"Please... forgive me, Chiaki..."
With the loss of hope and loss of belief, Timothy's body collapsed on the stiff concrete. Like a forgotten soul, he lay there lifelessly. His road and broken promise fluttered out from his thought, and the fear of Chiaki's death haunted his deep and wounded heart.
A once-known warrior and a reliable friend fell, overestimating his abilities and finally realizing that he might not be meant for such duty and couldn't keep every promise.
And upon his fall, Riley stood with a grave expression. "So, it is over? From among the pirates I've faced, you were the only one who pushed me as far as using my techniques to no end. If I were the fleet admiral, I would've left you live, but I am afraid it cannot be how you want it to be. You have my praise, white-haired pirate."
And memories flooded back to what was once a forgotten past.
~ Timothy ran over the path past the river, and as a 12-year-old, he was observant about nature, the dusk slowly building in the sky.
He ran and ran, the wind blowing around him. The feeling of joy looped in his mind, and with the confidence, he would finally reach his destination, he noticed a younger girl sitting at the edge of the river, playing with fish.
He looked at her, confused, and decided to approach her. "Um, excuse me. I've seen you around this area often. What are you doing?" The girl looked at him with her blossom pink eyes. "Playing with fishies..." She answered, catching a fish in her hands but then releasing it back into the water. "Do you want to join me?"
Timothy blinked in confusion and looked into the distance. "S-Sure..." He squatted next to her and reached into the water, trying to catch a fish.
He licked his lips and quickly swung his arms, but the fish got away. "I didn't get it..." He claimed, sitting down and sighing. "You need to be more careful and gentle," She slowly reached into the water and waited for the fish to come by, and finally, "Like this." She dragged out a fish and laughed.
"Whoa! You got it!" Timothy called, amazed as his eyes sparkled. "I told you!"
She released the fish, "Go on, try again." And for a while, the two of them spent the rest of the day together and for a few months, continued the process.
Their days were joyous, and they became like true friends to the point when the girl told him some of her deepest secrets.
One day, the girl looked at him and asked. "Timmy... would you come here and meet me every day? I like you, and I have fun spending time with you."
They exchanged glances, and he laughed. "You bet! I'd love that!" He answered, and the girl happily questioned, "Do you promise?"
Without any hesitation, Timothy nodded, "Of course, I promise! But as long as you promise that you will come here every day too."
Around her neck she had two pendants; a pink and a blue one.
She reached around her neck and grabbed the blue one, showing it to Timothy. "Would you take this?" He seemed confused, scratching the back of his head, and asked, "Your pendant? W-Why?"
"Because I want to remember you. It's a symbol of our friendship. I want you to keep it and wear it around your neck, even if something happens to me."
He allowed the girl to put the pendant around his neck and then looked at the blue diamond. "It's also my way of showing that I promise to come."
He agreed, and the girl kept her promise...
Until one day, Timothy asked her name. "Um... What's your name?" But instead of the girl answering his question, she froze, saw the fish flop into the water, and saw her face reflecting.
Timothy was greeted by a silence. "Is... everything-?"
"I... I'm sorry. You shouldn't know that." The more Timothy wanted to know why the more the girl withdrew from him out of confusion. She gave him an explanation that she had other commitments and promised to visit him later.
But that was only a ruse; when Timothy went to meet the girl the following day, she wasn't there, and even after he waited for her, she never appeared.
He persisted in his efforts for a few days in the hopes that the girl would choose to sit by the river. But as the days went by, the girl refused to appear.
He felt he had finally found a true friend, someone who wasn't one of his younger sisters, but without even knowing her name, she disappeared from his life.
As a result, he grew frustrated.
He declared that he would never speak to a stranger again since he believed the girl had betrayed him. "She promised... I promised. It's not fair! All I did was ask her name! Why should I keep my promises if others betray me?!"
"I'm never making another promise!" He cried out and looked at the pendant.
He couldn't look at it without feeling disappointed and had enough. "I'm done!" He tore the pendant off his neck and shoved it into the water, leaving a flow behind.
"I don't want to see you ever again!" The pendant splashed into the river, and he cried because of it.
He wiped his tears, shut his eyes, and sprinted into the city.
As he approached the front of his house, he stopped sprinting, still considering and pondering about the pendant. The commitment the girl had made to him in the past had him feeling uneasy.
He was getting ready to approach the house but couldn't help but think of the girl.
In spite of the terrible weather and the fact that night was drawing near, he screamed in the air, turned around, and ran back to the river.
"I need to get it back!"
As soon as he got there, he carelessly dashed down the soggy grass. He forced himself to reach the bottom and retrieve the pendant no matter what as he jumped into the raging river, holding his breath.
And finally, he discovered it in between the rocks, right below the bridge, after it got dragged there by the currents.
