Chapter 41
"What the hell am I…" Marcus Steel mustered to himself.
What is this ?, his voice felt distant even to his own ears. "What is this blackness…"
It stretched endlessly, just darkness swallowing everything, pressing in on him like it had weight.
He turned slowly, his breath uneven.
"Where… am I…?"
Just then....
A voice came from the back "Mother… mother wait up…!"
Marcus froze. "That voice" , He turned sharply.
And there, within the blackness was a little kid, running. Small legs struggling to keep up, arms stretched forward desperately as he reached for the figure ahead of him.
Marcus's eyes widened.
"Huh… wait", His heart skipped.
"That's me…" His voice dropped to a whisper. "What is going on…?" The young boy kept running.
"Mother, mother wait up!"
Step by step, the blackness began to change, it cracked then it peeled away.
Streetlights flickered into existence, casting dim yellow light onto the ground. Tall trees rose on both sides of a quiet road, their shadows swaying slightly under the cool night breeze.
The street below appeared and the night sky followed, the moonlight shinning ever so brightly.
Marcus Steel's eyes widened.
"No… wait that's…"
His breathing grew heavy.
"This is..…"
The young boy reached his mother, grabbing onto her hand tightly.
"ahh you are so mean, mother, you left me all alone."
His voice carried a mix of complaint and relief.
The woman stopped and turned, a soft smile forming on her face.
"Huh what's that Marcus? I wanted to see if you still can't do without me."
She leaned down slightly, pathing his head
"looks like I was right."
Young Marcus puffed his cheeks.
"Huh! Of course I can't do without you! You are my mother, aren't you?"
His grip tightened around her hand.
Marcus watched.
Frozen.
"No… wait no… I remember…"
His voice trembled.
"What am I doing here…" adult Marcus mustered, clutching his head.
"This… this is…"
Then
They made a U-turn Marcus's eyes widened in pure terror. "ooi no wait don't go!"
He rushed forward, "Don't turn that way!"
His voice cracked.
"Don't go that way!"
But they couldn't hear him as they just kept walking.
Marcus gritted his teeth.
"wait please mother don't go!!"
Suddenly
The world snapped.
Everything blurred for a split second
And then he was at the same place.
Right where young Marcus and his mother made the U-turn.
Marcus staggered.
"How…?" his voice shook.
"How am I here…?"
His eyes darted around in panic.
"No… no this isn't right…"
Mother… mother… young Marcus called again.
"Yes, honey," his mother replied warmly.
"When we get home…" his eyes flared with excitement, shining brightly, "I want ramen!"
He smiled widely, almost bouncing as he walked.
His mother chuckled softly.
"Yes, yes marcus … we'll eat all the ramen in the world together."
Her voice was filled with warmth and comfort.
"Really thank you mother "young Marcus replied with excitement and passed straight through adult Marcus.
His body stiffened.
"…What…?" he looked down at himself.
"They… walked through me…?"
Just then..
A voice cut through their happy moment.
Sharp and cold
"Give me all the money you have right now."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
An unknown person stepped out of the shadows, wearing a ski mask and a black hoodie. His face hidden and his presence was heavy
A gun was pointed directly at Marcus's mother.
"Are you deaf? I said give me all the money you have right now."
Marcus's heart slammed violently.
"No… no…"
His voice shook, "Nooo… nooo… Betsheba!"
He screamed...
"Get me out!"
He turned and ran toward the edge of the street
But the moment he reached it
The space twisted.
And he was pulled right back.
To the same spot.
"No how ? Damn it!"
Slowly
His mother began fidgeting, her hands trembling as she reached into her purse.
"Yes… yes…"
Her voice cracked.
"I'll give it to you…"
Young Marcus stood there, frozen, his eyes already beginning to water.
The robber snatched the money, glancing down and exclaimed in excitement, '100,000 yen? Are you serious who keeps a hundred thousand yen inside a purse?'"
His tone changed instantly.
"Is this all you have?" He looked up sharply.
"You have more, don't fucking lie."
He stepped closer.
"Who the fuck keeps a 100 thousand yen inside their purse?"
"No please this is all I have" Marcus mother exclaimed in fear... please take the purse if you don't believe me, please just let us go
Marcus Steel mustered
"Oii! Wait! WAIT!"
He ran toward the robber, throwing punches wildly.
"Stop! Just leave them alone!"
But his fists phased right through the man's body.
Like he didn't exist.
"Noo wait!"
"Betsheba!" he screamed. "Get me out of here!"
The robber raised his voice again.
"I said give me all the money you have!"
"That's all I have!" his mother cried, tears forming in her eyes. "Please… that's everything…"
The robber clicked his tongue.
"Tch…"
Then slowly agrin formed and he moved the gun pointing it at young Marcus.
The boy froze completely and his breath stopped
Marcus's eyes widened in horror.
"No…"
The robber smirked.
"Maybe this will make you remember something."
He aimed at the boy's leg.
Marcus's mother saw it anderstood it instantly.
And without a second thought her motherhood instinct kicked in. She moved, stepping in front of young Marcus and shielding him completely
Adult Marcus screamed
"Noo wait!!!" But it was too late.
The gun fired, adeafening sound tore through the night, the bullet had already been fired and Marcus's mother was shot in the head.
Her body went limp...
Then..... she fell
Silence.... "Eh… no… no…" the robber's voice trembled, his body stiffened as panic overtook him.
