Difference between revisions of "MVR Round 2 P2"

Revision as of 20:50, 30 March 2021

R5

"I'm doing this." I said, as Merrow nodded at me grimly.

"You got this, Thomas."

I nodded at Deacon, who cracked his finger.

"What happens next will forever define who you are. This is the meaning of living your life, Thomas. Take that step and evolve as a warrior."

"And don't fuck it up!" Sammy chimed in, causing me to trip out the door.

"Sammy!" Merrow chastised, as Deacon walloped Remnant 4 over the head.

I looked at myself from the reflection.

I was dressed well. I had my hair combed and everything.

It was time.

For my first date with a girl.

Two hours later

"Whoa. Thomas. You really sped through that date my guy!" Sammy waved me over and put his arm around my neck.

I walked with Sammy dejectedly back to the house, as Sammy laughed.

"So, did you two hit it off? Huh?"

"Sammy." I said, my voice sombre.

"Whazzzup?"

"She left halfway through the dinner."

Sammy's face went horrified.

"Oh shi- I mean. Well, you did what you could, Thomas! I'm sure there are plenty of fish in the sea-"

"Sammy, I threw up at the table."

"Oh."

I sighed, as I opened the door. How was I going to face Merrow like this? After everything she had done for me. She had a heart to heart and everything.

"It's okay, Thomas! You're never too old for your first love! I was 16 when I had my first boyfriend."

Yeah, thanks Merrow. Thanks for telling a 25 year old man that as if 16 and 25 were the same age groups. Ugh. She helped prepare my outfit. My hair. Gave me inspirational speeches and everything. Now I had to go back to the house and tell her all her efforts were for nothing.

Sammy and I arrived at the door.

"Sammy... I'll be the one to tell her. Alright?"

Sammy's face paled.

"Y-Yeah. Good luck, bro. Just remember, you still have us. We'll be there for you the next time you fuck up a relationship!"

I turned to Sammy.

"What the hell dude..."

I unlocked the door and brought my hand up to the handle.

I swallowed hard.

Here goes nothing.

"THOMAS! Oh my god!" Merrow ripped the door open and crushed me in a hug.

"Thank goodness. I almost thought I lost you to some random girl!"

"Wh- What are you even saying?" I asked, unable to comprehend the situation.

Merrow suddenly realized what she was doing and pulled away.

"Ah, erm. Yeah. Sorry about your date."

She was totally not sorry at all!

Deacon was at the doorframe.

"What she meant was she was scared to death that she lost her little brother figure to another woman."

Merrow glared at Deacon, as Deacon quickly silenced himself.

"I, uh. Ahem. Well, now that you're back, I guess we could probably discuss some things about our next mission."

After that terrible series of events, we held our meeting first thing in the following morning.

Deacon put his hand on the table.

"You're going with Kanade and Sammy to Arman's high school. And you're going to convince him to come with us."

"Umm..." I slowly raised my hand.

"Yes, Thomas?" Merrow asked.

Stop treating me like a little kid!

"Two questions. How are we supposed to convince Arman to go back? Didn't Sammy try that and nearly get his ass kicked? Also how are we supposed to just go to a high school like this! We're grown adults man! Look at me! I have chest hairs like some old gramps!"

I lifted my shirt, as Skylar yelped.

"Jesus, Thomas! I do NOT want to have to see your disgusting chest first thing in the morning."

"My god. Aren't you supposed to be my older bro. What the hell is wrong with you, no wonder your date dipped. So loud and having a mental breakdown first thing in the morning." John muttered, leaning against the chair backwards.

That damn brat!

"We're going to talk to him. At the very least, get some more intel while we're at it." Deacon said, calmly.

"Also, don't worry about the age thing. When you guys arrive at his universe, the Remnant Normalization should handle the age difference from time displacement. You guys will age back to your teenage forms just fine."

Oh yeah. I forgot about that.

"Well, I guess. I guess that's cool." I muttered, fidgeting with my hands.

"Is something wrong, Thomas?" Merrow asked.

"It's just... I don't like going back to high school. I've had a really bad experience with it in the past. Don't really wanna do it again."

Sammy chuckled. "My guy, I'm going and I spent my high school bullied. Don't worry about it. The three of us will be popular as hell! We've been through it once already, after all."

Kanade frowned. "I'm actually more concerned with the fact that you're affiliating with us..."

I guess you can say this was one of those back to the past, high school do-overs you would see in cliche'd shows or movies. Unfortunately, like I always did, I started the journey off by throwing up all over the floor.

"Thomas! Oh god! The Shadow Travel killed him!" Sammy yelped, as Kanade put his hand on my back, soothing my nausea.

"Are you alright, Thomas?"

"Yeah. Whoa."

I looked up at a younger Kanade, his hair had gotten shorter, reaching his ears, but still very white. His face, the worry lines and permanent scowl all gone, replaced with an angelic tone. He looked... almost pretty like a girl.

"K- Kanade, you-"

Kanade tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

Was it wrong that I found my own brother hot? Would that be considered illegal?

