The color white dyed my vision once more.
The world around me shattered into a million pieces, and I found myself standing on a clear floor. As I bent my head forward, I was able to see my own reflection.
"It seems like you've run out of time."
The voice…
I tilted my head to the side in order to get a better look at Matthew, who had seemingly materialized out of thin air. He was smiling at me.
"Did you manage to learn what you were looking to learn?"
"Sort of."
The time was brief, but I was somehow able to improve myself. It wasn't as much as I'd hoped I would improve, but it was better than nothing.
"That's good to hear."
Matthew mumbled, staring at the white world around him with a complicated look.
"Then it looks like my mission is completed. I wanted to meet you at the park because I liked the view there, but I guess that isn't possible anymore..."
He raised his head up and sighed.
"Well, that's that. I guess... You can say that I'm now officially dead."
The smile that spread across his face when he said those words seemed rather forced. I couldn't tell since his head was turned.
"When you mean, officially dead―"
"It means what it means."
Matthew looked at me.
"The only reason I was in this world, to begin with was to wait for you. My real body… well, you should already be aware of what happened to it."
My mind started going back to the incident that took place at the Monolith, and as it did so, I found myself closing my eyes.
"This world…"
He continued.
"It was nice. It was peaceful. It was everything that I thought Ashton City would be like if the demons never existed. I've lived in this place long enough to say that I was happy."
I opened my eyes again to stare at him.
Thinking about his words, I found myself asking.
"Do you really think that world is one where the demons don't exist?"
The history of the world suggested as much. The fact that Kevin didn't exist in that world was also an indicator that the Demon King―Jezebeth, had never existed… yet, for some reason, I couldn't get something out of my mind.
"If the demons never existed, why don't I exist? Why have I never been born in that world?"
There were no records about me, despite of how hard I looked for them.
Ren Dover didn't exist in that world, and I didn't know why.
"About that…"
Matthew scratched the side of his head.
"I'm not sure either, to be honest. I a.s.sume it's because two Rens can't exist in the same world, or for some other reason like that, but I don't know, nor will I ever know... I just know that Kevin wanted to show you something, and I hope you've found your answer."
"I have."
I found myself nodding.
"Although I'm not entirely sure about the validity of what I found, once I return, I'll be able to confirm everything."
"Then I can only wish you the best of luck."
Matthew smiled and extended both hands to the side.
I looked at him strangely.
"…Don't tell me that you want me to hu―"
"No."
He cut me off, laughing almost.
"Like I've said before, make sure you're gentle this time. It might be the very last time I experience pain again, but… I still wish for it to be something that I don't have to go through."
"Hm?"
A sword appeared the moment his words faded. When I raised my head to look at him, I found him smiling at me.
"Come on, I didn't take you for someone who's indecisive. Get this over with. Let me finally have some rest."
"I…"
I found myself at a loss for words, but I soon took a deep breath.
"Alright."
I gripped my sword tightly and moved forward. I only came to a stop when I was a few meters away from Matthew and placed my blade against his neck.
"Make sure it doesn't hurt."
He reminded me, making me laugh a little.
"I'll try."
"Ah right..."
He seemed to recall something.
As he scratched the side of his face, it appeared as though he was at a loss for the appropriate words to say. After some time, he gave his head a slight shake and then looked directly at me.
"I'm sorry."
Slash―!
***
"Alliance Master."
I could hear faint words echo in the background of my mind.
They were rather faint.
"Alliance Master."
With time, they grew louder and louder.
"Ren!"
"Huh?"
That was, until I became aware that my body was shaking and my head had jerked forward. When I opened my eyes, I was immediately surrounded by bright light, and my eyes stung.
"What's going on? Where am I?"
When I turned my attention to my surroundings, I noticed that I was in the middle of a sizable office. In front of me was a wooden table where papers were scattered, and behind it was a rather large window.
"Have you finally woken up?"
"Ryan?"
