|Aria: Lullaby of the gods

“If humanity is stripped of its free will, devoting its very existence to a higher entity that can not be defied. What future awaits us? Is our ruin imminent? A blissful utopia or an unending apocalypse?”

In a realm where darkness congratulated nothingness, a young girl walked with a hint of neither joy nor sorrow, walking for what felt like an eternity. Her bare feet on the paved ground with nothing in sight on either side. The more you looked, the more likely you were to be sucked in. It was a bridge with unknown depth or width.

Despite this, she never gave a single thought to it. She had no luxury to ponder upon irrelevant things. The only thoughts in her mind were the two doors in front of her that could be seen from a distance. Unknown to her, these doors flowing with presence carried the true meaning of life and death within them. There were three in total, taking into account the door in which she came from.

The two ancient doors were tower-like and directly beside each other. This made one wonder where the doors actually led to. In this unending realm, one couldn’t tell how much time had passed. The most important question was “did time even operate here?"

Under her breath, she murmured “I don’t get it.”

She halted momentarily and looked down at her feet with sweat dripping from her pale face. Her frail body on the verge of collapse at any given moment. At first glance, that was how it seemed. In truth, despite her clear exhaustion, she could keep on walking forever. Even if she yearned for it, she could not reach that point. A cruel loop, if you will.

“Why did you stop??”

“I don’t understand.”

The voice in front of her sighed as she expressed her confusion. He was a mysterious figure with a blurred face that he hid under a tainted, black cloak. An hourglass in his left hand and an unsightly scythe in his right. He had a soft but commanding voice. The way he spoke, the way he even walked. Even down to his aura. He was the embodiment of uncertainty and that alone terrified her. There were no fitting words to describe him in his entirety, all she knew was that the power behind his voice effortlessly compelled her.

“You don’t understand, huh? I don’t expect you to. Time is not an active concept here. You’ve spent more time walking than you’ve spent in the land of the living. Probably a hundred times more. This whole situation stinks of her. No doubt about that. The doors are right in front of us but yet...”

She threw a quick glance at the dark figure who made his displeasure clear. It was then that she realized the sharp contrast between the two of them. He was dressed in a black, pale cloak while she was dressed in a glowing, white gown. Like a bride being walked down the aisle. The bridge had candles that burned fiercely on each side to lead them forward. Unfortunately, as fiercely as it burned, it still couldn’t make a clear path other than the ground.

That’s not all it was. In her eyes, despite it being on the verge of burning out, it burned fiercely. The eternal fight was in its own way admirable.

While she attempted speaking, she found herself tongue-tied. Although she wasn’t used to making eye contact, this was more of an impossible task. This ‘stranger’ had been walking endlessly with her through the bridge for what he considered an eternity. Why? What were his motives? What was his role in her current predicament? For the meantime, the most important question she had at that moment was…

“What are behind those doors?”

She pointed straight at them. Not leaning towards any direction but the middle. Other than the candles, there was an extra source of light, one that oozed from the doors ahead.

“Behind each door is a possible answer to your question. I believe that much is obvious.”

“...”

She immediately lowered her head. As expected, she couldn’t get an answer from this entity simply by asking. He was simply a guide. That’s all he ever was.

From above the two of them appeared a cluster of light, hovering above them.

Just like the moon, it shone brightly in this enveloping darkness. In the presence of darkness, even the tiniest flame could look like a star.

“Atsuko!! Atsuko, can you hear me?”

“Who?”

Atsuko, a name that was given to her by someone she did not know. She had asked him numerous times why he chose that name in particular when he called out to her but he never gave a clear response. He simply said all that was important was that she had that name. In a way, he was asking her to forget the process and cherish the result. She was fine with that logic, until now… She looked around in excitement.

For this long, the only voices she could hear were her own and the entity in front of her but now there was a voice calling out to her. It knew her name. She turned frantically, facing darkness from all corners but there was no one there. It was just the two of them. Then she looked up, for the first time.

“Atsuko, come to me.”

“How do I get there? How do I meet her?”

“.…”

He couldn’t make a facial expression but as he gripped his scythe, she knew what state he was in. This was an unexpected occurrence, for everyone involved. He hit his scythe on the ground.

“What do you mean, Atsuko? Haven’t I told you? You can’t leave here.”

Upon hearing this, she bit her lips. Deep within her, like flames of a phoenix, rose the desire to meet with the one whose words lit a flame within her. It was a feeling that she was familiar with but could not yet recognize. It was more of emotion than logic, but surely, it was a mix of both. She knew this was another impossible task. She knew. Yet…..

“Running away??”

He said this, unfazed and rather unamused by her next course of action. Until now, she had been an obedient soul that only responded to his will due to fear and nothing more. What could make her act with that same fear intact??

She sprinted the opposite way with her legs seemingly on the verge of giving out and her poor, pathetic running form that gave anyone the impression of a toddler that skipped walking exercises. Despite this, she ran without looking back. She ran to unite with whoever was reaching out to her.

