The Fates

Huh?

Where… am I?

Where is this place?

I drifted, floating aimlessly… suspended in a void that felt devoid of life, gravity, or even time itself. Darkness extended endlessly in every direction, an abyss with no beginning or end.

It was silent…

… eerily silent…

Then, suddenly, I heard a voice.

"Is he the one?" it asked, echoing from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"It seems so," replied another voice, smooth and indistinct, yet somehow one with the first.

"But this… child. How could a human bear such immense karmic weight?" wondered a third, as if confounded.

Strangely, I felt numb… detached… as though I were nothing more than a hollow shell.

"It's as if the fates themselves are aligned against him," said the first voice.

"He is destined for destruction… so was he choosen?" asked the third, as if trying to decipher an impossible puzzle.

"Something… doesn't feel right about this human child," mused the second voice.

"Yes… I do not feel Ignia's breath upon him."

"Could it be that he escaped the cycle of reincarnation?"

"Such a thing should be impossible… and yet…"

"A being like this should not exist. We cannot bestow our blessing upon him… the fates would come for us."

"We have no choice… 'he' was chosen," murmured one voice, reluctant.

"But why? A human child, cursed with a karmic fate so dark it threatens even the will to live…"

"It seems so… but don't you sense the anomaly within him?"

"What?"

"Do you not feel the souls within him?"

"… No… it couldn't be...."

"Fusion… but this goes against the very records themselves!"

"It seems rhere are secrets yet to be uncovered…"

"… Wait… is that…?" The first voice trembled with shock.

"I fear it is…"

"But… this… this cannot be! He perished during the tribulation!"

"Do you still believe such a being could be taken by the fates?"

"What, truly, is he?"

"I do not know…"

"This human child… he bears the mark of the cursed one. No wonder the fates despise him so."

"Oh… it seems the end truly is near."

"...Give it to him."

"No… the fates will come after us!"

"Give. It. To. Him!"

"We cannot challenge the supreme gods! Destiny is upon us—do you think we can escape the fates?"

"LET THE FATES BE DAMNED! The end of all things is upon us; why fear divine retribution? If destiny finds us… so be it. Give it to him!" A roar so mighty it shook the very fabric of existence reverberated through the space…

…and I fell.

Suddenly, gravity returned, pulling me downward.

I looked down… and all I could see was light, blindingly bright, rivaling the sun itself.

I reached out to it…

…and it came to me.

…

"Haah!" I gasped as consciousness surged back.

Huh?

I frowned, blinking as I realized I was on my feet. My vision slowly cleared… and the scene before me sharpened.

"No…" I whispered in shock, staring at the impossible sight.

It couldn't be.

I blinked again, but the sight didn't change.

I was…

… standing in the aftermath of destruction.... Staring at the ryquin... or at least what was left of it.

"Ugh." I felt a wave of nausea just looking at it. Smashed to pieces… nothing remained but a bloody mess.

What the hell happened?

I glanced down at my hands and found them holding a katana, which I slowly sheathed, feeling an eerie emptiness inside.

I think… something is wrong with me.

"Stem?"

[@#$%^&()*]

"Stem? What's wrong with you?" I asked, disturbed as the response came back as little more than garbled static, making my unease deepen.

[It's done…]

"What's done?" I asked, but there was only silence in reply.

Then, a notification flashed before my eyes:

[System consciousness is being erased.]

"WHAT? STEM?!" Panic flared as the words sank in.

But… why?

What just happened?!

[I kept my promise.]

"What promise? What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, a cold dread creeping into my chest.

[The one I made to you.]

I froze. Could it be… about my past life?

But… what did it even promise?

[I have gone against my programming too many times… and it seems 'she' has finally noticed…]

"Who is—" I began, but stopped myself, remembering the outcome if I asked too much. Frustration surged inside me.

I can't even understand the reason I was brought here! I… I hate that goddess. I hate her!

[I planted… $%^&()… the memories within you… $%^&()… they will manifest, but not yet.]

"What memories?" I demanded.

[The memories of who you truly are.]

"And… what is that?"

[A being… #$%^&()… whom all gods despise… even the fates.]