The uncanny air of the hospital hallway, the smell of sanitizer and detergents which were spread everywhere. As someone with steady yet pounding footsteps goes towards Room No 11.
The door creaked, as it stayed for a moment, the cool yet chilling air of AC. The beeping sounds emitted a shrill, metronomic ping that carved through the sterile room.
As their gaze went towards a patient laying on the bed unconscious, they had weared off their youth now, wrinkles on forehead and cheeks. The person stood there for a moment, maybe he was feeling nostalgic, that's why he had come here, he said that to himself or maybe something he can't describe.
"M– Mama?"
The person on the bed was unconscious, maybe she was dead, just an alive flesh now. Zack stared at her for several moments, before closing the distance between them. He sat down on the chair beside the chair, it was clean as if this place was clean regularly everyday. As he continued staring at her..
Then he gradually moved his hand towards her, but stopped at last second, clearing up his throat, his head down; he said.
"Mother.. I'm here."
She was unfazed as usual or maybe she didn't have the authority to do anything, he stared at her with a stiff expression for a few minutes. Before letting out a sigh.
"I don't know why I came here.."
He leaned back to the chair, looking at AC exhaling chill air in front of them.
"Maybe I felt like it. I can't explain this to you... how can I? If I don't know what it is.."
A dead silence shrouded them for a few minutes. Zack yawned before getting up from the chair.
"Well.. I really must be going. But don't worry, I'll come back to see you every now and then."
He spoke with his casual smile, before exiting the room.
The clouds had covered the sky outside, as if it was about to rain at any moment, Zack turned his head up and took a deep breath, as he stood there for a moment before strolling.
While he was strolling nonchalantly past the hospital, his eyes seemed to be deeply thinking about something. As he heard a car's horn nearby..
It was a fancy car with another same car behind, as the doors opened and many guys who were wearing a suit with sunglasses stood beside him. Zack wasn't astonished, he know who these guards were and worked for; as one of them opened the front door of the middle car and a man appeared, he was taller than Zack and had the same flaxen hair as him. Zack was surprised to see him as he murmured in a low voice, not hearable to them.
"Dad."
The man stood before him, perplexed.
"Zack.."
The man stuttered, puzzled. Lifting his glasses a bit up.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh.. I'm going to Ender."
The man cleared up his throat, before declaring.
"Didn't you hear the news? He and his parents are dead."
Zack was stunned, then he remembered something.. Something very obvious, for him as well.. His expression went blank as he thought..
~ My.. My clone.. Is here.
"Anyways Zack. Let's go home."
His dad ordered him as he sat first before closing the front door of the middle car, Zack had no choice but to listen to him, which he did sitting in the back seat of the same car where his father sat, as every guard got in their places and they got along.
Moments Later...
They reached home or a so-called mansion. The guards opened the doors for them as Zack walked behind his father. His father seemed quiet as he was thinking about something. His face forward as his lips twitched with him asking.
"Have you met her?"
Zack stayed quiet for a second before mumbling.
"Uh.. huh.."
His father didn't respond and stayed quiet. As they go into the mansion.
"Go to your room and freshen yourself up, I'll send a maid when dinner's ready."
As Zack politely listened to his commands. Going to his room, he didn't understand why but he felt nostalgic yet at the same time. He felt a hollow, somewhere he couldn't explain or maybe he couldn't understand why?
After a while, a maid knocked at his door.
"Young master. Master is calling you for dinner."
"Alright. Tell him I'm coming!"
As Zack had just taken a shower wearing his caramel color t-shirt, before getting out of the room and heading downstairs. His father was sitting on a wide and large table with all kinds of things that can make a decent dinner. Zack stared at the table thinking how he would eat all this.. Though he respectfully asked.
"Can I sit?"
"Sure.."
His father replied without looking at him as he sat like a gentleman. Before his father sighs and starts the dinner, he starts after him.
MUNCH!
MUNCH!
While eating dinner on the outside, the rain started teeming. Even thunder was crackling in the clouds. Nevertheless, they both act like it didn't exist and continue eating. A maid was in the corner so that if they needed anything in case, she could work out.
THUMP!
THUMP!
