⁕ The True Definition of Freedom

The ones already under the strings of fate never seem to realize that anything they did only played into fate's plan. Once one acquires knowledge about the existence of fate, the being has already willingly given his freedom away. Whether it be a show of resistance or a show of silent acknowledgement, whatever action committed will only ever play into fate's plan. 

Death, ever since being shown a glimpse into the forbidden kingdom where fate resides, vowed to find a way to rescue humanity from the ultimate fate that awaited humanity. However, his effort served nothing more than to perpetuate the endless cycle of suffering and conflicts which pestered humanity. 

Despite suffering such severe punishment under Mike's power, War still remained alive as he supported his vital function thanks to his ability. Despite that, his wounds were severe enough to guarantee that he would stay out of the incoming fight. It was one of those moments which reminded him of his true nature as another human capable of death or suffering. 

As he felt the life force slowly escape his body, War chose to reminisce about his life. All the choices he has made were so that humanity could prosper. He saw how life flourished when he chose to not intervene, he saw the destruction unleashed by Death upon the world when he chose to intervene. However, now that the dust has finally settled, War began to suddenly see clearly through the fog that clouded his vision his entire life.

[Mike] - "Where is your other friend? "

[Death] - "The emperor will keep doing what he pleases at his leisure. I, alone, will be able to deal with you. "

Mike quickly realized how CR-455 could still be unleashing destruction upon the civilian populace. In that case, Death must be quickly dealt with without any delay. Suddenly, a look of absolute focus and seriousness appeared on Mike's face as he focused on taking down his enemy through the fastest means. 

[Mike] - "Existential Judgement: Second Dimension! "

As soon as Mike uttered his phrase, Death's body shattered into mist of red chucks and blood. However, as soon as Mike retracted his attack, Death immediately repaired his entire body and appeared as if nothing happened. 

[Mike] - No! This bastard is utterly unharmed. "

Whispered Mike with shock in his voice. 

[Death] - "Ugh... I mastered the basic unit which composed every single living being on this planet. I have the genetic composition of my own existence stored within my brain. To kill me would be impossible but to kill you, on the other hand, I have an endless amount of alteration capable of that. "

Said Death with confidence as he looked at Mike. 

"Was the world always so black and white as I thought it was... I chose to stay idle and allow fate to do its things but in the end, how much of a difference did this make? "

Thought War as he stared at Death. 

From the horror which resulted from Death's genetic experiments to the abomination which embodied the worst of human nature unleashed upon the world by Death, was the world truly a better place when he didn't interfere? WWI and WWII, some of the deadliest events in history, took place when he was following the road of ignorance. 

[Death] - "There are countless diseases in this world capable of causing unimaginable suffering to the common mortals like you. I wonder, are you ready to tear through your own flesh in order to kill your microscopic enemies? "

Said Death with a sinister expression on his face. 

With a single hand gesture, Mike crushed Death into a ball before squeezing him into a pile of crushed diamonds and plasma. However, another Death immediately crawled out of the earth as soon as the original one died. 

[Death] - "Life will always find a way, young man. No matter what you do, I will always come back. Unless you want to destroy the entire earth just to win against a single enemy. "

[Mike] - "Not only are you hard to kill but you are also one bloody annoying chatterbox. "

Said Mike in a stoic voice. 

[Death] - "Feeling unwell? Maybe you should check your insides to see what's going on. "

Said Death with an evil smile. 

[Mike] - "There is no need. I might not be able to kill you right away but the situation is nothing but a temporary stalemate. You might know your biology well, but life remains an insignificant obstacle in the face of lethal chemistry and physics. "

Said Mike in a cold voice. 

Death gasped as he realized that none of his pathogens was actually infecting Mike. In truth, by analyzing the destruction left previously behind by Death, Mike has already devised plans to stay one step above his enemy in case he isn't able to finish him off quickly enough. By compressing the gas around him, Mike made sure that any pathogen or toxin was broken down to their elemental composition before breathing it in. 

In frustration, Death raised his hand and activated his ability. 

