021: The Final Push II
"YOUR LORD?!"
Asol asked her.
"Do you not remember me? Your memory might be a bit foggy from before you began recuperating."
She replied.
"YOU MEAN THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ME BEING INSIDE OF THIS BOY?!"
"Yes, and I am responsible for all of the other hosts you lived inside as well. If you cannot remember, then I will remind you. Before you died, you created me with the last bit of your power and sealed yourself inside me. You and I are the only beings in this world capable of wielding red energy, and I owe my very existence to you."
"SO THAT EXPLAINS WHO YOU ARE, BUT WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"
"I blessed this boy with some of my power, and told him that I would lead him down the best path."
"LEAD HIM?"
"Yes, My Lord, I have the ability to see the future, however, I see an infinite number of outcomes that can possibly occur, so I told the boy that only one path led him to defeating you and accomplishing all of his goals. I blessed him with the ability to wield the red string as a weapon, and I used it to guide him. Right now he is only following the path I have laid out before him."
"SO YOU'RE HELPING HIM ACCOMPLISH THE ONE FUTURE WHERE EVERYTHING GOES RIGHT FOR HIM?!"
"Not at all, My Lord, I am guiding him down the path which leads to your, or should I say our, victory. There are many paths leading toward our victory, so naturally, I only chose the one that makes it the easiest. That kid is playing into my hands without even knowing it."
"WONDERFUL! I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD SUCH A USEFUL ALLY!"
"I am happy to help, however, I feel that I must be honest with you, My Lord, I cannot offer my full support to your cause."
"AND WHY NOT?!"
"When I was given this power, I was ordered to be a guide to the savior of the universe, which I thoroughly believe is true, but maybe 'HE' sees it differently."
"'HE'?"
"Yes, you see, you are the one who created me, but you are not the one who gave me the power to wield fate itself. That was given to me by a mysterious being, I do not know who or what it is, but I simply call it 'HE'."
"'HE', IT SEEMS LIKE I MIGHT HAVE A GREATER ENEMY THAN I THOUGHT!"
"Worry not, My Lord, after 'HE' gave me this power, 'HE' disappeared from the face of this universe. 'HE' is gone, and he was weaker than you, to begin with, My Lord. I only saw him once, but I believe 'HE' may have just been a vision in my own head before I acquired this power. I believe that 'HE' gave me this power to help you create the perfect universe, and for that reason, I serve you and you alone."
"GOOD, THEN TOGETHER YOU AND I SHALL MAKE AN IDEAL UNIVERSE WHEREIN NO ONE HAS TO SUFFER!"
"It will be wonderful, and I cannot wait to see it, however, you ought to prepare, the boy will lose his footing soon, and you will have to give him 10% of your power."
"BUT THE BOY CANNOT HOLD THAT MUCH KF MY POWER YET!"
"I know, that is why you must take control of his body for a little while. It is risky, but it is the only way to reach our goals."
"I GUESS I'LL TRUST YOU, FOR NOW, BUT YOU HAVE TO LEAVE THIS PLACE, IF THE BOY FINDS OUT THAT WE HAVE BEEN COOPERATING WITH ONE ANOTHER, THEN HE MAY BECOME SUSPICIOUS OF THE PATH YOU ARE LEADING HIM DOWN IF THAT HAPPENS THEN OUR PLAN WILL SURELY FAIL!"
"Yes, My Lord, I shall withdraw immediately."
And like that, she left Asol alone.
"SO I HAVE TO TAKE CONTROL OF HIS BODY FOR A BIT?! EASIER SAID THAN DONE! WHEN I GIVE HIM CONTROL OF 10% OF MY FULL POWER, IT WILL CAUSE A BATTLE TO OCCUR! A BATTLE BETWEEN THAT TEN PERCENT AND THE BOY! MANY OF THE PREVIOUS HOSTS THE FATE LADY SET UP FOR ME ALSO TRIED TO DRAW OUT 10% OF MY POWER, BUT NONE OF THEM SUCCEEDED! THEY ALL WENT CRAZY LIKE WILD BEASTS AND WERE EVENTUALLY KILLED! IF THE BOY DIES, THEN IT'S ALL OVER!"
Meanwhile, in the outside world, I was locked in a heated battle with the wolf.
He took a strong offensive front, and it was hard for me to dodge and defend.
I would get in counterattacks every once in a while, but they were never able to damage him, just knocked him back a bit.
I'm able to dodge his attacks and block them, but I am just slightly too weak and too slow to fully protect myself.
He was constantly overpowering me, and although he wasn't dealing much damage, I was slowly being driven into a corner.
I couldn't keep this up for much longer.
My time is almost up.
I can't go full power like this for all that long.
Maybe ten minutes at most, but it's already been eight and a half minutes.
At this rate, I need to strike a decisive blow before the minute and a half are up.
He charged at me again, and I knew this was my only chance.
Throughout the battle, I learned how to control the red flames and send them out at him with multiple different types of attacks.
