"Did I go too far~?" Vadim exclaimed, awaiting his answer, a pleasant smile on his face. "Perhaps? Hohohoho~ Come on, feel free to reject my woes and emotions! It's cool~ You get some practice on being someone who gets to express himself in any way! So... What do you say~?"
"You... Did you... Make me kill-" Slow and sparse at a start, the words grew out, until they were jumbled and rushed to release, "You made me kill my mother?"
"Ah, oh, hmm... Oh dear, the conversation went down that track, huh? But, I suppose I did! I'm sure you remember."
"Remember?" He asked with 'eyes' wide, had he any eyes.
"Oh dear, oh dear... Perhaps. Perhaps I simply remember because I can read thoughts better than you... Oh no, oh no! Was that rude? Oh dear! I feel awful now. Horrible. It's eating me up inside, oh, so bad. No matter how much I tell my brain to calm down and stop fearing death or change, why can't it get the memo? Tsk tsk... How pitiful. I sure hope this won't change things between us!" Vadim said as they held their cane up.
From it, a bright light came forth, consuming Zabulus, who kept motionless. "Agh..."
In a flash, nothingness. Then...
...
"Deary... Please don't do this... I never intended to cause any harm to you, I promise!" Zabulus' Mother's voice rang out through the void, as the bright lights slowly vanished, taking with them his sight. He became a three-dimensional shape, but he wasn't aware of where he was yet. "Please... I'll... We'll go to your father, alright? We'll go and find him right away. That's it. He's still alive, deary... He is... So please, put that knife down...!"
Knife?
"Your eyes are always going to be closed... You always wanted to be able to see... To find your father... Didn't you? Think about it. Both of them are still alive! If you kill me, you'll be all alone... Not a soul in this world but you, is this what you wish to experience? Can't we find another way?" Her voice was terrified, a voice that fell down with dread and worry and felt heavy, low, filled with pain...
Zabulus wasn't sure where he was, what was his mental state? He couldn't process any thoughts except what was shown at the moment.
"Mother... I... Don't want to do this... I... can't think... I'm-" He couldn't control himself, he wanted to scream as well, but it came out subdued, it was not clear from when the sobbing began, as he felt tears fall off his face.
A feeling of powerlessness forced him to kneel before her, a flash before him to let him know her face. It was a blank canvas, just one human-like figure, still, however. It didn't move, as Zabulus was forced to hold the knife, and aim for his mother's neck.
"Mother... NO!!" He screamed, as his hands thrust forward.
No... The hand... his hand moved by itself, and the sight disappeared.
Zabulus stood back in his shape-form, the void being the only scenery.
"What was that?! Hey! What was that! Come out, Vadim! DAMN YOU!"
"Ahhh, that's so sad... you killed your own mother, you think? Well, to be fair, that's what anyone would think if they saw it, look closely." As if rewinding a movie tape, the scene was reverted and happened again, this time, there was a dark and hazy figure looming above Zabulus, both hands caressing his chest and stomach, the darkness forcing his arm to move, as his mother pleaded.
The image of the hazy and strange entity was far more clear, far more frightening, far more horrifying than anything in existence, even beyond what he could conceive. The words were different this time around.
"Mother... I... I am a God, I am a creator and a lord, do you hear me?!" Zabulus managed to make out, the strange and frightening voice growing more and more comprehensible each passing second.
"Dearest... you are not... what you think you are. Calm down, and no one needs to get hurt-" Before she could finish her sentence, the dark hand led Zabulus' arm to slash at her neck once more. Only this time, she started bleeding and immediately fell over. "Ngh- AaaaAAAAHHH!" He screamed with tears flowing down the sides of his face, "No, don't make me see this, STOP THIS! I'm not the one who did that. It wasn't me, that wasn't me, IT WASN'T ME!! She was going to be there for me. She wasn't the one, the one who did that! It wasn't me, dammit! IT WASN'T! Stop this, it's not real! It's not, you made this up! YOU, VADIM!"
"Was it? Oh, perhaps... Do I need to show you it again?" As a shape, Zabulus couldn't do anything but... try to cover his senses. It didn't work. It happened again. It replayed, over and over and over and over. A hundred, a thousand, a million, a quadrillion, 10^68. There was no limit to how much it replayed. Each time, the words said were different. The way she fell was different. But what remained constant across all these memories... Was that Zabulus and that dark figure that made them happen. Over and over and over... He noticed they weren't even the same people, they looked like what Vadim might've guessed was Zabulus. But even then... They had no faces and had different voices. In the end, they weren't, even as people, distinct.
"You see... those are all your memories, but they don't belong to you. They belong to your pathetic other selves that all deserved death. 99% of your souls have been the ones who killed parents, siblings, fathers, mothers and even killed their peers by accident in some cases. Ahahaha! This makes me wish I knew that much faster, that much better, that much more thoroughly, and that much calmer. I've found the lamb, not the sheep, the Anarchist of Deceit, not a simple being used for the slaughter. By all means, the worlds should never have collided. Unless! Oh, that's right, they never did. I simply looked and looked, each and every single one of you had so much potential, but you saw it all through."