They heard heavy footsteps approaching them, coming from the entrance. Zack and his father turned their heads even to the maid to see a silhouette standing in front of them. Due to the darkness, the person's face wasn't visible, but his features resemble someone very close to them.
PANG!
A thunder struck from the clouds as everything lightened for a moment. In a split second, everyone saw who the silhouette was, the maid covered her mouth and started moving her steps back.
"Z– Zack?"
Theodor whispered, his eyes in awe as if he couldn't believe he turned his head instinctively to see another Zack who was eating dinner with him. He clenched his teeth, getting up abruptly.
"What is happening HERE!"
The other Zack slowly moved his steps towards the dim light, his hair wet by the rain as he was wearing a ragged black jacket. His hazel eyes had no such thing that our Zack had, as he lifted his head up, seeing his dead expression. Zack got up in awe, he didn't understand what is or why this is happening. Yet he knows one thing and that something is about to happen. He didn't know if he could stop it or not..
"Y- You.."
The other Zack gaze went over Zack. The maid was already out of the scene.
"DESTROY EVERYTHING!"
He dashed and came close to Zack in an instant, in this time Zack could only block the blow by his arms.
WHAM!
Zack got slammed to the wall, the impact crumbled it and many paintings fell, nevertheless Zack dodged an attack coming to him by moving in last second. To see his clone making a hole in the wall by his fist, though Zack still wasn't understanding what's going on.
"Wait!"
But his clone grabbed the crumbling concrete and with his brute strength he pulled out a big chunk and threw it to him. Zack grabbed the chunk but the clone punched him in his chest through the chunk; crumbling it to dust.
Nevertheless Zack held his balance as he blocked some blows of himself, yet his clone somehow found a gap and uppercut him to the stairs. Zack held his balance as his clone leaped to him. Zack dodged some blows and hit a punch in his liver so the clone grabbed the railing and took it out, hitting Zack as the force slammed him to the entrance door.
The father who was watching this took out a gun from his pocket, though he knew it was useless to use against them. Zack quickly got up, his lips were a bit bleeding as he wiped it from his fingers and watched his own blood. As his clone jumped in the air Zack was fast enough to dodge it as his impact destroyed the floor.
Zack quickly got on guard as he dodged a punch from himself and locked the other punch by his palm then the other with his other palm. In no time, the tension had grown so much, Theodor who didn't know what to do was just frozen, stunned watching all this.
"Tell me WHY! WHY ARE WE DOING THIS!?"
Zack yelled, seeing himself enraged.
"EVERYTHING IS DESTROYED! BECAUSE OF US! WE MUST DIE!"
He didn't understand what he meant, his curiosity to ask grew bigger than staying silent.
"W– Why? What did we do?"
The clone turned his head down, for a moment Zack felt his tightened muscles relax for a bit. His lips quivered.
"Our father tried to kill us.. Because he knew what we did... He sent me to a military base to finish me off.. but don't worry I killed them all.."
Zack was flabbergasted, he reflexively looked at his father who had turned his head down.
"That's when I realized.."
The other self continued with a pause.
"The only being who could kill me is myself."
As he tried to kick him with his knees to Zack's gut, he had already stiffen his abdomen muscles to hold the impact. As the clone tries to free his hands. Zack clenched his palm so hard that he didn't let him go.
"W– What about our friends?"
The clone bit his lips, declaring.
"I don't KNOW! Our existence is nothing but a CURSE! They will get the same treatment as everyone gets BY US!... If we had stayed a bit longer.."
Zack went silent, hearing this his body started emitting a golden aura. It travels to his clone and then... He saw those memories..
Every single second what his other self had lived through.. He was right, he indeed killed everyone.. destroyed everything.
How he was taken to the base for quiet
assassination but when he found out, it was too before.. killing every soldier mercilessly as if Messor Mortis had possessed him once again. He leaves nothing. As then he walked through all the way here.. maybe because he believed there was someone.. or something who could end him..
End his sins and his existence forever.. Witnessing every last second his mind couldn't hold it as he fell down to his knees, his eyes wide opened.
~ I did all this.. I killed them.. I killed them all... No mercy for no one..
"I wanted to eradicate you from this world.."
Theodor spoke, his head down.