I turned to Sammy, who scratched his head sheepishly. He didn't look much different. I guess since he always had the same childish face. Magenta streaks in his hair and brown eyes. He looked like your average delinquent.

Wait.

What about me?!

I held out my hand and summoned a rock from the ground, green and teal winds blowing around it like a mini-rasengan until the lump turned into a beautiful piece of quartz. I stared at my face from the reflection.

"Wow." I muttered, unimpressed.

I guess I should have known.

I was never attractive in college. Or high school.

And this stupid piece of quartz reminded me of it once more.

"Thomas, let's go to homeroom." Kanade said, helping me to my feet. We made our way into the building.

Kanade sure was resourceful. He knew exactly what to do and what to say. Even being our "guardian" and helping Merrow with the documents to get us "enrolled" just so we could play our part. I guess that was cool and all, but it definitely felt weird.

I looked at the school kids as they gave me double takes like I was the most hideous thing on Earth.

It didn't help that Sammy kept clinging onto me.

"Oh my god. It's been so long since I've been in this environment. It just goes downhill from here. I can't wait to experience high school all over again. The girls. The failing grades. The drugs."

"Uh, dude I don't think that's an accurate representation of high school at all." I muttered.

"This way." Kanade gestured to us, as we followed him down the hall.

"As long as we follow the signs, we should be oka-"

Kanade was interrupted as he suddenly bumped into somebody.

The girl yelped and dropped her books.

"Sorry!" Kanade said, as he knelt down and helped her pick it all up.

"Th- Thanks." The girl said, as she blushed.

What in the hell? My empath abilities were indicating that the girl was extremely nervous. But this nervousness was something else. Something unbelievable.

It was feelings of attraction.

The girl picked up all her books and bowed to Kanade.

"Thank you!" She said, as she quickly hurried off.

Sammy reached out and closed my mouth which was gaping open.

"Kanade, my guy." Sammy shook his head. "You're way too old for her."

Kanade tilted his head. "I'm sorry?"

That dense womanizer!

I had forgotten how boring homeroom was. It wasn't helping that Kanade ended up getting the spotlight.

"Dude, is that white hair natural? How did you get it to look like that?"

"Dude, have you considered modelling?"

"Can I see your abs?"

Both girls and guys were crowding around Kanade, while Sammy and I sat in the corner of the classroom near the back.

"You know, Thomas..." Sammy said.

"What?"

"This wasn't how I imagined my high school slice of life shounen real life anime would play out."

I sulked in my seat and buried my face in my arms.

Focus. We weren't here to get all giddy giddy in this place. We needed to find Arman and talk to him, convince him to get out of here. Then we were all set to leave and move forward with the plan to train and get stronger. Most of us got a head start already. I personally underwent massive development of my own over the eight years.

We needed Arman on our side.

No other way around it.

But...

"Yo, Sammy."

"Sup."

"Did you ever have a girl you liked? In high school?"

Sammy spread his arms out.

"Yeah."

I looked at my brother. "Seriously? What was she like?"

Sammy smiled. "She was cute. She had bangs and made my heart go poof every time I saw her. Every time she walked by me..."

Sammy held out his hand, and created a small black bird projection, that took flight from his palm.

"I felt like I could fly farther than I ever could."

I stared at Sammy. He had an expression that I never seen before. Almost like he was dreaming. Nostalgic. But a little sad. It was so out of place, from a guy who always had like, two personalities.

A beast, vicious, and dead inside.

Or a total party animal.

But this version of Sammy...

"Did you guys... ever hit it off?"

Sammy sighed and closed his fist. "Nope. It never happened."

"What happened?"

Sammy leaned back in his chair, his black and magenta bangs dancing on his forehead.

"I found out she had a boyfriend. Boyfriends. Plural. A ton of guys who she had dated in the past. Even banged too. That when I was supposed to confess to her, that day... well. I left. Because I was too insecure about myself."

We were silent for a few seconds.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up."

Sammy chuckled.

"I don't need your sympathy, Mister Five Star Vomit."

"Geh! Dammit, just when I was just starting to respect you, man!"

Sammy put his hand on the desk.

"I dunno, man. The thought of seeing her with a bunch of guys. Cuddling. And being lovey dove. Even if it was in the past. It hurt me. I thought I was special to her. I just couldn't bear with that weight. After all, I'm a huge loser. To a guy who never once held hands with a girl, she was the first. But in her point of view, I guess I was just another dude. That was what I thought. I loved her, but I also hated how she could so easily get with some random guy if she wanted to. Dozens of guys wanted to go out with her. If we ever broke up... it would be the end for me. No other girl in sight. But for her, she could have an endless supply of men to fill the void."

We watched as Kanade made eye contact with a girl and smiled. My empath powers were firing like crazy from her.

Power. Strength. Very few people are simply blessed with immense unparalleled power. Most need to work for it. And even so, they always need some kind of trigger.

Those were the words Deacon had taught me what seemed like an eternity ago.

I looked at Sammy again.

"Was that... the reason?"

