I'm just a nobody. What could I even say to that? I could try to argue, but when someone tells the truth, all it does is remind me how small and worthless I really am.
What do you want Somber Man?
Then it pointed at the Siege Fiend.
"I'm giving you an opportunity."
What is it?
"You died because you failed to withstand the pain that would have revealed your true potential."
"And so, your first choice, is to remain as you are, and pass on."
"What's the second choice?" I asked without hesitation.
"You will suffer."
"I will bind you to the Siege Fiend—forcefully. Whether you two learn to coexist or destroy each other is up to you."
"As of now, it's not looking good."
"Because you are a total disappointment."
Damn...
Somber Man cleared his throat. "Don't feel too awful. After all, I will reincarnate you in return—a chance to start over."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I stood up and faced him.
"I second chance." I murmured.
Yet, I couldn't understand what he was trying to achieve. Why me? A bum like me? Weren't there better candidates?
"Ah, glad you're thinking that," he said.
Right.
I forgot—Somber Man can read minds.
Somber man laughed again. "Of course there are. I could choose kings, scholars, heroes, or men of talent far beyond you."
"Then why—" I said.
"Because they already are something," Somber man interrupted.
"People who think they matter rarely value what they're given. But you…"
"You have nothing. No purpose, no identity, no talent and generally a glorified bum."
Can he be nicer or something?!
"No..."
Fair enough...
Somber Man took a step closer. I stared at him, unsure whether to feel insulted or grateful.
"Without the influence of ambition or indoctrination..."
"You, who've had nothing, will understand the weight of something."
"Take it as you will," Somber Man said.
"You make it sound so poetic when you say it like that," I muttered, then continued, "But when I say I have nothing, it's just sad."
I looked away. "Still, if this is the only time someone's ever told me I might become something, then fine. I'll take it."
But I wasn't done.
"You've been talking about me this whole time, Somber Man. But what about you?"
"What the hell are you? What do you want?"
Somber man smiled faintly, "Glad you asked..."
"You asked why the Siege Fiend ended up that way, but we started talking a little too deeply."
…I didn't even notice…
"Let me answer that curiosity of yours." Somber man paused, his tone calm, and almost nostalgic.
"The Siege Fiend is there because he fought me."
…Huh?
"Throughout all existence, and all that has yet to exist, the Siege Fiend was the only one ever to come so close to slaying impossibility and possibility itself."
I cannot understand what you're trying to say...
Then Somber Man stepped forward.
The mist around his face began to disperse, slowly and deliberately.
I still couldn't make out his full features, but one thing became horribly clear.
Both of his eyes were bleeding…
The left eye shone a blinding, almost divine white…
The right one was a pit of absolute void… swallowing every trace of light around it.
I shouldn't be here, I'm only human, and I didn't know what to expect or what that even meant, but I was afraid.
"Don't be afraid," Somber Man said, his tone unsettlingly calm.
I tried to steady my breathing.
"What… is this?" I asked carefully.
Somber man stared directly at my soul, almost amused, and I couldn't look away at his black and white eyes.
"I am Possibility and Impossibility, both existence and non-existence."
"I have seen every result that could ever be, and every one that never was."
"I do not define it. I do not control it."
"I am it."
"But right now," he continued, "I have blinded myself—to your existence..."
"What does that even mean?" I asked...
I was being overwhelmed by these sudden revelations...
"You are the only one I cannot see, not through time, nor fate, nor any outcome that has ever been or ever will be," Somber man said solemnly...
"Everything possible and impossible is me—but you…"
"You are the one anomaly I chose not to define."
Then I realized one thing, it was rather obvious what Somber Man was trying to achieve through me, though, admittedly, this realization unexpectedly pained my heart...
I took a deep breath, and eyes widened.
"You want me to harness Siege Fiend's power to go against impossibility..."
"So that I can kill you...?"
Somber Man finally smiled fully—and even exclaimed in joy. "Yes, exactly!"
Then something bothered me to my core, something that needed to be addressed.
"My old life, everything I've been through, all the way to the moment of my death, it all happened because you allowed it," I said with bitterness in my tone.
"You could say that," Somber man replied softly, he didn't look at me. His gaze stayed on the endless white horizon.
"Condemn me all you like."
"Whether it motivates you to kill me even more, I wouldn't be against it."
However, I want to feel angered, but I can't.
My awful life was part of my many failures, and beings like him don't really care for insignificant fools like me.
I'm sure this guy has better responsibilities to think about, but there's one more thing I want to know.
"What happens if I kill you?" I asked.
The Somber Man remained solemn through the mist, then faced me.
He pointed his finger at my chest. I didn't feel any pain, but a heavy thud, like a chain pulling me toward a singular purpose.
"AGHH!"
"What is this?!" I asked.
The Somber Man took a deep breath. "It's my blessing, one that will allow you to make a single miracle possible."
Before I could say anything back, he raised his right hand.
"Kill me, and I shall allow you to alter possibility and impossibility, to shape creation in whichever way you desire."
"Without Contradiction."
I couldn't help but chuckle.
It was an absurd proposition, the greatest opportunity before me had presented itself, and if I were granted the power to alter possibilities and impossibilities, then I would…
I would.
What would I even do with it.
Without embarrassing myself.
Sigh…
I took a deep breath, nothing else was needed to be said, but one thing was clear.
"It would take an eternity for me to reach you." I said.
"But I have an eternity to live." Somber man finished.
I finally smiled...
This was either the greatest gift or the greatest curse, but I was here, and I would accept it.
Perhaps this was my purpose.
"Grant me a second chance at life," I said.
"And one day, I promise—"
"—That I'll kill you," Somber Man finished for me.
"To end your melancholy…"
The mist around us was intensifying; it was clear that it was time for our departure. Yet, I felt a searing pain on the back of my right hand.
Ow! That's painful!
Information flooded my thoughts, I heard the prayer that would invoke the siege fiend, it was pretty terrifying!
Then I saw a mark, a crest shaped like a Wendigo's head. It was the sign that, from here on out, I was bound to Siege Fiend.
Beyond my view, Somber Man was walking toward the horizon as I slowly began to disappear.
"Will there be a point, besides the ending, that I'll meet you again?!" I yelled.
Somber Man stopped and responded, "That's impossible..."
Figures...
But Somber Man wasn't finished. "You will mirror me, my suffering and my upbringing in some way..."
Huh?! What do you mean?!
Then for a mere second, I heard Somber man's thoughts:
"We will meet again, once you're most venerable."
Before I could ask what it was about, something happened instantly, like the shutting off of a television.
Then—I found myself crying in a cradle.
Wahhhh wahhh wahhh!
Like I'm some sort of baby...
...
....
.....
OH NO!
SOMBER MAN WHY?!
DID THIS BASTARD JUST TURN ME INTO A BABY?!
Chapter End...