Bab 55: Fate's Final Stop
The air was thick with the distant sound of the speeding train. Ru stood by the old railroad tracks, looking off into the distance. The tracks stretched forever, like a timeline of other Rui's past lives; each path carried the weight of countless stories and decisions.
Whenever he touched the ginger cat in his lap, he felt a different emotion—compassion, sadness, desire.
The ginger cat approached his face and offered a comforting purr that echoed in the silence of the tracks. Ru's eyes were clouded with love.
"What a beautiful detail you are."
"Prrrup," the cat said or something like that.
"It's so sad. Rui's were killed when they were still babies. They didn't even know about it," Ru murmured.
Weeds, blown by the strong wind, forced the gaps in the tracks.
"But I know," Ru said, as indifferently as he could. "I know I was killed. They planted a seed in my body that will grow into something monstrous."
As the distant hum of the approaching train grew louder, Ru's mind flitted between the present and the echoes of the others' lives. The ginger cat picked up on Ru's distress, and it nudged his hand with a paw and rubbed its head under his chin.
"There's something I want to save," Ru murmured into the cat's ear. He was searching for a way to stop the world from the impending apocalypse.
It wasn't clear how long he stood there. But an unexpected power outage suddenly drained the lights. Ru hugged the cat tightly and sat on the ground. He was afraid.
When Ru was a kid, he was scared of the unknown. Now, though, he was more afraid of what he knew. He had a hard time accepting one simple fact.
"I'm the link to that ancient alien life form on Earth. Thanks to me, they transmigrated and planted their seeds within humans. Without me, demons cannot come and no one can harm the world," he thought.
The street lights flickered, reawakening the abandoned buildings in the neighborhood. Ru saw this as a sign of approval and stood on the fine line between life and death, feeling stuck between the two. Maybe it was time to decide what to do next.
The cat fixed its yellow eyes on him as if it understood him. Ru's lips moved silently as if he wanted to say something. The cat meowed affectionately, and Ru planted a heartfelt kiss on its head.
"Go kitty, you have a life to live."
Ru took a deep breath of the fresh night air and let out a soft, contented purr-r-r. The sun-kissed fur of the cat was a warm comfort against his cheek. But Ru had to protect him from himself, just like everything else.
"Meow!"
He gently led the cat under the barbed wire and let it go.
"I'd like to say I'll see you again, but... I can't," Ru said from behind the barbed wire. He turned his head to avoid seeing the cat. With his hands in his pockets, he began to walk along the tracks.
"Should I live or die?" he asked several times. His last question was half swallowed by the grunt of a train in the distance.
"Here it comes," Ru said with a faint smile. "Bye-bye, the horde of Rui."
When the train appeared, his inner struggle became more pronounced. His inner voice rose with the question, "Why?"
And the same voice kept talking: "Are you crazy, pal? You turn eighteen after midnight."
"What an achievement!" Ru said in a sarcastic tone.
The inner voice said, "Yes, it is an achievement. Living is a success in itself."
Ru's shadow revealed the presence of a shadowy figure, seemingly stretched out in the flickering light. It resulted in time distortion, misaligned three-dimensional space, meandering streets, and tangled rails when it appeared.
The shadowy being spoke - his voice had metallic tones, unlike Ru's - "You have been fighting demons for a long time, but today you showed the greatest success. You doubled your magical power and sent a succubus back to hell."
"I dreamt once that you had horns or something like that. What happened to them?" Ru asked, shrugging at the shadowy being.
"I never showed myself to you," the shadowy being replied.
"Come on, weren't you the one in the golden palace? I'm talking about that guy who dresses like a Middle Eastern bride," Ru said in a bored way.
"I never showed myself to you," the shadowy being repeated.
Ru kicked at the air, sending a few pebbles flying. "So who are you then? Or should I ask which one you are?"
The shadowy being asked, placing his index finger on his chest, "Who do you think I am?"
