《Blaming Power》


 1. The Soul Ring

    Do you believe in fate?


    Most people do...


    ...I do.


    Some people believe fate is something that life -the most difficult thing we have to go through- has planned for us, and is out of our reach to perceive, change or control.


    How is it that something like this, so precise, and at the same time, so powerful, can be established upon us?


    Plenty of people think that fate is something that is written for us at the moment we are born, either by divine intervention or pure nature, and no matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, we can¡¯t intervene with fate.


    If you are one of these people, let me tell you a secret:


    You can.


    You are completely able to change your fate.


    In fact... you are even capable of changing the fate of everyone around you.


    ...


    Doesn¡¯t that make you powerful?


    <hr>


    Friday, November 12th, 2021


    Mitsuo took a big bite of his yakitori, and instantly felt a super strong heat in his mouth. He opened his eyes wide and looked at the vendor, who was laughing at him. The vendor, named Jirou -a charismatic retired chef-, always smiles when Mitsuo asks him for the spicy sauce jar so he can dip the yakitori in, and eat it like a malnourished dog.


    But the vendor doesn¡¯t judge him, in fact, he always welcomes him with a big smile, a refreshing grape soda, and a small talk. After all, he¡¯s Jirou¡¯s favorite and most loyal customer, since Mitsuo is basically addicted to his food and that delicious drink, for what he comes every day.


    ¡°I added some extra spice last night.¡± -Jirou said with a grim smile, and laughed shortly.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting that! You like seeing me suffer, don¡¯t you?¡± -Mitsuo replied with a smile, and started coughing again.


    ¡°I love surprising my customers, especially my favorite one.¡± -Jirou said while handing him an ice-cold grape soda.


    Mitsuo drank the whole can in two exaggerated gulps, and finished it with a big ¡°Aaaahhh¡­¡± followed by a deep breath and, of course, a chain of coughs caused by the spicy sauce.


    He checked his phone and saw several unread messages from his best friend, Kenshin. Normally, Mitsuo would read them and reply right away, but today, he felt like it was about time for him to stop being so dependent on his phone -since that¡¯s what got him fired yesterday- and thought ¡°I¡¯ll reply to him later.¡±


    Mitsuo waved at Jirou -who waved back with a big smile- and started walking down the street.


    Then, his phone started vibrating in his pocket. It was Kenshin again, but this time, he was calling him.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± -Mitsuo answered.


    ¡°Nice way to say hello, idiot!¡± -Kenshin replied, which made Mitsuo laugh- ¡°Did you see my messages?¡±


    ¡°No, I was trying to get off my phone for a while.¡±


    ¡°Ok, listen, listen: come meet me at my home, quick! I have something really cool to show you.¡± -Kenshin said, very excited.


    ¡°Uhm... can you wait for an hour or two? I just finished eating and I wanted to walk some time alone so I could digest the chicken I just ate.¡± -Mitsuo replied.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.¡°Ah, idiot! You¡¯re wasting all of your money in street food and you don¡¯t have a job anymore! Don¡¯t be so dumb!¡± -Kenshin said angrily.


    ¡°It¡¯s just for today, I swear, I just wanted to eat there for the last time!¡±


    ¡°Stop lying to yourself, chubby. Come home and we¡¯ll drink something to wash that trash down.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯m going. Bye, idiot.¡±


    ¡°Bye chubbyyyyy, chubby chubby chu-¡±


    Mitsuo hung up and started walking down the street.


    On his way to Kenshin¡¯s home, a small green light reflected from the floor into his eyes, making him curious enough to look down for its source.


    As he drew closer to it, he noticed that right next to the sidewalk, there was a shiny light-green ring laying on it. Mitsuo picked it up, and saw that it was a beautiful piece of jewelry that looked incredibly well-made, surely it was done by a very skilled jeweler. The ring was extremely luminous, more than any other ring that he had ever seen, almost like the ring itself was emitting light.


    ¡°Someone must have dropped it.¡± -he thought.


    Mitsuo saw two women standing at the bus stop nearby and couldn¡¯t help but ask if it belonged to one of them.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not mine.¡± -said one of the women.


