Tales of Raiverin: Mayflower

Chapter 10

An ominous silence filled the air, the three standing just inches away from the bundle of trees that guarded the exit to the open and barren field. The moon illuminated the sky and gave just enough light to see a figure standing in the distance. It had the same piercing eyes that sent shivers down Paris' spine from just a few nights prior. He knew exactly what it was, it stared at the group, but it did not seem like it had malicious intent.

"I get it, I should apologize, but you'll see how irrelevant that is once I show you what's next." It spoke gently, lacking the emotion that Paris had heard before.
"You see, I've realized something. I guess when everything about you is manufactured, your thinking speed increases too." It laughed, taking a single step toward the group. "Our problems, our struggles, our despair... it all lies in our futures. Yet we cannot control the future, nor the past."

Cricket slowly put Ant down, a mixture of fear and anger filling her veins. Paris turned his head, whispering to her, "Don't. Not yet."
"What do you mean? If we can't control anything, then we'll change the present."

"No, Paris. We don't control that either. Your speaking, moving, and even breathing are changing my present. I can't change what you'll do, neither of us can have what we want."

Paris hissed, stepping into a fighting stance. "Stop it, Leon. Leave them alone, this is their home. We don't deserve to even be here." He spat, his voice growing low and determined. He wouldn't allow him to harm anyone.
"Mr. Viceroy... can you really take him on?" Ant chimed in, anxiously watching the two felines prepare.
"With all due respect, Ant, I'm stronger than you are."

"Leon... that isn't my name, you know."
"So, what are you then? A coward?" Paris laughed.
"I am chaos, disorder, destruction. I am Purity."
"Doesn't matter to me. Your grave will be blank."
"Doesn't everyone deserve a peaceful passing, Paris?" Pure grinned, licking his jaw and crouching down, tilting his head slightly.

"Not you."

Paris sprinted toward Pure, ready to strike him down at any cost. The brown cat remained still, shifting left and right until Paris blinked.
Suddenly, he was gone, causing Paris to grunt in surprise before he was struck on the side, a powerful kick shook his body, taking him off-balance and sending him tumbling several feet. As he rolled, he bit down on his tongue, hoping to distract himself from the pain that echoed throughout his body.

"I'm fast, huh? Just another of many benefits that being created by Raiverin personally gives."

He coughed, staring at Pure. He stood still again as Paris slowly and shakily returned to his feet. His tongue was bleeding, but the metallic taste was enough to get him to think of something other than pain.
"So... apart from kicking my ass, what's your plan, Pure?"

"Hm, I should tell you. You're clearly not gonna last long enough to stop it." He cackled, gripping his sides as he collapsed on the ground in front of him.
"Universal Shifting. I want to create a perfect world, the ideal past, present, and future! Don't worry, it wouldn't be right of me to kill you. I'll let you see this New World, but I want you to tell me daily that I've been right all along."

"I really would rather die than do that..."
"Well, that can be arranged too." Pure spoke, seemingly warping next to Paris and sweeping at his legs, forcing the silver feline back on the ground. He pressed his paw against Paris' forehead, feeling a powerful force flowing through his body and accumulating in his arm.
Paris yelped, looking up at Pure. His eyes were filled with thousands of emotions, forcing them shut and putting his paws together, praying that his death would be painless.
"I thought this would be harder, I really did." He grinned, experiencing the energy release in a powerful shockwave that could easily disintegrate the body of a mortal.

A bright flash filled his vision, and he felt his arm hit the ground as if Paris' body had entirely disappeared.
"Paris!" Ant shrieked, seeing the event from several feet away. He couldn't see any remnant of the feline, only Pure standing alone.

As the light faded, Pure looked up to see a jet-black figure covering exactly where Paris had lay. It reformed itself, peering down at Pure with its deep red eyes.
"Purity."
"Raiverin?"

Raiverin stepped back, revealing that the silver feline was unharmed, aside from the injuries he received from Pure's kick. He slowly looked up, grateful that he was alive, but confused as to what was going on.

"What are you doing here? The mission's going great!"

"This mortal is not part of your plan, you will leave him be."

"Raiverin, I'm trying to show him the truth of our world!"

"Purity. This is unrelated to your mission. I hoped sending you to this world would make you realize that your quest is over."

"What?! It's not over until I'm the one to kill Ashton!" He shrieked, slamming his paws on the ground, filling them with energy and sending out a giant shockwave that felt like an earthquake. It sent Paris flying back, Raiverin remaining still and judging Pure deeply with just his eyes.

Paris struggled to stand up, his bones were shaking from the vibration of the ground. He didn't know what to do, there wasn't a way that he could even think about beating Pure. He slowly put his head down, closing his eyes and listening intently to the silence.

While he rested, he could feel the ground return to normal, slowly glancing up and seeing Pure sprinting toward him. He shrieked and jumped up, a shock of pain shooting up his legs. He tried to run, but all he could do was limp.

Pure tackled him down, cackling wildly as he stared at him.

"Did you think Raiverin would be enough to stop me?! You're never safe! I gave you a choice, and you chose death!" He screamed, sending another shockwave into the earth, the ground cracking and twisting in a circle around them, forming an arena of sorts. Pure kept Paris pinned as the arena began to hover off the ground, soaring up into the sky.

"What the hell?! What is he?!" Cricket yelled, staring from the bottom of the arena.

"A demon."
"What?"

Raiverin stood beside her, putting his head down in respect. "That feline is a demon. He's been keeping his true form hidden for years, and unfortunately, his power has only built up through time."

"S-So how is Paris going to stop him?!" Ant cried, trying to push Raiverin, hoping that there would be a simple answer.

"He can't. It just isn't possible for a mortal to beat a demon like him."
"W-Well, what can we do?!"
"There's nothing that we can-"

"Wait, look! Paris!" Cricket screamed, more emotion in her voice than ever before. She pointed to the edge of the arena, the Maine Coon struggling to pull himself back up.

"We can stop, just admit that you've been wrong all your life. Everyone else has been."

"I... won't give you the satisfaction!" Paris hissed, straining his body as he tried to climb onto the platform. Pure stepped on his paw, forcing him to reflexively pull it away, shrieking as he hung by one arm. He looked down at the ground, they were at least a hundred feet off the ground. He began to mutter quickly and quietly, "No, no, no, please..."

Pure giggled, his tail flicking back and forth. "It's beautiful, isn't it? The fear... desperation, desire... you want to survive. You want to pull yourself up so badly, but you just can't." Pure took a few steps back holding his paws together. "Here, let me show you something else I can-"

Paris glared at him, he refused to give him any kind of victory. He took a deep breath and pulled his claws out, immediately beginning to descend.
He couldn't scream, he wouldn't allow himself to. If he showed any ounce of fear, Pure would win. Fighting against every instinct to land on his feet and try to survive, he spun his body, planning to dive headfirst into the ground. His body was filled with terror, he didn't want to die, but he couldn't do anything else. It was too much to handle, he wasn't even sure how long he had been falling for before he blacked out.