In silence, unable to speak because of the raging water, he stretched and reached for it, and just like that, it slipped itself between his fingers.
He surfaced again and sat on the wet grass while coughing and looking at the pendant in his palm. "Got you," he said apologetically, putting the necklace around his neck.
"I'm sorry... Wherever you are. I'll keep this. I'm sure I'll see you again in the future." After claiming, Timothy ran back through the downpour.
From behind the bridge, the girl watched him without speaking.
The following day, Timothy returned to the river, and in the hopes of seeing the girl again, he became disappointed.
She wasn't there.
Even though he knew his odds of seeing the girl were slim, he persisted in going to the river each day and never gave up.
But finally, after 27 days of going back and forth, only to never see the girl again.
It happened.
A recognizable yet well-known voice shouted out to Timothy just as he turned to leave the river and head home. "Tim!" In addition to the wind blowing incredibly fast, her voice resonated.
He turned and saw the girl and became astonished. His eyes shook in surprise and happiness that he could finally see the girl again.
"My name is..." ~
"Her name..." Timothy's voice quietly echoed within his mind. He saw himself floating inside the black void with one bright light of a silhouette floating in front of him as it slowly gained colors.
His eyes looked lifeless and hopeless, and the person in front of him slowly started to fade away. "Chiaki... is that you? How are you here?" Timothy wondered, unable to move at all. "I'm not really sure... I... I might be your memory." Her voice, calm and soft yet comfortable, spoke to him. "S-Shouldn't you have been gone? Aren't your soul-linking blocked? Y-You should've already disappeared from my mind..."
She didn't have a physical body, but she looked real. "Memories... are different," Chiaki answered, "A psychological process of acquiring. It doesn't matter? Does it?" Timothy looked to question himself, "Chiaki... I couldn't save you. Telling you I could when in reality, I'm weak. I came so far, but..." It took Timothy a lot of courage to say it to Chiaki. "For someone like me... I'm just not able to..."
He managed to tilt his head a little, "I'm just one person. It doesn't matter if I have friends or allies. I can't stand or move. I can barely even speak and breathe. I'm tired of being mixed up in all of this. If I can't even save you... how could I help thousands of people?"
He continued, "Not only was I told I can't control your execution, but I declared the world my enemy, putting everyone's life at risk. And now... I'm going to disappear without even keeping my promise to you." He was weak, helpless. "Chiaki... You don't want that either, right?"
"I mean, if my memories disappear, then my memory of you will disappear too. I don't want that, and I don't want to lose you. And there won't be a single trace of everyone else left either. I want to stop that, but I can't if I lose," he claimed, "Even though I've already lost..."
"You're going to disappear. Ayuka, Ralphie, Yumiko, and others... how can I let myself forget them? They are people... people whose lives matter. People like them... being forgotten? Nobody wants that to happen."
His finishing words finally received an answer. "No, I won't. We won't... Even if I cease to "exist" and even if you guys never remember me... That doesn't mean I'll completely disappear. Even if you believe you've lost, our souls will never tear apart. As long as everyone moves forward and open your eyes, there will always be an essence of me collected within your heart...
"It doesn't matter if I live or die... focus on the future ahead of your path. You can recreate the once lost path with a new vessel, but me... my soul... it'll never disappear.
"What I lived for, fought for, and risked my life for will still exist. Even if I don't want to die, and you can't keep your promise, the times we spent together will always be treasured inside your heart. Remember, you're the heart and I'm merely the vessel. That's how soul-linking works."
Timothy listened, struggling to answer, "I-I know, but..."
"Tim... It's not wrong to be afraid, and I understand. But you don't need to hide your fear. Fear is merely an emotional reaction, and everyone has those, right? And you're not just scared of disappearing... You're scared of moving toward the future with such a heavy burden and the broken promise you made, right? And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm scared too, but I've experienced everything I once lost in my life with you.
"I learned what it truly means to be happy, what I want to do with my life. That I don't want to be forgotten.
"Do you realize how much you've done for this world? For me? You've helped so many people. You opened their eyes and gave them hope. And that act changed me entirely. The lost girl who didn't know what she wanted in her life became someone who found a path to a new life. I found people I know I can't forget. I learned that my existence isn't just for demise but that it has a purpose.
"But you need to let go of some things you just can't do. So, quit being this indecisive and understand that every promise can't be granted. Didn't you want to become someone with confidence? Someone reliable? Yet, you don't know you've already done what you hoped to achieve.
"It's quite stubborn of you to think that way, but you have to move forward. Don't let my disappearance stop you.
"Find a new path to follow and a new promise to keep."
Timothy seemed startled and speechless. "You continued seeing me as a friend, despite knowing that I lied to you. You didn't throw me away like the people in the past. You didn't give up on me and even came as far as to fight the world government. Just because you might not be able to keep one promise, that doesn't change you risked your life to come and save me. And even if I tried to stop you, you continued and even showed me who I truly am.