    He gestured with the ring to the other woman next to her, who replied with a head shake. Mitsuo took a second to realize that he had an opportunity to keep the ring for himself, so he said:


    ¡°Oh, okay¡­ Sorry to bother you! Have a nice day!¡±


    Mitsuo turned back, gave the ring another good look to appreciate the excellent craftwork of it, and slipped it into his finger.


    The ring flashed a blinding green light, naturally forcing him to close his eyes, while feeling a powerful shockwave emanating from it, almost like a bomb just exploded in his hands. All of this happened during the time he blinked.


    Mitsuo put his left hand on top of the ring to prevent it from emitting that blinding light -which worked- but now he heard a colossal sound, followed by a giant echo, coming from beneath him.


    He gazed down to what it looked like a never-ending portal, similar to a black hole, spinning clockwise at his feet.


    Mitsuo panicked and jumped back to prevent falling into it, which made him trip and fall on the floor. Then, he suddenly realized two horrifying things:


    One, the women at the bus stop collapsed on the floor like ragdolls.


    And two, the center of the portal was still below him, but he didn¡¯t fall through it. In fact, the portal was following him.


    Mitsuo rushed to aid the two collapsed women, who were completely lifeless and pale. As soon as he reaches them, he looks up and sees another man coming to help, when he suddenly drops on the floor, like someone has turned him off.


    Another man is crossing the street to help, and shares the same fate as the other three people. Dropping dead like a mannequin.


    As Mitsuo starts to panic, he begins to hear people screaming very loudly. Not only around him, but inside of him.


    He gazes down into the portal, which still remains below him, following him like a spotlight, getting bigger and bigger.


    He looks at the ring, which now starts exhaling a light-green smoke. Mitsuo opens his eyes, thinking that either he was going crazy, or this ring had a curse in it.


    When he looks up again, he starts seeing people drop dead on the floor in every direction. Sirens are heard in the distance, but it was too late¡­ for everyone.


    Mitsuo starts panicking even more than before, almost hyperventilating, while desperately trying to remove the ring.


    It won¡¯t budge. The ring is completely stuck to his finger, almost like it incarnated into his skin.


    An ambulance turns around the corner. Once it stops turning, it begins to honk endlessly while accelerating down the street. Mitsuo stands up and waves at the ambulance, but it doesn¡¯t seem to slow down at all. Then, he backs up a few steps and glances at the inside of the ambulance passing by, almost like in slow-motion.


    Both paramedics inside were dead, and the driver was resting his lifeless head on the honk.


    Mitsuo screams at the top of his lungs:


    ¡°HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!¡± -but nobody seems to be alive to aid him.


    ¡°HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!¡± -he screams again.


    He reaches for his phone, his hands are shaking, his heartbeat is spiking up, and the voices inside of him are becoming louder.


    He instinctively wants to call 911, but his voice of conscience speaks to him in a moment of brightness:


    ¡°Why would I call 911, if they are gonna die as soon as they get here?¡±


    Mitsuo was terrified. He felt like a killer. A genocide.


    He looks down at the portal -which had grown in size- and gets down on his knees, trying to touch it with his left hand. He feels the texture and heat from the asphalt, like the portal wasn¡¯t even there.


    Was it an illusion? Was he delusional?


    No. He wasn¡¯t.


    In a desperate need of anger relief, he clenches his fists and hits the asphalt as hard as he can, realizing that his left hand was indeed hitting the ground, while his right hand passed through. He looks at it, confused, while feeling a soothing cold sensation.


    Mitsuo removes the hand from the portal, unintentionally dragging a trail of light-green energy from it, which slowly starts taking the shape and size of a human body, almost like a spectre, facing away from him. He walks in front of the human-like spectre, and Mitsuo¡¯s mouth opens in shock.


    It was Jirou, the food vendor. He was staring directly into Mitsuo¡¯s eyes, showing no facial expression nor emotion.


    Mitsuo looks at his left, only to see Jirou¡¯s dead body lying in the distance, next to the food stand. He cannot believe what he¡¯s seeing, and starts to think he has gone mad.


