Chapter 17: Chapter 13: Farewell

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a place similar to some ancient ruins. In a design that resembled a large maze, Stone walls, and pillars filled with moss and vines that climbed up the structure until it reached the top, filling the place in a shade of green that gave a fantasy look everywhere you looked. The ground was covered by the roots of large trees with leaves that sparkled like jewels.

On each of the walls, there were plates of some kind of strange metal, each a different color, and there were as many of them as the eye could see. There were different types of artifacts on each of these plates, which somehow remained static in the air. They weren't attached to the wall, and there wasn't anything holding them either, they were just static, floating in that place.

Reilanis, who was already confused enough, began to walk through the labyrinthine place, looking for something that would give her some clue as to where she was. A night sky was visible, but there was no moon and not a single star to shine in the black cloak above her head. All she could see were endless walls and objects floating on them. Taking a closer look at them she noted that they all had strange engravings, but they were all strange symbols; languages completely unknown to her. Nothing there seemed familiar, but she still felt something about them, a certain attraction for each of the artifacts that were exhibited in that place.

She continued on her way for a long time, realizing that no matter how far she went, everything looked exactly the same. Or so it was, until, in the distance, she saw the figure of a person standing in front of what looked like a frame of a painting, although the objects and people in it were moving.

Reilanis ran over, then picked up speed as she realized who it was. A relieved smile spread across her face, happy to have found him so quickly. She stopped next to him and immediately called his name.

"Reilan!"

"Do you know what a soul is?"

"Huh?" Reilanis let out a weird voice, confused by the sudden question.

“When I was in the hospital after losing Kia, I asked myself that question. Then I concluded that it is our personality, memories, experiences, pain, and happiness, all of which had been brought together by some kind of strange energy that had somehow taken shape and created what we came to know as a soul. – Reilan stopped to take a small box from the back pocket of his pants. He hit it a couple of times and out of it came a small elongated object, a cigarette, which he then lit using a lighter he had in his other pocket. He took a couple of puffs, exhaling the white smoke, further confusing the Oni who was watching him with a puzzled expression. – But here, I've realized that I don't have a damn idea what it's supposed to be.”

“Reilan, what are you talking about? What is this place?"

"What do you think it is?"

"I don’t know. Some kind of ancient ruins?”

"Hmm, sounds plausible, but then, why am I here?"

“Is it somewhere in my memory? But I don't remember this place… Is this part of your world?”

“No, not even close. This place is neither yours nor mine, but it's also both. Hahaha, come on, don't make that face. – Reilanis was more and more confused, looking at Reilan with accusatory eyes, waiting for some kind of explanation. Her heart was beating faster, a strange feeling began to form inside her as if she sensed that something very bad was about to happen. – This place is called "The Akasha Archive," here the records of all the lives that a person has had are kept. Every object and plaque represents a life that once was.”

"I... I don't understand what you mean."

“Of course not, it would be weird if you did. Lani, this is your archive. This place records each and every life you've lived so far. And this... - He pointed to the painting he had been looking at a while ago as he took another drag on his cigarette. – This is my record in this place.”

"What!?"

“Well, to say that it is 'mine' is a half-truth. This is the record of my original self. You can read it and confirm it.”

“Original you? What are you talking about? I can't even understand those symbols, how do you expect me to read it?"

"Since we share the same body, and have each other's memories, you can read the languages I know."

Incredulous, Reilanis walked over to the painting, ready to read the plaque. Although she didn't expect that reading it would help at anything.

 

 

“¿Allan Reizen?”

“Yeah, that's my real name, well, the original me. Heh, it's funny, until the moment I got here, I couldn't remember.