[Death] - "You might be able to filter out my creations but no amount of defence can defend against a direct modification to the basis of your existence. "

[Mike] - "True but how can you target something you can't even see? "

Death launched his attack but ended up missing Mike completely. In truth, knowing how Death modified some of the civilians into unrecognizable beings, Mike preventively played with the air in front of him to alter the reflection of light. As a result, Death was simply seeing a projection of Mike which was located in a different position to his true self. 

However, Mike didn't make any attempt to strike at Death either as he was reserving his attacks when he was sure that he could truly take down his enemy. If he were to reveal too much of his ability, his enemy could end up finding a way to adapt to his attacks. 

During this time, Behind Mike, Death discreetly used his ability to heal War of his injuries. Soon, War was able to stand up once more as he recovered fully from his wounds. 

"Strike your opponent in the back when he leash expects it. You can strike him down as he is too focused on fighting your brother. A single strike will break his focus and allow Death to mutate his body and kill him. "

Said a familiar voice to War. 

However, War hesitated as he thought back at Mike's actions. Unlike his inaction in the face of evil, Mike stood up to confront injustice when no one else did. For hundreds of years, he allowed fate to do as it pleases but has the world truly changed for the better?

The fact that his brother turned his back on the humanity the three of them so feverishly tried to save just to pursue the insane idea of a chosen one. How this obsessive pursuit only ended up creating more unnecessary misery for humanity. How this belief of a chosen one led them to follow a crazy egomaniac like CR-455 who just so happened to wield the power of a God in his hand. 

History is about to repeat itself once more. When he could've stopped Hitler or many other conflicts or events in history, he chose not to because fate told him so. In the end, did this inaction truly benefit humanity as he was led to believe? War turned his head and saw his white horse who seemed to be the one delivering these ominous messages. 

[War] - "You said the world would change for the better if I followed fate's instructions... So tell me, how did the world change for the better? "

"Do not challenge my orders. Your purpose is to serve, not to question. "

Said the voice as it rocked War's mind. 

[War] - "No! I was wrong! Everything was nothing but an illusion. You manipulated me throughout the centuries and I never questioned you or the truth. How much of a fool I was... You might have Death in your grasp but you won't have me! "

Said War with a regretful look in his eyes.

"Then do it. You will no longer play a role in the great machination of this world you so dearly wished to protect. You will be helpless and weak just like the humans you tried to save. Without the order I give you, your actions will become just as useless as all who dared to fight against my will. "

Yelled the voice as it echoed inside War's brain. 

[War] - "What's the difference? Heh... Whether I play your little game or not, if the result remains the same in the end, why should I continue to obey you? "

Said War as he stared at the horse with a determined look in his eyes.

Just before another message exited the horse's mouth, War abruptly punched forward and killed his horse with one strike. Just as he expected, the voices stopped as soon as they materialized. Meanwhile, the horse's glowing white fur slowly evaporated and revealed the brown fur underneath. 

During this time, a small cloud formed on Mike's shoulder before a rain of ice began falling on his coat. However, instead of being an attack, the small droplets of ice formed a coherent voice as they tapped against Mike's shoulder plate. 

"You need to create a quarantine with a diameter of around 100 metres around him and then destroy all matter while separating the elements which could form a DNA structure. "

Said the voice formed by the ice hitting Mike's shoulders. 

For a moment, Mike questioned if he should follow these instructions but the fact that he wasn't attacked confirmed to him the true intentions of the messenger. By extending one hand forward, Mike suddenly generated a bubble measuring a hundred metres in radius with Death at its centre. 

[Mike] - "Existential Judgement: Absolute Sterilization. "

By using the water given to him by War's ability, Mike used a simplified version of electrolysis to break apart the hydrogen from the oxygen before separating them by freezing and turning oxygen into a liquid form. Finally, by adding a massive amount of energy to the hydrogen atoms, Mike basically created a fusion reaction by creating helium using hydrogen. 

Death had barely any time to process what was going on before a bright flash appeared before Mike. In an instant, the force of the sun was unleashed inside the bubble which enclosed Death and his surroundings. The flash was bright enough to be seen from kilometres away while everything inside was obliterated. Finally, as the explosion died down, Mike used his ability to recalibrate the temperature back to normal where carbon particles fell down while hydrogen remained in the air. 

