Consequences - Mumei vs. Kronii Oneshot

Consequences.

November 8th, 1942 - Munich, Germany

The height of World War II.

Adolf Hitler, one of the devils who plagues the world's history. A scourge, a man of death and despair. Millions of innocent men, women, and children have fallen victim. World War II is a horrible event in which humanity had fallen towards despair - and it only seemed to be getting worse.

The Embodiment of Civilization stands tall on a nearby rooftop, the charismatic warlord unaware of her presence. Nobody knows. She has seen far too much in the many millennia she has lived. War is a constant, an inevitable part of man's nature. That doesn't stop the ripples of pain through her consciousness in knowing that she lets humanity slaughter and kill one another. Every time, her eyes bleed tears. As a being meant to sustain balance, the Embodiment of Creation is not meant to interfere. She simply sits and waits for it to be over. She's even gone so far as to intentionally give herself amnesia as to avoid the guilt that plagues her mind. As humanity grows and grows, she finds herself able to remember less and less of her past. She knows not of what she's done in the years prior; she only knows of the trauma afterwards. Her mind slowly falls away, delving into the brinks of insanity. Why hasn't she done anything to stop this? Why has she let herself watch humanity's suffering so aimlessly? This is the end of an era. Her era. The apathy she's forced herself to bears reign no longer.

She cocks the rifle, the sights sharp on Hitler. It's been too long. Too much suffering. Too much misery for humanity. She's going to end this war right now. The mass oppression of innocents will fall. It's a step for civilization to become better. She is done sitting on the sidelines and praying humanity will work itself out. They've had too many chances now. Her hood flies in the breeze, revealing her oak shoulder-length hair. Her amber eyes shine through the scope of the rifle, staring down the Fuhrer himself. Her finger rests on the trigger, waiting for the perfect moment. Hold it... ready... and......

Time seems to slow down. The breeze abruptly stops, but her hood doesn't fall back down to her back. The Fuhrer has frozen, his hand raised in salute to his party. Something's happened at this moment. Her finger was about to pull the trigger. The sound of footsteps emanate from behind her.

"Mumei... you know you can't do this."

The Embodiment of Civilization lets out a sigh. Of course this was going to happen. The Time Warden, Ouro Kronii. The maintainer of the timeline, and the reason Mumei had never been able to prevent the wars. Mumei must've forgotten Kronii after the last time she had amnesia. What a shame. She doesn't look back at the navy-haired being, instead remaining prepared to shoot.

"Let me do this. Let me have this one moment."

Kronii awkwardly shifts in place in response. She knows how much watching the people die eats at Mumei. Humanity is the reason for Mumei's whole existence. To be forced to watch it slowly wither itself away is an unimaginable pain that Kronii can only attempt to empathize with. However, the course of time must not stray. Time is inevitable.

"The humans will do this themselves, Mumei." Kronii walks over to Mumei, kneeling down next to the sprawled sniper. She extends out a hand and rests it on her shoulder. "We must let time run its course."

"And how many people will die for that to happen!?" Mumei snaps back, swatting the Warden's hand off of her. "Let me save humanity! I am them! Their pain is mine, Kronii! Do you even realize how much it hurts to watch the corpses burn!?"

"I understand, but-"

"NO BUTS!" Mumei stands, taking a step back from the Warden and pointing her rifle at her. She knows projectiles have no effect on Kronii. The God of Time can simply pause their velocity. But, that's not the point. Kronii looks at the gun, her brow furrowing in response. 'She's pointing her gun at me...?' The God of Humanity had never been so aggressive with Kronii. She's never been this aggressive with any of the Gods. She's worried. Even if their beliefs differ, Mumei is her friend!

"Don't let it come to this. Please, Mumei. Just come with me, and I'll-"

"You are not getting me to leave."

Kronii's face contorts to one of sadness. She knows how this is going to end. Mumei knows how this is going to end. "...I'm sorry, Mumei."

Mumei tosses the gun backwards. It freezes in place as the God of Humanity blitzes towards the God of Time. They've sparred before, but that was only for training. Kronii's forced to block Mumei's blows, not having chances to attack back. The onslaught of punches, kicks and other forms of primitive violence embody the owl, the rage apparent throughout her entire being. Kronii tanks blow after blow for what seems like hours. Mumei never tires, with her attacks only getting more and more aggressive. The two bounce from rooftop to rooftop in their scuffle. The rest of the world continues to lie dormant as the war of Gods heightens more and more.

Mumei is the weakest of all the Gods. However, that doesn't stop her from bruising up the face of the Warden. Kronii's impatience is starting to grow. There's only so much she can do in taking a beating. Still, she tries. She tries to convince her fellow God, her friend, to let humanity be.

"Mumei! Everything will be fine! Humanity will not perish from this!"

"BUT HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL DIE, KRONII!? HOW MANY INNOCENTS WILL SUFFER FOR THE WORLD TO SEE HOW WRONG THIS IS!?"

"Death is inevitable, Mumei! You cannot stop the inevitable!"

"BUT THEY'LL BE HAPPY! THEY'LL LIVE HAPPY LIVES AND DIE CONTENT WITH THE WORLD!"

Mumei's outburst gives Kronii an opening. It's a cruel punishment for someone who just wants to save people, but it's necessary. She blocks a kick from the owl with one arm, summoning her blade with the other. Before Mumei can react, Kronii digs the blade deep into the owl's leg, cutting through the entire calf and up to the thigh. Mumei instantly collapses to the ground, blood seeping out of the wound. Unlike mortal abuse, the Gods' scars do not fade. Mumei looks up at the Warden with a mix of anger, pain, and terror.

"Y-You... Kronii..." She gasps, trying to calm herself while applying pressure to the wound. "Why did you..."

"Shhh, let yourself sleep. You'll be okay, Mumei. I'll take care of you. Just go to sleep."

Mumei finally closes her eyes, tears seeping out and onto the rooftop. As she slowly dissolves into slumber, she hears one last thing.

"We can't save them all."

December 14th, 1942 - A forest in Ontario, Canada

The snow briskly falls over the wooded skylight, floating down to land on one lone God. Her eyes slowly flutter open, pushing away the flakes that had taken refuge on her face. Sitting up, she looks around groggily. There's nothing. Just trees. God... what had happened? 'I don't... um... ugh... hm. What happened? Who am I again...?' Her memory has dispersed once more. Her left leg aches. There's a lengthy scar on it, dragging across her entire calf. Her leg is numb. She cannot feel anything. She doesn't know what's going on anymore. All she knows is that she is humanity, and that she must work to help them. She may have forgotten everything, but that's no reason to waiver. She must go find herself once more. She stands, wobbling on her leg. She grabs a nearby stick and uses it as a crutch to force herself up.

No matter the strife, humanity will prevail once again.