Chapter 59: Eden: False Paradise

Thank you for all your well-wishes; it truly warms my heart. However, I still feel somewhat guilty for missing last week, so… here's another chapter.

I'm going to take a nice long rest now, so I can (hopefully) put out the next chapter on time next week.

Your humble author,

Falling_Mountains

———I am the dividing line that separates story from author———

"H̸͂͠a̷̅̿v̶͌̽e̶̅̊ ̶̊͝y̶̆͝o̴̔̎ǘ̶͛ ̵̔͝e̵̊̿v̸̏̽e̴̿̕r̷̽̔ ̴̒̓w̶̋̓o̵͌͝n̶̅̿d̴̎͝e̵̎͊r̵̅̎e̸̎͝d̶̿̓ ̴͊͠t̵͆͠o̵̿̊ ̴͝͝y̴̎͝o̸̅͝u̴̅͝r̸̊͝s̵͝͠e̸̓͝l̵̿̓f̷̊̿..."

"I'm sorry," Kyo suddenly interrupted while holding up a palm. "Can you... speak normally?"

The shadow that called itself the other half of Kyo went quiet. The rolling darkness covering its body began to stir, expressing what he assumed was... annoyance? Amusement? After a moment, the shadows suddenly began to swirl together until something far more obviously human finally took shape.

"iS thIs betTer?" It rasped with a voice that sounded like radio feedback.

Kyo's face scrunched into a disgruntled grimace. "Barely."

"tHEn beAr WIth iT," the shadow snapped back. "As i wAs sAYiNg... hAve yOU eVer wONdErED whY wE cONTinUE tO LiVE?"

Kyo's eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he shifted his grip on [Origin]. "What kind of a question is that? Are you messing with me?"

A short, jarring laugh echoed from the shadow. "aNSwEr tHe quESTion."

"I'd like to exercise my fifth amendment right, thanks." Kyo rolled his eyes, keeping a hand readied on [Origin]'s handle. "Now, stop playing with me and explain yourself!"

"...hOW aRrOganT." The shadow spat a puff of black smoke at the ground while shaking its head. "iT is thIS arROGanCe wHiCH leD To OUr dIsgRAcefUl dEfeAt bY thAT noBoDY nAMeD RiNNe."

"Rinne? Who is..." A sharp pang of pain suddenly struck Kyo's head, forcing him to the ground while clutching at his temple. "Argh!"

"hEr pOWeR cANNoT pEneTrate tHIs doMAIn," the shadow spat with a hint of disdain. "nOw, unSHAckLE tHySelf of tHY IgnORANce, aNd rECaLl tHE MemORy oF oUr fAILure..."

——————I am the dividing line that flashbacks——————

Unfathomable pain erupted through Kyo's arms, as though his limbs were set ablaze with a freezing flame. It resonated with another emptiness that had long since settled within his body, one kept suppressed by a constant supply of Reiryoku that had now been sapped away by the roots that now imprisoned him. Now it erupted forth once more to wrack his entire body with a cold so potent that it burned his very soul. Their combined influence left him in a daze, unable to move his body or complete a single coherent thought. It messed with his perception of time itself, twisting his senses until he could no longer tell a second from an hour, an hour from a day, and a day from years upon years.

...

Until suddenly, a moment of respite. Opening his eyes for the first time in what could have been decades, he found himself deep within the shadows of a world split into darkness and light, with twin suns of black and white bearing down from the sky. The man did not recognize this world... in fact, he no longer recognized himself. His body was cold, but at least it was no longer in intense pain. Relishing in that fact, he allowed himself to lay down upon the dark waters that covered a great majority of the land, paying no need to the fact that he seemed to be sinking further down within.

...thump.

Then, a sound. His eyes opened blearily as he attempted to locate the origin of the anomaly. It seemed to resonate within his very ears, a barely-audible thumping that symbolized something important. But what? The man pondered. What is it?

...thump.