    ¡°MITSUO!¡± -Jirou¡¯s spectre screamed at him, in a deep and furious tone, reverberating like if it was inside an empty stadium.


    Mitsuo screams back in pain, as a massive headache is starting to consume his brain. He drops on his knees, grabbing his head and mourning at the same time. Jirou¡¯s spectre kept screaming at him, but he couldn¡¯t hear him properly. The spectre¡¯s voice became muffled and distorted, but it started to sort of multiply, hearing it from everywhere around his head.


    The unintelligible voice from Jirou¡¯s spectre had overtaken his whole head, blending in with the voices he was already hearing around him, and inside of him.


    Mitsuo starts feeling dizzy, almost nauseous, feeling his blood pressure dropping, eventually leading him to pass out and fall inside the portal.

 2. Going back

    Saturday, November 12th, 2022


    Raindrops were, like almost every night in Tristan da Cunha, crashing against Emma¡¯s room window, filling it with a soothing and comforting white noise. A few thunders here and there were helping to create a cozy ambience. Her room was the coldest one of all, but her old heater was on, making a quiet brown noise and warming up the place. She was sitting on her bed with two pillows -one horizontally placed at her waist, and the other one supporting her back-, reading her favorite book for the fifth time: ¡°To Kill a Mockingbird.¡±


    Emma liked to read some phrases out, but softly enough to not bother anyone in the mansion.


    ¡°I willed myself to stay awake, but the rain was so soft and the room was so warm and his voice was so deep and his knee was so snug that I sle-¡±


    Suddenly, the room¡¯s door opened abruptly and hit the wall behind it, scaring her and interrupting her relaxing lecture session. The door bounced back from the wall and before it closed again, Emma looked up and saw Ji-Eun standing at the door with a circumstance face and a tray in her hands.


    ¡°Oops¡­¡± -Ji said from behind the door.


    Emma sighed with a smile while biting her lower lip. She got up to open the door for Ji-Eun.


    ¡°Uhhhh¡­ Would you mind op-¡±


    Emma opened the door and looked at Ji-Eun while smiling.


    ¡°Ji?¡± -she said, still with a subtle smile on her face. ¡°Were you planning on waking up everyone or just me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± -Ji said with a nervous laugh. ¡°Happy Birthday! I had my hands full and I didn¡¯t know if you were awake, so I tried to open it with my feet.¡±


    ¡°Well, that would have definitely woke me up!¡± -said Emma, while both laughed.


    The tray held a freshly made cup of smoking hot coffee, which released a fragrant smell of black pepper and cinnamon, accompanied by some deliciously looking red velvet cupcakes.


    ¡°You know that it was more than enough with one simple black coffee, right?¡± -said Emma, while smiling from ear to ear, almost salivating.


    ¡°Oh, come on! It''s your birthday! I love doing this, plus I know it¡¯s your favorite.¡± -Ji winked with her mouth open.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­ Oh, man. You do know me! Thank you so much, sister. I really appreciate it, you really didn¡¯t hav-¡±


    ¡°HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAAAAY!¡± -Rhea jumped in from behind Ji-Eun, with a big smile and opening her arms to hug Emma.


    Rhea and Emma hugged each other, while Ji-Eun entered the room to leave the breakfast tray on her desk.


    ¡°Thank you, Ri, thank you.¡± -said Emma.


    Ji-Eun closed the door and Rhea hugged Emma. While doing so, she couldn¡¯t help but notice the breakfast tray on the desk, and exclaimed:


    ¡°Whaaaaaaat?! This is so unfair! I just drank a sad tea with a fucking cracker!¡± -Rhea claimed, while doing a close inspection to the cupcakes.


    ¡°Girl, it ain¡¯t your birthday, so don¡¯t even think about it or I¡¯ll break your fingers.¡± -Emma replied with a jocking accent.


    The three of them laughed for a bit, then, an awkward silence came along.


    ¡°Alright, alright, you can both have one. But just ONE, okay?¡± -Emma said.