“Why do you say the original “you”? I'm not getting what you mean, Reilan. You are scaring me…"

*sigh* “Okay let me explain what I've come to understand since I got here. Your soul has been reincarnating multiple times through different worlds. Reilanis is your current life. Allan Reizen is one of the many past lives you've had. Now, to answer your question, I don't know what or who managed to mess with time/space and mess with Allan Reizen's life, but they managed to make a copy of his memories and personality, and with that, they created an artificial soul, Reilan, that is me. Then somehow, they drew it into this world and put it in your body. Reilan blew another cloud of smoke, while he let Reilanis absorb the information. The girl held her head in shock, trying to digest the strange story that was being told. – I don't know why they created me, but if I had to guess… I would say it was because of you.”

Reilan gave Reilanis a brief look, then looked up at the empty, black sky. He took a last drag on his cigarette before stubbing it out with his shoe, tossing it away, and watching it disappear into particles as if it had never existed in the first place.

"Truly this dream world is suitable for the strangest things."

"R-Reilan...it means that you are not real?"

“Oh no, no, no, no. I'm as real as you are, or anyone else you know, just not the original Allan Reizen. I'm some kind of clone of his soul. I mean, I'm real, but artificial and, uh… temporary.”

"Temporary!? Are you going to disappear!? When!?"

" Very soon, although not completely. That's why I was brought to this place, or at least I think so. I could tell something was up when we were talking, I felt like I was fading. I tried to understand what was going on and when I realized that I was running out of time, that's when… well, I could only apologize to you before coming here. I guess, me starting to disappear was too much for your body and I guess that's why you ended up in this place too."

"I... I... don't..."

"Aww, come on, don’t be like that, you’re becoming a crybaby."

Reilan walked over to the girl who was crying uncontrollably. He placed both hands on her cheeks and with her thumbs, he wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. Like a brother consoling her little sister, he offered her a reassuring smile, which helped the Oni calm down a bit.

“I always wanted a little sister, you know? I never expected that myself, or well, my future self would be that little sister hahaha.”

“*sniff* Why, why do you have to disappear? I finally felt that there was…”

“Shh, is okay, I know. I also feel that way. But life is unfair, we both know that. There is nothing we can do."

Reilanis immediately caught him in a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Reilan hugged the sobbing girl back, stroking her back, doing his best to comfort her. “Why does it have to be so unfair? I have found someone who understands me and has helped me so much, someone I can see as my family, and now you take it from me… How much must I suffer so that whoever caused all this, feels satisfied enough?” The Oni thought between sobs, feeling heartbreaking pain, knowing that the little time she had spent with her "brother" would end so abruptly.

They were both stay like that for a long time, while Reilanis let out her sadness and frustration at the unexpected and inevitable separation. Until she slowly pulled herself away from him, wiping her stained face clean with her hands. Then she looked up at her taller mate, who was watching her with those tired-looking, but kind eyes. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the words to express what she wanted to say. Reilan seemed to understand what the girl had on her mind, so he patted her head and took her hand leading her somewhere.

They both walked through various corridors until they reached what seemed to be an exit to the outside, a kind of clearing in this labyrinthine forest of stone and strange plants. Right in the middle of that place, there was a bench, and neither of them knew why it was there, but they decided they would just let it be. They admired the strange sight in front of them. That could be called "the end of the world". The ground came to a little ahead of them, and then emptiness. An infinite fall through black, cold, and unknown space.

Reilan took another cigar from his back pocket, lit it, then sat back to admire the endless nothingness.

“What is that you put in your mouth?”

"This? It's a cigarette. It's… well, it doesn't really have any use or benefit, it's just something I do out of habit. I don't know why or since when I have them."

"Tastes good?"

“Hahahaha, no, it's horrible, but, well, it helps me calm down. Wanna try?"

"Sure."

Reilanis responded with a shrug. A childish curiosity washed over her, coupled with a feeling of wanting to try because she somehow thought it was cool.

Pounding the box, Reilan took out another cigarette which he immediately handed over to Reilanis. Then he explained how to lit it, and how to smoke it. And as expected, as soon as the Oni took her first breath, she began to cough violently, shooting her partner an annoyed and reproachful look. Then she punched him in the shoulder, for laughing at her.