Once more, he heard it. It was distant, and yet immeasurably close. It came from... above? Below? The man could hardly tell direction anymore. All the same, he continued to search, reaching out with aching arms towards that sound. He grasped blindly through the black waves, touching nothing but a cold darkness. He reached towards that white sun in the distance, to no avail. He would have moved towards the faraway land of the light, but a heaviness forced him immobile. And yet, his heart-

...thump ...thump ...thump.

The man's eyes shot wide open, realization coursing through his body. That sound... was the sound of a beating heart. It resounded throughout the world, echoing a promise that was once made. A promise to continue living. A promise...

...a promise that I made to myself. The man clutched his head, attempting to remember. I... I have to live. A pang of weakness suddenly wracked his body, and his arms fell helplessly back into the black waters. No, that's not enough anymore, is it? What else is there?

"May you set forth on your new journey without hesitation, find your own meaning in the face of Nihility, and fight for what is beautiful in the world."

The words of a maiden with purple hair resurfaced within his mind, suddenly sparking a flash of inspiration. Meaning... I see. A life lived for the sake of living is not necessarily a meaningful life. In fact, life is inherently meaningless until we give life meaning... He shook his head slowly. Or perhaps I'm reading far too into it. Maybe I'm just desperately grasping at straws at the end of my existence. Maybe...

...even still, I have to try. The man reached out shakily, grasping the air. A crimson blade manifested within his grip, and without wasting another moment, he plunged it into himself. The entire world screamed out in a soundless pain as white was torn away and cast off from black and the man's consciousness faded entirely.

—————I am the dividing line that flashes forward—————

"Hah, hah..." Kyo panted, wiping sweat from his brow with shaking hands as he struggled to digest what he had just remembered. "We... I..."

"inDeeD. in OrdEr to pResErve a CLeAreR mInD tO SeaRcH foR LifE'S mEaNIng, wE sPLit ouRSelVes iNTo tWo," the shadow supplied, its voice low and solemn as it observed Kyo motionlessly. "tHe mAjORitY oF oUR soUL, cORrupTeD bY niHiLity... aND A fInaL unTArnIsHEd sLivEr oF oUR seLf."

Kyo gently massaged his head, attempting to ease an oncoming headache. "Why was my memory erased? How long has it been since that happened?"

"yOu aRe a SLivEr oF oUr fOrMer pOweR, aNd uNtAinTed bY niHiLity," the shadow scoffed, turning its head away to stare into the jet-black walls of the domain. "It iS nO WoNDEr yOu fALL pREy tO RiNNe'S wItCHerY wItHOut mY iNTErfEreNce."

"Right..." Kyo frowned, unable to think of a retort. "And it's been?"

"fOuR DaYs... oR, a HuNDrEd AnD nInE dAyS." The shadow tilted its head thoughtfully. "tHIs wORlD iS AN iLluSion, rePEatIng iTseLF eVery tHreE wEeks... tHis iS ThE sIxTh lOOp."

"An illusory world, is it..." Kyo frowned. "Hold on, a hundred and nine days? You only contacted me on the fourth day of the loo-"

"iNSoLenT fOoL!" The shadow mocked, leaning in close to Kyo's face. His lungs froze and the smell of rainwater and blood filled his nose as he unintentionally inhaled some smoke, causing Kyo to cough. "i aM tHe oNE bEinG eROdEd bY nIHiliTY. I fEeL mYsElF SLippInG aWay mORe eVerY iTerAtiOn, aNd It tAkES mE LoNGeR tO pIeCe mYsELf bAcK tOgEthER EaCh TImE. raTheR, iT is yOu wHO hAve faILeD in yOur DutY, unTaRNIShEd hALF."

The shadow shuddered, then exploded into formless mist once again. Within a few seconds, it condensed once more into an eerie black orb and a bird as black as the void.

"wE aRE a BiRd WhICh hAs cHOsEn tO soAR iNTo tHe sKy oF tHE bLACK SuN"

The shadow's voice emanated from nowhere as the bird suddenly took flight, flying in circles around the orb.