Sammy smiled. "That I became this? I guess you could say so. It was one of the few. As powerful as this dreamboat is-"

Sammy put his hands to his face like a movie star. Cringe.

"I don't like being hurt. I'm actually really scared of it. That's why I decided to instead focus on becoming stronger and stronger. Finding happiness in power, instead of through love. There's more than one way to enjoy life. I guess for me, I enjoyed it by becoming the best."

"GAH!" I yelped, as I clutched the edge of my seat.

"Yo! Thomas, you good, man? I didn't mean to share my past!"

I glared at the desk. What was this rage? This intense rage?

"No, it's not from you... it's something els- AAAH!"

I clutched my head as the metal in the desk began to warp and bend.

"Yo, Thomas. Take deep breaths. What-"

Sammy and I stared out the window. Numerous monsters. Coming straight from the corner of the school. A portal. No one was noticing it. Except Sammy and I.

The bell had already rung for first period, as Kanade ran up to us.

"Do you see it? Abyssal Creatures. Let's go. If that portal is up, it means Arman must be there."

I nodded at Sammy.

"Let's go."

R4

"Hey, Sam? What did you call me here for?"

I looked at Leah. I had to tell her. Come on man. You've been dating her for two months now. Not once have I told her this.

I love you.

I just needed to say those three words.

"I..."

My mind flashed. To that day. When I had used Shadow Step in the shadows of Leah's house. Her ex had visited her house and tried to get back with her again. He talked about all the things they did together. And each memory that he brought up hurt my heart.

More and more.

"Sam?"

I looked at Leah's face. She was so cute. So pretty. Yet...

Those lips were touched by dozens of guys before me.

And I hated that.

So much.

"So that's the plan. Got it, Sammy? Sammy?"

I shook my head back into reality. "Whazzzupppp??"

Kanade gave me a look of exasperation. "At least try to listen whenever we come up with a plan. You're still somewhat exhausted from that Shadow Port to the Forbidden Realm, right? Try to avoid going above 10%. We fight off the creatures until the Cleaners arrive. Then we hold our fire. Hopefully Arman is with them. Absolutely no engaging."

"Loud and clear, Cap-nade!"

Thomas gave me an uncomfortable look. No doubt this dude had picked up my shitty past.

But past was the past, right?

Right?

Several creatures roared at us, as Thomas flew into the air, holding out his hands and generating two telekinetic spheres in each hand.

Kanade held out his hand as the creatures began to slow down, their energy being sucked away as Thomas threw his two Rasengan looking thingies at the them, each ball creating a powerful vortex which sucked all the enemies in the region in.

I held out my hand as well. Leah. Dammit. Dammit Thomas, why do you gotta make me remember something like that.

Fuck love.

Fuck getting my feelings hurt.

Right now, I'm unstoppable as hell, baby.

"5 percent." I said, as I summoned the head of Paragus, the Shadow Dragon of Fire from the palm of my hand, as it roared and chomped down on the enemies, disintegrating them into little pieces.

"That should be enough." Kanade said, as he landed next to me.

Thomas levitated next to us, as I heard the sound of something familiar.

Green darkness. Yeah.

A streak appeared, as a teenage girl, still in school uniform, zipped in and dispatched the rest of the creatures, her purple hair flying in the wind, followed by another guy who landed next to her.

He looked intimidating.

Black combat boots, military camo pants. Black tank top. Shredded tone.

He was wielding two large swords. One silver and one gold. And along his left forearm, were chains.

I recognized him all right.

The dude who fought with Decen and Icarus' power.

Remnant 1. Kingslayer. Arman Wan.

Samuel Mace.

We regarded our eldest brother, as Rei turned to us. Arman held her hand as he eyed us.

"I thought I told you that I'm not going anywhere. Leave us alone."

Kanade stepped forward.

"We can't do that. This entire multiverse is in danger. Please, listen to reason, Arman-"

"That's not my name." Mace muttered, as he glared at his younger brother.

"You made that very clear. You, the holiest of the Remnants. You made it so painfully obvious that Arman Wan was nothing but a sham. Now I've found a life with Rei, and you're trying to take that away?"

Thomas walked up to Kanade's side.

"That's not true, dude. We're not trying to take her away from you!"

Arman glared at Thomas.

"So you're suggesting I let you rip Rei away from her family to come along with your crazy plan to get everybody killed."

A bead of sweat rolled down Thomas' face.

"N- No! Look. We're your brothers, man. We've come a long way for each other. But right now, we need you. You're the strongest of us and you're spending your life here instead of being on the front lines!"

Rei looked at me, as I quickly yelped and looked away.

Arman took a deep breath.

"I've made my choice. I choose Rei. I choose Tsuyuki-sensei. To live with the Tsuyuki Dorm. That's my life now. I'm sorry."

I clenched my fist.

"Do you not see what you're doing? Mogul is going to tear us apart if we're divided! Once he slaughters us, he'll come for you."

Arman glanced at me.

"He can't find this universe. If anything, this is where I will stay."

"Even if it means letting trillions die at his hand? From the other universes? You're just gonna let Mogul rampage around while you play house?!"

