.
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Amon and I simply nodded to each other again, knowing we have to use only physical force without magic. Swinging my sword, I carved a path of broken mirrors. Amon used his hands, shattering everything in sight. We won't play his games, and not a single one of his tricks will work.
Breaking every mirror in sight, we found the Dreamer. He raised his hands again, summoning the small pink dots around. He was too slow though, as we attacked simultaneously, which made every mirror in the dimension disappear. Still, we couldn't kill him, a frustrating fact that I had to live with for now. But soon...
After an undefined amount of time, it could be a few minutes or a few hours, I don't know, the Dreamer was hit by Amon's blast. Finally succumbing to a misjudgment, he suffered heavy burns, even to his regenerating ethereal body. I sunk my blade into its heart, or where it would be normally. "It's over for you," I said coldly.
His eyes opened in shock, as he tried to look around for help. "I wasn't gifted this dimension by the Ancestral ones for nothing. I'm not about to die!" he yelled out.
He tried to move, but I put pressure with the
"N-no, this can't be. Foul prophecies!!" he screamed. "I'll win against the Messiah. You might have Fate by your side, but I've got all of the gods from the Other Realms on my side!"
Amon walked over to me. "They won't help you now," he says with a serious tone I haven't seen yet.
The Dreamer pathetically called out into the non-existent sky. "If you're seeing this, allow me. Give me the power to end these puny lives. I'll sacrifice myself, anything to defeat them!"
I prepared to end his life, but his prayers must've been heard, as a dark energy filled the Dreamer, giving him enough strength to stand up and charge a mighty blast. The Other Realms gave him power so easily. Were the demons and deities of those faraway worlds truly on his side? I couldn't react, as what happened next unfolded in a split second. Amon jumped in front of me, spreading his arms to catch the full power of the blast.
The energy released was unlike anything I've seen before. The whole dimension shook, as a deafening shockwave rang out before a low hum of energy filled the area. The explosion crashed us into the ground as I almost lost consciousness. The Dreamer's body was half-broken, glitching out of existence like a withering flame. "No, NO! It should've been you!" he cries out.
I grab Amon's body, seeing that he has lost consciousness. His body was completely wrecked, his bones were hanging out, and his aura slowly fading away. His heart... stopped. Is... Is this real? No, this must be some kind of illusion, an advanced magic given to the Dreamer by those foul otherworldly gods.
All of Amon's life signatures faded. It all happened so fast, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was still trying to process what just took place. My body suffered internal damage that was beginning to feel critically lethal at this point, but I didn't care. Amon, he is so strong, and yet in a blink of an eye… He can't be dead!!
The Dreamer grabs his mouth. "Why!? Why did he sacrifice himself!? It isn't anything like him to give his life for you!!! Why... Why does everything go your way??"
My heart sank into a deep, bottomless abyss. "Everything goes my way?" I ask, fury being an incomparable shadow of what I felt at the moment. I felt as though my veins would burst, my muscles tensed so hard that multiple of them popped. "EVERYTHING GOES MY WAY!!??" I scream at the top of my lungs, gripping the Sunsword with both hands.
The whole lair starts to shake, as all of my inner mana jumps out, trying to escape me. "After all I've been through...?"
I explode forward, appearing behind the Dreamer and swinging my sword full force. Another fissure is carved as he barely dodges it. He tries to conjure up a spell, but the mana escaping me prevents any effect taking place. If only my friends were alive, to support me.
I’m alone again, but I’ll finish this fight even if it costs me my life.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see Amon standing up. I stared in disbelief, not knowing how he was still alive. Wait... he...
He was still dead. His heart did not beat, and I could feel he wasn't conscious.
I didn't know whether to cry or feel joy after seeing this twisted miracle.
This boy, even after dying, instinctually fights. His body continuing even after he's passed away. I didn't know whether to be glad or to fall down, but I accepted it, fighting alongside Amon. Even if his heart didn't beat, even if his brain already shut off. His eyes were completely white, devoid of his usual scarlet iris.
The undead demon was by my side, his instincts telling him to finish the fight.
The Dreamer could not believe his eyes, trying to fly away from the undead Amon chasing him. While he was busy trying to grasp the situation, I positioned myself above him, grabbing my sword.
"Spear"
With a single thrust, I destroyed every speck of dream magic emanating from this wretched bastard. I erased him from the face of this world, ending my nightmare once and for all.
I would like to stand victoriously, hand raised in the air, but I wasn't so lucky.
"At what cost?" I asked myself, as Amon's body hit the ground with a soft thud. His mission was fulfilled, and his spirit returned to the land of the dead. Not Hell, because enlightened beings do not have an afterlife when they die, just... gone.
A tear fell down my cheek as everything hit me. Emptiness would be a word to describe it, but no words can describe the impossible despair I felt. This isn't a victory, this is a devastating defeat, far worse than Death.
I turned around to look at the now rotting house of my dead enemy. When my eyes struck something familiar, I started laughing. It was a maddening laugh, maniacal in tone. In the far distance, there were giant pieces of rubble put together to form a message. The message read a single word.
"Return"
The messenger returns again, to deliver one final message in this godforsaken life. I knew what I needed to do, putting the blade of my sword to my neck, feeling its still-hot crystal structure against my skin. Without a single moment of hesitation, and in one swift move, I sliced my neck open. Blood ran down my body like a river, as I accepted Death with a smile on my face.
-
What awaited me on the other side wasn't the usual scene of my mother's treasury. I opened my eyes to see a field of grass that spanned in all directions. It looks like I was returned to a different place, or... a different time?
When I glanced around to observe my surroundings, the widest smile appeared on my face. From such despair to such elation. Was I going mad?
Lying in the grass next to me were Amon and Evy, both perfectly fine and alive. On each of their arms, a familiar blue mark glowed brightly.
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