Part VII

I knew it would happen. I always knew. Everything had been predetermined and set. From the beginning, I had known. No matter how many times I tried to change what was to come, it never worked, for it was bound to happen, even if it was delayed. In the end, I was the only one who tried to manipulate fate; the others knew that it was hopeless and stopped after a few times. Of course, I was always the one who was most naive out of all of us, or at least, so they said. And perhaps I was, but I tried my best to get the life I wanted.
It was inevitable for me to fall for the Controller of Time. I tried to stop myself, knowing that it would make his or her job that much harder. But I fell for Gwen, even with the pain of losing the six before her. And then I couldn't help myself that day at the beach. I wanted her to badly. I remembered all my past lives, where I had wanted the Controller of Time as well. But I held myself back those other times. This time, I couldn't.
As I held her close to me, I resisted the urge to take it farther. I felt my blood pulsing through my ears and my heart pounding like a drum. I was so frustrated and seeing her there, so beautiful in the soft moonlight... I couldn't help but take it one step farther than I had before.
I knew that she had to go save the world right after the movie I took her to, and I still tried to stop her, futile as it was. And I knew that all of them would die this time around. So I tried to make her stay with me. But I couldn't; she escaped from me. There was nothing I could do as I felt her life blink out of existence as I raced towards her and her companions. I was too late to do anything.
I found her unmoving body a couple minutes afterwards. And the notebook that she had written in. I gingerly took it out of her cold hands, kissing her bloodless cheeks and then gently on her lips. I felt a tear run down my face, and I wiped it away angrily, desperately trying not to break the dam I had built to hold the tears back.
And then I read, savoring each word that flowed onto the page from her hands. The writing was simple, but considering the circumstances, it was very good. I kissed the cover of it and slipped it into my hoodie pocket.
The Seven had not failed, nor had they succeeded. They had destroyed the opposing forces, but they could not stop the Apocalypse. But it was bound to happen. And now it was time for my group of seven to take our places.
The sky was now dark, and flashes of lightning filled the sky. A light drizzle began to fall, and the wind picked up, making my hair whip around in all directions. I held out my hands, watching the rain fall into my palms. And then I waited. I waited for the others, the ones who had traveled through the years with me. The names that they had over the years were not their real names, the names that I knew. Most people in this time called them Jacob, Jason, Johnathan, Aaron, Adam, and Alexander. I knew them as Zhakra, Crion, Skrau, Uan, Oisil, and Ealo. I felt as if it was time when they were reborn as two sets of triplets. Never before had they been born at so similar a time and location. I had also been born nearby, and as our old memories came back through the years, we became closer to each other and met secretly as we watched the two groups of seven grow up.
~*~
I felt their life auras move toward me from behind and I turned around to greet them. I hoped that the tears on my face were not visible and that my eyes were not red.
"Mrawlinn." they chimed together, for that was my true name. It had been a while since anyone had called me by that.
"I'm sorry about your sister." I said, clearly betraying my love for her. I had tried to hide it from them for a while, but I was sure that they knew anyways.
"I'm sorry for you too." Zhakra murmured, his eyes also filled with the pain of his own loss, his own affections that his sister had so adamantly protested against. And now the one that he cherished was gone, just like my own was.
"I suppose it is time for us to do what we were made for?" Skrau said quietly, his voice nearly lost in the wind.
"Yes, it is time." Uan agreed, his eyes etched with the pain of the world.
"This will be the end. We will not remember the lives we've lived if we are reborn again, including this one." Crion said, eyes looking distant and unfocused.
"We will not be able to sense or do what we can now. This is the end of the line, what we were made for." Oisil murmured. I could tell that he was thinking about the one he had lost as well. He held out his hands and Crion took one while Zhakra took the other.
"What resides in us will flow out of our bodies." Ealo added, taking Zhakra's hand. Uan and Skrau joined in, and then I finally completed the circle, connecting the gap between Skrau and Crion. There was no awkwardness, even though in normal circumstances, we would have acted as if this was uncomfortable.
