The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 65: A misstep. (Part 1)

Chapter 65: A misstep.

3 years 4 days after the Fall:

The world I saw had crumbled. Giant white ceramic monsters passed by fallen skyscrapers. They crashed their bodies against their surroundings causing further destruction to the broken and now defunct city. All life surrounding them had been eliminated whether it was mankind or even the smallest bug, yet still they remained, searching for something that drove their mindless instincts.

It was only after a long while of drifting that I realised, this wasn't my world, nor was it any I could recall. But like ours, it had been reaped for all it was worth and now remained as a ghostly playground for terrifying creatures. The world had reached its end and ours would follow suite.

I saw it then for a moment. My brother dead upon where I was sealed. His blood flowed over the World. In that small fraction of time, I realised what we were, and I made a choice. I would rewrite the end and at the very least, send him home, hoping for something better.

**

Ardent Friend:

"I'll say this now, I don't like this," I rapped my fingers on the wooden table in front of me. Together with Ratansi, the Old Man and Articus, we had spent the better part of two months researching and formulating a plan to get me home. We stood around the table which was a mess of papers scribbled with different notes and diagrams. Some meant something, others were close to nonsense. Ria was currently sleeping on the couch nearby.

"I don't like it either," the Old Man grumbled. "This leaves too much on the whims of a madman."

"Kazu isn't that bad," Articus spoke before wryly bopping his head. "Okay, he can be, but he's agreed to signing the contract. He'll be bound by oath."

Ratansi rubbed his chin, staring down at the papers on the table like I was, "In theory however, it does work. Why don't we go over this one more time. Arvel, go ahead."

"Okay," I rubbed my hands together. "From what we know, the Void is timeless. We'll use that property to our advantage. I'll enter the Void by reflecting it off the Gate and take a portion of Kazu's soul with me. In the future when Kazu reaches the correct time, he'll call his lost soul back forming a connection that can breach the Void. Using that connection, I'll be able to leave the Void and enter the right time." Everyone nodded.

I continued, "The problem is the notes we have of the Void are very few and mostly from Crysis' past interactions with my mother the Witch of the Void. I may just end up even more lost than before. Secondly is Kazu. He'll be in charge of the spell to bring me back. To that extent we'll be binding him by oath and sealing his memory of me until the designated time. Is that about right?"

"Yes," Ratansi nodded. "What we still need is the stimulus to bring back his memory. It'll need to be something Kazu will actually focus on, something that will make him curious enough to trigger his mind."

"I've been thinking about that," I smiled. "In the future, my friend will win a tournament. He'll be invited to meet Kazu at the very least. We can use him as the trigger."

"And if your friend doesn't win?" the Old Man asked.

"He'll win," I had no doubt Vanter would come through.

Articus nodded, "The less people who know about the future the better. I know from the Witches notes we shouldn't be able to change what is fated to happen, but still, from the sounds of it, I'd like to keep on that track. Should we all seal our memories until Arvel is back?"