“Hey, don't look at me like that, I told you it was horrible. – The man excused himself, while he laughed with amusement at the Oni as she tried to recover her ability to breathe. – You'll get used to it after a couple of times. Take it easy."

Although annoyed that Reilan was making fun of her, she decided to take his advice and try to inhale little by little to get used to the strange act of smoking.

As Reilanis figured out the trick to inhaling and exhaling the smoke, they chatted pleasantly about Reilan's world. The man told her many things, including vehicles that moved by themselves, and gigantic metal birds, the size of dragons that allowed people to go to the other side of the world in a matter of hours. He talked to her about smartphones and, of course, about anime culture, of which he told her some very short versions of various stories that he knows and enjoys in his life.

They both talked and laughed for what seemed like hours and hours until a comfortable silence fell between them. Reilanis had found the trick to "enjoy" smoking, and she was already on her third cigarette when suddenly, she turned her gaze to Reilan.

“Hey. What…did you mean when you say I was the reason you were created?”

“Hmm? Oh, that. I think that whoever was the being that created me and brought me here, did it because they somehow needed you to get over your past. If I had to say it... in a couple more years and things would have ended badly for you.”

“End badly? I don't think it was something that serious."

“You underestimate your situation too much. You had a big trauma and you were in a depression, those things can kill you very easily, although not in a conventional way. Look, at first, you just feel sad, down, and in no mood to do anything. Then you start to think that nothing you see or do is worth it. The people around you become… boring, unnecessary… If you come to understand what is happening to you, you will begin to feel guilty for the thoughts you have about others, but even so, those thoughts never stop. Everything will seem like a nuisance to you, and that's where you start to hate yourself."

Reilan sighed as he lit another cigarette and looked into Reilanis’ eyes, which showed how much attention she was paying to him. “Seriously, what a cute little sister.” He thought to himself, before returning his gaze to the empty space in front of them.

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“Then you reach a point where your thoughts turn to insult yourself, constantly reminding you of the mistakes you've made in your life, how worthless you are, and how you've become nothing more than a waste of air and space. At that moment you start hurting yourself to compensate or punish yourself for continuing to exist. Or, if you've had enough of yourself, you decide that it is better to just end it all and hope that would end your suffering and no longer be a nuisance to others."

Reilanis pondered, was it really that bad? She didn't feel like it was such a terrible thing, even she would say that Reilan was overreacting to scare or dissuade her.

“I know what you're thinking, but you underestimate depression too much. I'm going to tell you now, but I'm sure that in less than 2 years you would have ended up alone or dead."

“Dead!? In 2 years!?”

“Lani, it takes very little to break people’s minds and turn a person into nothing more than a bag of meat drowning in their own sadness and self-pity. For you? It would only have taken Miriam or one of the girls to say something to break you completely."

"That would never happ..."

"Are you sure?"

"..."

“And that’s what I mean. Thanks to what you told me before I can tell you something with certainty. If Elisa finds out everything you were hiding from her, she confronts you and she blames you for not telling her… Would you be able to take her insults in front of her with a blank expression? Can you assure me that if she told you that you have betrayed her by leaving her unaware of what was happening, it would not have affected you in any way? Or, if Miriam suddenly told you that she hates you for not telling her about her parents, are you sure you would bear to hear those words?"

“I…wouldn't be able to bear it…”

“That's why I think that whatever goal this being had in mind, the fact is that I came here with the sole objective of changing your situation. Either I helped you through it or… I took your body for myself.”

Silence.

“Well, let's drop this heavy topic and move on to something more important. What are you going to do when you leave the room?”

“I… I definitely have to talk to everyone…”

"Oh! Are you going to confess to your girl?”

*Cough Cough* “HUH!?”

