Chapter 318: Will of a Prince

The sky took on a color of magenta. Everyone floated down to the destroyed earth below them. White particles danced in the air as they gazed upon a view no one had saw in months — a sunset.

Miraculously, their sun had not been destroyed in any of their attacks.

Maria’s soft sobs could be heard clearly by the group as they looked around at each other speechless. Squabee was the first to say something.

“We… did it. We really did it.”

Though their win meant humanities survival, the cost of the fight was too high to celebrate. They all huddled together and took turns embracing each other.

“I can’t believe it. We are all that’s left. This feels… strange.”

Jacob pulled away from Maria and looked off into the horizon. He smiled and inhaled deeply before letting out a long sigh of relief. Suddenly, everyone heard small claps coming from behind them.

They all quickly turned their heads to see what the strange noise was. Jacob’s face filled with dread.

The bandaged man with his usual strange attire was walking towards all of them, clapping his hands with every step he took.

“It’s him. How is he… why is he-?”

“Here. How is he still alive? None of this makes sense! That’s what you were going to say, was it not?”

The bandaged man leaned his covered face forward lifting a hand to his ear.

“Huh? I didn’t hear you respond. Was I incorrect?”

He started chuckling to himself.

“You know that I’m not wrong.”

No one in their group moved. The presence of this man alone had them held in place. For some strange reason, Jacob could not read anything about this man with his eyes anymore. The bandaged man waved at Sarah, who clearly couldn’t see him, but she recognized his voice.

“Oh, Sarah. It’s been so long. Have you forgotten my voice?”

Jacob turned to Sarah slowly. She was shaking, indescribably terrified of this man. Sarah squeaked out a response.

“N-No.”

The man raised his hands in the air leisurely.

“Ah. So, you all can speak, you are just choosing not to! Or is it… that you truly can’t?”

Jacob tried spitting out words, but his mouth refused to move. Maria held her mouth trying to get it to open, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Where the hell did you come from, you creepy bastard?”

Everyone, including the bandaged man, appeared stunned. Squabee was crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by the man’s appearance. The man’s mouth curved upward under his bandages.

“It’s YOU!! You must be Squabee!”

Squabee took a step forward.

“Why do you keep trying to scare my friends? Do you have any concept of what we just did? You should be grateful that you’re still alive.”

The bandaged man raised his head, taken aback by the courage of this young woman. No one in his entire existence had ever had the strength to talk to him like that. He started laughing again, holding on to his stomach as he stepped backwards for a moment.

“What’s so funny? I’m being serious.”

After his small laughing fit, the bandaged man turned to face them once more.

“You all have a VERY interesting friend. I don’t believe she realizes how special she truly is… do you all know?”

“Maybe answer ONE of our questions and we would be more inclined to help you, creep.”

The bandaged man clapped his hands together excitedly.

“Wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL!!”

He snapped his fingers and spoke out loud.

“Suddenly, Sarah’s body exploded into millions of pieces.”

Suddenly, Sarah’s body exploded into millions of pieces. Her blood splattered over Jacob and Maria who were sitting close to her. They turned to where she was just standing, horror residing in their eyes. There was nothing left but a wide ring of blood. She had been killed instantly. Squabee’s stomach dropped.

“What… did you just…”

“Jacob and Maria froze in place at a loss for words! They were forced to listen to something they never thought possible!”

Jacob and Maria froze in place at a loss for words. They were forced to listen to something they never thought possible — a man who appeared to be in control of reality itself. No matter how much they struggled to move or speak out, they simply couldn’t. Even the idea of trying to talk was nonexistent in their heads.

The bandaged man held up his hands at Jacob and Maria while he faced Squabee.

“Now, would you like to sit and let me answer your questions or let these two friends of yours share a fate similar to that blind woman?”

Squabee winced before setting herself on the ground, holding back tears.

“Very good, very good. Oh, my. Where do I even begin to answer all these questions you have?! Perhaps, we should start with the real truth of your existence, Jacob.”

Jacob’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name.

“You, good sir, are one special boy! You solidified your place in time for good with this! Afterall, this is your story being told! Well… it was your story being told is what I should say.”

Suddenly, Jacob’s brain flashed back to the jungle temple and the singular word that had survived the statue.

‘Synopsis’

“Oh. It looks like you’re already putting the pieces together. Yes, Jacob. Your entire existence is nothing but a mere story — a tale being told by someone else! That little statue you all broke contained the synopsis of your adventures! Can you even begin to comprehend something so crazy?!”

Truthfully, Jacob couldn’t. His entire life, his friends, his hardships, everything he had ever done was merely a fabrication of another person’s imagination. The very idea of such a possibility was something his god-like mind couldn’t handle.

