122 The Parting Gif

\"AAAAAAHHHH!\"

He had seen it. His anguished howl of sorrow echoed across the ruined city until he…

Awoke.

Frightened, he bolted out of bed and crashed onto the ground. Disorientated, his eyes darted around the room in pure terror as he struggled to grab hold of his bearings.

W-Where am I?! W-Wasn't I just at…?!! W-Wait was that all just a—

Lu'um swiftly leaped out of bed when she heard the commotion and scanned the room in confusion until she finally comprehended the situation. She hurriedly made her way to Reed and said, \"What's the matter, dear?! Are you alright?! What happened to you?!\"

\"I-It's fine, I think. D-Don't worry, I just had a really bad—\"

Reed winced and stumbled backward when he felt an all too familiar sensation of pain. The fiery kiss of vengeance had come for him, but this time, it was much more different than before. It had come without mercy for him, intent on making him suffer for the grievous sin he had committed.

No one was exempt from retribution.

Neither Man nor God could escape the consequences of their actions. 

…And the greater the responsibility of the sinner, the more severe the punishment would be.

Hence, it was only fair that Reed was made to suffer an equivalent punishment what he had done, for he had committed an especially egregious sin.

It was like hellfire, hotter than anything he had ever experienced. Reed's mind suddenly went white; It had done so to protect itself from the onslaught of sensory information — specifically the feeling of intense, unimaginable pain — that had almost broken it the moment it had begun.

Every single cell in his body was screaming at his mind that they were being cooked alive from the inside out. Reed couldn't handle it and lifelessly crumpled onto the ground.

He knew that Lu'um was speaking, but he couldn't understand what she was saying no matter how hard he tried. In fact, he couldn't even really think, let alone speak, even if he wanted to.

The only he could do was mindlessly gaze at Lu'um's terrified, teary-eyed face. Her desperate pleas for him to respond — to give her a sign — would go unanswered.

A stranded and unfocused consciousness trapped within a prison of flesh that no longer heeded his calls — that was his current situation.

Every second that passed was unbearable for both of them, in their own specific ways. That was the punishment that had been delivered upon them…

An old, familiar voice suddenly reached Reed's ears, one that he had not heard in a very long time. It was the voice a person he had forsaken and sealed deep in his heart.

Someone Reed despised from the bottom of his heart and wanted nothing to do with.

...I didn't want to do this, but you have left me with no other choice, Reed. You and you alone have brought this upon yourself.

You have forsaken me and therefore, you have forsaken yourself.

This is a heavy sin, but it is not your greatest sin. Abandoning your responsibilities is your greatest sin, Reed, and you will suffer dearly for this transgression, mark my words…

.....I empathize with you, Reed, but there are some things that we cannot run away from. This, of course, includes one's destiny. ....But, in the end, some wisdom cannot be learned through counsel; it must be experienced in order for the student to fully comprehend it. 

You wish to be a mortal, yes? Live a normal, mortal life? So be it.

I will give you what you desire and in return… the world will punish you for it. Their blood will be on your hands alone and no one else's.

Drown in your cowardice, guilt, and pitiful escapism, Reed.

Let the impartial hammer of justice fall upon you for your actions. May their deaths be a lesson you will never forget...

Do not say that you have not been warned. I have offered you and will continue to offer you my support, but not until you resolve yourself to your chosen path once more…

Everything I do is to protect our world and correct the mistakes of our... predecessors. Do not think for a second that I am some heartless, unfeeling monster.

You don't have even the slightest right to judge me. You, of all people, should already know what I had to deal with…

Ah, but allow me to give you a parting gift before I leave. It would be most… impertinent of me to not give you something to remember my words by...

Reed's right hand, which had been clenched in a fist, suddenly raised itself up as if it were pulled up by invisible strings and then opened up right in front of his eyes…

It was there, just as he had claimed. The parting gift.

A small, fist-sized piece of broken rubble… covered in blood.

That's a courtesy gift from, well… you yourself. It sure as hell isn't mine.

I hope you enjoy it, Reed, although I imagine that you won't be able to lift it yourself once I'm gone.

In fact, I doubt you'll ever be able to lift that piece of rubble.

…Catch you around, Reed. Give my Sunflower my regards. Thanks in advance.

As soon as his voice faded away, the pain stopped and Reed fainted… leaving Lu'um all alone to tend to him.

If there was anything Reed regretted, it was that he had made her suffer because of him. Her crying face had done more damage than the mark had done to him, needless to say…

…When he awoke, the had already risen up into the sky, far above the horizon. It was midday. Reed hoped that he hadn't slept for too long, for her sake. He could not even begin to imagine what she must have felt.

The faster he was out of bed, the sooner he could assuage her worries. She was still his main priority, but Reed realized that something was wrong the moment he got out of bed.

He felt tired. His reflexes had become sluggish and uncoordinated; it was if he had aged a decade overnight. For the first time in forever, since he had become a Chosen, he felt… pain.

It was his back; it hurt. That was the first major red flag for him that something was seriously wrong. Even after he had sealed his power, the passive side-effects had still remained. His injuries had always healed themselves, but now...

The second biggest change had been that his eyesight had taken a turn for the worse. Anything more than five or so meters had become a blurry mess to him. He hurriedly walked over to his bedroom's window and opened the curtains.

Cem-Elle was still there intact and untouched... but he could no longer observe it with the same clarity and precision as before. Not a day ago he had been able to observe a single raindrop a mile away as if it were in front of him, but now he couldn't even see past the sidewalk in front of his house with clarity.

That fucking bastard and his goddamn monologues…! But he really did keep his promise… I really am a...

Reed needed to know the truth and verify it. He looked down at his pajama shirt and opened it. All the proof Reed wanted was there, right on his chest.

It was still there, but it had dramatically changed. The mark had lost its luster and become something completely unrecognizable.

Faded in color; Weathered in design; Wanting in beauty.

Where had once been something resembling a tasteful, abstract tattoo of some kind was now a hideous scar that was appalling and even offensive to the eye.

The noble mark of responsibility had turned into a brand of shame that he would have to carry with him wherever he went now. A considerate reminder and punishment for Reed from him, no doubt. Reed cursed the bastard from the bottom of his heart.

He stared at the disgusting scar and was about to let out a deep sigh, but stopped himself when he heard the sound hurried footsteps behind him. The last thing he wanted to do was to make her worry even more about him, heaven forbid. He had done enough to her.

...It was as if an immense weight had been lifted off of her shoulders the moment she laid eyes on him. Never before had he seen her with such a mortified expression before, despite all that they had been through. It almost looked like… as if she had seen a corpse come back to life.

Reed didn't even have time to say anything before she had rushed him.

He didn't know what to say. There was a lot he wanted to say, but no matter how he tried to word it in his head, nothing seemed good enough.

…No. There's no reason to use words if they don't fit the circumstances.

So, he did the only thing he could do. He held her tightly in his arms and smiled.

Not for him, but for her. After all, sunflowers would wilt without the radiance of the sun...

And that was something he could not afford to happen...