Artificial 7: Genesis Requiem

Chapter 59: No Regrets

Male Terra's POV:

We remained stuck in Alabama for 2 weeks because of these ghosts like things with ash like robes flying around.
Okita calls them Time Whispers and gave me a mild education on time travel and how you can use a rune or magic to open a portal in time to a similar timeline as yours,
then travel through it.
I asked him what about going backward in time instead of to a different timeline, and he said he didn't think about that but then also said that even if all time travelers did that,
they'd still arrive at the root of their problems as to why they had to time travel in the first place.
I just dropped it,
and more or less for 2 weeks,
we lived in motels thanks to Okita.

Ventus's condition worsened as his body physically aged and got more wrinkles, whereas his spikey hair remained the same.
He even shrunk a little,
too,
like old people do.
The only good thing that came out of this was that Ventus was a bit more responsive,
as he was able to make mild conversations,
such as asking short questions and names.
He remembered me but forgot Okita a lot,
then he started asking for Cynthia,
the squad, the twins,
Seth, Yuzuhara,
and Zoey.

I had to explain to him we're wanted people, and the likelihood of us ever seeing them again was low.
After 2 weeks,
the Time Whispers cleared,
but our problems got worse,
as Exorcist were in hot pursuit again! Red dots became visible on the wall,
so I tackled Ven off the bed and onto the ground before the room was lit up!
Okita picked a bad time to get takeout,
as that only left me to defend Ven! Exorcist came storming into the room, and I cast Seeker Mines to blow them up. Then I grabbed my new sword and started hacking, slashing,
and bashing skulls in with the pummel.
I ran outside and cast a barrier as multiple dots ended on me,
then they lit me up,
but the bullets bounced,
so they switched gears and threw gernades.

However,
they weren't ordinary gernades as one went off and stunned the hell out of me! I built up Lightning Magic and blasted them with lightning,
accidentally creating a lightning chain that went threw to all of them.
I ran stumbled here and there,
but otherwise,
I stabbed them all while they spazzed.
I grabbed Ven,
and I left a note for Okita,
telling him we hit the road,
then I put it under the lamp on the floor.

I walked all night with Ven while the Exorcist hunted us down like dogs all night!
They wouldn't give it up,
no matter how we ran into the woods and hide.
First thing in the morning,
the pursuit eased off,
but we were still chased.
We ended up meeting Okita in Texas, where he said he followed my scent to find me.

We were starving,
so he got us fresh food and took us with him.
Ventus ate soup as that was all he could eat,
and he had the worst case of the hiccups, just like Seth's grandpa when he told me the story of how he died of cancer.
Every meal was hiccups,
and I just felt bad for Ven.
All he ever wanted was to live life to the fullest with no regrets and stay friends with me and Azura.
A month later,
he lost his motor skills again and needed more bathroom breaks.
He's still talking,
but he can't move again.

Cellular Acceleration finally caught up to his body in a way an old person gets when they need a stay at home nurse.
I found an old pay phone outside the motel,
right across the street,
so I used it and called Himiko first to inform her where we are and how long it will be before we can get to the border.
I asked her if she could get us into Mexico, and she gave me her word that her and Shimura could get us into Mexico.
Next,
I called Selena and told her where we're at and that we're heading to Mexico to be taken in by Himiko's Branch.

She was business as usual,
and Seth was heard in the background, so she gave him the phone,
and we talked for five plus minutes, where he told me he was happy to hear from me and that he blamed himself for my disappearance and I had to reassure him I didn't blame him.
After that,
he told me that Cynthia and Lydia moved in with him,
and Cynthia gave birth to Ventus's kid while Lydia gave birth to my kid!
Then Chase piped up in the background that I knocked up Lilith at the same time I did Lydia,
and she gave birth to five babies, meaning I have six kids!
I won't lie.

Some tears were rolling down my face as I had some hope in the world,
just right when I thought I hit rock bottom.
Nope,
there was light at the end of the tunnel. When I make it to Mexico,
I'm going to reunite with both of them and help them raise our kids to the best of my abilities,
even though nine years had passed,
I can dedicate what little of time I have left to raising them.

Seth passed the phone to Zoey,
and we both shared a cry,
but not in the sad kind of way.
These were tears of joy coming from the both of us.
I told her she was always like a sister to me,
and she said I was always like a little brother to her and that she's doing the best she can to be a good aunt to my kids.
I told her everything about what happened on my end and how Okita saved me and Ven.

I told her everything,
and she told me that Seth, her, the twins, Selena,
and Yuzuhara has been tracking us for weeks.
I smiled as she rattled on about how worried she was when Rufus Armstrong, the new head of the Exorcist,
declared me a terrorist to the new world order and that governments all over the world are working together with the new Exorcist.

I tried my best to reassure her that I won't be dying so easily,
that I have things to live for,
and that I have faith they will meet me in Mexico when the time comes.
I ran out of money to feed the pay phone, and of course,
it cuts off on me.
I sighed as I went back to tending to Ventus,
and hours later that night,
his health plummeted as he physically aged into an old man,
just like Selena said with Genesis.
I stayed by his bed as I held onto his hand,
and Okita joined me for Ventus's final moments.

Ventus was having a hard time breathing, but he was still talking.
I told him to preserve his breathing,
but he told me he had to say this.
I felt myself getting choked up as he told me all his memories of having fun and being ourselves during simpler times.

He told me how much of a brother I was to him and how much he looked up to me and Azura despite the two of us drifting apart from her and how Selena became that replacement figure for Azura.
He wished we could have all lived together as one big family in the end and lived and died in our old age together, but he's lived life without regrets.

"Terra....... When I pass on........ promise me....... you'll live life........ for the both of us." I began crying as I couldn't hold back my tears and promised him. Ventus gave me one last smile. "Thank......... you......... I'm.......... gonna go on....... ahead........... and check out....... the afterlife...... for us..... take.......... your time......... catching up........ to me."

He took his final breath,
and Cellular Acceleration took him.
I cried my heart out,
and Okita just brought me in for a hug, not crying either but just being there for me.
Now,
all I have left are my children,
my girlfriends,
and my friends to keep me bound to this world,
and even then,
with how fast I'm aging.
I probably have 3 to 5 years left in me before Cellular Acceleration takes me.
I can't say I've lived my life without regrets, but at this point on,
I won't have a single regret.
I will live my life to the fullest,
with this tiny amount of time I have left.

Narration:
Shortly after the passing of Ventus,
Seth and the crew were walking down the road when a gust of wind blew by them.
"Goodbye, everyone. Take your time meeting me on the other side."
Everyone heard Ventus's voice clear as day and turned around only to see the breeze push the leaves on the trees. (Goodbye Ventus.)
They all thought as their happy mood was slightly dampened.