The Earth After Rebirth

Everyone froze where they stood. It had changed. Kiro was the one in front, so this was his riddle to answer.

They all looked at Kiro solemnly, they didn't know what to do or how to react. They didn't step up either though. So he was like, their labrat. He shook his head.

'Don't panic, calm down. Use that big brain of yours, you can crack this. It's not hard, it's just a game.' He thought, trying to convince himself.

He stood there for half a minute thinking hard. He didn't particularly like the idea of dying, as it would cost him a lot.

"If you don't answer in the next 30 seconds I'll smite you." The Sphinx spoke joyfully. Clearly this had a time limit, and it was a minute.

He wore a panicked face, as the seconds ticked down. The sphinx' eyes started to glow red, and it's mouth started to open unnaturally wide.

'Ah, right it must be...' With all the confidence he could muster, he stepped forward, "time, it's time." He declared, with greater confidence than he actually had.

The Sphinx seemed to be pondering the answer given. By the looks on Nikolai's face the answer was the right one, because previously it didn't even think before killing him.

The Sphinx cackled before saying, "right you are!" It laughed manically, then swiftly it got out of the way, revealing a way into the labyrinth of terror.

They quickly walked in, but before they were completely engulfed by the darkness, the Sphinx's words echoed. "Careful of what you're afraid of." Followed by fits of laughter.

Before long, the darkness embraced all of them at the same time. Kiro tried to say something, but there was no sound. It was the most unpleasant feeling, having a voice but not being able to use it.

He remained in what he thought was a seated position, he realised that he was falling so fast it felt like he was standing still. Before he knew it, he fell face first on the hard ground. He grunted.

"At least I didn't feel any physical pain from that fall." He mumbled.

He was still a bit dizzy, his eyes were still blury. Every one of his senses were dulled, so he couldn't hear where he might be either.

After 30 minutes his senses had started to come back to him. He was in a forest, he couldn't understand what was happening. He was sure that his fear wasn't a forest.

The forest trees were taller than his eyes could see, the sky was, grey? The sun, or suns, were white. The trees were a colour the human brain couldn't fully fathom, no matter how long he looked at it, he couldn't process what the trees looked like.

The animals in the forest weren't better off either. He had never seen these kind of species before, he simply didn't have the words to explain them, this made him realise how limited the human language truly was.

At least the animals weren't hostile, they minded their own business as the boy walked, albeit cautious, amongst them. Kiro tip toed his way through, and then noticed a waterfall, that was, flowing backwards.

"I wonder if calling it a waterfall is even the right thing anymore," he said to himself.

The laws of physics didn't seem to work the same way he was used to. There wasn't even air, yet surprisingly he wasn't choking to his death.

He walked through the forest for days, until he saw a single door that looked out of place. It was just rooted in place, as if inviting him inside.

He was hesitant to enter the door, he was used to the forest that was safe for him. He had no idea what awaited him beyond that door, it could be his skeletons. That made his heart waver a bit, but he quickly stilled it.

He grabbed the door knob and turned it, it made a clanking sound and the door opened wide. The door felt alive, and that it wanted to swallow him whole, still he allowed it and walked through.

With his eyes still closed, he tried opening his eyes but the room was so white, it felt like light was directly pointed at his eyes. He could do nothing else but keep them shut.

He walked around with his hands in front of him, trying to not bump into anything. This felt dangerous, what if he was walking toward a monster's mouth, were the thoughts that were running rampant in his head.

Then he heard them, voices. He quickly made way to where the sounds were. The closer he got, the more he couldn't understand what was being said. He felt he recognised the language but couldn't understand it.

He stood close but far enough. He concentrated on what was being said, and like a veil was lifted he could make out what was being said.

"You've done it again, haven't you?" said a grumbling voice.

"I had to. I gave my word. The line would've ended with him. This was the last chance," said a voice innocently. "Besides, you know as well as I do, he has to be the only one capable, we've looked. How many worlds have ended because he died every time?"

"But you could die, don't you understand the consequences of your actions?"

"I know."

"The more you use it on him. The more he gets drawn towards you. I'm sure you know what that means."

"Yes. Don't worry, I left a perfect guide for him this time. He won't fail. Besides, the Omega Universe is unstable. They will attack soon, either we find proxies or we fight our—"

The two were conversing nonchalantly until they noticed they were no longer alone. Someone had actually penetrated the impenetrable space, this would've defied logic, if this wasn't just a consequence.

"Hey, you shouldn't be here."

Before Kiro could protest, he was once again. thrown into the abyss of darkness. He assumed he was once again, free falling. He wasn't even given a chance to ponder about what the conversation meant exactly. He couldn't think in this hell.

As sudden as the darkness welcomed him it spat him out just as quick. He found himself in his childhood home. The conversation between the unknown beings laid forgotten at the back of his mind.

He looked at the dingy, mould infested house. He felt warm, he felt safe, he felt at home. He never thought he'd come back here. His thoughts of wonder stopped when he realised he was not his size.

Kiro was sitting on the kitchen table, his mother was cooking. He looked to be about 4 years old. He had forgotten all about these memories, how he loved sitting there watching his mother cooking, and how the smell of it all mesmerised his young mind. How it brought happiness to the 4 year old that was him. Times were certainly simpler then.

Kiro was watching his life through the eyes of his toddler self, as if it were a story in a book. He was 5 years old, sitting on someone's lap.

"Here you go Ki, don't ever take this off, you hear? It's very important."

"What's this gran papi?"

"A very important family heirloom, see that, it has our family name inscribed on it. We were once a prestigious family you know."

"Petigus?"

The voice laughed without explaining further. But the boy took the chain and hugged it to his chest.

Kiro's heart clenched at this scene. He had forgotten all about it, he couldn't believe he forgot about his grandfather. Someone who visited them on a daily basis, then one day, he disappeared. His parents never wanted to talk about him again.

As if a page turned, Kiro was now 10. Playing with his 5 year old little brother, Loki, outside in the dirt. They couldn't afford much toys, most were built by their father.

Wire cars could be seen, baseball bats with tattered balls and race carts made from wood. This made him smile, his childhood wasn't perfect but it was a good one.

Another page turned, Kiro was his current self. He was helping his mother slice up some meat in the kitchen. Dinner was served, and they were eating. He was halfway through his plate, when he noticed something amiss. He wiped his mouth, and blood stained the table cloth.

His heart leapt from his chest, his breath quickly became ragged. He took slow counted breaths to calm himself. He looked down at his plate, 2 live hearts were half eaten. He quickly looked at his parents, there were two holes on their chests, their hearts were perfectly carved out.

'Oh no, its starting.'

"We're dead and it's all your fault," both of them said, in an eerie amalgamated voice.