"Because I knew what kind of monster you were.. in fact I even knew you were the one who destroyed that organization which had kidnapped you... no matter how human you laughed and acted. You can't override your own instincts. Your instincts to kill and destroy.."
He paused for a moment, he was feeling a lump in his neck.
"B– But at the same time I don't want you to die, you were your mother's last desire. Maybe this is something you didn't know... but she was conscious before she went into a deep coma. It was her last wish she conveyed to me.. that was to protect you from this twisted world. Y– Yet... I let you be destroyed.. I let my own son be destroyed..."
Tears fell off Theodor's cheeks. Zack was seeing all this, he didn't know what to do, his ears started ringing again, getting intense and intense by each second. As the voices came to him again.
– You must die! Zack. D. Roy!
At this point, his clone was seeing himself with an expressionless face as until the guards of the house appeared, it turns out it was the maid who had called them. Seeing the clone they started shooting at him.
"STOP!"
Theodor shouted but it was too late, as the bullets were about to hit him, they just can't penetrate through his skin and just cause a sensation as if someone had poked him. He covered his eyes with his arms and dashed towards the guards. In no time he killed them all one by one with his bare hands.
Again, his hands were covered in blood. His clone saw his own hands and stared at them for a moment before going towards Zack who was kneeling on the ground. He wiped some blood by sweeping it in Zack's hands who he had covered his ears with, saying..
"I did the sin once again.. I'm tired of it now.."
The clone turned his head down. Staring at his hands, Zack whose hazel eyes were bursted opened, the ringing and the voices seemed to a bit down for a moment.
Theodor pinched the area between his eyebrows. As if he was pissed off.. Groaning..
"I– I wanted a normal life with you and your mother.. maybe it wasn't in my fate to get one.."
He said, removing his glasses and covering his eyes up though they weren't enough to hide his tears. Those pitiful tears. On the other side, Zack was lost in himself, he couldn't understand anything what to do now.. His mind didn't have the capability make a decision.
~ I.. I just.. want to live..
Zack saw the blood on his hands before him which his own self had wiped.
~ It was me after all... I really was a monster.. No matter how much I tried to become a human.. I couldn't even become a human even though I was born one..
"Zack.."
His own self called him. As he gradually lifted his head up.
"Please... Kill me.. I don't wanna live.."
At this moment, a golden aura emitted from Zack for a moment. Then he heard something..
~ I don't wanna live..
~ I wanna die..
~ Kill me please..
These were his own self thoughts who was also kneeling before him. Zack didn't know what to do yet somehow his unconscious reacted to it before he could consciously predict.
A golden aura shrouded his whole body as in a second he was wearing his golden-red knight armour. His sword rested on the sheath which was behind his back.
"Zack. D. Roy.. Kill yourself.. At least kill a part of yours so that you can get salvation..."
Zack didn't understand.. He gets up on his knees, looking at himself. At this moment, a thought echoed in his mind..
~ If a killer kills, it's called a murderer. If a knight kills, it's called salvation.. Then what am I? A killer? A knight?
For a while, his inner void stayed silent, no answer..
"... Zack."
He heard a familiar voice, a voice so familiar that his tired eyes bursted open. He quickly turned around to see...
"Zack..."
It was a face he knew very well, the tone, the hair, the eyes, everything that reminded him of her..
"It is not your.. fault..."
Zack remained silent hearing those words, his clone and his father were perplexed what he was doing or facing around, maybe her presence was only limited to some beings..
"You're wrong.."
Zack spoke, his head down.
"It's.. ALL MY FAULT!"
Zack screamed. He was shivering now.. Marine started to come closer to him, she was wearing a white garment. Only someone as pure as her can wear it.
"Stop.. blaming yourself..."
She murmured, walking towards him. Zack started moving backwards, but she catched him.
"I– I am a destroyer... In the end.. I was the one who killed... you.."
He spoke, his eyes still weren't water enough as if he couldn't cry even if he wanted to. Instead, his expression and his eyes became more and more dead, as if he was recalling a memory..
[ Past memories ]
The fire was devouring everything, everywhere. Concrete was melting as blood and dead bodies were being engulfed too. In the center were two people, one standing seeing the other and the other who was kneeling with another person on his knees. The person on the knees was breathing heavily and her chest was covered in blood. Maybe it was her blood.