Ru turned to him, "Since you came right when I was about to kill myself, you're the scoundrel called Almighty Ru."
"Not exactly, but it is," the shadowy being said.
"Oh fuck you!" Ru said in anger and showed his fists.
"I created this being to reach you. It is a kind of metamorphosed Ru or my alter."
Ru presented his analysis of creation by defining the shadowy being, "The most unnecessary acquisition of the century, Alter Ru."
"I know you made an offer to my other daughters to kill one of them," said the shadowy thing, now identified as Alter Ru.
Ru pulled back his fists, "Ah, so that was your problem? How funny!"
"You know that I sacrificed many of my daughters to keep you alive. And yet, you're considering suicide," Alter Ru said.
Ru cried out his rebellion desperately, "Yes, because it's the only way to end the existence of a scum like you on Earth!"
Alter Ru took a step back and explained, "It is indeed the case that when you die, I will no longer be able to interact with the world. However, regardless of my status in this world, the apocalypse will occur. I am in no way involved in this event. What is happening is a form of dimensional chaos between the different universes. "
Ru kept his eyes fixed on Alter Ru. "You know I won't believe you no matter what you say. That's why you talk in vain."
Alter Ru, spreading his hands to the sides, shook his head negatively and said, "It's a shame, I have zero faith in myself."
Ru taking a step towards him, "You have to serve your punishment because you're evil. I won't save you!"
Alter Ru turned his back on Ru, "I handed over my only good side to you. What stupidity!"
Ru shouted, "Liar guy!"
"You don't have to destroy the Earth to get rid of me," Alter Ru said firmly and then bowed his head. "If you want to finish me off for good, just make me tell you the name of the genie."
"If this method worked, the witch would do it," Ru said with a grin.
"She would have done it if she knew the name of the genie," Alter Ru said, lifting his head and showing off his sparkling teeth.
Ru put his index finger on his cheek and made a fake pout, "Shame on you, even your ex-partners don't like you."
Alter Ru turned to face him, his eyes blindingly bright. "They are my old enemies and I have defeated them," he roared.
"Too fucking bad! You didn't quite beat them," Ru mocked.
"You complained too much, teenager! Get out of your damn depression," Alter Ru yelled.
Ru shouted in rebellion, "You're not my doctor. You're the one driving me crazy, the father of fucking girls! Padre of demons! And whatever the fuck you are!"
Alter Ru responded with a similar attitude, "You're my stupid clone who doesn't know shit and thinks he's smart!"
"Hold on! In my dream you told me that I was smarter than you," Ru said doubtfully.
Almighty Ru thought he was crazy, until that moment. He paused for a moment to think about it, but then he exploded in anger: "I don't care about your stupid dreams. The only thing that matters to me is that you join this shit show. If you get transmigration permission from the system, then the planet Earth will be rid of me and you. Do you understand me?" Alter Ru said, his metallic voice full of enthusiasm as if it were greased with oil.
"Oh my goddess, you just sang a power metal song," Ru suddenly said.
"Was I this stupid in the past?" Alter Ru asked.
"No, you're better described as a cunning bitch," Ru said. His rambling statement must have worked because Alter Ru merely sizzled for a while.
"Who said this to you?" Alter Ru asked.
Ru replied, "Since the genie doesn't even remember his own name, he's not the one talking bad about you."
"I was just a child when that woman sold me to the genies," Alter Ru said in a barely audible voice.
"What?"
Ru's question remained unanswered.
Time split into rails between the two Ru's. And then the time found its way. The shadow universe rose and formed a surface in the sky. As Alter Ru and his universe slowly faded under the darkening cover of night, the train traveled the distance it was meant to travel at the speed it was meant to travel.
As the train began to move toward him, Ru's legs trembled.
He stretched out his arms and closed his eyes in deliberate surrender, ready to welcome the imminent embrace of death. And he whispered his favorite song.
"You and I, like stars up high,
Belong to the day, unseen, we fly."
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
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