Arman's glance turned into a dangerous glare.

"Choose your next few words wisely, Sammy Le. Lest you wish to have a repeat of the last time we had a similar conversation."

The air became tense, as Rei was quiet.

Kanade put his hands up.

"Nothing we say is going to change your mind. But it's not going to stop us. We're going to stay here. We're not going to leave until you come with us."

"Tch." Mace muttered, as he took Rei's hand and left.

I guess you could say the next few days at school were...

Awkward as hell!!!

First class. Math.

Easy Pre-Calculus and stuff. Whatever. This stuff was pretty straightforward. But I did find it hard to concentrate. When Mace and Rei were literally in my class.

"Uhhh Sammy? How do you do this problem?"

I stared at Thomas.

"Didn't you graduate with a degree in Science."

"Yeah but... bro it's been a while since I did math at this level."

I spent the day helping out my brother, noticing that Arman and Rei were also studying together. They looked... kinda cute.

Rei pointing at a part of the textbook and Arman leaning in, smiling. Rei blushing.

Thomas clutched his head. Probably from all the giddy giddy from those two were getting to him.

"Thomas, let's take a break. Let's get a drink bro."

"Y-Yeah."

We headed outside, as we overheard two people talking.

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you this whole time."

A voice said from the other side of the wall.

"Hide!" I whispered to Thomas and pulled him behind the wall.

"Mmf!!" Thomas said, his voice muffled.

I peeked from the side of the wall. There was a girl and a guy. The guy was about to confess.

"Tch. This dude's boned." I muttered. It was so obvious. The girl looked uncomfortable, her hands in front of her. Her face red from embarrassment. The guy was folded over like a damn right angle triangle.

"Go out with me. I've loved you for the longest time."

Silence.

Yep. It's over. Once this was cleared up, I could get that new coffee from the vendor.

"I... I love you too!"

"The.... FUCK?!" I screamed.

The girl yelped as the guy squealed in surprise.

"Who the hell are you?! How long have you been there?!"

Thomas had his head low.

"We... were just gonna get something to drink. Um. Don't mind us."

Thomas walked to the vendor, dragging me by the wrist.

"Ehhhh sorry about that! Congrats bro!" I said, sheepishly, at the guy, who's face was bright red. I couldn't tell if it was from rage or embarrassment. Wasn't really in the mood to ask Thomas either.

Thomas and I sat down on a bench outside of the school, watching the guys play sports.

I cracked open my drink and chugged it.

"Damn! That hits the spot. Hahaha!"

"Sammy."

"Sup?" I asked, turning to Thomas.

"I felt a sharp twinge. Earlier. I don't know if you noticed that."

"I did. It was from Arman and Rei, right? Like damn. How gooey can they be? Haha."

"It wasn't just from them. I felt some from you too. I didn't mean to, man. But... I shouldn't have asked ya about your past. I'm sorry."

I nearly choked on my drink.

"It's all in the past, Thomas. Like, come on. You'd got to be the pettiest guy in the world to stress over something that happened in high school. Don't worry about it."

Thomas didn't look convinced.

"Look. I've dealt with the emotions of so many people over the years. But I never really was bothered by it, since I got used to it. People being happy. Being being sad. Heartbreak. Joy. Betrayal. Anger. All that stuff I'm used to it. But... with you... it's so off."

Thomas looked at me.

"It's like I'm seeing a side of you that I never knew existed. I get that you want to live your life with a huge smile on your face, but you can't let this eat away at you like that. Burying it in deep inside isn't the best way to deal with it."

I clenched my fist.

"Drop it, Thomas."

"But-"

"I said drop it." A wave of darkness emanated from me as my voice became ancient. A mini vortex of Umbral Wind blasted from my body and broke a couple of windows from a building not far from us. A couple of shouts and screams from the players scattered around, trying to figure out what happened.

My eyes widened.

"Shit. Well. I guess we better scram. Come on, let's get the hell outta here!"

I booked it, with Thomas in tow.

We rendezvous'ed with Kanade during lunchtime.

"Yo. Kanade." Thomas put up his hand in greeting.

"Eeeeh..." I muttered. It looked like it wasn't just the three of us having lunch today.

"H-Hey." A girl put out her hand as I took it, shaking it.

"I'm Saki. Nice to meet you."

"Sammy."

"Thomas."

Kanade smiled as he rested his chin on his hand.

"How long have you guys been in New Kona?" Saki asked.

"Not too long." Kanade responded, as he regarded Saki with a curious expression. Thomas' eye twitched. No doubt from another sense of attraction she had for Kanade's pretty boy face.

"Is it true that all three of you are brothers?" Saki said.

"Yeah." I responded, getting up from my seat and flexing my sticks for arms.

"I'm clearly the more handsome of the bunch though."

Saki giggled, putting her hand over her mouth.

I momentarily hesitated.

That gesture.

It was the same one Leah did whenever she laughed.

I cleared my throat. "Well. Uhh, how long have you been staying in New Kona?"

