Chapter 44: The Clock

I heard footsteps.

Footsteps followed by loud 'booming'.

We saw small figures sprinting towards us, followed by rocks tumbling behind them.

"RUN!" Rei screamed at us.

Instantly, I knew instantly that my legs needed to move, and Luke and I started sprinting from whatever disaster was approaching us.

"What's the situation?" I asked, as further booming behind us echoes.

"We weren't strong enough." Kyle answered, making vined walls behind us to buy us a few seconds, "He's a complete monster. I don't where or how he got that much mana, but I don't feel like experiencing a strong blast of it today."

"…I think I know a way to defeat him." Emilia suggested, her azure hair billowing behind her.

"How?!" Luke demanded, "Is there even a way?"

"Well-" Emilia began.

"Boo."

Solaris arm stretched out towards us and sent a tsunami of water crashing at us.

***

REI:

I was caught by surprise and didn't get time to quickly hold my breath. The wave of water shoved me over and over again, suffocating me with water. I gathered the rest of my strength to gather some wind to push the water away from me, but it only gave me a few seconds to catch my breath before the wave broke through my shield. I slammed my head into one of the falling rocks and winced in pain.

But suddenly, I could breathe again.

"Go!" Kyle screamed, blocking majority of the water with a wall of vines, "I can't hold on my longer!"

We all scrambled, running into a nearby greenhouse.

"Hide." Kyle hissed, ducking behind a tree.

We all held our breaths as footsteps thumped outside, and promptly left.

Suddenly, I become aware how hot the back of my head felt.

"Rei!" Ivory gasped, fumbling with her handkerchief, "You're bleeding!"

Instinctively, I touched the back of my head and my fingers came away slick with red, dripping blood.

"Oh." I opened my mouth like a fish.

"Sir Luke, can you freeze his wound with your ice element?" Emilia asked, her fingers fidgeting nervously.

"I'm sorry." Luke apologised, "But I might accidently freeze his brain."

My vision blurred for a second and I felt my body sway.

"I can try to heal it with my light element." Emilia suggested, "But I can't heal fatal wounds. My power isn't strong enough for that."

Was I going to die?

Of course not. I was almost an adult, but nevertheless still a child. I could not die. I would live out my life like I always imagined it, surrounded by my loved ones and friends. Death had not been in the future I had imagined.

More drips of blood splattered on the floor.

No, I was going to die today.

"I have a plan." I looked up.

***

IVORY:

So much blood.

"Please do something." I pleaded Emilia.

A vibrant glow floated around Rei's head, before fading away.

"…Sorry." Emilia apologised to no one in particular.

"It's alright." Rei replied calmly, no sign of fear on his face.

Rei didn't seem scared of the fact that he was dying or that so much of his blood was leaving his body, except for the fact his fingers fidgeted slightly.

He was scared.

He didn't want to die.

And I didn't know how to comfort him.

Emilia quietly sniffed, blinking back unshed tears and mentally blaming herself for being unable to save him.

"Relax." Rei sighed, though his fingers didn't stop fidgeting, "Now, just listen to my plan."

Rei brushed his hair off his face and his hidden eye was revealed.

An amazingly vibrant blue, almost neon with a golden clock ticking instead of a pupil.

Kyle almost dropped his katana, and Luke coughed in surprise.

"I'll take you all back into the past." Rei continued, "But I cannot come with you."

The last sentence he uttered caught all of our attention.

"What?!" Luke dropped his sword in shock, "I'm dragging you along even if you don't want to!"

Rei sighed and spoke slowly as if he was speaking to a young child, "I want to go, but I have to die to complete this spell."

"No." Kyle objected sternly without hesitation, "We can find another way."

"No, we can't." Rei rolled his eyes, "And you know that."

"We don't need to pull back time to kill him." Emilia suggested, "We can try to kill him now."

"He's too strong." Rei shook his head, "Listen here."

We all closed out mouths and leaned forward to hear him better,

"We all know I'm probably going to die here." Rei shrugged, "So stop whining and do what I say."

I opened my mouth to argue but Rei shot me a glower.

"I'm going to pull back time and you're going to kill Easton." Rei commanded, "Don't even hesitate to kill him, even if he's a child. You have 30 minutes to kill him before the spell reverts and drags you back here."

Crashes became louder outside, and a figure of a person became apparent outside the blurry glass.

"We don't have much time." Rei seemed to be speaking to himself as he gazed outside, "I guess it's goodbye."

"Rei-" I blurted out reaching out to maybe try to convince him that he didn't need to die.

"Bye bye." Rei smiled, a very beautiful and sincere smile.

In a split second, the clock inside Rei's eye started spinning anti-clockwise and his skin started paling.

And then, we were sent somewhere else.

***

REI:

I watched as Kyle, Ivory, Luke and Emilia faded away into the past.

My life was being drained away now.

"You wretched vermin." I felt someone clutch my neck painfully.

Easton glared at me, his eyes burning with fury as his dropped me on the ground.

"You ruined everything for me!" Easton screamed, "You don't understand! It would be best if we all died."

"I like being alive, thanks." I mustered the last of my sarcasm, adding in an exaggerated eye roll.

"You don't understand…" Easton trembled, his eyes widened, and his pupils dilated.

Those were the last words I heard before time froze temporarily for 30 minutes, and I faded away into death's soft, swift embrace.