Can't I See You One Last Time?

Chapter 35: 1,358

A life ends then begins.
A life begins then ends.
Humans live then die.
Humans die then live.
Demons die then are revived.
Demons are revived then die.
Throughout this whole process, there is only one question:
How long until this process comes to an end?

"..."
1,357 turns.
1,357 tries.
1,357 deaths.
1,357 lives.
Multiple years of suffering.
Multiple years of mental torture.
Multiple years of erosion.
The sense of self is fading. The ability to comprehend has disappeared. Urges and wishes struggle to remain after time erodes the soul. The wish that started everything was slowly forgotten, and soon there wasn't even a word from the original wish he could remember. His mind was just blank. No thought going in or out of his consciousness. It was just a vast white plain in which no one could penetrate, not even the man he started this whole journey for.

They say that immortality is a great thing. Living forever, getting to experience more than an average being. Watching time pass and people evolve. It's said to be great, and depending on your personality—and the people who surround you—it could be. The real question when talking about immortality is what kind. What kind of immortality do you wish you had? Is it the kind where you walk the earth as time passes by, never being allowed to die? The kind in which you wander around the world as a soul, unable to talk with others? Or the kind in which you live the same moments of life over and over? Either way, every single type of immortality erodes the soul.  No matter how strong the will, every living being is bound fall to time.

"Giyuu?"
Three times a day, someone would enter his room. His sister, Sabito, Tanjiro, one of the Hashira, they would enter his room and provide aid. Feeding, washing, clothing, someone would have to help him with all of it. Whenever they walked in, they would call out to him, but he never responded. Giyuu didn't even turn his head to look at the person with his dull eyes. They all wanted to put the shine they once saw into his eyes, but if Tanjiro couldn't do it, then no one could. Although, that didn't stop them from trying.  
"Giyuu, how are you feeling today?"
"..."
No matter how many times she walked inside the room, Giyuu never responded. There were times in which he would respond when Tanjiro called out his name, but those ended months ago. He no longer responded to anyone. Giyuu was just like a vast ocean that allowed no ripple to bother it. Giyuu's sister, Tomioka Tsutako, was the one who was on caretaker duty today. She was always destined to die before Giyuu even started his training to become a demon slayer, but with the end of Giyuu's 100th life he was baited to continue his own torture with his sister's revival. The same thing happened with Sabito too. His revival was bait for Giyuu after his 300th try.  
"I've brought you dinner, and I have a few stories to tell you."
Tsutako hand fed Giyuu as she told him the events that were happening outside of his little room. 
"Iguro and Shinazugaw got into another fight again. They were fighting about...about..."
Tsutako started sniffling and tears fell out of her eyes. Her brother never responded. His eyes were dull and nothing she could do was bringing the shine back into his eyes. His pretty sapphire eyes had become dull. 
"I'm sorry, Giyuu...I'm so sorry..."
Tsutako clutched onto her younger brother's shoulder and cried. The only thing coming out her mouth were broken apologies. 
"I'm sorry that I can't do anything for you...!"
Giyuu was a vast ocean that even a little ripple couldn't bother him. His sister's cries weren't enough to cause a big wave, better yet cause a ripple.

"We need to stop this!"
Again, Shinazugawa and Iguro were arguing. It was about the same thing they argued about everyday. How to stop the cycle of life and rebirth. 
"Yeah, we should! Do you finally have a plan on how?!"
This was the fifth time they've had this conversation within the past week. It was the only conversation topic they've talked about ever since the 1,200th try. 
"No, but we've all been through this process more than 50 times, we should have at least one clue!"
A clue. That was funny. Everyday, they had tried to think back to before they started another life, but there was nothing besides someone saying 'have fun.' After that, they only have the memories of the current try.  There might've been some clues from the attempts before, but no one could remember. Their memory capacity was just too small to remember every little thing. 
"Maybe we'll get a clue after everyone loses their ability to think! You know, now that I remember, YOU'RE JUST AS OLD AS TOMIOKA!!!"
That was true. Shinazugawa was only a few year younger than Giyuu. In actually body age, Giyuu was 100% the younger one, but when coming to mental age, Giyuu certainly was the older. Since all of them decided that the people brought back should be aged by how many years they actually lived rather than the age of their body. Speaking with that logic, Giyuu and Shinazugawa were most definitely over the age of 2,000 years old. Honestly speaking, everyone was worried for Shinazugawa because there was no telling when he would start losing his sense of self to time. For all of them who've went through 200 tries, they were less worried about death and more worried about losing who they really were. They didn't want to become a lifeless shell of themself. Through all of their fears, that became number one.
"Stop it Iguro!"
Every since Mitsuri had seen the state Giyuu had fallen to, she couldn't handle anyone saying that someone else was going to turn out just like that. She might not have been close to him, but seeing her fellow slayer end up in that state made her cry. If one of her loved ones lost themselves, she wouldn't know what to do.
"..."
Iguro shut his mouth after that. He couldn't go against her. After they had confessed their love for each other, they had gotten together, and whatever she wanted he would do. That was just how far his love went for her. But that wasn't the only thing. Recently, he had started seeing a look in her eyes, like she was looking for a purpose. Like, she was looking out at a blank plain. She had the same dull look in her eyes like the lifeless Water Hashira. He couldn't bare seeing her like that, and waned to do everything he could to stop such a thing from happening. He already knew that once a person had fallen into such a state there was no way to pull them out of it. 

"Giyuu..."
"..."
"Giyuu...!"
In Giyuu's consciousness, he heard someone talking to him. In the vast white plain, he heard a voice calling out to him. The voice was sweet and caring. It was dripping with sadness and guilt. He didn't know who the person was, but a sense of comfort had engulfed his consciousness. It was the first thing he was able to hear for 50 years, and he wanted to open his eyes to see who it was. But no matter how hard he tried, Giyuu couldn't open his eyes, nor could he speak. All he could do was listen to the sweet voice and feel the soft breeze around him. 
"Are you listening to me?"
Yes, he was. With everything he had he was listening to this person. 
"You promised me that you would remember even through the erosion of time. Think back to the promise you made me, please."
Giyuu felt something drip onto his cheek, slid down to his chin, and leave his face. Giyuu wanted to grab what came in contact with his skin, but he couldn't. He tried reaching out for it, but he felt nothing. 
"This is all my fault, so don't blame yourself."
The next thing he felt was something warm, soft brush across his lips, and a lose hug from the person.
"I'm sorry."
Giyuu wanted to grab onto the person. He wanted to hold them in his arms. He never wanted to let them go, but he had to. Before he could wrap his arms around the person, they had pushed him away and whispered a small goodbye.

Giyuu's eyes shot opened and he sat up on his own. Next to him, was a red haired teen who greeted him with a smile.
"So you're finally awake, Tomioka-san."
This person had the same sweet and caring voice. He exerted a calming aura around him that Giyuu found comforting. He couldn't remember this person's name, but Giyuu knew that he was very important. So important, that Giyuu hugged him before giving his greeting, and the person only returned the hug with great care. For the first time in so many years, Tomioka Giyuu was awake.