Classless Ascension

The two men facing one another basked in green light.

Josh was pondering the man's question. What should he do about the Gemini members? He was confident that he couldn't defeat them in a head-on battle. What if he could enlist the help of this mysterious man.

"What I will do will depend. Would you help me deal with them?" He directly asked.

"Oh? Why would you trust me?" The man asked, confused.

"I don't believe you have any reason to be my enemy. Otherwise, we wouldn't be talking so peacefully, am I right? You don't seem to harbor any hate for me, only curiosity."

"Hum, I see your point. Tell me the fate that you wish them to suffer, and I will give you an answer."

"I want to kill their leader. I have already agreed to have a meeting with him, and yet he still wishes to torture me to extract information." Josh uttered.

"What about the others?"

"They can all die for all I care. Well, all except that old lady, she's shown kindness to me in the past." That's where Josh drew the line.

"What if I tell you that killing is pointless?" The man said.

"So is life. It's all the same."

"I see…You know it's bizarre." The man chuckled.

"What is?"

"You. You are. You seem to be a walking paradox. Right now, you seem very calm, but your entire being sometimes screams of endless violence and slaughter. How peculiar…"

"Haha, mindless killing intent is pointless. As long as it is not controlled, it is nothing but a hindrance. It only betrays your next move."

"Killing intent, so that's how it's called. I understand, still, it remains very peculiar: having the ability to curb your dark side and yet letting it grow to use as a weapon…."

"What will it be? Will you help me?" Josh asked.

"Why should I?

"I could teach you about killing intent in exchange." Josh bartered.

"Teach me? Wouldn't that be pointless? There is no way someone like me could ever learn this power."

"Your whole thing is to remain peaceful, am I right? The two aren't incompatible, you see. You can be perfectly at peace and desire your enemies to die. As long as you remain true to yourself, there won't be any discord." Josh slowly uttered.

"Is that so?" He seemed uncertain but not against it.

"Are you in or not? It's up to you whether you desire to try, but an opportunity like this won't happen every day." Josh tempted akin to a devil.

"Alright, I will give it a go!" The man happily nodded.

Never in Josh's wildest dreams would he have hoped to make an ally here. But, the outcome would all depend on his performance. He somehow had to make a man that had the calmness of a monk give in to violence. How was he supposed to do that?

He slowly approached the masked man, laying his hand on his shoulder. "I'll try and let you feel killing intent. How much you comprehend will be up to you."

Josh slowly began to circulate it around his body before making it head toward the man. It invaded his body akin to a virus trying to corrupt all it touched.

"Make sure you relax," Josh instructed.

But a split second later, the killing intent had already disappeared without causing a ripple. It was as effective as trying to boil a pond with a match. How the hell was he supposed to tackle this problem? Could he even pierce the man's defenses?

The worst was that his guard was down. But suddenly, he had a flash of insight. What if he fought the peacefulness with more peacefulness? Had there been a moment in his life where he'd been both incredibly peaceful and angry?

Actually, there was. That's when he started to reminisce…

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Droplets fell from the sky, only to die on the bloodstained ground. This was the end of their lives, a short-lived one that would bring life to the land. Well, it wouldn't do anything for the humans who were currently suffering.

They were impaled, the rain washing away their tears and the sanguine liquid alike. They had killed his loved ones. Now their souls would finally rest in peace: his revenge had been long and had been full of hardships, but he was finally done.

As if on cue, the sky even cleared up. Josh nonchalantly grabbed his phone, called 911, and waited.

For a short instant, he felt like time had stopped. At this single point in time, the world stopped turning. It was the awaited conclusion of his story. He had known happiness, loss, sorrow, anguish, anger, and now it was all over.

At this single moment, nothing mattered but that it was finally over. The past had been long gone, the future inexistent, and the present was slowly fading away.

He felt that he had stopped existing entirely. Josh had long disappeared, and so had the monster who had relentlessly longed to avenge them. He stopped needing or wishing for anything. He was nothing but a ghost.

He didn't know why, but he suddenly saw his life unfold in front of his eyes.

The young, naive, and hopeful he resurfaced for a short instant. Then all the shit he had been through and finally all the good moments, ones that were kept for last. He witnessed it all akin to an external observer, one who stopped feeling for an instant.

At that moment, he had been peaceful, so peaceful. Yet, he could still feel the incredible killing intent coursing through his veins akin to a vengeful dragon. One that raged and thrashed and yet couldn't affect the current him.

That's when he came to a decision. He would keep on living, if only as a ghost for their sake. He would head to prison and live the rest of his life quietly, holing himself in a cage.

When the trial came, many thought he would end up with a death sentence, but they had forgotten who he was. What he was, or rather had become.

No one had dared to condemn the devil, and Josh had been the ones choosing his sentence...

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Josh slowly opened his eyes...

Creator's Thought

Emotions can truly be powerful. That is what carried me forward in times when my broken body shouldn't have been working anymore. Surprisingly, the culmination of all these feelings was a deep void, one that allowed me to feel everything clearly, but detached. Truly reaching this state is something that is far more frightening than death.