"A couple of years now. My old ex wanted to transfer here and I followed. Then we broke up."

How terrible. Must have been the end of the world.

Kanade put his hand on the desk.

"Saki, do you know anything about a guy called Samuel Mace?"

Saki raised her eyebrows. "Oh, Mace? Yeah, he's the super popular guy dating Tsuyuki, right? He's one of the best athletes in the school. It would make sense for the best male athlete to date the best and prettiest female athlete."

Saki put her hands on her face. "How adorable!"

I smiled, cheerfully. "Yeah!"

That night, the three of us bugged out in an apartment for rent. Thomas and Kanade were sound asleep as I lay on my mattress. Thinking about the past.

Oh man.

Screw me.

I guess I never really moved on, did I?

I shadow stepped into Leah's room. That one night. Yeah. That day I bailed on her, she cried. And cried and cried.

Then, just like I had expected, guys came to her and confessed their love.

She was always so popular.

Everybody fell in love with her.

Why was I feeling this way? She wasn't even my girlfriend anymore, yet...

"Leah. I love you."

Those four words. How ironic. That I was Remnant 4. 4 should have been my lucky number. Yet, the most painful words ever, had to consist of four words.

And to know, that one night, the words that came out of the mouth of one of the guys who loved her...

Was her own adopted brother.

"Stop." I muttered, banging my head against the wall.

"Don't."

I watched as Felix pinned Leah on the bed, both of their eyes teary.

"I can't watch this."

I clenched my fists, as darkness rolled off of my body.

I can't watch this.

I can't...

No one is allowed to have Leah.

Give me your power. Tsukuyomi. Everything I have.

Felix undid Leah's buttons, as Leah let it happen.

The love of my life.

Doing it with another guy.

I don't want to be human anymore. I hate this. I hated this so much. If it meant leaving my feelings away. Then I would gladly throw away my humanity and become the very embodiment of evil. Of a monster.

Of a demon.

SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT.

R4

That night, I sneaked out and created a shadow portal to the Abyssal Realm.

I walked down the plains of the messed up realm as numerous monsters were scavenging around. Arman had spent his days here looking for enemies to fight and get stronger. But I came here for an entirely different reason.

Knock two birds with one stone, ya know.

End the Cleaners vs. Abyssal war, and get these stupid silly thoughts off my chest.

I continued walking, hands in my pockets as I had time to think.

"I really am petty, aren't I." I muttered.

It's okay.

Nobody is here to see me like this.

Just let it go.

Why did I still not move on from something that happened so many years ago?

Why was I so fixated on some silly high school love.

Why did I do it?

I looked at my reflection from a purple pond.

This is why people always say that responsibility is just as important as power.

Power to the wrong hands, especially unstoppable power, is a curse.

I am an example of someone who was given so much power. You simply don't hand that much power to some kid who couldn't even think straight.

I've seen celebrities who were only 20 something years old, and they let money and fame get to them.

I wasn't any different.

I was in fact, much worse.

Because I didn't just use my power in irresponsible ways. I used it in ways that could never be undone.

My mind flashed back to that day. I unleashed 75% of Tsukuyomi without thinking in Leah's bedroom. The step brother fell back as Leah stared at me in terror. She stared at what little remained of her ex-boyfriend.

But really, I didn't care about that. Because what was going through my mind was I wanted that man dead. I didn't want nobody touching Leah.

Not anymore.

Because it hurt.

And I wanted to stop hurting.

"Y- You're Sam, the boyfriend..." Felix muttered, as he stumbled back.

"You can't have her." I said, as my body rolled with darkness.

Felix fell to his knees, heaving. "Wh What the hell... What are you?! What is he?! Leah??"

Leah was still speechless, her eyes, paralyzed in terror at what I was.

A demon.

Some dumb kid who decided to use all the power in the world just to fulfill his selfish desires. That was what I was.

I snapped back to reality, as I noticed a massive horde of monsters coming my way.

That's right.

Love hurts.

You just gotta move on.

Move on in your own ways.

That's right.

I have to move on.

Through my own ways.

I held out the palm of my hand. These monsters, were like my past. I needed to get them... I needed to take them all out. Anything that hurts me. Everything that hurts me.

"I need to kill everything."

400 percent.

Umbral Pyrokinesis.

My hand exploded in a massive blast of fire as all the monsters were engulfed. But I wasn't satisfied. 400% of Tsukuyomi could not possibly be satisfied with small fry numbers. The flames continued rushing forward, as thousands of monsters disintegrated.

Thousands became tens of thousands.

Became millions.

Became tens of millions.

I laughed hysterically as I continued to torch the entire realm with my flames. This was why I couldn't go above 100% in my fight against Mace. I just couldn't. Because any more would destroy not just the school, but possibly the entire continent.

But in here, where every being in the realm was a bad guy to be exterminated.

It's okay.

"It's okay!" I screamed. If I could describe my emotion at this moment, it was joy. But despair and sadness. I guess maybe that's what happens when you let all your emotions out, when you've been bottling it up for so long.

After all, I was always the goofy guy. Among the Remnants.