“However, as much as I would adore to say you’ve been in this place before, I am afraid that is not the case. You see, Jacob, I have been watching your same adventure for eons. I have witnessed your countless hardships you overcome, the loss you endure, the love you find, and even the family you one day had. However, do you see an issue with what I just said?”

Jacob refused to react.

“Even if you don’t say it, I know you think it. You never had a family on this adventure. That brings me to my next little… well, let’s call it a massive problem. You see that woman over there with the blank expression?”

The bandaged man pointed over at Squabee who was seemingly lost in a trance.

“Out of the trillions of adventures you had, that girl had never once existed in any of them, and because of that, for the first time ever, your story had changed drastically.”

Jacob tried to break free from the hold this man had on him, but he simply couldn’t. This information was too much for him to handle.

“You see, ever since she came into your little group, you have all been doing things none of you should have ever been capable of. In fact, your little friend here should have died long ago. That kingdom of time you stumbled upon, you shouldn’t have found that till much later. Oh, and that small little god, Zalo? He shouldn’t have even appeared until you had all these wonderful adventures on the continents! Oh, my. You would have loved Otrito City.”

The bandaged man clapped his hands together again.

“Do you understand what I’m saying, Jacob? Your entire life, your greatest journey never happened all thanks to this woman!! Think of everything you have had to endure thanks to such a change. Do you not resent his woman’s existence?”

The bandaged man clawed at his face.

“Because I do. She has ruined everything! She has ruined my perfect story!”

He pointed a finger at Squabee.

“She is somebody even the world doesn’t want here!!”

The bandaged man tightened his tie under his neck before calmly turning to Jacob again.

“But, my dear Jacob, you can set things right. You have the power to fix this ending!”

He pointed a finger at Squabee.

“Kill her. Free yourself from this story, live the journey you were meant to live away from this woman! Live happily ever after surrounded by the people you care about most! Ahem. Suddenly, Jacob was able to freely move and do what he pleased.”

Suddenly, Jacob was able to freely move and do what he pleased. He dropped to his knees, his soul feeling hollow and lifeless. His entire life was a fabrication — a story of entertainment for those to read or watch it. An image of Pops flashed in his brain, and for the first time, he could see himself in that man.

He was nothing more than this worlds jester.

“Jacob walked over to Squabee, his god-like powers brimming with energy!”

Jacob walked over to Squabee, his god-like powers brimming with energy. He looked into Squabee’s helpless eyes as tears fell down her face emotionlessly. Squabee nodded her head.

“Please. Do it, Jacob.”

Jacob hesitated.

“I… c-can-“

“Jacob allowed his powers to release from his hand, turning Squabee into nothing but a pile of mush!”

Jacob allowed his powers to release from his hand… but he missed. The land behind Squabee was decimated instead. The bandaged man angrily rewrote the story.

“Jacob didn’t miss his attack. It hits Squabee directly in between the eyes, killing her instantly.

Jacob didn’t miss his attack. It hit the bandaged man directly between the eyes killing hi-

“The attack missed the bandaged man!!”

The attack missed the bandaged man. Jacob’s eyes widened. This was the true reason he wanted him to kill Squabee. She was someone who wasn’t affected by his powers. In other words, a threat.

“Jacob forgets the realization he came to.”

Jacob forgets the realization he came to. Squabee put her hands on his face.

“I’m sorry, Jacob. I… didn’t ask for this existence either.”

Though Jacob forgot about his other realization, he came to another one next — him and Squabee were the same person. Neither of them asked for this existence, and yet they were forced to live it either way. Jacob felt a warm sensation leave Squabee’s hands and flow into his soul. His heart dropped after realizing what she had done.

“Release.”

The world around Squabee bent inward. Meteors rained from the sky towards their position, storms appeared above their head, the air around Squabee had changed significantly. She had activated her release power, meaning existence was free to finally rid themself of her presence.

“One of us deserves to be free from it, right?”

In seconds, Squabee was bombarded with lighting strikes, small meteors crashed into where she had just been sitting inches in front of him, small tornadoes would tear up the earth around her, yet through all of this, nothing managed to touch Jacob a single time. He had been blessed with her luck.

“However, Squabee’s power failed to stay inside of Jacob.”

Jacob lifted his arm before biting into it, swallowing a piece of his own flesh. The bandaged man winced seeing his power not work. Jacob felt something roar through his soul, a familiar feeling growing in his vocal cords.

“A meteor from Squabee’s release crashes into Maria’s head, killing-“

“YOU WILL NO LONGER REWRITE MY STORY!!”

Suddenly, the bandaged man stopped speaking. Blood started seeping through the white bandages around his mouth. He held on to his throat as he turned to face Jacob.

