Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

"Well then, let us start with a random question first!", she snapped her finger, making the screen light up.

"Don't I get to choose?", why am I following her in the first place?

"Nope~ you will get to choose in the next round!"

So forceful...

The bottom square of the 'Dance of the Void' section lit up. Sinclair snapped her finger, revealing the question.

A card appeared in her hand, "A one hundred dollar question from 'Dance of the Void'! Nihility is your way of life, yet you walk the path of Optimism. Tell me, Guardian of Humanity, why are you the owner of the Records of Human?"

Why am I the Records of Human...? Isn't that an easy question?

"Because like all things in life, it comes down to luck.", I touched the gemstone in my chest, feeling its protrusion sticking out.

"Does it really come down to luck alone?", Sinclair tilted her head to the side, faking a wondering expression.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! You are correct!", she clapped her hands while the square lit up in a colorful rainbow—

It came out of the screen and went for me— merging with me? Don't tell me...

"As you have guessed it! These are pieces of your soul~ each and every one of them.", she smiles at me with a hint of malice, "But like all Games of Hope, they must have a Twist."

"For any question you get wrong, that piece will be destroyed forever.", she said in a sinister tone, then it lost all of the tension, "But eh, losing a few bits won't do you any harm, you are going fine with it being in a million pieces."

She's taking things too lightly. I'm ticked off. But to be fair, me too.

"Well, now with the first round being resolved. Pick a question~", she waved her hand over to the screen again.

Hmm... I am sure I can answer these questions easily because I know myself best.

"I choose... Insanity of Silver, for a hundred."

"'Insanity of Silver'! A Lone Flower bore the Mystical Silver, Beautiful yet Horrible. Who was the first human you killed personally?"

The first human I killed... was it the people in Project Darwin? No, I don't think so... I did kill them but in an indirect manner.

"I have never taken a human soul before.", I simply stated, knowing I was right.

"Correct! Oddly for such a violent person, you had never killed a person of your own volition~!", she snapped her finger while the square lit up in a rainbow color.

It flew out of the screen and entered my body... I can feel it this time... warm... having my soul back together is nice.

"Insanity of Silver again, for fifty dollars."

"A Mind both Pure and Tainted, Incomprehensible yet Understandable. What is the reason for your hatred of the divine?"

I answered instantly, "Hubris. I hate them because they think they are better than me, better than humanity."

It just ticked me off.

"Yup~ you are a prideful person, their existence is a challenge to your pride. And you know what happens when we get challenged ~", Sinclair winked at me, making me feel weird.

She is me... why am I attracted to myself...

Right, I am a narcissist.

The square flew out and merged with me. Not as strong of a reaction as the second one, but the feeling was nice.

"Depth of Azure, for fifty.", I keep the train going.

"Confident, are we?", she gave me an amused smile, "Swim in the Deep Blue, Watch out for the Azure Hunter. Why do you hurt others?"

I know what she means. For most people, I am a violent person. But I do have a method to my violence... but for a reason?

I smile, "Because it's fun, simple as that. I enjoy others' pain, and it acts as a way to remove obstacles, knowing they cannot face my overwhelming strength. Being feared by everyone gives me a lot of automony~ since who would rise up against my oppression to prevent my freedom?"

"I think you are confusing freedom with being a bitch, but eh, who cares.", she shrugged, snapping her finger and sending the square into my chest.

Hmm, feels nice...

"Again. Depth of Azure, for a hundred."

"Alright! As Vast as the Ocean and as Horrible as the Deep, The Human who is more Monster than Man. I ask you, Guardian of Mankind, How far would you go when someone touches your property?"

"I don't like others using my stuff, but I certainly can lend for a certain amount of time. Though in general, I just want to rip out their spine for even daring to touch my devices."

"You could've just said Violently. Don't need the details. But you are correct! Congrats!", the square flew towards me—

It knocked me back out of my stand... what was that one?

"Haha~ you just got a large chunk back! Well then, please pick the next question~ you only have three left.", she giggles, walking over to me... she extends her hand.

I grabbed it and Sinclair helped me get up. Strangely, I didn't see that world or corpses again.

"Lesson of Infinity, for fifty."

"Haha~ of course. Time is like a River, and You are the Dam against the Unstoppable Current. What is your duty as the Owner of the Akashic Records?"

What is my duty... duty, I don't like that word. It makes it sound like I am bound to something, and I don't like being restricted. But even if I want to deny it, I have a duty as... Akasha.

"To prove the dominion of humanity. And to prove it? My existence is the proof."

"That was an easy question~", she snapped her finger and sent the square into me.

"Again, for a hundred.", I continued.

"Lesson of Infinity~ The Anchor of Time, you are the Present dividing the Past and Future. Why does all of this matter?", there was no emotion when she gave the question. Only a blank stare with those burning red eyes.

Why does all of this matter? That's a nihilistic question if I ever hear one... in the grand scheme of the universe, nothing really matters. But to me, and to me only, what I do matters.

"Because life is inherently meaningless, only through my struggles and others' struggles does it have meaning, though most of the time I am the problem needing to be solved. It does not matter what I do in the grand scheme, so? Why should I care about something so grand? Life is too important to be taken seriously anyway.", I gave more passion in my voice, just to one-up her lack of emotional response.

"Heh.", Sinclair chuckled, she snapped her finger to send the square into me... I feel something just lit up inside me, "Correct~ Life in the end has no meaning, once the universe reaches Equilibrium there is nothing left."