This way, without these two elements touching, DNA cannot be formed, thus dooming Death's potential revival. Due to the mental strain of this attack, Mike fell to the ground while breathing heavily.

[War] - "It's finally over. After all the centuries where he created chaos and carnage, someone was finally able to put him down. "

Said War as he watched the ashes slowly hit the ground. 

[Mike] - "I thought I kicked your blood arse. How the hell are you still alive? "

Said Mike before slowly rising to his feet. 

[War] - "I was offered a choice. I always believed that you don't get to choose inside fate's kingdom but I realized that I was wrong. Although I don't who you are, in my heart I know that helping you was the right thing to do. We lost our way and refused to acknowledge our fault... That's why our minds are vulnerable to manipulation by our greatest enemy. "

Said War as he slowly knelt down before Mike. 

[War] - "I'm at your mercy, great warrior. You might see me submitting in acceptance of my defeat, however, to me, I have already experienced my greatest victory. I do not care if I die or live because I no longer matter to this world. I'm now, just another insignificant being, waiting for my judgement by a higher power. "

Said War as he lowered his head and presented his respect toward Mike. 

Mike was baffled by this turn of events but although he doubted War's motif, he recognized the sincere tone only spoken in true honesty in his voice. With his ability, he created a small cut on War's neck which was not deep enough to open his artery. 

[Mike] - "You truly wished to die, don't you? You didn't bother defending. "

[War] - "I will not comment any further, great warrior. All you need to know is that I will accept whatever punishment you see fit for me. "

Mike slowly kneeled down to War's level and met his eyes. 

[Mike] - "I want to give people a fair trial. Despite your orders, you showed compassion toward the innocents. I'm unfamiliar with your past, but I know what kind of person you are through your actions. Your help earlier gained me precious time which I will use to stop CR-455 before he causes any more unsolicited harm to the world. "

War raised his head and saw a look of compassion in Mike's eyes. Unlike fate, Mike is human and he understands him more than anything else could. 

[Mike] - "However, you still made a bunch of choices. I gotta say, despite everything, you still gotta realize you were in the wrong. For a being who lived for thousands of years, you were probably responsible for a lot of shit that left a bad stain on history. "

Said Mike as he crossed his arms judgingly. 

[War] - "I will accept your accusations. "

[Mike] - "Look, our choices do make a difference. It's our own delusion which tricks us into thinking otherwise. Not all actions will result in a monumental change but you won't find a single droplet which will not leave a ripple when hitting the water. I can offer the cowardly escape of death or you can choose to change. If you chose the second option, I want to hear from you, that you acknowledge your actions and wish to pay for your wrongdoings. "

Said Mike as he reached his hand toward War. 

War looked at Mike's hand for a moment before he realized that he was offered a choice which definitively would matter despite being told the contrary. 

[War] - "With your permission, I would like to pay for my crimes. I would like to be on the right path as someone who will no longer hide behind his own weakness. I will act to favour humanity in its path toward prosperity. "

Said War as he grabbed Mike's hand. 

[Mike] - "Guardian, I sentence you to guard the crystal cave until the end of your days. Not a single person without my permission will get past the cave's entrance and manage to extract a piece of crystal. "

[War] - "Your order will be my permanent duty. You have my word, great warrior. "

Said War as he kneeled on one knee and bowed his head toward Mike. 

Just as Mike was about to leave, War suddenly called out to him. 

[War] - "Would you not require my assistance in your upcoming battle, great warrior? "

[Mike] - "If you are no match for me, then you are no match for CR-455. Attend to your rightful duty and I'll attend to mine. "

Said Mike before he took off into the air. 

As the countryside wind blew against him, War finally felt free as he breathed deeply. Somehow, he saw the world differently as the shadow which followed him no longer was here. That day, he was reborn as a guardian and no longer represented by his name of War. Slowly, he walked into a cloudy mist before disappearing. 

To be continued...