“You… do you have any idea what it is you are doing?!”

“You will no longer bring harm to me or Maria! You. Will. BOW!”

The bandaged man crashed into the ground, kneeling over before Jacob, more blood spilling on the ground.

“You know the funny thing about powers like ours, Jacob?”

The bandaged man stood up and ripped every bandage off his face, revealing himself to Jacob for the first time. He didn’t look like anything special. He was a normal man with dark brown hair, round face, and blue eyes. He looked like a human who was playing God.

“They always come with a cost. Did you not remember what I told you before?”

A dark power started growing in his eyes.

“This is not your story anymore. Jacob collapsed to his knees, unable to reach the man in time.”

Jacob collapsed to his knees, unable to reach the man in time. He grabbed hold of Maria and started flying away.

“LET GO OF HER!”

The man let Maria go as Jacob flew after him. They screamed at each other, trying to get reality under their control with each shout.

“Jacob’s throat swelled from his god-like shouts.”

However, Jacob didn’t need to defend himself. He had Squabee’s power residing within him. He grabbed hold of Maria and took her far away from the man.

“I’ll keep you safe. Please stay close to me so he can’t hurt you!”

Maria nodded her head.

“Jacob…”

With the man’s only power being stunted, they were both at a standstill. They stared at each other as they floated in the air.

“This will go on forever, Jacob. Do you really wish to spend your pitiful eternity with me here?”

Jacob’s eyes widened.

“Eternity…”

He looked at Maria with a hopeful glare.

“Maria, would love me for all of eternity?”

Maria stared back up at Jacob wistfully.

“I would. Would you love me for that long?”

Jacob nodded his head.

“I have no doubt. Now, I need you to allow yourself to let go.”

He looked over at the man who was readying his next shout.

“Jacob dropped Maria before he could finish speaking! Maria’s heart stopped as she tried to get out a final word! Reality shifted to turn in the man’s favor!”

However, nothing happened.

“Something happened!”

Nothing happened.

“The world followed only one command, and it was from the man in the sky!!”

The world followed only one command, and it was from the man in the sky.

“Jacob and Maria die holding each other in their arms!!”

Jacob shouted out a command while flying towards the man.

“With this spear, I banish us all to live in a realm outside of this story. With this spear, we all gain our freedom from this cycle. With this spear, this accursed story ends.”

Maria’s spear glowed as they zipped towards the man.

“The spear missed!!”

The spear landed right in between his ribs, puncturing his lungs and exploding out his back.

“Everything stays fine!!”

Everything around them turned black. All three of them had been banished to a plain of nonexistence.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?! WHAT DID YOU IDIOTS DO?!”

Jacob grabbed hold of the spear and threw the impaled man far off into the distance, making him disappear in the infinite emptiness of his new eternity. After watching the man go, Jacob looked at Maria and smiled wistfully. However, Maria still held a somber expression.

“But… with us gone… humanity is gone.”

Jacob nodded his head.

“Trading humanity’s future for an eternity with you is a small price to pay. Besides, I would rather live an eternity of freedom then let humanity be enslaved in a story for the rest of their existence.”

Maria smiled faintly and nodded her head.

“Did we… make the right choice?”

Jacob kissed her passionately before backing away and staring into her ever-changing eyes.

“I made my right choice.”

Jacob held Maria in a loving embrace. They were alone, but they were together, and that was all they needed. An eternity of peace, an eternity of love, and an eternity of freedom now awaited them.

Cane sat on his cliffside, watching the sheets of ice on the ocean slowly melt. Off in the distance, a woman floated over the horizon set aflame. Cane’s eyes widened at the sight as tears streamed down his face.

“A sight beyond this view. It really happened.”

What was supposed to be a symbol of despair, was now a symbol of hope for Cane, for the burning woman meant that he was finally free.

The world was finally quiet.

A being descended from the heavens and looked upon the carnage of the battle.

“My dearest creature of chaos. My creature of balance. Zalo, Serpent, both of you, gone for good. Dearest Zalo, my first creation for necessary evil. Dearest Serpent, your opposition to bring balance in hopes one day, you may reach an equilibrium. In creating such an equilibrium, I hoped they would rid of you both, my beautiful imperfections… yet this world is empty with no one to take your place.”

She looked upon her world one last time with an understanding: humans were impossible to understand.

Some were terribly stubborn, others would give up too easily, some followed their own moral compass while others relied on leaders to guide them towards a shared good. Even so, it was shown that humans had an infinite capacity for love just as much as they had a capacity for hate.

The true perfect creation was not made from finding a balance between these two but was made by accepting that there was no such thing as a perfect creation in the first place.

Thus, she left the world as it was — staying in its beautifully imperfect state for all of eternity.