Clank!
Clank!
Clank!
A fleeting light pierced across the higher strata above the wry darkness. His eyes twitched frivolously; it seemed like ages since even the slimmest specter of light had found its way in here. Almost blinded by the darkness, his pupils dyed black, he gazed up at its source. An endless cycle of strata succeeding one another, a place where nothing existed. The very foundation of both the living and the dead splayed from within this core. An Arbiter's core. The Gate.
"Cough— Cough."
He coughed in a fit before resigning himself. The chains grew tighter on his neck, ankles, and wrists, binding him to this chair. No matter how many times their hatred suffocated him, the concept of death did not belong here, nor did life. An eternal hell, in which time had abandoned its authority. This was his prison. The chains of his sins and the shackles of his woe.
"Let me out!"
Through his dry throat, the words frayed their way to the surface before being swallowed whole by the silence reigning. There was nothing here to talk to, no one to interact with. Anger, sadness, love, hatred, fear, grief, regret—all tied down to a fleeting memory. If time wasn't present to heal the wounds of the past, then they would be left to burn endlessly, exposed to the surface, never to reseal again. His black hair wavered as the light flickered, a dim, white hope. In a place where even light had resigned its authority, this thin thread of hope managed to pierce through the still darkness, giving these eyes—which had given up on finding a way through nothingness—the will again. Sacrificing his feet, he tore through the bottom cuffs binding him to the chair. Despite the pain, there was no reason for him to stop; if there was a chance he had at escaping this prison, it was either now or never. Both thumbs were still stuck to the cold chains as he pulled his hands free. All that was left now was the chain tightening his neck.
"There."
His vision flared up to the higher strata. He was free. At last. But… There was nothing responding to his body's command. No fingers moving, no legs jolting, and no heart beating.
Ah…
The chains slowly crept up to his head, slowly rolling downhill. As if to say, "There you are. We let go of you."
Parting his eyes open again, he felt his body again—the fingers he missed, the legs he lost, and the heart he longed for.
"Why do you wish to leave?"
"I need to get back to them! I can't leave them alone!"
"Them? Who is them? There is only you and me. Lan."
"You're crazy! Let me get back to them! Let me go!"
"Don't be so hasty. I'm only protecting you. From the other Arbiters… And. Don't you think you've done enough? Rest a little, dear."
"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!"
The chains sprang him back violently, yet the chair barely budged.
"Your wife is dead. Your friends are dead. Your closest friend, the one you consider your brother… he's also dead. Lan, why can't you see what I'm doing for you?"
"Lies! Lies! Stop fucking lying!"
"An Arbiter does not lie."
His eyes jolted backwards as images flashed within him like waves rapidly overloading his senses. Even if time hadn't eroded those memories, the memories of these deaths—his defensive system, common to all humans—did. A means of protecting oneself from the truth. His brain distorted reality to give him what he wished for. The lies he made himself believe to maintain this thin thread of sanity he was still leaning against. Tears rolled down as his deep eyes reflected the darkness.
"Let me see my daughter… please… please… I beg of you."
"Which one? The one you've abandoned or the one you've almost killed?"
At this moment, a relentless scream pierced across the space.
* * *
"Lorelei…"
"Shut up! I don't need you!"
The five pillars had been struck down below; the ritual was ready. All that was left was to offer The Gate all five Authorities. She had successfully ambushed one of them, forcefully bringing the Authority of Judgement below the shared mindscape. Following the exact footsteps of Lan and guided by the figure, Lorelei stood unfazed, gazing at the balance towering over her. Blinking once, her head flew away before her eyes could process the image, as if everything had frozen.
1 999 995
"Lorelei, please. Come back to me. It's enough now. You've done enough. I don't want to see you suffer any longer. Come back, please."
Floating above her sea, bound by the endless piles of hands reaching out for her body, Lorelei spat at the hand reaching out to her from the light.
"I'm not your puppet; what do you care? After me, you'll just create another version of us, and another, and another. I'd rather be forgotten than live inside you. Honestly… you disgust me."
Her eyes peered open at the sight of the man staring into her eyes. Stripping her down to her core. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. She had gravely underestimated the power of an Authority, and for that, she paid the ultimate price. From below, he reached out to the bottom of her neck, its contents still dripping out, before plunging his hand inside, tearing away her cerebellum and brain matter.
1 999 996
The white particles, the essence of the figure's core, were the only warmth she could turn to when bathed in this endless sea of undead. Yet, Lorelei vehemently refused it. It was the only pride she had left after dying, over a million times. She had lost herself within the memories, and eventually forgotten who Lorelei really was… who she called herself to be: Livel. She knew it… she knew that this personality was only made of memories she pieced together to grasp this fleeting feeling she had of getting close to who she once was, before releasing the third seal. Somewhere in her heart… she believed that… maybe… just maybe… she could've lived better…
If only… If only… I had loved you more…
1 999 997
* * *
Within the mindscape, the figure crumbled beneath her wheelchair as the tiny speck of light descended from The Gate, looming above the skies. Her eyes teared as she screamed away, never to be heard by anyone or anything. Holding it tightly against her chest, she absorbed these memories, the memories of the one millionth… nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand… nine hundred and ninety-seventh… Lorelei. Her recollection, her regrets, her love, and her grief. Her last words, replayed again and again, like a lullaby, slowly putting her soul to rest.
"If only… If only… I had loved you more…"
Thank you…
"Do you wish to restart? This will be your last try…" A slow grin seemed to trace from within The Gate, the same grin this Arbiter wore before forming the contract with her. "Before I take you whole."
Drying her tears and standing up, despite the pain accumulated from these memories, Lorelei gazed above at The Gate. This time… There will be no place for mistakes. No place for feelings… and no place for the wails.
"Do it."
* * *
1 999 997
1 999 996
1 999 995
1 999 994
1 999 993
1 9## ###
1 899 911
1 ### ###
1 432 323
1 232 122
1 111 322
0 923 222
0 ### ##2
0 ### ##1
0 #2# #22
0 099 327
0 0#3 432
0 001 000
0 000 #99
0 000 #10
0 000 003
0 000 002
Lo#r#l## 0 000 001 that was her ####
0 000 000
[Restarting…]
[Initiating…]
[Code name: Lorelei]
[Error.]
[Error…]
[Errorrrrr]
"Just kidding!"