"Keeping promises isn't the goal in life you should follow. You should continue living as you are. A heart that isn't scared to fight and protect your friends, family, and even people. But having fear or not is just proof that you know the risk. You fight, and you win. You fight, and you lose. But a forgotten soul differs from a forgotten heart. A heart can change while a soul cannot. You're free to go anywhere. You're free to see the world with open eyes and the beauty of the world.
"That's what you told me, didn't you?" Chiaki explained, clenching her fists with a smile. "Believe in yourself and don't be downed because of one loss. If you don't do that, you will never achieve what you want." She became calm, "Just like you were in the past..."
A picture played around them like a vision of them being as children and meeting at the river. "I didn't tell you my name, and never came back to see you, because I was afraid that you might learn about the truth. But even if I never appeared, you didn't give up. You kept coming back to the river every day, and even though you knew I wouldn't be there, you continued moving onward. But I suppose past Timothy is in the past, hm? He's not the same Timothy who spent time with me and the others in the world. You're merely his soul.
"But, it's going to be all right," She leaned her palm on her chest and chuckled, "I think it's time you finally give up on your promise and move to find a new goal. Find that goal, and make sure to share it with me inside your heart. As long as you don't forget me, my existence will never be forgotten either."
"And... don't ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you can promise."
Timothy looked at the picture playing around him and then became composed, "Chiaki... hey, can you tell me something. Do you think I'm still able to keep this last promise?" He wondered, asking her, seeing Chiaki raise her finger.
"You're the only one... the only one who has the right to choose the answer. And the responsibility too. But remember, whatever you choose, whether it's your life or mine, make sure to always prioritize yourself. No matter what you choose, I'll listen to your wishes. But of course, if you don't want to search for the answer, then make it yourself."
She smiled and prepared to share her final words, "You have incredible power that can overcome anything. I guess, for short what I'm trying to say is. If you just do it, things will turn out." She straightened up and smiled one last time, "I'll always be with you and you'll always stay in my heart. And I'll never forget who or what you are. So, Timmy... I'll see you when I see you!" before fading away.
Timothy wondered, "Choose a new path... forget the promise? I see..." He shut his eyes and spoke, "There's no way I can let you die after all of that, Chiaki."
-
Riley prepared to leave the room but suddenly sensed a tremendous energy.
His eyes opened wide, shaking in fear and shock, forcing him to turn around.
Timothy moved his fingers, his heart calmly beating, and slowly stood up, "I'm not going to let you out of my sight..." Timothy shared a sidelong glance as white flames erupted from his wrists and neck, "Didn't I say that?" He rotated around entirely and revealed his white-glowing eyes.
"Impossible! You were knocked out! How can you still stand?!" Angrily wondered Riley, sweating profusely, and started seeing Timothy slowly walking toward him. "I have something that you don't." His voice was deeper and more confident, "It's friends that I cannot let down. And one of them is Chiaki herself!" Timothy bent his torso and stepped forward.
He spread a shockwave through the concrete below him and cracked it into pieces, suddenly launching in Riley's direction.
Riley laughed, "What a fool! Did you forget you can't escape my time-skip abilities!" Riley swung his arm forward and turned the room monochrome preparing to punch.
But he stuttered and became frozen, "You're the one who can't escape it! Not me!" Timothy shouted, dashing through the dimension and shattering it like pieces of mirror, managing to move faster than Riley's time-skip.
"Soul... Cannon!" he yelled as he dashed at Riley while exposing his right arm to tremendous heat and blazing white flames. The flames spread out and became bigger.
And suddenly, his knuckles crashed into Riley's jaw.
With one uppercut, Timothy propelled Riley through the air toward the ceiling while he dragged Riley's body with him. The contact sent a swirl of white flames through the room.
Timothy used Riley's body to destroy the ceiling and launch himself high into the air as they both shot into the sky at the speed of a meteor and with enough pressure.
Chiaki, Kou, Kyora, Elian, and Yules witnessed the firework show behind them and saw a jet of giant fire blasting from the hole in the ceiling.
With Timothy in the air, Timothy dropped toward the floor and landed in a squatting position.
Riley's eyes, white, and his body motionless, collapsed and fell behind Timothy and didn't move again.
Timothy stood up, turned around without hesitation, and exchanged views with Elian's shocked eyes. "T-Tim..." Chiaki called, barely able to speak up, and saw him frustrated.
"Chiaki! How dare you tell me to move forward without you?! I'm going to save you first and then you can tell me to move forward! " he yelled,
"Do you hear me, Chiaki?!" He screamed, "I'm going to save you!!" His voice boomed through the air like a series of ongoing explosions.
It forced the wind to speed up and grow more aggressive.
To be continued...