Maxi blinked, rubbing his eyes as he stood to his feet. "The last thing I remember happening was..." He paused, his fingers touching his lips. His eyes widened. "Oh yeah... I think those two kissed me."
He stood in silence, stunned. "Why? I mean... I just met them today, and they both kissed me?" He looked off into the distance. "I mean... I can admit my face looks cute, but I'm not that cute... right? Is it possible that they both had a crush on me?"
As he spoke, a faint pink glow lit up his cheeks. Maxi then slapped himself sharply and shouted, "No! Don't get lost in childish emotions just because you're in a child's body! Just because your emotions are scattered doesn't mean you must abandon your standards as an adult. Even if the memories of you being an adult are broken-"
A laugh echoed through Maxi's mind.
"Oh... no," Maxi thought.
But it was too late. The feeling of sluggish depression had already fallen upon him; it was too late for him to fight back against his retribution.
Soon enough, a small mocking voice spoke:
"You're pathetic, don't you think? You just got sexually assaulted by two children, and what your mind immediately comes to is a justification for why they did it."
"They had a crush on you, you're cute, don't flatter yourself, Elijah, disgruntled mask-wearing old man."
Maxi couldn't speak up to counter the voice. Its voice was too final, too matter-of-fact, for him to intervene and argue in any way, so he just bowed his head.
"You know what, maybe this is karma for what you did to Katie, right? You washed her without consent, so now two little girls are kissing you without your consent."
Laughter echoed again. "Funny how the universe works, huh, Elijah?"
A thought violently intruded, cutting through the reasoning of the retribution like a blade.
{Retribution, I think you've got the wrong person. This isn't our Elijah.}
"Oh, then do tell, how might he be?"
{I don't know, but hold on, let me test something.}
{Tell me, Maxi, what difference would it have made if you were born in this world with all your memories buried instead of a few?}
Maxi froze, stunned. He hesitated, then whispered, "I guess... nothing much would be different."
{Now, Maxi, I am going to need you to be honest.}
"I am."
{I won't ask again. Be honest, please.}
Maxi sighed as he almost threw up trying to say the words that were buried deep in the pit of his stomach.
"I... I guess the difference it would make is completely easing, or completely getting rid of, the fight between the responsibilities of these old memories and the desire to full send into a new life. I mean, from what I can remember, even in my final moments I was burdened with responsibility, I carried burdens. But now that I'm a child in a new world and a new life, but I am still burdened with the responsibility and memories of the old, so in reality, am I really living in this new life? To be honest, I don't want to go back to my old life, I want to start anew, so why do I cling on so hard, even with most of my memories of there not being too good-well, the ones I can remember, at least."
{Nope, it isn't him, Retribution. If it was him, he would have kept lying to my face with a smile. It seems like this is someone else completely, someone new.}
"Then I guess I will be off, then."
The feeling of sluggish depression lifted from Maxi's body.
Maxi sighed in relief.
{Listen, Maxi, you don't seem to know what's going on here, but you don't need to. Just know this about your memories:}
{There was no difference between your childhood and your adulthood. In both, you always struggled. You always had burdens. You always carried responsibilities. Your actions always had consequences-painful ones that left scars, ones that made you question whether life was even worth living. The very reason why your only goal in life, despite having a family and friends, was to die with a purpose-to give someone else what you never had: a reason to live.
The one difference between your childhood and adulthood was this: in adulthood, you had people to bounce back on-people to share the weight. In childhood, you had only one person. Just one person. A thin, fragile rope you clung to for dear life.}
Maxi felt his breath leave him. His eyes trembled. He asked the only question he could:
"Who?"
{You already know who. That's why I can't tell you. You'll have to remember yourself. But Elijah... I'm telling you this so you'll cut the stupid act of trying to be an adult when you're clearly still a kid. Just because your childhood in your past life was not a real childhood doesn't mean you have to reject this one.
This is your new beginning. Not your old life. So make the most of this-make it a childhood you actually want to remember. Make it a childhood you can call your own.
Stop trying to be what you were-or what you're not yet-and just be what you are: a child.}
Maxi sighed, his lips trembling as he tried to hold back tears. But he couldn't. He cried... and smiled.
"I don't know why I needed to hear that, but... thanks, subconscious or who ever you are... I guess." He chuckled softly. "Seriously, thank you. I guess I have a new goal now-figure out who that person was from my childhood. But for now... I need to figure out what the hell is going on."