    Rhea opened her mouth wide, showing a happy and excited expression at the same time. She instantly went in for the cupcake and took a big bite, not even caring about the cream that she had over her nose and upper lip.


    Her facial expression after the bite went from happy to amazed, and then up to total pleasure.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Mmmmmmmm!¡± -She said, while trying to whip the cream out of her nose. She was completely out of words, and didn¡¯t hesitate to take another bite.


    ¡°Alright, that means I have to take one¡­ Can you believe her? It¡¯s MY birthday and she¡¯s enjoying it first!¡± -Emma said while picking up a cupcake out of the tray.


    She gestured with the cupcake to Ji-Eun, while saying a short ¡°Mh?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no thanks! I am lactose intolerant, and besides, I baked them¡­ you know that the baker gets the first taste.¡± -Ji replied while smiling.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ Mhm¡­¡±


    Words couldn¡¯t come out of Emma¡¯s mouth, only joy and satisfaction, but heavily nodding in approval.


    ¡°Have you talked to Valentina?¡± -Rhea asked, slowly erasing the smile off her face.


    ¡°No... Did something happen?¡± -Emma replied with a serious face.


    ¡°No, no! Not at all, I just asked, I mean¡­ You¡­ Uhm...¡± -Rhea said nervously, almost starting to stutter.


    ¡°You mean if she messaged me for my birthday? No, not yet.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s barely 12:15, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s about to come up soon.¡± -Ji said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s just another day for me, but gladly I have these cupcakes¡­ or at least five of them!¡± -Emma said sarcastically, while looking at Rhea munching the last piece of the cupcake she had in her hands.


    ¡°Mmm! Fuck you, this is delicious, I don¡¯t care.¡± -Rhea replied with her mouth full, while spitting some cream bits.


    The three of them laughed again, and then an awkward silence filled the room. Ji felt obligated to speak about anything to break it up.


    ¡°Well¡­ what do you want to do tomorrow? Do you wanna go somewhere? Day trip? Ocean?¡±


    ¡°Ergh¡­ I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll probably just stay here, I¡¯m not really in the mood for anything. Besides, it¡¯s raining and this fucking island has bored me to death.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on¡­ We can surely find something to do that you¡¯ll enjoy¡­ right?¡± -Ji replied with a smile, then she looked at Rhea who was signaling her with a hand gesture at her neck to ¡°cut it off¡±, which made Ji¡¯s smile slowly fade away.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know girls, right now, I just wanna drink this co-¡±


    Ji-Eun¡¯s ring immediately flashed with a bright purple light, her eyes glowed with the same hue for a second, and a small light barrier just materialized out of nowhere, thin as paper, with purple highlights and just in-between the hot cup of coffee and Emma¡¯s mouth, preventing her from burning herself.


    Emma smiled and replied with a simple ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I guess it was too hot still.¡± -Ji replied.


    ¡°You can do that too? Damn¡­¡± -Rhea said to Ji-Eun while laughing.


    ¡°Well, technically it wasn¡¯t me, but you know¡­¡± -Ji replied while waving her right hand.


    All of the sudden, everything went silent for an instant. Their voices, the rain, the storm, the heater, everything. In the meantime, an invisible shockwave of sound passed through them, making a crescent colossal sound that faded away into nothing.


    The rain had now stopped.


    The three of them looked at each other, shocked with their eyes wide-open.


    ¡°What was that?¡± -Rhea said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± -Ji replied.


    Emma checked her phone and saw something strange that left her thinking for a moment.


    ¡°Uh? My phone is de-synced.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s weird.¡± -Ji bounded.


    Then, Rhea also checked her phone and noticed that her phone was also de-synced. The date was incorrect. She looked at both of them and said:


    ¡°Would you mind telling me what¡¯s the date on your phones?¡±


    ¡°Tuesday, November 12th, 2021¡± -Emma instantly replied.


    ¡°Ji?¡± -Rhea asked again.


    She grabs her phone, checks the date and her face immediately shows a visible confusion.