"bUt tHe bLaCK sUn cARes nOT. rAtHer, iT tEstS tHe ReSOLve tO cOntInuE tO fLy, rEgArdLEsS oF wHy tHe BiRD hAS aLREaDY tAkEn fLigHT."

"...you seem very enthusiastic about this explanation," Kyo noted dryly. "What with all these flowery metaphorical explanations."

The shadows collapsed, slowly reforming into a humanoid figure which pointed an accusing finger at Kyo. "tHoSe ARe yOuR oWn wOrdS, fRoM a PrEviOus lOop," it proclaimed, nonexistent eyes staring judgingly. "i aM mERelY rEPeAtInG THeM."

"Ah..." Kyo scratched his head awkwardly. "But still, over a hundred days, and still no reason to live? I feel like I could come up with three on the spot at this very moment-"

"aLL oF wHiCH rInG hOLLoW. tHEy aRE EmPTy, miNUsCuLe rEveLatIons tHaT yOu dO nOT tRulY bELiEve In, iDeaLs tHat cOulD nEveR hOld iN thE fAcE oF THEIR pOWer," the shadow rebuked. "yOu HaVe sAcrIfIceD FaR toO mUcH oF yOuR rEmaIniNg sElf bY ReLyInG oN tHeSe wOrThLesS 'TrUThS.'" 

The shadow stepped closer again, prompting Kyo to step back to avoid inhaling smoke again. "yOu hAvE bEEn fORcEd tO sEvER mORe oF yOuR UnTARnisHed sOuL bY coNfrOntIng NiHILItY wItH sUCh wEAk reSoLVe!"

Kyo inadvertently shivered. So compared to when I split myself in two... my current self is even less than it was back then? "I... see. How much time do we have left?"

The shadow rasped another haunting chuckle, a sound that sent goosebumps down Kyo's arms. "yOuR sLivEr oF sOuL, tHoUgH fRaGmEnTEd, wiLL NOt sImPLy dIsAPPeaR. mIne, hOwEVer, wiLl dIssIpATe bY tHe End oF tHis WeEk."

Kyo's eye twitched. "THIS week?! You want me to find a meaning in life strong enough to hold up against the Nihility in three damn days?!"

"iT Is MirACuLoUS i HaVE pERsiSteD fOr sO lOnG, hELd tOgeTheR bY wHaT cOUld bE mErE fAlSe HopE, aNd Yet yOu sTiLL aSk mOre oF Me?" 

The shadow tsked before slowly standing up and pointing a finger at Kyo's face. "WhEN I lOsE mYsElf, mY rEmaIns wiLL PoLLuTe tHis enTIrE wOrlD wiTh NiHiLITy, sEaLiNg tHe fAte oF aLL wIthIN tHiS iLlusIon... aLonG wItH ThOse wItHin RiNnE'S dOmAIn."

So not only me, but Nia, Yoshino, and the rest of the city will be dragged down too… "I guess I'd better get to soul-searching then," Kyo sighed, scratching his head resignedly.

—————I am the dividing line that shifts time and perspective—————

"What's taking that boy so long?" Nia complained to the empty apartment, prodding a fork into her Chinese takeout at the dinner table. The takeout, of course, didn't answer back. She sighed, stuffing the rest of the noodles into her mouth before tossing the box into the trash. Not having someone to talk to is so boring. What did I used to do when I lived alone? Watch anime, storyboard my manga...

She absentmindedly began shifting through a few anime DVDs on her bookshelf before shaking her head. Ugh. I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong, but it's not as if I can use [Raziel] to check if he's ok... wait, what? Of course I can! Why did I think that I couldn't?

Narrowing her eyes, Nia quickly summoned the familiar tome to her side. Yet this time, there was a slight anomaly - attached to the spine of [Raziel] was a metallic chain, jammed between two pages like a bookmark. Isn't this Kyo's necklace? Why is it here? Opening the book to the pages marked by the chain, Nia's eyes widened.

"What is this...?!"