He began walking through the familiar corridors of the black castle, its halls twisted yet oddly welcoming. Eventually, he arrived at a strange area-an enormous glass wall with a single door in the middle. The door bore a symbol: his three-eyed sigil.
But something had changed.
Instead of the left eye looking away, now all three eyes faced forward.
He gasped and looked down at his hand, confirming it-his sigil had indeed changed.
Maxi's mind whirled. Considering how he had previously met the Demon King of Pride and the God of Secretive Planning in similar dream-states, he wondered:
Was he about to meet the Demon Queen of Lust?
He took a deep breath and opened the door.
On the other side was a radiant garden. In it stood a woman-her skin a soft rosy red, her hair snow white, dressed in a flowing white nightgown. She walked in gentle excitement, almost dancing.
Then she turned to him and smiled.
Maxi stood frozen. She was breathtaking. A wedding veil hung delicately over her face, and in that moment, only one word came to Maxi's mind:
Beautiful.
She clapped her hands in joy and hurried over, towering over him just like the other gods. She hugged him tightly, pressing him against her chest until he squirmed for air. The woman laughed-though no sound came out-and gently set him down.
Maxi panted for breath as she began to speak. Still, her voice didn't reach him-yet he could read her lips perfectly now.
"Oh, finally! We have a connection. I've been waiting so long for you to find love so we could bond. And I quite like her a lot!"
She giggled as Maxi raised an eyebrow.
"My bad-I forgot to introduce myself. I am the Demon Queen of Lust, and I am so happy we finally connected. You're finally ready. All you need now is to awaken your blessing."
Maxi held his head as pain surged-recoil from reading a god's lips.
He groaned, "Sorry, but I don't think my mom would agree with that..."
The Demon Queen laughed again-soundlessly.
"Oh, your mother! I forgot. I'm sure she'll come around, especially if the God of Secretive Planning has anything to say about it. But I can't keep you here long-it's draining too much of my demonic energy. There's no real difference between divine and demonic anyway... except for type advantage, I guess."
Maxi groaned again, nodding slowly.
Then she asked, with a curious sparkle in her eyes:
"By the way, out of your entire family, whose eyes do you like the most?"
Maxi thought for a moment. "My mom's."
"Oh? Why?"
"They're like a blank canvas... begging for something to be written or created-stars, planets, even simple things like a tree. I always wanted eyes like that, representing the infinite possibilities that the universe wants for you to take. Mine are cool-these blood-heart eyes are fine-but hers are... better in my opinion. At least I inherited her gorgeous hair."
He brushed his brown hair with a small smile.
The Demon Queen laughed and pulled back her veil, revealing her face-flawless and divine. Her short horns poked out from her hair as her black and pink eyes sparkled.
"Good to know."
And just like that-everything shattered.
Glass turned to shards. Maxi plunged into an endless black void.
A light touched him.
Beneath him, a book appeared-on a grand table-bearing the three-eyed symbol.
"No way... is today the day?!" Maxi screamed with excitement.
He dove toward the book, arms outstretched. Shadows erupted around him, hands shooting toward him with thunderous speed.
But he wouldn't be stopped.
"Not today!" he roared, adjusting his body into an aerodynamic form, darting like a bullet toward the book.
The shadowy hands reached him-grabbed him-but it was too late.
Maxi snatched the book and clutched it to his chest like a lifeline. The hands dragged him backward into the abyss.
Suddenly, he hit something. A barrier.
Then-
Light.
Buildings.
Cars.
People.
Horns.
Wind.
He was flying through the air.
He slammed into something with a thud.
"Ahh-my head..." he groaned.
Dazed, he looked around. He wasn't in his room. He was in some kind of box. He heard crying.
He moved to sit up-expecting resistance-but passed through the box like a ghost. Blinded briefly by the light, he turned his head.
And then he saw-
A man.
Holding flowers.
Wearing black.
Green eyes.
Glasses.
Tears in his eyes.
Maxi recognized him-he was Darren.
Maxi's heart stopped as he looked around.
His friends.
His family.
His dad.
Emily and Damien.
His wife-Anna.
Maxi muttered, "How...?"
Darren placed the flowers down in front of him.
Then he looked down-
And realized it.
He was inside a coffin.
He was in a funeral.
Not just any funeral.
It was his funeral.
End of Ark.
A Soul's Hunger For Knowledge