    ¡°Tuesday¡­ November 12th¡­ 20-¡±


    ¡°Holy shit.¡± -Emma said. ¡°I have the same date.¡±


    ¡°Did we just¡­ went back in time?¡± -Rhea asked worried.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ don¡¯t know¡­¡± -Emma replied.


    ¡°Girls¡­ look at the coffee¡­¡± -Ji remarked.


    The coffee mug was still hot and smoking with the same aroma of black pepper and cinnamon.


    A short explosion was heard from behind the door. It made the whole floor shake, the door vibrated and the lamp on the desk almost fell to the ground if it wasn¡¯t for Rhea that saved it. The explosion came from the hall outside, and scared the three of them for a second. Heavy footsteps were heading towards Emma¡¯s room, while the temperature on the room started to rise.


    ¡°Oh boy¡­¡± -Emma said, while opening the door.


    Behind it was Valentina, an italian woman with dark long hair and a lightly tanned skin. Her irises were coral red, the same color as her nails and ring. Her hands were covered with healing burns. She looked worried and it seemed that she had been abruptly woken up from her sleep.


    ¡°What was that? What are you doing?¡± -Valentina said while looking at the three of them.


    ¡°What are you doing? You know you can¡¯t use spells in the house.¡± -Rhea said calmly. ¡°Happy Birthday Emma? No? Nothing?¡± -she complemented, while interrupting Valentina.


    ¡°Yes, I know, and yes, happy birthday, I love you, sorry I slept throught, but please, can you tell me what the fuck just happened?¡± -Val replied.


    ¡°Thank you, love. It¡¯s fine. And, we don¡¯t know. I think we may have gone back in time. All of our phones are showing the exact same date from a year ago.¡± -Emma said.


    Valentina looked at Emma for a second, then instantly backed up a few steps.


    ¡°Valentina, n-!¡± -Rhea exclaimed.


    A fire ring materialized out of nowhere, surrounding Valentina and bursting into a ball of flame, making her disappear from sight.


    Rhea sighed, then said: ¡°This girl¡­¡±


    Valentina re-appeared with her phone in her hands.


    ¡°Ok, as far as I know, I went to sleep on a Saturday and somehow slept a whole negative year back to a Friday. So¡­ any clues?¡± -Val said.


    ¡°No¡­ Should we call a meeting?¡± -Ji replied.


    ¡°Yeah, call everyone. Be sure to contact Mitsuo as well, check on how he¡¯s doing¡­ and stop using spells on the house, please?¡± -Rhea said.

 3. The Soul Realm

    Mitsuo¡¯s ears begin to capture his surroundings, as his body tries to regain consciousness while laying on the floor. A constant and pulsating hum besieges him, resonating infinitely, like he was in outer space. He hears a choir of anguished voices in the distance, followed by a vast echo that harmonizes with the hum. He can barely open his eyes, but he¡¯s still too dazed to realize what¡¯s happening, so they automatically close again. The voices inside him are still present, but they aren¡¯t as painful as before, instead, they seem to unify with the choir of voices that surround him.


    A soothing breeze continually passes through his body, tensing his muscles but refreshing his lungs, allowing him to breathe normally and helping to gradually regain his senses. The ambient is cold. Very, very cold. Not cold enough to freeze him, but cold enough to give him goosebumps all over his body.


    Mitsuo tries to open his eyes again, and manages to keep them open for a few seconds. He looks up and sees an uncountable number of little green lights in movement. Some of them are following a pattern, some of them move in a straight line, and some of them are motionless. As he starts to comprehend that what he¡¯s seeing isn¡¯t normal, he again thinks that this is all a fucked-up dream. He closes his eyes and tries to go back to sleep, but he¡¯s unable to do so.


    Suddenly, the voices inside of him begin to mourn louder, making him feel very uncomfortable. The hum begins to pulsate faster and faster, the voices from within him commence to scream in grief, full of anger, desperation and fear. Mitsuo starts feeling all of their sorrow too. He begins to twist in pain, side to side, stomping on the floor and screaming to the top of his lungs.