"Leave me alone. Leave, go away... Why don't you die, huh? Why am I the only one who ever dies? WHY DON'T YOU SHOW ME DARKNESS? WHY DON'T YOU IMPRISON ME? ABSORB ME, TAKE WHAT LITTLE PIECES REMAIN, ALWAYS CARRY AND BEAR!" Outraged, he began breaking from his shape form, a body that had fully formed as he thrust his fist forwards at Vadim who was defenseless in their relaxed and upright position. He made an impact, not letting even a single second be wasted. He threw a double punch with both his lefts, uppercutting and smashing the ball of his right elbow into their chin.
Then, as the body finished its disintegration, an endless white room emerged with no start or end. Although the floor was pitch black in color, he could still walk and be anchored into reality. It felt completely unreal and fake, no signs of anything having an existence or real weight, even his body and every sensation was different. There was little hope of stopping Vadim.
"Ahaha... So much for that?" A sweat droplet came down from the side of their forehead, dripping down their neck slowly and carefully, revealing their sharp jawline, collarbone and naked chest behind their silky and elegant blood-red suit. It swayed, sliding down effortlessly, as though he himself had cut the meat apart.
"Would you believe that, right now, I am at my utmost anger? Forgive me, for finding myself at a loss." He said, a wicked smirk upon their face as his right fist was about to connect to Vadim.
"Hm. You need to learn how to fight properly, you know?" Catching his fist in their palm, they smiled gently and coolly, casually crushing Zabulus' fist beneath theirs, "Do you have anything else to fight with? I don't mean to hurt you, honest!"
"P-Phantos... Tartaros! Show yourself, and save me! Gagh!" Unable to act, his knee was crushed under an elegant and vicious twist.
Neither Tartaros nor Phantos responded to his calls. Whether they could hear, he didn't know, as a broken laughter came out of Vadim. "And now, you can't move, can't defend, and can't really see. Isn't that wonderful, deary~? Oh... I bet the shock overcame you, too. Now, as a gift, it's really no issue. I'll cut you some slack, and let you know. Every one of you, you all get saved. Not a single death. You all get rest, eventually... You'll receive my special... hrmph... Something that'll put you together. No, some special treatment, if you like, hmmm... Like a....
"...Fuck, you...!" Zabulus' face twisted in pain and anger as his body was rendered useless by Vadim's hand. What was this force holding his limbs and flesh together? He wondered.
"Hmmm... ah! There it is! See? It'll help, it won't stop time, won't grant you visions of the future, and it most certainly won't revive the dead. But. I've decided it's your very, very special treatment, dear~ I love you oh so very much, and I want you to live. I simply want to show you the ways of the world, to tell you the story of everyone... and give you the powers of a Grand. This will help, slightly. It's absolutely easy to use, so I'm certain you can handle it."
A pang rang across his mind, the grip and pain having taken hold over his mind was enough to forget the 10^68 memories at his expense. Within a moment, they came together to form a single shape of a liquidy orb, one which he felt drawn to by an unknown force. It was... familiar. Though... he didn't ever have the chance to feel and hold it within his hands. Something inside him already knew what it was. He was not Zabulus. His head rang, cried, growled and moaned as it had never done before, pain engulfed him and every part of his being was torn and peeled, pulled, bitten, melted and broken. It became clear how this knowledge came to him. He was seeing what he was told to see.
"Ah... I wonder if the healer gets the illness? Have you ever thought about it, Zaigo...? No, I suppose it must hurt too much. Is it painful? Do you believe it wouldn't be true? Let me take this pain away from you." With a palm and a twist of his mouth, they took away all of Zabulus' pain. He simply stayed there on the white ground, shaking from the immense pain his form had endured. In the next moment, his vision turned into a panorama, staring far into the white void ahead, "If the healer gets the illness, then why doesn't the destroyer get destroyed? Why doesn't a knife hurt a swordsman in defense? It seems you make sense, except I don't have enough common sense. Just what does a swordsman do in their life, hone their skill... So they can what, kill people better? Pff... they leave no legacy behind! No one will remember them, no one will carry on their memory. A healer does what... cures the disease, so others may be infected again and pass it on. Such waste of a profession! I think that... the beauty in it all is art, and art imitates life. But that makes you think, 'But, Sir Vadim! Doesn't that mean that if art is beautiful because life is, then a profession such as a doctor would be beautiful, too?' And you'd understandably think that! But NO! There's a thing such as ugly art, and what other ugliness? YOU, as well, are the art. The ugliest kind. Simply because you've gained your power and wished to be remembered or carry on a legacy... Doesn't mean that they should remember the words of a man. A God, more accurately. Those are the words of a Devil. Besides..." They took Zabulus up, levitating up as he simply frothed at his mouth and made unintelligible noises.