Even back then too.

I was the goofy guy. Nobody cared about what they said or done to me because I always laughed it off.

But Leah saw right through that.

So kind and accepting.

I guess that was to be expected. From a girl that everybody wanted to ask out.

"Kill everything..." I grumbled.

That's right.

Destroy it all.

That's all I can do now.

That's the only thing that makes me happy now. Because when I'm watching everybody turn on me, that's the only time I can't think about Leah.

Just like the old days. How I killed everything in my path. Because I loved being hated. I loved to see people look at me helplessly.

Suddenly, I collapsed, falling to one knee.

"Dammit." I muttered.

Must have used up all the power I was stockpiling.

I looked up at the numerous black flames in the landscape I had pretty much decimated. I tried to get to my feet but fell on my back.

My body was beginning to dissipate.

"No. Not good. This isn't good." I said, frantically.

If I was dissipating, it meant my real body in my home world was going to wake up. It would be another eternity searching for this place again. Searching for the Remnants again.

I needed to stay here.

I don't want to wake up.

I sat up and tried to move, but fell on my face.

What was I doing here again?

Why was I here?

I'm starting to forget.

I clawed my way through the ground.

"Portal..." I muttered, holding out my hand, but nothing came out.

"Shit... I used up all my power." I began to laugh.

I guess I deserved it. Look at me. Brooding over the past like some kid who never got over his breakup. I'm a 25 year old guy. Still acting so immature.

I didn't deserve...

"But you're still alive, though, right?"

"Huh?"

I remembered. The face of a guy who had his hand outstretched to me. I remembered. I used 400% of my power before. In a city, actually.

After I killed Felix, I went on a rampage. Killing and destroying. Then moving onto the next universe, and killing and destroying.

By the time I reached that one city, I accidentally used up all of my power, and was about to fall to my death, but not before a man saved me.

He had long black hair that reached his shoulders, but his face looked just like mine. On his back was a sword.

"I'm saying you still got a life to live. Are you really going to give it up?"

I stared at Lucius. My eyes empty.

"What life is there to live. I've spent years killing and slaughtering. To suppress the pain. But nothing I do will make it stop. I've only now realized that. Let me fall. Please."

"Do you think killing is the answer, Sam?"

"It's all I have. I would rather be hated than be loved by someone I hate. Because it's hard to find a reason to justify that hate."

The man lifted me into the air and hurled me onto the platform.

"So what you're saying is, the answer to dealing with an ex-girlfriend is to go on a genocide."

I shot to my feet but immediately crumpled to the ground afterwards.

"What the hell do you know?! Huh?! I have no way out. I'm not like other guys. I can't just lock myself in my room and cry like normal people. I have these powers. These CURSES. I USED them to kill my ex's brother! What kind of monster does that?!"

The man regarded me with sympathy as I began to sob, slamming my fists against the platform. The entire structure creaking and moaning from collapse.

"It's because you have these powers, that you need to be stronger than other guys out there, Le. You made a mistake. But the biggest mistake you can ever make is to end your own life. That is the biggest mistake in the world, and the ultimate greatest regret you will ever have. Because it can't possibly be undone."

Lucius slammed his sword on the ground and knelt in front of me.

"You can't atone from suicide, Sam. But you can atone for the things you've done. You're a Remnant of Decen. There's nobody else out there who can wield this incredible power but you. It's up to you to keep moving forward and learn from this."

I closed my eyes.

"Leah. I can't... no matter what I do I keep seeing her."

Lucius sat down on the platform, overlooking the massive destruction I had caused.

"Quite the place you wrecked, man."

"I'm not in the mood to be messed with."

"I know. But if I told you there were a bunch of people out there who loved you, would you believe it?"

"I don't have a family."

"You don't, huh. Well. Neither did I, actually. I was picked up in an Underground Fighting Ring when I was born. Every step in my life was another fight. I never experienced anything like love before. Or anything in the real world. And you would think ignorance was bliss. But every time I saw the television in the lounge, when everybody would leave the ring, I was given the chance to watch anything I wanted. That was when I discovered all about the life that I was denied access to."

Lucius ran his hand through his hair.

"A social life. Friends. Love. Never able to experience that. Until I met my brothers. Our brothers."

My eyes widened.

"You-"

"Yeah. I am your brother. My name is Lucius Cassidy. The Ninth Remnant of Decen. I want you to come with me. I know many of the things you've done in the past is almost impossible to move on from. But it's okay. Because from now on you're not alone. You have me, and our brothers."

A tear ran down my cheek.

"I don't know. I don't know what to do. Please. If you're really my family. Please guide me."

Lucius smiled and patted me on the back.

"How about we fix up that mop of a hairstyle you have?"

"What? Yours is a mop too!"

"Yeah, but mine is stylish. Yours is... like straight out of an anime. Like one of those otaku MC's."

I managed a slight smirk.

"Asshole."

Lucius laughed and got to his feet.

"I would say there's one way to move on. Start over. With a clean slate."

"What do you mean?"