    Out of nowhere, a corrupted voice speaks to Mitsuo:


    ¡°It is time now. Rise.¡±


    The voice sounded like several people were talking at the same time, like a choir of out of tune demons. It¡¯s tone was calm and apathetic, almost like a sad machine. The phrase resonated in the ambient, repeating itself several times until it faded into nothing. Mitsuo opened his eyes but saw no-one. He was still twisting in pain, feeling like a thousand needles puncturing him at the same time.


    ¡°You are running out of time now. You can still save him. You can still save everybody.¡±


    ¡°WHO ARE YOU?!¡± -Mitsuo asked, screaming in stress.


    ¡°I am you. We are you.¡± -The voice replied.


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®We are you¡¯? Who is this? What is this place?! WHERE AM I?!¡± -Mitsuo desperately asked questions, but the voice didn¡¯t address them.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°It is time now. Watch.¡±


    Suddenly, every single voice went silent and he was relieved from his pain. He stopped moving and opened his eyes widely.


    Mitsuo sat on the floor, looked around and saw an endless mist of dark purple clouds. In between them, a few figures of green light materialized in the distance. He looked up, and saw more clearly than ever, how the lights on top of him were actually footsteps. People walking, running, standing, sprinting.


    He stood up and started walking forward slowly, odd enough, because he felt that there was no direction. The place was so immense that it made walking pointless. Fear began to feed off him, so he vigorously screamed, without making any echo.


    ¡°HELLO? HELLO?! TALK TO ME! I WANT TO LEAVE!¡±


    Mitsuo looked at his right hand, which started to glow bright like a green neon light. The ring was still on his finger, so again, he tried to remove it.


    The instant he touches the ring, it begins to absorb everything around him. The dark clouds, the energy figures, the cold breeze, the voices, everything, from every direction.


    ¡°How is it possible for such a small ring to withhold so much within it? This can¡¯t be right. This is not normal.¡± -He thought.


    A bright, sharp sound reproduces from the ring, echoing through the ambient. The sound is so loud that it provokes an acute ringing in Mitsuo¡¯s ears.


    ¡°It is time now. The Soul Ring is satiated. Touch it again with your thumb.¡± -The voice spoke again slowly.


    He touches the ring with his right thumb -as the voice said- and everything stops. The whole place goes back to normal; The mist is back in place, the dark clouds are forming, the cold breeze is passing by and the energy figures are materializing again.


    The ring stops emitting light and becomes darker, almost like the color of a treetop.


    ¡°It is time now. Choose.¡± -The voice said.


    ¡°Choose what?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!¡± -Mitsuo asked desperately.


    All of the sudden, a gigantic group of human-like figures appear around him. They emanate green light, but not as bright as the ones above him. Mitsuo looked around, fulfilled with fear and uncertainty. Behind him were the two women from the bus stop. Right next to them, the two men who came to aid. In front of him, the paramedics. To his left, Jirou. All of those who he killed were surrounding him, looking at him directly into his eyes and following him with their sight, showing no emotions.


    ¡°Ascend a thousand. Preserve. Drown a million. Renounce.¡± -The voice said.


    "Ascend? Preserve? What are you talking about?!" -He asked desperately.


    The Voice''s words were clear, but Mitsuo didn''t want to understand them. Deep down below, he knew what the voice was implying, but he was in denial. He just couldn''t bear to live with all this blood on his hands. He chose not to believe.


    After a brief silence, the voice spoke again:


    "Time."


    As the last echo was heard, the ring lighted up again, and the light ray opened portals both in the sky and the ground. Mitsuo started screaming again, suffering the strength of the ring.


    He can barely hear himself, since the ring made an abominable noise.


    A sudden force pushed Mitsuo away at an extreme speed, flying up backwards into the air. As he was displaced, the light ray emitting from the ring was tearing up everything in its path like it was nothing.


    Mitsuo passed out again from the shock.


    That''s the last thing he remembered before waking up on an island. The only thing he could see in the distance was dead bodies that once belonged to living animals laying on the floor.


    As he realized what he had done, Mitsuo looked at his left and red a white sign that said:


    "Welcome to the Nightingale Island."