It all felt like a fever dream.
One that seed to be both a nightmare and a long dream.
I couldn’t rember much.
Fighting...?
Yes, I rembered fighting.
I also rembered setting up a gate to hold back the demon while perfectly assimilating with my newfound body and power.
I also rembered holding so much power that it felt as though the entire world rested in the palm of my hand.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of different abilities at the palm of my hands.
Fear, unlike anything I’d ever seen before.
Awe.
Worship.
Power...
I felt it all.
And for a mont, I almost lost myself to the sensation.
For just a mont... I thought about letting the power consu . But I quickly discarded such thoughts.
There was more to it than this power.
I had surrendered myself to it in order to accomplish one goal.
’Yes, I can’t let this power take over. I can’t...’
There was more that I needed to accomplish. This wasn’t where I wanted to die. I had done so much in order to avoid death.
Why would I turn into a mindless anomaly if I didn’t want to die?
Even if I did survive, it would defeat the entire purpose of living.
I wanted to live.
Not just in body, but in mind as well.
I didn’t want to die.
And in order to live... I had done what I did.
Blink!
As my eyes opened, a large shadow lood over . Sothing brushed against my face, light but unsettling, and the first thing I noticed was the sll. Smoke hung thick in the air, mixed with a faint, dry warmth that clung to my skin.
Sensations I hadn’t felt in a long ti crept back in as I weakly lifted my hand. My fingers brushed against whatever was clinging to my face, and with slow, unsteady movents, I pushed it away.
It didn’t resist my movent.
...It was almost as if it didn’t have the power to resist my movent as I continued to pull the hand back, slowly revealing a white, ceramic mask.
But the mask was different than in the past.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the mask, spreading in all directions.
Cra Crack!
More of it ca into view as I looked closer, and soon, my gaze drifted upward until I t its eyes.
I stared straight into them. The dark eyes behind the mask looked empty, distant, as the mask continued to watch in silence.
Jingle~
Even as the bells jingled under the soft breeze, the Jester didn’t react.
It probably wouldn’t react even if it wanteed too.
Lowering my gaze, I noticed an all too familiar blade lying on the ground. I silently smiled to myself as I reached out slowly, my fingers brushing along the cold blade as I traced its edge.
I raised my head to stare at the figure standing before .
In that mont, the world appeared to be entirely quiet. I could see and feel the eyes of many fixed on . Nobody was moving. Perhaps they had all realized that it was over, and the effects of the demon’s powers had disappeared; they all stopped.
I paid no mind to it as I continued to keep my attention on the Jester.
Eventually, however, I brought the blade forward.
Towards the neck.
SPURT!
One clean movent.
Thud!
The jester’s head fell a mont later, followed by its body.
A notification rang in my ears a mont later, the knife in my hand trembling slightly. I ignored it. Using what little strength I had left, I willed the Realmwaker to store the blade away, only then lifting my head.
Seeing the drones in the air and the nurous eyes, I could only close my eyes and raise both hands.
"...I’m done."
The words started a chain reaction.
Thud!
It started with one anomaly.
But soon, the nurous anomalies that were standing still and had been controlled by the ’Jester’ all started to fall one by one.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sight caught many off guard, but this was just the start.
"Look!"
"....!!!"
"Wait... they’re turning back!"
The anomalies that had been attacking everyone just monts ago now lay scattered across the ground, their twisted bodies slowly reverting to what they had once been. And as if one looked closer, they’d notice their chests rising and falling.
This only ant one thing...
"They’re still alive!"
It was a sight that made many pause.
But not long after, every gaze turned in my direction once more.
That was also the mont when I knew that I couldn’t escape. But I didn’t need to escape.
I saw no need to escape.
And thus...
Looking back at the nurous stares directed my way, I raised both hands.
"...Do as you wish."
***
The aftermath of the fight was brutal.
It had all happened far too fast. Even as Seth was detained and dragged away, nobody truly knew how to react. Nobody even understood what had happened. The reporters, the mbers who had taken part in the raid, even the Paragons themselves, no one fully understood what they had just witnessed.
"It’s... over? Just like that?"
"Is it really over?"
"I..."
Shock and confusion hung heavy in the air, tangled with a deep sense of disbelief, and an unsteady relief that no one dared to voice aloud.
For many, this had been an event unlike anything they had ever experienced in their lives. The re thought of the Jester, and everything that had co with it, was enough to make them shudder, unease crawling down their spines at the mory alone.
Yet amid that unease, one image refused to fade.
The image of the boy standing before the Jester.
The boy who had... killed the Jester.
"Just who in the world was he?"
"Which side was he on?"
"I... I don’t understand. What even happened? How did that boy kill sothing like that? It doesn’t make any sense."
"Worry about that later! Help escort the injured!"
No one knew who had said it, but the mont soone pointed out the victims who had reverted to their human forms, the crowd surged into motion. People rushed forward all at once, scrambling to provide whatever first aid they could.
"Over here!"
"Here too—!"
"I need help! They’re still breathing, but barely! Hurry!"
With the BUA handling the individual responsible for killing the Jester, attention shifted at last to the wounded. nders appeared in droves, weaving through the chaos as they did everything they could to stabilize those who had been transford back into human form.
But amid the noise and frantic movent, a small group broke away, rushing toward a single figure lying motionless on the ground.
"Kyle!"
Zoey was the first to reach him, her breath heavy as she dropped to her knees beside him. Clara and several others followed seconds later, their faces pale, eyes wide with dread.
"Kyle, Kyle, Kyle..."
Everyone present rembered the final monts all too clearly.
They had all heard the sharp crack echo through the air when the Jester’s hand closed around Kyle’s face.
They had all seen him collapse, his body going limp as he hit the ground.
That mory weighed heavily on them now, dark thoughts settling in as they stared at his pale and frozen body. Zoey pressed her trembling fingers to his neck, desperately searching for any sign of life.
Seconds passed.
Then more.
Her expression stiffened. Her lips began to shake.
"I..."
She swallowed hard, her head tilting to face the others.
"I c-can’t..."
Her voice turned hoarse.
"I can’t... feel a pulse."
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