Journey to a Better End II

Chapter 5

To think that I'd have made it this far in a sequel without getting writter's block (don't belive that lie), it's truly amazing...
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        They were perfectly fine. The spirits began to crowd even more around Paradox the more they went along but neither Add nor Ara paid it any attention. Perhaps they should have. All was well as they walked through the garden...until Paradox suddenly froze, petrified in place as he suddenly held his head down. Ara was the first to notice and looked at Add for an answer but he seemed just as clueless as her. "Ara, something is wrong. You and Add should back away," Eun warned but Ara didn't listen because the moment that Eun had spoken, Ara spotted a few tears dropping from Paradox's hidden eyes.

        "Hey...Paradox are you....are you okay?" Ara asked as knelt down next to him. He averted his gaze, turning away from Ara as he began to sit in the grass. "Paradox what's wrong with you all of a sudden?" Add asked. "I don't think talking to him is a good idea right now. Let him do whatever he's going to do first," Eun said. Paradox shook his head and Ara though he might have somehow heard Eun. "I can't do this. I can't take it...it's too much," Paradox whimpered.

        The spirits were crowding around him even more and Ara began to worry about Eun's earlier warning and wanted to make them back away as well but wasn't sure as to how she would do that. "What are you talking about?" Add inquired. Paradox stayed silent for a bit, shaking slightly as he continued to cry. "This world is too different from the rest. They were always together in each and every one of them. This one's different," Paradox said. Ara didn't get it but Add seemed to know what Paradox meant.

        "Your team. You're talking about your team aren't you," Add said with a nod. "The El Search Party doesn't exist here. Just...I don't want to talk about it right now," Paradox said. Ara looked to Add to see if he knew what to do but once again, he didn't. The spirits around Paradox were being a bit annoying too and Ara now began to gentle move them away as best as she could. "I just want to be left alone...go away, all of you," Paradox suddenly seethed, pieces of his jacket flaking away into bright purple particles as he did so.

        Ara immediately backed away, Eun having taken control and made her do so as Paradox's crying became sobbing. "What do we do? This can't be good. What's happening to him?" Ara whisper yelled at Add. "How am I supposed to know?!" Add whisper yelled back. The spirits gathering around Paradox all suddenly backed away rather quickly and began glowing until te were blinding to look at. Ara was forced to cover her eyes but when she opened them, she was shocked to see someone else, an elf, standing in place of all of the spirits. Paradox had stopped his crying altogether and looked at the elf in surprise.

        "Rena...is that really you?" Paradox asked. "I don't know if it's safe to answer that question right now but what I do know is that your scaring your friends. Why do you sit here and reject their help? You don't have to accept the sorrow that finds its way to your heart," the elf, apparently Rena, said as she sat down in front of Paradox. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...I...I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident. I only wanted to find mother and then he took over and I couldn't stop him. I can't control him. His willpower is too much, Rena," Paradox said as he let a few tears escape his eyes.

          Ara and Add watched, still sort of in shock but intently listening so that they could try filling in the holes of Paradox's past. "Whatever it is that happened in the past, you don't need to bring it into the present. All that matters is that you move past it an-" Rena was saying but Paradox cut her off. "You don't understand! Even now, I can barely keep in control. I've long since lost my sanity. I don't want to lose what's left of my mind to him. That bersion of me is what caused this mess in the first place! I just...if I could go back and stop it all from happening, I would but the destruction of that timeline is inevitable all because of me," Paradox said.