DARK
Everything is dark. I can't see anything.
DEATH. I died again. I know this is what death feels like.
I am done. I don't want another chance. I don't want to be Lucas. I don't want to be Viktor. I don't want to be anyone anymore.
All I want now is PEACE.
The darkness cleared up.
I was standing on the top of that fateful rooftop. Facing me was the woman who looks like my mother, but is NOT my mother.
"Done contemplating life, my child?"
"So, when am I getting an explanation for everything?" I questioned, arms crossed.
Let me guess. "It is not time yet, my child."
"It might be too early to tell you what happened, but you are you. Your soul might not be home, but you have the will and grit to adapt," she smiled.
Huh? What? Am I supposed to be touched by this?
"Why should I? What if I don't want to? Why am I even here? I used to think I got a second chance because of my desperation and prayers, but I'm no longer sure. I'm not obligated to follow anything blindly," I said, fuming.
I never signed up for this. I want answers. Or just let me die already. It'll sure as hell give me more mental peace.
I don't want to listen to this "you can adapt" bullshit.
"You assume your fate is the worst. What if I said this is all for the big picture? What if I told you there was someone who went through more than this?" she tried to reason.
"What big picture? It's funny how you think I'll care if you keep spouting nonsense. If I'm being tortured like this, I have the right to know the reason!" I said, being my relentless self.
She sighed deeply, looked away from me, lost in thought.
"Let me show you," she said, stepping forward and pushing me off the rooftop.
---
I FELL
The air caressed my features.
This is the third time.
Strangely, this time, i felt nothing, not even a strand of fear.
I closed my eyes. Relaxed.
---
TSHHHHH
I heard a sharp whiplash. I opened my eyes, startled.
I saw something I cannot unsee.
The room was dingy and coated in green mold. The place looked way too familiar. I spent five years of my life there.
But what traumatized me wasn't the room… or the claustrophobia I gained from my childhood.
There was a man, roughed up and bloodied to the point he was unrecognizable. He hung from the ceiling, suspended by his arms. Shirtless. Whip wounds covered his torso and back. His eyes were closed.
It looked like he took a shower in blood.
I don't know what happened, but emotions welled up inside me.
I covered my mouth with my hand. My eyes started to cloud.
What I felt was a mix of anxiety, sadness, and an overwhelming amount of shock.
I wanted to scream out loud.
It was the all-powerful Viktor Voltaries.
The last person I'd imagine in a situation like this.
He didn't look like himself. His face was void of emotion, his usual charm gone. He looked like the shell of a person I once knew.
He was shaking. His breath was ragged. Blood dripped from the strands of his hair.
---
I FELL AGAIN
The scene around me faded as I fell back into darkness.
What just happened?
Why is Viktor tied up in that prison, all beaten and bloodied?
I knew instinctively, it was the original Viktor.
Then it must be before this SWITCH and REWIND… right?
---
I felt someone shaking me.
It was gentle.
I pried my eyes open.
Guess what I saw?
It's not funny anymore but,yes, moldy walls.
Hah! I feel home!
---
"You are alive! The brat is alive!"
So loud. I turned my head. Pain coursed through my body.
It was Arxia, the mighty flame dragon of the south. Sitting there, one leg folded with his elbow on his knee, the other stretched out. He looked at me, amused.
"Morning," I groaned. It was 50% sarcasm and 100% pain.
"At times, you talk like an old man, y'know," Arxia chuckled, raising an eyebrow.
"How many six-year-olds do you know?" I retorted.
"Anyway, what happened? Where are we?" I asked, totally confused but weirdly calm.
"You don't seem as shocked."
I could feel Arxia getting increasingly amused with every moment.
"You guys broke me out. I grew up in a place like this," I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Are we at the same place again?" I asked, trying to look like a sad puppy.
Come on! Buy it. I'm a lot of things, but an actor is NOT one of them.
"Right..." Arxia drawled, completely unimpressed.
He sighed, finally dropping the cool act.
"I'm not sure. The ceremony started, and you passed out. We were jumped by a bunch of weirdos. The last thing I remember is Tessron fighting some brown-haired kid… and then suddenly, everything went dark."
He finished, eyes staring into space.
---
So we have nothing to work with. Great.
We were attacked by a group.
Someone wants to keep me in a prison for some reason.
My mother was NOT the only target.
But why Arxia?
---
You know what I need? A BREAK.
I tried to get up.
My arms were shaking like I was lifting something heavy.
I couldn't feel my legs. I felt like a fish out of water.
I looked at Arxia for help.
He sighed again.
Someone's tired today.
"I wouldn't get up if I were you. Something's wrong with you. Stay put," he said, looking genuinely concerned.
"My body hurts in this weird angle. Sit me up!"
Yes, I know. I'm stubborn.
"We don't even have doctors, and my aura's drained. I can't stabilize you if you start convulsing again," he argued.
He was right.
Being in pain is better than another episode.
I took a deep breath...
and embraced my fate.