Reilanis, who was caught off guard, was coughing violently as she looked at Reilan with eyes that wanted to punch him in the face. He on the other hand was holding his stomach in a loud laugh that echoed throughout the place.

"Ok, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just too easy to make fun of you."

“…”

Reilanis just gave him an angry look, then finished her last cigarette and tossed it into the air, disappearing into particles of light.

"Convenient." They both said at the same time.

“Out of kidding, you really should talk to her about it. 4 years is too long to wait for an answer. And… you should talk to Miriam about that too.”

"I know, I just…I want to have some time to, you know, let things cool down before I make that decision."

"I think it's a good idea. And there is something else you must do.”

"What is?"

"Confirm the story."

"The story?"

"Yes. Now that I've realized that many of the things, I remember are different, even if is only what I wrote, it would be a good idea to try to see how different the “story” of the game is from the “story” of this world. Many things are going to affect you directly if you let them happen.”

“But how am I going to do that if…?”

“Remember when I told you I wasn't going to disappear completely? – Reilan said as he got up from his place and stood in front of Reilanis, who was looking at him confused. He took out the cigarette box, and placed it in the Oni's hands, then patted her head winking at her. – My time has come.”

Hearing that, Reilanis's eyes widened and she immediately got up from her spot. She could feel that this would be their last moment together.

"All my memories will stay with you, so when you get out of here, try to write as much as you can, I'm sure many of those things will be very useful to you."

"But isn't that...?"

“Yes, it left me a little empty. But it doesn't matter, I'm going to go anyways, and those memories should stay with someone who needs them. And, you have more important things to worry about.”

"But…"

“Okay, maybe in the future, if you meet the being that did all this you can give it a good punch to the face and bring me back to life… or not. I don't know, it's something you can solve later."

After saying that, Reilan opened his arms wide, inviting the Oni, who didn't hesitate for a second to hug him with all her might.

“Thank you for helping me, for talking to me, for…for everything.”

"It was a pleasure. Furthermore, I must also thank you.”

"Why?"

"Well, maybe I'm not the original Allan Reizen, but be of help to you... I feel like I can finally bring closure to my life."

Reilanis just nodded, as she rested her head on Reilan's chest. They were like this for a few moments before Reilanis noticed that her grip was becoming strange as if Reilan was gradually becoming intangible.

"It's time. Lan…” Reilan stopped himself from saying the nickname he had come to call her. He reconsidered and said something that they both felt. – My cute little sister, I wish that from now on, your life will be much better and you will be happy with your girls, maybe even be able to have children.”

"I'll think about that."

And with one last smirk, the energy that kept him there drained away, speeding up Reilan's intangibility, vanishing from Reilanis arms.

"I'll see you soon, big brother."

 

 

---

 

 

As if it had already become a habit for her, Reilanis woke up on the floor, only this time there was no pain, no strange sensations, and no other person sharing her body. But what was there was a small box that she recognized instantly.

"How the hell…? [Appraisal]"

 

Reilanis put her hands on her face and let out a big laugh. The object in her hands may or may not be one of the strangest and most unnecessary artifacts she's seen in her entire life, but she was happy to have it.

"I think I need one right now."

She said, and then she took one out and…realized that she had no way to turn it on.

“At least you could give me…- She stopped, remembering that she was capable of using magic. Feeling foolish, she began to laugh again, and, mimicking the way Reilan used his lighter, she put her thumb under her forefinger and snap, creating a small flame on the tip of her thumb. – I guess that settles it.”

Reilanis inhaled, and let the smoke billow across the room, watching the shapes it took until the smoke reached the ceiling. She relaxed for a few minutes, remembering her brother and the strange day she'd had. Then got up and went to the small table that was in the middle.

“For now, I think I'll get to work and start writing down everything I can remember about the game. I just hope this reality is not so different. *sigh* then…then I want to take a good bath. It’s going to be a long, long day, much longer than it has already been.”

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