Lucius held out his hand, as his sword entered it. He swiped up and cut a piece of debris that was about to crush us in half, causing an explosion that illuminated his figure.

"Starting now. Do you want to become someone better? Then it starts with looking at your life a new way. Start with a smile. One smile every day. One blessing to think of every day."

I stared at Lucius.

"A... smile..."

"Yeah. It could be the shittiest blessing in the world. Like, you know. Went a day without diarrhea or something. As long as it's something good. Count your blessings. And smile."

I got to my feet.

"A smile, huh."

"Nobody is born a bad person, Sam. You're not a bad guy. Give us a chance, and we'll show you."

I reached for Lucius' hand, as I snapped awake.

I remember everything. I remember why I was here.

I wanted to move on and become someone better.

Someone who always had a smile on his face, no matter what. To always see the bright side of things.

Samuel Le. That was the name I started off with, but that was not the person that defined me now.

I was Sammy Le.

The guy who was always happy. Always cheerful. For my brothers and loved ones.

I was the ray of sunshine. As ironic as that sounded given my powers.

I got to my feet, my dissipation stopping.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Count your blessings.

I'm blessed to have a loving family. Loving brothers.

I'm blessed to be able to go on adventures with my friends.

I'm blessed to have people who care about me and want to help me out.

I'm blessed that I'm so damn good looking.

And above all else.

I'm blessed that Lucius saved me that day.

I opened my eyes.

"Tsukuyomi! 5%"

A large portal formed in front of me, as I stepped through.

I looked back at the endless carnage I had left behind.

"This is goodbye. Samuel Le. And this is goodbye."

"Leah."

R5

"Dude, you look like shit. Did you even sleep at all last night?" I asked, Sammy, who was practically falling asleep at his desk.

"Uh. Did some character development." Sammy muttered.

"What?"

"zzzzzz"

Kanade tried to beckon to us, but was swamped by a bunch of normies who were inviting him out.

"It's ok, I know what you're trying to tell us." I said, as I elbowed Sammy awake.

"Sammy."

"Five more minutes, Merrow, please."

"Arman is coming."

Sammy snapped awake, as Arman approached our desks.

"Ummm." I stammered, looking at my eldest brother.

"Can I help you?"

Arman's eye twitched as he slammed his hand on my desk. Causing everybody to go silent.

"What the hell did you three buffoons do last night?"

"Uhh I played Uno with Kanade and Sammy had the shits."

"Not that!" Arman leaned closer to me. "Something's off with the Abyssal Realm. The balance is completely messed up."

"Balance?"

Sammy held up his hand.

"Sorry. That might've been me. My bad."

Arman glared at Sammy.

"What did you do? The Abyssal Creatures that invaded and were under detainment have gotten from S class to SSS."

"I might have... went to the Abyssal Realm and killed them."

"You what? How many?"

"Like... all of them."

Arman grabbed Sammy by the collar.

A little chant from the boys started to develop.

"Fight, fight, fight!"

Sammy scratched his head.

"But I solved the problem, didn't I? No more creatures!"

"You stupid bag of bricks! You made the ones that are currently in this realm grow stronger! When the Abyssal Creatures die off, they transfer their strength to the ones that are still alive! Why do you think I never went beyond Phoenix I to defeat them?!"

Sammy smiled sheepishly.

"Whoopsies!"

"I'm gonna kill you."

"Wait! Don't! Thomas, help me."

I quickly got up from my seat and left the classroom.

Nope.

Every Remnant for themselves.

I continued walking, when suddenly I noticed a girl with purple hair standing in the hallway. She was rubbing her eyes.

"Sam, is that you?"

"Uh."

I better get out of here. The last thing I needed was-

Rei pinned me against the lockers. Her breath smelled like grapes, as she rested her head against my chest.

"Have you been dieting? I was only kidding when I said I wasn't a fan of big muscly guys. You're enough for me."

"I... um..." I stammered. What the hell was I supposed to do?! Rei had me confused for Arman!

"About the other day..." Rei muttered, as she wrapped her arms around my midsection. My heart was beating like crazy. Oh my god. This was going well beyond holding hands.

Actual physical contact with a girl! Holy shit! And it wasn't even Merrow this time!!!

"I think you're being too hard on your brothers."

"Wh- Why do you say that?"

"You don't need to worry about what I think. I'm okay with it. You need to do your part in this battle. I know. I want you to stop feeling like you're obligated to protect me. Just because of what happened with Mom and Colin."

I didn't know what to say. Was she okay with Arman leaving? Yet...

"But... you're crying." The words escaped my mouth.

Rei tightened her grip on me.

"Why wouldn't I? I... My life has changed because of you. That grudge I've had. The hatred for the Abyssals, then for Mom. You walked me through it and was by my side. You chose me. Even if it felt wrong, it made me happy."

I felt like the biggest scumbag ever. This was a conversation that she should have been having with Arman, not with me. I didn't feel like telling her that she had just confessed her feelings to some dead end worker loser who never kissed a girl before.

I gently pulled away.

I needed to get out of here.

Shit. Think. Think.