He came in to bite me, but I dodged to the right and used my new attack "Red Flame Swipe" to strike him with fire on the right side of his face.
It didn't do much damage, but it distracted him for long enough.
It felt really cool too.
I love acting like some kind of superhero.
It's every guy's dream come true.
Throughout the fight, I noticed that the paw I had cut off grew back.
Speaking of which, I was able to cut off his paw with much less power than I am using now, so how come I'm not damaging him?
Could he be using his energy to strengthen his body and make it more durable?
I didn't realize they could use their energy like me.
So that pillar of black flames doesn't just show how strong he is, but it also shows how much energy he has at his disposal.
How interesting.
But if that's the case, then that child is seriously a monster.
Nevertheless, I've been fighting for a while, so if I really put my back into it, this next attack will break through his defenses.
"Battle Enraged Red Flame Slash."
I used the knife to cut off the bottom half of his front right leg.
That ought to put him out of commission for a bit.
Now to deal the final strike.
But at that moment, time was up.
I was completely exhausted.
I collapsed to the ground unable to move a muscle.
"There, he's done for."
The wolf said.
"Oh please, don't act like you did any of that."
The butterfly replied.
The child stood up from her throne and walked over to me.
She stared down at me, and I couldn't do anything but feel ashamed.
DAMN IT!
I WASN'T ABLE TO DO IT!
EVEN AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE DONE, I CAN'T EVEN PASS THIS STUPID TEST!
BUT WHAT PISSES ME OFF THE MOST IS HOW SHE LOOKS DOWN ON ME!
WHO THE HELL DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?!
"You're not even worth killing, stay there and die."
She said to me.
All four of them turned their backs on me and began to walk toward the golden tree.
DAMN IT!
I RESOLVED TO NEVER GIVE UP, BUT I CAN'T EVEN WALK!
WHAT TYPE OF LOSER AM I?!
TO LOSE HERE, WHAT A DISGRACE!
"DOES THIS OUTCOME ANGER YOU?!"
YES!
YES, IT ANGERS ME BEYOND BELIEF!
I SHOULD BE ABLE TO WIN!
I SHOULD BE STRONG ENOUGH TO WIN!
"THEN LET ME TAKE CONTROL AND I CAN WIN FOR YOU!"
At that moment, my vision blurred.
I blinked, and I was no longer lying on the ground in a forest.
Instead, I stood in front of myself in a plain of darkness.
Or at least, it looked exactly like me except for the eyes.
They were fully red.
Just like the eyes in the darkness.
"Asol?"
"LET ME TAKE CONTROL, BOY, TOGETHER WE CAN DESTROY YOUR ENEMIES! I WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE POWER YOU SEEK!"
"I won't give control to you."
"AREN'T YOU ANGRY ABOUT YOUR LOSS?! I CAN WIN THIS FOR YOU! JUST TAKE MY HAND!"
He held a hand out to me, but I slapped it away.
"MY ANGER IS YOUR FAULT! YOUR PRESENCE HAS BEEN MAKING ME ACT WEIRD EVER SINCE I CAME TO THIS CRAZY PLACE!"
"IS IT THE FAULT OF MY POWER, OR IS IT THE FAULT OF YOU?! HUMANS ARE GREEDY FOR POWER BY NATURE, AND YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT! HUMANS GROW ANGRY WHEN THEY LOSE, THEY CAN'G TAKE IT, JUST LIKE YOU! YOU'RE ONLY A MERE HUMAN AFTER ALL! JUST LIKE THEM, YOU ARE DRIVEN BY YOUR EMOTIONS! YOU HAVE NO SELF-CONTROL, NO HUMANS DO! YOU'RE ALL PATHETIC, WEAK BEINGS! YOU WERE MADE TO BE THAT WAY! BUT YOU MIGHT BE EVEN WORSE THAN EVERYONE ELSE, BECAUSE NOT ONLY ARE YOU A HUMAN, YOU'RE A FAILURE!"
"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW?!"
"I KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU THAN YOU KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF! YOU MERELY TRY TO ACT AS THOUGH I DON'T BECAUSE YOU CANNOT REALIZE THE TRUTH FOR IT WILL HURT YOU TOO MUCH! THE LITTLE BOY DOESN'T WANT TO GET HURT!"
"So what if I am all that you say I am, what about that makes me worse than you? You wish to destroy the entire universe, how could I be worse than you?"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE WEAK! I HAVE ALREADY TAKEN CONTROL OF YOUR BODY!"
He's right.
My body began moving on its own.
It tried to stand up, even though it was exhausted beyond belief.
"I'm through with hearing you speak. You will not control my body, and you will not defeat me, and after I'm through with you, I will go back there and complete the test."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU'RE SO CONFIDENT, YET YOU HAVE NO REASON FOR SUCH CONFIDENCE! IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYWAYS, YOU WILL LOSE TO ME HERE, EVEN IF I AM ONLY USING TEN PERCENT OF MY POWER AT MOST!"