“Why??”

That irreplaceable warmth resonated within her.

For the first time in her life, she found herself craving something. This hope she felt in her heart. It was the real deal.

All doors would have led them to different destinations. However, the destination she desired was not in front of her. It was the first door that made the most sense. If her roots, her origins stemmed from where she came from. Then perhaps her answer lied in the same place. The land of the living.

However, luck was not on her side. Hope wasn’t the only thing she felt.

“Pointless..”

Right in front of the entrance, her hopes were crushed and tossed aside. It was no accident either. From the bone crushing pain she felt from below, she glanced at her feet, only to find them tied in place by a silver chain of skulls. She looked up at the entrance as it was within her reach. This one wasn’t affected by the loop. These chains had come in between the new found hope she had placed in her heart. It was almost funny.

“You must be in pain at the moment. I do apologize, I’m aware you aren’t accustomed to it. I believe it is a useful tool. Perhaps the pain you’re feeling will bring you back to your senses.”

“Khhhh..Arghhhhh” she screamed her lungs out. Her five sense were compromised by the pain.

“Good. The thought of escaping death…is not one you should be harboring. Endure the pain. Feel it. Learn from it.”

Indeed, it was foolish to even attempt running away. She should have realized that after noticing he didn’t even flinch after seeing her run away. Although he didn’t have a face with any emotions to judge, his tone and body language were enough to send a clear message.

“Atsuko. If you can hear me. Please, come home. I need you. We need you.”

“This should sort itself out shortly. A fool’s errand, I must say.”

A fool’s errand……

“What’s.. going to happen to her??”

“So you can still speak. Well, isn’t it obvious?”

Upon hearing this, she struggled even more. The light shining in the sky couldn’t shine in such an empty place forever. Moreover, what business did light have with darkness? Her light was about to die, yet she could do nothing. She wriggled pathetically like a worm.

Even her precious gown had been tainted with the exact same reddish substance that were sprinkled all over him. She had lived eternally in this desolate place, filled with unfathomable despair, yet only now did her body speak to her.

Her aching brain told her it was all pointless, her limbs yelled in disapproval of her recklessness, her chest, burning hot begged her to face…no…revel in her folly, not run from it. Even as blood escaped her lips, she never stopped.

This act managed to leave the mysterious figure at a loss for words. He couldn’t quite grasp the reason for her struggle. That bright glimmer known as ‘hope’ was considered ‘dishonesty’ in his eyes given how she landed there in the first place. This was truly perplexing.

“You asked me where I was going, right?”

“Hmm?”

“Now it’s more clear. I’m going to the place…”

The chains tying her down loosened and broke off one by one.

“Where I..”

Despite her broken leg, she leaped even further, her balance in shambles.

“BELONG!!”

Her purple hair swayed violently as she sprinted through the door with the light behind her. If only she could see the look on his face.

“The chains? This is her doing.. Moirai, now you’ve done it. I’ve trusted your judgement long enough but you will not make a fool out of me!!!”

Inside the door, there was nothing but white light. She didn’t stop to think of anything else but the words her lips formed a moment back. It was something she didn’t fully understand but that was what made finding it worthwhile.

“Don’t be scared, my dear Atsuko.”

Hearing this, with a gentle smile and a bloody lip, she uttered her final words.

“Even in the blinding darkness, your warmth is eternally comforting.”

She ran through a white hallway, so bright it could blind anyone staring directly at it. With each step she took, her body fell victim to random aging. One moment she looked like someone on death’s door, the other she looked like a toddler. So she closed her eyes and focused all her muscles on the task at hand.

“Just like…the sun.”

As painful as it was

As doubtful as she felt

There was no where else to go but forward.

“Go on, my dear Klotho. Make a praise worthy tale.”

At last, there was a cry. The cry of a new born baby. She opened her marble grey eyes and two figures were standing in front of her. One was holding her gently by her side. Tears rolling down her cheeks. The memories of everything until now were automatically erased. There was no need for something as bothersome as that, after all. Despite her trembling voice, the woman spoke..

“Welcome home, Atsuko. We’ve been waiting for you.”

On this day, October 13, 2000, the entire world wept for the departed.

~~Two decades later~~

It was night time, the moon came out of hiding a while back, various sounds could be heard from the distance, the wind roared and blew everything in it’s path. It blew his hoodie away and even his bag of groceries seemed like they were about to be swept away. He contemplated walking but he could easily direct the wind in a more passive manner like this.

He enjoyed this feeling so he did nothing. In front of him, he could see the bridge a few blocks away from his apartment. There was a man running towards it. Furthermore, he ran like his very life depended on it, stumbling on the way multiple times before reaching the bridge.

His presence, however, was the most eye-catching thing to note.

“Ugh..He’s covered in it. That rotten smell.”

His rose colored eyes lit up in excitement but he scrunched his nose in disgust.

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt this.”