To my surprise, I found Ryan standing in front of me. He was attired in a gray suit that was completely unfit for him. It was ridiculously oversized, and he hadn't even bothered to tie his tie correctly.
"What are you doing here, and where are we?"
I ma.s.saged my forehead and looked up.
"Actually, as a matter of fact. If I don't recall wrongly, you called me… Alliance Master?"
"Are you okay?"
Instead of an answer, I received a worried look.
Looking around the place, Ryan retrieved a small bottle from his ring and pa.s.sed it to me.
"Take this potion. It looks like you've been overworking yourself."
"…"
I stared at the potion for a moment before taking it.
Perhaps he was right.
The taste of the potion was rather bitter, and I noticed that it helped clear up some of the fog in my head. A shame about the flavor, because if it hadn't been so astringent, I would have plowed through it in a single sitting.
"Feeling better?"
"A little bit."
Didn't really make a difference but at the very least I felt more alert.
"So…"
I looked around me without saying anything. The office s.p.a.ce… it looked similar to Kevin's, but it was also different.
There were several pictures in front of mine. All of which seemed to be drawings that Nola had gifted me a while back?
There were also pictures of my parents and Amanda?
The more I observed the more confused I became.
"…Ryan, where are we exactly?"
"Hm?"
Ryan looked at me weirdly once again.
Seeing the worried look on his face, I spoke before he had the chance to.
"Just answer me."
"…Alliance Headquarters."
"Alliance Headquarters… I see."
I ma.s.sage the bottom part of my mouth.
"…and I'm the Alliance Master, right?"
"Ren, are you sure you're alright?"
"Just answer me."
"…Yes. If you were curious, then yes, you are indeed the Alliance Master."
"…"
I felt my head throb even harder.
'What happened while I was gone?'
Lowering my head and staring at my watch, I realized that not even a single day had pa.s.sed since Kevin's pa.s.sing.
This confused me even more.
"Ryan."
"Yes?"
"I'm curious about something."
"The location of the nearest hospital?"
"Can you stop it with that?"
I glared at Ryan, and he lowered his head.
Taking a deep breath, I finished what was left of the potion.
"Kevin… What happened to Kevin?"
I had a bad premonition when I asked that question. For some reason, I felt that the recent incident wasn't the only thing that Kevin had done.
…and Ryan's next words served to prove my hunch.
"Kevin? Who's Kevin?"
"Ha…"
I smiled.
'As expected…'
My hunch was indeed correct. What he showed me wasn't the only thing he had done.
'From the looks of it, he appears to have erased himself from everyone's memories.'
"Do you need some information on someone called Kevin? What's their last name?"
"No, never mind that."
I waved Ryan off and took out my phone.
'He's not even in my contacts.'
Looking through it, I realized that Kevin was no longer in my contacts. Opening my social media, I also realized that he was gone from there and that there was not a single mention of him on the web.
I was an avid follower of Kevin's social media, so I knew better than anyone that he was gone.
It was as if he had completely vanished from the world.
'f.u.c.k.'
I turned my phone off and leaned back in my chair.
Nothing.
There was nothing left of him.
'Without a doubt, this should be my world…'
While all records of him had disappeared, I knew that this was the world I belonged to. It was just that Kevin's previous achievements had been given to certain others.
History was practically the same.
'Why did he… no, I can tell why.'
It didn't take a scientist to figure out his intentions. He, as awkward as he was, didn't want those to whom he was close to suffering because of him.
He didn't want them to cry over him. He knew that his death would prevent some from ever moving on, and he didn't want that.
"Heh."
In a way, he wasn't that different from me.
If I were put in a similar situation to him, I probably would've made the same choice as him.
He really was… a pushover.
"Ren, is there something that you'd like for me to do? If not… I'd like to return to pla―work."
Ryan's voice broke me out of my thoughts and pretending not to have heard his final words, I nodded my head.
"Yes, actually. I'd like for you to do several things for me."