I glanced at the fire alarm.

Bingo!

I flipped the switch with my telekinesis as the alarm went off. Rei quickly spun around.

"A fire?"

Five-O. Time to go.

I sprinted the other direction as fast as I could before Rei could notice I was gone.

"Whoa. Thomas. You look like you just ran a marathon. You good, buddy?" Sammy asked.

I was breathing hard as Kanade tried to get to us, but was swamped by girls left and right. Poor guy. Struggling from success.

"I uh... may have..."

"Thomas, you look like you're about to throw up again."

"I may have had Rei two time Arman with me."

Sammy's smile melted. "Say what now."

"Oh. Two timing means when you have-"

"I know what two timing means! I'm not that much of a loser! So it was you who pulled the fire alarm."

Arman approached us, along with Rei.

"Tell Rei what you told me."

Sammy gulped, as Rei crossed her arms and eyed him critically.

"Uh, there is a possibility that I committed mass genocide on the entire Abyssal Realm. So now every creature that is locked up here has gotten super OP."

"So you mean to tell me that you caused another mess, Sammy?"

"No."

Ah yes. The classic switcheroo. Never fails to disappoint.

Rei grabbed Sammy by the wrist and judo flipped him onto the ground as Arman and I stared at our brother in surprise.

Rei sighed.

"We need to stop them. I'll let Nomi know and we'll assemble the Cleaners."

Arman grabbed her arm. "I'm going too-"

"No."

"But-"

"Go with your brothers. You know the way, Sam. Go and hold off the Abyssals as long as you can while we assemble everybody. They've most likely gotten there already."

We watched Arman and Rei argue like a tennis match, until Arman held his head low in defeat.

"Alright." He said, as he turned to us.

"Come with me. I hope you can keep up."

Arman led us to the main gate, which was busted. Inside was a raging minotaur like beast, who was flinging Cleaners left and right like rag dolls.

"Tch. Let me-"

"No." Sammy said, as he glared at the monster. "This is my fault. I'll kill it."

Arman looked at Sammy.

"You..."

"Non negotiable. I gotta own up to my mistakes. Please. Let me do this. Let me be the one to kill it."

"Sammy..."

Sammy turned to Arman. "I've been responsible for so many things all this time. I want to do the right thing for once. Please. Let me."

Arman closed his eyes. "Sammy, it's not that. You're not supposed to kill them. You need to send them back."

Sammy's face turned red in embarrassment.

Well, that was a waste of an epic dialogue.

"We just need to restrain him then, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. Until the Cleaners arrive with the rune to send them back into the realm."

"Cool. Gotcha."

I stepped forward and held out my hand as the Minotaur paused, glaring at me and roaring.

I tried to keep my composure, ignoring the spit that the Minotaur had sent flying at my face.

The whole minotaur began to glow green as I lifted him into the air, then I closed my fist, the air swirling around the monster and glowing teal.

"Spiralling Sphere Technique: Containment" I said, as more and more air began to be redirected, spinning at a supersonic speed, illuminating the entire place green until the ball stabilized.

Twenty minutes had passed since the containment ball was up.

"Umm... Arm-"

Arman glared at me.

"Mace. Mace, are they coming or not?"

Arman stared at his phone.

"No response from the Cleaners. Something is wrong. How long can you hold that sphere, Thomas?"

"Well, my arm is getting kinda sore."

Arman stood up.

"We don't have a choice now. If we let that thing loose, it'll rampage everything. I'll kill it."

Sammy shot to his feet too, his elbow hitting me.

"What? You just said not to kill it!"

"We don't have a choice. It'll give the other Abyssals a boost in power, but they're still no match for me. I'll just have to kill this one and hope the others get sent back to retain the balance."

Arman nodded at me, as I released the field. The Minotaur landed on the ground and roared at us again, as Arman calmly walked up to the monster.

"You. SSS Class. You have evolved to understand speech. It's a shame your life ends now, though."

The monster tilted its head.

"Aurum."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Aurum?"

The minotaur lowered its head and took out an axe from one of the dead Cleaners.

"You are the Aurum Saviour."

Arman regarded the Minotaur, expressionless.

Kanade ran up to me.

"No good. They're all dead. Arman, should I debuff this one-"

"No." Arman said, as he calmly walked forward, drawing one of his swords. It was the golden one that looked straight out of the game Diablo.

"This one is mine."

Arman sprinted forward the as the Minotaur roared, swinging the axe, but suddenly, Arman disappeared in a flash.

"Ummm. What just happened?" I asked.

Sammy gritted his teeth. "Damn. It's that move again."

"The what?"

Sammy looked at me. "Slice n dice."

I turned back to the Minotaur. Arman was already standing on its head, as bright blue lines appeared all over its body.

"How..." The Minotaur muttered.

Arman put his sword back into its sheathe, as he leapt off the head of the monster. The lines began to get bigger as the monster's body broke down into hundreds of segments. These segments turning into shards of ice as the entire Minotaur dissipated into dust.

Arman had killed an SSS Grade Abyssal in a fraction of a second.