Adam Huxley saw a corpse on the ground. It was a few feet away from him and an exact replica of himself. Holding his hand was the most attractive girl he had ever seen. He was keenly aware of her age. Eighteen. The same as himself. He also saw his family standing in the distance with sorrow in their eyes and their heart. His sister, Alice Huxley, held the hands of his corpse in mourning while doing everything in her power to hold back the tears. His father only stared and his mother buried her head in his chest, unable to accept the reality.
"You see what happened, but do you know what happened"
He turned to the girl. Saw that she was some kind of agent born of the world, of nature. She looked so damn perfect that he wondered if she was the representation of what he desired. She didn't let go even after he waited a minute, like she was waiting for his reply. Would she let go after that and disappear forever? He didn't want that. He wanted to savor the moment forever but at the same time, his heart ached seeing his family believe he was dead when he wasn't. There was a corpse but he couldn't believe it.
"I became a Warlock"
He told the truth, hoping to convince her. He was already convinced himself. She nodded and smiled. Kissed him on the cheeks. Hugged him. Acted like how a girlfriend would act. Made him unwilling to let go or find out the truth because he didn't want her to leave him. He didn't understand where these thoughts came from and he didn't care. He had never had a girlfriend before. He had crushes, that became ex-crushes because he didn't have the courage to commit. There were three of them in total. She felt like the fourth. It felt like she would also become an ex-crush.
"I won't become your ex-crush. I'm yours, forever until the end of time or reality"
Her answered relieved him but he was now confused. Until the end of time or reality? He would die of old age long before then. He didn't have time to think about it when she answered his other question.
"You became a Warlock, but you also died and failed. Your corpse is proof of that. Do you think it's possible to come back from that?"
What she said was true, but what she saw and felt was also true. It was the same as what he felt and saw. He felt her warm flesh. He felt her hand. He felt the interest she had in him. He saw the corpse and it looked exactly like him. He felt the connection as well. But he was also alive and looking at what was supposedly his dead body. Was he alive and dead at the same time? Was it an out of body experience that meant he was really dead? Her questions and answers provided no actual resolution. Riddles. He would have to wait it out. He felt like his patience was being tested and he didn't want to fail. At least, it was easier to fail than it was to succeed, because he was too damn curious.
"You were unable to contain Element AxE"
She spoke only in short sentences but he didn't have the heart to get mad at her. With each passing second, he only fell deeper and deeper in love with her. As time passed, he even wanted her to not speak again so he could spend all the time in the world with her. But she forced him to look at his family with her hand and he suddenly felt sad again. He wanted to reunite with them, to show them that he was still alive, but what if he was actually dead now.
"I know you're in love with me. I also actually fell in love with you as well, watching you do what you did. We can be together, but first we have to get through this situation"
She said something pointless, but not pointless. It confirmed her attraction and dedication to him. Where it came from, he didn't care. It just existed and that was good enough for him. Then she became cryptic and avoided the detail, like she was teasing him.
"You tried to hold it in but it overwhelmed you along with the rest. You overreached but it was noble"
Overreached? That meant he did contain it at first and then something unexpected happened. He turned towards his family. Observed them carefully. His parents betrayed nothing so he paid attention to Alice instead. He stared for five seconds before it hit him. He didn't notice it at first but there was another girl next to her, paralyzed with an ashy face. Traces of a bizarre energy could be seen revolving around her.
A Warlock!
He replayed countless different ideas inside his head before it dawned on him.
"Do you see now? How are you still alive? Stuck in a realm between worlds"
"I'm not dead"
He said it with finality and no room for debate. He looked at her and she nodded, agreeing with him. Then she looked worried because she didn't know how to say what she wanted to say. Kept looking at him with an expression of looking for approval. There was a desire in her eyes to tell the truth and reveal a secret but she hesitated, like she didn't want to leave.
"You're in a unique position"
That was the only thing she said for a while. Like it was the only hint he needed. He racked his head trying to understand what it mean but came up blank. It was faint and subtle but he noticed a peculiar aura. It was one of rage, anger, sadness, sorrow, and revenge. If it wasn't for the fact that many powerful experts were locked onto it, he could feel that it would've attacked his family.
"Now you see the issue"
"Is that your father? You tried to save me but failed"
"Failure would mean this scene before us wouldn't exist. We're anchored to time, hanging by a thread. And I wasn't trying to save you. My powers fought back against yours but was overwhelmed, but it was your compassion and humanity that saved me at the last moment. Usually such an odd turn of events is dependent upon a strong character and personality"
"You sound like you're experienced with this"
"This is the first time I've experienced it. My family has a rich background of intellectual thinkers advancing humanity through discussion. Not all of their theories matched reality"
"But this did"
The girl said nothing but stared in a certain direction.
"Once you appear, my father will attack you and I'm unsure who will win or if he'll be stopped by the experts in time"
"He's experienced. I'm not"
"No one knows how time works, much less do anything under its grip"
"But how am I doing it?"
"That's why I confessed to being yours till the end of time or reality"
A cryptic response not only to him but an explanation to what was going on. He knew nothing about AxE, much less about being a Warlock which seemed like it was based on AxE. He had some vague ideas and nothing solid to act on. He only stared into space blankly.
"I don't expect you to get it immediately. I enjoy the time we're spending together. It's peaceful unlike when my father is constantly breathing down my neck"
He stared for half an hour before he noticed the loop. It was subtle because the loop was created to exploit the way he organized his thought process. When he was injured, Alice would always tend to his sounds. She would use water to wash away the dirt and then put on soap to remove any bacteria. It stung but she kissed it to make it feel better. Then she washed it again and used more soap. Repeated the process over and over again until he felt no more pain. When he stop wincing, she would apply a thin layer of processed cotton to stop it from getting reinfected. Then she would apply another and another until everything was unwrapped and the wound was freshly opened. That was the break that caused him to realize something was wrong. There were no signs of decomposition. He could clearly see the life flowing through this corpse.
"We are dead, but still alive and also still dead"
She said it with a confidence that matched his own. They were anchored to time but it was so fast that it rebounded upon itself. What they were watching was stubbornness hopelessly clinging onto the last shred of hope. Once he gave up hope, both of them would die, so her only solution was to give him hope. She didn't have these feelings at all until the point where his strong character revealed itself upon the tip of life and death. Those feelings gave him hope, even if they were manifested not of her own will but of a will to survive. However, if she didn't love him then she would rather die then be chained to all eternity to a man who wouldn't love her.