"A God cannot kill God, nor Devil kill Devil. Do you understand? But, an Immortal can kill an Immortal. You cannot protect forever. Isn't that awful? Awful? I'd say it's awful... Awful! I hate that! I HATE THAT! Absolutely awful! Dammit, this world sucks! But you'll save it, Zaigo! You will!" They held zaigo up by both shoulders, leaning in close, lifting him up into the air, taking him towards the light.
"Gaugh.... augh.... ghuh...?" He couldn't even look anywhere, his 'vision' was lazy and could only focus so far at a time. His jaw was agape as he lost motor control, he was about to fall out of the sky and come crashing down. All he heard were the soft clucks and cries of Vadim's tongue and his rasping breath along the way. "Damn... Bastard..." The words formed, jumbled and scrambled, then slowly dissipating.
"Hey now, that's not how you talk to a friend... Come on, I have more to tell you, too. Be glad!"
Zabulus wanted to groan. It came out high-pitched instead.
"AHA! Oh my goodness, that made you look adorable for a second there, hold on. Hold on, that was amazing, okay, I've got it this time." Swallowing back, then preparing their breathing to hiss, hiss, and their body fell back. This time, the sound went differently, it was different... or just... much less amusing. "I hate you, Vadim."
"Oh dear, oh boy... Well, guess my plan wasn't foolproof. Funny, funny. So funny... you know, we're in my soul right now!." He fell against the white ground, landing in a split and then a spin, leaping up for a summersault into another split. "Aaaahaha, is it impressive? Oh, thank you, I've tried my hardest." He then... did a backflip, just casually did a backflip without even making an effort... For completely no reason... "But, let me tell you, we're in a realm where things don't exist, but are also half-way to existing, so when I say fall, nothing falls, not because it doesn't exist, but because no gravity is here, and I've changed the universal laws for a single second! There, now we're back in your reality... you should be feeling how limp and relaxed your body is... well, except that your mind's been going completely crazy, haven't ya? Feel that? Right?"
The truth dawned on the blind man whose eyes were wide open and he could suddenly think. But, he could not remember what had happened anymore, Vadim's speech was a blur and there were no further actions performed in their soul realm. Nothing.
"Thanks for everything, Zaigo. Oh, and in case you didn't know, never tell anyone about your True Name, Zaigo. Only that if you do~ Well, things could get bad! See ya!" Vadim said as they flew up quickly and with a wink, releasing themselves into the infiniteness of the Void in Blue.
'Aye, aye! What the hell was that, master?! Where were ya? I couldn't even come out! Who was that zappy weird thing ya were talking to?' Tartaros manifested in front of Zabulus in an instant and shouted as Vadim fled the scene.
"Fuck... damn... Goddamn him! Tartaros... shut up." Said Zabulus, dismissing the scythe who was standing behind him.
'Hold yer horses, boss, did somethin' bad happen? I'll cut up all them nasty flyin' rats this time! Gimme a target, boss! And Phantos, where the hell are ya?!'
"She's... resting, as far as I remember. Whatever the hell, I'm gonna get going and leave this shitty place. Be by my side." Taking a moment, he started to hold out his hand in front of him, looking at it as if wondering where he was going... And on the other hand, what Vadim had done to his body, he was no longer the same as he was before, he could tell. "Whatever I saw in there, it's not going to stay put... Tartaros, is there anyone left?"
'Nu uh! everybody went and abandoned the place after yer lil' tantrum with that person, I dunno know why they're afraid of him, really! He doesn't seem the scary type!' Tartaros said in an attempt to alleviate the mood.
"His presence was... Terrifying. He spoke for minutes on end to me and... And I couldn't do anything! Nothing!" He smashed his fists on the ground, digging his knuckles into it, "I don't understand, it can't be real, none of what I saw in the Void was ever true! Nothing was there... Yeah... Hahaha! Nothing was there!" Convincing himself perhaps out of desperation was simply not cutting it, he could neither believe nor forget what he'd seen. Perhaps, he would tell a lot about his experience, trying to have other people remember what was left of it. Whether or not it was ever remembered or communicated.
"Tartaros... get us out of this damned and shitty place... Cut down those walls and create a path." He pointed north of the tower and walked towards it as Tartaros happily complied.
'Aye aye, captain! Just one thing though, which way is north exactly?'
"Where I'm pointing!" Almost getting a vein popping on his forehead, he pointed angrily once again towards the wall that he wanted cut, but Tartaros simply couldn't get a hint.
'How do you know that... that's north?' She asked. Clueless and stupid, she was as if a toddler who kept asking 'Why?' To every answer that came to every question.
"It's opposite to the hospital I awoke in, which is south, so shut your trap and move! Let's go, finally..." He readied himself, beginning walking.
And so he started to walk, confidently. Walking was enough, rather than fumbling and grasping aimlessly for a wall that had long since fallen.
For now, his journey home had resumed itself.