I spoke right after her, "But humanity will end before that point. All we can do is continue to live."

Just keep on struggling, facing the problems this world gives. Fight on and survive, that is what it means to be a human.

I will keep on fighting, no matter what...

"You know you are technically a final boss, right?", Sinclair inquired, now standing next to me. She must've gotten bored of this game show.

Very inconsistent

"So? It's quite obvious, despite my name, Charlotte, I am a final boss.", I tilt my head, smiling, "Or am I the Hidden Boss?"

Sinclair looked to the side, clearly having the same thought as me, "True, we would be the Hidden Boss. But I don't think you have enough stages."

"What do you mean?", I narrowed my eyes.

"I mean, a Boss must have stages, correct? If you want to stand out like you always do, there need to be eight stages to your boss fight?", she suggested, snapping her finger at me.

"That would be too many, I think four would be enough. I could go in without anything at first, bare-fisted. Then my second stage would be my Anima Pactum, which I use depending on the situation. For my third, I'll use the lance. And for my final stage... Fallen Starlight?"

"That sound cool, let's go with that—", she stopped for a moment, then she started to laugh, "Haha~ well, let's get things over before the dogs come."

Let's get this over with, though chatting with Sinclair is fun. She understands me just like how I understand her. This is fun...

She gave out the question, "Dance of the Void for fifty! Darkness is all You are, But it does not Matter. Can you not be nice to the people around you?"

"No. That's simply impossible.", I shook my head, "I am not a good person, so why should I be nice?"

Sinclair smiled... but she did not snap her finger, "Unfortunately, you are wrong."

"What?"

The square turned black, then it vanished into thin air...

A part of my soul just died... but yet, I feel nothing. I feel... nothing at all.

"Welp, there it goes. Poof! Just like magic~", Sinclair laughed at her own joke, "Looks like you don't understand yourself as much as you like to think. Charlotte, as the representation of mankind you must know that under all of that layers of malice and insanity, humans can always be kind. You can be kind if you want to, you always have the capability to be kind."

She snapped her finger, changing the scenery to a theatre house. What is she trying to do this time?

On the stage, there is a piano made of silver. And Sinclair is standing next to it. At the same time, I am sitting in the front road, with a blindfold on my lap.

"I will be giving you a performance, one from the world's greatest pianist. Let my melody pierce your soul."

The light went out, and only the light shining on Sinclair and the piano remained. She sat down and began to play...

I wear the blindfold and sink myself into her own melody...

I can see sounds, painting a story with no lyrics.

The story of an orphaned girl, picked up by a nurse disguising herself as a killer. She was delivered to a man with the pin of a moth and became his adopted daughter.

A tale of happiness, where she expressed herself without care. And eventually, she became beautiful and pure. A blank canvas, untainted by the ink of the world. Standing above all so no brush would reach her.

Though there was a single faint brush stroke, the love for humanity itself made its mark on that blank canvas.

She did all she could to save as many people as possible, from the uncaring nature, from the ravaging beasts of life. And defending against the tendrils of the void...

She never found companionship, because she alone stood on the top. She did not listen to the Crawling Chaos, nor the Almighty. She alone defended humanity.

But she failed, all because she was too kind and stubborn.

In the end, she became a villain. Twisted by her own delusions, consumed by her own malice. The protector became the destroyer.

She went insane, she killed every last human on Earth... just to kill one person, to complete herself. And when the last human died... she was able to face the other three.

She won, but at what cost? She asked herself over and over again. But it was no use, she could not recreate humanity.

She was only human.

So she dug deep, into the core of the world itself. And took out the Lance of Earth, and modified it so that her tragedy would never repeat again.

Her enemy was The World itself.

What fueled her to reach across space and time was spite. Her hatred for The World, she did all she could to derail the Great Game...

Ah... her piece is done.

I took off my blindfold, to see her bowing to me, thanking me to enjoy her show...

"What happened to Seria?", I asked.

Sinclair chuckled, amused by my question, "Oh, Miss Arco was a tough opponent. You can't kill her at all, but sealing her in Pandora's Box is fine."

"So there is a way to beat her.", I nodded to myself.

"Not really, no.", Sinclair shrugged, "Since I killed the Gem Holder of Pandora's Box with the whole~ you know."

"So you caused 9/11?", I narrowed my eyes.

"It's more, like, I allowed it to happen. I made Miss Arco stay still for long enough to let the plane hit.", Sinclair chuckled while hopping down from the stage.

"Why remove the only thing capable of stopping her?"

"It's a failsafe of some sort, to force you to work with her in some way.", she shrugged, making light of how she's responsible for the death of four States.

"Though, Charlotte. Why don't you question me about my life?", she smiled, touching my leg...

I slapped her hand away, "I don't want to, it seems like you lived a horrible life."

"Haha! Sure did I! But it's my life nonetheless. Still, it's a little sad the only person to understand me wouldn't want to listen to my story.", she chuckled, trying to touch my leg again.

I can't win against her, can I? 

Though I don't need to listen to her life's story, she doesn't seem sad at all. Just faking it.

"So, what will you do now?", I asked her, looking at her hand touching my leg.

"The Hounds are coming, in a couple of minutes. I still have a bit of time, so~", Sinclair smiles wickedly. That smile means trouble.

Oh no.

"Sinclair, no.", I gave a half-hearted attempt to persuade her.

"Sinclair, YES!!"