Given An Unwanted Second Chance

Chapter 42

I awoke in a bit of a daze, blinking the tiredness from my eye.  My soul hurt quite a bit, but it was more of an emotional pain that a physical one.

Right...my parents...my real parents...

I sat up and summoned my soul, looking it over.

...it looked fully healed.  The colors that had turned to gray were back to their original colors.  The glow of lime green was also back to its normal brightness, and no traces of KARMA remained.

I let my soul fade and stood up, stretching.  I summoned my tendrils, looking at them for a moment before exiting the room.

I walked quietly through the halls, deep in thought.  My mother had said I'd do amazing, impossible things...that I'd change the world.

I let out a soft chuckle.  "I guess you were right...just not for my own world..."

I then sighed, half-closing my eye.  "I just wish you could've been there...to see..."

"Eclipse!"

I jolted slightly, glancing behind me.  I smiled as Gradient ran up, giving me a big hug.  "Morning!  ...I think.  It's always dark here, so I'm not actually sure if it's morning, but still!"

He let go of me, looking at my face.  "You seem...sadder than usual.  Did Nightmare throw you off the building again?"

I snickered a bit.  "Nah...just...had some more memories return to me last night."

"What were they?"

I looked up at the ceiling, letting out another quiet sigh.  "I was...in a bedroom again.  I thought it was that same one I had been locked up in, but it was far nicer than that one.  And I was smaller.  Maybe 8 or 9 years old."

"Even younger than I had been!"

"Yeah...and...there were these adults.  They weren't faceless...I think it was a memory of my parents.  My real ones."

Gradient gasped a bit.  "Really?!  Oh, that's super cool!  I think.  Was it a good memory?"

I winced.  "At first, yes.  But the dream state shifted, and I realized that, much like the only memory I had of you, it was my last memory of them.  They had died in a crash on the way to a concert I was performing in..."

"...they were taken from you, too."

"They were.  And unlike you and I, I heavily doubt they also ended up here.  But...you know, I think that's okay.  They showed me love and kindness...I even remember my mother saying that I'd do amazing things that would change the world.  I just...wish I could've had more time with them."

Gradient looked sad.  "I'm sorry..."

I smiled softly at the saddened skeleton.  "Hey, it definitely isn't your fault.  Heck, at the time, you were barely a toddler that I never knew, so you have no fault in this."  I looked down the hall, my emotions a bit hard to describe.  "I'm just glad I had someone like you in my life.  I'll never see my parents again, but at least I have you...you know? "

"And I won't be going anywhere!  Someday, I'll REALLY be unkillable, and then...then we'll truly be together forever!"

I laughed a bit.  "Wishful thinking that I hope will be true."

"It is true!  I won't have it any other way!"

I smiled weakly again.  "I want to believe that.  I trust you, but you're still so young and have so much to grow into..."