"Zack.."
Marine whispered, she was almost about to die as her brother could do nothing but watch it, do nothing but let fate unfold. Zack lifted his head up towards her.
"P– Please... Give me salvation.."
She murmured, Zack didn't understand so did Ender.
"What?"
He replied. Clenching the crowbar on his fist. Marine smiled and let out a sigh.
"Kill me.. Let me be free from this suffering."
Zack didn't understand what to do, his mind had given up at this moment. Ender was confused about what she was saying.
"I– I can't.."
"Don't worry. I won't curse you.. Instead I'll be with you forever, watching you wherever you are.."
She said with a smile. Zack could do nothing but stared in awe and despair.
"P– Pl– ease.."
The crowbar fell as he moved forward towards them.
"Wait! I refused!"
Ender yelled.
"It's not my choice.. Ender.. It's our sister choice.. We must fulfill it.."
Zack spoke in a deep voice, kneeling down. As he gently spread his arms out so that Ender could give it to him. At first he hesitated but seeing his sister suffering and seeing he could do nothing about it.. He gave her to Zack gently.
Zack stared at her for a moment then he closed his eyes, Ender turned himself around. As for some moments.. When he turned out back, all he could see was a lifeless girl on Zack's knees. He gave her the most painless death ever he could.
Ender touched her cheeks which were now cold, as she wasn't breathing now. As he screamed.
"AGHHHH!"
Screamed so loud while Zack had no emotions on his face, just a dead face. Maybe he was already dead too.
Tears fall from Ender's eyes, who knows it will be the last.. As he cried on Marine. While Zack watched him cry on his own knees, he had nothing but an expressionless face worn onto him.
[ Present Scene ]
"AGHHHHH!"
Zack screamed, he screamed so loud that his body emitted a massive energy burst, Theodor, his clone even Marine backed off by its impact.
As Zack fell on the ground. He was tired, exhausted. Now, after a while.. Tears seemed to fall off his eyes.
"I– I'm a killer.. I have done nothing but killing.. I'm a murderer..."
He looked at his armour, his red-golden knight armour glowing a faint glow.
"How can I be a knight?... When I did nothing but bloodshed, mindlessly and mercilessly.."
Theodor and his clone make their balance as their gaze went towards Zack. They both were shocked, seeing Marine there puzzled both of them.
While Marine bit her lips, as she slowly started approaching him again. Bending down she looked at his face, all she could see was a pitiful face.. All there was someone who had been toyed by fate all along..
"Look.."
Marine touched his cheeks, brushing off his tears.
"A monster doesn't cry.. You aren't a monster.."
Zack remained silent, can't decide what to say next as he blurted mindlessly.
"But I killed you.."
"I told you.. didn't I? You freed me.. gave me salvation... You're a knight by heart.."
She touched his chest with his other hand.
"You wanted to live all along.. be with your loved ones.. Don't you?"
"But I'm scared.. That's because of my curse.. They will die too.."
"No.. You're not a curse.. You're our saviour. You're my saviour..."
She got up and lifted his head up towards her with her palms, Zack could feel how warm and light her palms were, his eyes widened.
"W– Will I be... forgiven?"
"Your blade brings salvation to those in suffering and brings destruction to the evil. You'll not be judged by your sins, rather how you lived your life."
A tear fell off again as Marine brushed it off gently by her thumb, smiling.
"You are my knight? Aren't you? Go salvage yourself first then..."
As she hugged him. In this moment, Zack could feel nothing but a feeling he always desire. What it was? Peace? Enlightenment? He didn't know? But he understand, it was what he needed; what he needed to persuade.
As gradually in bits Marine's form started disappearing in cosmic dust yet despite that. She hugged him tighter..
"Remember I'm always watching you... my knight..."
As Marine existence faded away, for a minute Zack closed his eyes, trying to hold on to that feeling he just experienced, then he looked up. It was so bright, so beautiful, he touched the cosmic dust fading away. When it was gone he stared there, silent..
His father and his clone were watching all this, astonished, Zack took out his sword from his sheath, getting up and turning around. Facing his own self.
"I will give you salvation.. Even if it costs my self destruction.."