"No… no…"
His eyes widened behind the mask."This wasn't…"
He stepped back then turned and ran....
His footsteps echoed as he disappeared into the darkness.
"Huh…?"
Young Marcus's voice trembled.
"…Mother?", his eyes were wide, shaking and heavy with tears.
He dropped beside her.
"ehh mo.. wake up, mother…", he nudged her gently.
"Wake up… c'mon the robber is gone aren't we going to eat ramen…"
His voice broke.
"Mother… wake up please mother wake up…?"
Adult Marcus stood there.
Frozen and broken
Watching it all again , his fists clenched and he screamed but the pain never stopped.
Over and over Again and again and again.
Bam.....
Bam...
Bam.....
He kept revisiting that same memory.
Watching it unfold, reliving it
Seeing his mother die over a million times without stopping.
Each repetition overlapping the next fracturing reality into pieces.
Her face , the gun, the sound, the fall.
Everything began playing in fragments.
Marcus Steel screamed.
"Enough… enough… enough… enough!!"
His voice cracked, echoing violently through the void.
But it didn't stop.
Over and over and over again ..
Bam.....
Bam....
Bam.....
The sound of gunshots on his mother's head stretched endlessly, echoing as if time itself had been trapped in a loop with him.
His breathing became erratic and his body trembled, his mind began to fracture under the pressure.
Then
Everything went blank again.
Silence.....
And Marcus found himself standing once more in the same endless blackness.
His body swayed slightly as he tried to regain balance.
A heavy, oppressive presence filled the space.
Then
Laughter....
It resonated, shaking the entire blackness.
Betsheba's voice echoed with amusement.
"Pathetic, helpless…"
"You pillars rely so much on raw power…"
Her tone sharpened.
"And one little spark can bring forth your downfall."
Marcus Steel stood there, barely holding himself together.
His fists clenched.
His breathing was uneven.
"…enough…" he mustered, forcing his voice out.
Slowly....
The darkness began to distort.
And he found himself back in reality.
Marcus Steel's breathing raged violently as he sucked in air, his chest rising and falling rapidly as if he had been drowning.
"What… did you do…?, his voice was strained.
Betsheba let out a soft laugh.
"What you just saw…"
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing with quiet amusement.
"…was my skill, the song of Despair."
She stepped forward slowly.
"Trapping you in your most bitter memory…"
Her smile widened slightly.
"Over and over… until you fall into despair."
She raised a hand casually.
"And the deeper your despair…"
"…the stronger I become."
In a blur...
She moved.
Her hand shot forward, grabbing Marcus Steel by the throat.
".Ghk....!"
Before he could react
BAM...
She smashed him into the ground.
The impact cracked the surface beneath him.
"Guh—!"
BAM!
Again.
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
She repeatedly slammed his head into the ground with brutal force.
Each strike echoed sharply, his body bouncing slightly with each impact.
His face was already battered.
Blood trickled down from his forehead.
His vision blurred.
Casually...
Betsheba lifted his broken body up from the ground, holding him by the throat as though he weighed nothing.
Marcus Steel gasped for breath.
"Kh...haa…!"
His hands hung limp.
Broken.
His ribs fractured.
Pain radiated through his entire body with every shallow breath.
"…help me…" he mustered weakly.
His voice barely audible.
Betsheba paused for a moment.
Then she laughed.
"Ahh are you serious what's this now?"
Her grip remained firm as she looked at him with mocking eyes.
"You're begging for help?"
A small chuckle escaped her.
"The almighty pillar begging for help?"
Marcus Steel's eyes began to fade slowly.
His strength was slipping away.
His consciousness flickered.
"Shit…" he thought weakly.
"I'm going to die i'm losing strength… is this end?
Betsheba slowly raised her second hand.
Her palm aligned directly toward Marcus's heart.
Her expression turned cold.
"Thanks to you…"
She spoke calmly "i'm able to gauge the strength of the pillars."
A brief pause.
"And if they are all like you…"
Her eyes sharpened.
"Then you are all too weak" her hand moved forward.
"Die!!"
But..
BAM!!!
A massive fist came crashing into her face.
The force of the blow distorted the air around the impact.
Betsheba's body was sent flying backward violently, skidding across the ground before regaining balance at a distance.
Marcus's body dropped to the ground.
"Cough...! Haa… haa…!"
He coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth as he struggled to breathe.
His chest heaved as he tried to stabilize himself.
Then
A voice rang out clearly
Almost annoyed.
"Ehhh… I'm late."
A pause..
"I thought I'd reach here in less than 0.00001 seconds…"
She stretched slightly.
"…but I got here in 0.0001 seconds."
Another pause.
"What is this, old man Marcus?" her tone carried a teasing edge, even my father could have done better."
Marcus's vision slowly began to clear.
His eyes struggled to focus through the pain.
"… Rosa…"
His voice came out faint, but filled with recognition.
His eyes widened in shock.
Rosa stood there confidently, her posture relaxed
A smirk formed on her lips.
"Stand back, old man Marcus."
She rolled her shoulders slightly, loosening up.
Then she turned her gaze toward Betsheba, who was already rising from the earlier strike.
Dust fell from her shoulders as she straightened up.
Rosa's eyes sharpened.
Her smirk deepened.
"Come at me…"
She lifted her chin slightly, her presence shifting calm, yet overwhelming.
"…and let me show you what true strength is."