Omen's POV
Images flitted quickly past us. It was like we were standing amidst a whirlwind of memories. Whose memory was it? It was hard to find out because it was just a collection of random memories.
At first, I thought it was the Creator's memories, but… many of these memories didn't include her in them. Hers was just one of the many. Many of these memories didn't seem to belong to a particular person.
They were stories of numerous people.
I glanced at Mike, who was standing beside me. He was just as mesmerized by the things before us. It didn't show in his expression, but somehow, his forest green eyes sparkled at the fantastic sight before us.
Then, a particular story caught my eye.
It was a story of us, still unraveling and continuing. The future was unknown in this story because it was still being told. Therefore, there were countless strings of the future extending from the main story. Some strings were ashen in colour, while others were brightly coloured. I stared at one string that was noticeably thicker than the others. Perhaps, this meant that we were likely to be heading down this future.
I was a bit tempted to touch it, but somehow, my gut told me against it. So, I turned my attention elsewhere. It wasn't a good idea to ignore my gut feelings because they have proven to save me from trouble.
"Did you notice something, Omen?" Mike suddenly spoke up.
I wasn't quite sure what he was referring to. Was it the fact that I discovered a story about us or…? His eyes were looking straight, and he pointed towards something in the distance. So, I followed his gaze.
It was a brilliant ball of light that I had to squint.
"It is Imagination." He answered my unspoken question. "Or, at least what I think it is."
"No… you're right. It is Imagination."
It has to be. With how several strings of light as thick as my body were stretching from the ball and feeding into countless stories, it would be hard to explain what the giant ball of light was.
"We can't change the past."
I suddenly exclaimed, understanding why we could meet Ravenna Cross of the past.
"It's… It's set in stone or… in writing. We are seeing this because… it can give us clues to the present and beat Dark Shadow. There must be a connection between Ravenna and Dark Shadow. Maybe… Just maybe, Dark Shadow is Zacharius Smith?"
Mike dropped his gaze onto the floor, his mind taken over by a string of thoughts.
"That's why everyone told us to look for the name "Zacharius Smith"." I continued. "There must be some turning point or a piece that let us get through to him."
He nodded slowly in agreement. As if agreeing with me, the phenomenon before using was gradually replaced by another scene.
This time, instead of interacting with the people, it seemed as though we were the spectators. The sensation of having a person pass through you was rather… interesting but, I felt like I wouldn't want to experience it again.
"Ravenna," Zacharius Smith grabbed her arms. "Why? Why would you do this?"
The scene before us was weird.
Instead of the intimate and close atmosphere between the two that we had witnessed before, Zacharius was now rather angry and sad. Even Ravenna was revealing a helpless expression.
"It had to be done. It was a decision… made to protect."
"Protect who? From what?" Zacharius let go of her arms. His expression was half horrified and half heartbroken. "You erased my memories of my past. Who are you protecting?"
Ravenna kept quiet. Her red and blue eyes were sorrowful as she watched her best friend start to lose control of himself.
"I had a family! I had a wife! A daughter and a son! I felt so blessed!"
"But, you died."
"It still doesn't change anything!"
"Does it?"
Ravenna stared at the distraught man who had his fingers tangled into his hair.
"You were so content, you couldn't ask for anything more. You just wished to live this "life" till the end. Yet, fate has you dead under the excuse of being caught in an unfortunate work accident."
Ravenna's eyes were mournful.
"You were so satisfied with your life. How would you accept such an abrupt death like that?"
Zacharius was overwhelmed by the pain and grief that he was kneeling on the floor. His hair was unkempt, his eyes filled with tears, and he was crawling the ground. Searching… Searching for something. Something to tell him that he wasn't dead. That everything was a dream. If he just woke up, he would be back at home with his wife and children. He was so heartbroken that I was feeling it too.
"I'm sorry, old friend. You were like this before. Erasing your painful memories was the only way to keep your sanity alive."
Ravenna placed a hand over him, exerting her magic over him. However...
"No."
Zacharius stood up slowly, pushing against Ravenna's magic. Her eyes widened in surprise to see him resisting against her.
"Not again. I will not have you take away my precious memories again."
Ravenna frowned. "Zach, you cannot stop this. You have a duty now. Your duty is to protect Ima…"
"That duty can go to hell!" He screamed as he resisted harder. "When did I sign up for that? You erased my memories and had me visit my motherland again and again. You made me watch my family go up in flames! All in the name of Imagination!"
The sides of Ravenna's eyes watered. "That wasn't my intention. I would never do that to you. I just thought… I was giving you a chance to see them."
"And then, watch them die?" Zacharius laughed. His laughter sounded broken as his expression shifted between anger and amusement. "You don't understand us, Ravenna. You're not even human."
Zacharius stared straight at Ravenna's eyes. He was no longer writhing under her magic but was calmly deflecting it with his. However, his power had been laced with darkness. The Creator gasped as she finally realized what he had done.
"The Darkness was right about everything. You're just the Gods' puppet to maintain their worlds. But when you were overwhelmed, you pulled out unfortunate souls from everywhere to follow through the pathetic job."
Dark energy swirled around Zacharius's body and covered him. Ravenna tried to stop the darkness from consuming him but was stopped as tendrils of darkness withheld her. With one last-ditch effort, she called out to him.
"Zach! Don't listen to them! It's not my goal!"
Unfortunately, it was too late. Zacharius, in his grief, had completely given in to the darkness. It had utterly covered him from head to toe until he revealed himself as another form that we all guess and know too well.
Dark Shadow.
His brown eyes, which were sparkling with life, had turned entirely void of life as he stared down at his long-time friend. Hatred was evident in them.
The current form of Zacharius Smith was a stark contrast to the one we saw moments ago. He was now one with the Darkness. Every movement of his was accompanied by the rustling and scuttling of the darkness.
"It was not the Darkness. You were the villain all along."
Ravenna fell to her knees in shock at the appearance of her friend.
"On the account of our "friendship"," Dark Shadow spat out the last word in disgust. "I will let you go for now. However, one day, I will be back."
He stepped up to look at her squarely in the face. They were so close that they were sharing the air.
"I will be back to crush this Library that you love so much. And I will take this Imagination that you protected at the expense of everyone's lives and have it bend to my will."
"No…"
Ravenna gasped out, her eyes holding disbelief at how bloodthirsty her friend had become. However, no matter how much she had wished, the Zacharius she once knew had willingly turned towards the darkness. He was staring back at her with crazed eyes.
"Oh yes, I will..."
Once Dark Shadow made his threat clear, he retreated away through the Shadows. As his presence slowly ebbed away, the life within the room returned. Since Dark Shadow's appearance, I hadn't realized that he made the room so hard to breathe in. Yet, the truth that we had witnessed made this worse.
I stared silently at Ravenna's lone figure with complicated feelings.
Just what exactly are we fighting for?
Who is the villain now?