"Is everyone ready for the pain we have to go through to complete this?" Skrau murmured, closing his eyes and lowering his head.
"Yes." the rest of us replied in unison; we had prepared for this day through seven generations of Controllers. We all knew of the pain that we would have to go through, but didn't know exactly how bad it would be. I never figured out how exactly we knew, but somehow, the knowledge was there.
Zhakra had always held the hope in the world inside of him. Through the years, he had felt the hope of those around him and now it was time to give that hope to the new world.
Crion could see the souls of the creatures around him, and it was his duty to give the new world its souls using his life.
Skrau would release the elements of the new world. He held the elements of the periodic table, but he also held another set of elements that the Controllers had. When they died, their elements were taken into his body, and he would give that to the new world.
Uan held all the pain of the world. Every single living being that felt some sort of sadness, hurt, and physical pains...he felt it all. The new world needed this pain despite the fact that everyone wished they could have a life without it. Life would not be life without the pain it went through.
Oisil's life would create the animals that roamed the world, including humans. His life would mold the shapes of the animals in the new world.
Ealo would use his life to create the plants that grew in the world, all the porcelain-like flowers and sturdy trees.
~*~
Without death, there is no life. Without destruction, there is no reconstruction. Without the Apocalypse, there will not be the rebirth of a world.
Now it was time for us to create the new world, the rebirthing of the world that was being destroyed by the Armageddon.
The wind whipped around us, blowing our clothing and hair in every which direction. We were now soaked and thunder sounded more and more often. There was a enormous rumble of noise and a flash that blinded us. And then there was nothing but us. It wasn't black or dark, or light or bright, but there was nothing-ness. The only thing that existed was us, floating in the middle of nothing.
"With my life, I give the new world hope." Zhakra started, face lighting up with all the hope he had felt from the world through the years.
"With my life, I give the new world its souls." Crion cried out, remembering all the souls he had seen as they passed.
"With my life, I give the new world its elements." Skrau sighed, recalling his time just listening to the wind blow of the feel of moss beneath his fingertips.
"With my life, I give the new world all the agony it must go through." Uan screamed, his whole body rigid with all the pain he had held from all in the world as it flowed freely from him.
"With my life, I give the new world its creatures." Oisil murmured, thinking of all the animals and people he had encountered.
"With my life, I give the new world its plants." Ealo whispered, imagining the delicacy and durability of the greenery he had been around.
"With my life, I bind all of these together for the new world." I ended, tying together what they had offered at the cost of their lives.
And then I threw my head back and screamed, feeling the searing pain rush through through me. I couldn't see, I couldn't hear. I could barely think. Mostly, I could feel the pain and cry out as it made it destroyed me. It was as if something was ripping me apart from inside, consuming my innards, but not killing me. And at the same time, it felt as if I was burning in the most intense heat I'd ever felt, as if I was on fire but not dying. Then it felt as if I was drowning, for I couldn't breathe; it was if there was no oxygen anymore and nothing was filling my lungs. My hands gripped ever tighter and I felt the two next to me digging their nails into my skin. And then even the sensation of their hands against mine faded. I had no idea what happened to them; I only knew that I was left with only my own pain and my mind.
Holding onto my thoughts of the Controllers of Time and my love for them through the years, I tried to block out the pain.
Remember Kiersa's gentle hand on your cheek. Remember Alexandra's soft kiss upon your forehead. Remember Anne's beauty as she walked down that gilded hall, the one where you were a simple servant. Remember Meng, the ruffian boy who almost killed you but stopped when he looked into your eyes. Remember Elaine, though she was older than you, you loved her. Remember Will, the gentle boy who saved the world. Remember Gwen and the feeling of her lips against yours and the warmth of her body against yours. Remember...
~*~
And the world began anew again, a new place that would have new Controllers, new Guardians, and a new group of seven that would have to recreate the world again.