"Mother - Fucker." The voice in Graham's head cursed in slow motion.
"You - "
"You know what? Fuck this shit."
"Let's - "
"I'd just -"
"Oh, fuck it, just die."
The voice said as a man dressed entirely in black robes appeared out of the shadows and tapped Graham lightly on his neck.
A green line appeared on Graham's neck and his seven orifices glowed green for a while.
Turning around, the robed man turned around revealing part of his green hair and glistening green eyes as he faded away into the darkness.
Disappearing like he was never even there in the first place, Graham, who was sitting on the floor, together with his wife beside him, began crumbling and disintegrating as their bodies turned to piles of ash.
...
Standing atop the large building where an entire nuclear family had just been murdered, and converted to biodegradable substances stood the culprit
The sole mastermind behind the extermination of one happy family, the robed man with piercing green eyes and luminous hair.
'Sigh'
The man gave a resigned sigh as he removed the hood from his head, revealing a very beautiful face, one that, if Graham saw, would probably file for identity theft or impersonation.
"Crap ... another me bites the dust ... "
{Objective achieved: Kill one hundred other-dimensional versions of yourself and collect their ability crystal}
A virtual notification panel appeared in front of the robed figure's eyes and a ding was heard in his head.
"I should be happy ... really ... but ... I just can't ... I just can't ... GiGi ... "
{Don't beat yourself up about it}
{Do you remember why we are doing this in the first place ... transversing different parallel universes, alternate dimensions and realities?}
"Oh GiGi, of course, I do; I can never forget the reason behind all of this." Graham
{Then say it}
{Say it, Graham!}
"Tiffany!" Graham shouted as tears threatened to escape his eyes. "She's the reason why I do the things I do. And the goal is to bring her back to life."
{And has she been brought back? Has she been reunited with you from the dead?!}
"No, No GiGi ... she hasn't." Graham cried.
{Then don't stop, don't rest, don't give up till you have achieved that goal}
At that moment, green sparks began to appear as a portal started forming behind Graham.
"Here they come again, the enforcers of the Citadel of Greens," Graham said as he wiped away the little tear drops that had escaped his eyelids and brought out a gun from within his robes.
Stepping out of the portal that continued to expand and grow bigger and bigger were Grahams ... lots and lots of Grahams.
Each one looked a bit different from his counterpart, but any on-looker could tell that every single person atop the roof at that moment was the same person.
The only major difference between them all was while everyone was dressed in white and green uniforms, one particular Graham wore a completely black robe.
"Drop the weapon, Graham - 057 and follow us back to the Citadel of Greens to be tried for your crimes." One of the many other Grahams said to Graham, who wore the black robe.
Walking with his back towards the edge of the building, Graham turned his head left and right, doing a head count, before replying.
"And what are the consequences if I decide not to drop the weapon or follow you back to the hell of a Citadel you all come from?"
Listening to what Graham said, all other Grahams dipped their hands into the middle part of their uniforms, exchanging glances as they brought out various types of weapons from within.
"Look, 57, we can, we can either do this the hard way or the easy way." A graham said.
And another concurred, opening and closing his arms in demonstration. "Be realistic, Graham; you can't do any lasting damage to us.
You are outnumbered."
"Yes, you're just one person '57, and we're like what? A thous-" a third graham chimed in but was cut short by Graham himself.
"A thousand, five hundred and fifty-five grahams armed and ready to kill me; yes, I know.
But the question is ... can you?"
Murmuring and loud side talks immediately broke out after Graham made his statement. Some Grahams thought it was hilarious; some were merely amused, and others were furious and irked, slowly boiling over.
Meanwhile, Graham quietly communicated with GiGi, the AI in his mind, through his mind.
'Hey GiGi, is that stuff ready?'
{Not yet, need a few more minutes to complete it}
'Jesus, GiGi, can't you hurry it up a little? I can literally feel the steam coming off these people's heads.
They're legit ready to tear me apart from limb to limb ... maybe adhering to protocols isn't exactly a bad thing, after all. "
{60 seconds left, Graham ... 60 seconds left}
Stepping out from the group of other Grahams was a particularly large Graham carrying what looked like a club with axe-like hooks all over.
"This is your last chance, '57; come with us willingly, or we won't hesitate to take you back in a body bag."
He had the number 12 on his uniform, the left side, his chest area, indicating that he was graham- 012 ... the graham from the 2nd reality of the first dimension of the 0th universe of the multiverse.
It was complicated, really.
"You know, I have always wondered ..." Graham started talking as he walked forward, acting like a lecturer, touching and adjusting the chins and clothing of the surrounding grahams.
This confused the other grahams, especially graham - 012 who was the current leader of this squad of enforcer - grahams.
Yes, there were a total of six squads and six squad leaders. From Graham '006 to Graham '012. This squad had been assigned to track and bring back Graham - 057 ... dead or alive.
"I've always wondered ... why are you all so loyal to the Citadel of Greens and the heriacharchy there." Graham continued talking as he walked along, touching more and more of his counterparts.
"Why don't you all rebel, just like I did? I mean, that so-called 'Citadel' is - is just a - a prison, a penitentiary, a detention centre.
Why don't you all see it?
They're using you, each and every one of you, just like they used me.
That place is an incarceration facility, a holding cell for every graham in this vast multiverse ... otherwise, why would I be reluctant to return to the Citadel of Greens where billions of grahams like myself are all in one place?
Okay, fuck that, I'm a bit anti-social."
Graham joked a little and some of the surrounding grahams didn't even notice when they started laughing with him.
It was a light-hearted moment
"Haha"
"I'm starting to like this guy"
Some of them commented.
"But seriously, the fact that you're all here to capture me is proof that the Citadel exercises control over us, Grahams, and enforces authority through coercion.
Now think about it, why would anyone want to or have to control any of us?
Why would there be a system of laws and punishments in place if the Citadel doesn't function as a dungeon for all of us?"
Graham continued lecturing the other Grahams, and it looked like some of the Grahams were beginning to rethink their life decisions.
Some even began voicing out their thoughts.
"This guy ... he is making a whole lot of sense."
"Yeah, I don't even know what he did in the first place."
"What crime did he even commit?"
"Crime? What is crime?"
"No, what is life?"
Just then, GiGi's voice sounded in Graham's head.
{Alright, we're all set and ready}
Hearing what GiGi just said, Graham who was now standing at the back of the group, after touching every single graham on the rooftop with him.
A large smirk appeared on his face as he said. "Alright folks, that's my time. It was fun, really. But like with everybody else, we have to say goodbye too ... hehe."
With that, his hair and eyes began growing intensely as a scroll with green inscriptions and symbols on it appeared in his hand.
And he bit into his right thumb.
Seeing the recent turn of events, every graham was on high alert as they suddenly realised that they were being played this whole time.
"God dammit"
"Bloody mother - fucker!"
A lot of them began reigning curses on him as they all rushed forward, wanting to end him before he could try anything funny.
But alas, luck just wasn't on their side today as before anyone could reach him, Graham had already smeared his blood all over the scroll in his hand.
And the effects showed almost immediately as graham - 012, together with all the other grahams stopped dead in their tracks as the heads began to swell.
Green incision marks began to appear around their bodies, especially around their neck region. Blood began to build up in their neck and before they knew it.
'BLOPPPPPP!'
All heads except Graham's own exploded together in perfect harmony.